Horoscope 2012–Must Read

राशिफल 2012

मेष इस साल आपका विवाह योग बन रहा है मगर ज़्यादा खुश होने की ज़रूरत नहीं है क्योंकि आप पहले से शादीशुदा हैं। गणेशा कहते हैं कि इस आफत के लिए आप खुद ज़िम्मेदार हैं। टाइमपास करने के चक्कर में ऑफिस में जिस लड़की से आपने फ्लर्ट करना शुरू किया था, उसे लेकर आप अब सीरियस होने लगे हैं। आपके प्यार में वो लड़की भी इतन…ा आगे जा चुकी है कि आपका तलाक तक करवा सकती है वैसे भी वो घर उजाड़ने के मिशन पर निकली है। जब-जब आप ऑफिस में होते हैं तो बीवी को धोखा देने के लिए मन में गिल्ट होता है मगर घर पहुंचते ही बीवी की कर्कश आवाज़ सुन, आप सोचते हैं कि ये यही डिज़र्व करती है। बावजूद इसके गणेशा सलाह देंगे कि इन चक्करों में मत पड़िए। ये उम्र आपकी सैटिंग करने की नहीं, कन्यादान करने की है। ज़रा नज़र उठाकर देखिए, आपकी बेटी जवान हो गई है। सलाह-पांच शनिवार छह कौओं को शहद चटाइए, इससे आपकी बीवी की कर्कशता चली जाएगी। लाल रंग की गिलहरी को बूंदी का रायता खिलाएं

वृष 31 दिसम्बर की शाम पतले होने का जो resolution आपने लिया था, वो दो जनवरी की सुबह आलू के परांठे खाने के साथ टूट जाएगा। तीन जनवरी की शाम दोस्त के साथ टहलते हुए आप उसके कहने पर मोमो खा लेंगे। पहला मोमो मुंह मे लेते ही पतले होने का आपका resolution आपको धिक्कारेगा मगर उसे इग्नोर कर आप एक और प्लेट का ऑर्डर देंगे। दस जनवरी की शाम बीवी आपको बताएगी कि रनिंग के लिए आपने जो नया ट्रैक सूट खरीदा था, बिना एक बार भी पहने उसे चूहा काट गया है। बीवी पर लापरवाही का इल्ज़ाम लगाते हुए आप उससे झगड़ा करेंगे, जिस पर बीवी के हाथों आपकी उन स्पोर्ट्स शूज़ से पिटाई हो जाएगी जिन्हें आपने ट्रेक सूट के साथ खरीदा था। सलाह-किसी गरीब आदमी को रा वन और रामगोपाल वर्मा की आग की डीवीडी भेंट करें, उसे देखने के बाद वो आपको इतनी बद्दुआएँ देगा कि आप खुद-ब-खुद पतले हो जाएँगे।

मिथुन बाकी सालों की तरह इस साल भी आप कुछ ख़ास नहीं उखाड़ पाएंगे। ऑफिस में आपको बॉस से डांट खानी पड़ेगी और घर पर बीवी से। न तो रिश्तेदार आपको भाव देंगे और न ही मांगने पर बच्चे पानी का गिलास। जून आते-आते आपका पालतू कुत्ता भी आपको देखकर पूंछ हिलाना बंद कर देगा। इस सबसे तंग आकर आप आत्महत्या करना चाहेंगे और जान देने के लिए एक दिन टीवी पर ‘मौसम’ की डीवीडी लगाएंगे। मगर प्रिंट ख़राब होने के कारण वो चल नहीं पाएगी। गुस्से में आप अपने हाथ की बनी चाय पिएंगे मगर उससे भी आप मरेंगे नहीं बस मुंह से झाग निकलने के बाद बेहोश होंगे। सलाह-सात मंगलवार किसी लाल गिलहरी को बूंदी वाला रायता खिलाएं, लाभ मिलेगा।

कर्क पिछले साल की तरह ये साल भी आप फेसबुक पर बैठ कर बर्बाद कर देंगे। दूसरों की वॉल से अच्छे-अच्छे स्टेटस चोरी करने, उन स्टेटस पर आने वाले लाइक का घंटों इंतज़ार करने, हर फोटो में दोस्तों को टैग करने, स्कूल में साथ पढ़ी लड़कियों के प्रोफाइल ढूंढने और एक्सेप्ट न किए जाने की उम्मीद के बावजूद उन्हें फ्रेंड रिक्वेस्ट भेजने में आप अपनी ज़िंदगी का एक और साल तबाह कर देंगे। फेसबुक पर बैठे रहने के चक्कर में आप पूरी सर्दी बिना नहाए गुज़ार देंगे। इसी चक्कर में मां-बाप से गालियां खाएंगे मगर आप इतने ढीठ हो चुके हैं कि इन गालियों का आप पर कोई फर्क नहीं पड़ेगा। सारी गालियां एक कान से होते हुए बिना दिमाग में घुसे दूसरे कान से चुपचाप निकल जाएंगी। सलाह-आप जैसे ढीठ आदमी को सलाह देने का कोई फायदा नहीं है।

