දරුවා පාසලට ඇතුලත් කරගැනීමට අවශ්‍යවන ලිය කියවිලි ගැන ඔබ දැනුවත් ද?

දරුවෙක් ඉස්කෝලෙකට දාගන්න දරුවෙක් හදනවටත් වඩා අමාරුයි. අද කාලෙ හුඟක් දෙමව්පියන් මෙහෙම කියන්නෙ ඇයි?  දරු‍වන් ඇතුළත් කරගැනීමේදී වැදගත් වන ලියකියවිලි අඩුපාඩු නැතිව ඔබ ළඟ තිබුණොත් ඔබ හිතන තරම් මේ වැඩේ අමාරු නැහැ.

දරුවා ඉස්කෝලෙට ඇතුළත් කරන අවුරුද්දෙ ජනවාරි 31 වැනිද වෙනකොට අවුරුදු 5 සම්පූර්ණ වෙලා තියෙනවද?  මේක තහවුරු කරන්න දරුවගේ උප්පැන්න සහතිකය ඕනේ.

එකම පාසලකට ගණ(කාණ්ඩ) කිහිපයකින් ඉල්ලුම් කරනවනම් එක් එක් ගණවලට(කාණ්ඩ) වෙන වෙන ම අයදුම්පත් ඉදිරිපත්කරන්න ඕනේ. (උදා ඔබ කොළඹ විශාකා විද්‍යාලයට ආදි ශිෂ්‍ය කාණ්ඩයෙන් සහ ආසන්නතා කාණ්ඩයෙන් අයදුම්කරන්න සුදුසුකම් තියෙනවනම් ඒ කාණ්ඩ දෙක සඳහා වෙන් වෙන්ව අයදුම් කරන්න ඔබට පුළුවනි.

දරුවා ඇතුළත් කරන්නට ඔබ කැමති පළාත් පාසල් 3ක් ඇතුළුව පාසල් 6කට අයදුම් කරන්න ඔබට පුළුවන් බවත් මතක තබාගන්න. වෙන් වෙන්ව පාසල් වෙත පිළියෙල කරන ඒ අයදුම්පත්වල ප්‍රමුඛතා අනුපිළිවෙළට පාසල් නම් කරන්න ඕනේ.

අයදුම් කරන පාසලට ආසන්න පදිංචි කරුවෙක් නම් ඒ බව තහවුරු කරන ලියකියවිලි ඕනේ. ඡන්ද හිමි නාම ලේඛනයේ අවුරුදු පහක පදිංචිය තිබුණොත් ඔබට මේ කාණ්ඩය යටතේ ලබාදෙන ලකුණු 5 ම ලැබේවි. හිමිකම තහවුරු කරන්න මේ ලේඛන ඕනෙ එකකින් පුළුවන්.

(සින්නක්කර ඔප්පු/තෑගි ඔප්පු/දීමනා පත්‍ර/රජයේ ප්‍රදාන/ප්‍රකාශන ඔප්පු/ගෙවීමේ පදනම මත ඇති නිවාස ලේඛන)

පදිංචිය තහවුරු කරන්න මේ ලියකියවිලිත් ඔබට යොදාගන්න පුළුවනි.

(ජාතික හැඳුනුම්පත / විදුලි බිල්පත/ජල බිල්පත / දුරකථන බිල්පත්/ දරුවාගේ සෞඛ්‍ය ප්‍රවර්ධන කාඩ්පත/ සමෘද්ධි හිමිකම් කාඩ්පත/ විවාහ සහතිකය/ බැංකු ගිණුම් ‍පොත/ ඔබේ රාජකාරී පත්වීම් ලිපිය)

තව දෙයක් මතක තියාගන්න. ඔබ දරුවා ඇතුළත් කරන්නේ ආදිශිෂ්‍ය ගණයෙන් නම්, ඒ කියන්නේ දරුවා ඇතුළත් කරන්න හදන පාසලේ ඔබ ආදිශිෂ්‍යයෙක් නම් පාසල් කාලය තුළ ඔබ ලබාගත් අධයාපන ජයග්‍රහණ ආදිය ඇතුළත් සහතික සහ වෙනත් ලියකියවිලි වෙනම එකතු කරගෙන තියාගන්න. ඒ සහතිකවලට, ඔබේ ක්‍රියාකාරී සහභාගීත්වය ඔප්පු කරන ලේඛනවලට මේ ගණය යටතේ ඔබට ලකුණු ලැබෙනවා.

