Snap Shot: Budget 2011

• Expenditure on infrastructure increased by 23 per cent.
• Rs 200 cr for cleaning up lakes and rivers other than the Ganga
• Expenditure on social projects increased by 17 per cent.
• Rs 58,000 cr for Bharat Nirman projects.
• Under integrated action plan for Naxal-affected areas, 60 districts to get development grant of Rs 25 crore to 30 crore
• Rs 200 crore for development of IIT Kharagpur.
• Food security bill to be introduced this year.
• Allocation to education sector hiked to Rs 57,057 crore.
• Capital infusion of Rs 20,157 cr in PSU banks.
• Rs 30,000 crore proposed for tax-free infrastructure bonds.
• Economy to grow at 9 per cent in 2011.
• Govt to retain control, 51 per cent share in PSUs.

So how is this going to effect you?

TO BE CHEAPER

• Refrigerators
• Home Loans
• Cement
• Printers
• Paper
• Diapers & Sanitary Napkins
• Homeopathic Medicines
• Soap
• Steel
• Yarn/Raw Silk
• LED Lights
• Battery Driven Vehicles
• Agriculture Machinery

TO COST MORE:

• Healthcare in top-end private hospitals
• Branded Clothes
• Gold
• Air Travel
• A/C Restaurants Serving Liquor
• Hotel Services

Download this file to see the Tax rates individuals

HTC WildFire Vs Blackberry Curve 9300

 With the smart phone prices coming down, its actually quite confusing for the gadget freaks to choose the right phone. I had to do a considerable amount of googling to prepare this comparison sheet between two smart phones, that me and my girl are planning to buy.

Both has got track pad feature

Visit Product Pages ( HTC Wild Fire  and Black Berry 9300 ) for videos and commercials related to those products

Info.

-MSM 7225 processor is something like a dual core processor for PDA's

-Capacitive touch screen displays rely on the electrical properties of the human body to detect when and where on a display the user touching. Because of this, capacitive displays can be controlled with very light touches of a finger and generally cannot be used with a mechanical stylus or a gloved hand. Same technology is used in I phones and I pads

-A typical A-GPS-enabled receiver will use a data connection (Internet or other) to contact the assistance server for A-GPS information. So it depends on your internet speed. The amount of CPU and programming required for a GPS receiver is reduced by offloading most of the work onto the assistance server. So less load on your CPU and your battery.

Download the Comparative Statement

Keep Looking for the perfect and you will never get one

For couple of days, I was seriously thinking of changing my mobile,

I own a Symbian based smart phone which a bought exactly 1 ½ years ago. (first time in my 23 years life to use a phone for such a long time)

It almost became a brick once, when it had a nice surfing stunt at Sivana Samudram Beach, Mangalore.

All that I did was, unscrew it and put it on a 100 watt bulb for an hour, after coming back to my room, to heat its chipset. Amazingly, it started working again.

I had used it so much that I finally started feeling that its no more interesting.

I have to essentially use two SIM Cards. That makes me carry two mobiles all time, one my smarty and any other basic model, which I keep switching.

So finally I thought to change my smarty mobile. First thing that came to my mind was Blackberry. Though its allows you to use one SIM, I always tilt towards it coz of this brand name and somehow I feel its status quotient.

 

1. Blackberry

Yes, its definitely a proven brand. But there is a reason that makes me think before I for it. To make best use of blackberry, you should be using Blackberry Internet Services. It’s not that you can’t access net via GPRS, but its something like using MAC OS on a windows machine. Never gives you the feel. Currently in India, BIS cots you around 400/- to 700/- depending on your service provider. So per annum its around 6,000. Whereas GRPS costs you somewhere in btw 50/- to 100/- per month. That is around 5000/- extra compared to normal GPRS. Any other platform based smartphone user can access the same features ( except BB Messenger) for 1000/- a year.

Considering that blackberry starts at 11k, you are almost paying 50% (Rs 5000/year for BIS) of the phones cost to use it.

