The Observer

Tatkal Reservation Changes from Monday, November 21, 2011

2011-11-21T13:36:00.001+05:30

1. The Advance Reservation Period (ARP) of Tatkal scheme is reduced from two days to one day excluding the day of journey from the train originating station. For example, if train is to depart from the originating station on the second of the month, the Tatkal quota booking for that particular train will open at 08:00 hrs on the first of the month from originating station.

2. For booking Tatkal e-tickets, the passenger shall enter the ID proof type and number, which is to be used for travel. These details will be printed on the ERS/VRM as well as in the reservation chart.

3. During the journey, the passenger, whose identity card number has been indicated on the ticket, will have to produce original proof of identity indicated on the ticket, failing which all the passengers booked on the ticket shall be treated as travelling without ticket and charged accordingly.

4. Maximum of four passengers per PNR can be booked on Tatkal e-tickets.

5. No refund will be granted on cancellation of confirmed Tatkal ticket except in case of circumstance mentioned in para 2 of instructions contained in Commercial Circular no. 53 of 2006 issued vide letter no. 2006/TGI-I/20/P/Tatkal, dated 30.06.2006.

(From: https://www.irctc.co.in/alert_updates.htm )

Indian mobile payments

2011-10-17T13:15:00.001+05:30

(This is the unedited version of my column Come Again that appeared in The Hindu Business Line)

When Google announced its mobile payment services Google Wallet, it created ripples all over the world. And when there was news about Google releasing an update for Android with Google Wallet, I was one of those eagerly awaiting it. Then II realised the update was not for India.

The only consolation I had was that I was already using mobile payments right here in India. I had the NG Pay and Atom apps installed in my Nexus S. I could pay utility services, buy products, recharge my mobile or DTH connections or get train or movie tickets through the two apps. I had also used mChek occasionally, but only for paying Airtel bills. These services used my bank or credit card account for payment.

Another good service was Paymate. Unlike the services mentioned above, I had to ‘load’ the money to my Paymate account or ‘buy’ vouchers and then use my mobile to make payments. I could also gift money to other mobile users. Though the service was slightly confusing at first -- I had to log in at the sister site Giftmate to load or gift the money -- I got used to it. It was working well, till I changed my mobile number. Though the customer care kept assuring me that the money in the old account would be transferred to the new number, nothing happened. Giftmate (or is it Paymate) still has my money -- though not much-- but I can’t use it.

Then came Airtel Money. Like Paymate, you have to load money into your Airtel Money account and use it to pay bills and buy movie tickets apart from recharging prepaid mobiles and DTH connections. The additional advantage with Airtel Money is that you can also make payments in shops that have tied up with Airtel Money.

But the surprise package here is our humble Post Office! The postal department, often derided for sloppy service, has a service called Beam that is similar to Airtel Money.

Once you register in Beam, you can load money into your Beam account through post offices or online (beam.co.in) and use it to book train tickets, recharge mobile and DTH accounts, and make utility bill payments. The service has just been launched and will soon include payments for online shopping or at physical stores.

I was sceptical while registering for the service, but was pleasantly surprised to find that the registration process was so easy. I loaded a token amount and found that my account was credited within seconds. Now my respect for the humble post office has gone up several notches!

So, as Google takes it’s own sweet time to bring Google Wallet to India, I am glad that I have my desi wallet services to fall back upon.

iPhone4 vs iPhone4S

2011-10-05T15:47:00.001+05:30

This graphic is from Huffington Post. Explains the differences between iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S

Nexus and Android updates

2011-10-03T13:43:00.001+05:30

The good thing about owning a Nexus (One or S, and soon Prime), is that you get update almost immediately after it is released by Google.

This is because the Nexus range runs Google's Android software. The difference between the Android OS found in other phones and the one in the Nexus range is that the latter has 'pure' Android -- without any bells and whistles, while other Android phones have customisations by the companies.

This means that because of the extras packed in by other mobile companies in their Android versions, the updates released by Google for Android will have to be modified suitably so that they don't affect the customisations. Because Nexus phones have no extra bloatware or customisations, any update released by Google can straightaway be installed.

Even for Nexus phones, the updates may take a week or two to be rolled out for all phones. But whenever it is available, you can just download and install them. You get a notification that a 'system update is available'. All you have to do is to install it.

The same update can take even months to hit other Android phones. And some phones may just not get the update.

Testing multiple photo post from Twitter.

2011-07-23T16:03:00.001+05:30

via twidroyd

Testing multiple photo post from Twitter.

2011-07-23T16:02:00.001+05:30

via twidroyd

Pick your favorite inbox style in Gmail

2011-07-09T13:03:00.001+05:30

(As in Gmail's blog)

Ever felt like there should be a better way to manage your inbox? There are already lots of different ways: some people read everything, some mark messages they need to take action on with stars, and others like to have their important email separated from the rest automatically — something Gmail started offering last year with Priority Inbox.

Over the coming weeks, we're rolling out several new inbox styles to help you manage your mail in the way that works best for you. Once it’s turned on for your account, you can easily choose a style from the tabs at the top of your inbox:

Classic - This is the default inbox style most people are used to. In the Classic inbox, messages are ordered chronologically, with your most recent email at the top.
Priority Inbox - Important and unread messages appear at the top of your inbox, then starred messages, then everything else. Each section can be customized further, so you can create your own inbox style.
Important first - This style puts important mail at the top of the page (both read and unread messages). Everything else is in its own section at the bottom of your inbox. You may have noticed that we turned on importance arrows for everyone a few weeks ago; this inbox style separates messages with these arrows from those without.
Unread first - Simple: unread mail at the top; everything else at the bottom.
Starred first - Starred messages at the top; everything else at the bottom.

After you've settled on a style you like and used it for about a week, these tabs will go away, You can always change your inbox style from the drop down menu next to the Inbox label or from theSettings page.

So try on a new inbox style and see what fits you best!

UGC says Arindam Chaudhuri's IIPM

2011-06-25T14:27:00.001+05:30

The University Grants Commission says Arindam Chaudhuri's IIPM is NOT an university and does NOT have the right of conferring or granting degrees.

Pasting images into messages into Gmail just got easier

2011-06-17T12:19:00.001+05:30

This is from Gmail's blog:

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and people certainly like to spice up their emails with images. A while back, Gmail started making this easier by letting you drop images from your desktop right into the compose window.

Now, when you’re running the latest version of Google Chrome, you can paste images right from your clipboard too. So if you copy an image from the web or another email, you can paste it right into your message. This is especially handy for passing around screenshots — you don’t have to save the files any more (I’ve been using Command-Control-Shift-4 on my Mac to save screenshots directly to the clipboard). While this currently only works in Chrome, we hope to enable it on other browsers soon.

Testing from Android

2011-06-17T12:12:00.001+05:30

Testing Posterous cross-posting from Android.

Video chat with Facebook, Twitter friends

2010-12-14T16:00:00.001+05:30

My piece on how to video chat with your Facebook and Twitter friends appeared in The Hindu Business Line. You can find the Link below:

In chat mode

Invite for my daughter's Bharata Natyam performance

2010-10-25T12:22:00.000+05:30

Early birds

2010-09-25T11:41:00.001+05:30

The bookings for Rajnikant starrer Enthiran (Robot) opened today. There were queues outside all theatres as early as 7.30 am. (The counters opened at 9 am). There were people waiting outside all the gates of Express Avenue, which has Satyam's Escape screens. The picture you see is outside one of the many gates.

2010-08-31T15:19:00.001+05:30

GMAIL to roll out priority inbox soon http://bit.ly/cK1QwT http://bit.ly/cs5WEJ

2010-08-23T13:13:00.001+05:30

My piece in Business Line's eWorld: IT delivers http://bit.ly/aVMVgP #shopping #online #ebay http://bit.ly/cPaiSW

MPs not happy with 300 percent hike, want more

2010-08-20T14:26:00.001+05:30

URL: http://news.rediff.com/report/2010/aug/20/mps-not-happy...

Poor MPs. I feel sorry for them. How can they survive with such small salaries? They must have at least 1000 per cent hike every year. :(

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/dyrKIF

No cash

2010-08-02T14:16:00.005+05:30

The sheet pasted on the door says 'No cash'. This is a common sight in the first week of every month.
This is not restricted to PSU banks. Even private banks fail miserably in replenishing cash in ATMs.

Banners

2010-08-02T14:16:00.003+05:30

The Chennai Mayor has sent a 'strong' warning against putting up advertisement banners. He says the banners also promote English. Of course, there seem to be exemptions:
1. If they are by political parties, especially allies;
2. If they don't 'promote' English.

Familiar sight, but in a posh area

2010-08-02T14:16:00.001+05:30

This is a familiar sight in Chennai. This picture shows that even posh areas are not immune to Neel Metal Fanalca's inefficiency.
Place: Desika Road, Mylapore.

About Opera

2010-07-06T12:27:00.001+05:30

I wrote about the Opera browser in the eWorld supplement of The Hindu Business Line.

You can find it here: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/ew/2010/07/05/stories/2010070550030100.htm

Technorati Tags: Opera,browser,Internet,Internet Explorer,Mozilla Firefox,Google Chrome,Apple Safari

Tirupati : Darshan and other controversies

2010-06-30T15:26:00.001+05:30

It is the richest temple in the country. Millions of devotees come every day to Tirupati in the State of Andhra Pradesh in India to have a glimpse of the presiding deity – Venkateshwara or Balaji. You can’t call it a darshan or or prayer by any stretch of imagination, because the devotees are not allowed to stay beyond a few seconds at the sanctum sanctorum. Even the few seconds they stay are not peaceful. The devotees – some who even trek up the hill, are rudely pushed or pulled away by the security. It beats me how such an extremely rough behaviour can be allowed at all – more so in a religious place. It is one thing to ask the devotees to move on, but brusquely shoving devotees away with force seems to be a fit case for human rights action. Come to think of it, according to our dharma, a bhakta is supposed to be greater than God.

Even the place where the devotees get the treatment is not exactly the sanctum sanctorum. They are not allowed anywhere near the idol. The idol is a good 50 meters away from where the devotees are allowed to ‘worship’ (if you can call the exercise that).

The ‘ease’ at which the devotees can get ‘access’ to the sanctum sanctorum also depends on the financial ‘strength’ of the devotees. If they can shell out Rs 300, the devotees are allowed a freer access. If the devotees are poor and can afford to spend only Rs 50, they have to stand in a bigger queue. If the devotee is too poor to pay anything, he has to stand in a separate queue for a period that sometimes exceeds even eight hours!

The ‘Lord of the Seven Hills’ as the deity is also called, also accepts recommendations. If the devotee can catch hold of a Member of Parliament of India or a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Andhra Pradesh, a letter of recommendation from the worthies will enable him to skip all the three queues and get direct access to the sanctum sanctorum -- well beyond the area where other ‘commoners’ are allowed.

I even saw a bhattar giving Sadari with his right hand and keeping his left hand open, clutching a bunch of currency notes – indirectly asking you to add to his collection. He doesn’t even realise that he is accepting something in his left hand – something not done according to Hinduism. I don’t know the yardstick by which he is called a ‘priest’.

It is not uncommon to see the devotees who have paid Rs 300 or Rs 50 to fret and fume every time a VIP or VVIP disrupts their ‘darshan’. But what they don’t realise is that those who cannot afford the tickets and are standing in the free darshan queue for hours together, have the same feelings towards those who beat them to the Lord by purchasing ‘quick access’ tickets. It is sad that access to God depends on your affordability in temples where everyone is supposed to be equal before the Lord.

If you have any belief about ‘punya’ and ‘paapa’ , a lecture by a pious man 25 years ago in Srirangam (please believe me… I am an Iyengar from Srirangam) comes to my mind. What he said was this:

“You can afford the tickets, so you get one and get 'special access’. But those who have been standing in the free queue for hours together are not going to be amused by your act. They may abuse you or even curse you for interrupting and delaying their access. And the very fact that you are delaying them by cutting into their path itself is wrong and is a sin. So whatever punya you may get by visiting the temple will get negated by the paapam and heart-felt abuses you get from the poor.”

Then, how do you manage the crowds? My feeling is that many of us who go ‘comfortably’ to Tirupati, stay in an air-conditioned room and barge in with a Rs 300 ticket will stop coming to the temple if forced to stand in the common queue. Which means the crowd will comprise just the genuine devotees, and the drop in the number of devotees is likely to be in the region of almost 60 per cent. The crowd will come down even if those who go there like a picnic stop doing it.

If you have a Rs 300 ticket, you are entitled to get two ladoos, which is the prasad. If you want more, you have buy it in the black market. Black market in a temple? Yes. The amount can go even up to Rs 500 per laddu, depending on the availability, your desperation and what you can afford. If you want the ladoos in a plastic bag, you have to shell out Rs 2 for bag that will hardly cost 50 paise. What is sad is that we don’t think twice before buying the extra ladoos in the black market.

Even the temple precincts cry for attention. Devotees sleep, eat and even wash themselves inside the temple mandaps. One is not sure whether he is stepping on water, spit or even urine. I saw at least a couple of kids pissing near a mandap. So much for the ‘sanctity’. It is sad that the country’s richest temple is least bothered about keeping the premises clean. May be, the accent is on earning revenues and not on spending on ‘trivial’ things like cleanliness.

