Aiming high with a Javelin - Review Blackberry Curve 8900

I have been a BlackBerry user for about six years now and I still use my first model, the old and mighty 7290. My BlackBerry use is limited to emails and so the handset still looks new. It cost me a fortune then, but I still think you should look at a BlackBerry only if you are serious about emails.

My needs are very simple, I prefer a side scroller like the old BlackBerrys—that is no longer an option—a full QWERTY keyboard, a good camera and the latest Operating System which would allow me to use both Flickr and Facebook. I don’t really require fancy ringtones, but a music/video player is more than welcome.

But I have been looking at the new BlackBerrys. You might remember that I was not very gung-ho about the BlackBerry Storm, as I am used to a full QWERTY keyboard, and the Bold seemed a bit beyond my budget. So I requested BlackBerry to send across their latest 8900 Javelin for a review.

It felt like the lightest BlackBerry till date at just 109.9 grams and looked cool with a VGA resolution screen (480x360 pixels) and Transmissive LCD. The QWERTY keyboard is smaller than previous versions, and takes some time to get used to, but the trackball has been raised a little and is no longer in a recess.

Most new phones have a light sensor that changes screen brightness as per the ambient light, but the Javelin undoubtedly has the most soothing display indoors, backed up with sharp and bright display outdoors—you can even work on it with the sun shining right on top.

The Javelin also has the best phone camera I have seen till date. The camera even recognised that I was taking pictures of a document with text in it and automatically used the macro mode to zoom into the text and render it perfectly.

Another great feature is the built-in GPS with which I was able to Geotag pictures. Though photos get the coordinates required for Geotag enabled photo management softwares (like Picasa and iPhoto), getting the GPS to work requires a subscription from your provider and can cost up to Rs 199 a month.

However, since the BlackBerry is always connected to the Internet, you can also use Google Maps, though it is not as accurate as GPS.

The Javelin’s inbuilt wireless works real well. Though your emails keep switching to the services of your service provider, you can still browse, download and update Facebook and use Google Maps through wireless.

Though I have always been a fan of the BlackBerry’s email handling capacities and data networking, I have never liked the phone much. But the enhanced background noise cancellation and speakerphone—loud and clear with no distortions—on this version changed my perception to a certain extent.

However, I did not like the fact that I had to take out the battery every time to change the Micro SD Card. Moreover, such cards, if swapped from another phone, have to be formatted to be used on the Javelin. So there is no way you can move some MP3 from another phone to the Javelin using you card.

I really liked the Javelin, but would still to stick to my old 7290, primarily because it does not have a camera and I often have to go to offices where camera phones are banned.

But if you are looking for a BlackBerry with a wonderful GPS, a brilliant camera, lovely music and video playback, the Javelin is worth every penny of the Rs 27,990 you’d have to pay for it.

Some of the Photo's I took using the Blackberry 8900






For more information, visit the Blackberry Websiteor click here for Photos, and 360 Degree View.

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The above article appeared in the Indian Express, on Sunday 14th June 2009

And I thought I had a Stationery Fetish

Bang Yao Liu is a paitient man, with a stationery fetish, ahem, I stand corrected, with a Brilliant skill of making Stop Motion Videos.

The First one shows you how he did it, the second, what he did.. Do watch

Smart Power Outlets - Now Why did no one else think of it

Electrical Fire, a very common thing that happens across the globe, what was meant to be a single outlet to connect a TV or a Bed Side Lamp, has become an extension cord, and has Cell phone chargers, Mosquitto Repellers, Laptops, and yes, the Bed Side lamps plugged into it, and chances are, that your outlet may soon burn down, or spark, and worst comes to worst, cause an electric fire.

While going through TED, I came across this brilliant talk / presentation by John La Grou, an Inventor, Designer, and Entrepreneur.

Now I Wonder, why the **** did no one else think of this ?

John La Grou unveils an ingenious new technology that will smarten up the electrical outlets in our homes, using microprocessors and RFID tags. The invention, Safeplug, promises to prevent deadly accidents like house fires -- and to conserve energy.

iPhone 3G[s] - It's finally Here

Well rumour mill or not, the iPhone 3G[s] is finally here, it is faster, more powerful and starts at US$ 99. A Wall Street Journal report, mentions that apple has lowered the price so as to increase sales.

Though now the iPhone 3G (which was earlier available as 16 and 32 GB) is 8GB to start off at US$ 99, the iPhone 3G[s] starts at US$ 199. Details of India Launch, and India Pricing is still not available with me, but I will be in touch with Apple India to get you more Juicy details.

Just a few features, that were supposedly Rumors, which are now incorporated in the new iPhone 3G[s]:

*2x Improved Performance
*Built in Video Camera with Editing
*Compass
*Voice Control

What is interesting is that the Voice Control not only let's you make / answer phone calls, but also let's you play music. The Voice control works in several languages, click here for details, though I would have loved, if I could make a Calendar Entry using Voice, then I would really have a handsfree driving experience.

I think this version will finally make iPhone my chosen Gadget, can't wait to get one from Apple to test... Anyone at Apple reading this :)

To see the Trailers of Ad's from Apple iPhone 3G[s] release click here.

G

How to Grow Air - Mr. Kamal Meattle

I have always looked up to Mr. Kamal Meattle and the object of making green homes / green offices is very close to me. He has done some wonderful work with the Nehru Place Greens, and his continued research has helped me with my work of turning things Green in a lot of manner.