In Simple terms, unless you have ROI on your BB, why would you want it when its running cost is high?

2. Duel SIM Mobiles with MKV Chipsets

Well, google it and you will find loads of those china software based mobiles. Yes u do get lot of features at cheaper price, but u can never count on them, Can fail anytime and u can’t have a good internet experience.

Would u want to buy something just because it’s cheap?

3. HTC

Had a look at HTC Wildfire. Personally, I don’t like touch Screen Based Phones at all and above that I just hated the way u unlock the mobile. Got to move the slider to the top of the screen. And take a close look at the mobile screen, you can almost count the pixels, which shows the less quality. 

so still in search of models in htc

4. Any Andriod Based Mobile

To every one buying or thinking of an android mobile, I would suggest you to wait for a while before going for android. Not yet stabilized in the market. Moreover, its an open source Platform, so good if u can wait for developments to come up and the better reason is wait for a while and It becomes cheaper and better.

The battery drains out in android mobiles, as far as I know.

For some other the other reason, I haven’t yet found an Andriod mobile which impresses me.

5. BADA and Java Mobiles.

There are quite a few mobiles in market based on BADA and Java, some of which call themselves a smart phone. But I bet you, if u r a smart phone user, your heart will never allow you to downgrade to Java based mobile or BADA platform mobile.

6. Windows 7 Phones.

Well, it will burn your pockets if u are looking for a decent phone running on windows 7. It’s not that you can’t buy, but is it really worthy?

7. Symbian smart phones.

No please, I already have been using one for a long time. Why buy another one.

Keep Looking for the perfect and you will never get one..

Evaluate with your mind…. Judge with your heart. .

Should we give money to beggars?

Should we give money to the beggars.....

Well these are the some of the interesting replies to this hypothetical question from the web....

1.No

A small incident for proof:

At a busy traffic junction. Signal red. Two wheeler rider waiting for green, with his bike engine switched off.

Beggar appears, asks for alms. Rider not interested. Beggar keeps on pestering him for alms. Rider ignores him.

By then signal about to turn green and the beggar instantly snatches the bike ignition key and runs off. Bike rider stunned and shocked. Honking vehicles behind and so on. His BP rises instantly.

Parks the bike on road side and try to chase the beggar thief.

The pre-planned beggar thief jumps the compound wall of near by park and dangles the bike key.

Rider asks for it. He demands Rs. 100, if not he will throw the key in drain.

Finally the victim rider hands over the money and the smart beggar thief throws bike key at him.

The location of this true incident is at Bangalore, Navrang Junction Signal on Dr. Rajkumar Road.

Time 9.15 am (peak office hour).

Me and every other, including traffic policeman was mute witness to this entire drama.

2.May be

This one is tough to answer,,yes many a times i have given them money bcz its so hard to deny them seeing the way they beg( talking about india) i mean small children crying etc,,

and then i find myself guilty of the fact that may b indirectly,,im helping the wrong cause,,

so these days i dont give them money i rather give them or buy them food.stuff..

3.Yes, because...

To beg is extremely demeaning, not to mention

freezing! People must be in extreme poverty in order to resort to such measures. Yes, there are concerns about whether they are really poor, but if a person resorts to such methods to gain a bit of money each day, surely they are need in help, just as much, if not more than those who have no choice but to be on the streets?

4.No, because... 

There is no proof that those who are lying on the streets are actually homeless. They could go home, into the warmth, with their loving family. By giving these people money without any proof, you are stopping the people who really need the money from receiving it. Instead the money should go to a large charity whereby they help the people who truly need it by providing clean housing and food; the essentials.

5.Yes.

 It is not in the best of interest to assume anything in this case. Whether the beggar is in that position on his own accord, or due to an unfortunate, rather not controlable situation, it is always good to help someone in need. The beggar, whether man, woman, or child does beyond appealing to sympathy have worth in this world. We all have a worth. Because we have been able to do better than those who haven't had the same life, situations, and opportunities, it is our duty to help them. If a beggar is in my direction of travel and appears to be in great need, I will give to the beggar.

