S U N D AY | D E C E M B E R 1 5 , 2 0 1 3

2
TECH TONIC

Tools to secure your

Android phone

TURN YOUR PC INTO

A GROOVE MACHINE Y

Javed Anwer

igital downloads have

changed the way we
listen to music, but
nothing has changed in the way
we store and manage our MP3s.
Now would be a good time to get
your library in order and also
discover newer ways to find
fresh artists. Here are six free
cracking tools that will help you
transform your collection

CLEMENTINE
What: A souped-up player that
organises your music library and
even streams tunes from the web
It keeps a tab on your music
folders and continuously updates
individual playlists
Clementine allows you to
download and update track info
Apart from built-in internet
radio stations, it can directly
play the music you've stored in
Dropbox, Box, Skydrive and
Google Drive
The player can also be
remote controlled over a Wi-Fi
connection with its Android app
Clementine Remote
Where: www.clementineplayer.org

KastorSoft AVD converts clips

into different formats (set by you),
on-the-fly, while it is being
downloaded onto your hard drive
A built-in web browser is also
included for good measure
Where: www.kastorsoft.com

making it easier to extract only a

specific portion from the footage
FAE also lets you fine-tune the
quality of output bitrate,
stereo/mono, and more
Where: www.kastorsoft.com

FREE AUDIO EXTRACTOR

What: A radio tool that lets you

record multiple tracks on-the-fly
A lightweight internet radio
player that can record songs from
multiple pre-set stations
simultaneously
It lets you schedule recordings,
and even download specific
songs. Just enter the track name
in the list and the recorder will
start as soon as it detects a
station streaming it. This works
even while you are listening to
another radio station

STREAMWRITER
What: If youve got the video,
this software lets you extract the
audio out of it
Free Audio Extractor supports a
number of popular video formats
like FLV, MP4, AVI, WMV, ASF
and MOV. Audio from a video can
be extracted and saved as MP3,
WMA, OGG, WAV or FLAC
You can queue multiple videos
for extraction
The audio track in the video
clip is shown in a visual timeline,

What: A nifty tool that lets

you download music videos
from YouTube, Dailymotion,
Vimeo and Metacafe
The software can
handle multiple
downloads, so you
can keep searching
for video clips and
continue adding them
to the queue
Even while theyre
being downloaded, videos
can be watched from
within a preview pane

MAHESH BENKAR

What: An easy CD/DVD maker

thatll convert your MP3s to
audio CDs in a jiffy
It lets you quickly compile your
digital musicin MP3, FLAC,
WMA or Ogg Vorbis format
collection into audio CDs
You can also use Ashampoo
Burning Studio to archive your
digital music library on to CDs or
DVDs with the simple wizarddriven user interface
Doubles up as an audio CD
ripper, converting songs on the
disc to WMA or WAV files
Where: www.ashampoo.com

What: A super-cool media

player that mixes online
streaming services with social
networking
Lets you search for, and
listen to, your favourite
tunes across popular
stations like SoundCloud,
Last.fm and Official.fm
You can keep tabs on the
latest by tracking the
Charts and New
Releases sections, where
you can browse albums by
their popularity (and country)
on Billboard, Hype Machine,
Spotify, Ex.fm, etc
Tomahawk lets you connect to
Google Talk (or Jabber) and invite
your friends to do the same so
you can see and listen to each
others collections
Where: www.tomahawk-player.org

Realisation of what ails you is half the battle won; the rest is all
about maintaining a firm control on life and balance within
ometimes you do not realise you
are in the midst of a vast silence till
it is pierced through with sound.
Often, you may not notice noise until it
ends abruptly and silence prevails. You
may not notice how dark it is till a light
is flicked on. Sometimes you do not
know how agitated you have been, till a
caressing hand calms you. The absence
of some people makes you realise the
significance of their presence.
And then sometimes you dont know
theres a gaping hole in your soul till
someone or something comes
along to fill it and lift you to euphoric heights.
My Facebook status for the
last few days has been A
hole in your soul? Lets see,
how can that be mended? It
aroused interesting responses, both off and online. But
where is the soul nowadays?
asked a friend at a cocktail party. Are you sure you dont
mean a hole in the sole of your
shoe? asked another.
Some interesting solutions to
m e n d
the soul
g a p
w e r e
spiritual evolution,
karma
yoga,

USE GOOGLE
Did you know that Android
version 2.2 and later comes with
a feature that lets you track and
manage your mobile device?
Look for Google Settings among all
the apps on your handset. It is denoted by
a grey icon with a lower case g and a gear
symbol. Tap on the app, and choose the last
option which reads Android Device Manager.
From here, you can activate features that will
locate your device in case it is lost or misplaced,
and you can also remotely lock and factory reset
your handset.
After youve checked these options on your
phone, you can log on to the Android Device
Manager website (www.google.com/android/
devicemanager) using your Google account to
control your phone remotely.