सिंह नौकरीपेशा लोगों के लिए ये साल काफी फलदायक रहेगा। सरकारी नौकरी में हैं तो दो नम्बर का पैसा बनाने का अच्छा मौका मिलेगा। प्राइवेट में हैं तो बॉस की लगातार चमचागिरी करने के चलते आपकी भारी तरक्की होगी। आपकी सैलरी बाकी लोगों से ज़्यादा बढ़ाई जाएगी। आपको ऐसे काम में लगाया जाएगा जिसके लिए न्यूनतम बुद्धि की आवश्यकता होगी। आपका काम बाकी लोगों की बॉस से चुगली करना है और वो आप पूरी ईमानदारी से करते रहें। गणेशा सलाह देते हैं कि जून के बाद आप थोड़ा सतर्क हो जाएं क्योंकि इस दौरान बॉस का एक और सिफारिशी टट्टू ऑफिस में ज्वॉइन करेगा। तब आपको नए सिरे से खुद को प्रूव करना होगा। मगर घबराएं नहीं, खुद पर विश्वास रखें। हर आदमी के पास गिफ्टिड टेलेंट होता है। बॉस के सामने दूसरों की चुगली करने के लिए नए आदमी को एफर्ट करना होगा जबकि ऐसा करने का आपमें पैदाइशी गुण है। सलाह- ‘लगाई-बुझाई’ की अपनी प्रतिभा को निखारने के लिए रोज़ाना तीन हिंदी सीरियल देखें।

कन्या आपकी राशि भले ही कन्या हो मगर आपकी ज़िंदगी में कोई कन्या आती दिखाई नहीं दे रही। मगर इसमें किसी का कोई कसूर नहीं है, सिवाए आपके। करियर सेट करने की उम्र में आप लड़कियां सेट करते रहे और जब बारी लड़की सेट करने की आई तो आप करियर सेट करने में लगे हैं। आपकी अरेंज मैरिज हो सके ऐसी आपकी इमेज नहीं है और आप लव मैरिज कर सकें, ऐसी आपकी शक्ल नहीं। गणेशा कहते हैं कि ये स्थिति अभी कुछ और वक्त तक बनी रहेगी और 2017 के बाद जाकर आपका विवाह होगा मगर तब भी कन्या मनुष्य जाति से होगी या नहीं, इसकी गारंटी गणेशा नहीं लेते। सलाह-इक्कीस सोमवार सुबह-शाम खुद को दस-दस थप्पड़ लगाएं, इससे उन लड़कियों के मन को शांति मिलेगी जो कभी आपको पीटना चाहती थीं।

तुला वक्त आ गया है कि तुला राशि वाले अपनेआप को लेकर ग़लतफहमी पालना बंद कर दें और थोड़ा व्यावहारिक हो जाएं। सिर्फ आपके ये मानने से कि मैं बहुत होशियार हूं और ज़िंदगी में बहुत अच्छा डिज़र्व करता हूं, दुनिया को घंटा फर्क नहीं पड़ता। टीवी डिस्कशन्स में आने वाले गेस्ट को मूर्ख मानने से आप खुद होशियार नहीं हो जाते। दसवीं पास दोस्तों को अपने अल्पज्ञान से आतंकित करने से कुछ पल्ले नहीं पड़ने वाला। अब भी वक्त है, संभल जाइए। आपके दोस्तों के दो-दो बच्चे हो गए और आपकी अभी शादी तक नहीं हुई, ये बात अलग है कि बच्चे आपके भी दो हो चुके हैं जिनमें से एक की तो खुद आपको भी जानकारी नहीं है। सलाह- खुद के कमाए पैसों से एक अंडरवियर खरीदने बाज़ार जाएं, अपनेआप अक्ल ठिकाने आ जाएगी। दही में तीन चम्मच चाय पत्ती मिलाकर पंडित जी को पिलाएँ

वृश्चिक वृश्चिक राशि वालों का इस साल भाग्य खूब साथ देगा। खरीदारी करने बाज़ार जाएंगे तो सेल में कुछ सस्ते स्वेटर मिल जाएंगे, बुक करवाने के दो दिन बाद सिलेंडर की डिलिवरी हो जाएगी, फुटपाथ से खरीदी पाइरेटिड सीडी का प्रिंट अच्छा निकलेगा, आटे की थैली में साबुनदानी का मुफ्त स्टैंड निकलेगा, जिस गाड़ी में सफर करेंगे उसमें सुंदर लड़कियां दिखेंगी, पड़ौसी मंगलू के दसवीं में अच्छे नम्बर आएंगे, उसकी बुआ की लड़की अपने मायके से आपके लिए नया पजामा लाएगी और और तो और आपकी भैंस माया भी इस साल बाकी सालों के मुकाबले ज़्यादा दूध देगी। सलाह-अपनी गली के आठ आवारा कुत्तों की नसबंदी करवाएं, इससे आपका भाग्य और चमकेगा।

