All posts by Utkarsh

Solution designer with Firstsource solutions. A post grad in Networks and IT Infrastructure. Technology enthusiast, blogger, webdesigner, Network security aspirant and in love with electronics and gadgets. This blog is an attempt to share what I find interesting... almost anything @Mtaram on twitter and Google+

Sitting the kitchen of my parents home I was thinking about what to post about and then I drifted towards Apple. Apple that comes in fantabulous designs with state of the art software.

So why would I buy an apple product?

First of all they are awesome in design, got cool looks and have the chick factor.

They sure do attract the audience and make you feel at par with the similarly qualified person.

The apple products have a good flaunt value which I couldn’t have even with an xps m1210 3 years back.

The quality of software in the Apple products is at par with most of the software. They are so intuitive and easy to use. ITs so great that I had to hack my xps to install Leopard on it to run all the Mac software i wanted to.

The battery life of Apple notebooks is way more than the normal notebooks. They run for more than 6 hours at a stretch.

The first and the only phone, the iphone by apple set new industry standards and moved the focus from the voice to data and value added services. And the way it does is so seamless that nothing seems out of the way.

I guess that would be all from me but I would love to hear more from you all. Coming soon a post on reasons why I wont buy an Apple product.

Work

10 New Indian Web Startups worth mentioning

April 29, 2010 Utkarsh Leave a comment

ChalkPad technology focused Start-up Company that aims to revolutionize the business of education. The company envisions strengthening the academic and financial performance of various schools, colleges and universities. It aims to improve constituent services, increase the accountability and provide better educational experiences by bringing together people, processes and technology. http://www.chalkpad.in/

Clayology uses Stop Motion and Clay Animations for product development and marketing for their clients using various advertising channels.
The company was founded in July 2008 in Mumbai. Their team has an expertise from the fields of animation, broadcast, print, radio and online media.
Their services include concept and content creation for television commercials, product development and marketing using various modes such social media, video and mobile advertising. http://www.clayology.com

Gechi is a mobile application that helps you use Twitter using simple text messages.
This application is created and owned by a group of NIT and IIM alumni.
The promoters came with this idea when they figured that tweeting is heavily dependent on computers and mobile phones with Internet / GPRS connectivity. They then worked to develop a service which is based on a simple logic – to enable TWITTER account holders to tweet (receive & send) messages via SMS from their mobile. http://www.gechi.in/

Longlongago is online children’s books library where one can rent books and return it on a later date.
The aim of this online library portal is to make available original and interesting stories for children. Their collection includes some of the classics like ‘Panchatantra’, Chhota-Bheem, Aesop, and many other children’s books from around the world. The books are either paperback books or beautiful hardcover books.
There are no late fees or per book reading fee. http://www.longlongago.in/

YouthKiAwaaz as the name suggests is an online media platform dedicated towards highlighting the voice of the youth.
The platform aims social change and development, leveraging web technology to reach out to a mass educated audience. The promoters believe that a small group of determined and like-minded people can change the course of history and the youth has the power to create a new environment of peaceful co-existence. http://www.youthkiawaaz.com/

Scribesnook.com is a social network which provides a facility for the creative writers to post their original writings and share it with a passionate group of writers and readers from across the globe.
For the unpublished writers who are still learning, one of the best ways to get feedback on their writing is by opting for web. Nowadays, the writer’s group is increasingly taking a place on web. http://www.scribesnook.com/

Pixdelite is a one stop software solution to create Digital photo-books, calendars and greeting cards.
This software is free of cost and can be downloaded from their website. The interesting thing about the software is that anyone can personalize the digital images on their own.
To use the software you will have to follow the step by stop instructions regarding what you need to do. You will get a choice on every aspect of the design. http://www.pixdelite.com/

SimplyBooks is a newly launched online bookshop targeted for Indian book readers. It is the initiative of eMinds Knowledge Services, a company based in Gurgaon.
Most of the features you will find on the portal are the ones that already exist on other online bookshops but there are some features and impressive user interface which are comparatively much better than the other book portals. You can search books according to author, category and book title.