We say God is everywhere. Even if you are comfortable to ‘see’ him only in a temple, why do we ignore thousands of smaller temples spread over our country? There are ancient temples that get hardly any visitor, and therefore have zero revenue. Some archakas and bhattars in these temples can’t even make both ends meet. Why do we concentrate more on Tirupati?

Technorati Tags: Tirupati,Balaji,Venkateshwara,darshan,scam,fraud,Hinduism,temple

Osho on true religion

2010-06-08T12:20:00.001+05:30

Osho says:

Religion is not what people understand it to be. It is not Chrisitianity, it is not Hinduism, it is not Mohammedanism. The so called religion is a dead rock.
I teach you not religion, but religiousness -- a flowing river, continuously changing its course, but ultimately reaching the ocean.
A rock may be very ancient, far more experienced, far older than any Rigveda , but rock is a rock, and it is dead. It does not move with the seasons, it does not move with existence; it is simply lying there. And have you seen any rock with any song, with any dance?
To me religion is a quality, not an organisation.
All the religions which exist in the world -- and they are not a small number, there are three hundred religions in the world -- are dead rocks. They don't flow, they don't change, they don't move with the times. And anything that is dead is not going to help you -- unless you want to make a grave, and then perhaps the rock may be helpful.
All the so-called religions have been making graves for you, destroying your life, your love, your joy, and filling your heads with fantasies, illusions, hallucinations about God, about heaven and hell, about reincarnation, and all kinds of crap.

SATYAM-SHIVAM-SUNDARAM : Session 13

Technorati Tags: Osho,religion,philosophy

Milk Booth?

2010-05-19T07:06:00.001+05:30

This is supposed to be a Aavin milk booth in Chennai (booth no. 115, Pycrofts I street).
The poor guys manning the booth have no protection against the vagaries of the weather. There was a run-down structure resembling booth earlier, but one fine day, it disappeared.
Even Government bodies seem to be motivated only by profits. Employees or consumers come low in the priority order.

E72 firmware upgrade to 31.023

2010-05-17T13:38:00.001+05:30

I upgraded the software in my E72 from 21.024 to 31.023 today. Though there were warnings in Nokia forums about problems with the upgrade, I decided to go ahead with it. My ‘courage’ won. I have none of the problems faced by those in the forum.

The upgrade installs a few apps like the long-awaited Internet Radio (inside the radio app), a connectivity app, a Bloomberg app and a separate Ovi sync app.

The nice thing about upgrading the firmware in E72 compared E71 is that all the apps you have installed in your phone remain. In the E71, I had to install all the apps all over again after each firmware upgrade.

Technorati Tags: E72,firmware,31.023,21.024,software,Nokia

Sharp fall in Tata Indicom customer service

2010-03-13T19:23:00.001+05:30

There has been a sharp drop in Tata Indicom’s customer service levels. The Customer Care doesn’t respond properly. The next level – the Nodal Authority – never even bothers to reply. Don’t be surprised if you get a legal notice, as I have.

If you ever face a with Tata Indicom, lodge a complaint. It it is not resolved, stop the service and surrender the instrument. Don’t expect the higher levels – Nodal Authority or Appellate Authority – to come to your rescue.

Sorry for a company that used to top in customer satisfaction.

Technorati Tags: Tata Indicom,Tata Indicom Photon,Photon Plus,customer service,Nodal Authority,Tata Nodal Authority,Appelate Authority,Photon,legal notice

LiveJournal Tags: Tata Indicom,Tata Indicom Photon,Photon Plus,customer service,Nodal Authority,Tata Nodal Authority,Appelate Authority

Sharp fall in Tata Indicom customer service

2010-03-13T19:17:00.001+05:30

Sorry for a company that used to top in customer satisfaction.

Technorati Tags: Tata Indicom,Tata Indicom Photon,Photon Plus,customer service,Nodal Authority,Tata Nodal Authority,Appelate Authority,Photon,legal notice

LiveJournal Tags: Tata Indicom,Tata Indicom Photon,Photon Plus,customer service,Nodal Authority,Tata Nodal Authority,Appelate Authority

Encroachments around GP Road

2010-03-11T12:45:00.001+05:30

View Full Album

General Patters Road, or GP Road, as it is popularly knows is just 1/2 km away from the new Tamil Nadu Assembly complex. It is a wholesale market for automobile spare parts.

As you enter the bylanes and roads from GP Road, you can find heavy machinery and all sorts of auto parts including tyres, radiators and even engines strewn along the roads. As the machinery and auto components are huge, they occupy almost 50 per cent of the road space. There seems to be hardly any monitoring or enforcement.

The guys strolling around these shops are mostly hoodlums from the slums around the area. Though it is just 1/2 km away from the spanking new Assembly complex that is coming up, it is surprising the law enforcing agencies have so far turned a blind eye to the area. If anybody enters the area by mistake after viewing the Assembly complex, he is sure to suffer a stroke and collapse. So stark is the contrast.

Flickr Tags: GP Road,General Patters Road,Assembly complex,Secretariat,Chennai,Tamil Nadu,automobile,spare parts,junk,encroachment

Technorati Tags: GP Road,General Patters Road,Assembly complex,Secretariat,Chennai,Tamil Nadu,automobile,spare parts,junk,encroachment

G.ho.st shuts down

2010-03-03T14:16:00.001+05:30

One more online service has gone phut. G.ho.st, an online OS service that also provided email and storage services, is closing. G.ho.st has sent this email to its subscribers:

Dear Ghost User,

We hope you have been enjoying our free Ghost service. Regrettably changes in the marketplace mean that it is no longer economical for us to host the Ghost service and we will be closing down the service on or around March 15. We will instead be focusing on licensing or selling our technology to larger companies.

We advise you to migrate ALL important folders, files and emails to another secure place before March 15. You might like to consider Google Docs or Microsoft SkyDrive for files and services such as Gmail or Yahoo! Mail for email. Some instructions for migrating data are included below.

We are really sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you and are very grateful for the fantastic support we had from our community.

del.icio.us Tags: g.ho.st,online,OS,file sharing,email

Technorati Tags: g.ho.st,online,file sharing,os

Waiting for an epidemic?

2010-01-13T07:31:00.001+05:30

This is the scene at Pycrofts I Street at Royapettah in Chennai. The road is bang opposite the upcoming Express Avenue shopping mall-cum-multiplex complex.
There is no garbage bin. The Neel Metal Fanalca guys just burn the garbage once in few days.
And there is the grand talk of singara (beautiful) Chennai.

Where's the bin?

2009-12-29T22:17:00.003+05:30

Waiting for an epidemic? Scene at Pycrofts I Street.

Where's the bin?

2009-12-29T22:17:00.001+05:30

Parampara and tulasi

2009-12-16T17:21:00.001+05:30

I happened to attend a programme by Parampara recently at their Alwarpet HQ to popularise tulasi / tulsi (Holy Basil). Though their intentions may be noble, I was stunned by the lack of sensitivity of the organisers.

A few school girls had come in their full dance costume. I saw one of them struggling to find out where to go and wait. All the organisers were busy welcoming and attending to the VVIPs such as Suhasini Maniratnam and Vyjanimala Bali. There was none to help the poor girl. Finally her teacher, who was in the audience, noticed her and asked her to come and sit near her.

There were some technical hitches with the ancient sound system, which is normal. But I was surprised to see the Parampara chief shouting at the sound system guy in full view of the crowd. I also saw her telling one of her assistants that it was getting late and there was no need for “these dance programmes”. This happened in full earshot of a poor kid waiting to dance.

I saw the father of the same kid asking the organisers (including the chief) after the programme for a place for his daughter to change her dress. While one of the organisers was kind enough to ask for a few minutes’ time, the chief almost brushed him aside!

There is no point in trying to promote what is a noble concept if you can’t understand the sensitivities of human beings, especially children. I feel the main reason for all these were the presence of too many VVIPs and VIPs. The organisers were so busy attending to them that they hardly realised they were doing it at the cost of hurting others.

LiveJournal Tags: Parampara,tulasi,tulsi,Holy Basil,Pothys

Technorati Tags: Parampara,tulasi,tulsi,Holy Basil,Pothys

Facebook Rolls Out New, Simplified, and Improved Privacy Features

2009-12-10T18:15:00.001+05:30

(from Lifehacker)

There's been a lot of talk recently about Facebook and privacy (with good reason), but the settings weren't always user-friendly. Today, Facebook began rolling out their new simplified, yet feature-rich security settings to keep its users on top of their privacy.

It doesn't appear to be out for all accounts yet (my account has yet to change), but if your account has been switched, you should be prompted to set your security settings as soon as you log in. In fact, it will keep bugging you until you do set them—forcing users to take an active role in their privacy (which, for the many users who haven't even looked at their privacy settings since 2005, is probably a good thing).

The settings in the wizard have been narrowed down a lot to avoid confusion, and really only give you two choices—Facebook's recommended setting for that feature, or your old settings. However, once you go through the wizard, you will have a new feature on your profile that allows you to set who can see each individual status update, wall post, or any other individual post you make: everyone, friends of friends, only friends, or something more specific (blocking certain people, for example). Regional networks have been done away with in favor of this simpler "friends of friends" approach that, with how large networks have become since the college-only days, makes quite a bit more sense. What do you all think of the new privacy features? Sound off in the comments.

New Tools to Control Your Experience [Facebook Blog via CNET]

Red light? It's only on my car

2009-10-01T08:13:00.001+05:30

The Government official feels the red light on his car over-rides the one on the road.

Expensive ‘tribute’ to a simple man

2009-09-30T12:37:00.001+05:30

Montblanc has launched a gold, rhodium-plated nib pen costing (hold your breath) Rs 11 lakh in memory of – of all persons – Mahatma Gandhi!

A company report says the series was being produced as a tribute to the many people who had followed the Mahatma.

I remember reading Gandhiji once searched desperately for a small pencil stub. He did not want to even waste a small stub.

What sort of tribute is this? Montblanc is using the Mahatma to sell its products – that too such a stinkingly-expensive pen.

And guess who launched the luxury pen? It’s Tushar Gandhi, the Mahatma’s great grandson! It is not enough if you have the Mahatma’s name, and you are also his great grandson.

Mr Tushar Gandhi, great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, displays the Mahatma Gandhi Limited Edition Montblanc pen in Mumbai on Tuesday. The 18K gold, rhodium-plated nib pen priced at Rs 11 lakh displays an intricate, hand engraved depiction of Gandhi, at 60, setting off, with bamboo staff in hand, on his famous salt march. A company report says that the MGLE-3000 series was being produced as a tribute to the many people who had followed the Mahatma. – Paul Noronha, The Hindu Business Line, dt. Wednesday, September 30, 2009.

del.icio.us Tags: Gandhi,Mahatma Gandhi,Montblanc,pen,Rs 11 lakh,Tushar Gandhi,salt satyagraha,Business Line,Paul Noronha

LiveJournal Tags: Gandhi,Mahatma Gandhi,Montblanc,pen,Rs 11 lakh,Tushar Gandhi,salt satyagraha,Business Line,Paul Noronha

Yahoo! Meme

2009-09-05T15:45:00.001+05:30

Yahoo!'s microblogging platform Meme, is now available in English.

At the first glance, Meme is good. What differentiates Meme from Twitter is that you can add photos, videos and MP3s apart from text.
The interface looks good. Unlike Twitter, where you have to use external services such as Twitpic for posting pictures and videos, you can post them directly in Meme.

Moreover, you can see the pictures or videos directly in Meme.
But there are some drawbacks. While you can post photos from your computer, you post only videos and MP3s only as Web links. It remains to be seen whether Meme can break the stranglehold of Twitter.

I have just started posting in Meme.

You can find my Meme here.

Technorati Tags: Yahoo,Meme,Twitter,microblogging

LiveJournal Tags: Yahoo,Meme,Twitter,microblogging

Moving from Shozu to Pixelpipe

2009-09-01T14:50:00.001+05:30

Sometimes, companies take decisions that are downright stupid. The latest to join the bandwagon is Shozu. It is now a paid app and can be downloaded only from mobile stores such as Nokia’s iPhone’s and Blackberry’s official stores. In India, the app costs 7 euros at the Ovi store.

Why is Shozu’s move stupid? Suppose you have a phone in which you have installed Shozu. If you change the phone or lose the Shozu application, you will have to pay 7 euros to get it again.

I keep flashing my Nokia E71 to get the latest firmware. Every time I do it, I lose most of the apps and install them again, including Shozu. But after I flashed my mobile on Saturday, I have re-installed almost all my apps, except Shozu, because I will have to shell out 7 euros to get Shozu from the Nokia OVI store.

I emailed Shozu from their contact form in their Web site, but Shozu has preferred to keep quiet.

So I have decided not to use Shozu. I have found an excellent alternative: Pixelpipe.

It integrates with Nokia Share Online app and offers almost all the functionalities of Shozu. As you use it through Nokia Share, you don’t have to run an app in the background as you have to if you use Shozu.

And it’s free!

