Automating, Sequencing & Logging: Beauty of x264CLI Video Encoding

x264 Video encoding is perhaps the best OpenSource compression utility without degrading video playback quality. The graphical interfaces (GUIs) available out there in my view seriously handicap of what x264 can really do. Of coarse one needs to learn a bit of encoding syntax but once learned you can encode all of your videos to ~half the size without losing your precious quality. One must however realise that this encoding is extremely time consuming & without necessary logging & automation x264 encoding may not prove trivial enough for...

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Regaining Internet Freedom In Pakistan

Having very bad experience with all the browser plugins & applications to bypass country’s restriction on google services & my personal favourite search engine http://www.filestube.com/ I decided to test Win7 built-in VPN functionality to anonymise myself online & guess what I have been perfectly successful....

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Bogus Love and Baloney Lovers

Playing a prank is easy especially when your are dealing with a benighted yet zealous horde pushed to streets not by devotion but to carry out destruction perhaps because this alone is their favourite cup of tea. In a not-so-learned city like Faisalabad one evening while returning from work I came across a group of children (12-16 years old); one grasping Israel’s flag & the other a bottle of petrol. This enticed my sense of humor and I approached them inquiring what they are about to do (hell! I do know the answer already). “We are going...

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Salve Of Critical Thought

Ever seen a leadership from the commoners of the Pakistani nation? Surely you are correct if you answer this with a big NO. After Jinnah and Iqbal there were none, for even Z.A.Bhutto was a feudal lord and nonetheless reigned supreme among the rank and file spheres of various ministries under General Ayu...

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In Need Of References

Take a peek at your Pakistan Studies textbook, navigate to the end of any chapter and an expert’s eye will catch something missing...references! A book, read by millions of Pakistani students, officially endorsed by our authorities, fails to give chapter and verse on a subject; a subject(history) that is extremely sensitive and highly relative. Students are then encouraged to take everything written in this book as granted and adopt silence in the name of patriotism and in the face of seniority. For whoso blindly embraces the validity of such...

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Negatively Quaint

Being a teenage of 21st century one surely get buzzes having an iPhone or an Android tablet. This cloud of technology not only shadows teenagers rather it equally rains over our adult community. Our fathers desire luxurious cars, precisely tailored coats & keep au fait with latest exchange rates, waiting to strike gold. Even our beloved mothers constantly search eBay to get hands upon discounted L'Oréal products & while preparing meal they often lose temper, asking (rather ordering) their husbands to have an air conditioner fixed in probably...

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Ancestral Angels

Nowadays, people tend to discuss how evil politicians are eating away the very roots of our national economy & integrity, conveniently using the guise of ‘democracy’. To many intellectuals this so-called democracy is a roller-coaster ride only for the ‘chosen few’.  This ride ends after every four years, after which from among the ‘chosen few’ becomes the new rider. This otherwise persistent vicious cycle may suffer discontinuity at the hands of military which hitherto had only converted it into vicious spiral....

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Where Tracker XChange beats Adobe Acrobat

My analysis is based on my personal usage of the two PDF viewers named above. Personal usage varies from person to person, therefore I must clearly define here what are the features that I use while analysing any PDF application. Being a heavy book (mostly technical) reader myself I prefer to read in the Fullscreen mode, in addition I prefer having easiest way to annotate (highlight, underline ...) PDF documents & here the competition starts. ...

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