I had a chance to meet him in person, and pick his brains, sometime back, and he was courteous enough to not only help me with my ideas, but also spend a full hour explaning things, where I was going wrong.

I just got to know about his talk on TED, and I thought I must paste it. Though this is not one of the finest ways of projecting data, but he is good with his work, and if you think you want to grow air, he will teach you how to, in the next 4 minutes.

The office workhorse - Review HP Officejet Pro 8500

For the past couple of years my mother has been using a multi-function printer. But the tangle of the USB cable, running from her laptop to the printer, is a hassle in a wireless home. This problem can be answered by a network printer with a wireless option, though the cost of such a machine has always been a put-off for buyers. But even if you were willing to pay the price, most such printers wouldn’t be ideal for scanning from multiple PCs or support Web Scan.



But the recently launched HP Officejet Pro 8500 is different. HP claims its cost per print is half that of normal colour printers and has a lower energy footprint than laser printers. I did not really check the energy efficiency, but I know it was getting power from a small UPS and did not complain. It also churned out about 60 colour photos at an amazing speed—the printer took about 10 minutes to do the job at 10 pages per minute.

I was not very happy with the photo print quality, especially since I was using Mondi High Weight Inkjet Paper; but this is not supposed to be a photo printer. However, its black&white printing left me impressed for its speed and sharp text. Though I have used it to take about 50 prints every day over the past three weeks, the printer has consumed just a third of the ink cartridges, making me agree with HP’s lower cost per print claim.

Finally, here was a printer which could install on Linux, Mac and Windows without a problem. There are some added features like a tray which can hold 250 sheets, and the duplex function which means you can print on both sides of the paper automatically. The printer uses a four-cartridge system and the console shows the level on each cartridge separately. However, the cartridges used in this HP series are best left to be changed by the dealer, self installation could be tricky. The printer supports a 1200x1200 dpi black quality as standard, and 4800x1200 dpi enhanced colour, but only on HP Photo Paper.

A great feature is the Web Scan, which allows you to scan documents off the printer’s webpage, without loading drivers on to the PC. It also has a scan-to-memory device that lets you scan documents as PDF, JPEG, or text directly on to memory cards or a pen drive. These features alone makes the MFP worth its price for me.

The scanner is both flatbed and Automatic Document Feeder (ADF)—the ADF can automatically scan 50 pages into single or multiple files. The scanner supports a maximum resolution of 4800 dpi with a 48-bit depth, but I was happy with the PDFs created as the images, at 200 x 200 dpi, were both small, readable and reprintable.

The printer comes with an Ethernet (wired) port, plus the option of buying a wireless port. I would suggest an Ethernet wired port, in case you have an Ethernet switch or a port available on your broadband router. The printer supports print-from and scan-to on different memory types—compact Flash 1 and 2, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Secure Digital (SD) cards, High Capacity Secure Digital (SDHC), Multimedia Card (MMC), XD Picture Card and USB pen drive. Micro SD, Mini SD and RS-MMC are supported through an adapter which you will need to buy separately.

I did check out the fax and found that it works like any other with lost of features thrown in.

However, for the price tag it carries, the printer misses a colour LCD screen which would have been helpful in previewing documents on memory cards or USBs. Moreover, weighing around 13 kg, this not so ideal for home use. It comes with a one-year warranty which you can extend up to three years for an additional cost.

The wired network printer has a price tag of Rs 20,681 while the wireless version can be yours for Rs 22,899. The price is indeed a bottleneck, but if you have a very high print load, this is one cost you can pay for the features the HP Officejet Pro 8500 offers you.

For More Information on HP's website, click here.
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The above article / review appeared in the Indian Express, on Sunday 7th June 2009

Two New Microsoft Announcements - The Wow Factor

Last evening I was in an argument about how motion gaming is changing the outlook of games and it's developers. With the iPhone and it's wonderful set of games, and now most of the cell phone manufacturers coming out with their own concept of motion gaming, Wii taking the world over, how could Microsoft be left behind.

At E3, Microsoft Today announced a more interactive version of the controller, looks like indoor games (on the video game console) are soon going to replace us having to gout. Check out the Video from BBC News



The second video shows, what Science fiction has not yet spoken about, if you want virtual children, this will help you solve it.. WOW

Don’t burn your fingers - Review LG Arena KM 900

I love LG as a company, but have never had the opportunity to use an LG phone. So when I got a mail from their PR team to evaluate the new LG Arena KM 900, I jumped at the opportunity.

To start with, the Arena is good to look at, has a nice attractive finish, and is a bit smaller than the iPhone, but at 3” it is still big enough for most tasks. The accelerometer lets you play some motion games, but with LG using it on a proprietary engine, I don’t think a lot of games may be available — so don’t buy it as a game phone.

The Scube interface is wonderful and racy. However, the most annoying feature is getting to type on the keypad. Like other new generation phones, it does simultaneous directory look-ups for any number that you enter, but the way it interacts to the touch needs to be worked on. Sending an SMS or using the phone keypad to make a call can be a pain as the keypad is not very effective—LG needs to make it larger. Some features like the speaker phone menu and hold call are nice, but the call history/SMS history option will put off most serious users.

LG, however, scores with its music player and speakers, especially with the smooth movement between tracks and cover flow-like presentation. The Dolby certification and noise reduction are great add-ons. Thankfully, it uses a 3.5mm headphone jack like the iPhone.