6.Yes, because I only go to NYC once a year

7. yes

 i don't think that my money will always be used for the best but then again it isn't my place to judge people. how can i say that when a person needs help i should deny them that help because they may use the money for something other than food. i think its very judgmental to assume peoples intentions. and its not really my place to judge.

8. No

I realize that some people that beg, are professionals and use the money for beer and drugs.

I also believe that a beggar may also be an angel in disguise.

So, i give them a quarter.

A quarter is not going to kill me.

9.I have, but usually I'll buy a meal and give that to them instead

And my Answer to this question:

In real life we all are beggars (bit demeaning) one way or other...don't we ask for the toys or gifts in our childhood or in school days we used to ask for a pen or paper and of course in exams we r literally begging for answers from the next student...dowry from u r wife (heights of begging)...love from u r gf/bf.. parties from u r frnds...the list is endless....

  

Bottom line: Give it if u have it...

Six Uses for a Dead iPod

(A very interesting article by Kirk McElhearn on the Macworld. I thought someone would gain some use out of it as so many of us use iPods!)

Nothing lasts forever, and iPods are no exception. Like all electronic devices, your iPod will eventually take a trip to the big Apple Store in the sky. But that doesn't mean you can't still use it. There are many components that can die in an iPod: the hard drive, the flash memory, the screen, the backlight, or the actual digital signal processor (the chip that converts bits and bytes to notes). You can also ruin your headphone jack, making it impossible to listen to music by that route. Failures to any of these components can result in a dead iPod but, in some cases, even without going for a fix-up, you can still use the iPod in some way.

1. Use the iPod, but with limits

If you've got an iPod with a hard drive and the drive has cashed in its chips, then you won't be able to do much with it. It's probably best to go to an iPod repair service and have the hard drive replaced (or go the DIY route). However, in some cases, you can still use it--at least partially. I recently broke an iPod classic, dropping it on the floor (the first time I'd ever dropped it). Something happened to the hard drive, and when I try to load music, it now stops after about 20 GB of files. So I can still use it, at least for now, to play music; just with less capacity than the full 160 GB. If you drop yours, maybe you'll be lucky and get access to some of the hard disk.

2. Use it during the day, or under lights

One element that can fail is the iPod's backlight. If this happens, you'll still be able to see the screen if you hold it at the correct angle (though not in the dark--get into shuffling your songs!). If the screen itself is dead, you can get it fixed, and probably should if the iPod is recent enough. If not, you may still be able to use it to store files (see below).

3. Use an iPod as a source for iTunes

If you're battery is dead--by far the most common failure on an iPod, and one that can happen after a few years--you may still be able to use it. (And you can replace the batteries easily on many iPods, either on your own or by sending them to iPod repair shops.) Since all such an iPod is missing is juice, you can connect it to a computer and use it as a source, say to play music from your home collection when you're at work. Just connect it and launch iTunes, then check Manually Manage Music And Videos. Click the disclosure triangle next to the iPod, then click Music to browse your library, or choose one of the playlists it contains, and play the music the iPod holds through iTunes.

4. Use it as a source for your car

Just as in the above tip, you can connect your iPod to any source that provides power and use it for playback. If your car has a powered iPod connector (using the dock connector), just plug it in and turn up the music. The dock connector both provides power and handles music output. A cigarette-lighter adapter can also provide power if you're still using a cassette adapter or FM transmitter to play your music.

5. Connect the iPod to your stereo

Even with a dead battery, you can use your iPod as a source for a stereo, at home or in the office. You can connect it to any type of powered dock--either a standalone dock/speaker, or an Apple dock connected to a charger--then to a stereo, and your iPod can be your music source. In all three of these tips where you use the iPod as a source, you'll still be able to sync to it, because when you connect it to your computer, the iPod gets the power it needs.