http://www.simplybooks.in/

Ideaken is an online platform where one can collaborate with others to innovate and win rewards and recognition.
The concept of ‘Collaborate to innovate’ mainly means that different companies or individuals group together to solve problems and develop customer centric solutions.
Ideaken was founded in 2009 to realize the practical use of the world’s best accepted principles. http://www.ideaken.com/

iDuple Webtop is a web application which mainly functions like Windows Desktop.
The idea of developing a Windows like web interface originates from the fact that Windows is a familiar environment for a user, and if applications are built that functions exactly like windows, it will definitely improve the user experience, which in turn will result in an increase in productivity. Webtop comes with a set of applications such as, Disk Drives, Calendar, RSS Manager, Sticky Notes, Notepads, Document Viewers, Email Clients, and Instant Messengers etc. http://www.iduple.com/

Reviews

Reliance Broadband+ vs Tata Photon+

April 28, 2010 Utkarsh Leave a comment

I recently bought Reliance Broadband+ connection for wireless internet as there were a lot of issue with the wired one due to the construction going around and the digging of roads involved. I enquired about both Tata and Reliance and had to buy Reliance as Tata was some how not feeling right.

Reliance has a lot many flexible plans and that tempted me to go for reliance.

Photon+ available in 73 cities (works all over the country with limited speeds)

Broadband+ available in 56 cities (works all over the country with limited speeds)

Cost comparison chart

Data Bandwidth	Reliance Broadband+	Tata Photon+
Modem	2299	2499
0.5 GB	499	500
1 GB	650	650
2 GB	750	750
3 GB	850	850
5 GB	899	950
10 Gb	*1050	1100
15 GB	*1550	1500
10 GB night	499	Not Applicable
1 GB day/ 10 GB night	849
2 GB day/ 10 GB night	949	Not Applicable
3 GB day/ 10 GB night	*849	Not Applicable
5 GB day/ 10 GB night	*1098	Not Applicable
10 GB day/ 10 GB Night	*1249	Not Applicable
10 GB city#	*899	Not Applicable
10 GB day/ 10 GB Night city#	*1098	Not Applicable
* =200 discount for a year from the date of purchase of connection. All costs in INR #city plans do not allow roaming

My Plan is the 3GB day/10GB night one.

Speed that I get are upto 350 KBPS at times but most of the time the connection is at 1.6 mbps ie arounf 150 to 200 KBPS which is decent enough.

While idle there is bare minimum usage of a couple of KB per second and it also goes to 0.00 KBPS when all connections are idle.

At times the device is not identified but just reinstalling the application once more does the trick and barely takes a minute. May be this is just with me.

One doubtful thing over here is that Reliance has no way of tracking the sessions as in they wont be able to show you how much data was downloaded/uploaded in day and night slots separately.

This might confuse the customers and the there will be billing issues. I was told by the contact centre executive that they are working on it so lets see how soon they can do it considering that its not that big a task. BSNL has been doing such session based tracking since the beginning.

One more thing that pushed me towards Reliance was low modem cost and the discount of INR 200 on the plans that are above INR 1000.

I have been using Reliance in various cities and the past experience had been good so I again went with the tried and tested one instead of experimenting.

If any one has any experience with Photon+ please share with us.

News

Why prices of RAM are sky high?

April 26, 2010 Utkarsh Leave a comment

I have been buying computer parts since last 10 years or so and I have observed a trend in the prices of computer memory. The prices tend to rise up every year or so and then fall.

But this year it has been exorbitantly high. I had bought 2gb Transcend stick for my notebook about an year before for INR 1100 that is around $20 and now the prices are almost double and reached in the range of INR 2000 to INR 2500 [$40 – $50].

What could be the reasons?

The phasing out of technology.

There was time when I used to hunt for SDRAM for my old machine and when I found it it was way more than the DDR RAM. Then when I was looking for the DDR RAM for my second computer in the age of DDR2 RAM I had to burn a hole in my student pocket to get one. And now its happening to DDR2 RAM as more and more manufacturers are moving in favour of newer, faster, power efficient, and larger latencies. RAM will get harder to find and there will be a day when you will have to get it online only as retailers will stop ordering new stocks and just get the slowly standardized DDR3 which is either 1333 or 1066. Since these are basically more efficient and cheaper to produce than the older DDR2, more people will start buying these if their motherboards are compatible.

