Review: imate Ultimate 8150 Handset

The Ultimate 8150 from i-Mate is more a looker than a doer


I am no big fan of either the Windows Mobile platform or smart phones but i guess there is a world beyond me. I do, however, think that i-mate and HTC make products that look good. Take the Ultimate 8150 from i-mate, for instance

The first thing that I found attractive about this phone was the way it was designed. Its bulk and uncomfortable and longish keys notwithstanding, it’s still a party magnet. There was a small difference though. I am used to a Blackberry scroll wheel on the right side, but the 8150 has it on the left. The touchscreen is accurate and works very well, and the phone features a headphone out, a large screen, one of the fastest processors (Xscale@520 Mhz with 128 MB RAM) in any smart phone, can take a mini SD card and also has a slot for VGA output to a projector. I tested the VGA output and was happy to see that if ever I need to make a PowerPoint presentation on the road and did not want to carry my laptop, this would prove a good substitute.

But beyond its looks, I will hve issues with the Ultimate 8150. Disappointingly, the battery runs out in just about a day. And the phone takes ages to switch on—you have to wait for four minutes before it is in a usable state. The alarm, well, won’t even wake a baby, the speakerphone could have been louder, and connecting to the Internet (agreed that Microsoft Mobile phones have had issues with viruses, so they need to make sure you understand the settings) must be made simpler. I have WiFi at home and office, but still had to spend about 30 minutes to get the browser working. And I am a techie at that!

The 8150 does not support data transfer using Bluetooth, so I was unable to transfer files from my PC or another phone using Bluetooth. The built in Internet Explorer is great, but Opera performed much better—so long as the battery lasted. The battery if it goes dead on you, you have recharge it for at least 15 minutes before you are able to switch on the phone.

I am in the habit of switching off my mobile at night. It switches on at 7 am when the alarm goes off. I think most of the phones do, but the 8150 did did not. When I got out of bed at 7:30 am, I had to manually switch it on, only to find an alert telling me I had missed an alarm. Funny and frustrating.

The phone does have its savoury side too. Setting up the exchange account on this phone for my email was one of the easiest. The sound quality on the headphones is good, and the DivX and MPEG playback are commendable.

The phone has standard options like an IR port, a USB port, SD slot and weighs in at about 152 grams. The screen is big and bright, a big plus point for on-road use. It also supports 3G and HSPDA (sadly not available in India) for high-speed browsing. As with all business phones, this too is a quad band phone. The camera is a 2mp one, but the performance is not worth writing about.

For a price of Rs 37,990, I would need to sit and think hard whether all I need is a looker. But if you are seriously looking for a business phone that works, you should just pass this one by.
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The Above Article was printed, in the Indian Express, on Sunday, May 25th, 2008

HEART OF METAL: Robotic Toys

Robotic toys are not made of flesh but bring a warmth all their own
They are clumsy, speak without feeling and do things mechanically. But robots have a way of endearing themselves to us. Whether it is a stupid robotic toy that makes some sounds or a sophisticated device that pretends it is out to kill the whole human race, they all end up amazing us. While we all yearn to have our own R2D2s, or Weebos (Flubber), we all know that this is still a little far off. What is fascinating is the thought that robots might one day serve us—or rule over us.

In a fast-paced world with little time to spend at home, robots are becoming both companions and toys for adults. Sony took a lead in 1999 by developing AIBO (Artificial Intelligence Robot). People like dogs, even robot dogs, and it was a runaway success. Sony stopped its production in March 2006. So what do you do now if you, like Robin Williams, need your own Weebo or a pet robot that will greet you, play with you, make faces at you, and best, leave you in peace when you switch it off.

A few months ago I went to a toy shop to see the latest in gizmos for kids. There I came across the WowWee robotic reptile. Begging and pleading with my wife for a new toy was useless. Though the little creature appealed to both of us, we did not want a dinasour walking around in the house, not with a two-year-old nephew around who might just get scared.

There wasn’t much I could do then. But on a trip this week, I found copies and lookalikes of the WowWee robot series, and some of the toy shops also had the original ones, now available for a price range between Rs 2,000 and Rs 5,000.

The great models that looked interesting and could become companions—no, I am not generalising this, but then more and more of us are indeed living alone now—are the Robo Sapien, the Robo Panda and the Robo Pet. Though there is a funny series called Chatter Bot also, but this was not on the shop shelves. The interesting features of the Robo Sapien are its life-mimicking movements—dancing the twist, walking, running, even saying “Oops!”. And, of course, its mood swings. Ah, now you have to get used to a machine doing this to you. For Rs 3,000, that is the max you can get out of the 67 possible functions it has. So it won’t fix you a drink or help you clean up the mess in your room.

The Robo Panda, as they call it, a talkative creature. With his “ahem”, engaging personality and bright animated eyes, you are sure to fall in love with the mechanical bear. You know it can tell you a story and sing a song with you. So the manifestation of the inner child in you, or the son you never had, is what Robo Panda can be.

The third and my favourite among them all is Robo Pet, which is similar to Sony’s AIBO. This cute little fusion of technology and personality is a dog that is extremely lovable. It is nowhere like everybody’s favourite pug on TV, but hey, you can’t get everything in life. Like a real dog, Robo Pet perform tricks for you on command: bark, whimper, growl, pant. It barks when it hears a movement, and is equipped with infrared vision that helps it to detect obstacles and avoid bumping into something.