The 5mp camera has a good macro mode, but the colours aren’t that good, and at times the camera is just too slow. The phone supposedly has an Assisted GPS and Geotagging features that allow users to tag photos according to their location, thus making them easier to manage. However, this feature did not work for me.

The phone has an in-built memory of 8GB plus the option to add a mini SD Card. Sadly, the phone still uses a proprietary cable for data transfer and charging.

The Arena undoubtedly has the best touchscreen after iPhone, with a zoom in and out that actually works. However, this option is limited to pictures and not useful for browsing or texting, making the phone primitive.

The phone supports email from any POP/IMAP provider as well as MS Exchange, but does not work over a wireless link rendering the phone almost useless in a Wi-Fi zone. Moreover, the email options are anything but user friendly and I had a tough time removing my account configured on the phone.

Go for the Arena if you want a phone which is a looker and not a great call/SMS machine. But remember the touchscreen market is slowly getting crowded and more players expected to come in the near future with better products. At Rs 24,990, buy this if you want a touch-phone which is not the iPhone.

Some Pictures Taken with the Phone





For More Information click arena.lgmobile.com

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The Above article / review appeared in the Indian Express, on Sunday 31 May 2009.

The Best Position - Review Logitech Laptop Accessories

As more people shift over to affordable notebooks, there has been a rise in problems posed by bad ergonomics. To save yourself from laptop-related health problems, doctors recommend you use your laptop sitting on a table, or at least make sure your posture is straight. Ironic, but some think the lap is the last place to place your laptop, as the heat generated may cause some health hazards. So it makes sense to sit as ergonomically as possible, or buy notebook accessories, like the first two, to ensure a better posture.

NOTEBOOK RISER N110

This is ideal to put your laptop in the best position at home or office. The Logitech stand offers multiple angles and has a rubber soled swivel base that keeps the riser in position. It also has two flaps that hold your laptop—and, trust me, it works. Priced at Rs 1,595, the N110 comes with a three-year replacement warranty. The plastic quality is brilliant, but it comes only in white and could easily get dirty.

ALTO CORDLESS

This stand is a mixture of both matt and reflective textures, but in black. It comes bundled with a wireless keyboard and has a transmitter built into its base. Though you will need to connect your laptop to the base using a USB cable, there is an advantage: the built-in USB 2.0 hub with three additional ports. However, since the base needs a power adapter, the keyboard will not work during a power-cut. Moreover, Logitech could have integrated a touchpad inside the keyboard since there is no provision for a mouse. The Alto is priced at Rs 6,995. But, I don’t think you should pay so much for just an additional keyboard. I also found the angle a bit awkward. The stand, unlike N110, has just one angle and is a bit bulky. My unit even developed scratches within a week.

AUDIO HUB

I know all of us hate laptop speakers. But additional speakers mean a mess of cables. Logitech has tried to find a solution that can fit behind your laptop and be plugged in through the USB port. The speakers and the subwoofer on the hub give good sound quality, but since it uses a USB, it can be connected only to a Windows laptop. The hub also comes with a flimsy stand for mounting your webcam— though I am not sure any other webcam will mount on it. At a price of Rs 7,495, I think this one is also not worth a buy.

QUICK CAM PRO

Logitech still makes the best webcams. Its latest notebook camera features a Carl Zeiss Lens, a USB Interface, can take still pictures up to 8 megapixels, and shoot video at 2 megapixels. But there are two other brilliant things about this camera: it has a clip for your laptop screen and a stand, though a bit flimsy, for mounting. I could not get this to work with my Mac, but got brilliant results on Windows. At Rs 6,695 this is a great buy if you are into video conferencing. Alternatively, for this price, you can buy a good digital camera and hook it up using a table USB cable for use as a video cam.

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The above article appeared in the Indian Express, on Sunday 24th May 2009

HP LEARN WITH A TWIST COMPETITION

Video is the new age of communication, sometime back, I got into this whole debate with Niyam Bushan on how the Digital Divide is here to stay, and the Print / Online are still just pawns, but the Video is the King.

HP Just launched it's global competition called "Learn with a Twist", where you have to make a 2 / 3 minute video that shows useful tips of using a computer in an Entertaining Way.

There are a lot of prices to be won for contestants, as well as people who vote for it. For details on this contest, click here, or check out the Facebook Page by clicking here

The Closing Date for Submissions is 31 July 2009, and Voting Ends 14th August 2009.

So go on create those videos.

G

PS: I am the only blogger from India to be a Judge on this Panel.. hip hip hurray.

MTNL - The Known Devil

Some Interesting Figures (As of 31/March/09)

Wireline Telephone Customers for MTNL Delhi 15,56,064
WLL-Mobile Customers: 1,11,354
Pre Paid GSM Customers: 15,00,919
Post Paid GSM Customers: 4,17,577
Broadband Connections: 6,95,500
Post Paid Internet Connections: 14,07,346
Pre Paid Internet Connections (God Knows what this Means, Sorry MTNL Knows): 21,280

Where did I get these figures from, Well click here to download the Excel sheet - Yes Excel Sheet, not PDF, from the MTNL website (That is if, they dont' remove it in a day or so.

