Microsoft And Facebook To Lay 6600 KM 160 Tbps Transatlantic Cable For Faster Speed

Microsoft and Facebook will lay a transatlantic cable of length 6600 km which will transfer data up to 160 Tbps. This cable will be laid from Virginia beach in the US to Bilbao in Spain. This project is expected to be completed and functional in 2017.

Microsoft and Facebook are planning to lay down a 6600 km long transatlantic cable which can cater the need of high demand for internet bandwidth.

The transatlantic cable will be laid between the USA and Spain. The cable will start from Virginia Beach, Virginia, to a data hub in Bilbao in Spain.

This trend of laying cross-ocean cable was started by Google back in 2010 when a cable named Unity was laid across the Pacific between the United States and Japan.

This decision by Facebook and Microsoft might have come because the demand for bandwidth has increased in recent times. A few years ago, the bandwidth demand was met by the traditional telecom companies but now content provider companies want to do economic investment in their own infrastructure.

Like Unity, this cable will be called by the name of Marea which translates to tide in Spanish. Marea will have the capacity to transmit 160 terabits of data per second.

If we look at the current potential capacity across the Atlantic, then it has the capacity of around 337 terabits of data and when Marea will be included in 2017, it will come online with almost 40 percent of the total bandwidth.

Marea will be designed to be interoperable with different kinds of networking equipment which will bring many benefits to customers like lower costs and easier equipment upgrades.

How to Fix 100% Disk Usage Issue on Windows 10

Ever since I started using Windows 10, every time I opened the Task Manager in detailed view, the disk usage activity always touched the mark of 100%. If not a century, it was always above 90% which was quite odd. For the first few days, I thought that it might be because of the heavy video rendering that I did on my PC for our YouTube channel related work. But after a few weeks I realized that even while my system was idle with no major background processes running, it was hitting the 100% mark just for disk usage. The CPU state was mostly idle, going from just 2 to 10%.

It was enough to convince me that it’s not the workload that’s causing my PC to be slow all the time with obnoxious disk usage. It was time to find a solution and after hours of online research, I managed to find out some working tricks. These tips solved the issue on my PC and now my computer shows decent disk usage with a significant improvement in performance.

So if you too are facing similar issues on your Windows 10 computer, here are the 4 things that you should check on your PC.

Note: If you are not sure what your disk usage in Windows 10 is, right-click on the taskbar to open up Task Manager and here enable the detailed view. In the Processestab, you can see the CPU, Memory, and Disk Usage on your computer.

Disable Windows Search

The first thing you must check out is the Windows Search services which are kind of buggy and cause Windows 10 on your computer to enter a search loop. Once Windows 10 enters the search loop, it starts indexing files over and again which cause the high disk usage with minimal CPU and Memory usage. I am not sure when Microsoft is going to take care of this bug, but the only option you can go with is to disable the Windows Search Properties permanently. To get started, open up Windows’ Run box and execute the command services.msc.

Once the Services window opens up, look for Windows Search and double click on it to open up the properties page. Here, the first thing you should do is click on Stop to immediately stop the service and then change the Startup Type to Disabled. That’s all, save the settings and after some time, you should notice an improvement in the disk usage activity. But if you still have the issue, don’t worry, there are still a few things you can try.

Disable Superfetch Services

The next thing you can try is to disable Superfetch services from services.msc window itself. Superfetch service caches data to RAM so that it can be immediately available to your application. Unfortunately, the service is not  always right about which software you’re going to use and can keep your hard drive busy for minutes after booting and closing applications.

While disabling the Superfetch service, make sure you stop it first and then change theStartup Type to Disabled.

Disable Windows 10 Tips

Disabling the above two services did the trick for me, but if you still are not seeing any improvement, you can try a tip I read on Reddit. A few users suggested to open Windows 10 settings and then navigate to Notifications & actions. Here turn off Show me Tips about Windows and that’s all. It should just take a minute or two before you see the results.

I haven’t tried this myself, but from the comments on the Reddit page, it looks like that the trick is working for users and is definitely worth a shot.

Conclusion

Those were the few tips you can try to get the Windows Disk usage to behave. If none of them works for you, I am afraid it might be because of some malware on your computer and you might have to disinfect the Windows 10 or clean install from the scratch in a hope that the issue is fixed.

How to Access Shared Windows Folders On Android Over WiFi

While talking about the AirDroid for Android the other day, we discussed how you can use the application to manage your phone’s data and files from your PC using a WiFi connection. But what if you want it the other way? What if you wanted to access a folder on your Windows PC on your phone and edit the files present in it?