LiveJournal Tags: ShoZu,Pixelpipe,Nokia,Nokia E71,app store,Ovi store,iPhone store,Blackberry store,paid app,moving to Pixelpipe

Technorati Tags: ShoZu,Pixelpipe,Nokia,Nokia E71,app store,Ovi store,iPhone store,Blackberry store,paid app,moving to Pixelpipe

Connectivity issue in updating Nokia E71 firmware to 300.21.012

2009-08-31T13:11:00.001+05:30

Nokia has released a new firmware version for E71 series – 300.21.012. I like my phone to have the latest firmware and keep updating my E 71 as and when Nokia releases a new version.

I downloaded and installed the latest firmware – 300.21.012 on Saturday. As usual, I lost most of my downloaded applications, but I was prepared for it as I knew it would happen. But what I was not prepared for was that the phone refused to connect to the Internet. I tried using all the available access point, but of no avail. I also tried connecting through Wi-Fi, but the result was the same.

I scourged through several forums for solution. I discovered that many people who had upgraded to the 300.21.012 version had the same problem. I even tried restoring the phone to factory settings, but it was of no help.

I thought the issue could be with incompatibility with the old settings and the new firmware. So I applied the upgrade once again, but did not restore the phone settings back-up. It worked!

So, if your E71 doesn’t connect to the Net after the firmware upgrade, reinstall the upgrade and don’t restore the phone settings from the backup.

Here’s the changelog for 300.21.012:

This release is a major feature release and also was intended to correct main complaints from Customers and Operators
NEW FEATURES
* Mail for Exchange 2.9
* Numonyx USB Flashing support
* Gimlet 5.2 (v 9.5.2.66)
* Turkish SMS Support
* Support for Rapido Yawe 1.15
* Myspace, Youtube and Facebook support (NA for HK and Taiwan variants)
* User experience improvements
* Increased robustness of the Home Key functionality. This helps avoid the problem of Home key not opening the menu.
CHANGES AND IMPROVEMENTS:
* Improved Switch application functionality
* Internet Radio 1.15 Increased Functionality and Stability
* VoIP upgrade Improved functionality and stability
* Download Client 3.2 Greater stability and improved functionality
* Email Setup Wizard Update Supports Gimlet 5.2
* Simplified MMS Notification handling support
* Support for conference numbers longer than 24 digits
* Improvements in Browser for seamless YouTube support
* Language menu can be accessed when Chinese Language is used
* Bug fixes for the NokiaPC Internet Access Application
* Improved BT headset connectivity
* Many functionality and Stability improvements in MfE.
GENERAL
* Stability and functionality improvements
* Increased robustness in handling SMS
* Updated Time zones
* Updated Operator names database
* Localization improvements
* Updated Startup settings
* Security Updates and vulnerability fixes
* Phone not suspending packet data connection when receiving call Fixed.
* Many bug fixes for MyNokia feature.
* Minor audio related bugs fixed
* Updated helps
BROWSER
* Minor stability improvements
CALL HANDLING
* Minor improvements in Call handling and quality
CALENDAR
* Stability and Minor Functionality improvements
CONNECTIVITY
* WLAN functionality Improvements
* Fix to prevent Wifi Certification issues when Wifi alliance moves to Win 2008 as the test server
* Fix for the one way audio problem seen in Cisco VoIP client
* Memory leak fixes
CONTACTS/PHONEBOOK
* Minor UI Improvements
* Stability and functionality improvements for search functionality
EMAIL
* Mail for Exchange upgraded from 2.7.22 to 2.9.158
* Gimlet updated to v5
* Email setup wizard updated
* Support for Exchange Server 2007 in MfE
* Many functionality and stability improvements in MfE
* Robust Synchronization of Calendar and email items.
INTERNET RADIO
* Improved functionality
* Increased application stability
LOCATION/GPS
* Increased A-GPS stability
* Better stability in location services.
MESSAGING
* Usability improvements
QWERTY KEYBOARD
* Usability improvements
* Keyboard mapping corrections
SMS
* Support for receiving more SMSs. Allows more than 4000 messages in inbox.
SWITCH APPLICATION
* Application updates and many stability and functionality improvements
VOIP / SIP
* Many Usability, stability and functionality improvements

(from: websetgo.in)

Technorati Tags: Nokia,Nokia E71,firmware,upgrade,firmware upgrade to 300.21.012,300.21.012,connectivity,Internet connection problems,firmware changelog,E71 300.21.012 firmware changelog.

LiveJournal Tags: Nokia,Nokia E71,firmware,upgrade,firmware upgrade to 300.21.012,300.21.012,connectivity,Internet connection problems,firmware changelog,E71 300.21.012 firmware changelog.

Servicing at Accel Frontline? Beware!

2009-08-26T16:06:00.001+05:30

Accel Frontline is the servicing centre for Sony Ericsson, Fly and Orion phones. If you have one of these phones that require servicing, please avoid Accel Frontline. Here’s how they went about ‘servicing’ my mobile.

My Fly E300 was not charging. As an Accel Frontline unit was near my house, I went there.

They checked the mobile (it took over one hour) and said the charging pins had to be replaced. I agreed.

When I collected it, I found that the phone was not charging. Hadn’t they changed the connectors? Yes, they said. But the reason this time was the faulty cable. But, hadn’t they said the charging pin was the culprit? Hadn’t they checked everything before taking the mobile for servicing? The girl at the counter had no answer.

Moreover, I found the memory card missing. When I brought it to their notice, she simply said, “We don’t take memory cards.” Then what else do you take ma’am?

The entire process had taken over an hour. I was already late to office. I just came out. I went to the office and sent an email to info@accelfrontline.in and info@accelfrontline.com , as there was no email ID to be found for the Chennai Greams Road service centre.

I am waiting for the reply. I will update the blog once I get it.

del.icio.us Tags: mobile,service,Fly E300,charger,data cable,Accel Frontline,Accel Frontline Services,Sony Ericsson,Orion

Technorati Tags: mobile service,Fly E300,charger,data cable,Accel Frontline Services,Accel Frontline,Sony Ericsson,Orion

Rituals boost brains, even for atheists

2009-08-23T15:44:00.001+05:30

(From Sunday Times of India dt. August 23, 2009)

Buddhist monks and Catholic nuns boost their brain power through meditation and prayer, but even atheists can enjoy the mental benefits that believers derive from faith, according to a popular neuroscience author.

The key, Andrew Newberg argues in his new book ‘How God Changes Your Brain’, lies in the concentrating and calming effects that meditation or intense prayer have inside our heads. Brain scanners show that intense meditation alters our gray matter, strengthening regions that focus the mind and foster compassion while calming those linked to fear and anger.

Whether the meditator believes in the supernatural or is an atheist repeating a mantra, he says, the outcome can be the same — a growth in the compassion that virtually every religion teaches and a decline in negative feelings and emotions. “In essence, when you think about the really big questions in life — be they religious, scientific or psychological — your brain is going to grow,” says Newberg, head of the Center for Spirituality and the Mind at the University of Pennsylvania.

"It doesn't matter if you're a Christian or a Jew, a Muslim or a Hindu, or an agnostic or an atheist," he writes in the book written with Mark Robert Waldman, a therapist at the Center. In his office at the University of Pennsylvania's hospital, Newberg told Reuters that “neurotheology” — the study of the brain’s role in religious belief — is starting to shed light on what happens in believers’ heads when they contemplate God.

Science and religion are often seen as opposites, to the point where some in each camp openly reject the other, but this medical doctor and professor of radiology, psychology and religious studies sees no reason not to study them together. “The two most powerful forces in all of human history have been religion and science,” he said.

“These are the two things that help us organise our world and understand it. Why not try to bring them together to address each other and ultimately our world in a more effective way?” Atheists often see scanner images tracking blood flows in brains of meditating monks and nuns lost in prayer as proof that faith is an illusion. Newberg warns against simple conclusions: “If you see a brain scan of a nun who's perceiving God's presence in a room, all it tells you is what was happening in her brain when she perceived God’s presence in a room.

“It may be just the brain doing it, but it may be the brain being the receiver of spiritual phenomena,” said Newberg, whose research shows the short prayers most believers say leave little trace on the brain because they are not as intense as meditation. “I’m not trying to say religion is bad or it's not real,” he added. “I say people are religious and let’s try to understand how it affects them.”

Customer service: Take it to the next level

2009-08-17T14:35:00.001+05:30

This appeared in the eWorld supplement of The Hindu Business Line on Monday, August 17, 2009
The 'domain service provider' mentioned at the end is Sify Domains. The name was removed by the Desk while publishing.

You would have called some customer service set-up at some point of time. Did you come up against an unhelpful person who left you fuming?

Unfortunately, what many don’t realise is that there is no need to get worked up as unsolved complaints can be escalated.

If the ‘service’ rendered is not satisfactory, you can always call the Nodal Officer. The details are available on the Web sites. It is almost certain that the problem will be solved as the Nodal Officers are senior officials with enough powers. If you are still not satisfied, you can escalate it again to the Appellate Officer (or whatever he is called).

How fast the issue is resolved also depends on how you talk to customer care or Nodal Officers. It is no use haranguing them about what you think about them and their service. You will end up irritating them more.

A friendly but firm talk always pays. My experience with Nodal Officers has been excellent. Most issues have been resolved within a day.

But in the first place, why should a problem be allowed to be escalated to the next level?

That’s because the customer service guys deployed by most companies have no say except to note down your request and forward it to the department concerned. What companies don’t realise is that by empowering them a little more, they can grow customer satisfaction.

I realised this after my interaction with a domain service provider (Sify Domains) recently. I wanted to use Google Apps with one of my domain names. There was a huge difference between the instructions provided by Google Apps and the domain management fields of the service provider.

All it took was one phone call. The person handling it asked me to send an e-mail, which I promptly did. The change was made in less than three minutes. I later discovered I had to make two more changes in the domain settings. Again, each change was made within three minutes of my sending the e-mails.

Next time you need to call customer service, just ensure you talk politely and in a friendly manner. If you are not satisfied, remember that you can always escalate the complaint.

R. Dinakaran

Technorati Tags: Sify Domains, Sify, customer service, nodal authority, Airtel, Vodafone, Tata Indicom, The Hindu Business Line, eWorld, The Hindu

Havan (Homam) for bacteria-free homes, says National Botanical Institute Study

2009-08-17T14:13:00.001+05:30

Press Trust of India

Lucknow, August 17

Want to lead a healthy life and free your home from bacteria? Perform 'havan' at regular intervals.

A study carried out by a team of scientists at National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) here has claimed that smoke emitted during havans reduces airborne bacteria to a large extent, minimising possibility of infectious diseases. "Burning wood and medicinal herbs, better known as 'havan samagri' (mixture of wood and odoriferous and medicinal herbs), can effectively reduce pathogens in the air," NBRI's senior scientist, Prof. Chandra Shekhar Nautiyal, told PTI.

The study had already been published and accepted by Science Direct, a journal of ethnopharmacology. "As described in Rigvedas, saints used to perform agnihotra-yagnas to purify the environment by sublimating the havan samgri in fire," he said.

In a bid to study the actual impact of havans, an indoor study was carried out by the NBRI team including Prof Nautiyal, Mr Puneet Singh Chauhan and a fellow of Asian Agri-History Foundation Yeshwant Laxman Nene. A complex mixture of over five dozen odoriferous and medical herbs was obtained from Gurukul Kangri Pharmacy in Haridwar and burnt in an indoor environment to study its impact on the environment.

"Air sampling before and after performing havan was done to ascertain its impact on the environment,'' Prof Nautiyal said. "After the experiment it was observed that though there was was no reduction in the number of bacteria by burning of wood alone, smoke emanating from herbs led to over 94 per cent reduction in aerial bacteria,'' he claimed.
"Absence of pathogenic bacteria in the open room even after 30 days was indicative of the bacterial potential of the medicinal smoke treatment,'' he said.
Technorati Tags: havan, homam. ritual, Hindu, Hinduism

Abandoned puppy

2009-08-01T08:31:00.001+05:30

We found an abandoned puppy on the road and brought it home.

Tata DoCoMo promotional offer

2009-07-15T15:03:00.001+05:30

At the cost of almost turning this blog into a Tata DoCoMo discussion board, I wish to clarify on the promotional offer.

rachdoshi has posted a comment about the promotional offer. I wonder how I missed clicking through the link. I missed it because it didn't look like a hyperlink to me. Here it is.

The first three SMSs are charged. After that you get 750 local SMSs free per day. ( I have a doubt here. Do we have to send three paid SMS every day to get the free offer or is it that we just send three SMSs and get 750 free SMSs lifetime?)

STD calls at one paise per second is also a promotional offer.

Tata DoCoMo - a few weeks later...

2009-07-14T21:11:00.001+05:30

I have received positive and negative responses to my blog posts (1) and (2) on Tata DoCoMo's sloppy launch.

After the initial launch hiccups, I have not faced any problems with Tata DoCoMo. The call quality is excellent and I haven't faced call drops.

I have received comments in my blog from readers whose complaints range from delayed activation to call drops to SMSs not being delivered.

There is also some confusion about free SMSs. A reader from Karnataka says there are free SMSs in the prepaid pack, the Web site says nothing about it.