Anyway, let's go back into the Strike History

June 6, 2000: Indian Express: MTNL Ends Strike, Agrees to Demands

July 5, 2000: Indian Express MTNL C & D Employees Effect Services Partially

July 11, 2000: The Hindu - MTNL Strike Deffered

May 17, 2001: Hindu Business Line MTNL Workers Strike

July 27, 2006: Zee News MTNL Executive and Non Executive Staff on Strike

December 15, 2008: Live Mint Indefinite Strike to Send Back Deputed Officers


These are just some of the historical links that come up when you search for MTNL, other than our Friend Mr. Sinha issuing rebuttals against Airtel, and claiming to launch services, that don't work, no one at MTNL really wants to work.

On calling MTNL for service and why services are disrupted, the answers vary from

1. There is no problem
2. We are on Strike
3. The Junior Management is to blame
4. I am on a holiday, call me tomorrow
5. I will not tell you my name, I am just a receptionist
6. I can't transfer your phone as I don't have this facility
7. Why don't you grease someone's hands and get your service working
8. Why is the Internet and Telephone so important to you
9. When you have other Providers, why do you buy from us ?


So, do you still want to buy MTNL ???

G

India Shining - MTNL PARALYZES THE COUNTRY

For the last one week, MTNL, the National Carrier from the Government of India for Mumbai and Delhi, (the other counter part being BSNL) has been having a lot of strikes, and workers not working, for those of you who are from India, or in India, will think, why is this worth a blog post, this has always been the story. Well what has happened as of yesterday has put the country to the shame, MTNL has disabled phone lines and Internet connections, and is blaming Level B Employee strike as the reason for it, none of the people in MTNL, neither at Junior Level, or at Senior Level are working, no phones are being answered, and if you try to Reach the Chief Manageing Directors Office, you are told, that they can't really do anything as it is a strike.

So why buy services from MTNL ?

I wonder myself.

G

PS: Ms, Dikshit, you are the Chief Minister Again, and it's Congress at the Center, why can't ESMA be enacted on MTNL I wonder.

Where there is a Will, there is a Way - Home Made Windmill

I have always believed in the addage, where there is a will, there is a way, and you may call it Jugaad, or you may call it, putting together things because you have the need. The following video of Willian Kamkwamba, from Malawi, shows how he adapted a Windmill concept, using a Cycle, to Generate Power, to light up 4 Bulbs and 2 Radios in his Home.. This is one of the Jawdropping Videos from Ted

An iPod that Talks - Review iPod Shuffle

How can you make something that is simple, simpler? This is a question I ask everyone in my office every day, and it also seems to be the driving force of a company I love called Apple. When I saw the new iPod Shuffle video some months ago, I knew why Apple had become a cult brand.

I have been using a Creative Zen MP3 player with a large 3” screen, but have for some time wanted to shift to a iPod Shuffle or any other MP3 player with a simple interface, at least 4 GB storage capacity, playlist management features and song info, just in case a song led to an argument. Sound quality is very important to me and so the Chinese imports don’t really make sense, though I saw Shuffle lookalikes for as low as Rs 350.



Finally, I settled for the new iPod Shuffle. And I had my reasons—it looked great, was the smallest in size, had no buttons, and could actually talk to you.
So how do you manage an MP3 player with no buttons? Well, Apple has made this so simple that you know the song/artist and can go forward/back on your playlist even with your eyes shut, thanks to the controls inside the right earphone cable. The tiny control panel on the cable has small buttons to increase/decrease volume plus a central button to play/pause and forward/reverse. Press the button longer and it will tell you who the artist is, the name of the album and song. It also lets you browse through playlists using voice prompts in 14 languages, including English.




It has a single 3.5mm jack which is used as the port for plugging in the earphone as well as for data transfer and charging, using the small USB cable.

So, is it all good? There are two glitches that I noticed. One, Apple headphones with the remote are still not available separately in India—if you were to damage yours, you are in for trouble. Two, there are no two-way connectors available if you like to connect your MP3 player to your car stereo.

Anyway, if you like new technology, you are going to fall in love with this one and wonder why they did not think of this the first time.

Specs: 4GB storage
Colors: White & Black
Capacity: Upto 1,000 songs
Battery Charge Details: 10 Hour Backup / Fully Charges in 3 Hours
Price: Rs. 4200 + Taxes
More Details: http://www.apple.com/ipodshuffle/
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The above review was printed in The Indian Express, on Sunday May 10, 2009

Can Electric Vehicles be a Commercial Reality - Another Ted Talk

Whenever I have spoken about / written about Electric Vehicles, or anything Electric Powered, people have looked at me and wondered, why am I so crazy about alternative fuels, and why I have a strong belief that the world will run on Solar Powered Electricity in the future, that seems to be the only way to reduce our carbon footprint.

Anyway, while my usual browsing through TED, I came across the above talk by Shai Agassi, who has just recenlty setup a company called Better Place, and if you are thinking, or if you don't believe the world is changing, and we will now soon be running Electric Cars, you must see this presentation.

More Later, till I think, how can I send this to Mr. Ratan Tata ?

G

So What Happend

Well, nothing really, I am still as much a part of System3, as I was before, but I was playing the role of a Finance Head, Technology Head, Business Head and Marketing Head. Now that System3 has grown in size, and the number of people, I thought it was time for me to reduce my roles, and actually just be the Big Geek in the house, so I am now moving on from my role of CEO to the role of the Geek in the House, and soon enough, System3 should announce a New CEO. In the meantime, watch out TheBigGeek.com evolve, and more writings from me.