දරුවන් පාසල්වලට ඇතුළත් කරගැනීම කාණ්ඩ කිහිපයක් යටතේ සිදු කෙරෙනවා.

පාසලට ආසන්න පදිංචිකරුවන්ගේ දරුවන්  – 50%

පාසලේ ආදි සිසු/සිසුවියන්ගේ දරුවන් – 25%

දැනටමත් අදාළ පාසලේ සහෝදර සහෝදරියන් ඉගෙනුම ලබන දරුවන් – 15%

අධ්‍යයන කාර්ය මණ්ඩල සාමාජිකයන්ගේ දරුවන් – 05%

සේවා අවශ්‍යතා මත ස්ථාන මාරු ලැබූ නිලධාරීන්ගේ දරුවන් – 04%

දරුවා සමඟ විදේශගතව සිට නැවත පැමිණි දෙමව්පියන්ගේ දරුවන් – 01%

දරුවන් ඇතුළත් කරගන්න සම්මුඛ පරීක්ෂණවලට ගිහින් ව්‍යාජ ලේඛන ඉදිරිපත් කරල අපහසුතාවට ලක්වෙන්නෙ නැතිව ඔබට අයදුම් කරන්න පුළුවන් කාණ්ඩය නිවැරදිව තෝරාගන්න. ඉන් පසු ඔබට අවශ්‍ය ලියකියවිලි කල් ඇතිව සූදානම් කරගන්න. හොඳින් මතක තබාගන්න, කිසියම් හෝ වැරදිසහගත ලේඛනයක් ඔබේ අයදුම්පත සමඟ තිබුණොත් ඒ අයදුම්පත සම්පූර්ණයෙන් ම ප්‍රතික්ෂේප වෙනවා. ඒ නිසා ඔබේ දරුවාගේ ජීවිතය එක්ක බොරු කරන්න එපා.

මීට අමතරව 2018 වර්ෂයට අදාළ නව චක්‍රලේඛණයේ අලුතෙන් වෙනස්වී ඇති තොරතුරු දැනගන්න කැමති අයට අධ්‍යාපන අමාත්‍යාංශයේ වෙබ් අඩවියෙන් පාසල්වල පළමු ශ්‍රේණියට දරුවන් ඇතුළත් කිරීමේ උපදෙස් ඇතුළත් චක්‍රලේඛය බලන්න පුළුවනි. මේ තමයි ඒ චක්‍රලේඛය ඩවුන්ලෝඩ්කරගන්න වෙබ් ලිපිනය (www.moe.gov.lk) අනික් වෙබ් අඩවි පලට පහත ලිනක්ස් භාවිතා කරන්න.

අධ්‍යාපන අමාත්‍යාශ වෙබ් අඩවිය

චක්‍රලේක බලා ගැනීම

2018 වර්ෂයේ අයදුම්පත ලබා ගැනීමට

එහෙනම් කට්ටිය වැඩේ හරියටම කරගන්න ඔබ සැමට ජය ...

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Automatically Hide Desktop Icons In Windows XP/7/8/10

AutoHideDesktopIcons

AutoHideDesktopIcons is a free and portable utility designed to automatically hide desktop icons when they are not being used. The AutoHideDesktopIcons utility allows you configure how much time must elapse after moving the mouse cursor away from desktop or mouse idle time on desktop before the program automatically hides desktop icons.

Automatically hide desktop icons

With default settings, AutoHideDesktopIcons automatically hides desktop icons if you move the mouse cursor away from desktop for 5 seconds but you can change it.

To see hidden icons, you can simply left-click, right-click or middle-click on desktop.

In short, when you move the mouse cursor away from desktop to another window or taskbar area or when the mouse cursor on desktop is idle for specified time, the AutoHideDesktopIcons program kicks in and hides all desktop icons. You can make these icons visible by performing a middle, left-click or right-click on desktop.

There is even an option to show desktop icons when you move the mouse cursor moves across the desktop area. Click More options button to see this option.

In addition to desktop icons, the program can also automatically hide the taskbar if the above conditions are met. The ability to hide taskbar is turned off by default but you can turn it on by checking Hide taskbar option under program preferences.

If you like this little program, we recommend you configure it to start with Windows by checking Start with Windows option under preferences. When the AutoHideDesktopIcons is running, click the To-Tray button to move the program to system tray.