It's better Tata DoCoMo clarifies.

Sloppy launch

2009-06-27T15:46:00.002+05:30

The Tata DoCoMo service was launched in Chennai on Saturday. There were full-page advertisements in The Hindu on Friday and Saturday.

But even till evening, the DoCoMo retail packs were not available anywhere in the city except with a handful of retailers.

What is the point in ‘launching’ a service with fanfare if the product is not going to be available at the stores? Shouldn’t have Tata DoCoMo sent out the retail packs to dealers and then advertised?

Moreover, the retail packs are just cards and do not require huge logistics support.

The customer care was not also helpful. I asked if I could get it anywhere in Mount Road. After a minute’s search, the customer care asked me: “Sir is it St. Thomas Mount?”. I said, No, Mount Road. Or try Anna Salai.” “No sir, any other area?”. Did she want me to go around Chennai looking for retailers?

After five full minutes, I got the names of three retailers. They were small non-descript shops. How do I find them? Does Tata DoCoMO have phone numbers of the retailers so that I can contact them? “No sir. We don’t have it.” Very helpful indeed.

There was a small surprise in store after two hours. I thought I would ask for another area near my house. I rang up customer care and asked, “Any shop in Gopalapuram?” “No, sir. There are a few in Teynampet. There are a couple of them in Anna Salai.” Anna Salai? Just an hour ago, I was told there were none. She gave me two addresses. Again no phone numbers to contact the shops. For those who don’t know much of Chennai, Anna Salai is one of the main arterial roads that stretches for almost 10 km.

I now have to go and hunt for them. Can marketing and customer service get so sloppy?

Technorati Tags: Tata DoCoMo,launch,Chennai,marketing

One way?

2009-06-26T09:04:00.001+05:30

On the right is Royapettah police station. So what? Because this is a one way road. The cops are least bothered about the violations (See the auto coming in the wrong direction). Waiting for a major accident to act?

Swami Dayananda Saraswati's lecture

2009-06-21T21:35:00.001+05:30

The Kamaraj Memorial Hall was jampacked. The organisers had to ask some people who had no space to sit to sit on the stage.
I managed to take a snap as Swami passed me.

No parking? So what?

2009-06-16T21:30:00.001+05:30

The Omnipotent driver is not bothered about lack of parking space. May be he thinks he owns the road.

cop on the road

2009-06-16T17:31:00.001+05:30

Place: anna salai, chennai

The cop has discovered that the best place to stand is the road! policehennai

Efforts going waste...

2009-06-15T12:47:00.001+05:30

I recently came across a news item about Nokia's initiative on e-waste saying the company would take back even non-working mobile phones. If there is something we are least bothered about, it is e-waste. We don't care about where our printer cartridges go after we discard them. It's the same with mobile phones, monitors and each and every electronic item we use.

I have a (non-working) monitor, two flatbed scanners (in working condition - one without a driver and another without a cable), a multimedia speaker set (non-working again) and a bill printer (I am still wondering how and why I bought it). I have no idea what to do with them or how to dump them. I have tried all I could but they refuse to get out of my house.

I first rang up a guy who had advertised saying he would take `working and non-working' computer parts. "Yes, sir, what do you have?" he asked. I listed out the items. "What else do you have?" he asked. "That's it,' I said. "No, sir, we can't take them," he politely said. I could understand why he wouldn't take the monitor, but the scanners? They were in working condition. "No sir, we can't do anything with them." I told him there would be someone who would be ready to take the scanners. "No, sir, nobody wants scanners. If you have anything else, please let me know. I will definitely take them," he said.

After several unsuccessful attempts, I asked my computer dealer friend Roshan. "Why don't you give me the scanner model number? I will find the driver," he said. I told him I had already tried to get the driver, but couldn't. "No sir. Just tell me the model number. It's easier to find a driver than to dispose it," he said.

I called my friendly neighbourhood raddiwallah. "No. I don't know what to do with it," he said, and offered some helpful advice. "Why don't you call a computer dealer?"

So, I am back to square one. I have decided to wait till I get a proper recycler - despite my wife's protestations about putting up with "all that junk."

This appeared in the eWorld supplement of The Hindu Business Line dated Monday, June 15, 2009

How Nokia replaces chargers

2009-05-28T17:58:00.001+05:30

My post on the delay by Nokia for replacing a charger during warranty period.

Tamil? What Tamil?

2009-02-23T08:59:00.001+05:30

With 'the custodians' of Tamil in power, it is not wrong to expect some improvement in the use of the language, at least in areas where the government is involved.
What we get to see are silly typos and English words.
The Aavin milk sachet above has the word 'homogenisedu' [no prizes for guessing the word] in Tamil and the Tamil word 'padhapaduthappatta' is spelt wrong.

Flock

2009-02-10T12:47:00.001+05:30

What is Arya's photo from Naan Kadavul doing here? Nothing. Because I am just testing the various features of Flock browser.
If you don't know, Flock is a 'social' browser that allows you to link to various social services,
including blogs. You can even post to several blogs at a time.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Parking at Chennai Central

2009-02-08T11:52:00.001+05:30

This is how the parking lot is 'maintained' at the Chennai Central railway station.
If you manage to get your two-wheeler in and park it without trouble, you deserve appreciation.
The space looks like a stone quarry with boulders and stones strewn around.
When you come back, it is quite a task to remember where you have parked your vehicle. And if some genius has parked his vehicle right behind yours, you have to get it out yourself. Forget about any help from the attendants.
If the Railways or the contractor cannot even level the ground, what sort of service are they supposed to be providing us?

The Landmark Forum introduction

2009-01-25T19:43:00.001+05:30

[Posted from E71]
I attended an introductory programme of The Landmark Forum at Madipakkam on Sunday.
I don't know how to describe the Forum. We can say it helps you find out and set right the real reasons behind your problems. May be this is too simplistic, but the real advantage will be visible to you only if you attend an introductory session.
I was coaxed into attending the session by Sanjukta and Mukund of Bangalore. They say the Forum has helped them a lot in improving their lives. I am sure they cannot be wrong, because all members of Sanjukta's family - father Selvakumar, mother Vanaja, brother Satish [who convened today's session] and his wife Udaya are all deeply into this and vouch for its effectiveness.
One nice thing about the Forum, is that The Landmark Education, the company behind the Forum, makes no bones about the fact that it is a commercial enterprise. Today, Satish ended the session with, ''Thank you for doing business with us.''
Business? Yes. A four-day session costs Rs 7,100. This may appear steep, but when you think that attending it could transform your life, it's a pittance.
I know the Selvakumars personally and they are one of the nicest families I have come across. They are such an ideal family that I don't think they can get anything better from the Forum, but the fact that they have, vouches for the Forum's effectiveness.

testing from cellspin

2009-01-24T21:05:00.001+05:30

testing from cellspin

New, but dirty

2009-01-24T07:01:00.001+05:30

The Tamil Nadu Government keeps introducing new buses, but never bothers to maintain or even clean them. The buses, in just a few months, end up as if they have been salvaged from a scrap yard.
It's time they learn a thing or two from Mumbai's BEST.

23012009079

2009-01-23T12:31:00.001+05:30

Dead, but...

2009-01-23T12:30:00.001+05:30

Do you know who S. Gopal is? No?
Had you passed through Ellis Road on Thursday evening or Friday morning, you would have been enlightened about the important fact that he lives there. Sorry, he lived there, because he kicked the bucket on Thursday.
You would also have been aware that he was a local politician. And like all true politicians, he decided to give a parting kick to the common man, orat least those who were unfortunate enough to pass Ellis Road.
The family and the party decided to make most of his death. So they blocked the road.
Never mind that Ellis Road is one of the important roads in the city housing digital printing and photographic equipment shops.
Gopal is more important than anything else.
Politicians never learn. In fact they ensure they create nuisance even after their death.

E 71, the greatest

2009-01-20T20:12:00.001+05:30

Computer Active has compared business mobiles in its January 2009 issue and has concluded that the Nokia E7¹is 'undoubtedly the best'.
It says, ''More pocket friendly than the iphone, priced right, small, full qwerty keypad; fantastic for email; good battery life and the list goes on. No second thoughts that the E7¹is a great phone for business and consumers.''
Why am I blogging this? Because I have one!

The Dell bus

2009-01-19T16:16:00.001+05:30

I'm posting this from my E71.
Dell has realised that in India, it is important to reach out to consumers directly. Indian also prefer to have a look at the product before they buy it, even more so when it is a computer.
Apart from selling from showrooms, Dell now reaches out to consumers with its products displayed in buses like the one here.
The bus itself attracted you, with its predominantly red colour scheme.
But wait! How on earth did they manage to find parking space for the huge Volvo bus near Khadi Bhavan in Chennai's Mount Road?

Blogging from Windows Live Writer

2008-12-19T06:01:00.001+05:30

Microsoft has been criticised for almost everything. MS also deserves some of it. MS also has the reputation of designing shoddy products.

But one product from MS has received praise from almost everyone who has used it. It’s Windows Live Writer. Blogging is a breeze with Live Writer.

Live Writer is part of the Windows Live suite and is free. It can also be downloaded separately.

Google employees get Japanese Space Toilets

2008-06-28T15:36:00.001+05:30

Google Employees Even Get Japanese Space Toilets

Google employees are so special that they even get Japanese space toilets on which to rest their stock options.

SFist found these sexy Japanese Toto toilets in Google’s headquarters. They feature front and rear cleansing along with a dryer and some sort of insane wand cleaning system that may be part of Google’s 80-20 projects policy. The toilets are fairly common in Japan - heck, there are even toilets that offer birdsong to cover up embarrassing noises - so perhaps they’re these were installed as a treat for their Asian employees.

The real question, however: Is there an API?
From Techcrunch

Bilawal Bhutto 'in trouble'

2008-06-04T14:14:00.001+05:30

We all have received scam emails requesting our account details offering us a cut of huge funds. Almost all are from unknown guys - mostly from Africa.
For a change, here's one I received recently - from just across the border - from 'Bilawal Bhutto'.
Unfortunately, the scamster forgot that far from being hounded by Musharaff, it is Bilawal's party that is ruling Pakistan now.
Here is the email:

Dear Sir/Ma

My name is Bilawal Bhutto the son of Benazir Bhutto who was mudered in Pakistan by the present Pakistan Government on Thursday, 27 December 2007, Ms Bhutto was leaving a rally of her Pakistan People's Party (PPP) supporters in a park in the garrison town of Rawalpindi when attackers opened fire. Then a bomb was set off by the same attacker which left my mother dead and some 20 other people. You can find details of the killing of my mother on these website below:-

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6653475.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2228796.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7165892.stm
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1699006,00.html

Life has become unbearable since she was shot dead. Since then, my family and I have been Living with shock and uncertainties, the Government of Musharaff has made life difficult for us by ensuring that we are not disposed to our finances and other properties that is owned by my mother and this has made life difficult for us. Just before my mother died she called my attention to the money she deposited in foreign account and charged me to look for a foreigner who would assist me in the retrieving of the funds abroad which she wanted to use for the election, So l would be very grateful if you could accept to help me archieve this great objective.

For now, let all our communication be by e-mail because my line are right now connected to the Pakistan Telecommunication Network services. I will give you details after I have received a response from you. Please contact me through my private email address:- bilawalbhutto01@jmail.co.za

Thank you very much.

Bilawal Bhutto

Blogged with Flock

The HTC Charger story

2008-06-03T18:47:00.002+05:30

What do you do when your mobile’s charger goes phut? Buy a new one.
How do you buy a new one? Go to the nearest mobile shop or an authorised dealer (so that you get a genuine one) and buy one.
Easy. Right?
But the HTC mobile phone guys thought it shouldn’t be so easy. So they devised a new way. How?
First, you have to ring up HTC customer care. You can use their toll-free number (Oh! Thanks a lot!)
Tell the customer care guy you need a battery. He will give you a complaint number and go to the ONLY service centre in your city - which may be 25 km away. No other service centres? Sorry. This is the only one, the customer care guy will tell you.
So you take down the address and go in search of the service centre. You may have to go around several times in the area to discover the service centre located in a tiny lane, which you may easily miss.
Why can’t HTC just sell their chargers in shops like mobile phones?

Osho on Tibet

2008-04-08T15:31:00.003+05:30

'Tibet In Darkness'
by Acharya Rajneesh (Osho)

"If there were something civilised in man, every nation would have stood against the invasion of Tibet by China. It is the invasion of matter against consciousness. It is invasion of materialism against spiritual heights"
Acharya Rajneesh

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Unfortunately, Tibet has fallen into a darkness. Its monasteries have been closed, its seekers of truth have been forced to work in labour camps. The only country in the world which was working -- a one-pointed genius, all its intelligence in the search of one's own interior and its treasures has been stopped by the communist invasion of Tibet.

And it is such an ugly world that nobody has objected to it. On the contrary, because China is big and powerful, even countries which are more powerful than China can ever be, like America, have accepted that Tibet belongs to China. That is sheer nonsense -- just because China is powerful and everybody wants China to be on its side. Neither have the Soviets denied the claim of China aside -- even India has not objected. It was such a beautiful experiment, and Tibet had no weapons to fight, they had no army to fight; they had never thought about it. Their whole thing was an introvert pilgrimage.