PROTECT YOUR HANDSET

An unprotected smartphone could prove to be
a soft target for hackers. To guard against
malicious apps and OS breaches, we suggest
AntiVirus Security Free by AVG Mobile, Mobile
Security & Antivirus by Avast Software, or
Norton Security antivirus. In most cases, the
free versions get the job done.
These tools check the apps you install for
suspicious behaviour and even shield your phone
from rogue websites. Most free versions can also
track your phone in case it is stolen or misplaced;
sound an alarm to help you locate it, and even
remotely wipe the data on a lost device.
Note: Always choose and run only one antivirus
software on your handset.

SNAP THE INTRUDER

If you want a tool that will help you identify the
person who has stolen your smartphone, install
Lockwatch Anti-Theft by Bloketech. This app uses
the front camera to click a photo of the thief
who has attempted to unlock your phone with

RAM

the wrong code. It then e-mails the picture to

you along with GPS location, making it easy for
law enforcers to track and identify the thief.
The best part is that Lockwatch works silently
in the background, so a person trying to gain
access to your device doesnt even know hes
been photographed.

TRACK YOUR DEVICE

With Prey Anti Theft installed on your phone,
you can track its geographical location as well
as control the phone remotely. If there is no
internet connection, you can send an SMS
command to the device to receive its geolocation details. You can remotely lock the
handset, unlock it; display a message to the
thief on its screen, sound an alarm, take a
picture of the crook, and even wipe the data
from the phone.

Dos & Donts

Do not download attachments on your phone from

e-mails sent by unknown contacts

Before installing an app, take a look at the

permissions it seeks. For example, an app that allows

you to scribble notes should not ask permission to
see your contacts
Install apps that have a good rating and a healthy
number of downloads (at least over 10,000)
Use a PIN/Password on your lockscreen
Dont connect an app to your Google, Facebook and
Twitter accounts, unless you have very good reasons
to do so. Just because an app asks you for your
account details, doesnt mean you should comply

WATCH OUT FOR...

VINITA DAWRA NANGIA

Got a hole
in your soul?
S

ASHAMPOO BURNING
STUDIO FREE

TOMAHAWK

KASTORSOFT ALL
VIDEO DOWNLOADER

O-ZONE

Recorded songs can be saved in

MP3 or AAC format
Its simple tabbed interface lets
you search stations by mostplayed track, genre, or bitrate
Lets you name and tag the
recorded files
Where: streamwriter.org

striving to be my best self and to be considerate and compassionate, by giving

love and then by the will power to heal
and knowing when we last felt complete.
What indeed is a hole in the soul? It is
a feeling of inadequacy, of something vi-

SOMETIMES YOU DON ' T KNOW THERE ' S A

GAPING HOLE IN YOUR SOUL TILL SOMEONE
OR SOMETHING COMES ALONG TO FILL IT
AND LIFT YOU TO EUPHORIC HEIGHTS !

tal missing from life. Very often a realisation of this gap causes a great restlessness
till we figure out how to mend it. And yes,
different things work for different people.
All holes are not the same size and dimension, and each needs a different solution to fix it. Each of us has our own
compulsions, our dreams, our purpose
and goals; some things that make us
wildly happy. A realisation of this and
walking the path towards these is the
only way to start feeling peaceful, calm
and purposeful.
But the first step, of course, is the realisation of the void before we set out to
bridge it. The realisation may not always
come in a peaceful, friendly manner. It
could be a jolt of awareness, a bolt from
the blue. A jolt is often what you need to
shake you out of a complacent, somnambulant state. And so, sometimes if
someone or something comes along to
shake us up, it is important to understand
that Nature, God or your own supreme
consciousness wants you disturbed for
some good reason. This is the hard nudge
you need to remind yourself
that you are procrastinating, biding your time in a
happy bubble, refusing to, or
forgetting to move on and
complete your lifes purpose.
Sometimes bad experiences
help you understand your
own inadequacy faster;
hence the talk we hear of being grateful to and forgiving
THINKSTOCK

those who are bad to us and who painfully teach us a lesson or two. But what is
supremely important is to be aware and
alert all the time to be in full control of
and responsible for oneself.
Thinking of this, I was surfing the television when I was brought up short by
the very dialogue echoing in my mind
a brilliant coincidence. A man trying to
persuade his wife to help him bring down
a powerful, independent girl to her knees,
says, Anyone is bound to fall when you
take away his or her support. But for that,
you have to first get the person accustomed to the support, before removing
it. And the only way to do so is to attack
them through their emotions. It is a game
with some to bring down the more assured, the confident who seem to be
walking their path unaided, all by themselves. Weakness despises strength; the
insecure cannot stand the secure. You
may find your inner peace, but the most
important thing is to be able to defend it
against those who are eager to disturb it.
There are plenty of hooks out there to
latch onto you have to choose which
one you will allow to engage your mind.
Rather than your life being dependent on
incidents, accidents and circumstances,
you have to engineer these to suit you
and take charge of your own life. If firmly in the saddle, sometimes you may even
allow yourself to be touched by something that is obviously potentially dangerous. Controlled damage may help the
creative purpose you aspire for and help
add value in other spheres of your life; it
may help you know and understand
yourself, your strengths and weaknesses
better. Any experience is fine so long as
you emerge richer and stronger from it.
We are often not consciously aware of
the need to maintain balance. If we are
aware and alert, nobody can harm us or
try and take away power or santulan,
our sense of balance from us. If you look
at and understand everything as part of
a pattern that has to be unravelled, life
becomes beautiful and exciting. If we
view everything that is placed before us
as a clue to unravel and understand life,
we are better able to accept whatever life
doles out to us.