The AutoHideDesktopIcons program is compatible with Windows 10, Windows 8/8.1, and Windows 7, both 32-bit and 64-bit systems. Windows 10 might warn against running this program but you can safely run the program by clicking the Options link and then clicking Run anyway button.

For Download Use Following Links 

For Windows 7 / 8 / 10

Use This Link

For Windows XP

Use This Link

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How To Find Installation Date Of Our Windows And Linux PC "OS"

Finding Installation Date and Uptime in Windows PC

Finding the uptime in a Windows PC is very easy and many of you might be knowing this method. It simply involves opening the Task Manager and navigating to the Performance tab.

There, under the CPU tab, you’ll find the uptime stat of your Windows PC in the Days:HH:MM:SS format.

To find the installation date of a Windows computer, you need to open the Command Prompt. To do this, either execute CMD command in the Run window or press Win+R key.

Now, run the following command on Windows 10 and Windows 8 to find the installation date of your operating system:

systeminfo | find /i “Original”

For Windows 7 operating system, your need to run the following command:

systeminfo | find /i “install date”

Finding installation date and uptime in Linux PC

Just like Windows, finding the installation date and uptime in your Linux PC is any also an easy task. To find the uptime in Linux, simply open the terminal and run the following command. I ran this on my Ubuntu 16.10 system and it should also work on other distributions as well.

uptime

To find the installation date in Linux, you need to find a file, folder, or log that was created during the installation time. One such file can be accessed by running the following command. This makes it easy to spot the installation date of your Linux-based operating system.

ls -l /var/log/installer

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How Your Computer Displays Correct Time When Turned On After Years?

THE RTC CHIP REMEMBERS THE DATE AND TIME.

This timekeeper chip is called the Real-time Clock (RTC) or the CMOS ( Complementary Metal-oxide Semiconductor) chip. The CMOS chip (known as CMOS RAM) is a memory which also stores the BIOS information of the computer. And it is a volatile memory, that’s why It is driven by a low voltage battery having a life of around five to ten years. On desktop computers, the battery looks like a silver colored coin.

The RTC chips come in a compact form, often not user-replaceable, in newer computers including laptops. In fact, the need for such chips in machines is declining as high-speed connectivity is being adopted at a tremendous rate. The computers can easily sync time using the internet. Single board computers like the Raspberry Pi don’t feature a real-time clock chip.

Single board computers like the Raspberry Pi don’t feature a real-time clock chip. Other compact devices mobile phones have the real-time clock built on the chip itself but maybe without a battery in order to save space. The RTC is then powered by the mobile phone’s main battery. That’s the reason the time on your mobile resets when you remove the battery.

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How To Rotate Images In Windows 10 File Explorer

How To Rotate Images In Windows 10 File Explorer

If you have one or more picture files in one of the folders on your Windows 10 PC, you can rotate clockwise or anti-clockwise with ease. The good thing is that you can even use keyboard shortcuts to quickly rotate picture files.

Follow the directions in given below methods to easily rotate pictures in Windows File Explorer.

Method 1 of 3

Rotate images in Windows 10 File Explorer

Step 1: Open up File Explorer (Windows Explorer) and navigate to the folder containing picture files.

Step 2: Select an image that you want to rotate by clicking on it.

Note: You can rotate multiple pictures at once using this method. To do so, please select all picture that you want to rotate and then proceed to the next step.

Step 3: Click the Manage tab and then click Rotate left or Rotate right button to rotate the selected picture file. That’s it!

Method 2 of 3

Rotate images using keyboard shortcuts

And if you prefer to use keyboard shortcuts to rotate pictures, after selecting picture files that you want to rotate, press Alt key, press JP, press RL to rotate left and press RR to rotate right.

Method 3 of 3

Rotate images using right-click context menu

Step 1: Select picture file(s) you want to rotate.

Step 2: Right-click and then click Rotate right or Rotate left option.

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Apple Plans To Remove USB Ports From Upcoming MacBooks

After Killing iPhone’s 3.5mm Jack, Apple Plans To Remove USB Ports From Upcoming MacBooks

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අලුත්ම නිල් දත හෙට අනිද්දා නෙවෙයි ඉන් අනිද්දා - BLUETOOTH 5

හායි යාලුවනේ ඔන්න මම අද ආවේ අලුත්ම නිවුස් එකක් අරගෙන ඒ තමයි අපි හැමෝම දැනට භාවිතා කරන ඉක්මනින්ම නැති වෙලා යන්න ඉඩ තියන නිල්දත් එහෙමත් නැත්නම් BLUETOOTH ගැන අලුත්ම නිවුස් එකක් ගැන කියන්න.

