How to Open Files that have Unknown Extensions

Extensions, or the characters that precede the last period in a file name, help you determine the type of a file (is it an image, a video or something else) and you immediately know which software program is required to preview that file.

However, you may sometimes come across files that either have unknown extensions or don’t have any extension at all. How do you then determine the associated application that is required to open a file when you don’t recognize the file type itself?


Research Unknown File Extensions with Wolfram

The first thing you are likely to do is “google” for the file extension but there is an easier open as well. Go to Wolfram Alpha and just search for the file extension with the dot (or period) – see example.

Wolfram won’t just reveal the technical details of that file extension – like the developer and MIME type – but also generates a list of software programs that you may use to open that file on your computer – see sample results.
Identifying Files that don’t have an Extension

If a file doesn’t have an extension, you can still identify the format of that file from its signature. All known file types have a standard and unique signature and this data is stored in the file itself. There are programs that can read this signature* and determine the file format even if the extension is missing from the file name.

The most popular program in the category of file identifiers is TrIDNet. First download and unzip the TrIDNet utility and the associated XML definition files in the same directory. Then open the TrIDNet.exe file, press the “Rescan Defs” button to load the file signatures (you only need to do this once) and then drag-drop any unknown files that you wish to analyze.



It will show the different file types that match with the file’s signature and you can then use Wolfram Alpha again to learn about the different programs that can be used to open that particular file type. Do remember to rename the files after identification (press F2, prefix a dot with the extension).

How To Access Files Of Your Computer From Anywhere

The problem: You have documents, photos, music and other important files on the home computer. How can you “remotely access” these files from your office computer or, when you are travelling, from your mobile phone?

The solution: The simplest solution would be that you copy all your data from the home computer on to a portable hard drive and carry it around but this is obviously a bit cumbersome approach as it requires you to manually sync the home computer and your portable disk.

Delay of One X, EVO 4G LTE. HTC-Apple Dispute

HTC One smartphone

Apple succeeded a narrow victory over HTC in a patent lawsuit in December over technology in the smartphones, one of many such disputes in the fiercely competitive smartphone market.

HTC said in a statement on Wednesday that "the US availability of the HTC One X and HTC EVO 4G LTE has been delayed due to a standard US Customs review of shipments that is required after an ITC ( International Trade Commission) exclusion order".


Under that ruling, HTC phones with the disputed technology would be banned from entering the US from April 19. HTC has said that it has a workaround in its new phones to avoid the technology. The shipments still require inspection however.

Human-Centred Education

It does not take much practice at entering the consciousness of a young child to discover several things. The world, to a child’s consciousness, is wonderfully fresh and new, and wonderfully exciting. What is more, young children, before they enter school, have an incredible lust to learn. It is this desire that draws them upright and teaches them to walk and talk, and urges them to ask the incessant questions that normally drive adults to distraction.


But how long do these aspects of the child’s consciousness survive the normal educational environment? Maybe a year or two ― at most.


Extract from


Education for Freedom by Garry Richardson


(back cover 1985 edition)


During the last century there has been an intensifying interest in the ways in which we teach children to learn. In that time a transformation has taken place: from treating children as an empty slate which parents and educators can inscribe to a central concern with the natural learning processes of children. There are many people and movements who have contributed to this change: Rudolf Steiner’s philosophy and ideas; Piaget’s ‘genetic epistemology’ emphasizing how humans acquire knowledge; Montessori’s emphasis on creativity and independence as the learning experience for children; and Ivan Illich’s notion of ‘de-schooling’, learning webs and life-long learning. These are just a few examples. This paper is based on my belief that human-centred education provides the best focus on the intrinsic learning needs of young children – needs which are inseparable from the children’s desire to express their growing understanding of the world in a creative way.

Android Or iPhone

      When you are going to buy a smart phone choosing between Android and Iphone  isn't a simple task.   While both phones offer a lot of great features and apps, they may seem so similar that it's hard to distinguish between them. If we look closely we will find some key differences. The First Thing is the hardware.

1)Hardware:

     Iphone is manufactured by single unit Apple, where as android phones are manufactured by many phone makers (hTc, samsung, LG, Motorola and many more).Apple is the only company that makes iPhones, giving it extremely tight control over how the software and hardware work together. But in android there are many. As a result, Android phones vary quite a bit in size, weight, features, user experience, and quality.

It’s not uncommon to hear that some Android phones regularly overheat or freeze up or that some models are simply low quality. This inconsistency of quality isn’t an issue for the iPhone.