Rags Blog

Apple store is down for black Friday sale in UK!!

2009-11-26T15:08:00.001-08:00

Black Friday sale is on pretty soon folks.. Apple store UK is down!! Looking at the Australian Apple store showing signs of sale to be not much, but anyways hoping for a decent sale here in UK!! I have a long list, Mac mini, iPhone or iPod touch, magic mouse, probably any good pair of ear phones at cheep price.

Keeping my fingers crossed!

Jeffery Deaver-The bodies left behind

2009-08-25T15:07:00.001-07:00

This is the first book I read from Jeffery Deaver. Honestly it is just amazing novel, twists in the story were really nice. One who reads a lot of fiction novels usually can predict what is going to happen next, but this book is at a different level all together!

The story goes something like this- “ A spring night in a small town in Wisconsin. A call to 911 from a remote lake side home is cut short, a phone glitch or something serious? Deputy Brynn goes there to check it out and stumbles onto the murder scene! Before she can call for backup she finds herself the next potential victim. In the process of saving her own life, she loses her phone, gun and her car! And she flees into the dense woods with the only survivor of the crime scene.

Can she survive the night and escape from the bad guys, save her self and save a life?” well to find out get the book and read it!

Narration is pretty good, but the only thing i felt bad is the ending could have been more exciting! Even though entire book is exciting i feel last few chapters were predictable and boring. Still a worth read. I would rate this book a 8 of 10.

Gmail is not beta anymore!

2009-07-07T11:56:00.001-07:00

Has anybody noticed, there is no Beta word around Google Mail logo’s!! now.

I guess Google has moved them out of Beta!! Hurray, but does it mean anything to end users like u and me? will have to wait and watch what is the Google’s strategy behind it. Until then enjoy your free email ;)

Don’t Look Twice – Andrew Gross

2009-07-03T13:59:00.001-07:00

Don’t look twice is the follow up novel from the bestselling author of The Dark Tide and Blue Zone. Being a co-author with James Paterson for several bestselling novels, one can clearly see the influence of his guru ;)

Lets cut the crap and talk about the story itself. A drive by shootout in a posh suburb of Greenwich and an innocent person standing by is killed. Everybody thinks he was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. Detective Ty and her daughter narrowly escape this shoot out. Initially Ty thinks that bullet was meant for him!!

Ty digs a little deeper and soon realizes that it is lot more than just a drive by shootout. Okay now to find out more go get urself the book and read it. It is a worth read.

But if one has not read the dark tide or the blue zone.. then go get your hands on those first! Don’t look twice is not as impressive as the blue zone. I would personally rate this book at 7 out of 10.

Google Add’s Drag and Drop in Gmail!!!

2009-07-02T15:19:00.001-07:00

Well guess what, Google has just added drag & drop of email like all other free email providers in the web. But just hold on a sec.. Gmail does not have folders right? hmmmm.. So why not drag & drop email into labels!! That’s what Google has thought of :)

And it works the other way too! Just drag the label and drop it onto the email you wanna mark with the label.. Walla.

I don’t know what Google folks eat for breakfast.. every time they come up with some brilliant ideas! Kudos Google.

Nokia Photo Browser

2009-05-04T14:22:00.001-07:00

This app has been around for some time on Nokia’s beta labs… I just installed it on my 5800 and it is awesome.

Browsing images with stunning 3D effects… it has face detection as well and with few nice little gestures for zoom and scrolling.

It is a simple and really nice app to have. I like this app and feel it is way better than the default gallery app on the phone which sucks!

I wish Nokia makes this there default app in future.

Follow the link for more information

Pilotfish's Ondo music concept phone

2009-04-20T10:40:00.001-07:00

I was reading my fav blog engadget. I came across this awesome concept phone…. Just beyond words!

iPhone app downloads to hit a billion!

2009-04-13T06:19:00.001-07:00

Yes it is true, Apple is waiting for the downloads to hit a billion! I guess there will be a big ad campaign after that ;)

Apple is giving away $10k worth of goodies as well for it!!! Follow the link for more details.

India gets its first HD service from SUN Direct!

2009-04-13T05:49:00.001-07:00

Sun Direct has recently launched the first HD service in India!.

Follow the link for more info.. but sure it is expensive ;)

Windows XP mainstream Support ending this week!!!

2009-04-13T03:01:00.001-07:00

Microsoft is pulling out the main stream support for Windows XP professional this Thursday!

To get support one has to get into extended support agreement with Microsoft, of course it will include some fees ;)

Follow the link for more information.

Now India Gets its own Election Centre from Google!!

2009-04-07T13:03:00.001-07:00

Google has launched an election centre dedicated to the upcoming elections in India!!

Just select your Constituency and Google Election centre gives out a lot of information including who won the last election, the debates he/she was involved in and surprisingly it also shows how many question he/she asked in those debates!!!

Google just amazes me every time! Go Google Go.

Gmail in Kannada Now!

2009-03-31T11:57:00.001-07:00

I was just reading my friends blog, Guess what google has added a new feature in gmail to send emails in many Indian languages!!!!

Go to the settings page to enable this feature, once enabled you will see a “ಅ” or “अ” icon( based on which language you have chosen in the settings page) on the compose mail. Select that and just start typing phonetically! and gmail automatically translates it to your chosen language!!!

Say if I type Raghavendra it converts to “ರಾಘವೇಂದ್ರ”!! There is also a correction option to fine tune the translation!

Google just keeps impressing me, Go Google Go!

New Firmware 20.0.0.12 for Nokia 5800!

2009-03-30T13:10:00.001-07:00

I updated my phone today with the latest firmware. Following were the noticeable changes

a) Performance is much better now, especially the touch response and gallery.

b) Geotagging is finally there on the camera!

c) New Dictionary app added with support to multiple languages.

d) camera feels a lot better.

e) New App.Update app added, which is used to update individual nokia applications outside of firmware updates!!!.. It had been first added in N85 and N79 finally made it to 5800 as well.

and lot more tiny little bug fixes. But I have noticed few issues one mainly in update is if there is a sim lock code then the phone does not switch on after the update!!!

One more issue is after this update, I could not install any app, even apps from nokia site get certificate expired error. Well got to figure that out.

Microsoft Arc Mouse!

