Posts tagged Technology
The Small Wonder : X-Mini Max
Mar 23rd
It is very hard to believe that despite of using computers for almost 10 years , I never purchased speakers. I am not that much into music & movies & watch them once in a while only so my primary source of Audio is my Philips SHP8900 Hi-Fi headphones.
Due to all this I never had good experience with speakers. I wanted to buy small portable speakers for my Nokia N79 which can run on battery & provide enough volume & loudness for 1 room. I don’t want to disturb the whole neighborhood so wanted something which is small, can run via battery, can be charged quickly & which can be carried to small parties in a Cargo Short’s pockets or a simple Backpack.
I found X-mini Max Stereo Speakers but wasn’t expecting them in Lucknow but I found them in Jumbo Electronics in Fun Republic. Jumbo Electronics is indeed a good place for such kind of fancy electronics items which are usually hard to find anywhere else in Lucknow. I was surprises to find X-Mini Max there & after a bargain I was able to buy it at Rs 2,200.
X-mini Max is available in a cylindrical packaging as shown above which is quite compact. The speakers look like a small bomb form a Sci –Fi movie when they are both connected together. Many eyes were looking at us when we were trying them in McDonalds 
.
The package contains the speakers, one connectivity cable & one small pouch to keep the speakers while traveling. When the speaker is inside the cloth pouch, it is still very small to carry in your Cargo’s side pocket.
My primary purpose of buying these speakers was to use with my N79 & once in a while with my PC when I have many people watching a movie in my room.
I captured some videos during video & music playback with my Sony Cybershot W80 Digicam.
Don’t compare these with full blown speakers like Creative T40 or iTrigue because they are real PC speakers & they are indeed better if you plan to use them on a PC only however they are not as portable as these X-Mini speakers.
X-mini gives sufficient audio to completely fill a medium size hall with audio. Whether you are listening to music on PC or using a digital audio player or mobile phone, the X-Mini will indeed give you sufficient audio. However, don’t plan to use them in Outdoor environment as due to open area the audio will spread in all direction & overall volume will decrease. The speakers are marked at 3.5W RMS each.
The only thing I have to which I can compare the sound quality of these speakers is my T.V’s speakers. Compared to them the vocal dialogs of T.V shows wasn’t that loud. The audio doesn’t distort up to 90% volume level but does distorts at 100%. Make sure you close the Bass accordion when watching movies as movies usually have dialogs more then music at which Bass can produce bad audio with these speakers.
Audio when watching movies is better when the speakers are placed on a 90 degree angel facing you.
The speakers provide a playback time of 8 hours with a full charge & take 2 hours to charge completely. They can be charged either by connecting to a PC via USB or a USB Wall A.C adapter. They can also be charged using D.C batteries if you have a portable travel charger with a Mini USB connector. I found one on ebay & have ordered it. During charging the light turns to red, when fully charged or playing they turn to blue. Light blue means battery is low.
Overall, if you are looking for big full blown speakers & if you are an audiophile for which even a point increase in treble means a lot, then buy these speakers after checking properly. However, if you are looking for something portable to use with your Notebook or Netbook PC, or Mobile phone or iPod or something else portable then X-Mini Max stereo for Rs 2,200 is a good purchase.
BSNL 3G : It works
Mar 19th
Finally, I got BSNL 3G USIM in Lucknow. Right now 3G is quite costly but the BSNL Voice calls costs less then Vodafone. You can read the tariff of BSNL 3G here.
Note : I am no longer using the BSNL 3G USIM. I inquired the information & did all the research for this service so this content & discussion on this blog post can continue.
3G is automatically activated when you activate the SIM using Rs 350 or higher activation voucher. To configure your phone for 3G Data Connection, just create a new connection with Access point “gprsnorth3g.bsnlmobile.in” or “bsnlnet” & leave all the other settings at default. Name it “BSNL 3G”. Then go to your phone’s “Network selection” menu & Select UMTS instead of GSM/Dual Mode.