धनु धनु राशि वालों की किस्मत इस साल बिलुकल साथ नहीं देगी। ऑफिस जाने की जल्दी होगी तो रास्ते में स्कूटर पंचर हो जाएगा, मेहमान आए होंगे तो सिलेंडर ख़त्म हो जाएगा, ज़रूरत पड़ेगी तो नेट काम नहीं करेगा, बीवी बीमार होगी तो कामवाली छुट्टी ले लेगी, सहवाग की बैटिंग के वक्त लाइट चली जाएगी, लाइट आने पर मिमोह चक्रवर्ती की फिल्म चल रही होगी और तो और जब-जब चाय में डुबोकर खाने के लिए ग्लूकोज़ का बिस्किट उसके अंदर डालेंगे, वो उसी में डूब जाएगा! सलाह- बिस्किट चाय में न डूबे इसके लिए ज़रूरी है कि उसे लाइफ जैकेट पहनाएं।

मकर टीवी देखने के लिहाज़ से ये साल महिलाओं के लिए काफी अच्छा है। मार्च के आसपास आप सोनी टीवी पर दो नए सीरियल देखने शुरू करेंगी और अपनी दृढ़ इच्छाशक्ति के दम पर बिना नागा उसे पूरा साल देखेंगी। इस दौरान रिमोट के लिए कई दफा आपका अपने पति से झगड़ा होगा मगर सीरियल्स की साजिश रचने वाली बहुओं की तरह आप भी हार नहीं मानेंगी। वहीं दूसरी ओर रिएलिटी शोज़ के हिसाब से ये साल आपके लिए उतना अच्छा नहीं है। आप जिस-जिस कंटेस्टेंट को सपोर्ट करेंगी वो फाइनल तक तो पहुंचेगा मगर जीत नहीं पाएगा जिसे लेकर आपको भारी दुख होगा। रात-रात भर कमरा बंद कर फूल की कढ़ाई वाला तकिया मुंह में ले रोएंगी और हो सकता है इस बीच डिप्रेशन की शिकार भी हो जाएं। सलाह- पति के सोते ही उसके मोबाइल से अपने चहेते प्रतिभागी को ढेरों वोट करें। इससे पति भले ही डेंजर ज़ोन में चला जाए, मगर आपका पसंदीदा गवैया बच जाएगा।

कुंभ कुंभ राशि वाले अपना ये साल पंडितों के चक्कर में बर्बाद कर देंगे। आपके लिए ये समझना बहुत ज़रूरी है कि अगर आपकी ज़िंदगी में कुछ नया नहीं हो रहा तो उसकी वजह आपकी ख़राब किस्मत नहीं, आपका आलस हैं। ऑफिस से घर आने के बाद आपका सारा दिन पड़े रहने में बीतता है और यही वजह है कि आप दस साल से एक ही ऑफिस में पड़े हुए हैं। आपके पड़े-पड़े आपके बच्चे बड़े हो गए मगर आप अपने करियर में कहीं नहीं बढ़े। गणेशा सलाह देते हैं कि यूं दिनभर भेजे के कुकर में ख्याली पुलाव पकाते रहने और बॉस के घर की महिला सदस्यों को याद कर उसे गाली देने का कोई फायदा नहीं है। लिहाज़ा बिना कुछ किए हालात सुधरने की उम्मीद में चार अख़बारों में राशियां पढ़ने और हाथ की अंगुलियों से लेकर पैर के अंगूठे तक में अंगूठियां पहनने के बजाए रजाई से निकलिए…गैस पर पानी गर्म कर नहाइए, नहीं नहाना तो मुंह-हाथ ही धोइए और स्कूटर स्टार्ट कर कहीं बाहर जाइए। सलाह- एक पाव दही में तीन चम्मच चाय पत्ती डालने के साथ उसमें रात की बची एक कटोरी दाल डालिए और इसमें आधा गिलास फिनाइल मिक्स कर, उस पंडित को पिलाइए जो खुद आपको अब तक ऐसे उल्टे-सीधे उपाय बताता आ रहा था।

मीन जहां तक बारगेनिंग या मोलभाव का सवाल है, मीन राशि की महिलाओं के लिए ये साल काफी शुभ हैं। दुकान से सूट का कपड़ा खरीदने से लेकर गली में सब्ज़ी वाले से लड़-झगड़कर पैसे कम करवाने में आपको व्यापक सफलता मिलेगी। आपकी ख्याति मौहल्ले में ही नहीं, देशभर में फैलेगी। और तो और अंतर्राष्ट्रीय स्तर पर हथियार खरीदते समय भारत सरकार दूसरे देशों से मोलभाव के लिए आपको बुलावा भेजेगी। फ्रांस जैसे देशों से मिसाइल खरीद के समय आप ये कहते हुए रेट कम करवाएंगी…जाओ भइया जाओ…पचास में पीछे जापान वाले दे ही रहे थे या फिर ‘हम तो हमेशा आप ही के यहां से खरीदते हैं’, कहकर उन्हें इमोशनली ब्लैकमेल करेंगी। सलाह- कॉलेज में आप भाव खाती रही हैं और अब मोलभाव कर रही हैं। हमारी गुज़ारिश है कि यही हाव-भाव बनाए रखें।