Nowhere has such concentrated effort been made to discover man's being. Every family in Tibet used to give their eldest son to some monastery where he was to meditate and grow closer to awakening. It was a joy to every family that at least one of them was wholeheartedly, twenty-four hours a day, working on the inner being. They were also working but they could not give all their time; they had to create food and clothes and shelter, an in Tibet it is a difficult matter. The climate is not very helpful; to live in Tibet is a tremendous trouble. But still every family used to give their first-born child to the monastery.

There were hundreds of monasteries… and these monasteries should not be compared with any Catholic monasteries. These monasteries have no comparison in the whole world. These monasteries were concerned only with one thing -- to make you aware of yourself.

Thousands of devices have been created down the centuries so that your lotus can blossom and you can find your ultimate treasure, the diamond. These are just symbolic words, but the destruction of Tibet should be known in history, particularly man becomes a little more aware and humanity a little more humane… This is the greatest calamity of the twentieth century that Tibet has fallen into the hands of materials who don't believe that you have anything inside you. They believe that you are only matter and your consciousness is only a by-product of matter. And all this is simply without any experience of the inner -- just logical, rational philosophising.

Not a single communist in the world has meditated, but it is strange -- they all deny the inner. Nobody thinks about how the outer can exist if there is no inner. They exist together, they are inseparable. And the outer is only a protection for the inner, because the inner is very delicate and soft. But the outer is accepted and the inner is denied. And even if sometimes it is accepted, the world is dominated by such dirty politicians that they use even the inner experiences for ugly ends.

Just the other day, I came to know that America is now training its soldiers in meditation so that they can fight without any nervous breakdown, without going mad, without feeling any fear so they can lie down in their ditches silently, calm and cool and collected. No meditator nay have ever thought that meditation can also be used for fighting wars, but in the hands of politicians everything becomes ugly -- even meditation. Now the army camps in America are teaching meditation so that their soldiers can be more calm and quiet while killing people. But I want to warn America: you are playing with fire. You don't understand exactly what meditation will do. Your soldiers will become so calm and quiet that they will throw away their weapons and they will simply refuse to kill. A meditator cannot kill; a meditator cannot be destructive. So they are going to be surprised one day that their soldiers are no longer interested in fighting. War, violence, murder, massacre of millions of people -- this is not possible if a man knows something of meditation. Then he knows the other whom he is killing. He is his brother. They all belong to the same oceanic existence.

If humanity were a little more aware, Tibet should be made free because it is the only country which has devoted almost two thousand years to doing nothing but going deeper into meditation. And it can teach the whole world something which is immensely needed.

But communist China is trying to destroy everything that has been created in two thousand years. All their devices, all their whole spiritual climate is being polluted, poisoned. But they are simple people; they cannot defend themselves. They don't have anything to defend themselves with -- no tanks, no bombs, no airplanes, no army. An innocent race which lived without any war for two thousand years… It disturbs everybody -- even to reach there is a difficult task. They live on the very roof of the world. The highest mountains, eternal snow, is their home. Leave them alone! China will not lose anything, but the whole world will be benefited by their experience.

Tibet should be left as an experimental lab for man's inner search. But not a single nation in the world has raised its voice against this ugly attack on Tibet. And China has not only attacked it, they have amalgamated it into their map. Now, on the modern Chinese map, Tibet is their territory.

And we think the world is civilised, where innocent people who are not doing any harm to anybody are simply destroyed. And with them, something of great importance to all humanity is also destroyed. If there were something civilised in man, every nation would have stood against the invasion of Tibet by China. It is the invasion of matter against consciousness. It is invasion of materialism against spiritual heights.

"Osho is an enlightened master who is working with all possibilities to help humanity overcome a difficult phase in developing consciousness."
HH the XIV Dalai Lama

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Some customer service this

2007-12-13T14:00:00.001+05:30

Meebo.com's Elaine received this email from Dell's Customer Care a few years ago. The customer 'service' response is self-explanatory. Here's what Elaine says:

"A few years ago (long before meebo), I saw a strange system error on my almost-new work computer. After trying a few things, I contacted Dell's customer service and received this response,

"U just have to go ahead and remove the cover and reseat the cables which is running from the process fan to the motherboard and then if possible reseat the process and restart the system everything should work fine..." (view full email).

I'm not a hardware person so this made me laugh - definitely not the friendly response you hope for when your computer is on the fritz!"

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From Twitter Blog: Tracking Twitter

2007-11-09T16:28:00.001+05:30

Here's a post from the Twitter Blog. Twitter has been adding new features that are so useful that it is impossible to dismiss Twitter as a useless technology.

Tracking TwitterOne of the driving philosophies behind Twitter has always been to get away from the computer, get out there and do something, and tell your friends about it in real-time.
That's why Twitter works over IM and text messaging—you can bring your phone almost anywhere to interact and share.
You can follow friends on your phone through Twitter, but what about concepts?
What if you wanted an update anytime anyone mentioned your name, your favorite band, "NYC," "earthquake," or "Steve Jobs?" In real-time?
What if you were attending an event and wanted to know who else was there?
Today we're releasing a tiny feature to do just that, and we're calling it "Track."
If you've set up your phone or IM on Twitter, you can send a command like: track NYC.
When someone (anyone who updates in public) mentions "NYC," you'll get it on your device in real-time. From there you can send "whois username" to find out more about that person, or "follow username" to follow his or her updates. Don't want to receive anymore about NYC? Toggle it off with: untrack NYC.
You can create as many of these as you want, so send "track drinking tea", "track iphone", "track walking san francisco" and you'll receive matches for all. Want to get a list of what you're currently tracking? Send "track" alone (or "stats"). Turn them all off by sending "track off".

Twitter Blog: Tracking Twitter

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Instantbird is like Firefox for chat

2007-10-23T20:37:00.001+05:30

Windows/Mac/Linux (All platforms): There are tons of great instant messaging applications available, but one nagging problem in the IM world is that there's no great, fully cross-platform chat app (unless you count Meebo). Free, open source application Instantbird aims to do for chat what Firefox does for the browser. Based on the same tools used to create Firefox and Thunderbird, Instantbird should ultimately be just as extensible as the former—which means IM customization will be as simple as installing a Firefox extension. Right now Instantbird connects to virtually any IM network and supports a tabbed chat interface. Beyond that, the application is still very barebones, but its upcoming features are very exciting.Aside from the basics you'd expect from any chat app (like status notifications, contact management, and IM notifications), the ultimate roadmap for Instantbird includes video and voice support. What's most exciting, though, is the possibility that the chat application will be subject to the same community of creative extension developers that make Firefox such a killer browser—so that Instantbird can easily be customized to deliver exactly what you want from it. Instantbird is free, works with Windows, Mac, and Linux. It's still a very young app, so this one's for the early adopters.

Lifehacker

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Microsoft Launches Drag-And-Drop App Builder Popfly

2007-10-19T20:31:00.001+05:30

Microsoft just demoed on stage at the Web 2.0 conference a slick Silverlight application development service called Popfly, which just opened up in beta.
Popfly lets anyone, even non-coders, create web mashups without writing a single line of code.
It’s all drag-and-drop in the browser (based on Silverlight, Microsoft’s answer to Flash/Flex and Ajax).
The demo showed how to build a digital photo book of all your Facebook friends. It started with a box representing Facebook, and in a pane on the left were listed other data sets that can connect to Facebook, such as photos on another service or Technorati rankings. By simply dragging and dropping icons representing these sets of data and connecting them together with lines, a Silverlight application was built on the fly.
Of course, like any demo, this one was a bit canned. But if Popfly turns out to be half as easy as Microsoft made it look on stage, it should have lots of takers.

Microsoft Launches Drag-And-Drop App Builder Popfly: Techcrunch

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The Hindu Business Line : What are ‘Participatory notes’?

2007-10-18T09:11:00.001+05:30

There has been talk about 'banning' Participatory Notes after the unexplicable rise in the Indian stock markets in the last few days. What exactly are 'Participatory Notes' or PNs?

The article below in The Hindu Business Line attempts to throw some light on PNs

What are ‘Participatory notes’?

D. Sampathkumar

Mumbai, Oct. 17

‘Participatory notes’ are instruments that derive their value from an underlying financial instrument such as an equity share and, hence, the word, ‘derivative instruments’.

When the Indian capital market regulator permitted, back in 1992, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) to register and trade in Indian securities, every one assumed that they would make proprietary investments out of their own capital.
3rd-party investments

There was no question of their trading on anyone else’s behalf. But as it turned out, FIIs were merely acting as a conduit for third-party investments.

But some of these third-party investors had their own preferences in the matter of what Indian stocks that they would like to own with its own risk and reward characteristics. In order to ring fence, each such pool of investments they created accounts or ‘sub-accounts’ in FII parlance.
Sub-account holders

But even sub-account holders, it turned out, were not investing their own money but were in fact raising money from a multitude of high net worth individuals.

They were issued pieces of paper that derived its value from underlying equity instruments of Indian corporates.

The participatory notes were now well truly launched. International investments got a little more complicated with sub-account investment institutions raising loan funds as securitised paper, with a pool of underlying equity shares of Indian companies.

All this leveraged money got further leveraged with the investments going into not just equity shares but derivative instruments (futures and options) of shares of Indian corporates.

Thus one could have a sub account holder of a registered FII investing a combination of subscriptions by a group of investors topped up with funds borrowed by floating yet another piece of tradable instrument using a pool of participatory notes as collateral.

But the tale of leveraged investments became a little more complex with a $100 of such funds getting invested, for example, not in Reliance shares but into futures contract on Reliance shares.
Futures contract

Now, in a futures contract, one did not have to invest the full value of the contract. It is enough if put up a small margin and topped it up each depending on how the share price moved.

The potential of $100 got further magnified.

It is easy to see the super structure of heavily leveraged investments flowing into the Indian stock market. That is without even thinking of whatever private financial arrangements that each one of investors in the original pool of investments that gave rise to the participatory notes.
Global liquidity

All of this became possible when there was a global liquidity thanks to the economic policies of the West and more particularly the US.

A financial distress for one lender who participated in leveraged transaction of investments of a sub-account holder of an FII who had invested in the Indian stock market can cause him to call back his loan.

This could lead to the sub-account holder closing out his futures position in the underlying share which caused the latter’s future price to fall.
Share prices

Since future prices are in turn linked to the spot prices of the same share, there is a price correction in the spot price as well.

The fall in share price erodes not just the overseas investor’s wealth but that of domestic investors as well.

The depreciation of the rupee’s value against other currencies or wiping out huge chunk of the RBI’s currency reserves when the liquidated investments goes out of the country, are the other unintended consequences of the FII play on the Indian stock market.

The Hindu Business Line : What are ‘Participatory notes’?

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Facebook's friend grouping

2007-10-14T18:41:00.001+05:30

Facebook is creating friend grouping last month. By specifying certain friends as professional contacts, a whole different set of content can be shown to them (sans the dating status and pictures of you getting drunk). Or as Nick O’Neil puts it, Facebook may be growing up.And now Facebook is quietly making changes to their data structure to allow for the concept of “networking.” Currently on Facebook, users can say they are looking for friendship, dating, a relationship, random play or “whatever I can get.” But networking was recently added as a desired relationship type to the API (note that it is not yet an option on Facebook itself yet).

Techcrunch

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Google's mobile phone in 2 weeks? Not likely

2007-08-24T18:02:00.000+05:30

According to reports out of India, Google is currently in talks with country’s first and third largest telecos, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar, concerning everyone’s favorite mobile rumor: the Google Phone. Based on information coming from Rediff’s India Abroad, an exclusive launch — happening in a highly questionable two weeks — is being discussed between the companies, and would tie into a simultaneous debut of the Gphone in both the US and Europe, coupled with announcements in India and other parts of the world. The only hurdle, they say, is approval from regulatory agencies (such as the FCC, we would assume). The report goes on to suggest that Google has plans to invest $7-8 billion in its telephony plot, though there has been practically zero confirmation from the company. When asked about the possibility of the Google mobile phone making an appearance soon, a spokesperson for the search-portal-giant said, “We don’t comment on market rumour or speculation. However, Google is committed to providing users with access to the world’s information, and mobile becomes more important to those efforts every day.” So, while you can never, truly rule out a sudden showing of the Gphone, definitely don’t go banking on it either.

Thanks engadget

Split your Windows screen with WinSplit Revolution

2007-08-24T15:55:00.000+05:30

I havent tried this software yet, but seems to be useful.

What is WinSplit Revolution?
For what? WinSplit Revolution is a small utility which allow you to separate your screen into two, three or four…
For who? Especially suitable for high-end LCD screens with big resolutions, WinSplit Revolution helps you to manage efficiently active windows. For example WinSplit is useful for owners of Dell 2407FPW. You can see on Screenshots the advantages of this software, your screen is “splitted” so that you are able to display up to 6 no overlaping windows at the same time.

Features and options:

automated window handling (resize, move, reorganize, close tasks)
shape - process association
global hotkeys and clickable virtual numpad
automatic startup

WinSplit Revolution is a freeware.