If 3G isn’t available & if your phone is set in Dual mode then your SIM will automatically work in 2G mode. In that case the tariff will be same as 3G
The speed of BSNL 3G is HSDPA compatible & although I am not getting 3.6 mbps but the speed is still quite good at 512 kbps easily. Here is a screenshot which I was able to take of Symtorrent just before the speed throttled. The speed is 48 KBps or 384 kbps. To test the speed of your GPRS/EDGE or 3G connection check your DSL Report’s Mobile Speed at http://www.dslreports.com/mspeed
1) IMAP & POP3 E-Mail is supported. I am able to access my E-mails in my N79′s inbuilt E-mail client.
2) HTTP is supported. I am able to log in to chat networks using Slick.
3) FTP is also supported. ftp.gxsaurav.com works too using Webkit Browser.
4) Fring works fine, I can even make calls to people using Google Talk & Skype on computers.
5) SymTorrent works fine for downloading Torrents.
6) I am able to connect my PC to BSNL 3G using Nokia PC Suite’s One touch access.
There is a great handy software called JoikuSpot Premium using which we can connect a PC to 3G internet of a Mobile phone. JoikuSpot turns your phone to a secure mobile WLAN HotSpot. No need for USB dongles, cables or Bluetooth. The light version is pretty much useless so premium is all you should buy if this is what you need. However, if you have Nokia PC Suite, you can also use to connect Mobile to PC to Internet. This is the speed I get.
BSNL has data plans starting with lowest denomination at Rs 250 in which you get 300 MB bandwidth. Now, for casual users this is a lot of bandwidth & they will only use 50 MB in a month when using Data services only in Mobile phone. BSNL also has a trial Pack of Rs 60 in which you will get 50 MB bandwidth but this trial pack can be used only once in any USIM & is valid for 15 days only. I would really urge BSNL to make this trial pack a proper 3G data pack in which for Rs 60 the user will get 50 MB bandwidth for a duration of 30 days. This is something every 3G subscriber will surely buy as most people associate 3G with High Speed Internet, but they forget that 3G is also about a better network connectivity & voice quality.
I was also able to make a video call to a friend Shuvadeep from Durgapur. He is using HTC Touch Diamond. I was able to take a screenshot during the video call but for some reason the screenshot application didn’t capture his video.
Privacy : Does it even exist on the internet?
Feb 23rd
Few days ago I read the news of changed Facebook Terms of service which states that Facebook owns all your content which you upload, forever. Now, many people were concerned & made noise for privacy breach by Facebook due to which Facebook had to revert back to there old Terms of Service. However, it got me thinking….Are you really secure online? Is there anything left called “Online Privacy”?
I live two lives. First is my Real life which I find better. It is the real me, my real friend, family etc…those person I know & have met in real..in person or at least talked over on phone etc etc. Second is my Reel Life which constitutes of Orkut, Facebook, this blog, Digit Forum, MSDN, Technet, CGSociety, etc etc. Due to the increased penetration of Internet in my life both the lives are somewhat connected but still there are many things I like not to disclose. I am not on Twitter cos I don’t find it any use to me. I don’t want the world to know what I am doing at any given time, if I want someone to know, I will tell them..but do I even need to say anything?
There are 3 major Cloud Computing Service providers out there. Microsoft, Google & Yahoo!. People crib about Microsoft Windows & there services saying Microsoft has Draconian DRM in Windows etc etc, but they don’t say anything to Google or Yahoo much. There are indeed concerns about Google’s penetration in our life but overall I find it much hyped.
The moment you connect to the Internet, you are no longer private. If you want to be then don’t make an E-Mail ID. Google knows everything about you, so does Microsoft.
If you make your Google ID & login then Google gets to know all about it.
1. Google knows your real name.
2. Google knows what you are searching on the Internet if you are using Google Search.
3. Google knows what kind of mails you get & who mails you when you use GMail.
4. Google knows your address book & all contacts. It even knows what contacts you have on your mobile phone when you use Google Sync. It even knows your real address if you put it.
5. Google knows who are your friends, who are there friends, what communities they have added, what they like & don’t like, what you are talking about, what you think about some friend of yours…etc etc when you use Orkut.
6. Google knows what pictures you have taken when you upload them to Picasa Web Album. It knows who watches your picture album, where you have taken via Geolocation, Which digital camera you have using EXIF data,
7. Google knows what you write when you use Blogger. It knows who reads your posts & who comments.
8. Google knows your birthday, your friend’s birthday, what you are buying for them on there birthday when you use Google Calendar.