Of course using an online backup tool is an option but you might not want to put a folder there just because of the purpose of sharing on your phone. You should be able to access it directly through WiFi, right?

You all probably know about file sharing in Windows and how it can be used to work on files hosted on different computers using a network connection (LAN or WiFi). Today we will see to use the same principle of file sharing and access files shared on your Windows PC on your Android.

Let me first show you how you can share a particular folder on Windows. And then we will move to the Android part of the process.

Sharing folders on Windows 7

Step 1: Right-click on the folder you want to share on your Windows and click onProperties to open the folder properties. Navigate to the Sharing tab and click on theShare button to open the File Sharing window.

Step 2: On the File Sharing window, you will be asked to enter the name of the group you want to share the folder with. Write Everyone and click on the Add button. You may give Read or Read/Write permission to the share access depending on your needs. Once you are done, click on the Share button.

Step 3: Now you can opt for two types of sharing, either password protected or open. If you are on a secure home network, I would recommend you go for the open file sharing as it makes things a bit easier. But if you are on an unsecured WiFi network, you must go for the password protected sharing.

To change these settings, navigate to Control Panel —> Network and Sharing Center. Here click on the link Change advanced settings  on the left hand sidebar to open Advance sharing settings. Scroll down to the end of the page to find the Password protected sharing option, choose a password and save the settings.

Cool Tip: To see list of all the folders you have shared on your computer, right click on the Computer icon in the start menu and click on Manage. Having done that, click on the Shared Folders—>Shares to list all the folders shared on your computer.

You may share any number of folders you want to access on your Android.

So that was all we needed on the Windows side of the equation. Now let us configure settings on the Android.

Accessing Shared Folders on Android

Step 1: Download and install ES File Explorer on your Android device. It’s an amazing and one of the most acclaimed file managers for Android. It works on all the devices running on Android version 1.6 and above. One of the features of ES File Explorer is that it allows you to access your Home PC on WiFI via Server Message Block (SMB).

Step 2: Once you have downloaded the app, launch it. The home screen will display all the files and folders that are on your SD card. Swipe your finger to the left on the screen to move to navigate to the right to the LAN share screen. Also make sure both your computer and your Android phones are connected to the same network.

Step 3: Touch the button New  on the top bar to add a new server (your computer in this case).

Step 4: Here leave the Domain field empty and do one of the following tasks depending upon your sharing security.

a) If you have opted for non-password protected sharing, enter the IP address of your computer (use the command ipconfig on the command prompt of your computer to know your IP) and check the anonymous option. Give your server an alias to identify if (it’s useful when you are using the app to access shared folders on different computer) and press the OK button to add the server.

b) For those who have enabled the password protected sharing option, do not check the anonymous option, instead provide the username and password you use to login to Windows and add the server.

That’s all, you can now browse through all the files and folders that are shared on the computer on your Android. That’s not all, depending upon the type of sharing privileges you have granted on Windows, you can do tasks such as:

• Viewing images and streaming live video. Though in the past, we have covered a dedicated app for this, I prefer ES File Explorer now because it’s ad-free and smooth.
• Open and edit text files, documents and save the changes directly without downloading the files on your phone.
• Copy a file from your computer to your phone easily. You can also modify and delete the files on your computer from your Android.
• You can view almost all the files on your Android provided you have a supported viewer for the specific file type.
• If you have write access to the shared folder on Windows, you can copy files and folders from Android to computer as well.

Video

Here’s our video on this entire process. Watch it to learn exactly how it is done.

My Verdict

This feature of ES File Explorer has made me fall in love with it. Now I can work on my computer while roaming in the house or while having a cup of coffee on the balcony… I just need the phone. So do try it out and mobilize your work.

How to Host a Folder as an FTP Server on Windows

We use shared systems in my office and there’s no guarantee where one might have to log in at the beginning of the day. While it’s not every day when one might have to use a different computer, once it happens, transferring all the data from one computer to another is a deal breaker, and using a thumb drive is against the compliance policy.

We have used a custom tool provided by the organization that functions just like Dropbox, but zipping the files, uploading and downloading them using the internet is again time taking. Seeing this data havoc on an almost daily basis, I made it a point to come up with a solution to ease up the file transfer between the computers.