You can find more and download the free software at:

http://reptils.free.fr/

Downloading videos from YouTube

2007-08-19T17:38:00.000+05:30

There are literally dozens of tools for downloading videos from YouTube and/or converting those YouTube videos to some format other than .flv. It’s hard to pick the best one, as they all have pluses and minuses. Thus, we’ve chosen 23 YouTube downloader tools we’ve found to be actually working. Here they are, categorized according to the platform they work on:

Web based

1. YouTubeX doesn’t have a lot of options, but it’s simple, and it works. It also enables you to share the YouTube video with your friends via e-mail. Unfortunately, all the files are called get_video, and you have to add the .flv extension manually.

www.youtubex.com

2. KeepVid is another simple site. No hassle, works not only for YouTube movies but for a number of other sites, including Google Video, MySpace Video, DailyMotion and others. Again, you have to add the .flv extension by hand.

keepvid.com

3. VideoDownloader is very similar to KeepVid, but supports even more video sharing sites, and it’s also available as a Firefox extension. Just like with KeepVid, all downloads are in .flv format. We recommend MediaCoder for free conversion.

javimoya.com/blog/youtube_en.php

4. YouTube Downloads takes the cake in the longest domain name contest. It also separates itself by using a proxy for downloading videos, which means that you might be able to get videos even if YouTube access is blocked at your workplace or in the country you live. Just search Google for YouTube videos, and copy/paste the URL into YouTube Downloads.

www.downloadandsaveyoutubevideos.info

5. Zamzar is an online file format conversion site which can do a lot more than just converting YouTube videos to another format and downloading them to your hard drive, but it’s doing a great job so we had to include it here. Thoroughly tested by us and highly recommended. See the video of it in action here.

www.zamzar.com

6. YouTubia separates itself from the crowd by enabling you to search as well as download YouTube files. Options are scarce, but it works.

www.youtubia.com

7. VidGrab is another simple site that works with YouTube, Google Video, MySpace and Break.com. Besides the download function, the site also sports a top list of most viewed videos.

www.vidgrab.com

8. Vixy offers both downloading videos and converting them into DivX avi, mov, mp4, 3gp, or mp3 (for audio only) formats. The conversion works well enough, but sometimes results in slightly choppy playback.

vixy.net

9. Hey! Watch is an ambitious video encoding service with a large number of options, especially when it comes to converting videos to portable media player formats (it even supports my trusty iRiver H340.) Most online video converters often produce crappy results, with video and audio being out of sync, and this problem is also present on Hey! Watch, but it happens rarely.

heywatch.com

10. Media Converter can be a little slow, but the results of the video conversion are quite good. We’ve converted some YouTube videos to avi (mpeg4 + mp3) format and it worked well. The tool is not limited to video conversion; it also supports several audio and document formats.

www.mediaconverter.org

11. KcoolOnline is a web-based converter which supports 98 video sharing web sites, including YouTube. It has literally zero options, so it’s recommended for those who like to keep it simple.

www.kcoolonline.com

12. vconvert.net/ is also a web-based converter. It allows you to download onlinne videos directly to PC, iPod or mobile.

http://vconvert.net/

13. downloadyoutubevideos.com also allows you to download videos. It also claims to help you to get around "those pesky mature content blocks".

Windows Applications

14. VDownloader is a desktop application that catches YouTube, Google Video, and Grinvi video links from your clipboard. Start it up, copy the video URL and click download. It automatically converts the videos to mpeg or avi formats.

www.softpedia.com/progDownload/VDownloader-Download-51327.html

15. YouTube Grabber downloads files from Youtube in .flv format. Copy and paste the URL of a video from YouTube into the program, press «grab», and the file will be downloaded into the same directory as the program.

www.download.com/Youtube-Grabber/3000-2071_4-10574801.html

16. Orbit Downloader is a desktop application which can download videos from a wide variety of sites. The download process is very simple, just hover your mouse over the video and you’ll get a button that says «Get It». The developers of the program claim that it’s very fast (up to 500% faster, they say) due to its P2P download technology.

www.orbitdownloader.com

17. My Video Downloader. With all these free tools, it’s actually funny to see a commercial one. It’s called My Video Downloader, and while it does look solid and offers a lot of conversion options (a free trial which enables you to download 10 videos is available), we’re not sure it offers enough to warrant a price tag.

myvideodownloader.com

18. KeepV is a desktop downloader as well as a converter, which can convert the downloaded videos from flv to avi, mov, mp4, or 3gp formats.

keepv.com

19. VideoGet boasts being able to download video clips from more than 100 video sharing websites. We haven’t tested all of them, so we’re just going to take their word for it. It’s a deskop application with a nice, simple interface, and a solid number of options.

nuclear-coffee.com/php/products.php

20. TubeSucker is a desktop YouTube video downloader with some interesting options, including batch downloading large amounts of videos from a certain user. See the video tour on the site.

www.newrad.com/software/tubesucker/

OS X

21. Get Tube is an OS X application which lets you download video or audio files from YouTube, DailyMotion and Kewego.

web.mac.com/simonvrel/iWeb/software/v.1.0.html

Linux

22. Youtube-dl. Here’s some love for Linux users. Youtube-dl is a program that lets you download YouTube clips in flv format, which both mplayer and VLC can easily chew up.

www.nuxified.org/blog/download_youtube_video_files_with_youtube_dl

23. YouTube Ripper is not actually an application; it’s a simple script that rips all videos that match a keyword, uploaded by a specific YouTube user. We don’t really have ideas on what to use this for, but maybe you do! PHP port is also available.

nlindblad.org/2007/04/08/youtube-ripper-collectors-edition/

Plugins

24. Vidtaker is a Firefox-only plugin that can download videos from most streaming websites: Google Video, YouTube, MySpace, as well as a number of nasty adult SomethingTube spinoffs (Pornotube, YouPorn etc). It automatically converts the video to a DivX avi.

www.vidtaker.com

25. Ook? Video Ook! Yes, that’s the full name of this Firefox plugin, which enables you to download videos from YouTube and several other video sharing web sites. It features one click downloading and integration with the popular DownThemAll Firefox plugin.

addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2584

Thanks to http://mashable.com

How to quickly test remote controls

2007-07-24T21:47:00.000+05:30

If you’re like me, you have 5 or 6 remote controls that wander all around your living room. We’re even seeing them used in major appliances, air conditioners being the most common so far.

When one of them stops working, here’s a simple way to tell whether it’s sending any infrared light to your TV, VCR, DVD, or cable box (or air conditioner).

Just point it at a digital camera or camcorder, and if it’s working, the light will show up in the camera's LCD viewfinder! Fast, easy, and COOL!

I purchased a small sensor many years ago for this very purpose, but if I’d thought of this first, we could’ve saved some money. Try it - it works great!

The CCD’s used in digicams are sensitive to IR, even though our eyes aren’t.

Wish I could remember where I originally found this trick. To whomever first discovered it - thanks!

Copyright 2003 www.DavesRepair.com
This article may be reprinted and distributed freely
only in its entirety, including this message.

Google News needs tweaking?

2007-07-23T21:24:00.000+05:30

A “news” site called Axcess News reported that President Bush was undergoing a colonoscopy, leaving Vice President Cheney in charge of the United States for the duration of the procedure.

The article, which was the top story on Google news briefly yesterday, had the unfortunate title “Bush butt probed, Cheney in charge” and began with “A shudder could be felt across Capitol Hill Friday after news came out that President Bush would be having his butt checked out…”

Perhaps Google will now be rethinking whether Axcess News should remain in the Google News index?

Axcess News, by the way, is a member of the esteemed Online News Association, which purports to be a serious group of online news sites. The president of the ONA is Kinsey Wilson, the Executive Editor of USAToday.com.
From Techcrunch

'Bundles of joy'

2007-07-22T11:46:00.000+05:30

A building was coming up near house. A construction worker with two kids - one barely a year old - made them sleep in the morning inside our compound. No creches for them. No beds. Just plain floor in the open. The kids get food only when the mother comes back for lunch. The 'elder' sister has to look after her brother till the mother comes back. You can find the two 'bundles of joy' next to the bags.

Harry Potter hits BitTorrent

2007-07-18T17:41:00.000+05:30

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, the latest and last of the wildly popular Harry Potter books that is due to go on sale this weekend, has hit BitTorrent. Various torrents of the novel consist of photographed pages (as above) with reading quality that isn’t perfect, but for desperate fans readable enough. Whilst the validity of the hype surrounding Harry Potter may be subject to debate, what the leaking of the book does demonstrate is that the days of the mainstream media and publishers strictly controlling the dissemination of information has well and truly past; simply where there is a fan with a will, there is a way.

For educational purposes only, the Harry Potter book can be found by searching The Pirate Bay.

Pictures from mobile in India?

2007-07-12T07:24:00.000+05:30

Any way to post pictures directly from mobile from india?

2007-07-11T23:38:00.000+05:30

Testing SMS blogging.The earlier post was thru GPRS.

Test from mobile

2007-07-04T17:56:00.000+05:30

Test

Govt's (official) Strike

2007-04-01T10:49:00.000+05:30

Governments are supposed to rule. But what if they decide to strike?
The Tamil Nadu Government seemed to have decided that it had done enough administrative work and needed a break. And called for a strike.
Tamil Nadu came to a standstill on March 31 and the Government called it a 'great success'.
What made the strike worse was it was called on March 31 - the last day of the financial year. Business establishments were caught off-guard. Usually, despatches from manufacturing units are more on the last day of the fiscal. Business houses could not do anything about it as the strike call did not give them any time to plan or advance the despatches. For some companies, the dilemma was that the old stocks would get reflected in the books meant for April 1 - the new financial year!
Apart from this, there are more points to ponder:
1. The protest was against an interim order by the highest court of the land - the Supreme Court. The bandh shows the respect our netas have for the Supreme Court - and they are called 'law-makers'.
2. Why bandh? Is there not other way to show protests? Why disrupt day-to-day activities?
3. Why should a Government call for a bandh? This shows there is something seriously wrong with the system.
4. This was only an interim order by the Supreme Court - not the final judgment. Isn't paralysing the entire State for an interim order too much?
5. People had just a day's time to prepare for the 'effects' of the bandh. The worst affected were those coming to Tamil Nadu from other States (and countries). They were stranded in trains and buses for a whole day! And the State 'Government' was least bothered.
6. And the bandh was called by the ruling party in the State and also sharing the spoils at the Centre! The DMK has a lot to answer.

Force against defaulters

2007-01-16T17:26:00.000+05:30

Banks resorting to brute force to recover loans from defaulters is not news. But last week, the Supreme Court pulled up a bank for using force to recover a vehicle. This is the report:
The Supreme Court has upheld the right of banks financing the purchase of a car to take it back when the owner defaults on loan repayment, even as it expressed strong reservation to the practice of using muscle power for this end.

The observation came during the hearing of the case pertaining to ICICI's bid to take back the car it had financed because of loan default.

ICICI moved the SC after Allahabad High Court which directed registration of criminal cases against the managing director of ICICI Bank and several other top officials based on the complaint from the car owner that the bank had sent musclemen to recover the vehicle.

"We are governed by rule of law. How can someone forcibly take possession of the vehicle," observed a Bench comprising Justices K G Balakrishnan and D K Jain when a petition seeking stay of arrest of top officials of ICICI Bank came up for hearing before it.

Challenging the order of the high court, ICICI counsel Mukul Rohtagi said there were several judgments of the apex court which ruled that if a bank repossesses a vehicle financed by it on default of repayment of loan, it is not a criminal offence. If that is so, then the high court was clearly wrong in directing registration of FIR against the bank officials, he argued.

The court stayed the arrest, saying that it was bound by earlier orders. Though it questioned banks using force to take back cars from defaulters, Rohatgi argued that banks are left with little option. "Repossession by what means? Does it mean use of force? By employing goondas ?" the Bench asked. Rohtagi replied that there was not a single person on earth who would give back a vehicle just like that and the banks were bound to use "some sort of force".

Saddam video footage

2007-01-03T08:06:00.000+05:30

A video filmed by someone watching the execution of Saddam Hussein has spread like wildfire on the Net and has embarassed the US and the authorities in Baghdad.

In the grainy video, Saddam is taunted by one of those present at the execution by shouting, "Moqtada! Moqtada! Moqtada!" for Shia militia leader Moqtada-al-Sadr.

Saddam by contrast looks dignified on the gallows and replies, "Is this what you call manhood?"

The footage ends with Saddam falling through the trap-door and dying amid shouts from the crowd.

This has angered Sunnis and embarassed moderate Shias and Turks. Iraq has launched a probe into the video.

The British Deputy Prime Minister, Mr John Prescott, has condemed the manner of execution and called for action against whoever was responsible for it. He told the BBC, "I think the manner was quite deplorable relly." Asked if he held the Iraqi Government responsible, Mr Prescott said whoever was behind it should be "ashamed". "I don't think anyone can endorse it whatever your view on capital punishment," he said.