9. Google knows what you will be doing today, tomorrow when you use To Do list feature of Google Calendar or Google Alerts.
10. Google knows what kind of news you like to read when you use Google Reader
11. Google knows what websites you visit when you use Google Chrome.
12. Google knows what kind of videos you like to watch, what videos you have made when you use Youtube.
13. Google knows what Spreadsheet you are making or What report are you creating when you use Google Docs.
14. Google knows what other language stuff you are reading when you use Google Translate.
15. Google knows what books you read when you use Google Books service.
16. Google Knows what you have on your desktop when you use Google Desktop search (doesn’t send it online though……or does it?)
17. Google knows what you chat with your friends when you use Google talk which logs to GMail archive.
18. Google Knows where you are going at any given time when you use Google Maps.
19. Google knows where you are when you use Google Latitude.
20. It knows what you were doing using Google Street view.
21. Google knows about your phone when you use an Android based Mobile phone.
Isn’t this wonderful that you want to remain anonymous but Google knows all about you already? A Googlified Life, isn’t it. Lets talk about Microsoft now…
1. Microsoft knows what hardware you are using when you activate Windows.
2. Microsoft knows what you mail, who you mail & who you contact when you use Windows Live Mail
3. Microsoft knows who your friends are when you use Windows Live Messenger.
4. It knows what you write or talk about when you use Windows Live Spaces
5. It knows what are you looking for when you use Windows Live Search.
6. It knows what music you are listening to when you use Zune.
7. It knows where you are planning to go when you use Windows Live Maps
8. It knows what videos you watch & upload when you use Soapbox.
9. It knows what files to share or upload when you use Windows Live Skydrive.
Well…it knows lots more about you…the post is not enough to write all this.
All it takes is someone to break or know your password & they get to know all about you. Even your deepest darkest side. But then I ask you, why are you concerned about your privacy? What is it that you are trying to hide anyway? Privacy means nothing when you are online so stop being concerned about it & start to use the services anyway. If it is privacy you want…then stop using Internet.
Setting up a Cyber Cafe PC
Feb 9th
Few days ago I had a mail from a reader of my blog, asking me tips on how to maintain & manage a Cyber Cafe PC. He saw my Lowest cost PC article & it made me think that I didn’t write an accompanying article for the software part. I guess it’s time. This guide is made keeping in mind not to use Pirated software.
1) Use Windows Vista home basic which is sufficient. If you have expertise in Linux then use that instead, however, in that case this blog post is irrelevant. Users won’t miss Aero, Flip3D etc in a Cyber Cafe PC which they come to use for 1 or 2 hours only.
2) Make sure you have UAC enabled & install all the latest updates & service packs.
3) Make a new “Standard user”. Using parental control, disable all application except for some which a cyber cafe will need. The biggest headache in a Cyber Cafe is when users change the settings & install applications at there own. By doing this the user will not be able to install application or make critical system changes.
5) Firefox is a good browser but it is also a geeky browser. For a Power User Firefox is a dream come true but in a Cyber Cafe its better either to use Internet Explorer 8 or Google Chrome. You can customize Google Chrome by following a guide I wrote. I prefer Chrome in Cyber Cafe more then IE 8 because Chrome is faster overall compared to IE 8 & has a simple & easy to use Interface. Frequently used sites are shown automatically & you can add some sites like Orkut, Facebook etc in the Bookmarks bar for easy access. These are the sites people come to visit the most in a cyber cafe.
6) On the desktop use an application like RocketDock & place shortcuts for IE, Firefox, Yahoo Messenger, Google talk, Windows Live Messenger, AIM, ICQ & Windows Media Player. These are all the applications people come in a cyber cafe to use anyway.
7) Install Vista Codec Pack, Quicktime Alternative & Real Alternative in Windows so that all the files play in WMP automatically. Do not install multiple media players, WMP is enough.
People come to use Cyber Cafe PCs sometime to do there office or project work, Install Openoffice 3 which is sufficient for such needs of a cyber cafe.
9) People download all sorts of stuff in a cyber cafe. Using Group policy you can setup the Nodes in such a way that the browser will download only to a particular folder. Since parental control is on, users will not be able to install a new application. If they need something, they should inform the administrator who will do it for them as required.