Why did I rename it from www.g-spot.in to the www.theBigGeek.com well, two major reasons,

1. People kept going to the other G-spot website, and kept calling me, hey you said this is tech, but the **** is this ?
2. You sure you run the G-Spot website..

So the kink is out, and the tech lust is in, welome to the Big Geek

G

HIGH-SPEED TEST DRIVE - Review 3.1mbps Data Cards from Tata Photon+ and Reliance Netconnect

CAN 3.1 mbps really be possible on a datacard? Well, a lot of phone calls I have been getting for the past fortnight from Tata and Reliance claim so. Since the only reason some people don’t buy datacards is the horrible speeds they offer, I was keen to put the high speed claims to test.

I filled up the online forms for the Tata Photon+ and the Reliance Netconnect Broadband Plus demos. When I failed to hear from them for four days, I called up my account manager with Reliance and was told that he did not have much idea about the “new product”. However, after working the phone lines for a few more days, I had guys from both companies at my place for demonstrations.

But, since I could not use either of the cards for more that five hours, the tests may not have been as thorough as I would like them to be. But the results should be able to answer most of your questions.

Can old cards give high speeds? The new data cards — the ZTE Black USB data card from Reliance look like any other old card — uses new technology and you will not be able to get the high speeds on existing cards.

Is it really going to give me 3.1 mbps? Well, it is faster than the old cards, but not as fast as you would have thought 3.1 mbps would be. But if you download a lot of files and your life is spent using Flickr, Google, Yahoo and Facebook, you will see a remarkable difference.

Will the companies upgrade my old card? No, they will not. They will also not migrate the phone number mapped to your old card, so the money you spent on your card goes down the drain though it is just a yearold. Plus you will need to spend Rs 3,500 to buy the new hardware and service.

How much does the service cost? There is a slight change in tariff from old cards. I found Tata’s tariffs to be more consumer-friendly. Reliance offers an unlimited night time usage plan — but the fine print says unlimited as per Reliance means only 10 GB of datadownload.

Is the service available every where? Well, yes and no. The service will work every where, but since most cities still have old networks, you will get the 3.1 mbps only in select cities for now.

Who should I prefer, Tata or Reliance? Well, they are both good. I need Internet access during my frequent travels and keep using data cards. So I would prefer the Tata Photon+ since there is the option for an additional wireless router (costs approximately Rs 14,000) which connects to the Internet at 3.1 mbps speed any where while linking to my laptop wirelessly. I loved the product, but it is still not available with most dealers.

Are they Mac/Linux compatible? The Reliance website claims they have a Mac and a Linux driver, and as usual a Windows driver. The demo units were installed on a Windows machine and the executive who came for the demo had no idea about Macs. Will have to wait till I buy the product, or till the companies decide to send over Macs for testing.

Should I upgrade? Well, I will not take the plunge right now. I have about four data cards in my office,and all of them seem to have become redundant now, though they are just over a year old. So I will wait and see if we get 3G from Airtel, Idea or Vodaphone. Once 3G is available, I will preferably use it through the GSM phones. Better to see how the market evolves.

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TEST RESULTS
Maximum Download Speed: 2mbps. I did not touch 3.1 mbps in any condition
Maximum Upload Speed: 1mbps, though the compnies claim a max speed of 1.8 mbps
Over all browsing experience: Great
Voip/Skype: I had some trouble. But I think this was due to thes low powered laptop used for the demo Torrent download: Very slow, could manage only about 200-300 kbps Connectivity: Tata was stable but experienced drops in connectivity with Reliance
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For more information, click here for Tata Photon+ or here for Reliance Netconnect

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The above article appeared in the Indian Express, on May 3rd 2009

The Chinese Connection - Review Chinese Cellphones

I AM A bit wary of unknown brands, especially those stamped with the ‘Made in China’ tag. But it has to be accepted that they are hugely popular in India. For Rs 4,000, a Chinese phone can give you a 2.8” touchscreen with stylus, a good looking interface with graphics, a miniSD Card slot, dual SIM option, MP3 and MP4 players, a camera and some great speakers. Real value for money.

After I got to use one such phone during a recent visit to Jaipur, I decided to do a bit of research. All the shops I visited were keen to sell the cheaper option — their reasoning: why spend Rs 20,000 when you can buy the same for Rs 5,000.

CAMERA: Each model I checked had a different camera by a different maker, some even named after apparel brands.

But the fact is that all of them are horrible, with bad digital zooms.

However, they work, though you might not be able to take quality prints.

SCREEN: The 2.8” screen was clear and bright and good enough to display the vivid graphics. A colleague who owned a Chinese phone said his touchscreen had stopped working long back. He did go to get it fixed as the mobile was still on warranty, but the dealer had downed shutters by then. MUSIC: I loaded my Mini-SD card into his one such phone to play my Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan numbers. I must confess the the sound reproduction was quite good, a difficult proposition for most phone speakers.

VIDEO: It failed to recognise most DivX videos on the card — maybe some codecs were missing. I then used my phone to download some MP4 files from YouTube to my SD Card. The phone had no problem recognising or playing these.

USB: Most phones had a USB Port. I tried connecting one, but my PC did not recognise it as a mass storage device. But it will do, as USBs are becoming the de facto charge port option for phones and give frequent travellers like me more freedom.