ඉතින් ඒ තමයි අපි දැනට භාවිතා කරන්නේ BLUETOOTH 4 වෙනුවට ඔන්න එයාලගේ අලුත්ම එක BLUETOOTH 5 මේ සතියේ එලියට දානවලු. ඉතින් BLUETOOTH නැති වෙන්නේ නැති වෙයි මොන විදියකින් හරි අපිට ආයෙමත් මේක ඕන වෙයි. එහෙනම් මෙන්න මේ ගැන මෙයාලා කියන්නේ මේ විදියට.

Making Bluetooth communication much faster, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group is releasing Bluetooth 5 next week. This new standard will make Bluetooth four times the present range and twice as fast as the current speed.

Mark Powell මේ ගැන කියනෙන් මෙන්න මෙහෙම කතාවක්. එක බලන්න පල්ලෙහා ලින්ක් එකට යන්න.

BLUETOOTH

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Do You Think “Girls Can’t Code”? This Video Series Is Here To Tell You Something

Do you think that girls can’t code? To break such stereotypes and start a much-needed conversation, a non-profit organization Girls Who Code has produced a satirical video series called Girls Do Code.

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ඔබේ පරිගණකය කෘතීම බුද්ධියක් කරගමුද? ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE --> මේවා අපෙන් විතරයි ...

හායි යාලුවනේ ඔන්න අද අපි ආවේ වෙනද වගේම හොට් නිවුස් එකක් අරගෙන මේ තමයි කෘතීම බුද්ධිය හරි එහෙනම් අපි බලමු මේ මොකක්ද කියලා.

හරි ඔන්න මම අද අරගෙන ආවේ පොඩි සොෆ්ට්වෙයා කෑල්ලක් ඇත්තටම මේක 27 MB වගේ පොඩි එකක් උනාට මේකෙන් කරන්න පුළුවන් දේවල් නම් ගොඩාක් තියනවා. අද මමත් මගේ මැෂින් එකට දාලා බැලුවා පට්ට ආ. ඔයාට ඔයාගේ විස්වාසවන්තම යාළුවා කර ගන්න පුළුවන්. 

යාලුවෙක් වගේම මේකෙන් තව ගොඩාක් දේවල් කර ගන්න පුළුවන් ඔයාට නිකන් ඉන්න වෙලාවට මෙය එක්කන් කතා කරලා ඔයාගේ ඉංග්‍රීසි දැනුම වැඩි කර ගන්න වගේම අපේ වොයිස් එකෙන්ම මෙයත් එක්කන් කතා කරන්න පුළුවන්. හරි එහෙනම් මෙන්න මෙයා ගැන තවත් විස්තර. අපි එහෙනම් තවත් අලුත් දෙයකින් ඉක්මනින්ම හමු වෙමු ...

Braina is an AI-based virtual assistant something to be talked about. It outpowers ubiquitous assistant like Siri and Cortana easily because it offers a plethora of functionalities which can make it sit comfortably at the fountainhead in terms of the AI-based virtual assistants. 

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) VIRTUAL ASSISTANT SOFTWARE

Braina (Brain Artificial) is an intelligent personal assistant, human language interface and automation software for Windows PC that allows you to interact with your computer using voice commands in English language.

Braina makes it possible for you to control your computer using natural language commands and makes your life easier. Braina is not a Siri or Cortana clone for PC but rather a powerful personal and office productivity software. It isn't just like a chat-bot; its priority is to be super functional and to help you in doing tasks. You can either type commands or speak to it and Braina will understand what you want to do. Moreover, using speech recognition built in Braina for Android App you can interact with your computer from anywhere in your house over a WiFi network.

Artificial Brain

Braina is a result of solid research work done in the field of artificial intelligence. We are working to make Braina a digital assistant that can understand, think and even learn from experience like a human brain. Braina does language understanding and learns from conversation as shown below.