So for about Rs 3,000 bucks, you can actually make your childhood dream of having your own R2D2 or Weebo as a pet. And they come with their plus points—they need no cleaning up, nor do they continue to annoy you when you aren’t in a playful mood. To know more, visit www.wowwee.com, or an upmarket toy store near you.

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The Above Story, was printed in The Indian Express, on Sunday, May 18, 2008

Come, meet Lonely Girl & Kate Modern: Is this the new Vouyer ?

If you’re tired of TV soaps, check out the interactive action on the Net

I would love to call up Smriti Irani and dig out the real story behind Tulsi, but I don’t have her number, and even if I did, Ekta Kapoor wouldn’t let me discuss it. Rewind to a few years ago when tech geeks were still talking of interactive television and looked forward to the DTH so that we would be able to decide the future and shape the serial as we wanted. But with so many plots changing so often and yet with the characters frozen in time, interactive television would not have helped much.

Then came the Internet and companies like YouTube started beaming videos created and uploaded by people that you could stream and watch. The ones that made most sense were the ones that were humourous, like the Mentos and the Coke videos.

Eventually, Orkut, YouTube and others changed the way one communicated, networked and formed communities—and called it Social Network. Of late, a company called EQAL has been successfully producing two online interactive dramas: Lonely Girl and Kate Modern.

Imagine a high school girl with swooping eyebrows, boy problems, a webcam somewhere in the US with a room filled with stuffed toys. I am not talking of the girl next door or the girl on that X rated credit card hungry website. LG (Lonely Girl is about 496 episodes old having begun in June 2006) is based on the life of a young girl called Bree. There was a time she would stream on YouTube and now it revolves around her friends and family. The series is short and has regular updates of video feeds posted by the fictional character.

Kate Modern is in its 260th episode—it started in July 2007—and is the sister series of the Lonely Girl. The show is set in England, bears many similarities to Lonely Girl, and in its second season, is generating an increasing amount of interest.

Such online dramas show that the Internet TV has arrived. The phenomenon would not have worked without the explosion of broadband and the advent of YouTube. The other reason for its success is the hybrid form of story-telling. What makes it important enough for me to write about it is that, as a viewer, you can correspond with the characters and even alter the plot.

The Internet, or as it’s now called, the Web 2.0, is a relatively new medium for everyone. The way people looked at Internet till a few years ago was how they looked at a newspaper or a radio; the same boring content would be everywhere. So if you miss your action of the daily soaps and the K action on TV is too much for you to bear, head for www.lg15.com, and discover a life beyond TV.

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The Above Article was printed in the Indian Express, on Sunday, May 11, 2008

How to record streaming audios: Reader Query Answered

Now record favourite songs from MP3, radio or podcast sites

I remember the days when two-in-one audio systems allowed you to record your favourite music and listen to it over and over again. It was a time when kids worked hard at their song compilations and people with two-cassette decks were considered fortunate. Then came the CDs, people moved to recorded songs on MP3 players, and today, listening to radio on cell phones has become a fad.

When I recently switched to a Mac, I not only fell in love with it but also with the Internet radio channel while listening to iTunes. I, of course, had iTunes on Windows, and similar programs on Linux, but with over 200 channels beaming my favourite hits from the 1950s through the ’80s, I wanted to grab my two-in-one and record the songs. So this week, I shall tell you how to record streaming audios from MP3 sites, radio sites or podcast sites that don’t let you download—all without spending a dime.

Since most people these days are Windows users, I shall target this piece at them. The first thing you need to do is get your hands on a nifty little software called Freecorder. To do so, go to www.freecorder.com. The download is free, without the risk of viruses and without limitations. Click on the “get it free” button and once you have downloaded it, open the file. Then select the option to install all your browsers (I selected both Internet Explorer and Firefox and suggest you do the same).

Once installed, it will automatically launch your default browser (Firefox or Internet Explorer), and take you to a survey page. If you want to, you can fill it, otherwise click on the link that says “quick start”. Press “continue” at the bottom of the page, go through the page that comes up, and if you want, read the Toolbar FAQ.

Now head to your favourite online radio site. If you don’t know of any, a good place to start is www.live365.com (though some stations require membership, they have a lot of free stations too). Browse through the stations and when you press the play button, you will see options like Record/ Stop/Pause/Play and settings come up on your browser. These buttons will help you record. (As some stations are added by default, you can add your station to the browser toolbar).

A normal user doesn’t need to change the settings. But if you are like me, you will want to do it. In this case, press the settings button and you can play around with the way Freecorder records and saves your files. Once you are ready to record, all you need to do is press the red record button. If all goes well, you will see a VU meter with a wave form. If you don’t, go back to settings and make sure the option “Record from freecorder input audio driver” is selected. If you hadn’t done it, select it and record again.

The file will be saved to the directory in the settings. To know how well you fared with your recording, press the stop button on the station you are listening to, and then press the stop button in the Freecorder toolbar.

Pressing the play button in the freecorder toolbar will take you to the directory where your recording is saved. Double click and listen to the song you just recorded.