Here is the footage of the video:

The blackmailing continues

2006-12-28T22:00:00.000+05:30

After Medha, it's Mamata's turn to blackmail. She has learnt the lessons well from the other 'M's known for blackmailing through indefinite fasts - Mahatma and Medha.
Medha briefly ventured to Singur, but has now disappeared. Now it is left to Mamata to carry the 'torch' of blackmail in Bengal.
Buddhadeb says he is ready to talk to Mamata 'anywhere', 'anytime'. But Mamata will have none of it.
While Buddhadeb is trying to get West Bengal past the strike-friendly Leftist unions and get some investment, Mamata is all set to derail his plans. Even if the Tatas succeed in setting up the project, other investors will think twice before venturing into Bengal.
It's high time the 'fasts unto deaths' and 'indefinite fasts' are classified as attempt to commit suicide and dealt firmly.

Sabarimala and Buddhism

2006-12-19T16:04:00.000+05:30

The following has been taken from several Web sites. Please let me know your opinions.

It's the Iyyappa season again. Millions of Iyyappa devotees converge at Sabarimala in Kerala. The Sabarimala pilgrimage has seen a sudden spurt over the last couple of decades.
The pilgrimage to Sabarimala is different from pilgrimages to other major centres in Hinduism. It requires the devotee to observe severe austerities for 41 days. The devotee must "keep away from all social activities and spend his time praying and singing bhajans" and "must eat only vegetarian food and abstain from meat, physical or verbal violence, alcohol and tobacco and intoxicants in any form. The devotee must sleep on the floor, use a wooden block for a pillow and walk barefeet."
Such austerities are not required for other pilgrimages. And it is this difference that makes the pilgrimage and Iyyappa interesting.
The austerities followed by the Iyyappa devotees are similar to the vows, known as ashta-shilas, taken by Buddhists.
The Iyyappa temple in Sabarimala was built by a Pandalam king. The Pandalam dynsasty is an offshoot of the Pandya dynasty of Tamil Nadu. And the Pandalam king who built the Iyyappa temple was not a Hindu. He was a Buddhist.
And naturally, the 'temple' he built was in fact, a Buddhist monastery. The temple is supposed to be the place where a great Jain or Buddhist monk attained Nirvana.
Whoever created the myth of Iyyappa as a Hindu God who is the son of Vishnu (Mohini avataar) and Shiva has also brought in a Muslim saint called Vaavar. All Iyyappa devotees go first to Vaavar's mosque at Erumely and then proceed to the temple. They never bother to think how Iyyappa who is supposed to be the son of Shiva and Vishnu, could have possibly met got help from a Muslim who lived just a few hundred years ago.
The pilgrims' chant of 'Swamiye Saranam Iyyappa' is similar to the Buddhist chant of 'Buddham Saranam Gachhaami'. In no other Hindu temple is the word 'Saranam' used in a chant.
The Makara Jyoti which appears mysteriously in the Sabarimala forests on the Makara Sankranti day gave it the name Potalaka. The surprise: The Dalai Lama's palace in Lhasa is called - Potala!
Hsuen Tsang refers to Avalokitesvara* on the Potala in the following words, summarised by Waters (1905): "In the south of the country near the sea was the Mo-lo-ya (Malaya) mountain, with its lofty cliffs and ridges and deep valleys and gullies, on which were sandal, camphor and other trees. To the east of this was Pu-ta-lo-ka (Potalaka) mountain with steep narrow paths over its cliffs and gorges in irregular confusion..."
The posture of Iyyappa is unique. He is the only God in the Hindu Pantheon who is in a sitting position. Almost all images of Buddha are in sitting position. Some Iyyappa temples in Kerala have the idols of Iyyappa almost alike the Buddha idol.
Iyyappa is also known as Dharma Sasta. As is well known that word 'Dharma' is deeply rooted in Buddhist literature. Eg. 'Sadhamma' means Teachings of The Buddha. Sasta is a well known epithet applied to The Buddha. Even today The Buddha is referred to as Sasta in the daily prayer of Buddhists, e.g. 'Sattha dev manussanam'. The Amarkosha mentions Sastha as one of the names of Buddha.
Unlike in other temples, caste barriers are weak in this temple, which is a common feature of all those shrines which were previously of Buddhist faith. This became necessary for the Brahmins to concede to, so that masses could be wooed away from Buddhism.
This must be viewed in the light of the fact that Brahmins, led by Adi Shankara, were on warpath against Buddhism. After driving away the Buddhists, they took over the Buddhist monastaries and converted them into temples. There are stories of Adi Shankara and other saints 'winning' in debates with Buddhists.
Though Buddhism disappeared from the South, it integrated into the southern culture. Buddha had become reincarnation of Vishnu. Some sects have replaced Balarama or Parasurama with The Buddha in the ten incarnations of Vishnu. The worship of Sathanar, Ayyanar, Dharma Raja and Bodhi Raj are old Buddha worship. (Notice the words Dharma, Satha, Bodhi etc)
Iyyappa has the vajradanda, a crooked stick in his right arm. The vajra is a characteristic weapon of Bodhisattva.

*Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva of compassion, is one of the most important and popular Buddhist dieties. Although he originally was conceived of in a Mahayana context, he has been worshipped under different names and in different shapes in nearly every form of Buddhism in every country Buddhism has entered. Avalokitesvara first appears in Indian Buddhism. He is originally mentioned as one of a number of bodhisattvas. These bodhisattvas are personifications of various attributes of the Buddha.

How to rescue a drowned cellphone

2006-12-06T21:27:00.000+05:30

All might NOT be lost the next time you drop your cell phone in the toilet.

According to Lifehack, even if your cell phone goes for a swim, you might still be able to rescue it:

"I took the phone home, removed the battery and put it in the oven for a good bake on the "warm" setting, followed by a half hour in front of the blow dryer. It sprang back to life. I thought that was pretty cool, although the first friend I called wanted to know if I’d washed the phone before dialing. I guess he was worried about getting toilet germs in his ear," says Anne, who had dropped it in the toilet.

Try it at your own risk, but since your phone is already wet, you really have nothing to lose by trying to repair it in this fashion; and if it works, you'll have saved yourself some money at the cell phone store.

I faced a similar problem an year ago (No! I didn,t drop it in the toilet.) We (the phone and I) just got drenched at a waterpark.

Though I was clueless, I put it out to dry in the blazing sun for a couple of days. It is still functioning normally.

Thumbi Vaa (Sanghathil Paadatha)

2006-11-23T21:56:00.000+05:30

This is a story of a mesmerising piece of music rediscovered after almost two decades.
There was a Tamil movie called Auto Raja (1982), with Vijayakant in the lead. The music was scored by Shankar Ganesh, except for one song - Sangathil Paadatha Kavithai - which was composed, set to music and sung by Maestro Illayaraja. The song sank without a trace along with Shankar Ganesh's mediocre songs in the movie.
After a few years, Director Balu Mahendra wanted the Maestro to use the same tune and music in a song for Olangal, a movie he was making in Malayalam.
This song Thumbi Vaa, became a huge hit. But neither this nor the Tamil original was popular in Tamil Nadu.
But things suddenly changed in 2005. Illayaraja conducted a live programme in Chennai. He sang the song (only humming) accompanied by one of the most brilliant orchestral performance by his troupe.
I saw the programme in Jaya TV and was mesmerised by the song. In fact, the entire Tamil Nadu really 'heard' the song for the first time. It has become so popular now that a jewellery house has used the tune for its advertisement.
I came across the clipping of the live performance of the song by Illaiyaraja in Chennai. He doesn't sing the song, but humms it, accompanied by his orchestra in all its grandeur. A definite must. This is in YouTube, uploaded by SaiSachin.
Here it is. It is one of my favourites.
How to play the clip: Allow the video to download at least 75 per cent before playing (watch the horizontal red bar below the clip). If the clip starts playing immediately, click the pause button and allow the horizontal bar to complete at least 75 per cent. Click the play button.

Here is the link for the Tamil original from Auto Raja. As this song is rarely available, the music quality may be bad.
http://as01.cooltoad.com/music/song.php?id=216696

And here is the super-hit Malayalam version sung by Janaki.
http://music.cooltoad.com/music/song.php?id=232077

Demand for quota in cricket!

2006-11-23T17:14:00.000+05:30

There was a joke spread through emails some time back on how the Indian cricket team would fare if quotas are introduced in cricket. It was just a joke, describing several funny possibilities. Now, our politicians have actually called for quotas in cricket!
This is what Ramdas Athawale has to say on our defeat to SA. His comments are in bold:

New Delhi, Nov 23 (PTI) Members of Parliament today expressed disappointment over India’s humiliating loss to South Africa in the second cricket one-dayer in Durban, with some of them demanding coach Greg Chappell’s removal and an explanation from BCCI chief Sharad Pawar.
Senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Kumar Malhotra said Pawar must take some hard decisions to ensure India’s sequence of defeats was broken.
‘‘People feel hurt after they watch the performance of the Indian cricket team. Since Pawar is BCCI chief, he should tell what are the steps he is taking to save the team from continuous defeats,’’ he said.
‘‘What he thinks about the coach has to be decided by him,’’ he added.
Holding Chappell responsible for the defeats, RPI MP Ramdas Athawale demanded removal of the coach and non-performing players.
‘‘This is a disappointing performance as India could score only 91 runs. This means Greg Chappell is not fulfilling his responsibilities. This defeat has brought disrepute to India. ‘‘We also have demanded that at the district level scheduled caste and scheduled tribe players should be given reservation and the players performing better should be nominated for selection in Indian team,’’ he said.

Private sector banks and passbooks

2006-11-21T15:38:00.000+05:30

No doubt, private banks have stolen a march over public sector banks due to their efficiency and superior deployment of technology. But when making profit becomes the ONLY motive, service suffers.

The notification by the Reserve Bank of India on issuance of passbooks is one such case. The notification was issued on October 4. But not even a single new private sector bank has implemented it. Why?

If this is their response to RBI's circular, one wonders what will happen to our complaints.

This is the RBI circular:

Date: Oct 04, 2006

Customer Service – Non-issuance of Passbooks to Savings Bank Accountholders (Individuals)
RBI /2006-07/139DBOD.No.Leg.BC.32 /09.07.005/2006-07

October 4, 2006

All Scheduled Commercial Banks(Excluding RRBs)

Dear Sir,

Customer Service – Non-issuance of Passbooks to Savings Bank Accountholders (Individuals)

We have been receiving representations from customers including senior citizens' associations that many banks have discontinued issuing pass books to Savings Bank Account holders (Individuals). It has also been pointed out that this decision of discontinuing the pass book system has been taken by the banks unilaterally causing much inconvenience to the account holders. It has also come to our notice that these banks are issuing Statement of Account to Savings Bank account holders at quarterly intervals instead of at monthly intervals as stipulated in our circular DBOD.No.Leg.BC.74/ 09.07.005/2004-05 dated April 10, 2004.

2. In this connection, it may be mentioned that a passbook is a ready reckoner of transactions and is handy and compact and as such, is far more convenient to the small customer than a statement of account. Use of statements has some inherent difficulties viz. (a) these need to be filed regularly (b) the opening balance needs to be tallied with closing balance of last statement (c) loss of statements in postal transit is not uncommon and obtaining duplicates thereof involves expense and inconvenience (d) ATM slips during the interregnum between two statements does not provide a satisfactory solution as full record of transactions is not available and (e) there are a large number of small customers who do not have access to computers / internet etc. As such, non-issuance of pass-books to such small customers would indirectly lead to their financial exclusion.

3. Banks are therefore advised to invariably offer pass book facility to all its savings bank account holders (individuals) and in case the bank offers the facility of sending statement of account and the customer chooses to get statement of account, the banks must issue monthly statement of accounts in terms of our circular DBOD.No.Leg.BC.74/ 09.07.005/2004-05 dated April 10, 2004. The cost of providing such Pass Book or Statements should not be charged to the customer.

4. Please acknowledge receipt.

Yours faithfully

(Prashant Saran)

Chief General Manager-in-Charge

Access restricted Web sites with Google

2006-11-20T22:06:00.000+05:30

(from http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/h/4807 )

Google free proxy! Access restricted web sites using Google language tools service as a proxy.Contributed by: bigthistle [12/20/05 Link to this hack]

A little tutorial found on the italian site www.manuali.net inspired me for this hack. That tutorial suggests to translate a webpage, using Google translator, to access it even if restricted.
It worked fine but something else was needed... why translate?!
...
Ok, let's start from the beginning. We all know that Google is more than a search engine; we do use it as provider for email, mapping, news and many other services. Google is now also a free proxy service. Proxy is a device that stands between a PC and the internet, providing all the connections to the world wide web. What a proxy does is to receive all data from a requested site, so when you access web pages all data come from proxy.
What's the purpose for Google as a proxy? We often use office/school/university connections, usually those services are set to provide more safety, blocking the access to undesidered web sites (the "black list"). What you can do now is use Google translator service (language tools) as a proxy to bypass the restrictions set for our connection!
You just need to type the following URL:
http://www.google.com/translate?langpair=enen&u=www.forbiddensite.com (www.forbiddensite.com stands for the URL you need to go to...)
What you'll get is the translation (english to english!) of the page you want to see... your connection is directed to a google.com page so this page won't be blocked (would be blocked only with google.com on the black list), no matter what's the content.
Notice that the URL has been a little hacked because the parameter "langpair"(1) is set to "enen" (english/english) so the page is processed by Google but you can keep the original language of the page (no need to translate!). If you need another language (e.g. french) you just need to set the parameter langpair to "frfr" and you'll be able to read french pages in french!
A couple of examples:
english... http://www.google.com/translate?langpair=enen&u=hacks.oreilly.com
italian (my own homepage!)... http://www.google.com/translate?langpair=itit&u=www.bigthistle.altervista.org
Last but not least: if you use this trick, you're not sure to protect your privacy, this kind of connection lets you see blacklisted pages but doesn't hide your IP address. Just go to http://www.google.com/translate?langpair=enen&u=www.whatismyip.com to see your IP is not hidden...
That's all, bye.