2009-03-29T08:56:00.001-07:00

It has been around for almost a year now. Always wanted to get one of this because of its portability, very handy when travelling.

Finally got my hands on one :) at a mall in Luxembourg!

It is really great and simple. Performance is just fine, but most important it is comfy :)

Controversy a day before 2009 F1 season starts!

2009-03-26T13:34:00.001-07:00

Controversy over the height of the diffuser of Brawn GP, Toyota and Williams cars!!!

Stewards of the Australian race have thrown out the protest, but now the decision will be made after the race by FIA’s court of appeal. hmmm. I thought there will not penalty on drivers or constructors after the race is over, well there we go.. what a great start for the season.

Well that's what makes F1 exciting isn't it?

Read the following link for more info

Formula1 official site!

Internet Explorer 8

2009-03-21T16:16:00.001-07:00

Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 is finally out! Well it was out from long time but as a beta, but now the beta is gone ;)

I am using the new explorer 8 from 2 days, seems to be quite stable and for the first time it is not as hungry for memory as explorer has been for years. Which is good. I did compare the memory usage for Google chrome, Firefox and the new explorer 8.. guess what explorer 8 was the least in memory usage so far!!!

Overall the experience has been excellent. I do suggest this but as everyone know security will be an issue since it has already been hacked! So in the browser war so far chrome is the only one not yet hacked!!!!!

‘Most Wins’ System Scrapped.. yupeeee!

2009-03-20T12:56:00.001-07:00

After a long discussion between FIA and FOTA, the recently announced most wins points system is scrapped for the good the F1!.

I welcome the decision, this will keep the excitement on till the last race :).

Just a week to go for the first race of 2009!! cant wait for it….

Changed my Job!!

2009-03-19T15:03:00.001-07:00

I have a joined Fernbach Software S.A in London, United Kingdom!

Check out the link for further information on the company!

Windows Live Writer!

2009-03-19T14:54:00.001-07:00

I am writing this blog using Windows Live Writer. After a long time I have seen something nice as this from Microsoft! It is really nice and amazing way to blog!

Windows live writer is a blogging tool, which supports a whole range of blogging stuff from blogger.com to wordpress!

It supports sharing photos from Live photos and flicker! and it has pluggin’s to generate tiny url and post it on twitter as well!!!!

I really like this tool. Will be using it from now on!

iPhone's new OS 3.0!

2009-03-18T11:24:00.000-07:00

Well it took Apple almost 2 years to put copy paste feature in iPhone!!!! That is not impressive at all...
Most of the stuff newly added were a basic features in many other phones in the market... A2DP, MMS etc...
But still there is something about Apple that brings people talking about it.
Well they finally have unlocked the bluetooth chip in iPod touch with 3.0! Apple has almost convinced me to change my iPod with that.. anyways it is getting better every time.
Also I liked the new API's and access level to developers into iPhone's hardware and resources.

Birthday Calender from Orkut to Google Calender!

2009-03-08T11:03:00.000-07:00

I just noticed this link on my orkut homepage!, just click on the link and walla u have your friends b'days imported to your google calender!!!
Google is just awesome!

my new Nokia 5800 expressmusic!!

2009-02-13T11:07:00.000-08:00

After using HTC P3300 for almost a year I had switched back to symbian device Nokia N95 8gb as published earlier!!!

But honestly I was totally unhappy about N95! except its camera. Over all the device was very slow and used to crash a lot. And having used a touch screen I was really uncomfortable using a non-touch screen phone!

So as soon as 5800 was out on streets in India, I grabbed one!!! I have been using this for a month now. Honestly I am pretty happy with the new version of the OS and the device. Package is really great! for less than 20k ( approx 500 USD ) you get the device + 8gb memory card with lots of goodies :)

Will post about the device and apps very soon!

Bespin a cloud code editor!!

2009-02-13T11:01:00.000-08:00

Introducing Bespin from Dion Almaer on Vimeo.

Bespin is a Mozilla Labs experiment that proposes an open, extensible web-based framework for code editing that aims to increase developer productivity, enable compelling user experiences, and promote the use of open standards.

I just used it to code a small function in java script and it is awesome!!! still being a alpha this runs pretty smooth.

Read more about it at http://labs.mozilla.com/projects/bespin/

2D Bar Code Reader

2008-12-26T10:47:00.000-08:00

Even though this application from Nokia is been around from long time, had never tried it. I recently came across Mobile Barcoder extension for FireFox!! It is really great.

Nokia 2D bar code reader uses the built in camera to scan and interpret the barcodes. I was wondering what it would be useful for. Nokia has a barcode generation site which lets you encode URL, text or business card information and generate a barcode. One can use the site to generate barcodes and display on the site.

There aren't much sites that support this, but with the help of the barcoder extension, it is very easy to use :)

Main use of this is transferring URL's to mobile phone without much hazels. Say I am downloading a theme for the mobile, I just have to browse on the PC; and transfer the url to the mobile and then download directly on the phone!!!

The above image was created using Nokia's bar coder for my blog :)

Web OS!!!

2008-12-25T09:26:00.001-08:00

There has been lot of hype on the WEB OS's recently, I did find out the free ones already out in the market and listed them :)

Following are the different free WEB OS's available:
a) G.ho.st
b) Desktop Two
c) eyeOS

Each one of the above has its own pros and cons. But I like the way this guys have implemented. I will review each of the above and come up with my observations shortly :)

Till then happy logging on to web systems :)

Google!!!

2008-11-10T03:41:00.000-08:00

Google just keeps on improving there search!! go google go!!
Just type in the flight number u have the information on its departure and arrival!!!
Google is just great.

2008 Season round up!!!

2008-11-10T02:27:00.000-08:00

Just a simple small blog is not sufficient to cover 2008 season...it is one of the best seasons in the formula 1 history. The championship was down to the last corner of the last race of the season!!!! It just can't get better than this. I am actually short of words to describe or talk about this season.

Brazilian GP was really exciting, rain started to pour down heavily 10 mins before the start of the race. Race control delayed the race for 10 mins, for teams to change to wet weather tires. Massa had a great start, but after first few corners there were collisions; which made the safety car come out :(
David's last race ended in a crash, sad way to end a pretty long career. With Safety car around, only driver to make use of this was Alonso. Then Lewis managed to get to fifth place; a safe place for the championship.