6. Use your iPod to store files

Most iPods--except the shuffle, touch, and the iPhone--let you mount them as if they were hard drives. On the Summary window in iTunes, when the iPod is connected, check Enable Disk Use. This lets you use the iPod--even if, for example, the screen is broken and you can't navigate at all using the device's interface--to carry files from one location to another. Just like a USB thumb drive, your iPod can serve as a portable file receptacle. If you do this, you'll probably want to remove all its music first; the best way is just to restore the iPod and wipe it completely.

CK Z

Maid... or un-maid?!

God hail my dearest mother for handling so many maids over the years with ease!!! I mean, how does she do it??? I took me nearly three weeks to find a decent maid! (which to my expense, has been a disaster!)

We are just three of us in the family and we do not actually need a maid as we do our own work and go on with our lives. But recently, my mother had to work on weekends as well so house work piled up a bit on her end and so we thought we would get a maid. Little did I know that, that would end up being an adventure of sorts!

First we sounded it through the usual channels, namely - the housewives in and around in the neighborhood. Effective method, this way of communication I tell you! In just a day's time I had four maids lined up at my doorstep wanting the job. One even gave me a call on my cell phone saying that she would come over the next day to talk to me! However, ALL of them would not go for lesser than Rs.1500 a month to sweep, mop n wash clothes thrice a week. We did not even talk about doing the dishes or cleaning the balcony and the washrooms and all. And the conditions... my! They would not wash the bedsheets and they would not move the furniture around while mopping the floor. To wash one or two t-shirts I do not need a maid! I might as well do it myself for godsakes!

Phew! This was just the beginning. There was this maid who asked us if we could look after her five-year old kid while she cleaned up our place and the house next to ours. I did not know whether to pay her for her work or ask her for the child-care charges! Another one was a typical urban worker. She asked for incentives for washing any number of extra clothes other than the stipulated number everyday! She should have run some company, this woman! The organization would be reaping profits left, right and centre! Yet another one told us that she is ready to do all that we ask for at 800 bucks a month except that she would do it at three in the afternoon. All three of us in my family work. How in the world are we supposed to be home while she comes to work?? Teleporting??!!

Then came a day after full, three weeks that a maid accepted all that we asked for - sweep, mop and wash clothes everyday by 8 A.M. at 700 bucks a month. Yay! Mission accomplished! Or so I thought! Her husband moved out of the city and within a month, she vanished and went away to some far unknown land. Poor me.

Now am back to square one, slogging through the day and night as well; cleaning this and that and in between managing to go to work as well. The only advantage of it all is that am getting ample exercise. I guess I should be thankful for it, but as with all good things that are dropped into our lap, I complain and crib about having to do all the work.

Hopefully, some good soul who goes by the term 'MAID', listens to my cry of helplessness (sorry for the exaggeration!) and comes to my aid. A maid would surely save me a lot of energy which I spend ranting about not having one! Would pour my blessings on her if only she would pay me a visit from her heavenly abode wherever that is!

Oh well, yesterday was the deadline on all the complaints I guess! And in the meantime, I have another prospective maid to talk to in the morning...

CK Z

Map your Special Moment!

Aren't some days different from the rest? Aren’t some moments special? Aren’t some places special?

All of us experience magical special moments in our lives and many of them are worth cherishing.

How do u feel when u look back at first time u met your BF/GF or some special person in your life.. It may be at a pizza hut, Coffee day, gym, traffic signal, some cafeteria, bus stop etc.. Some places make u feel that the special person in your life is around u & Many times many places are attached to some sought of memories. Well, these moments bring sparks in our life and add beauty.

How about mapping these moments and sharing them across your loved ones? Sounds!! Good.. haa!!

Google made it possible with "Map your Valentine".. With this map the locations with your memories and share across your loved ones!!

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Mapping!!

By
Bharathi N
P.S: found while googling, felt like sharing.. :)

Microsoft Married Nokia

Today Microsoft announced that it is partnering with Nokia. This was news that was not exactly shocking or surprising and most people were already discussing it a lot around the web.