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The Above Article was Printed in the Indian Express, on Sunday, May 4, 2008

For Eyes and Ears: Review Samsung YP-S2 MP3 Player

The new Samsung MP3 player has the curves of a temptress

I have a thing for shiny little gadgets. The bling factor makes them interesting and I am not even talking about their interesting shapes. The new forms that gadget companies give their products gives the same old technology an interesting outlook. But trust me, I know, like my wife says, I am a dog when it comes to technology, always salivating. So you shouldn’t be surprised when I say the new Samsung MP3 player is an eye candy. Whatever term you would want to use for it, this device lives up to it.

To be available in India soon, the Samsung YP-S2 is a stylish, multi-hued acquisition. The 1GB version costs about $39 and besides the five different colours it’s available in, it also has some nice features. It charges using the USB port of your PC—and there are no silly connectors on the device to spoil its silhouette. The USB cable plugs directly into the same port that is used for the earphones (which, of course, means you can’t listen to music while your are charge it). And every time you transfer data from the PC, like most other new-tech devices, this gets charged too.

Another great feature about the YP-S2 is the multicoloured LED lights that glow when the device is charging. What is more, it also indicates to you the battery status. Yes, I admit this is more a visual treat than technology, but then as I said, this MP3 player is an eye candy.

Well, I was talking about the shape too. The YP-S2 is designed to look like a pebble, quite reminiscent of the Moto Pebl phone. The aesthetics, therefore, are excellent. To top it all, all the buttons—stop, play, pause, next track, last track—are neatly arranged on the underside, leaving the eye to ogle at the smoothness of it all.

The player supports MP3, OGG and WMA, making it a top buy. However, the 1GB storage limit may leave you a bit miffed (okay, but at an average of 5MB a song, you can fit in about 200 songs—how many do you want to walk about with?).

Most of the alternative music players other than the iPod Shuffle now feature a screen, however tiny, for pictures and videos. That is what is missing in the YP-S2.

If you can live with that, there is just one other downside to this cutesy player—it is not finger-print proof. So with the samosas and the chips that snack on, not to mention India’s myriad fried delights, and the dust around, you could end up with a haggard-looking device in a few days. But I’ll worry about that later. My priority is to get my grubby hands on it first.

So there. If you want to stand out in that college crowd or simply love gadgets, and don’t mind having just another MP3 player, look forward to the launch of the YP-S2 Launch. It’ll be worth it.

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The Above Article was Printed in the Indian Express, on Sunday, April 27, 2008

In the Good Books: MacBook

If you want a new laptop, and have the money, go for the Apple Mac Book

When my my three-year-old IBM Thinkpad gave up on me about three weeks ago, I began my search for a new machine. After all, the Pentium 4 had been replaced with the Core 2 Duo, and my 2 GB RAM machine looked ancient. I had two options: buy another Thinkpad, or choose from an HP, the Asus Eee PC or the Apple Mac. For me the transition from PC to Mac wouldn’t have been difficult as I have been on Linux for years, and in many ways Mac works no differently from the Linux box. So I zeroed in on a Mac.

Today, when you can buy several laptops for under Rs 40,000, one doesn’t have to think of taking a home loan. But with the MacBooks starting from Rs 65,000, I needed to think. Since I haven’t been a Mac user, I needed to put down my requirements on paper. I needed a fast machine which would last at least three years. I needed a machine with a small screen, around 13 inches, and which would play DVDs, not necessarily write them. I also wanted a lot of RAM and power.

Among the Intel MacBooks, there were three models. I whittled my choice to a white model, the cheaper one, which came with a DVD reader, not a writer. I didn’t want to spend another Rs 10,000 on a DVD writer and RAM, but I did buy something called an Apple Care pack for Rs 13,000 that helped me extend the one-year warranty to three years.

Back home, I opened the machine, booted it up and 10 minutes later I had a shiny Mac with a wonderful software. All I had to do now was go online and grab freebies like the Firefox browser, Thunderbird for e-mails and Neo office (the open office port for Macs)—I didn’t want to pay Microsoft for the software.

After using the Mac for three weeks now, all I can says is it’s geek zen. One may face problems with the missing right click (yes, Macs have only one mouse button) and being on a PC that does not have Windows (there is boot camp, and there are things like Parallels / Vmware Fusion) may not make this the right choice for all, but if you are willing to learn, you have a perfect machine that looks and works well.

Still, some of the bigger problems with the MacBook are that even at 2 GB plus of RAM, it can be slow at times. The machine heats up a lot at the base, so it may not be a good idea to work for long stretches keeping it in your lap. The wonderful backlit keyboard is not present in the MacBook, only in the Macbook Pro series. The white Mac has killer looks but I would advise you to go for the black one as it doesn’t get soiled quickly. The web camera and sound are great, but it does not work in a low light conditions. Still, it’s a wonderful machine.

So if you are looking for a new laptop and have the money, go try this one.
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The Above Article was Printed In Indian Express, on Sunday, April 20, 2008

GS

Asus Eee PC v/s HP HP 2133 Mini-Note - Tech 2

This week in My Indian Express Article, I reviewed the HP 2133 Mini Note.

To read the review, click here, or buy the Indian Express, on Sunday, April 13, 2008, Across India.