After that the race was pretty boring with Massa set to win the race. But rain gods wanted to add some fun to the race :) it started to rain again on 63rd lap. Almost everybody did a pit stop to change to wet weather tires, with Massa pitting last. It worked well for Ferrari. With all the pit stop drama Vettel was behind Lewis and did manage to overtake him with just one lap to go!! Now Lewis was on 6th place which will put him equal to Massa on championship points. Toyoto's Glock was on sleek tires; as the rain picked up.. he could not maintain the pace. Finally on the last corner, he took a long turn which gave lewis some space to overtake. He did finish 5th which got him 1 point lead over Massa. There we have the new Champion for 2008 season Lewis Hamilton.

But I am expecting the next season to be even more thrilling with 6 drivers really competing for the top place ( Kimi, Massa, Lewis, Alonso, Kubica, Vettel). It should be great fun :)

Slick Messenger app

2008-11-06T05:41:00.000-08:00

Slick is a messenger app very similar to Fring app, I liked slick more than fring because it is lot more stable and works well on my Nokia N95. It supports ICQ, Yahoo, MSN, Gtalk and Jabber protocols!!.. supports emotions(smilies) as well :) Most of all chat history is saved!
But since this is a testing version, it is free..but soon LonelycatGames will charge for this :(

This is a really nice app, must have app if you have a Symbian phone.

Fring app for phones!!!

2008-11-04T06:02:00.000-08:00

Few days back I came across this wonderful application for my Nokia N95, which is all in one multi chat app. One can chat, talk and share multimedia stuff on your phone!!!
As usual after using this for few days following are the pros and cons:
Pros:
a) Supports Gtalk, Skype, MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, AIM, twitter chat protocols..Also orkut!!!
b) One can make voice calls over the above mentioned chat's but Yahoo & AIM are not supported for Voice as of now.
c) I have used this in quite remote places; where there is no EDGE network support as well!!! but it performed quite well, I could make voice chats as well.
d) The best part is one can log into all different chats at one time.

Cons:
a) Keeps crashing a lot!!
b) I am not a fan of the interface, but it serves the propose.
c) chat histories are not saved, so once u close the chat window with one user and again try to continue with the conversation..old conversation which one had closed cannot be viewed!!which is quite annoying

Over all it is quite a good app and more over it is free as of now..so no complaints.

My new N95 8GB!

2008-11-03T03:39:00.000-08:00

I had to change my phone from HTC P3300...since it broke :( I had lot of options to choose from... I almost went for HTC touch Diamond. The only reason I did not buy HTC again is; I am not happy with there built quality and re-sale value in India. But if Sony ericsson's X1 was out..i would have got that. Anyways I got N95 8GB; reasons to choose them are:
a) 5 Mpix camera.
b) 8 GB drive :)
c) My budget
d) I have used symbian phones before, and it really has got a lot of 3rd party app's to choose from.

After using N95 from almost a month, following are the pro's and cons I could think off:
Pros:
a) Awesome built quality
b) Pretty good software bundle. I liked the Nokia multimedia converter..which converts most of the available video formats and stores on ur phone!!
c) Camera is quite good, I m not impressed with the Flash... but it is fine for a phone
d) Battery life is good.
e) Syncing the outlook calender/Contacts has been modified by Nokia, and I am quite impressed by it.
f) I found lot of useful apps..and themes as well

Cons:
a) I feel the device is quite slow.. defiantly needs more ram and a better processor.
b) Music playback on A2DP is pretty bad!! I really hate this part.
c) I have seen this device crash many times when using blue tooth modem :(
d) Does not charge on USB. I am not sure why Nokia is not getting this on there phones.
e) retail package does not include any games.
f) GPS is not so great.

My PSP on firmware 5.0!!!

2008-10-21T04:10:00.000-07:00

I updated the PSP firmware from 3.20 to 5.00 and man I did see the difference in performance.... Cool theme... and lot of cool features added.
I really liked the feed reader, internet radio, flash support and most of all sleep timer in Music player :)
Also cool one is connectivity to PS3 and a PC.. now one can browse files in PS3 and a PC via PS3 using PSP... now Sony is really convinced me to buy a PS3!!!

Happy gaming!!!!

Chinese F1 Update

2008-10-20T05:58:00.000-07:00

Wow!!! now the last race of the season is the decider for the championship. Probably Lewis is on his way in making history!!
Can't wait for the Brazilian race, it is Massa's home track.. Yuppeee. So we should expect Massa is going to give a tough fight to Lewis, just 7 points seperate Massa and Lewis. Massa can win the championship only if he wins the race and Lewis finishes 6th or below. If Lewis finishes 2nd, he will still win the championship.
Now to the actual race, I am not really sure why Ferrari was on softer compound tires looked to me that it was the main reason for Ferrari being slower to Mclaren. Also after the Massa's second pit stop, he changed to hard compound tires and he was looking much more comfortable and car was doing good speeds. Ferrari should have started the race with hard compound tires. Guess Ferrari should win the Constructors title this year, they are leading the points table now.
Surprising fact is Alonso and Renault.. man that car was good on tracks. Next season should be fun, having real 4 strong teams competing.
I would have loved to see Ferrari one two on the podium.

Well 11 more days to go for the Brazilian race, till then happy waiting ;)

Japanese F1 update

2008-10-14T06:27:00.000-07:00

Again what a race!!! kudos to Alonso and Renault, he his back to top again :)
Talking about Renault, they have been lacking in Aerodynamics from more than a year now..looks like they have sorted out the problems :)
It has been a dramatic race, first corner mann..one has to watch it to believe it!!! Lewis was penalized( drive through penalty ) for breaking hard and late at the first corner, which made almost all cars to slide of the track!!!!
Then it was massa's turn, he was penalized with drive through for bumping his rear tire into Lewis which made him spin and move back to the last position!!!
It was a bad day for Mclaren, Heikki Kovalainen's had a engine problem and retired race very early. Lewis did not manage to get a point!!!
Kimi started the race from P2 really well, but due to the over aggressive move by Lewis actually threw him out of the circuit to 5th or 6th place..he managed to finish the race at 3rd place...but he is out of chances from now on to retain the championship :(
Just 5 points difference between Massa and Lewis!!! Guess will have a 2 great races to watch :)

Now with 4 teams really doing good - Ferrari, Mclaren, BMW and Renault. We will have a great race next year toooooo.