DUAL SIM: Though only one SIM can stay active at a time, the phones give you the option while restarting to choose which of the two connections goes on standby mode. I was told by some shopkeepers that there were models which allowed incoming and outgoing calls on both cards. I liked this option as it gave me the freedom to use both CDMA and GSM in a single phone.

BATTERY: Both the phones I tried lasted through the day, with about one hour of talktime, which is good. But there are some serious negatives.

• am not sure whether stories of cheap phones exploding are true, but I would still not be sleeping with one of these charging beside my bed.
  
• 
  The keyboard will take some getting used to, as the keys are laid out awkwardly to accommodate the big screen.
  
• 
  Though you might not need it regularly, a touchscreen that doesn’t work can be a pain.
  
• 
  SD Card cannot be inserted without opening the phone.
  
• 
  The SD cards are usually unbranded and so it is better to change to a branded one for better performance.
  

But, overall, these phones, though called Nike or Mobichin, are good if you would like to have all latest features and still not end up paying a fortune for it.

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The Above article appeared in the Indian Express, on Sunday 26th April 2009

Microsoft Launches: Exchange 2010 (Beta)

Unbelieveable, I am more of a Linux + Mac User, and I have done 2 Postings related to MS launches in one day.. Anyway going forward, just in time when we all managed to setup Exchange 2007, and get our teams ready to support it, Microsoft just announced the launch of MS Exchange 2010. Though still in Beta, this will be available by the year end.

Is Exchange 2010, all Fluff and UI. I think Fluff and UI is productive, and makes end user productive, it actually is a good thing - Rajesh Jha

Following is the Video Interview of Rajesh Jha, Corporate Vice President Exchange and Office Live.



Leaving other things to Trial, what I like about Exchange 2010, is the inbuilt archiving capability, a very important step. Though Microsoft Live has been selling Antispam + Archiving for Exchange users, but that meant that your mail was being routed through Microsoft Data Centers, which could only archive your incoming mail and not outgoing. This is a Big Thumbs Up. There are other features, that allow you to manage Inbox Overload, Reduce IT Costs etc.

Links:
Microsoft Press Release
Microsoft Exchange Home Page
Download Page for MS Exchange 2010 Beta

Microsoft Launches: Windows Server 2008 Foundation

Recently I had a chance to install Microsoft Small Business Server Enterprise for a Customer. This comprises of a 4 Server Installation (Microsoft Management Server + Active Directory, ISA Server Called Security Server, Data Base Server and Exchange Server called EBS Messaging). Though designed towards Small business's, there are a very few small business's that will put up 4 Servers, and spend that kind of money to implement the solution in India. With a high rate of piracy everywhere, and Microsoft and other Software makers coming out with versions, that are lighter in their features, at a cheaper cost, to fight piracy, Microsoft on Friday announced the Availability of it's Windows Server 2008 Foundation Edition.

Commenting on the launch, Bob Muglia (President, Server and Tools Business, Microsoft Worldwide) said, “Microsoft's goal is to provide a Windows Server-based solution for every customer need, size and budget. We are proud to announce the India launch of Windows Server 2008 Foundation, our new low-cost server platform. This platform will empower small businesses with access to the power of server based business software at an affordable price – in the all familiar Windows environment. As businesses grow, customers can upgrade to other members of the Windows Server family - which provide additional functionality such as integrated e-mail, simplified management, virtualization and other advanced features”.

Microsoft has tied up with HP and Dell to provide servers preloaded with MS Windows Server 2008 Foundation Edition, and soon OEM Edition of the software will also be availble for you to buy with your new servers.

Though on Microsoft's website the pricing is still not available, but keeping in mind that the MS Windows 2008 Standard Edition ships for 999US$, this should be much cheaper. For Pricing, look at microsoft.com - windows server pricing

What is missing in the MS Win Server 2008 Foundation Edition is the Hyper-V (The Free Microsoft Virtualisation Platform) and the Server Core. The Following Feature Comparision will explain more for those looking at evaluating this server edition.



In the Next few days, If I can get time, I will setup a Lab and try out the installation, and the features and comment on it.


For More Details, visit microsoft.com

iWork Better This way - Review Apple iWork 09

A MONTH after reviewing the latest Apple iLife, I thought it is time I also wrote about its Office Application Suite suite called iWork. To start with, iWork comes with three different applications—Pages (the word processor and document editor); Numbers (the spreadsheet and number crunching application), and Keynote (the presentation application). All three write and read Microsoft as well as open formats, but for its native features to be retained it is better to save the files in raw format. However, if you want to forward a file to a colleague who uses either Windows or a Linux PC, you have the option of sending it in the commonly known Microsoft extensions or in PDF Format.



PAGES 09: Microsoft Word is brilliant with some features which others still have to catch up with. But Pages 09 goes a step further and lets you personalise documents by merging it with spreadsheets, allows you to work in fullscreen mode and gives options of templates. It also has two other unique features—it lets you make a dynamic outline of your document to review and work on ideas and also gives you the option to add equations or bibliographies to your document. It even comes with nearly 180 templates, ranging from brochures to invitations.