I know some of you would like to know feature to feature comparison, so here it is

Spec	HP Mini Note	Asus Eee PC
Processor	VIA 1.0~1.6GHz	Intel UMA
Scree	8.9"	7"
RAM	512 ~ 2048MB	512 ~ 1024MB
Graphics	WXGA 1280x800	SVGA 800 x 600 - Unknown
Stroage	4GB SSD ~ 120GBHDD	4GB ~ 8GB SSD
Battery	2.5 Hours	3 Hours
Webcam	VGA	VGA
Bluetooth	Select Models	NO
Weight	2.63 lbs	2.02 lbgs

Facebook - Step by Step - How to figure on

AS most of you would know, I am a big believer of networking, and I spend nearly 1 hour a day on LinkedIN, looking at how I can connect with more and more people, yes, I understand the debate of Quality v/s quantity, but LinkedIn to me is pure business. A few weeks back, I saw a lot of my school and college friends coming up on LinkedIn, and then I saw there were groups, groups that led me to facebook. Now I have been a member (sleeping) of Facebook for ages, but I finally got to go use it, and now I have some good old buddies all lined up.

This week in my tech2 Article in Indian Express, I look at how to make your profile on Facebook, and how to get connected. To read more, click here, or buy the copy of Indian Express on Sunday April 06, 2008, India wide.

GS

Hard Target - External Hard Disks

Last week in my Tech2 Article I spoke about the Pinnacle Video Transfer, and it needs a huge hard disk, if you end up recording a lot of programs, but then how big a hard disk can you get, can you get scalable external hard disks, I look at two options, one from Netgear and the other from Bufalo, in my Indian Express, article this Week. To read more, click here or buy the Copy of Indian Express, this Sunday March 30, 2008, across India.

GS

On the Record - Recording your TV Program without a PVR/PC or VCR

I love watching TV, but with my 24x7 schedules, and major traffic jams while going and returning from work, TV or missing TV is a thing I really don't like. I would have loved to have a TIVO or a PVR, but well they dont' really have good options that work in India, so on my hunt for recording TV I came across the Pinnacle Video Transfer, and it works nicely. To read my review of the Pinnacle box, click here to read it online, or buy the copy of Indian Express, on Sunday March 23, 2008, across India.

GS

Alarm Bells - 3 Alarm Clocks you may like to buy

24x7 Schedules are taking it's toll on me, and a simple alarm clock, and the shouting from the mrs, is not sufficient to get me out of my slumber, so i need to look for things, that will actually wake me, these are three alarm clocks that I think work, to read more, click here or buy the Copy of Indian Express, this Sunday, March 16 2008, India wide.

GS

Skype is not the Limit - Alternatives to Skype

Skype has gained a lot of popularity, and is amongst the highest known VoIP apps around, but there are others, that can do more, and better, want to know what are the great alternatives, read my review on the top 3 (from what I think)

1. Gizmo (http://www.gizmoproject.com)
2. Open Wengoo (http://www.openwengo.org)
3. Oovoo (http://www.oovoo.com)

To read my review, click here to read it online, or buy the Copy of Indian Express, this Sunday, 9th February 2008, India wide.

GS

How to fix a laptop that’s run out of juice

I tried to Answer the question that has bothered a lot of Laptop users, how to squeeze, more Battery time, out of your laptop

Every laptop owner I know of has asked me this question: why does a laptop begin to lose steam after six to nine months of use? With reducing battery time and no back-up, some prefer to swap the old battery for a new one. While in some cases the battery may actually be dead, there are ways to maximise the usage time, especially if the laptop is not more than a couple of years old. The following tips are designed for a Windows XP user, but even if you are using Linux, Windows Vista or a Mac laptop, you can implement them. Here’s how:

Use the Power Management software. Every Windows copy has one installed in it, but some OEMs also bundle it in their utilities. Though these work, I don’t find them very useful. A good utility is the Speed SwitchXP, which you can download from http://tinyurl.com/28ngz. It works only on Windows XP and will let you choose multiple profiles, from Dynamic Switching to Maximum Performance, and will help you drive up your battery time.

Dim the screen. If you are watching a movie in a lounge, it might be a little difficult, but if you are working on a machine, a 10 per cent or a 100 per cent brightness is not going to alter how a spreadsheet or a Word document looks like. This is one of the best battery time savers, and all laptops have a smart function key to increase or reduce the screen’s brightness. On my IBM laptop, I squeeze in an extra 20-30 minutes with a dimly lit screen.

Unplug all extra attachments. Remember that the data card or USB dongle to connect your cell phone through Bluetooth eats up battery power. If you are offline and don’t need the Internet, then eject the data card. This will increase your battery time by 5-10 per cent. Also, if you disable the optical drive (CDROM / DVD ROM) in the PC (go to My Computer, right click, move to Properties, Device Manager, expand the CD-DVD ROM section, right click and click Disable), it will save you another 5-10 per cent of power.

Every few months, take the battery out of the socket and clean the contacts using a plain tissue paper. Make sure you don’t use wet tissues or one sprinkled with perfume when you clean the connectors.

Charge and discharge your battery frequently. Most users keep their laptops plugged in all the time, which causes the battery to remember its minimum discharge position, also called Memory Affect. If you are a casual or a heavy user, try to use the laptop without the adaptor till the battery runs down to about 10 per cent of its capacity. Then plug it in again and it will help maximise the battery life.