The March Diary – Political India

The India I see today is all set for a blooming start to a journey which will eventually end up in Nadir. The India has a vision 2020 which is a dream full of bustling energy, entrepreneurship and innovation. The so called potential of 1.35 billion is nothing more than a crowd which has no face and even worse it is gullible. More than half of the potential live in poverty who has no reach to basic amenities. Food, clothes and shelter – it is not in reach for most of them. How do one expect them to perform when they can’t even manage to make their both end meet. People are dying because of hunger and poverty, because of the shame that they cannot feed their family, because of the regret that the government who lured them into giving votes is not fulfilling the promises made to them, because of the pressure to perform to be a part of growing India.

A disclaimer from me – it’s been 9 years when I first became eligible to vote but I have not yet chosen to vote. I don’t think that an individual politician can do anything however fair he may be by his actions. On date, I consider none of the political party to be the capable of governing India. They are all corrupt from cores and superficially too. Their pneuma is rotten and there is not a scintilla of remorse in their eyes for the actions they do. The present government is no exception. Day after day, we hear about bigger scams. The leader is the most inept of all I have ever seen. And his statements just confirms how irresponsible a person he is. But since I don’t vote I better not talk about the government. I’ll just go with the faith that their Karma will eventually fill their pot of sin and they will be punished. (Lolzzz…this statement even sounds amusing in my head…nevertheless hope is the only thing I’ve got)

Even though the event seems to be far and highly unlikely, I’ll finish my diary today with the hope that vision 2020 just don’t remain a dream but becomes a reality.

Blog review in 2010

The year 2010 was a great year for me w.r.t blogging. I stick to my resolution of atleast one blog per month and it paid off. Currently my blog stats shows near about 19000 visitors which makes it around 16000 visitors visited my site last year. This is a great news and thanks to the summary report sent to me by WordPress for bringing it to my attention.  The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.

Crunchy numbers

The average container ship can carry about 4,500 containers. This blog was viewed about 16,000 times in 2010. If each view were a shipping container, this blog would have filled about 4 fully loaded ships.

In 2010, there were 58 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 105 posts. There were 133 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 8mb. That’s about 3 pictures per week.

The busiest day of the year was November 2nd with 318 views. The most popular post that day was Dell Streak 16GB- Launched in UK.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were blogsurfer.us, facebook.com, ifreestores.com, google.co.in, and en.wordpress.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for dell streak, dell streak 16gb, angrezi, dell streak phone, and samsung i9000 galaxy s, LOMA, insomnia, Galaxy vs N8.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1

Dell Streak 16GB- Launched in UK June 2010
15 comments and 1 Like on WordPress.com,

2

Samsung Galaxy S GT-I9000 – Review August 2010
70 comments and 1 Like on WordPress.com,

3

Samsung Galaxy S vs Nokia N8 October 2010
12 comments

4

Froyo update delayed till October for Samsung Galaxy S I9000 September 2010

5

LOMA Certification – Step I cleared September 2010
28 comments

 

With this encouraging statistics I will try to write better articles in 2011 and hope that more and more readers enjoys their visit. Keep visiting and don’t forget to leave your impression on this blog via comment box so that I can visit you too just to say a simple ‘Hi‘ or a humble ‘Thanks‘

The Connotation of word FREE

The Internet has its presence everywhere now. Google is referred to as GOD sometime. Social networking and Blogging are up with every one having a flair for writing has a blog address. Anything you can think of will be there on internet already probably.

But there is a little Signup thing with most of the Website that is a required criteria to use that website content. Sometimes and someplace those memberships are honoured and most sought after and on other websites it is a waste but the sign up is there lying on the webpage inviting you to enter for a more broader excess. And here comes a word that is almost every time attached during Sign Ups.

Wow…Free!!!  This word in itself is so enticing (and in some porno cases, so seducing) that you end up Signing In. 

Nobody thinks of the usage or relevance. I remember my initial days when I got acquainted with WWW. I had 13 e-mail id’s. Seriously, even I get scared by the superfluousness I had then, all because it was free. And they were all active. Few were fake for registering on illegal sites I know I know…But I was just another teenage boy then. So don’t think otherwise.

My point is do we ever think of what we are giving away when we are registering on any websites? Reading Terms and Conditions is just a Check box away. Check it and you are done. Nobody bothers to go through it. Same goes for privacy policy. And then later we cry like babies when we see our information floating over the web without our consent. Where do these spam mails come from? How do they know your web address without you giving  them away. Genuine mail servers don’t give your address. It is you who register and subscribe here and there. Recent uproar upon Facebook privacy policy and ownership is known to everyone. Most of us were not even aware of previous policy, leave alone our far cry for new policy. 