EU Directive...on removable Batteries !!! Apple watch out

2008-10-08T02:55:00.000-07:00

Well here we go again.... Apple may be in trouble soon if they do not change there current devices battery layout. As per the new Eu directive, all electronic devices should have easy replaceable batteries for easy disposal. iPod family and iPhones does not have the easy factor in it.... Lets wait and watch Apple's answer for it :)
For more info.. follow the link

HTC P3300

2008-10-07T10:08:00.001-07:00

I had switched from Nokia N73 to HTC P3300..well actually this was the very first Windows phone I used it for long time!!!!
It has been a good device, pretty good battery performance. Almost never saw the device hang!!! But i never liked the built quality. I used this for almost 8 months now.
Okay now for my fav thing..listing pros and cons :)
Pros
a) Value for money.
b) Feature rich device.
c) Good Battery, Screen.
e) GPS is really good, especially the response times!
f) App support is really great!! one can find almost anything for this phone..infact I found Apple iPhone's interface for Caller-ID screen and Locking/unlocking the touch screen!!!!
g) Great music performance especially with my Motorola blue tooth stereo headset.

Cons.
a) Pretty Bad camera.
b) built quality is pretty bad. The scroll wheel stopped working many times for me.
c) Pretty bad performance when in low network coverage areas.
d) Had lot of trouble with syncing with Vista/XP machines.. especially my mail box and calender.
e) No 3.5mm Audio Jack.

And of course I did not list 3g and other stuff because this is a pretty oldy from HTC.

The Blue Zone from Andrew Gross

2008-10-07T04:06:00.000-07:00

As the guru of Andrew Gross comments on this novel...it is really tense and Chilling. The pace of the book is pretty good. This is the first book from Andrew where the "co" was removed against his name :)
Blue Zone is a term used by FBI when the cover of a protected witness identity is blown!!!
I felt this book is much better than The Dark Tide. Okay coming to the real thing.
This book is about Kate Raab and her family. She loved, trusted her family ( mom, dad, one younger sister and one younger brother). Her father always taught her that family is everything...
Family secrets, skeletons in the closet, would you really want to know, if the truth would destroy everything? Such questions had never entered Kate Raab’s mind. Until she got the call from her Mom, that would devastate her life. Those words “your father has been arrested, come quickly,” made no sense. There had to be a mistake. Money laundering, connections to the Mercado Family, her father didn’t know anyone from Colombia. Or, did he?
With a steady flow of action, suspense, and strong family emotion, The Blue Zone follows Kate as she discovers her life has been a lie. She decides to stay away from WITSEC program, but all others in her family decided to stay within WITSEC program.
Then one fine day she finds out that her fathers missing, her best friend Kate is been shot with a bullet meant for her.
The story unveils from there on... read for yourself to find out. It is a pretty good read. I rate this actually perfect 10 out 10.

RockBox for iPod!!!

2008-09-26T10:24:00.000-07:00

RockBox is a open source Firmwire for music players!
I was really bored of the Apple iPod's interface after using it for more than 2 years!! Recently found this firmwire with the following features really impressed me a lot :)

a) Supports players like Apple iPod, irriver etc.
b) Multi boot feature, which allows you to choose the interface you want - rockbox or apple original!!
c) Also one can play supported music files that are copied on the iPod using explorer!!! bye bye iTunes!
d) Supports themes!
e) Games which are in Doom mod's can be played on iPod...man..this is a cool one.
And lot more exciting things!!!

This should keep my fiddling fingers happy for few more days..hehehehe.

G1 is offically out.

2008-09-24T00:59:00.001-07:00

Follow the link below for the official T-Mobile G1 site :)

T-Mobile G1

Those who are not being following with Google's OS - Android. G1 is the first device to have Android!!!
As rumored it is a HTC hardware.. comes with a 3 Mpix camera, comes with 2 email clients ( one for Gmail and the other IMAP) but it does not support microsoft Exchange server :(
Also it comes with Amazon's Mp3 store app, but it does not have a 3.5mm jack!!! one has to use the HTC proprietary USB-3.5mm convertor :(
It comes with Google Street view..which is pretty impressive. And believe it or not.. it does not support multi touch.
Some more on G1 soooonnnnn.

The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

2008-09-24T00:42:00.000-07:00

This book as been around for a long time, finally managed to get my hands on it :)
In fact finished reading it few days back. It is really the definition of power reading!!!
It is an epic tale of fathers and sons, of friendship and betrayal, that takes us from Afghanistan in the final days of the monarchy to the atrocities of the present.

The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father's servant, The Kite Runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in a country that is in the process of being destroyed. It is about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption, and it is also about the power of fathers over sons-their love, their sacrifices, their lies.

The story begins with Amir and Hassan growing up in Kabul. Amir is the son of wealthy business man and Hassan is the son of the Amir's fathers servant. How Amir betrays Hassan and his father Ali, and after that how that guilt troubles him all along. Later when Afgan is in trouble, Amir and his father move to US to have a better life. There he falls in love with an Afgan girl, they get married. But never have children, in the mean time in Afgan, Hassan also gets married. He had a son, Later Afgan had been in the hands of Taliban, during this time... Hassan and his wife are shot dead. Then Rahim khan who was Amir's fathers best friend and Amir's too, calls Amir to Pakistan after Amir's father died of cancer. Rahim khan tells him a truth, which was hidden from him from his childhood, he goes back to Afgan to get Soharb who is Hassan's son. Will he be able to get him back to safety??? Well have a read to find out.

It is a great read, I rate it 9 out of 10.