These steps will not increase the battery time from one hour to a 20-hour backup, but it will ensure at least two extra hours of usage time.
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This article appeared in the Indian Express on Sunday, 2nd March 2008

Late Posting - Sound of Music

My biggest hassle with setting up a home theater is the wiring, and with LCD's taking place of regular TV's, and getting wall mounted, options of good quality speakers, to create great movie watching experience, get's minimized. In My Indian Express Article on Sunday, 24th Feb, 2008, I look at two interesting products, the Yamaha YSP 4000 and Philips HTS8100 Sound Bar.

Sorry for posting this late, to read this article online, click here or if you still can, grab a copy of the Indian Express of Sunday, 24th Feb, 2008.

GS

Denon S52 - A Great Dock, but Overpriced

AS a part of Tech2 my column in the Sunday Express, I sometimes try to lay my hands on the latest technology, but this time around, an old technology, that of an iPod dock, but in a new format from Denon, the S52, struck my eye. Here is my review of the Denon S52. To read it online, click here, or buy a copy of the Indian Express, this Sunday, 17th of Feb, 2008, across India.

GS

Lap It Up - The Asus Eee PC is Here in India

Asus has done two wonders, one launched the Eee PC and just in time brought it to India, I was thinking of laying my hands on the OLPC to really see what can be done with a stripped down machine, but it was getting impossible to get an OLPC Unit, but I know, what I have to buy now, the Asus eee PC. To read my review, click here or go buy the Print copy of the Indian Express, this Sunday, Feb 10th, 2008, India Wide.

GS

How to Download You Tube Videos

This week I try to answer a very perplexing question for all you lovers of Online Videos. This question has many answers some simple, some complicated but the one that works each time, is here. To read my article, buy the Indian Express, this Sunday 3rd Feb 2008, across India, or click here To read it online.

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How to download videos from YouTube

Youtube has changed the way we perceive entertainment. The videos on the site are funny, intelligent and wonderful enough to share with friends. But there’s a problem: every time you want to view the videos or show them around, you need to be online. And Internet connections are neither reliable in terms of speed or uptime, nor are they cheap if you are on a pay-per-use plan. So what do you do to download the videos to your PC?

The new iPods, including the iPod Touch, can play these videos, but it’s unlikely you will buy an iPod for that reason alone. Besides, what if you want to watch a video which is not on YouTube, but on Google Video or MySpace, or any of the other video-sharing sites. If you, like me, have faced this problem, here’s a practical solution. And no, you don’t need to spend money on it. Here’s how you can download the videos:

First, you need the Firefox Web browser from Mozilla. If you don’t have it yet, this is one more reason to do so, besides the fact that it is fast and efficient to download. Just go to www.mozilla.com and download it for free. If you already have Firefox, make sure it is Version 2, or just go ahead and download the update.

Once you have the Firefox on your PC, download a tool (or an add-on) called the DownloadHelper. To do so, go to http://tinyurl.com/2zj6z5 and click on the ‘Install Now’ button. A window will pop up, warning you to install softwares that you trust. Don’t worry, there is no virus here. After installation, which should take about a minute, Firefox will have to be restarted. Do so by clicking on the Restart Firefox button.

Once the Firefox has restarted, you are more or less ready. You now need to download a player that will allow you to play the FLV files (YouTube and other flash videos). You can play them on your regular Media Player, but it will require a Codec. I suggest you use a free player like the FLV Player for which you have to open the page in http://tinyurl.com/j54bt. After downloading the player, set it up.

To get the video from YouTube, go to www.youtube.com and browse to the video you want. Once you are on the page that has the video, go to the top of the screen where you will see the three balls of DownloadHelper change from grey to some other colour (see image). Click on the down arrow next to the coloured balls, select the file and download it.

Save it on your desktop or any other folder. Remember that each video file is about 5 MB or more, so it will take time to download. Once this is done, double click on the video and it will open in the FLV player downloaded earlier.

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The Above Article appeared in the Indian Express, on Sunday, Feb 3, 2008

India Internet Outage Update 6 - 1100 IST / 2nd Feb 2008

Update on ITR and Updates of Traceroute now show that India is back to a normalised state, but only Monday will tell when the load comes in, right now confirmation from (Our Customers) in the US and in China / Hong Kong / UK confirm that the network has become accessible back at normal speeds.

Though FLAG has not issued any advisory yesterday, but the following Graphs show a much better response time, though Packet loss is still high, and this could be higher utilisation as well as a domino affect on the old data congesting pipes.

1. Traffic Index


2. Response Time


3. Packet Loss


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India Internet Outage Update 5 - 1000 IST - FEB1/2008

It's been two days that the connectivity to India is affected. Most of the backup routes are now in place, and traffic has started moving. We are now seeing the Transit time come down to about 350 milliseconds and are still far off from the 270 that is desirable.

In the meanwhile, National News Papers (finally) have woken up to carry the story, links here

Times of India
Hindustan Times

Updates from ITR

1. Traffic Index, it is now reviving and is around 72 for VSNL Gateway at Mumbai


2. Response time is normalizing, and is now becoming faster


3. Packet loss is now reduced to Under 5%, from a peak of 10% it touched.

India Internet Outage - Update 4 (IST 1800)

Update from FLAG

Further to the update below, please see the latest update.