So as they say – “There is no free lunch in this world ”. Beware of the FREE signature. Because WYSIWYG is not applicable here. There is a lot of other things abstracted behind the curtain. And for those who don’t know what WYSIWYG go and search Google.

It’s FREE!!! …

The Power of Gandhi

As an Indian or African, you don’t need to be introduced to this name. Gandhi is not a mere name, he is a legend. He was more than a freedom fighter, he was an inspiration. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was a man of great stature.

But I’m not talking about the same Gandhi here. Undoubtly he was powerful by his own means and principles but there is yet another Gandhi who is more powerful than ever. Powerful than the previous one. More influencial than him. People love the new Gandhi more than they love him. He is what people want today. He is the Gandhi on Indian Currency.

The Indians have turned greedy beyond redemption. Once there was a Midas touch – a touch which turned anything and everything to gold. Now we have Greed touch – a touch which rot anything and everything we touch. We’re once in the line of budding superpowers, and we still are in the line only. 63 years have been passed since independence and we are still nascent. The only thing that grew is greed and population and corruption and chaos all around. M.K. Gandhi stirred the whole country for a purpose that is long lost and forgotten. Even at that time a lot fought for him because he inspired them towards a common goal. Today’s Gandhi attracts everybody but inspire none. We all can fought for the Gandhi even today but our motive is different today. We’ll fight for him to own him. We have an egocentric goal now.

I hear every now and then that “Gandhiji mein bahut taquat hai” meaning Gandhiji has a lot of power. But in reality this is the power of Greed and not Gandhi. All we are taught is world is moving fast and if you don’t keep abreast you’ll be left behind but nobody taught to carry the values along while travelling. The result is rotten core and glittering appearance.

8-10 years back talks were doing the round that Indians have the largest repository of young people. India was looked upon by many as an emerging leader but alas we sank our ship on our own. That young generation is aging and soon we’ll be the largest repository of old people then we’ll have nothing. We are feeding on our own people. We are acting like beasts. Our single aim is to prove the Darwins thoery of “Survival of the Fittest” which I suppose was raw and very basic instinct. But homo sapiens grew above that raw instinct and formed society and now that instinct is growing back again. Soon there will be no India left to be proud of. All there will be barren land, full of blood and gore and none of the two Gandhi will be able to help us then.

Samsung Galaxy S vs Nokia N8

Nokia launched it’s long awaited smartphone N8 a few days ago for Rs 26259. Yesterday I got a chance to use it and unfortunately I found it disappointing. Being a proud owner of  Samsung Galaxy S, I couldn’t help but compare N8 with my phone.

Writing about it’s specifications is futile as it is already on so many sites floating with the reviews and views and videos. Instead what I intend to write  here is a quick comparison between Nokia N8 and Samsung Galaxy S.

The first obvious point that comes to my mind is Camera. Nokia has placed a giant 12 megapixel camera poking out of the body with Carl Zeiss optic lens and a Xenon flash in its new gadget while Galaxy has got a simple 5 MP with no flash.

The bulging camera design gives an attractive feel on the first look. Obviously the sensor is too large to be contained within the phone’s relatively slim dimensions, so this arrangement was necessary. But on comparison I found the photos clicked on a N8 were not as attractive as were supposed to be owing to much advertised 12 MP camera. Galaxy has much better quality from a 5 MP but that’s just me.

This statement brings me to my second point Screen. Maybe the difference is of the screen. N8 has a 3.5 inches 360×640 pixels Amoled Capacitive Touch Screen while Galaxy got a super 4 inches 480×800 pixels Super Amoled Capacitive Touch Screen. So from where I judge might be the differnce of screen and not the camera itself. I didn’t got a chance to transfer the images from N8 to my system for better analysis but the point is at that moment I was not at all satisfied with the quality. be it the camera or screen. The combinations wasn’t doing the miracles it is supposed to do. Video wise too I would rate it lower than Galaxy which I think is much better in HD recording. The low resolution of N8 is a massive disappointment.

My third point of comparison is Memory and CPU. Both have got a massive 16 GB internal memory with an expandable memory card slot of 32 GB. With the power they both have, I think its wiser on their part to provide such huge storage capability.

But…a big but comes in picture when stating the CPU. While Galaxy boast to have a Arm Cortex A8 1 GHz processor (which to my personal experience is under clocked to 800 Mhz by factory setting maybe to save battery), my dear Nokia still hangs out with Arm 11 680 MHz Processor and a 3d Graphics HW accelerator. Why do they not upgraded themselves. They launched N8 at a time when we are seeing a lot of 1 gig processors. This step can only dissolve their hope of future enhancements that might have been possible.

Fourth point to mention is Connectivity. Nokia has out done Galaxy S. Apart from standard Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and micro USB the two other remarkable and worth mentioning features are the USB on the go support and HDMI port. Now that’s something I always miss in Galaxy.

Browsing and navigation are a few things that are boring and so much resembling to symbian earlier edition. While I very much respect the Symbian OS (I grew up with it after all), it’s true that iOS and Android are a fad now. Symbian ^3 is a big let down. It does all things required but with extra efforts and extra clicks. We need a better and sensitive OS certainly.

