Hyper-loop

Find a billionaire to float an idea and it will feature in every paper and TV show and blog and website in hours!
Travelling in impossibly packed Bombay locals in 1988 I had written a piece on how the future of transport would involve moving people in tubes like capsules stacked in a bundle much like electrons or photons flow in a cable. That is pretty much the Hyperloop. And guess what,  with five inch touch screens and bluetooth, Wifi and google glass the passengers won't need much elbow room either. No centrespread to unfurl in your neighbour's face you see!

Those annoying ads in Y!Mail, GMail and webpages

I have been sick of the sudden burst of ads in my desktop Yahoo Mail, Gmail and Internet pages.
So I decided to do something about it.
Here is what I did:
1. Went to Yahoo Mail options and selected Opt Out for "Interest-based Ads". See below:

Then I went to Google Chrome Store and installed the two applications below:

Now it looks like I have got rid of all my ads! ( I have blacked out areas of my email details)

Slouch trouble

From Economic Times Corporate Dossier today:

Various mobile Internet options

From the "Right Choice" magazine:

Sharing photos with friends

Way back in 2001, my uncle celebrated his 100th birthday. It was a great event in the extended family, and I had great pleasure in meeting so many relatives and celebrating the grand old man's birthday. My uncle was fully active, healthy, happy and could remember names and details of all his relatives of four generations there.

I also had a camera which I had just purchased in Japan, the Sony DSC-P1. This camera made lovely 1 MP photos which I could see as I shot them, and I could also share them via the Sony photo sharing application on the Internet. Overnight, lots of people in the family around the world could see the birthday photos and feel happy.

Since then, I have shot and shared several thousand pictures. I am into my dozenth digital camera, and I have the cult camera Canon 5D Mark II which shoots in 21 MP and HD Video using a full frame sensor!

The beauty of digital cameras, whether they are the ones on your cell-phone or other DSLRs or Cybershots, is that

1. You can compose and optimize the photo as you shoot it.

2. Show it around right away.

3. Save it on your computer for future viewing.

4. Share it on the Internet.

By definition, digital cameras have a way to transfer the photos to your computer from the camera either directly using a USB cable or by removing the memory card and attaching it to your computer through a USB card reader. Once the photo is stored on your computer, you can use your Google or Yahoo account to upload the photo to a web album and share it.

Step 1 : how to transfer photos from camera to computer using Picasa

Step 2 : How to share pictures on web albums:



Wow, blazing broadband at 999 all told

Installed ACT fibre/Ethernet at home. Performs at >15X speed that I was getting with BSNL BB Combo! See acttv.in for details.

Internet on the Mobile

I have been using the Internet on my mobile phone for over 11 years now. Of course I have used during this time a high-end "smart"phone with a slick interface, fast processor, camera and memory on board.

But you will be surprised how good even the basic Android phones are today.

In order to use the Internet on your phone, you need to have :
1.A phone with features like E-Mail and Internet Browser. This is different from SMS & MMS.
2. It should have a good enough memory capacity ( at least a couple of GB).

Then you need a phone connection with either 2G or GPRS service or a 3G service.
When you get the connection, the phone company will help you via SMS or via phone call, to set up your mobile for Internet access.

If you don't have your phone set up for this service, you cannot access emails or browse the Internet from your phone.                                                                                                                                                              

Í currently DON'T USE my mobile phone 2G or 3G network for Internet, since I have multiple computers and iPads and I want to reduce my bills. By not accessing the 3G service on my mobile phone, and by changing my service plan (Airtel example shown above), I have saved more than 50% of my phone bills! I used to pay over 2000-3000 Rs a month, now I get around Rs 1000-1300 Rs a month. That's for my smart phone.

I have an iPad 3G on which I have a 6GB+ Internet connection with a flat Rs.900 pm plan.