F1 Update

2008-09-15T02:53:00.000-07:00

This was of real surprise, STR-Ferrari(Toro Rosso) is a part of red-bull racing...and they use this team to train new drivers, team members etc. It is just a second team for everything in Red-bull racing..and they won a grand prix... hahahaha. Shame on you Red-Bull..you have been ignoring the potential of these guys.
Sebastian Vettel really is talented young rookie...proved his talent :) made history by becoming the youngest driver to win a grand prix race!!!!
Also Toro Rosso team has been around for more than 15 years..this team never managed to win one race before..forget wining they never managed to get to pole position!!! Vettel managed both for them. He did not win by accident..this young chap really has talent. He lead the race from qualifying to finish.
In 2 weeks time, First ever F1 race under lights will be hosted in Singapore!!! So far this year has been really exciting for F1 fans!!!
Now to championship points, Lewis and Massa are seperated by just 1 point!!!! Man this is what is called nail bitting finish..4 more races to go; I am already at edge of my seat.
Wish Kimi comes back to top 3.

What a race!!!

2008-09-08T05:29:00.000-07:00

This weekend race at Belgium was one of the most trilling grand prix race in living memory. It was a mixed day for Ferrari and Kimi. But Kimi really is running out of luck, engine blow outs...now a crash at final lap.
Kimi started the race at 4th position, did manage to be the race leader at 2nd lap. Was the race leader till 43rd lap, thanks to rain gods... with hot hard compound tires and water on track. It was like driving on ICE with diesel spilled all over it. At 43rd lap, rain started to pour and Lewis did manage to over take Kimi, but did make a error of cutting short on one corner, which costed him the first place!!!!
He was declared race leader but later a penalty of 25 secs was added to his race time, which made him 3rd!!!!

In middle of all the spins and overtakes, Kimi did push for the limit and managed to crash into a side wall :( and was declared 18th place for crashing at the last lap..poor Kimi. Being a Ferrari fan, I would have loved to see Kimi win. But hard luck, for Kimi.. but not totally for Ferrari...since Massa was declared as the race leader after Lewis was penalized.

This season has been really great, no clear race leader as previous years. Guess last race will be the decider. Hoping for a nail bitting finish at Brazil.
Go Ferrari Go!!!

Google Chrome

2008-09-04T01:01:00.000-07:00

I have been using Google's all new browser called Chrome from 2 days now. Initial impression is Google has done a great job. But after using it on different hardware, guess the performance with plugin's like flash player is pretty bad. I did use Firefox 3 on the same sites on same hardware, performance of firefox was really great. Guess Google have to work on the fine tuning the performance.
Little details that i liked in Chrome,
a) In browser task manager.
b) incognito mode, where browser history is not stored. similar to IE8 Feature.
c) when a new tab is opened, recent or frequently visited sites are listed..which is pretty cool.
Will post more pretty soon..busy working today!

Sebasitan Faulks-Engleby

2008-09-02T03:18:00.000-07:00

I recently finished reading Engleby. It was a disturbing but compelling read.
Engleby is the story of Mike Engleby, told by himself, from childhood through university and adulthood.

Jennifer is an important character in the book. Mike likes her, but she does not seem to be interested in Mike. She goes missing early on. What happened to her? Was she murdered? For most of the book, we don't know, and the investigation peters out within a few pages. Engleby then follows the life of the eponymous hero - wherein he becomes a journalist and ends up interviewing Ken Livingstone, Jeffrey Archer and even Maggie Thatcher - until the point when Jennifer's body is found. I can't say what happens next, but Engleby is not a murder mystery and long before it is actually revealed, one may easily guess who the murderer is.

What makes Engleby disturbing is Engleby himself. His unlikableness comes from the fact that he drinks too much, takes too many drugs, is self serving and, as the precis to the book says, is devoid of any scruple. But perhaps all of these things could be suffered if Engleby tried to redeem himself. Alas, there is no redemption story here. As far as he is concerned, he does what he does and simply moves on. But Engleby is not an intrinsically hateful person. His mistakes - his malice - have their origins not in pure evil but the events of his life, for example, his beatings at the hands of his father and at school, in his own painful shyness and mistaken attempts to deal with that. He is always alone and never tries to make friends or was not able to get one.

Engleby is not a beach book. It is rich work that represents, for me, a return to form for Faulks.

Cuil - will it beat google?

2008-07-30T12:23:00.000-07:00

Ex employees of Google Inc, have started the a search engine called CUIL claiming it to be the biggest!
Cuil means knowledge in Irish. Well there we go, knowledge aquired by working in Google hehehehe.
My first impression is looks neat, and they have added drill down feature ( which is nothing but search by category). Well that did not immpress me much. I still rate search me more than Cuil, but will have to wait and see who performs better on the long run. But Google is still the king for me

Search Me.. what way to search the web

2008-07-18T13:14:00.000-07:00

Type in what you wann search, you get small icons on the bottom... click on them.. WOW you get a bigger page will all the pages loaded!!!! scroll along..select which page you were looking for. Now this is what I call good visual experiance.

It is like iPhone of search pages!!!! URL is http://www.searchme.com/ lets search the web :)

iPhone crazy world!!!

2008-07-18T13:04:00.000-07:00

I was reading through some blogs.. guess what I found?
A site deticated for requesting Apple for features on iPhone...
http://www.iphonefeatures.org/

World is really going crazy for this baby :)

I could not control my laugh looking at this. This shows how crazy people can be ;)

My HP Pavilion TX 2170

2008-07-16T10:24:00.000-07:00

Few months back, I got myself a tablet. I choose this one because i cannot afford any other tablets in the Market.
But after using it for 2-3 months now, I really love the performace of this machine. With 3GB of RAM, even thought it is Vista; this baby works well. Even when running Microsoft Virtual machine..which i use to run XP. The performance is awesome. Let me list down the pros and cons as I usually prefer :)
Pros:
a) Cost to features.
b) Camera, finger print scanner, DVD burner, etc. for 1000 USD.
c) Weight
d) Double battery :)
e) Remote is cool... I can do most of the stuff like watching movies, images..playing music. Cool to show off ;)

Cons:
a) Built quality is questionable...especially battery holding clips etc.
b) I am facing problems with finger prints... :(
c) No in built TV tuner card..one has shell out more to get external TV tuner.
d) Screen is not so great when out doors.

Well thats all for now... I will post more about it sooon.

RIM's (Blackberry) answer to iPhone

2008-07-14T11:33:00.000-07:00

Wow!!!! What an answer from RIM. Go BlackBerry go!!!!!
Rumor's suggest this as Blackberry Thunder!, and it also been rumoured to have multitouch, screen made of glass! and losts of other goodies :)
Click on the image to read more.