• Windows Phone will power Nokia when it comes to smart phones.
• Nokia Maps will become of core importance to Bing Maps. This is a very interesting development as Nokia is quite good with mapping and Bing is losing steam to Google Maps. This sort of cooperation will help Bing maps become a lot more locally relevant.
• Bing will power search on Nokia phones. This is crucial again for Bing for survival. Search in recent times is used more and more through phones.
• Nokia might benefit when their application store is integrated with Microsoft Marketplace.

For more on this; go here

How to Insert Picture inside the comment, in Excel

Well, if you are familiar with MS Excel, you should be knowing how to do this. But if you don’t, you will find it simple to do after reading this.

Suppose you would want to insert a picture in a comment, for an excel cell. ( It should pop up whenever you hover your mouse over that comment) . [There could be several reason one would want to do this, like to indicate, which part of the drawing does the description mentioned in the cell belong to, etc.] This gives the clear understanding, to the one who refers your excel sheet.

To do this.

Right Click on the cell -> Insert Comment. Then Right Click on the Comment -> Format Comment

Format Comments Dialogue Box should Pop up. Then go to Colors and Margins Tab -> Colors -> Fill Effects.

In Fill Effects, go to Pictures Tab and Select the Picture you would want to pop up when curser is hovered over the cell.

After Selecting the Picture, Click ok.

You are done.

This might look tedious when you do it for first time. But once you are used, you’ll find it, easy and simplest way to impress the person who looks at your excel report.

Allah Does not Belong to Islam....

The word "Allah" is the perfect description of the "One God" of monotheism for Jews, Christians and Muslims!

Is "Allah" only for Islam and Muslims?

[No! It is for All Three Abrahamic Faiths.]

"Allah" is the same word used by Christian Arabs and Jewish Arabs in their Bible, centuries before Islam came.

On page one [1] of Genesis in the Old Testament, Can find the word "Allah" seventeen [17] times.

In a news clip on KFUO-AM Radio in St. Louis, shortly after the 9-11 tragedy, Tim LaHaye, noted evangelical speaker and coauthor of the Left Behind series, said, “Allah is not the God the Bible. He is an evil spirit that results in murder.” I have to assume Tim LaHaye is not fluent in Arabic! He is, however, not alone in referring to a Qur’anic interpretation or concept of God. Many Westerners seem unaware that Allah is the God Arabic-speaking Christians worship. The Arabic Bible is replete with the word Allah, beginning with Genesis and ending with Revelation. Jesus Christ is even called the son of Allah in the Arabic Scriptures.

Arabic-speaking Coptic, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Maronite, evangelical, and Reformed Christians worship Allah, which is simply the word or term for God in another language. Islam does not hold a copyright to the term. In fact, Arab Christians existed before Islam appeared on the scene. Christians who worship Allah number in the millions, and their biblical version of Allah differs from the Qur’anic version. To demean or demonize the word for God in another language does a great disservice to believers who speak that language. Opportunities to win a hearing or dialogue between Christians and Arabic-speaking Muslims vis-à-vis Jesus Christ are also minimized.

No other term exists in Arabic for the God Christians claim to be the one, true God. Western Christians do not normally use Hebrew terms for God in their languages. They cannot expect Arab Christians to use any other term or word for theirs. Allah is equivalent to the English God, the French Dieu, or the Spanish Dios.

Throughout Western history, many people have corrupted the term God. For instance, the Ku Klux Klan demeans(The Ku Klux Klan are a group of illiterate white supremacists, who seek to defend America from basically everyone who isn't a white Republican naturalized citizen who loves guns and the South), diminishes, and denigrates the English word God; yet, English-speaking Christians have not permitted such corruptions to rob them of their use of the term God. Likewise, the same is true for God in Arabic. Terrorists may misuse the term Allah, but they cannot rob millions of their word for God.

Perhaps we could better understand this error if we translate some of these judgments and criticisms into English. For example, some Christians might say, “God is not the God of the Bible.” They also might say, “God is a demonic force causing murder,” and so on. How can Christians then proclaim Christ to people who know of God by that term? If God is demonized, it also becomes impossible to encourage people to love God, to worship God, or to believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

Would we be willing to give God a different term after centuries of using God in our language? Some are linguistically destroying the term for God used by millions of their coreligionists in other parts of the world. God loves the world, including those who speak Arabic.