Well this is all from my side. For further reviews about touch sensitivity, build and material, applications and etc, we have the google god which is easily accessible from both N8 and Galaxy or if you don’t own any and planning to buy one of these then take my advice and go for Samsung Galaxy S which by far is the best of all in the Ivy League Smartphone till date.

BTW Nokia has released its new model in 5 vibrant colours, if it makes any difference to some. Well not to me atleast.

Froyo update delayed till October for Samsung Galaxy S I9000

Alas…Alas…Alas…

I had been waiting too eagerly, anxiously, impatiently for a Froyo 2.2 update for my Galaxy S but this news came like a thunder bolt hitting it hard on me. Now the update is delayed till late october.

This is not an official press release though, the news came in through Twitter (Samsung India)   and Facebook .

Those of you who cannot wait, there was leak earlier which can be installed, but I will better suggest to wait for an official release. Because the firmware leak is risky and has some features missing. Lags are still there. See here.

So for us all waiting for an update to Froyo (Android 2.2), the journey is still on. But I’m sure or atleast hope that Froyo update will bring out the hidden capabilities of Samsung galaxy and one willget  more enhanced and enriched experience than this gadget presently offers.

For complete review of Samsung Galaxy S I9000 – Click Here.

LOMA Certification – Step I cleared

Update: As I am no more in insurance domain, I do not possess any material as of now. But one of my reader Rahul volunteered and agreed to help others by giving them suggestions and materials. His Email-Id is rahul5478@gmail.com. So those who need the help regarding the LOMA exam may reach him at the address provided. Also do not forget to thank him for his help and time.

Today I did something great. I cleared my LOMA 280 certification with 88%. Big day for me because just last week I got my dates and due to work pressure and then a trip to Hyderabad in the weekend really hindered my preparation. But as they say “All’s well that ends well” so the results are just good enough for me considering the two day time frame I got for preparation.

Well for starters, this is a world wide benchmark especially in field of health and Insurance business.
LOMA is an international association which offers products and services developed specifically for the management and operational needs of the insurance and financial services industry.
LOMA Courses (certification exams) are mandatory as a step up for employees towards their professional designation. Some companies seek their employees to have this benchmark certification in order to enhance the confidence of the clients. Certified employees do have various benefits like- promotion, customer interaction opportunities.

More details about LOMA on www.loma.org

My day started with a bad dream of not able to appear for the test. Phewww…boy th0se dreams always haunt me…Exam was in the second half so I freshened up and started a quick revision of whatever I was able to study in past two days. Apparently it was not much to score…or so I thought…

I reached to my office some good 50 minutes before the punctual time of 2:30 P.M. that was assigned to me and registered my presence to everybody – my friends and colleagues. Then I went to my PMP manager to know the proceeds for the exam and he asked to sit for the exam right then and asked whether am all set and prepared.

I went blank for few seconds and excused myself and went to cafeteria to have a cup of tea and some snacks. Anxiety was killing me. Whatever I was thinking at that time was just not helping me.  I was not afraid of failing but the fact that I would be the one of the first few who have failed this exam. Second reason was monetary that my company will scoop out the exam fee out of my ass if I failed. As a good boy that I am I have never given my company any chance to scoop anything out of my ass but the big boss always keeps a check nevertheless and never misses the opportunity however feeble it is.

But by the grace of my ISHT-DEV I was saved again. So there goes another happy week…party time this weekend. Probably will go to Lalbaug, Mumbai to see the ongoing Ganeshotsav which I think is the most colorful and vibrant festival celebrated with awing fervor in Mumbai…More on this later…Right now am good and happy so let’s celebrate…

Hollywood vs Bollywood vs Zollywood

I stumbled upon this article which was showcased at my friends FB profile and couldn’t help myself from posting this on my blog. I hope you will also enjoy this as much as I did.

Like the old Chinese saying goes, “Sometimes, a beaver is just a squirrel with big teeth.” Don’t ask me which Chinese person actually said that because there are a lot of them and i can’t be bothered to provide every single detail. The event that reminded me of this popular Chinese rodent-canine maxim was a seemingly innocuous outing to the movie theatre. I saw a flick that had advertised itself as a comedy thriller but turned out to be one that belongs to a niche genre that i often refer to as ‘equestrian excreta’.

On one Tuesday that felt a lot like a Thursday, i stumbled upon the answer to one of life’s biggest philosophical conundrums. No, not the ‘Is Bruce Lee still alive?’ question but the other one which is, ‘What’s going on with the movie world?’ And the answer to that is that every movie, despite its nationality and language, is actually the same. I’m well accustomed to three movie industries: Hollywood, Bollywood and Zollywood (that’s the collective name i’ve given for south Indian movies) and i’m going to try and explain here what the differences and similarities of these three ‘woods’ are.