FACE NEVER LIES

Face reading is now being used to diagnose ailments. Supriya Sharma talks to macrobiotic expert
Tarika Ahuja about facial health evaluation
id you know that just by looking in the mirror and
observing certain facial changes, you can diagnose
an illness? At least, thats what ancient Chinese medicine says. Each face area is linked to an important internal

Eyes
Dark eyes or dark circles

Darkness around the eyes is usually a sign of

either weakened
kidneys or a
weakened
immune
function.
Usually,
darkness
around the
eyes
indicates a
loss of
vitality
and a

mineral imbalance since

kidneys maintain the water
and mineral balance in the
body. Unfortunately it is quite
prevalent in India and has
gotten worse with recent
generations.
Puffiness under the
eyes
Usually puffiness or bags under the eyes
indicate swollen kidneys or excessive intake of
liquids and stimulating foods. Too much
alcohol can also contribute to eye bags.
Bulbous, protruding eyes
Bulbous eyes could indicate a weak nervous
system and a tendency for depression.
What you need to do: To reduce stagnation
of energy or blood flow to the kidneys, one
must improve physical activity. Try walking,
lightweight training or yoga like Kundalini
yoga which works faster into the deeper parts
of the body and brain. It would also help to
stay away from spicy food, coffee and poor
quality hydrogenated or refined oils and fats.
Eating whole grains, fresh, blanched or
steamed vegetables, beans and lentils on a
regular basis would also help improve the
kidneys condition. Do increase the
quantity of mineral-rich foods in your
diet such as sea vegetables (spirulina,
nori seaweed).

Not just a sign of old age

Emma
Stone is one
of the many
Hollywood
actresses with
freckles

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

vinita.nangia@timesgroup.com
The opinions expressed in this
column are the personal views of the writer

Its Your Life Best of O-zone by

Vinita Dawra Nangia. Available at
leading bookstores and
shopping.indiatimes.com. Or call
8010058888/8010558888.
for doorstep delivery

organ through certain energy canals. So, a mysterious rash,

persistent skin conditions or dilated pores are not always
superficial skin problems that cleansing lotions can fix.
Lets decode some facial attributes

Freckles

PICS: GETTY IMAGES

Ashutosh Desai

our Android smartphone, more

often than not, carries a lot of
personal data, including
e-mails, passwords, photos and
videos, messages, contacts and
even sensitive office documents. It
is therefore important that you
keep your handset from prying
eyes. Equally crucial is a
contingency plan, just in case it
falls into the wrong hands

What you need to do: Have super foods

and blood cleansers such as aloe vera, amla,
neem, haldi and basil on a regular basis. Reduce dairy, simple sugars, spicy
foods and animal proteins.

Lips

Swelling on the

lips
Lips generally reflect the digestive tract. The
upper lip reflects the upper digestive tract and
the lower lip represents the lower digestive
tract. Often lower lips are swollen and inflamed and this indicates a corresponding inflammation in the intestines. If the lower lips
are hugely swollen, it may even indicate IBS
(Irritable Bowel Syndrome).
Colour or redness of lips
Usually a dark colour indicates low blood circulation and excessive red colour might mean
swelling in an internal organ. If lips are
cracked, it could mean dryness in the digestive area.
What you need to do: Eat more fibre-rich
foods like brown rice on a daily basis. Eat more
healthy fermented foods such as Japanese
miso, idlis and dosas.
Opt for leafy
greens and
the gourd
family of
vegetables.
Have less
sugar, coffee
and flourbased foods.

In Oriental macrobiotic facial evaluation, freckles indicate excessive

consumption of refined flours
and sugars. It is called the
You may love
caramelising of sugars
Angelina Jolie for
when out in the sun.
her bee-stung, plump
What you need to do:
lips, but they are an
Eating well-balanced
meals with natural sugars, indicator of a weak
digestive
healthy sugars such as apsystem
ples, pomegranates as well
as alkaline foods helps improve
the skin. Reduce flour products,
sugars, and excessive fruit intake.

Cheeks

Swollen or droopy cheeks

Cheeks represent the lung area.

Swollen or droopy cheeks are a
sign of weakness in the lung area.