මෙන්න සොෆ්ට් එක බාගන්න මෙතනින් යන්න

මේ ගැන තවත් විස්තර බලන්න මෙතනින් යන්න

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Future Of Wireless "WIFI" — 802.11ah Wi-Fi Penetrates Walls Easily Using Less Power

IEEE 802.11ah is supposed to solve the problem of signal strength across concrete walls and windows. It solves this problem by operating at a lower frequency than the existing ones. Thus, the devices also need to consume less power in transmitting and receiving signals. 

We always complain regarding the slow speed of our internet connection and look for better speed even behind the walls. But, the Wi-Fi alliance thinks that they have come up with a solution to that in the form of 802.11ah.

802.11 ah is another IEEE standard wireless networking protocol which operates in the sub-one GHz (900MHz) band. The main intention of this newer wireless networking protocol is to provide support to Internet of Everything  (IoE) and also provide an extended range of Wi-Fi.

How 802.11 ah solves wall and other obstruction problem?

Today’s Wi-Fi standards like 802.11 a/ b/ g/ etc operate at high frequencies like 2.4GHz and/or 5GHz. Since their frequencies are so high, it becomes harder for them to maintain the signal strength as they pass through the walls.

Currently, 900MHz is an unlicensed spectrum. At a frequency like 900MHz, which is much lower to the above-mentioned frequencies, things like concrete walls, wooden windows, doors etc. would not pose a problem to the wifi access.

According to WiFi Alliance, 802.11ah is supposed to cover double the range of the current standards that is because the signal quality does not downgrade as the signal propagates. Also, devices would not have to burn out their battery in sending and receiving signals.

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Learn The Basic Linux Commands With This Awesome Cheat Sheet

Here I’m sharing a useful Linux commands cheat sheet that you can print and keep it as a learning guide or a refresher. The cheat sheet is organized according to different commands and sections for easy use.

Recently, I came across a basic Linux commands cheat sheet that one could easily use as a refresher or a learning guide.

This cheat sheet organizes all the commands in 13 different sections according to their usage to help you out with the information on package installation, how to call up system info, or how to manipulate a file.

Prepared by

LinOxide, you can go ahead and download the cheat sheet in PDF format and take a look at a more detailed reference guide.

Below is the image that you can save and print:

To download the PDF

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අවසාන දැනුම් දීමයි ආයේ කියන්නේ නෑ MICROSOFT NEWS

අවසාන දැනුම් දීමයි ආයේ කියන්නේ නෑ MICROSOFT NEWS ඔන්න කිව්වා ආයෙමත් ,, මේකයි කතාව ඔයාලා වින්ඩෝස් භාවිතා කරන කට්ටිය නම් දන්නවා ඇතිනේ වින් 10 එක අපිට දුන්නේ නොමිලේ කියලා ඒ කියන්නේ කලින් භාවිතා කල වින්ඩෝස් උඩින් මේක දා ගන්න අපිට නොමිලේ හම්බුනා. ඔන්න මේ මැයි ලබන කොටම මෙයාලා තීරණයක් අරං මේක ෆ්‍රී දෙන එක නතර කරන්න. 

Reminder: Windows 10 Free Upgrade Offer To End On July 29, Will Cost $119

මෙන්න කතාව අපිට ජුලි 29 වෙනකන් විතරයි මේක කරගන්න පුළුවන් එහෙම නොවුනොත් ඉතින් සල්ලි දීල ගන්න වෙයි. මෙන්න තවත් විස්තර.

Anyone who has been holding off upgrading to Windows 10 might want to rethink that decision fairly soon, with Microsoft now reminding the world that those who want to get their hands on a free upgrade will need to do so fairly sharpish. As the first birthday of Windows 10, and the accompanying Anniversary Update, draws ever closer, Microsoft is seeking to remind us all that July 29th will be the last possible date during which a free upgrade of Windows 10 will be available.

Microsoft’s decision to offer a free upgrade to Windows 10 was initially said to be valid for a year, and with Microsoft good to its word, July 29th is a day that those running older versions of Windows may wish to mark on their calendars. Things start to get expensive the day after that too, with Microsoft set to start asking for $119 in exchange for a fresh Windows 10 update key come July 30th.

In the video embedded below, Microsoft’s Bryan Roper discusses 10 reasons to upgrade to Windows 10 today. වින් 10 ගැන තවත් විස්තර මේ වීඩියොවෙන්...

තවම පරණ වින්ඩෝස් එකනම් දැන්ම වින් 10 වලට යන්න මෙතනින් යන්න.