* Currently both SMW4 & Flag cables on atlantic side are cut and hence the traffic between Mumbai & London is affected.
* Capacity in access of 10G is affected due to this outage.
* Restoration plan

IPLC Circuits - Discussions are in advance stage for restoration of these circuits towards London. Efforts are on to make this BW available ASAP. Confirmation is still awaited and exact ETR will be communicated tomorrow.
Internet BW - Additional BW of 1x STM16 for restoration of internet traffic towards pacific is in progress. This BW will help partial restoration of internet services. Due to this limited BW being made available, internet customers may still face higher latency & packet drop. Exact ETR for this BW availability is still awaited.

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India Internet Outage - Update 3 (1200 IST)

The following is the excerpt from a mail from Reliance.

You may be aware that our Flag international submarine cable is cut near Egypt. Flag has confirmed cable cut at 8.3 kms, from the Alexandria beach manhole, in a similar location to a reported SMW4 cut earlier on 30th morning. This outage has caused a major interruption in the international internet services and the IPLC services towards London & Newyork. We have an arrangement to protect our BW on SMW4 but unfortunately at this time even SMW4 is also cut and hence the protection is not operational.

We are talking to various carriers, for alternate BW and will keep you posted on the development. We will provide next update at 6 PM today.

We sincerely regret this inconvenience due to this force majeure.

Currently the network is still congested, and traffic is moving with difficulty. all ISP's are working on getting some other routes, and hopefully we should have restored connectivity by tomorrow.

GS

India Internet Disruption - Update 2 (8AM IST / 31 JAN 2008)

India's internet connectivity is still not fully restored, though all ISP's have restored to alternate routes, but the routes are still taking about 500 - 600 miliseconds that usually take about 270 - 300. This is causing major delays in International VoIP Traffic, Email movement between India and other countries and also Website access. There are reports that the cable that has been damaged is a part of the Flag Telecom, Reliance Owned organisation. Attached is the map of the cable at Egypt.



Though there are no updates on the Flag Website about the outage, but a report on Computer World confirms a similar thought.

I have been in continous touch with the Reliance IDC network and their Service Managers and the confirmation is that this is going to be a long outage, and we will not have full speeds for another few days.

Reliance, FLAG, Yipes and all these companies make the major part of the Internet economy worldwide, and most of the network is self healing, but I am not sure how much insight is given into monitoring the network, this is not the first instance where reliance is affected, but then, it just proves, we are now dependent on the Internet and the Global players need to build in larger redundancies, and not route everything towards and from the US.

Indian News papers are now reporting the outage, but sadly there has been no comment from either Bharti, VSNL, or Reliance, or FLAG for that matter about this anywhere, all the papers are printing are the same comments from ISAPI in India.

GS

Internet Services To & From India Affected

India has become the service provider of the world, and today most of the BPO's, Telecom Companies, IDC Operators (Like my company) and other Companies that process data for the world are disconnected. The reason is a cut in an Undersea Cable somewhere around Alexandria, Egypt. The downtime started at about 2PM IST (Jan 30, 2008), when we started noticing huge packet losses and high trip times between the US and India, and there was an estimated time to revive given for 8PM IST (Jan 30, 2008). Right now, News channels and News Papers, Online News Sites are screaming India is disconnected, to explain the situation below are some Graphs from Internet Traffic Report

First Up: Traffic Index Measurement to India (VSNL)


Second: Response Time to India (VSNL)


Third: Packet Loss to India (VSNL)


Some News References:
CBC Cananda
NDTV India
Reuters
Bloomberg
BBC

The first to report this was Headlines Today, in an article here

A few interesting traceroute's, that I can't share here for purposes of Privacy, show that this is a FLAG cable owned by Reliance, and Reliance is worst affected. ISP's which peer with Reliance, and service Providers (such as my company) are also affected. ISP's like Bharti and VSNL are partially affected, but affected non the less. It is estimated that the whole process will take anywhere between a week to 10 days to restore to normalcy.

Last time this happened was when an undersea cable around Hong Kong was cut in December 2006, to read the story from that time click here.

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The Apple Mac iThin - Ahem, the Apple Mac Air

The Apple Mac book Air is here, it is touted as the thinnest and the lightest notebook around, and yes it runs Windows too, but why would you want to run Windows on such a sexy machine.. To read my review, take on the Apple Mac Book Air, buy the Indian Express, this Sunday Jan 27th, 2008, or click here to read it online.

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Going in the Right Direction - AutoExpo 2008 Notes

Every one went to the AutoExpo to see the Nano, News stories of the nature, that the TVSE Supremo was pushed aside by the rushes, because all they wanted was the Nano, and companies feeling sad, that so many foot falls, but no attention to their Stall, I was safe, way safe, at the tech vendors who had brought their Goodies to the Expo. What was noticeable was the change in the GPS market. This week in my Indian Express article, on Sunday Jan 20, 2007, I look at what GPS options you have, and which one to buy, to read the story, either pick up the paper India wide, or click here to read it online.

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What Women Want - Cell Status

A lot of products especially cell phones are designed for both the sexes, but the fairer sex has been known to pick up only a few models, not everything appeals to them. This week in my Indian Express article, I look at 4 Phones, that are a great fashion accessory for women, 2 available in India right now, one not yet launched, and the other only for those with resources, to read more, grab a copy of the Indian Express, on Sunday 13th Jan 2008, across India, or click here to read it online.