Now for some background information, we have a desktop that is used to gather and monitor the data about the entire team, and it never switches off. My idea was to run the FTP Server on it and then create folders for each of us, which could be easily accessible by any of the connected computers. So let’s see how we can configure any Windows folder as an FTP repository using a free application called FileZilla.

Hosting a Folder as an FTP server

Install the program with default settings. If you don’t want to start the FileZilla server on the computer automatically, make the necessary choices while installing the application. Select the option Install as service, started with Windows. This should be the ideal choice if you want the process to run all the time, even if the computer reboots by any chance. Once the installation is completed, run the app to create a repository.

Click on the Edit menu on FileZilla and click on Users. Now in the account settings, click on the Add button to add a user profile and give it a password. This username and password will be used for authentication when you connect to the FTP server from a different computer.

Having done that, click on the option Shared Folders and add a folder you would like to share as an FTP server. Finally, give all the permissions you would like to have for files and folders when accessed from a remote computer, and save the settings.

That’s all – your FTP server is now set and you can use it from any computer connected to the same network. To open the FTP folder, open the Run box and type in the command, FTP://<Host Computer IP Address>

Viewing FTP folders in Windows Explorer

Now, while accessing the FTP folder from a different computer, you will have to type the address in the Windows Explorer address bar. However, when you open the shared repository, it will open up in Internet Explorer. While you can easily download the file in the IE view of the FTP repository, it doesn’t allow you to upload files. And when there are many files and folders that we need to transfer, a simple copy/paste is all that we look for.

So to enable the explorer view on FTP, open Internet Explorer and click on Tools —> Internet Options. Here, navigate to the Advanced tab and check the option Enable FTP folder view (outside of Internet Explorer). That’s all. You can then view the FTP files and folders in Windows Explorer and use the simple copy and paste commands to back up and restore files to and from your computer.

Note: You can increase the security of FTP by configuring the port manually other than using the default configured port that’s 21.

Conclusion

This trick can be used to share files between computers when many of them are connected to the same network. But wait, because that’s not all! Stay tuned and I will show you how to combine the trick with an Android app to get unlimited, real-time file syncing between Windows and Android.

How to View and Control Windows PC using iPhone or iPad

We have seen some apps for iPhones in the past which turn your device into a wireless mouse and keyboard. The trick can be pretty useful when you have a dedicated PC as a media center or you simply want to control the music at the party right from the dance floor.

However, you always have to be in the line of sight of your PC in order to control cursor them from the iOS device. But what if I told you that there’s a way you can view and control your Windows PC using your iOS device and that too completely free without any limits? Really useful, I must say.

Here’s how it can be done.

Setting up the Connection

Step 1: Download and install Ultra VNC on your computer. The installation is fairly simple, however, while installing the app, make sure that you check the option to install the Ultra VNC Server. Once the installation is completed, I would advise you to save all the work you are working on and reboot your computer.

Step 2: Search for Ultra VNC server in the start menu and launch the program. The application will start minimized in the system tray. Right-click on it and then click onAdmin Properties. If you get any firewall alert, click on allow and continue.

Step 3: Default settings would be just fine. All you need to change here is the VNC Connection and VNC View-Only password. Once that’s done, apply and save the settings. Make sure you have the admin access while changing these settings.

It’s Now Turn for the iOS Device

Step 4: Now, on your iPhone or iPad, install a free application called the VNC Viewer and launch it. The first thing the app will ask you is to create a new connection. The add button on the top left corner should be tapped for that.

Step 5: Under the Address field, type in the IP address to the PC on which the Ultra VNC is running and under Name, give any name which will help you remember the connection and save. Helpful if you have more than one VNC connections.

Note: If you are not aware of your computer’s IP address, this article would help you with that. Also, make sure that the computer and the iOS device is connected to the same wireless network.

Step 6: Now all you need to do is tap on the connection and connect to the PC. The first time you try to connect, you will be asked to enter the password you set while setting up the server. You will be asked if you need the access control over the PC. Tap on Yesand proceed.

That’s all, you will now be able to view and control your Windows PC right from your iOS device. The app will set the color depth automatically depending on your Wi-Fi connection.

  

Cool Tip: You can set separate passwords for VNC View Only password in Admin Properties. This will also you to connect some iOS devices with just the option to view the screen. Very useful when you are in a conference and wish to project your screen to users with an iPad around.

What’s Next?

The trick works out of the box when you are connected to the same Wi-Fi network. However,  I am currently researching on port forwarding over the internet and if I am successful, you might be able to view and control your screen over the internet even through the mobile network from anywhere in the world. Fingers crossed.