The Dark Tide

2008-07-12T17:27:00.000-07:00

I have been reading lot of novels, best pal on business trips :)
Recently finished reading, The Dark Tide from Andrew Gross. Man what a read it was, really chilling and Thrilling, a bit of comedy, love, suspense, things on finacial speculation and speculators... you name it. This book has got it!!
Initial chapters go a little slow and at times it feels dry. But towards the end, man I could not sleep, really wanted to read more and get to the end. I would defently recommend this has a excelent read and rate it 9 out of 10.

Touch Diamond... What a Phone.

2008-07-12T17:07:00.000-07:00

Wow!!! What a phone. HTC's real gem. Comes in 2 varients, Pro which has a sliding qwety key board!!!. But will add in thickness of course. I will prefer the plain HTC Touch Diamond, no pro for me.
After really looking at this gem closely, following are pros and cons,
pros
1) 3G
2) deticated 3d card!!
3) Awesome Screen
4) Touch flow 3d interface, which is getting better with each release from HTC.
5) 4GB drive!
6) Good battery life.

Cons
a) only 3.2 Mpix camera, but a lot better than 3g iPhone and yeah supports video. Shame on you Apple.
b) No deticated audio jack. Same port used for audio, charging and USB interface to PC!. Latter 2 is good, one can charge using a usb. But I cannot connect my Bose head phones to the phone :(
c) Still feel 528 Mhz processor is slow for the device.
d) Price in India 27k man. Where no 3g networks yet :(. TRAI wake up, whole of Sri lanka is on 3g network.

iPhone 3g... Apple is a good learner?

2008-07-12T16:45:00.000-07:00

Looks like Apple did learn from there earlier iPhone ( 1st gen as termed in Apple's language ) Following are the things that apple did correct :
a) Battery is no longer soldered to the circuit :)
b) Touch screen glass is not gluded now, which will be easy to replace.
c) Microsoft Exchange support, Blackberry watch out.
d) GPS - There is glith here, only works with google maps. Sad, but have to wait for any softwares to be released in the App store.
e) 3G ofcourse :)

Things Apple did not learn:
a) Ask any gadget lover, would like to forward SMS's at times. Apple do something about it. Please do add this in 2.1 firmwire
b) There was lot of problems in activations again.
c) 3g ok, where is the front facing cam? 3g only for web use :(
d) Please use a different material on the back of iPhone. Finger prints and smudges will make the iPhone owners cry!
e) Where is A2DP? Motorola L7 has it man.
f) Safari Browser. Whaaaaaaat is this a browser? can't even open links in new tab. Use Gtalk and it needs to be open always!! Google can't we it App Store as a new App?
g) Initial view from users, Battery life is not as good as Apple promised..hmmmm. Apple now its your turn..blame it on 3g :)

Smart Phone War!!!

2008-06-01T23:59:00.001-07:00

After iPhone came into the market everybody in the industry wants there share in the market!!!
But the phones to look out for now is Sony Errison's XPERIA X1, HTC Touch Diamond ( which is already out in the market) and of course 3G iPhone. Google's Android OS on the demo HTC looks great as well. But it is not expected to be in the market this year.

So for 2008, smart phones to look for is Nokia's answer to iPhone rumored to released this year, called Tube. But I am looking forward for X1's release. The only thing this phone lacks is multi touch. I am fine with it :)

Active Blogging

2008-06-01T23:41:00.000-07:00

It is has been long since I had blogged, I guess I will give it one more try to start blogging again.

Happy Diwali

2007-11-10T11:10:00.000-08:00

Bose QuiteComfort 2 HeadPhones

2007-11-10T10:34:00.000-08:00

I got a new Bose Headphones this year. No words to describe it……its just Awesome. Great sound, compact enough when you fold to hold it in Laptop Bag. My work takes me to places..a lot of travel. I just love this headphone while traveling 

Inside a flight, Once you put on the headphones, absolute silence. No more engine sound 
After about 8 months of using it, my views are…
Pro’s first since I love Bose,
a) Sound cancellation is amazing
b) It is really comfortable to use for hours….
c) Carrying case is really nice
d) Quality of sound and thump in the lower ends is awesome.
Cons’s 
a) No volume control or anything, only control is amp high or low for that you have to remove the wire and change 
b) No retractable wires..for the price you pay.
c) Price.

Note: It is just my views

My NOKIA N73m!!

2007-11-09T14:40:00.001-08:00

This year jan, I finally came back to NOKIA..WOW i feel the difference immediatly.. I rearly charge it..but i feel it is reaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllyyyyy slow. Let me tell you guys/gals about my views on the Nokia n73 music edition...
Pros first :) b'cause i love nokia phones
a) Really large screen..well until N95 and iPhone came in :(

b) Superb Camera for a phone, though it just has a LED flash it is still fine. 3.2 MPIX is really nice. I had been to London this Jan..let me tell you all a story.. one of my friend was carrying a SONY DSC T9. After 3-4 hours of shooting photos in picture perfect contitions..man i tell you London is really a nice place. T9's battery drained when we started taking photos in the night on a ferry on thames river. But my phone still continued :) Inspite of taking snaps the entire day.. battery was still showing few bars. Amazing. (Check out the images)

c) Ease of use.. probably becuase i am a nokia buff.
d) Nice to have extra buttons for specific functions.
e) Music controls on head phones is really handy.

Cons..well i hate to write this for Nokia phones..but anyways
a) key pad is too small.
b) Phone is really slow in responce times after you press a key. At times it is really frustrating.
c) Wish I had WiFi on this phone...
d) This phone is supposed to be a Music edition phone..well music quality is really poor. Radio quality is desent. Even with Bose Headphone on i dont feel the tump.

Note: It is only my view.

My W810i

2007-11-09T14:23:00.000-08:00

As all of you may not know.. I changed my phone from NOKIA 3250 to Sony errison for the second time..well i feel the battery still sucks!(first time to P900) Over all the Sony ericson's W810i was amazing phone.. in terms of Music, Pictures really good. Never tried the WAP/GPRS stuff on that, Things i really liked in W810i
a) Pop up when one is trying to add a contact to a SMS to be sent. The pop up shows the frequently sent numbers amazing and very handy. Nokia do something like that.
b) Music quality is mind blowing.. I never had a such a experence in any portable MP3 players. Especially MegaBass is cooool. It really sounds great on my Bose Quite Comfort headphones.
c) Photos are quite nice for 2 MPIX camera, flash was desent.
But anyways it was my ex phone now, i changed it mainly for its battery performance.. I hate charging my phone every day.