And one more reason by the ITNERD

German RAM manufacturer Qimonda went bankrupt. This sent RAM prices up about 26% on the spot market. Basically, the assumption is that supplies which have been beyond healthy will tighten. But ARS does point this out:

…even if Qimonda ceased production tomorrow, the DRAM supply glut is so severe that there won’t be a shortage any time soon. Presumably, the IDC report factors in the drop in PC demand, both consumer and enterprise, that the industry faces in 2009.

So in short, we the consumers are being screwed…. Again.

Google

Google Places – Your local business on Google

April 26, 2010 Utkarsh Leave a comment

Millions of people search Google Maps every day. A free listing on Google Maps makes it easy for them to find you.

Google Places can be used to create your free listing. When potential customers search Maps for local information, they’ll find your business: your address, hours of operation, even photos of your storefront or products. It’s easy, free, and you don’t need a website of your own.

Benefits

Reach new customers on Google Maps and Google.com: Local customers are already searching for the products and services you offer. Why not make it easy for them to find you on Google search and on Google Maps

Works great for businesses of any size: Whether you run a office or dozens of shops, manage all your listings from a single account.

Update your listing at any time: Use Google Places to edit your listing whenever and however you like. Your Google Maps results will be updated in a few weeks, not next year.

News, Reviews

Why India is so hot this year

April 25, 2010 Utkarsh Leave a comment

The month of March 2010 was characterized by above normal temperatures over Delhi. The month started on a warm note with both maximum and minimum temperatures 5-6 Degrees C above their normal values. It was only during the second week when they were near normal.

The graph shows a lot of deviation in the temperature of Delhi. This is the same with all the cities across the country. The temperatures are at all time high. After 2005 this year has broken all the past records.

Patna experienced the hottest April in last 10 years and a new analysis of global surface temperatures released by NASA showed that the past decade was the warmest ever on Earth.

For India the major reason is a large anti-cyclonic follow over northwest and central India that caused downward motion of warm air.

“The subsidence warming, when combined with lack of moisture and a practically cloudless sky, re-sulted in more insulation and persistently high temperatures”. as said by the IMD sources.

Facebook

Facebook – the new face of evolving social media

April 23, 2010 Utkarsh Leave a comment

According to Facebook, Public will be the New Private. Goodbye Privacy, Social will now be the default status of the Internet as dominated by Facebook.

At the F8 conference, Facebook released stats of their growth. More importantly, they released tidbits of information which revolutionize the way the 400 million users of Facebook use the Internet.

Facebook has included.

A Universal Like Button
Auto-Login Capabilities using Facebook
A Facebook Social Bar

And the Open Graph!

So what all this mean and how is it going to change our experience of the Wild Wild Web?

Social plugins like the Universal Like button mean that you can instantly share on Facebook anything you like across the Web. Unlike the share, you can also see all your other friends who’ve liked it, and everyone else who shares the same interest. Lets see what Google and Twitter come up with against this.

A lot of sites will auto-login with your Facebook account. So, you don’t really need to login to Like something. Facebook Connect with it’s multiple permissions will evolve into a one-click permission button, where you can now logon to almost any website.

The Social Bar adds Facebook Chat. A small bar, hovering on your browser, with the Like Button and Facebook Chat. That’s not all, assuming you’ve auto-connected, it’ll also show you pictures of all your friends who’re currently on that site.

The Like Button has a few more features, like the Activity Stream and the Recommendations Stream. If you go to a Website, you will get recommendations based on your “Like” activity and that of your friends.

The Open Graph!

Facebook will now connect with over 30 partners across the Web to give you a more personal experience. Yelp in the USA maps businesses, restaurants etc. Pandora is prolific in the USA for music. Facebook plans to track usage of these sites deeply with your activity and that of your friends to give you recommendations. Go to CNN.com, and once it’s implemented, you’ll receive recommendations on the stories you might like. Pandora, once linked with Facebook will give you music recommendations. Check out a restaurant on Yelp and you can also see every review that your friends have made on nearby restaurants.

Docs for Facebook! Microsoft and Facebook are now collaborating to unleash on the Internet Docs.com, which is sure to prove to be competition for Google Docs.

Facebook can now evolve to more than just conversations. Docs can be uploaded either through a Web application or through a computer, and more, they can be edited realtime.