NUMBERS 09: I love spreadsheets, whether it is the Microsoft Excel or Open Office Calc, as they allow me to present my numbers, ideas, images and graphs together. Numbers 09 overcomes most limitations of Excel and Calc and makes interaction similar to that of a document. You can easily identify critical components of your calculation, change or edit layouts and insert multiple tables on a sheet. The idea of a workbook, with just one sheet in each page is passé as this allows you multiple tables on a sheet. The 30 templates make life easier, whether you are working on a travel planner, team organiser or home improvement project. Moreover, the table categories allow you to organise data in a way you could only do with stickies. Drag and drop formulae, advanced level charts and easy integration make this my favourite Mac feature.



KEYNOTE 09: Just the thought of making a Power Point presentation puts me off. That was until Keynote 09 came along. It lets me create a 10-slide presentation and make it look as if it was done by a pro. If we had transitions on Power Point, Keynote brings in Magic Move that lets you add Amazing Animations. Your charts can be now in 3D and with texture. Keynote gives more options in transitions plus a huge library of templates. It also gets rid of the hassle of having to stand near the PC to change slides or use a wireless presenter, by letting you iPhone or iPod touch access the presentation through Wi-Fi.

There is a downside though, you will still need a Mac to use iWork. Price Rs 4,320.

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The above article appeared in the Indian Express, on Sunday 19th April, 2009

Heart Touching - In Sickness and In Health, Till Death Do us Part

I am not sure how I came across this video, but it touched my heart, and brought a tear to my eye... True love defined. A snapshot from a news item on IBN Live



Reminds me of the Kenny Rogers Song - The Vows Go Unbroken *(lyrics)*

From the moment I met you,
you made my life complete.
This wave of pure devotion,
has swept me off my feet.

And tonight when we kissed,
you still took my breath away.
It goes without saying,
but I'll say it anyway...

The vows go un-broken - and you still know I do.
Love, keep and honor - always true to you.

Though I have been tempted,
oh I have never strayed.
I'd die before I'd damage,
this union we have made.

The vows go unbroken - and you still know I do.
Love, keep and honor - always true to you.

I knew from the first - that for better or worse,
I'd stand by you all my life.

And the vows go unbroken - and you still know I do.
Love, keep and honor - always true to you.
Love, keep and honor - always true to you.

ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT - NEW BAND CALLED SMOKE

While catching up on my daily dose of Music, I saw this video in the morning on one of the channels, a Band Called Smoke Signals, has Kailash Kher, who I absolutely love, singing with them. The Song is titled Summer Time Rocks

To know more about the Band visit their page at Blue Frog, the Independent Label they have their album out on.

Always believed Independent Music and Labels will be able to change the whole crap that bollywood has been feeding us with for all these years.. Rahman Sahib, think you are going to meet your match soon with these kids.

Great work guys.. Would love to see you live one day.

G

Netmagic Launches Cloud Computing

It is difficult when you have to write about a competitor, but then, hey the world needs information. Netmagic, one of the Leading Data Center Players (well actually currently the largest in India) announced the availability of their Cloud computing product line yesterday. This makes them the first to bring it to market, while we small players play with the technology and shape it, up, the product is out. For more details, check out the Netmagic Press Release by clicking here

Asus Takes the Lead - Offers Replacement on Brunt Motherboard

Asus, just announced replacement on Burnt Motherboards. In a country where people don't buy UPS's because they don't really see the sense of buying them, and think that the burnt motherboards were a fault because of a manufacturing defect, well Asus will soon be able to cash in on this market.

Keeping in mind the voltage fluctuation problem faced in India, Asus - a global leading manufacturer of IT products had very recently introduced the P5KPL-AM/PS motherboard with Anti-surge technology. This motherboard was especially designed for Indian consumers. Now going one step further, Asus has decided to offer Burnt warranty on the P5KPL-AM / PS (Anti-surge) motherboard.


Talking about this new warranty policy, Vinay Shetty Country Head Component Products, Asus (India) said, Offering burnt warranty on the P5KPL-AM/PS motherboard is another way of giving our customers total piece of mind when buying an Asus product. The P5KPL-AM/PS motherboard was conceived by our R&D team especially keeping the Indian environment in mind and under this new warranty policy, the company will replace the motherboard thats burnt due to power fluctuation. With this little step of providing a real solution to the loss a user could have had due to the power fluctuation problem we want make a strong impression in the mind of our partners in business and to the users at large that we are a brand that cares for our customers and work towards a real solution

Only motherboards with Model P5KPL-AM/PS will be covered under this scheme

Source: Asus India Website

Crash of the Internet - Airtel Announces 16 mbps Broadband Avaialability in NCR

Airtel, yes the same airtel, that can't get their phones, or IVR or customer service right, finally announced (I must share the voice recording of their IVR with you here, I have called, emailed, complained to them over a 1000 times, and no, they just won't listen, after all aren't the guys at the call centres the biggest tech experts you know)..

Anyway time to stop bashing. Airtel announced the Avaialbility of 16 mbps Broadband on Sunday. They are the leaders in the Broadband business, and I must say their Broadband performs the best, this is what brings me to the reason, I said, crash of the Internet.

Current Pricing in India for Leased Circuits is prohibitive, an E1 (2 MBPs) Line costs roughly about Rs. 6 Lacs (a 1000 USD Per Month) Per Annum, and the retail broadband has been announced at Rs. 4999 (for 50 GB Download Inclusive) or a Rs. 2999 (for a 20 GB Download Inclusive)

Announcing the launch of the service, K Srinivas, Joint President, Telemedia Services, Bharti Airtel said, Airtel has constantly strived to innovate and deliver high quality products to its broadband customers. We are the leading private broadband service provider in the country and pioneered 8 Mbps broadband. It gives us great pleasure now to be able to introduce the fastest, wired broadband service on DSL. We will be able to offer 16 Mbps broadband to 70% of the households in the 3 cities of Delhi NCR, Chennai and Bangalore.