Well what do you know it has been really long.. i was searching for a snap of w810i in my favariote website for phones GSM Arena.. w810i is off the list under sony ericson..it was in OLD phones page. World has moved on a lot.

It has been Long

2007-11-09T14:20:00.000-08:00

Well it has been really long since my last post. Well my work is taking to me places hardly have time for posting. Guess after my breakup with my girl, i seem to have a lot of time.. well started feeling really boring infact. Anyways to post now.. Blog world here i come :) guess too much.. who is going to read it anyways.

Windows Media Player 11 Beta 2

2006-09-01T23:46:00.000-07:00

I just installed it on my laptop..... Look really nice..great work from Microsoft once again on UI!!!.

Will use and write the review sometime sooooonn.

Blog Day

2006-09-01T23:34:00.000-07:00

Hey friends i really forgot about Blog DAY.....
Anyways better late than never.. Happy BLOG DAY.

ALSO Visit http://www.blogday.org/

Ready or Not, Here Comes 4G!!!

2006-09-01T23:27:00.000-07:00

While most consumers are just now warming to third-generation data services, wireless companies are already looking forward to 4G, which promises even faster speeds. The question remains, however, if faster speeds will equal greater interest that has so far failed to materialize.

Samsung is heading this effort, and held a 4G mobile conference in South Korea this week. The company claims its next-generation technology that would allow mobile data at 100 MBps, with fixed data rates exceeding one gigabyte per second.

Although Samsung hasn't provided many specifics on exactly how the technology works, such rates would qualify its service as true fourth-generation technology based on standards set by the International Telecommunications Union.

In demonstrations, the technology was able to transfer a movie in about five seconds, and 100 songs in a little over two seconds. Another simulation would cram 32 high-definition television channels, Internet access, and video telephony into a single 4G signal, the company said.

In addition to showing off its data speed capabilities, the Korea-based wireless company would also show off its work that would allow towers to pass off a call at speeds up to 60 kilometers per hour (37 mph). While that may seem slow, it is a start for technology that still seems to be many years away from being a reality.

Only one US network, Sprint, has announced plans to migrate to 4G. That company's path would employ WiMAX technology, and would cover about 85 percent of the top 100 markets when completed. That network is expected to go live over the next two years.

Sprint's network will not truly be "4G" in the sense of the network itself, as the WiMAX signal would likely be used for data only; whereas Samsung's network would be fully next-generation from the ground up.

The company did not disclose what technology it planned to use for the network, be it CDMA or GSM, or some completely new variant. Spectrum for 4G will be allocated in 2007, with the first networks appearing around the start of the next decade.

But is 4G truly needed? Many analysts seem to question the industry's moves. Some consider 3G to be a failure, and too technology driven, while others noted that the high-speed technology has barely gotten off the ground.

"The 3G phones have only now started to ship in meaningful numbers, and the 3G networks are only getting lit in many parts of the world," Internet pundit Om Malik said Thursday.

"Cingular, one of the largest wireless carriers in the world has only recently started turning on its 3G services," he continued. Malik's comments seemed to echo that of Cingular's, whose CTO Kristin Rinne seemed to indicate to Reuters that the company wasn't looking to faster data anytime soon.

"We're going to have to demonstrate we can deliver those products and services to customers," she said, speaking of the wireless provider's current 3G network. "If that doesn't happen, there isn't a need for 4G."

-- This is from Beta News

Writely - The Web Word Processor

2006-08-21T00:02:00.000-07:00

Google late Thursday re-opened its Writely beta online word processing application, which the search engine acquired in March. Because the service was being transitioned to Google's servers, it was not accepting new accounts until today.

Writely offers document authoring and collaboration capabilities within a Web browser through the use of advanced scripting and AJAX. Features of the service include the ability for multiple people to work on a document in real time, secure storage that saves a document every 10 seconds, and an easy-to-use interface that mimics a desktop client without the hassle of a download.

From Beta News.....

Google SpreadSheet!!

2006-06-09T00:06:00.000-07:00

Google SpreadSheet one really nice thing google have thought of...... It is superb.. i tried it on IE 7 Beta 2... it behaved superb as though i was running MS excel on a pc.
Try it on labs.google.com... really nice try it!

Meebo Alpha

2006-05-12T05:19:00.000-07:00

www.meebo.com
One really cool site to check out. One can log into yahoo, MSN, Gmail, jabber and AOL[one of them in one page] using a internet explorer!!!!.

Superb it supports many local languages also!!!.

There was some problem in my laptop, i still cannot log into Yahoo and MSN messengers... no clue why!!!!.
This is one useful stuff for me now.

Yahoo Mail Beta

2006-05-09T01:12:00.000-07:00

Yahoo Mail Beta!!!
Finally found a way to access Yahoo mail Beta without a invite!!!
Just follow the instructions below and walla u have it!!!
1)Log into Yahoo! Mail and click on "My Account" and enter your password if prompted.
2)On the Account Info page next to the "Member Information" header click on "Edit."

3)Under "General Preferences" click on the link next to "Language & Content" or "Preferred Content" (mine says "Yahoo! U.S.").

4)On the subsequent page in the "New Setting" box choose Yahoo! United Kingdom, Germany, or France.
5)Click "Finished" and then "Finished" again on the next page.
6)You'll be prompted to sign a new TOS and then you should get an offer to join the Yahoo! Mail Beta.

My New Nokia 3250!!

2006-05-09T00:37:00.000-07:00

I changed my Nokia 7710 for this one as it Broke!!!.
Useage wise i rate it 8 out of 10 for music features... Camera is not that impressive. Will blog about all other stuff once i have explored it!!
For now Enjoy!!!

Sony Ericsson's new Music Phone W950i with 4gb

2006-02-13T21:03:00.000-08:00

This is From Engaged..