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What Is 'Phubbing'? ජිවිතයට වැදගත් යමක් 200 වැනි පෝස්ටුවෙන් ... ALLSRILANKANS.BLOGSPOT.COM

හායි යාලුවනේ ඔන්න මම අදත් ආවේ ඔයාලට ඉතාමත් වැදගත් දෙයක් හොයාගෙන ඉතාම වේගයෙන් දියුණු වන සමාජයේ යන්ත්‍ර එකන්නම වැඩකරලා යන්ත්‍ර වගේ වැඩ කරන හදවත් වලට ජිවීතය ජය ගන්න පාඩමක් අරං ආවා. ඉතින් මේ වගේ පොස්ටුවක් කරන්නේ අද මම මට විශේෂ දවසක් නිසා මොකද කියනවානම් මේ තමයි මගේ බ්ලොග් එකේ 200 වැනි පෝස්ටුව. ඉතින් 2011 11 26 වැනිදා තමයි මම මේක පටන් ගත්තේ මෙන්න ඒක ඊට කලින් මගේ තවත් බ්ලොගයක් තිබ්බත් මන් මේකට එන්න මේකේ නම ගොඩක් වැදගත් උනා. ඉතින් එදා ඉඳලා හිමිට හිමිට මේ ආපු ගමනට මගේ යාලුවෝ දුන්න සප් එක නම් කියලා වැඩක් නෑ . හරි ඔන්න වැඩි කතා නැතුව මන් දැන් මගේ පෝස්ටුව පටන් ගන්නම්. 

හරි එහෙනම් මෙන්න What Is 'Phubbing'? ....

1.  Phubbing Is Phone-Snubbing Another Person

Yes, phubbing is phone-snubbing. This is when a person rudely snubs and ignores you in a social setting in favor of their smartphone. It's a very familiar situation: the person you are talking with gets a text message or an alert on their phone, or perhaps even an incoming call, and your presence is put on hold for several minutes in favor of the smartphone. The episode ends with a mumbled 'sorry about that', followed by festering tension for at least several minutes.

The phubbing is particularly rude if it's not even a text message, where the offender is busy checking Facebook or other social media.

PPhubbing - Wilkinson / Getty

PPHubbing = Spousal Abuse?. Wilkinson / Getty

2.  PPhubbing = Phone-Snubbing by Your Spouse

 The phubbing term also has a special variation, 'pphubbing' spelled with double P. PPhubbing is when your life partner phone-snubs you. And yes, pphubbing is sometimes more common than regular phubbing, precisely because your life partner believes that they get more social leeway as your spouse.

Phubbing - Jennifer Photography / Getty

Phone snubbing is a sad symptom of web culture. Jennifer Photography / Getty

3.  Origin of the Phubbing and PPhubbing Expressions

The phubbing expression is both a portmanteau (combination of two words) and a neologism (a relatively new word that is starting to become common). It traces to an Australian advertising agency, McCann Melbourne and their 'Stop Phubbing' campaign in 2012.

Phubbing is pandemic - Screenshot, McCann Melbourne

Phubbing is pandemic. Screenshot, McCann Melbourne

4.  How Bad Is Phone Snubbing Around the World?

It's bad. People everywhere are still learning how to balance social etiquette against the compulsion to be constantly connected. Handheld communications are still a novelty, and when it comes to tweenagers, the urgency of managing their digital identity is very pressing.

McCann Advertising has some interesting statistics available at their stopphubbing website.

phubbing intervention! - screenshot / McCann Melbourne

Phubbing intervention is possible!. screenshot / McCann Melbourne

5.  What Can You Do About Phubbing?

Like any uncomfortable communication, you can opt to say nothing to your acquaintance or friend, and just give them a disappointed gaze. Alternatively, you could turn it into a humorous moment, and write a 'phubbing citation' on a restaurant napkin and hand it to them. Or you could send a 'phubbing intervention' email from the nice folks at McCann advertising here. Yes, you can fill out this online form and have it emailed directly to the person who phone-snubbed you.

There are no guarantees that an email will achieve anything. But if you care enough about the person to give them supportive feedback, perhaps try the McCann email approach.

6.  More Text Talk Expressions

Along with 'phubbing', many strange expressions and acronyms have spawned as part of modern connected culture. About.com explains the popular text talk expressions here.