Unhygienic Eatery

2006-11-18T15:52:00.000+05:30

The video here is of an roadside eatery. Eating in such places is fraught with risks. But this one is worse. Before and after the eatery's 'business hours', this place is used as a toilet.
Just see the brisk business in the clip.

Wrong Focus

2006-10-26T20:14:00.000+05:30

If there is any organisation or working without any focus, it is Indian Government. In the rare instance when it has one, the focus is not where it should be.

The anti-AIDS campaign is one such activity. There are several ways in which AIDS spreads, like during blood transfusion. But for some strange reason, the focus is only on sex. The 'sub-focus', if you can call it - is only on men. As if only men go astray.

Now, a study, by Royal Society of Medicine, has said India is making "perilous mistakes" in its fight against AIDS. Here is a report:

India flawed by focus on sex in campaign against AIDS: study

Paris, Oct 27 (AFP) India is making perilous mistakes in its fight against AIDS by assuming the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is being spread overwhelmingly by sex and especially by prostitutes, a study warns.
India is considered by many specialists to be an easy target for AIDS, despite the health authorities’ insistence that they are making headway against the disease.
In May, the Geneva-based agency UNAIDS said India had 5.7 million people living with HIV/AIDS - the highest figure in the world, ahead of South Africa where the figure stands at 5.5 million. The government says the tally is 5.2 million.
The new study, published by Britain’s prestigious Royal Society of Medicine, does not wade into the row over these figures, but instead lashes India’s assumption that sex, especially with prostitutes, is the main driver for new infections.
‘‘It is inconsistent with evidence and very likely wrong,’’ is the blunt verdict delivered by US researchers David Gisselquist and Mariette Corea in the society’s International Journal of STD and AIDS.
According to India’s National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), 86 percent of HIV infections are from sexual transmission, and according to three studies that have helped underpin the country’s AIDS strategies, prostitutes account for 27 per cent of the total.
But Gisselquist and Corea - who did extensive field research in India - say these calculations are terribly wide of the mark.
The total estimate of infections comes from hospital staff, who assess and report routes of transmission for patients admitted with AIDS.
But many personnel routinely assign cases to the category of sexual acquisition without asking if the patient may have been exposed to infection through blood, the authors say.
And they argue the official tally of prostitutes in India, their number of clients and the frequency of clients’ visits are probably huge overestimates.
In addition, there is evidence that commercial sex workers are far likelier to use condoms and less likely to have HIV than health officials believe, the study says.
Its best estimate is that prostitutes account for just two per cent of HIV infections - and a high estimate would be 13 per cent, less than half that of NACO’s figure.
This means that India is ignoring threats from other sources, in particular the re-use of unsterile instruments in hospitals, cosmetic services, dental surgeries and tattoo parlours.
In one incident, commercial sex workers reported they had stood in line for tattoos that were administered without changing needles or inkpot between customers.
And the researchers found a common mistaken belief among the general public as well as the medical profession that HIV survives no more than seconds or a few minutes outside the body. ‘‘The official sexualisation of the HIV epidemic has blinded just about everybody to considering (and protecting against) non-sexual routes of transmission,’’ the journal said in an editorial.

Bus!

2006-10-19T06:46:00.000+05:30

The pictures speak for themselves. These are pictures that tell the story of the sorry state of most MTC (Metropolitan Transport Corporation) buses in Chennai.

On the left is what is left of a bus seat, and on the right is what the poor bus drivers have to put up with. The heat and engine noise near the driver's seat was unbearable. There is no point in blaming the drivers if they have to work in such conditions.

One wonders why the transport corporation still put these tin boxes on the road.

Change

2006-10-18T16:21:00.000+05:30

Everything changes, say the Communists. Though I am not a Communist, I have decided to change (the blog, not myself).
Why the change? No great reason. But my vision of life has been undergoing changes as my thinking becomes more mature (no, please don't laugh).
My friend Pradeep Nair said (long ago) that one day I will change my views on Hindutva. I don't think even he remembers it. It is happening, but in a different way.
I have veered more to the views of J.Krishnamurti and Osho from hardcore Hindutva. The way I look at religion has also changed drastically over the years.
So has the blog.
The blog will discuss everything under the sun. No restrictions. And there will also be more pictures.

Danger in waiting

2006-10-17T08:12:00.000+05:30

The bus stop at Guindy in Chennai has a useless and rusted iron board with sharp edges which is used only for sticking bills. May be the sadistic bloke who put up the board at such a low height wanted to ensure that whoever uses the pavement will be in danger of hurting himself. The civic body too seems to be blissfully unaware of the danger. May be as usual, it is waiting for someone to get injured seriously before taking action.

Celebrating treason

2006-10-08T16:18:00.000+05:30

Chandan Mitra (Pioneer)

With no logic, no legal figment and no public support at their command, the NGO brigade has descended to wringing out every drop of emotion, with the help of a misguided section of the media. They have spun out a tear-jerker that could be a Bollywood scriptwriter's envy. The leading light of the India-baiting jholawala brigade, one Nandita Haksar, was in her element on the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhawan last Thursday. Caressing seven-year-old Ghalib, son of death merchant Afzal Guru, she claimed that the (tutored) child told President Kalam that his life's ambition to become a doctor would remain unfulfilled if his father's life were snatched away. The boy cutely stood, suitably melancholic, under Haksar's ample protection while his mother and grandmother recounted their interaction with a sympathetic President. Split TV screens, meanwhile, kept zooming in on that blabbering classes' icon Arundhati Roy who can be guaranteed to cheerlead any gathering that aims to berate India's pride, rule of law, or economic progress.

Those who have made a profession out of running India down have found a new cause celebre in the death row convict. Having tasted blood by successfully browbeating the system into exonerating Afzal's co-conspirator SAR Geelani, the India bashers are convinced they can notch up another victory by getting the pusillanimous Congress leadership to buckle under pressure. Already, a jittery Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has spoken out in their favour, warning that the Valley may erupt if the hanging happens. Although his Cabinet colleague, Jammu leader Mangat Ram Sharma, has been forced to sound a dissenting note and one of the party's few mass leaders, former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh picked up courage to demand Afzal's execution, the Congress is petrified at the thought of taking a decision either way.

To begin with, I fail to see why there should be a debate at all. The matter is clear-cut. Afzal Guru was one of the terrorists who stormed Parliament House on December 13, 2001 and it was he who first opened fire on security personnel, apparently killing three of the six who died protecting the majesty of democracy and the nation's honour that fateful morning. He was tried, convicted and sentenced to death by a POTA Court - a verdict upheld by the Supreme Court.

The same process of law failed to find sufficient evidence against his cohort SAR Geelani and acquitted him much to the chagrin of patriotic civilians as well as the security establishment.

Geelani breezed out of Tihar and held a Press conference amid the raucous applause of the 'Hate India' brigade, in which he extolled the virtues of the Indian judiciary, while slamming the political establishment.

Consequently, Geelani faced an awkward dilemma when the Hate India-wallahs started baying for the judiciary's blood in the Afzal case, claiming the convict did not get a fair trail. This was reiterated by his wife Tabassum, who falsely asserted before TV cameras that her husband did not even get the services of a lawyer - a charge she apparently conveyed to the President. The duplicity of the jholawalas who have taken control of Tabassum, in a way reminiscent of Teesta Setalvad's stranglehold over Zahira Sheikh prior to the latter's somersault, is mindboggling. If SAR Geelani got a fair trial in the same case, how come Afzal Guru did not? The bottom line of the NGO brigade's contention is that justice must conform to their likes and dislikes. So, if the Supreme Court refuses to stop construction of the Sardar Sarovar dam, it shows the Indian judiciary to be contemptible; if it awards the death penalty to Afzal Guru, there's a miscarriage of justice. But if it frees Geelani, the judiciary covers itself with glory.

Unable to explain the logic behind these contradictory assertions, some professional agitators are now claiming that most terrorist outrages in India are suspect. I heard one of them tell a TV channel that the Chittisinghpora massacre (on the eve of President Bill Clinton's visit) was "staged", while the Nanded bomb blasts were the handiwork of Bajrang Dal, the attack on the RSS headquarters at Nagpur "suspect", and there were big question marks on the Malegaon incident. First, each of these claims is patently false. Second, to obliquely suggest that the attack on Parliament was "staged" by Indian agencies reveals the depravity of their minds.

To be entertained, a mercy petition by a death row convict must consider whether he is remorseful or at least regrets his action. In the present case, the death peddler is not only unrepentant, but has actually refused to sign his mercy petition. At least he is an honest jihadi who carried out the Parliament attack in the belief (howsoever misplaced) that by seeking to destabilise India he was responding to a higher call. Afzal was driven by the same conviction that motivated several well-educated, sophisticated men to hijack planes and fly them into the WTC towers on 9/11 the same year.

Like them, Afzal was ready to die in the process, just as his five Pakistani colleagues did that morning. Why then, should his life be spared? Especially when we already have the example of Azhar Masood who had to be freed in exchange for passengers on IC 814? May be it is precisely in the hope that fellow jihadis will stage yet another successful hijack and get Afzal released that the Hate India agitators have mounted their tear-jerker campaign.

After all, their sole aim is to weaken and eventually destroy the Indian state and subsequently the civilisation itself. In any self-respecting country they would have been declared Fifth Columnists and prosecuted for treason. In India, on the other hand, they are celebrities who hog large chunks of airtime and column centimetres.

However, while the agenda and modus operandi of the NGO brigade is transparent, the Congress party's surreptitious scheming needs to be deplored roundly. Afzal's hanging, like Geelani's acquittal, is not a Muslim issue. The average Indian Muslim is not batting for Afzal. Like the rest, the Muslims regard Afzal as a traitor who has been sentenced to death by the due process of law and, therefore, deserves to be hanged. But bereft of any achievement in governance, the Congress has decided to aggressively fragment Indian society on caste and communal lines hoping to reap an electoral windfall. It believes that Arjun Singh's systematic destruction of institutions of excellence will get OBCs flocking to the party while clemency for Afzal will drive Muslims in droves into the Congress kitty. If in the process India gets irreparably mauled, so be it.

The people of India have repeatedly seen through such games. Had they been stupid, VP Singh would not have been reduced to a mere jhuggi-jhopri dwellers' leader today. The same fate could well be awaiting those Congress stalwarts who are plotting against the nation in cahoots with the jholawalas.

The Observer

Tatkal Reservation Changes from Monday, November 21, 2011

Indian mobile payments

iPhone4 vs iPhone4S

Nexus and Android updates

Testing multiple photo post from Twitter.

Testing multiple photo post from Twitter.

Pick your favorite inbox style in Gmail

UGC says Arindam Chaudhuri's IIPM

Pasting images into messages into Gmail just got easier

Testing from Android

Video chat with Facebook, Twitter friends

Invite for my daughter's Bharata Natyam performance

Early birds

MPs not happy with 300 percent hike, want more

No cash

Banners

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About Opera

Tirupati : Darshan and other controversies

Osho on true religion

Milk Booth?

E72 firmware upgrade to 31.023

Sharp fall in Tata Indicom customer service

Sharp fall in Tata Indicom customer service

Encroachments around GP Road

G.ho.st shuts down

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Where's the bin?

Parampara and tulasi

Facebook Rolls Out New, Simplified, and Improved Privacy Features

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Yahoo! Meme

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Rituals boost brains, even for atheists

Customer service: Take it to the next level

Havan (Homam) for bacteria-free homes, says National Botanical Institute Study

Abandoned puppy

Tata DoCoMo promotional offer

Tata DoCoMo - a few weeks later...

More problems dog Tata DoCoMo launch

Sloppy launch

One way?

Swami Dayananda Saraswati's lecture

No parking? So what?

cop on the road

Efforts going waste...

How Nokia replaces chargers

Tamil? What Tamil?

Flock

Parking at Chennai Central

The Landmark Forum introduction

testing from cellspin

New, but dirty

23012009079

Dead, but...

E 71, the greatest

The Dell bus

Blogging from Windows Live Writer

Google employees get Japanese Space Toilets

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Some customer service this

From Twitter Blog: Tracking Twitter

Instantbird is like Firefox for chat

Microsoft Launches Drag-And-Drop App Builder Popfly

The Hindu Business Line : What are ‘Participatory notes’?

Facebook's friend grouping

Google's mobile phone in 2 weeks? Not likely

Split your Windows screen with WinSplit Revolution

Downloading videos from YouTube

Web based

Windows Applications

OS X

Linux