When it comes to the Hollywood hero, he has impeccable looks; is self-made and well-to-do but not super-rich; finds the time to come up with hilarious one-liners even in the middle of dangerous crises; is often the only man in the world who can save the world. The Bollywood hero is fair-skinned; has a rich father who doesn’t hug him enough; craves true love and has no interest in the dozens of super-hot ladies throwing themselves at him; has no problem crying uncontrollably when delivering moving dialogues; is capable of fighting off at least 8-10 villains single-handedly. The Zollywood hero is above retirement age but still in his 30s; a misunderstood thug with a heart of gold; has a secret tragic family background (revealed only to the heroine) with one bed-ridden father, one paraplegic brother, two nubile sisters and one mother who cries at the drop of a coin; can jump over buildings; can punch police officers right in the mouth and get away with it; is capable of fighting at least 45-48 villains single-handedly.

As for heroines, the Hollywood variety is drop-dead gorgeous but still can’t find a guy or a job; has totally unattractive best friends; keeps picking fights with the hero throughout the movie but realises she loves him 10 minutes before the movie ends; has impromptu make-out sessions with the hero mostly after arguments. The Bollywood heroine is drop-dead gorgeous and as kind as Mother Teresa; has an abusive fiance who makes her realise how great the hero is; is extremely innocent but does at least one steamy song where she tries to seduce the hero but he keeps walking away. And the Zollywood heroine is portrayed by an actress barely out of school; doesn’t seem to mind that her grandfather is a few years younger to the hero; is rich and posh but falls for the thug; has a demonic power-hungry father; is extremely innocent but has at least three songs where she tries to explicitly seduce the hero but he keeps walking away.

The Hollywood villain is scorned by society, turned evil for a reason but has a brilliant mind and is just as good-looking as the hero while the Bollywood villain wears a tuxedo, has terribly bad aim when it comes to shooting and has the hots for the heroine. And the Zollywood type has a thick beard, is a rival thug or a high-profile politician and is often played by an unsuccessful Bollywood actor.

The Hollywood story? The girl and the world are in danger. The Bollywood story is that the girl is in danger, and as for Zollywood, the girl and south Indian commoners are in danger.

Read more: Same old story – Edit Page – Opinion – Home – The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/Same-old-story/articleshow/6500802.cms#ixzz0yoJDFbc2

Samsung Galaxy S GT-I9000 – Review

There’s a lot of update that I’ll keep posting so watch out for more.

You might also like to read the comments section as  a lot of discussion and solutions are provided in there.

Finally, I bought my very first smartphone after a year long search and research. It is Samsung Galaxy S GT-I9000, a super cool 4” super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen smartphone.

IMO it is the best available model in the higher range. Let’s talk about its qualities and shortcomings:

Screen: The most striking feature of the phone is its 4” 16M colors Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen. It has a resolution of 480×800 pixels. So what you get is super smooth touch experience. Once you’ll use it I’m sure you’ll never like to switch to TFT screen. Even in broad daylight, the visibility is clear to some extent. The high pixel resolution makes for good legibility.

Operating System: Running on Android 2.1 (Éclair) with news of upgrade to Android 2.2 (Froyo) makes it a great choice. More importantly Samsung has its own 3.0 touchwiz UI interface over the OS for some great experience.

CPU: A huge 1 GHz Arm Cortex A8 Hummingbird processor makes sure the phone works fast and is capable of handling heavy tasks and applications without any grudge. Well, personally I don’t think so coz in my case I had to force close some applications because they stopped responding. (Well that’s me, so I think I went too harsh on the phone during testing.)

Network: Quad Band 2G and Tri Band 3G support

(2G – 850/900/1900/2100    ————     3G – 900/1900/2100)

Storage: A whooping 16 GB of internal storage (2 GB reserved for application installation). 512 MB of RAM. Option available to include a SD card also. It can support upto a massive 32GB. So rest assured you’ll never find yourself stuck with space crunch.

Camera: 5MP, 2592×1944 pixels primary camera and a 0.3 MP secondary camera on the front.

Misc: Other necessary features worth mentioning

WI-FI 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA

Bluetooth v3.0 with A2DP

Micro USB port

Stereo FM Radio with RDS

GPS with A-GPS support

Java via third party

Divx/Xvid codec compatible along with other codecs.

Shortcomings:

No flash with the camera.

No flash support for the browser

My Take:

The sleek design and a vibrant screen is no doubt a show stealer. I have got a lot of appreciation for the phone from my colleagues and even strangers. People just stop to have a glance at the phone. For me it’s a full paisa wasool.

Now let’s talk about my experience and testing.

The interface is simple and very handy to use. The large screen makes up for the lack of physical QWERTY keyboard by replacing it with a virtual keyboard. The touch sensitivity is a delight. The super AMOLED screen does wonders. The legibility is great even if compared outdoors. In short the whole browsing experience has been a sweet journey for me.