It is imperative that the term Allah not be totally destroyed in Western minds. Otherwise, even Arab Christians will be questioned as to their authenticity and worship of the one, triune God, according to Christian orthodoxy. Such linguistic destruction also threatens to harm relationships with Muslims and potentially arouses hatred. The problem is linguistic, not theological.

Arabic was spoken at Pentecost, a watershed event in church history (Acts 2:8–11). Its usage regarding the worship of God predates English. In fact, Muhammad may have borrowed the term from Christians and Jews of his day. 

Source:equip.org(parts)

Now play on your chrome!

With Google Chrome topping the list of Most widely used Web Browsers, many add-ons and apps have coming up. In my earlier posts, we have seen some productivity stuff like email applications etc. Now lets take a look at few entertainment apps which you can use on your Chorme.

 

MAFIA WARS

Get it from here

Developers claim this to be world’s most popular crime game. Mafia Wars is a RPG (role playing game) style game based on earning experience points by completing jobs, leveling up, creating mafias with friends, and fighting other mafias for supremacy.

Pop It

Get it from here

Classic Pop It game, which makes you burst with fun. Clear your screen until all the balloons are popped by your mouse pointer. As simple as that.

Golf

Get it from here

Gold Challenge with interesting features. should say the most realistic golf game on the web. WGT recreates famous golf courses like Bethpage, Kiawah Island and St Andrews in virtual reality using HD photography and patented technology. Each course is photographed from every angle, providing a true‐to‐life experience for golf enthusiasts.

Bubble Witch

Get it from here

kind of pop it , with different touch. The three witches are looking for a new addition to their circle. You have been invited to their haunted house to prove your worth. Can you create enough spiders and keep the cauldron bubbling?

Spark Chess

Get it from here

My personal favorite. It features great graphics, three difficulty levels optimized for short and casual matches, auto save, 6 save game slots and unlimited undo. And the best part Works offline - no internet connection is needed!

     

Looking for more? Go here

Use Bubbles to access apps on your mobile

Nokia has come-up with a new application called Bubbles, which enables you to access the applications and other useful stuff on your phone, in a timely manner.

The best thing about it is you don’t need to unlock your touch screen mobile to use it. You can directly drag the bubble to the right, to activate it, though your phone is locked.

The application is in Beta stage, you can download it here

 

Watch this demo from a Nokia Employee

Video: Nokia Bubbles

Technorati Tags: Nokia,Application,new,unlock,phone,touch,screen,best,application,app,timely,beta

Know your personality with your tweets

Well, we all tweet a lot! Isn’t it? (I do). But ever thought of analyzing your tweets to know your personality?

It’s easy now! With the help of Tweet Psych

All that you need to do is to point your browser to http://tweetpsych.com/ and enter your twitter name.

The site will analyze your tweets and prepares a graphical report, which explains your personality (may not be exactly true, but worth trying to know your tweeting habits atleast), based on your tweets.

What’s your hotpot

Google has a feature called Hotpot, where in you can know about a place (like its real time photos and user reviews), before you visit there. This could be helpful if you are trying to find out a nice place for your weekends or dates.

Just go to google.com/hotpot and search for the place you are interested.

Video: google hotpot

This could help you find your “lost laptop”

 

_Quickheal Technologies came up with an initiative to fight against the   _Laptop theft

 

‘TrackmyLaptop’ initiative comes as a savior for both Quick Heal antivirus users and even for non-users.The process is simple and easy. You just have to visit http://trackmylaptop.net/ and select either of the options ( if your are a Quickheal antivirus user or not).

Then fill a form with the required details.

Its actually self explanatory.

All that you need is to make a note of your laptop’s mac id (go here to know how to do it) and keep it safe to make use of it to track your lost laptop ( if it happens unfortunately )