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