The android market has more than enough apps for you to experiment upon. With the update of Android 2.2, many more features will be added in no time, like for instance flash support for browser is there with Android 2.2

The annoying thing is if GPRS is enabled, it will automatically sync many applications with online Google account. Also the free GPS navigation is a no go. For the first time, I was billed Rs 30/- for a 2 minute usage. Ohhh boy frustration…I was asked to connect my calendar with Google account for the first time. I did it and immediately I was online on Gtalk and Gmail without my notice. It was when I started receiving updates and messages that I realized what has happened. In two days, I was billed with an amount of 200 bucks for the usage of GPRS only. So a word of caution to all who are planning to buy this phone (as a matter of fact, any phone running on android) should get an unlimited GPRS plan if you really want to use all the features of the phone.

As mentioned, the powerful CPU and big memory does make a difference. But upon installing a number of applications and games and movies, my phone has gone a bit slow. Some applications take a few seconds to open now (mind you my phone is just 2 weeks old.) So I’m not sure where the problem is but am certainly keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that Froyo update will relieve me from this lagging issue as it is advertised to be 2.5 times better than Éclair on performance and responsiveness.

Camera without flash is a lamp without Jeannie. The pictures taken are very clear on the screen but if transferred to computer, the details are not that fine. It’s like you can rub the lamp and lit it, but you’ll always left wishing for more. But that’s not an issue for me, as a normal user the quality is more than ok to me. However, things go bad in low light. So that’s a big let down from Samsung.

720p HD video recording is finally there. With 16GB storage plus 32GB extendable via SD card, you are sure to enjoy the moments without the worries of space. Video taken is of  great quality. As explained earlier, availability of flash would have an added advantage, but nonetheless, the videos are still good. There is another MMS recording mode which lets you record video on lower resolution but it is useless. The quality suffers a lot in that mode.

Now let us comes to games. A lot are there in market, both free and paid. As a true Indian I always go for free ones (:D 😀 :D). Asphalt, A-Team, Assassin Creed, Kick Boxing to name a few. A whole bunch is there for selection and am sure you’ll love your phone more when you see the grace with which it handles all these heavy apps. Java is available via third party application, which I am unable to find till now. Still searching for one. So Java enabled apps and games are not working right now.

The movie player is simple. Nothing funny in the interface. But the most important thing to note is the support for Divx/Xvid videos. Yes, even full length movies are playable on the player without any lag and also the audio/video sync is perfect even if you drag the video to any length. And I must tell you this but I felt proud again when I watched the movie on my phone. The colors are very crisp and vibrant. The clarity is awesome. Subtitles are also welcome. And the best thing is you don’t need to convert the video to any format or resolution. Direct download and play. Wow…it’s the best. The phone supports a lot other codec too like flv, mkv, mpg, mp4 but for most you have to download additional codec. I downloaded them from market and the videos are all playable on my phone.

This phone is packed with a lot of other sundry features. Every other day I discover some new functionality or process. I must say I am quite mesmerized by this device. Its potential is unmatched to any other device right now.

Finally, while concluding the final thing that needs to be mentioned is the 1500 mAh battery which last for around 1 day on normal usage. Playing games, watching videos, using GPS or WI-FI drains the battery quickly but that is quite expected. Nonetheless, if you decide to buy a white elephant, you should be ready and prepared to feed him. So I would suggest one to be geared with USB charger all the time. It is not that much of a load I guess, is it?

Last but not the least, if you have any query or doubt, feel free to drop them in comments section and will be happy to help you in any way I can.

Update: Asphalt on I9000 – I have been watching carefully on the search words and found this game to be one of the most searched one. Let me tell you playing Asphalt 5 on I9000 is a great experience. There is no lag what so ever. Thanx to the great H/W spec.

Update 2: Many video formats including flv, mpg, mpeg etc are not playable on the default player. I installed another player named RockPlayer that can play them for me. After installing the player, flv formats started playing on the default player also but not other formats. Also Xvid Video was not playing smooth. So I guess its not that optimized as advertised. I had to tweak a lot to get the formats played on my phone.

Update 3: While writing the review, I didn’t fully explored the camera features. I apologize for that. The camera comes bundled with interesting features that helps to enhance the picture quality. Except the lowlight disadvantage (absence of flash), the camera is good otherwise. Also for video recording it has got a lot of features and recording mode. I am still in the hang of it.

Update 4: About the GPS – I think this is one thing that Samsung didn’t pay attention to while launching this phone. I tried the GPS outside and it locked on to my location in some 1 minute –  accurately. The navigation was quite smooth. But things go ugly when using it inside the room. It doesn’t lock my location many a times and even if it does so, it’s not accurate. I don’t know if its a Hardware issue or a software issue. If H/W issue, then its something we all Galaxy owner have to live it with and if it’s a S/W issue then what the hell are you waiting for Samsung, haven’t you recieved the news yet. Need a firmware urgently…

Update 5: Layer Reality Browser: Used it today and I’m impressed with it. What a cool app it is. It has some great layers that you can use to get information about your surroundings or to just have some fun. The Layar Reality Browser shows what is around you by displaying real time digital information on top of the real world as seen through the camera of your mobile phone. This technology is called Augmented Reality. We augment the real world as seen through your mobile phone, based on your location.

Keep watching for more updates….