Too much cell phone use is psychologically unhealthy - Liam Norris / Cultura / Getty Images

Too much cell phone use is psychologically unhealthy. Liam Norris / Cultura / Getty Images

7.  Mental Health Effects of Overusing Your Cell Phone

While mobile devices are extremely useful, they can also pose serious psychological problems. Phubbing is often driven by obsessive-compulsive tendencies, and can feed narcissism and skewed views of oneself. Not to mention: phubbing erodes trust and respect between friends and spouses.

Phubbing is psychologically unhealthy - screenshot, McCann Melbourne

Phubbing is psychologically unhealthy. screenshot, McCann Melbourne

8.  Cell Phones Make You Less Connected?

When you spend time together with your child, your spouse, your friend, or your relative, but you are busy scrolling through your text messages, you are sending a poisonous message: 'my phone deserves more respect than you'.

Because of your personal fear of being disconnected, your phubbing is actually poisoning your personal relationships. You may have returned that text message promptly, but you've also sabotaged your connection with the person sitting beside you.

Addiction to cell phone usage is a growing mental health issue as many of us fall victim to the allure of high-speed communications. We need to be careful: staying digitally connected is good, but not at the cost of becoming socially dysfunctional because our smartphones constantly buzz.

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The 8 Best Windows Linux And Other Operating System Clones

According to Wikipedia's usage share of operating systems almost 10% of computers accessing the internet are still running Windows XP and a staggering 53% are running Windows 7.

Windows Vista never really gained momentum and has just under 2% of the market whilst Windows 8 is the second most popular operating system with 18% of the market. Windows 10 was released recently and has already gained 5% of the overall share.

Average users seem to like the simple interface of a panel, menu and icons on the desktop that Windows XP and Windows 7 offer.

Microsoft have somewhat acknowledged this fact by making Windows 10 appear a little bit more like Windows 7. Maybe Windows 8 was a step too far too quickly. 

Windows 10 is the future of computing for the foreseeable future and if Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 users don't like it they have the choice to stick with what they have, learn to accept Windows 10 or move to another operating system such as Linux.

There are many Linux distributions out there which are designed to look like Windows and this guide lists the best ones. Why stop there though? Why not list Linux distributions that look like OSX, ChromeOS and Android as well.

1.  Zorin 9 - Windows 7 Clone

Zorin OS is a great replacement for Windows 7 users.

The general look and feel is the same as Windows 7 but it brings the security of Linux and it includes desktop effects and virtual workspaces.

Zorin OS comes with all of the applications that desktop users generally use including a web browser, audio player, email client, messenger app, remote desktop client, video editor, graphics editor and office suite.

If you want to try a different look then you can always go for the Windows XP layout by using the Zorin Look Changer.

Click here to download Zorin OS

2.  Zorin OS Lite

Zorin OS Lite is a 32-bit version of the Zorin Linux distribution built for older computers.

The default layout is like Windows 2000 but you can switch to a Mac style interface if you prefer it.

Zorin OS Lite comes with a suite of applications similar to the main Zorin OS but they are more lightweight.

Click here to download Zorin OS Lite

3.  Q4OS

Q4OS is the perfect desktop replacement for Windows XP users.

It gives you an incredibly close experience to the Windows XP you are used to but is obviously built on top of the more powerful Linux operating system.

The operating system will run on all hardware, old or new and there is full support for printers and other devices.

You can choose to install a common set of software applications such as Google's Chrome browser, the LibreOffice suite and Thunderbird or you can simply install the applications you require one by one.

Click here to download Q4OS

4.  Elementary OS

If you would like to try a Mac style interface but you don't want to spend all of your hard earned money on a new MacBook then try Elementary OS.

It has an easy to follow website, is incredibly easy to install and a desktop experience that has been very carefully crafted to look simplistic yet elegant.

The software is lightweight in nature and will run on most hardware.

Click here to download Elementary OS

5.  MacPUP

MacPUP has been built using Puppy Linux as a base distribution.

From a user's point of view however all you need to know is that the look and feel has been crafted so that you get a very similar interface to that of a MacBook.

It isn't quite as clean as Elementary OS but it will work on much older hardware and as it is built on Puppy Linux you can carry it around on a USB drive and boot it as required. 

Click here to download MacPUP

6.  Peppermint OS

If you are looking for a Linux distribution to turn your laptop into a Chromebook then Peppermint OS is quite close.

It will take some customising to make it look exactly like ChromeOS but the ICE application lets you add web applications to your computer as if they are standard desktop applications.