A few news sites in the Middle East tipped us off earlier, but now we've got it straight from Sony Ericsson that the W950i Walkman is indeed for real and is indeed sporting 4GB of sweet sweet flash memory. We're not so sure about this whole "Mystic Purple" color scheme they've got going, but there's a lot else to love, including UMTS, tri-band GSM, a rather large QVGA screen, and a 0.6-inch thickness. The Symbian OS phone also has Opera 8, Macromedia Flash Lite, video playback support, and a built-in FM radio to augment the standard Walkman MP3/AAC capability. We'll have to try the smooth keypad before we pass final judgement, but while sexy looking, it doesn't seem like it'll make one-handed texting any easier.
Must have for a music lover!!!
It is time for nokia to come out with there N91, and it will be a price war in this segment also... N91 will also have a 4Gb Microdrive.

Nvidia Builds 3D Chip for Cell Phones!!!

2006-02-13T20:51:00.000-08:00

This is From BetaNews.com

Nvidia unveiled a new graphics processor Monday, adding to its GoForce lineup of GPUs. But the GoForce 5500 is not targeted at larger handheld gaming devices; instead, it has been designed as the first true 3D chip for mobile phones. It promises to support digital TV, surround sound and console-class graphics.

The GoForce 5500 enables viewing of H.264, WMV9 and MPEG-4 videos at a full 30 frames per second. It is also compatible with mobile TV standards including DVB-H, ISDB-T, and DMB. The chip additionally supports taking photos with up to a 10-megapixel resolution. The first phones with the 5500 GPU are expected to ship in time for the 2006 holiday season.

Seagate Unveils 12GB 1-Inch Hard Drive!!

2006-02-13T20:46:00.000-08:00

This is from BetaNews.com.

As consumer devices such as phones and MP3 players continually shrink, storage has remained a persistent drawback that limits their usefulness. Seagate thinks it may have found the answer thanks to perpendicular recording technology. The disk maker on Monday unveiled a 12-gigabyte drive squeezed into a 1-inch form factor.

The new ST1.3 drive doubles the capacity of Seagate's current 1-inch drive, while reducing its footprint by 23 percent and utilizing 30 percent less power. Seagate is targeting the drive at the mobile phone market, which has been converging with digital media to offer users audio and video capabilities while on the go. The ST1.3 is expected to begin shipping in the third quarter of 2006.

Nokia Bluetooth audio adapter!!!!

2006-02-08T21:19:00.000-08:00

Something Amazing to look forward to!!!

With is Bluetooth device and a phone like N91..... u r likely to have some real good time

This one is a must for every music lover!!!

Hope it is available in the market along with N91

AD-42W Wireless Audio Gateway, which allows the phone (and, presumably, any other Bluetooth device with A2DP support) to transmit audio over Bluetooth to a stereo system or powered speakers. Nothing too exciting here; just a box with RCA jacks

Fujitsu LifeBook N6410: Dual Core Media Center Laptop

2006-02-08T21:10:00.000-08:00

This is From Gizmodo!!!!
Fujitsu announced its LifeBook N6410, with an Intel Core Duo processor inside with Windows MCE (Media Center Edition) on board. Its 17-inch widescreen is driven by a 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 graphics controller, and the laptop is also equipped with a built-in stereo system and�get this�an integrated subwoofer. A built-in TV tuner with remote are offered as options, and it's equipped with media ports galore to make it easy to bring in those photos and home videos. Pricing starts at $1649.

Best BlackList for Nokia 7710 by SmartphoneWare

2006-02-08T20:41:00.000-08:00

Automatically rejects unwanted callers. Real-time incoming number analysis and instant reject. Easy to configure and use. Your phone will be always busy for unwelcome calls!

Best Blacklist highlights:
Real-time incoming number analysis. When you have an incoming call BlackList application instantly detects incoming number and uses unique algorithm (reverted binary tree) to analyse it and determine if the service has to reject it or not. Regardless of how many numbers/contacts it has to analyse it rejects the call if needed in some microseconds, before your phone starts ringing and disturbs you.

Just busy. Because of real-time number analysis and almost instant call reject all unwanted callers won't even know that they are blacklisted, they will just hear busy tone all the time.

Scheduler. Scheduler makes BlackList your completely automated personal secretary. The service can reject everyone except family member at night, accept only co-workers at business hours on working days, etc.

Real interaction with built-in contacts. When you set up your black lists you can add here contacts from your contact book (not just import phone numbers!) and even more you can insert here groups of contacts. Just create in your built-in contacts application some groups like Family, Spammers, Co-workers, etc and add these groups to as many lists as you need without adding tons of contacts to every list.

Service based application. BlackList is professionally made application and consists from configuration application that you can start like any other application and service module (always-in-memory process). When you have configured the settings you can activate the service and close the configuration application. The service will do all job using really small amount of memory, system resources and absolutely transparent to user.

Autostart on system start. If the service is activated and your device has been restarted the service will be automatically started at system start. You don't have to remember all the time about BlackList, just configure and turn it on one time and you can forget about it and forget about all unwanted callers as well.

Full Screen Caller for nokia 7710

2006-02-07T20:55:00.000-08:00

This is From SmartPhoneWare!!.. IT is SUPERB a must have for 7710 user

Best FullScreenCaller shows a big picture and detailed information about the contact during incoming and outgoing calls. It has many options allowing easy customization of "incoming/outgoing call dialog".

Best FullScreenCaller features:
Full customization of "incoming/outgoing call dialog". Configuration application allows complete view customization of the dialog appearing while incoming or outgoing calls. Namely: background picture, font color, displayed fields, transparency level...

Complete integration with inbuilt Contacts. When assigning pictures, Best FullScreenCaller links them to the unique contact number in contacts database. When "incoming/outgoing call dialog" is displayed, all available information about the contact is retrieved from the contacts database.

Service application. Best FullScreenCaller is a professionally built application and consists of configuration application launched in the same way as any other application and service module representing a process always loaded into the memory. After finishing software configuration, you can activate the service and close the configuration application. Service module will do all the job using a really small amount of memory and system resources.

Autostart at phone's start-up. If the service is active and the device was turned off and then back on, the service module will start automatically at system start-up. You don't have to always remember about Best FullScreenCaller, simply configure and activate it.