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How To: Convert Audio Cd's to Tapes

I Love How To's, lists, that can tell you how to achieve something, or do something. A question I was asked again and again, and a list of other questions, prompted me to speak to my ed, to start a How To Column. This is the first in the many to come.

As technology rushes up the evolutionary ladder, it’s leaving behind fossilised gadgets and mounts of regret. For with no option of upgrading the obsolete products, people are often forced to discard them. Such seems to be the case with audio tapes. As the music world hurtled from LPs to cassettes to CDs and MP3s, the simplest—but expensive—option seemed to be to buy the same music in a new format. But as people are beginning to realise, there is a cheaper way: converting old LPs or tapes to CDs and MP3s. But how does one go about rendering the conversion? Here’s how.

Things that you need
An LP or cassette player, depending on what you are trying to convert.
A computer with Windows/Linux or Mac operating system and a sound card with a line in input or a microphone input.

An audio cable with an earphone pin at one end that goes into the headphone output of the old cassette or LP player. You will need to buy an EP-to-EP stereo cable, which is available at all electronic stores, and should not cost you more than Rs 50.
A software called Audacity (www.audacity.sourceforge.net).

Once you have the material, it’s time to start the conversion

Set up the player and load the cassette you want to convert. Rewind it and stop the player. Link the EP cable from headphone output to microphone input of the PC. Fire up Audacity.

Set the volume of the player (cassette or LP) to midway, then open the dialog box on your computer to set up the microphone level. Set this to 50 per cent and make sure anything that looks like ‘Mic Boost’ is switched off.

The first run of the record will be a trial record to ensure that you get the correct levels (a bit difficult and not attainable the first time round. Let’s do the first cut, or what is called, scratch.

In Audacity, press the record button and then the play button on your LP/cassette player. You will see a level meter; make sure the level does not cross into the ‘red’ mark. Stop the recording in a minute and then reverse and listen. If you can hear the tones and not a lot of noise, it means the scratch is working fine. If not, then adjust the levels on either the microphone input or the volume output on your player.

Now start a new file in Audacity, rewind the casette to the original position where you want to start recording, hit the record button and then the play button on the casette player. Record the entire song. Your screen will show a wave form, so keep listening to the music and once the song is done, press the stop button on Audacity and then the stop button in the player.
Save the file as a WAV/MP3 file (WAV file is needed if you are making a regular audio CD, and the MP3 if you are going to burn these files to an iPod or make an MP3 CD).

To generate an audio CD that to play in an audio CD player, make sure you have a CD recorder in PC and the CD recorder software. Most CD recorder software (Nero in Windows) comes with an audio CD create button. Press this, select the WAV files you would like to burn to your CD, and wait for about 10 minutes. Your CD is created.
If you want to create an MP3 CD, select a data CD project in your CD recorder software, and then select the MP3 files you want to burn to the CD.

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The above article appeared in the Indian Express, on Sunday 6th January 2007, read on how to convert your Audio Tapes to CD's.

I seem to be Turning into an Astrologer for Gadgets

The last day of the year, 31/Dec/07, All India Radio, Interviewed me on their National network, on what lies ahead in terms of Gadgets in the Year 2008. Here is the full broadcast of the Program from Monday, of the Section called Science and Technology



Maybe one day, I will be called a Futurist

Happy New Year 2008 to all of you.

GS

The Best Deals of 2007

We all love deals, the SALE Sign has always invited more footfalls to stores, than anything else, a freebie, maybe even better, so what are the best year end value for money gadget deals, to check these out, buy the Indian Express, this Sunday, 30th December 07, or click here to read it online.

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Tech Concepts that Worked in 2007

Sometimes some concepts work, some fail, the year 2007, like any other year was filled with gadget launches, some of them worked, some failed miserably, but what worked, this year was in the news most of the time. To read my take on it, buy the Indian Express, This Sunday 30th December 2007, or click here to read it online.

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The Gadget Gurus - Look Forward to these in 2008 #3

In my final article about 2008 Gadgets this week in the Indian Express, I looked at Digital Photo Printers, GPS Navigation, HD TV's, and the Wii Fit, to read more, click here, or buy the Sunday Express across India, on Sunday December 23, 2007.

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The UPMC Brigade - Look forward to these in 2008 #2

2008, will be full of Gadget goodies, laptops are on their way out, and what is moving in is the UPMC option, most of the serious, high flying, laptop users have already started looking at these devices as alternatives, with prices falling,and more and more players coming up, this seems to be an interesting option for all who want online connectivity, but not through a phone. To read more about my take on these, click here, or buy the Indian Express, on Sunday, December 16, 2007, India Wide.

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Ringing in the New Year - Look forward for these in 2008 #1

At the end of the year, we gadget geeks seem to turn astrologers, predicting what lies ahead, and some of us look back each year, and see hey, did that really come true, or not.. I will try to avoid this pitfall this year, and just tell you about things, that really are coming your way in 2008, some may come, some not, that we will see only dec 08, but till then, read the first piece in my predictions for 2008, by clicking here or buy a copy of the Indian Express, on Sunday 9th December 07, across India.