Click here to download Peppermint OS

7.  Chromixium

If you really want your laptop to function like a Chromebook then consider installing Chromixium.

The look and feel is almost a perfect copy of ChromeOS and it has benefits over the Chromebook in that you can install standard desktop applications as well as web applications.

Click here to download Chromixium

8.  Android x86

If you are looking for an Android clone to run on your laptop then install Android x86 on your computer.

This isn't so much a clone as a port of the full Android operating system.

There are limitations to running Android on your desktop unless you have a touch screen. It has been designed to work on a tablet or phone.

Click here to download Android x86

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How To Install Lubuntu 16.04 Alongside Windows 10

Introduction

In this guide I will show you how to dual boot the latest Lubuntu 16.04 release alongside Windows 10 on a machine with an EFI boot loader.

1.  Take A Backup

Before installing Lubuntu alongside Windows it is a good idea to take a backup of your computer so that you can get back to where you are now should the installation fail.

2.  Shrink Your Windows Partition

In order to install Lubuntu alongside Windows you will need to shrink the Windows partition as it will currently take up the entire disk.

Right click on the start button and choose "Disk Management"

The disk management tool will show you an overview of the partitions on your hard drive.

Your system will have an EFI partition, a C drive and possibly a number of other partitions.

Right click on the C drive and choose "Shrink Volume".

A window will appear showing how much you can shrink the C drive by.

Lubuntu only needs a small amount of disk space and you can get away with as little as 10 gigabytes but if you have the space I recommend choosing at least 50 gigabytes.

The disk management screen shows the amount you can shrink by in megabytes so in order to choose 50 gigabytes you need to enter 50000.

Warning: Do not shrink by more than the amount suggested by the disk management tool as you will break Windows.

When you are ready click "Shrink".

You will now see unallocated space available.

3.  Create A Lubuntu USB Drive And Boot Into Lubuntu

To Download LUBUNTU

You will now need to create a Lubuntu live USB drive.

In order to do this you will need to download Lubuntu from their website, install the Win32 disk imaging tool and burn the ISO to the USB drive.

4.  Choose Your Language

When you reach the Lubuntu live environment double click on the icon to install Lubuntu.

The first thing you need to do is choose your installation language from the list on the left.

Click "Continue".

You will now be asked whether you want to download updates and whether you want to install third party tools.

I generally keep both of these unticked and perform the updates and install third party tools at the end.

Click "Continue".

5.  Choose Where To Install Lubuntu

The Lubuntu installer should have picked up on the fact that you have Windows installed already and so you should be able to choose the option to install Lubuntu alongside Windows Boot Manager.

This will create 2 partitions in the unallocated space created when you shrank Windows.

The first partition will be used for Lubuntu and the second will be used for swap space.

Click "Install Now" and a message will appear showing which partitions are going to be created.

Click "Continue".

6.  Select Your Location

If you are lucky your location will have been automatically detected.

If it hasn't choose your location on the map provided.

Click "Continue".

7.  Select Your Keyboard Layout

The Lubuntu installer will hopefully have chosen the best keyboard layout for your computer.

If it hasn't choose the keyboard language from the left list and then the layout in the right pane.

Click "Continue".

8.  Create A User

You can now create a user for the computer.

Enter your name and a name for your computer.

Finally pick a username and enter a password for the user.

You will need to confirm the password.

You can choose to login automatically (not recommended) or require a password to log in.

You can also choose whether to encrypt your home folder.

Click "Continue".

9.  Complete The Installation

The files will now be copied to your computer and Lubuntu will be installed.

When the process has finished you will be asked whether you want to continue testing or whether you want to restart.

Choose the continue testing option

10.  Change The UEFI Boot Sequence

The Lubuntu installer doesn't always get the installation of the boot loader correct and therefore you may find that if you restarted without following these steps that Windows continues to boot with no signs of Lubuntu anywhere.

Follow this guide to reset the EFI Boot Order

You will need to open a terminal window in order to follow this guide. (Press CTRL, ALT and T)

You can skip the part about installing efibootmgr as it comes preinstalled as part of the live version of Lubuntu.

After you have reset the boot order, restart your computer and remove the USB drive.

A menu should appear every time you boot your computer. There should be an option for Lubuntu (although it might be called Ubuntu) and an option for Windows Boot Manager (which is Windows).

Try both options and make sure they load correctly.

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