Category Archives: General

I liked playing Farmville on Facebook quite a lot until my farm grew so large that it took hours to manage it. As I love automation I started to search for some tools to automate the ploughing, planting and harvesting of crops.

My search landed me with Farmville Magic Tools. Its a good program that can automatically do most of the mundane stuff on the farm. Download the application from here. One thing that I liked the most is that it auto updates itself for new plants.

The application is easy to use and self explanatory.

1) Start Farmville
2) While the game is running, drag the cow over the game
window
***OR***
2) Press the Mooo button to activate the Mooo Box
and place it over your farm.

*TO PLOW*
1) Zoom out the view as far as possible and press the Magic
Plow Tool button.
*TO PLANT*
1) Select a seed in the game
2) Zoom out the view as far as possible and press the Magic
Plant Tool button.
*TO HARVEST*
1) Zoom out the view as far as possible and press the Magic
Harvest Tool button. You can do all operations in fullscreen mode using hotkeys.
You can enable the Automatic Sell/Delete confirm. Be careful.
You can enable the Automatic Harvest/Collect for trees and
animals, just click on the item and the program will click
harvest/collect for you.

Blog, How Tos

Make a mobile site for your blog in 3 steps with Google Reader

May 2, 2010 Utkarsh Leave a comment

Now a days there has been a trend of accessing the web through the phone.

The reasons are:-

Its its easy as all carriers have decent data speeds and in most the browsing is free.

Ease of use as one carries the mobile phone all the time unlike a computer.

So why not convert your blog to a blog that looks great on mobile phones. To view this blog on mobile mode go to http://m.mtaram.com. For this we would be using the built in functionality of the Google Reader to render the feed for the mobile phones.

What you need:-

1. You blog RSS feed URL

2. Access to your Domain control panel if you are hosting your own blog. Or you can register a free domain name of the numerous sited found on Google and redirect it to your mobile blog using a free URL redirection service.

Step 1.

Create a sub-domain like say http://m.mtaram.com

Step 2.

Open your Blogs RSS feeds within Google Reader. The URL looks like http://www.google.com/reader/view/feed/http://feeds.feedburner.com/mmwd [the bold part is the RSS feed of my Blog via Feedburner]. You can use any RSS feed or burn your own Feed using Feedburner.

We need to modify this URL for mobile view. To do so add a /m/ to the URL between reader and view. http://www.google.com/reader/m/view/feed/http://feeds.feedburner.com/mmwd.

Step 3.

This can be done in two ways.

First: You can permanently redirect http://m.<yourblog>.com to ">http://www.google.com/reader/view/feed/<your feed url>

Second: You can create an index.php file and specify the redirection in the index.php

Open a notepad file and copy paste the following
<?
Header( "HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently" );
Header( "Location: <your blog url>" );
?>
where you would be replacing <your blog url> with the modified Google Reader URL.

And you are done. Pass on the ULR of your mobile blog to your fellows and readers and enjoy.

Apart from this there is a plugin for wordpress that detects the device and renders the blog. But some how I did not like it and opted for this faster and easier method.

How Tos

Application wise Network Bandwidth monitoring

May 1, 2010 Utkarsh Leave a comment

There are times when you seriously need to monitor your computer activities. The most important thing to monitor among these is the network connections and the bandwidth they are using if you are not on an unlimited connection and billed heftily for extra usage.

I searched for some and found out the Windows 7s resource monitor does this by default. No need to look beyond.

As you can see in the picture that the network tab shows us the details of all the applications that are using the network resources. Its helpful in so many ways. It helps me monitor which application is using un necessary bandwidth and can be closed. At times you would not like to go your bandwidth to waste for unwanted application specially when you are using a pay per MB plan for the internet access.

Apart from Applications the Resource Monitor can show what all connection an application has made and how much its uploading / downloading.

Apart from this the application also shows the number of TCP connections made by all the applications using the resources of the network.

It also shows the listening port details just in case you are curious to know about them 🙂

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/

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.

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.

FUN n TP

The Art of Appraisal

April 23, 2010 Ridhima Leave a comment

Big Boss: This year your performance was good, excellent and outstanding.

So, your rating is "average".

Kumar: What? How come ‘average’?

Big Boss: Because…err…uhh…you lack domain knowledge.

Kumar: But last year you said I am a domain expert and you put me in this

project as a domain consultant.

Big Boss: Oh is it? Well, in that case, I think your domain knowledge has

eroded this year.

Kumar: What???

Big Boss: Yes, I didn’t see you sharing knowledge on Purchasing domain.

Kumar: Why would I? Because I am not in Purchasing, I am in Manufacturing.

Big Boss: This is what I don’t like about you. You give excuse for

everything.

Kumar: Huh? *Confused*

Big Boss: Next, you need to improve your communication skills.

Kumar: Like what? I am the one who trained the team on "Business

Communication", you sat in the audience and took notes, you remember?

Big Boss: Oh is it? Errr…well..I mean, you need to improve your Social

Pragmatic Affirmative Communication.

Kumar: Huh? What the hell is that? *Confused*

Big Boss: See! That’s why you need to learn about it.

Kumar: *head spinning*

Big Boss: Next, you need to sharpen your recruiting skills. All the guys

you recruited left within 2 months.

Kumar: Well, not my mistake. You told them you will sit beside them and

review their code, and most resigned the next day itself. Couple of them

even attempted suicide.

Big Boss:*stunned* (recovers from shock) Err…anyway, I tried to give you

a better rating, but our Normalization process gave you only ‘average’.

Kumar: Last year that process gave me ‘excellent’. This year just

‘average’? Why is this process pushing me up and down every year?

Big Boss: That’s a complicated process. You don’t want to hear.

Kumar: I’ll try to understand. Go ahead.

Big Boss: Well, we gather in a large room, write down the names of

sub-ordinates in bits of paper, and throw them up in the air. Whichever

lands on the floor gets ‘average’, whichever lands on table gets ‘good’,

whichever we manage to catch gets ‘excellent’ and whichever gets stuck to

ceiling gets ‘outstanding’.

Kumar: (eyes popping out) What? Ridiculous! So who gets ‘poor’ rating?

Big Boss: Those are the ones we forget to write down.

Kumar: What the hell! And how can paper bits stick to ceiling for

‘outstanding’?

Big Boss: Oh no, now you have started questioning our 20 year old

organizational process!

Kumar: *faints

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.

FUN n TP, News

Obama’s Palm’s Hidden message or mere publicity message?

March 30, 2010 Ridhima Leave a comment

I wonder at the news which said that OBAMA”s Hand form a strange kind of a sign which means a curse for this world!!! The Russians were the first to pick this viral message up and pass it to the whole world.

I wonder where are we going?. The digital media advancements have gone from Paid journalism to paid WOM, but do we also make messages on the sake of other’s reputation and merely coin the money?. Is it right? or is it not?. How far making an issue our of nothing and coining it is successful?. I think what more can i hear now?. Cows coming from Space? or a man giving birth to a child?!!!

Mtaram's Daze