Facebook has also finally given details on Facebook Credits, perhaps the most long-awaited virtual currency on the Internet. This is especially important for those who like gaming on FB.

Facebook in India!

Facebook has tied up with Naukri.com, Times Internet and Espn Cricket. So now, users can share job postings on Facebook. Naukri, one of India’s largest job-search portals, has integrated Facebook’s new Social Plugins. This integration will give users the ability to share job postings with their circle of friends and view jobs posted by their friends on Facebook using the Naukri platform.

This move by Naukri is a brilliant First Strike as it is the only jobsite partner in India to partner with Facebook.

Times Internet has also jumped onto the bandwagon. Content on Timesofindia.com, Indiatimes.com and all sister websites will be connected via Facebook, to give you recommendations, the ability to instantly share on Facebook and many other features.

Cricinfo.com has also integrated Fb plugins. Cricinfo.com is prolific, and apart from sports news, also features blogs and opinions. And now, Liking the fact that your favourite IPL team is winning will be a click away!

Phew! This is a lot for one go. I am pretty sure that Facebook have massive plans and they are not far from the top. In case I have missed out on something please let us know via your comments.

Twitter

Power of Retweets

April 22, 2010 Utkarsh Leave a comment

What is a “retweet”or “retweeting”?

Have you ever received an interesting email and forwarded it to your friends? You know, like a funny joke or a breaking news item that you thought would be of interest to your friends so you hit the “forward” button on your email client to pass that message on. That’s kind of what “retweeting” is except in this case it applies to Twitter messages rather than an email.

< | ^ Examples

Why bother to RT [Retweet]?

Passing on of interesting message across circles.

The originator @username more exposure.

You establish yourself as community/social person.

By RTing, you demonstrate that you know how to retweet and that you are a more advanced Twitter user to your followers. This will help you retain your followers who may think of you more highly than someone that merely posts meandering Tweets about mundane things. (Like when you brush your teeth for example!)

If you retweet good content, you spread goodwill to your followers. this increases the retention of your followers.

Every time you retweet, the originator is notified of your message. Meaning, the person being retweeted will get the message in their “@ replies” inbox. This will increase the chances of the originator following you (if they are not already following you) or they may very well return the favor and retweet some of your more interesting tweets!

The majority of Twitter users are accustomed to “retweeting” important news items to a point where news is spread very quickly from the original source to the entire Twitter community. For example the Tsunami news and the Mumbai bomb blast or the Mumbai Train blast news. It was all over Twitter before it actually made it to the news channels.

Apart from this if you can tell of any other advantages of RTs please leave a comment.

Sports

IPL, politics and Match Fixing

April 18, 2010 Utkarsh Leave a comment

It was just the last evening I was with some old friends and we were discussing about how this IPL is just trying to be every where by playing with the sentiment of the nation who treats cricket as a national game [despite the national game being Hockey] and cricketers as Gods.

And today I wake up in the afternoon at 3 just to see the match fixing Breaking news all over the news channels.

The way the matches have been played and the way the points have tallied up, surely tells that some thing is there that is not normal or may be its just a speculation. Many experts are dumbfounded by league’s chairman- Lalit Modi’s almost accurate prediction of results in the tournament so far. And this is not for the first time the eyebrows are being raised over Modi’s so correct guesses. During last year’s edition, Modi had correctly predicted a Rajasthan Royals win even as their match against Kolkata Knight Riders was headed for a nail-biting finish.

There has been some issue between Modi and Tharoor over the Kerala IPL team and the IPL. Modi has been trying hard to stick to his chair as the authority of the IPL while Tharoor is now under intense pressure to resign, Modi has also landed in a soup as details have also emerged of his relatives’ stakes in Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab.

Modi alleged that Tharoor tried to pressurise him into not revealing the stakeholders’ identity, especially Sunanda. Tharoor denied the allegations and accused Modi of trying to scuttle Kochi’s bid. Its a ugly word war going on.

While Sunanda’s attorney today revealed that Ms Sunanda is voluntarily giving up her 4.5% stake in Koci and would not be in any way associated with the team and IPL from now on.

The IPL is moving towards what can I say the WWF wrestling where every thing is pre decided. We would like to have your say over this.

Mtaram's Daze