So summary of tips on using Internet or Email on your mobile phone:

1. Make sure you have a phone with EMail  and Internet features.
2. Set up your 2G or 3G service plan with your mobile service provider based on your planned usage.
3. Use the mobile internet SPARINGLY or you will run up huge bills.
4. If you are a smartphone user with heavy on the road usage, go in for a large screen/phablet device with a 3G plan like my 6GB plan. 
5. Use Wifi wherever possible (surely at home, office and common places like Coffee Shops and Hotels where they will give you courtesy access).
6. Turn off the Mobile Data while roaming or using Wifi as inadvertently you can run up huge bills otherwise.
7. Remember, watching You Tube clips, downloading concert MP3 files, or similar heavy files can be costly on a mobile phone.
8. Always sync your phone with a computer to save/back up contacts and photos/videos/audio files.

You can check the speed of your internet connection at speedtest.net. 2G  gives me download speeds like 1.7 MBPS and 3G on my iPad gives me above 3 MBPS (sometimes 7 MBPS!) with Ping below 70 ms. Wifi is a bit slower, thanks to BSNL, but I have a Rs 1111 plan with a 15 GB limit there.

India does not really have a 4G network yet. 

For those who do lots of office email:

Go for BlackBerry. They have good plans and use a BlackBerry server for mail as well as BB messaging (it's like SMS but more private).

If you really want lots of apps on your phone, some wonderful camera work, and want to show off your Internet skills, Android or iPhones are better.

3G Tablets are for those who consume lots of  You Tube videos, movies etc. as well as read ebooks and blog etc. on the move. 

Read more about Airtel Internet from their website by clicking below:

Link: http://www.airtel.in/wps/wcm/connect/airtel.in/airtel.in/home/foryou/broadband+and+fixed+line/

Credit card fraud

This came in today's ET. It gives the process for making complaints in case you're wrongly charged on your card due to fraudulent misuse.

Safer Internet.

The Young World article in The hindu today:

Money Matters.

If I have a bank account which allows e-banking, and I also have a valid credit card, I can do the following with a computer+Internet:

1. Check my bank balance and transactions. So no need for statements or passbooks.
2. Issue Demand drafts and send them by courier without leaving my couch.
3. Transfer money to other bank accounts in the country, or any bank account worldwide.
4. Make FDs.
5. Sell and make investments like in mutual funds.
6. Pay bills for utilities like electricity, water, telephone and pay Income Tax.
7. Donate to charity.
8. Purchase goods and services at e-shopping sites like Flipkart, eBay, Jabong, Landmark, etc.
9. Purchase music and movies online at iTunes etc.
10. Settle credit card dues of any type.

Click here to see this e-banking demo by HDFC Bank

Email basics

Email is something I use very often. In fact I find that email is much better than postal service because:
1. It is virtually instantaneous.
2 I can send the same Email to many people at the same time.
3. I can write long or short emails.
4. I can attach articles, photos, links to other Internet documents or sites etc.
5. I can reply to other's emails.
6. I can store thousands of emails at no cost.
7. I can track conversations I.e. the original message, the reply, and its reply and so on.
8. I can search for old emails and information in emails instantaneously.
9. I can store emails in folders.
10. I can attach details of person's address, phone number, website etc. along with his email ID in Contacts.

Emails are stored in servers like Yahoo or Google.
So you need to type the words 'Yahoo mail' or 'GMail' in the browser address bar and click. Once you go to the correct site, you have to sign in with your name (also called ID or sign-on etc.) and then the password.

Each email ID is unique. One person can have several email IDs. They will all remain separate and be stored and viewed separately. You cannot access two Yahoo mail accounts or two GMail accounts on the same computer at the same time.

An email ID looks like
rsachi@y7mail.com.

It is a good idea to create your email ID which is easy to remember.
Never give your password to anyone else!!!

Don't put your phone number, credit card number, or passport number etc. as your email ID.

It is also not a good idea to share email IDs between people and read/reply using other people's email IDs.

Start your email journey now. Click on the link below and read the articles in this excellent website for more information!

http://www.gcflearnfree.org/emailbasics

Facebook. The billion dollar questions you may have.

So should you or should you not sign up for Facebook?

Facebook is the fulcrum of a global phenomenon of connectivity, for people
to easily chat,
share news of their lives,
send photos, videos,
and gossip.
It is also a means to rise and shine socially.

It can also be used for 'networking' within groups of friends.

You can even advertise,shop etc.

So should you sign up? Well,it is all up to you.