Airtel has also setup a New Website, called ImpaitientOnes.Com, and the Product Details Website

New Pen + Pencil Set from Pierre Cardin

I am not sure if this Pierre Cardin pen business has anything to do with the famous designer, but I just got a Pen + Pencil set as a Gift from my Mother in Law. The Chrome Silver Finish is nice, though the Click Mechanical Pencil is a 0.5 mm lead, while I personally prefer a 0.7 mm, the Touch and feel of the whole set is nice. Some pictures to share with you.

For those of you with stationery fetish like mine, the Productwas made in China, and the box is a black corrugated paper box with silver embossing for the lgo. The Pen and Pencil are held down by a plastic piece with soft rubbery grips, and is screwed down to the back side of the Case.



The backside screw (See picture) is opened using a Coin (not a screw driver).

G

Finally - The Buddha Arrives

I have been wanting to get a Buddha Head for my office for a very long time. I was out buying some mugs for the office, and spending time at this pottery shop, and came across the head, I had to buy it, got it for a cool price of Rs. 180, and now it is sitting atop the speaker of my Mini Book Case system in the office.

Jai Buddha

Pac Man Lite on the iPhone

Another Lazy Sunday, well not really, this Sunday was a little tough, had a lot of errands to run at the house, finally was home for a Weekend after a long time, also planned to cook some Laal Maas, thanks to the recipe from SR Puri.

By the afternoon I was just poofed and realised I had not charged my DS console, and was in the mood to play an old arcade type game, what better than Pac Man, so browsed on to the App Store at Apple, using my iPhone, and lo and behold, found the free trial version of Namco's Original Pac Man. Downloaded and installed, I loved the Game.

Pac Man reminds me of a recent Joke I heard, "They say kids today are influenced by all those action games, if the games could influence people, my generation would be walking, with beep sounds coming off them". Anyway.. Pac Man just level 1 in the free version allows you to play the old Pac Man, with a DPAD controller at the bottom of the screen, though I would have loved if Namco used the Accelerometer to run the game, but hey it was fun, and a change. Though the full version costs about US$ 6, the missus would have been angry if I bought it.. so it's the free version for now, or the other arcade games I have on my DS

Must download this App.

Game Cost: Free / Version: 1.01 / Size 1.6MB / Current Average Rating: 4+

Looney tunes - Review Sony Walkman W705 Phone

I wanted to live with the Sony Ericsson W705 walkman phone for a couple of weeks before sitting down to write a review. Finally, I have spent my time with the phone and here is the review.

For starters, it is a great looking phone, but I had some trouble getting the Sim card and battery in without reading the manual. I had to give the manual a good read before getting this right.

The phone comes preloaded with a 4GB M2 Card. But since none of my laptops, or even card readers, take an M2 card, it was a bit of a pain to transfer music to it. Anyway, the phone supports Mass Storage Mode allowing you to connect your phone over USB as if it was a pen drive.

Sony, which still uses propreitory ports for USBs, headsets and chargers, now has a charger with a double-side port so that users can connect the headphone/USB and charger together. But you still need a convertor to use the 3.5-mm jack of your favourite headphone.

Another negative is that if an SMS lands while you are listening to music, your music goes into the background till you press a button to read or ignore the message. Though I agree calls should get priority, I found this very irritating, especially on a walkman phone.

The speakerphone is pretty much useless. Though the speaker has great voice quality, the microphone is really bad. The speaker too, though loud and clear, is awkwardly positioned on the back of the phone. Sony, like the iPhone, could have built the speakers at the bottom edge of the phone

The camera is good despite the bad focus. It even has some nice features like geotagging using Google Maps, if you have GPRS, that is.

I was, however, very happy with the battery time. I took the phone to Jaipur without the charger. It worked till the third day, even with my calls, the odd snap in between and taps on the calculator.

The phone has an accelerometer built-in allowing motion gaming. This version appeared a bit immature, and some refinements will do the phone a world of good. Moreover, I had to keep the slider open to play the built-in bowling game with motion gaming, giving the impression that the phone would fly off from my hand.

This phone has some great connectivity options like WiFi, Bluetooth, USB, and even 3G. But, sadly, you still have to rely on GPRS to update phone software. It also supports Microsoft Exchange connectivity and SyncML to synchronise your phone with your office contacts server. Another good feature is the WiFi sharing that enable you to share files with the PC and browse the phone from you computer.

Overall, I thought the phone was a bit too costly at Rs 17,786.

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The Above article appeared in The Indian Express, on Sunday 12th April 2009

Chat in Jaipur - Shri Ram Chat Bhandar

After I posted the above picture of Shri Ram Chat Bhandar in Jaipur, I got a lot of requests for the location. Since I don't know the address and we were walking when we went to this shop, I took some time out to draw a map out for any one visiting jaipur.

Please do go say my hello to uncle ji.

On the Johri Bazaar Road (this is where the Hawa Mahal is, try to locate the Citi Bank ATM, and ask around, or use the following Map as your guide)