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Budget Phones, is 3000 a good budget to buy a full featured cell phone

This year when the N95 was announced, it was one of the most expensive phones on the market (let alone the types of Vertu), but it made a lot of people sit up and say, he, a phone's a phone, and all I need it for is to make calls / maybe send an sms / on a bus / train ride, listen to the FM and that's about it. If it has a Camera, great, but if not, nothing lost.. I investigated the market, and over the last month, found a few phone models that work. In my article in Indian Express, this week, on Sunday 25th November, 2007. To read it, click here, or grab a copy of the Indian Express, across India.

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Film Fare - I love the Movies

Back in the Y2K, when I bought my first DVD Player, it cost me a bomb, and I wanted 5.1 surround sound, and that was going to cost me another bomb, so chose to stay away. A number of visits to major showrooms, and my love for movies, had me convinced of setting up a home theater, but how much would you spend, a few years down the road, and a number of email requests from people asking for help, this week in my Indian Express, article, on Sunday, November 18, 2007, I look at how to rig up the right sound for movies at home, without spending, overboard. To read the article, pick up the print copy across India, on Sunday, or click here to read it online.

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Digital Entertainers

This is a late post to a story that was printed on Sunday, 11th November 07 in the Indian Express, but I just forgot to link up this story this time around.

This week in Tech2, I looked at two options of Digital Network Players, Squeeze box now from Logitech and EVA 8000 from Netgear, this article, available here, compares both the players, and the features, head on to the Indian Express site, by clicking here, or if you can, grab a copy of the Sunday Express.

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Tech Toys for Today's Kids

I am what I am because I got a lot of leverage from my parents, my grand parents, to break a few things, i also got a lot of support from them in terms of buying me my first chemistry set, my first electronics kit, I remember the 555 timer drove me wild with imagination, and I built some great big projects, which you may have even seen if you were in Delhi around the later half of 1980's, these included flashing LED based hoardings to various other things. But anyway, whenever I meet someone, they ask me for advice, and one of the coolest things that everyone seems to want to know is, our child loves technology, now what.

Well this week in my Indian Express article, I look at some Tech toys in a lot of budgets. So grab a copy on Sunday, 4th November 2007 across India, or click here to read it online.

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The Speed Daemon

Whenever I bump into gamers, one thing we all can't stop bragging about is how, we got our PC's to speed up more, than they could, by adding coolers, RAM, high speed disks, and Graphic Cards. Recently when Microsoft announced Vista, most of the early adopters, shared a common feeling, it was too slow. The problem was the speed of graphics, with so many things happening on your screen, you need to speed up the graphics, but an average desktop user and a graphic card do not go together, or do they. I look at this as an answer in my Indian Express article this week, in Print on 28th October 2007, India wide. You can also read the article online, by clicking here

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Should you buy a Blackberry, is it the right time now ?

You have heard of a smartphone, and you have seen people use it, but you are still happy with your regular phone, that can let you do sms, shoot a video, some pictures, and you think, well this is good enough for me, but every now and then you see someone using a smartphone, a thought crosses your mind, should you.. hmmm... shouldn't you opt for one.. This month in my Outlook Business Article, Dated 5th November, I look at this only. Click the above picture to read it, or head on to the news paper stand and buy a copy.

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The Palm Centro - Review

The Palm Centro at the first look is a very curvy, good looking, small PDA type phone, but is it worth spending the money on it, check out my review in the Indian Express, this Sunday on 21st October 2007, India wide, or click here to read it online.

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Worldly Wise - Learning Everything

Though in an earlier post, I had written about how I want to learn everything and about Video Jug, 3 months down the road, the site has expanded (though still in Beta) and working much better.. this week in my Indian Express article, I talk about Video Jug and how it can help you. Catch my article online by clicking here, or picking up a copy of the Indian Express on Sunday, 14th October 2007, India Wide.

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DVD Camcorders, should you fall prey

My dad has been planning to buy a Full HD camcorder, and he insisted on a Tape, while the new media would want you to buy the DVD / Memory Stick (no offences to sony) or a hard disk cam corder, so I thought, well let's dig deeper, and really see what all matters. I went on an investigation trip, and this is what I found out. To read more, click here, or buy the Indian Express, this Sunday October 7, 2007, across India.

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Choosing the Right Photo Printer - Some tips

I have been asked this question every time, I met someone who shifted from a film camera to a Digital camera, on what printer to buy so that they could print their photos at home. This week in my Indian Express article, on Sunday 30th September I look at the criterias that you should look at when evaluating the right printer to buy. You can read this article here or in Print with the Sunday Express on 30th September, India wide

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The New 70" LCD TV from Samsung

Towards the end of last week, Samsung announced the launch of it's 70" LCD Television. They had invited me down to their corporate office to have a dekko at it, what I saw was impressive, but the price tag, kept me wondering, on whether I should spend 24 Lacs to buy a TV to boost my ego, or say a house, or maybe a Mercedec C Class, I am still confused, but the TV made a lasting impression on me. It was not perfect, after all, there is always a scope for improvement, but the image, the size, the finishing, of chrome, glass, and the nice blue light, made me look at it very seriouslly, now only if they would give me one.. hmmmmmm :)

To read my take on the new TV, buy the Indian Express this Sunday, across India, or click here to read it online.

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The New iPods - A touch of Class

Early last week, Steve Jobs announced 3 new iPhones, Ahem, iPods, they are glorified, geek fan following, and now in a new shiny package, check out what I have to say abou them, in the Indian Express, this Sunday 16th September 2007, Across India or click here to read my take online.

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