10) Install jZip which is enough for all archiving needs of customers. All customers will do is either make or extract a zip file, jZip is enough.
11) Give headphones + mic. They don’t cost much anyway & no audiophile comes to a cyber cafe expecting Bose Quality Audio. There are many cheap but good alternatives like Intex or Frontech. This is good for people who voice chat.
12) I recommend installing a webcam. Frontech Webcams are available for as low as Rs 500 & they do the work fine for communication.
13) Install a free Antivirus is all the Nodes. AVG Free 8.0 is good. Also install Windows Defender or Super Anti Spyware to do a full system scan once a week.
14) Disable all USB Ports from BIOS & set a BIOS Password. No pen drive should be allowed in Nodes. If the user wants to copy something then he should go to the admin who will copy the files from his PC to the nodes over LAN. This will save from the headache of those Nasty virus which propagates through Flash Drives. This will also prevent kids from downloading big files in a cyber cafe & taking them in a pen drive secretly.
15) Make a folder named “Download“ in D:\ drive of each node which should be shared over LAN. All files go to this folder only whether they are downloaded or copied over LAN. Nothing goes beyond this folder. A user usually doesn’t come to a cyber cafe to permanently save his files so suppose if he has to work in a Spreadsheet then he can simply download it to this folder, work on it & save it back to his E-Mail etc.
16) Inform users about free services using Simple Printed Banner Ads in cyber cafe with big letters about these rules etc. Tell them that they can use Rapidshare or Windows Live Skydrive to share big files over the internet if they are unable to mail so big files. Or tell them about Microsoft Office Live & Google Docs to share there documents online.
17) Users are using Bluetooth based phones a lot & they like to mail there pictures or upload there videos to others. A Bluetooth adapter costs Rs 150 only these days so install one in the Admin PC. I have seen users coming with there Mobile phone to a Cyber Cafe because they want to mail there pics to there parents.
18) Install a good Color printer & a monochrome laser printer. Users need all kind of text prints so Laser printer reduces the cost a lot. Setup variable cost of colored prints. It isn’t justified charging Rs 20 for a print with 80% text & 20 color in form of some logo etc. Stop overcharging the customer.
19) Pay attention to the space. No one likes to sit in a small cabin where there is barely enough space to stretch your legs. The LCD Monitor should be at a distance from the user & the keyboard & mouse should also be at a proper distance. I don’t recommend using a CRT Monitor due to its size. A 17” LG LCD Monitor costs Rs 7,000 & will live for a long time.
20) Make sure you are updating Windows regularly.
21) You can use Squid to accelerate Web access. I haven’t used it though.
This article was written in a hurry so I may have missed some points, You can add them in the comments section & I will include it in the article.
Windows live for Nokia India : Out Now
Jan 31st
I use Windows Live Mail for Official Purpose & freelance work only. Yahoo & GMail are there for chatting, orutting, flickr, youtube etc & I hardly ever chat on Windows Live because all my friends are either on Google Talk or Yahoo Messenger. The only thing I use is Windows Live Mail, however accessing it in my Phone wasn’t possible so far as hotmail doesn’t integrate in my Phone Message Application the way Yahoo or GMail Mailbox appear. POP3 Service for Hotmail was recently started but it is not available for India yet.
Today I found Windows Live for Symbian which was just released for India. I installed it immediately & the integration with Symbian OS was outstanding.
1) After installing, all my Messenger contacts appeared in my Phone’s Contact Application but in a separate tab automatically from where I can either make them a voice call using Phone network, send SMS to there number or Send E-Mail using my Windows Live Mail which was also setup in the phone’s Message application.
2) Windows Live Mail was automatically set in the Message Application. All I have to do is to click on sync to download new mails over WiFi or Vodefone Live. If I click on a Windows Live Contact in my address book then it automatically open this mailbox to write a new mail.
3) Best part, this also installed a Windows Live Messenger chat application using which I was able to chat with my buddy on Windows Live Messenger just like desktop chat & was even able to send files. Voice Chat isn’t possible yet.
Microsoft or Nokia did something good at least. I wish Yahoo & Google also release something like this. You can have a look at this other review with added screenshots as I wasn’t able to take screenshots of my mobile.