I do have concerns about Facebook being an easy way to let others know inadvertently about your life and I do believe you have to be VERY careful on Facebook.

What are the  positives of Facebook? It is VERY easy to use!
To chat, share photos, to send messages, etc. It works from any smart phone also.

Click on the line below for some gyan on Facebook:
Face book details

Better be safe than sorry! Computer dangers

Most of us are afraid that computers can be dangerous and destroy
1. Our health
2. Our wealth
3. Our relationships
4. Our physical safety
5. Our mental well-being.

Let me tell you what I do to use computers safely:

1. Health and ergonomics
I do not use computers for long hours at a stretch. I take breaks in-between. I sit in a well lit room and adjust the monitor brightness so it does not burn my eyes. I sit at a comfortable height and work with my hands and neck placed at the right angles. I don't strain my wrists by continuous stress. I don't play sound too loud. I don't watch long movies or videos.

2. Financial safety
I do net banking and online purchases. I use HDFC Bank which prides itself on net safety. I use Visa card with 128 bit SSL along with Verified by Visa double security. After many years I can state I have never lost a penny because of computer thieves. Once, someone in Amsterdam at a store used my credit card to steal some 28000 rupees. I lodged a complaint with Amex over phone and they refunded the amount to me. But this was Card theft and not computer theft.

3. Social risks
I do not risk myself hobnobbing with strangers on Facebook or Twitter or Yahoo Messenger. I protect my phone number and address in all online chats etc. I believe the mobile phone poses in general a bigger risk. But I have so far faced no issues.

4. Physical safety
I have logical reasons to believe that my physical safety is assured by my life-style and social circles. I am helped by not being too rich or too adventurous. No added risk due to computers.

5. Mental well-being
When I read about people having insane lives driven by computer excesses and watching bad stuff etc. I do see all those dangers. Luckily I am a sober and uninteresting creature of safe habits.

Well, what about VIRUSES? I use AVG SECURITY free licence since 2009. I have had nothing lost due to viruses. I back up data on a removable USB hard disk regularly.I store a lot of personal data on a free Drop Box account. So far I have not lost data or programs to viruses or crashes.
The Apple computer and iPad are intrinsically way more safe compared to Windows computers, due o the sheer architecture of software. But I must say that 80% of my work is on Windows computers.

Read more about computer safety here: http://bit.ly/cccsafety

Windows 7 For Dummies Cheat Sheet - For Dummies

Windows 7 For Dummies Cheat Sheet - For Dummies

MacBook All-in-One For Dummies Cheat Sheet - For Dummies

MacBook All-in-One For Dummies Cheat Sheet - For Dummies

Computers For Seniors Glossary: A - For Dummies

I am sharing here a link to a glossary. Don't feel offended that it is called for Seniors or Dummies. It is a kind of "hep" language to describe those of us who are keen on learning new stuff despite our not REALLY needing to do so...
So we are a privileged lot who use computers just for pleasure!
'By the way, Dummies series of books is the MOST POPULAR of all easy how-to books in the world. Just google "For Dummies" and you will get a ton of information.
So click here and learn the terms used in computers!
 
Computers For Seniors Glossary: A - For Dummies

Computers - basic school stuff.

View all

Get your own

These are three slides I made for a school some years ago. Please click on the image to go to the next/previous slide.

Computer + Internet. Your Choices

Today you have a whole lot of choices.

As you can see from the photo I just took, with my iPad, I am using:
1. A desktop with Wifi broadband Internet from BSNL.
2. A laptop with Reliance Digital Internet 'dongle'
3. A smart mobile phone with Android Wifi Internet,
4. An iPad with 3G data plan with which I took this photo and am typing this blog!

So you have a plethora of choices. If you're only an occasional Internet user, generally at home and having a laptop or desktop (don't bother which make etc., you can get a fine laptop or desktop today in mid RS. 20,000's), I suggest you get a data plan along with your landline connection, with a charge ranging from a few hundred rupees to less than RS. 1500 per month.

If you have a laptop and you generally travel around out of your home, you can get a data dongle from any Mobile carrier like Airtel, Reliance, Tata DoCoMo, BSNL etc.

If you have a smartphone or a tablet or iPad, you can take a 3G SIM card which allows Internet connectivity. A smartphone has a small screen size but also allows phone calls well.

The choice is yours and it all depends on your convenience and budget.

If you really don't care to spend much money, you can always go to a Cybercafe or a friend or family computer and access and use the computer and Internet!

Now should you buy a Windows 7 or Windows 8 computer or an Apple iMac or Android phone or tablet or an Apple iPad or iPhone?

IT REALLY DOES NOT MATTER FOR US RIGHT NOW. ANYTHING WILL DO.

If you're using a computer for the first time, and you are interested in using it anywhere and everywhere, and don't type too much, you can consider any android tablet or an iPad. They are simple to use, they have built-in batteries which can be charged like a phone, and very easy to touch and use.

If you want to write and publish articles, in English or Indian languages, easily, a regular computer with a keyboard will be more useful.

A laptop today does everything VERY nicely and doesn't cost much.

How to use Google Search better.

In all probability, without Internet and Google, people would not be interested so much in computers. As you saw before, out of the four C's, the "Consume" list is easy to get interested in, as you find more information on the Internet today than you can imagine.

Some three days ago, I read an article on the Internet about the history of the London Underground railway. It just completed 150 years and became a model for all the world to follow for metro transportation. The same article came two days later in the newspaper in Bengaluru. But I had already read it, and shared it with a couple of people. That is the power of the Internet!

Now those using computers and Internet cannot deny a dependence on Google. Google is a HUGE and profitable company built on the service of a Search Engine. A Search Engine is a powerful network of computers with extremely intelligent methods or programs to CONSTANTLY search the millons of computers around the world as well as various publications, archives, and data bases to collect and  catalog information. Each piece of information has at a minimum two propoerties:
1. It has a linkable URL or address which can be connected to using the Internet.
2. It matches some search terms which we can use to find out its existence and URL.

For example, if I google the search terms "white tiger population in Bannerghatta zoo Bengaluru", let me see what results I get:
Search Results

The top two reults are:

Web Results

• Bannerghatta National Park - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

  The journey to the park takes nearly one and a half hours from Bangalore. This
  hilly place is the home for one of the ... White Tiger at Bannerghatta National Park ...
  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bannerghatta_National_Park

• Tiger - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

  The global population in the wild is estimated to number between 3,062 to 3,948
  individuals ..... A Bengal white tiger in Bannerghatta National Park in Bangalore ...
  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger

These results came up because Google's Search method ranks them to be MOST LIKELY to answer my area of interest.

Try making some searches on Google Search. You can't go wrong... you will see lots of information of interest. In addition, the Search can be restricted to images, websites, news, videos etc.
Since Google Search is a free service supported by advertisements, you will see lots of advertisements all over the page. Skip them if you do not want to buy something or book a trip etc. Just go down the page and click on the Web Results.


Just also always remember, all the information on the Internet is NEITHER ACCURATE NOR UP-TO-DATE NOR TRUSTWORTHY. So think and consult local experts before you take up health treatments, diets, shop or travel based on Internet advice.


Now I give you a link to a nice "Infographic" which means information arranged like a poster on Google Search. Click on the image at the top, or the line below to see a number of tips on how you can use Google Search better.

Note: once you click the link, depending on your computer settings, you may see the poster of tips or just see a vertical colourful ribbon pakora on the left. Dont try to eat it, but click on the image and it will bloom into a typical American-looking poster.


Some tips and trick on searching and using Google Search.

See what you can do.

Click on the image to see it full-size.

Are you computer-phobic?

Hi!

Here is a definition. Now are you computer-phobic?

If you're, you have company. Here. I was once phobic too, and I have since conquered it.
So let me help you to do it, too!

Now you no longer need to shrink away from even simple computer tasks, or beg to be excused the moment someone talks Blog, Picasa or Google Docs.

You see, you can even say there seems to be a conspiracy out there to create a great digital divide. Not so much about the computer-haves and have-nots, but computer dudes and dodos.
But let's get our own back!

So I will write a simple one pager every week. To demystify the computer and make you do
simple things easily and faster than before.
Watch out for my one pager soon!