tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11530347115769067112024-03-09T00:05:53.869+05:00Caffeine and Quirks!A toast to life and other random things
when I don't have a toast for life)shaheerkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05981745318294049219noreply@blogger.comBlogger80125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153034711576906711.post-40265709206481409232010-06-23T23:23:00.000+05:002010-06-23T23:23:35.140+05:00Google Maps 4.1.1 and Buzz(sorry, no screen caps)<br />
<br />
Today, out of boredom and courtesy Telenor's data package (no, they haven't sponsored this post), I decided to download Google Maps on my S60v3 phone.<br />
<br />
There are minor changes in the Maps program. The cellphone doesn't feature a GPS receiver so cellphone triangulation was used.<br />
<br />
I decided to check out the app (since I took the bundle* ) and see what's new - and saw the option to Buzz about a place.<br />
<br />
And so I did. I was at Kamran Market (an area in Rawalpindi, Pakistan) at that time. The Buzz interface was actually fairly neat - it gave me a portion to insert text and an option to take a picture. I snapped a picture of the road leading to Kamran Market and decided to upload it. It worked fine - and it seemed to upload a relatively small picture (55K). Considering the low quality camera, the <a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_scso15QPo3c/TCIcSAePp5I/AAAAAAAAAWM/urlVaHiF-4I/Lovely+weather+-+it's+raining!+And+waiting+in+a+market+that's+heaven+for+women+and+hell+for+men+(i.e.+Kamran+Market).+That's+like+yin+and+yang+together!">picture</a> actually came out fairly nice!<br />
<br />
But cellphone triangulation was a mess. Yes it's not perfect, but I didn't realize that the center point was mistaken for some other place. I wasn't in a mood to reupload the image and Buzz - it costs money, y'know!<br />
<br />
Anyway - I was happy. You get to see what people have Buzzed about (on your laptop or PC, not the phone) and can buzz about places as well. I actually felt happy (yes, you read that right!).<br />
<br />
I'm hoping Google could improve upon Buzz and Maps. It would make a really good combination.shaheerkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05981745318294049219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153034711576906711.post-50775620287973113222010-02-27T21:08:00.000+05:002010-02-27T21:08:16.990+05:00Google Buzz - too much?Everyone's been complaining on the internet saying Google Buzz is way too much for them to handle due to various issues such as lack of privacy, or "just too much". If it's not for you, you can try these solutions.<br />
<br />
<b>Drag and drop the label in to your "hidden labels category"</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
This will stop highlighting any unread Buzzes in your Gmail account.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_scso15QPo3c/S4lAmi1RP3I/AAAAAAAAARU/wgaNjihjHYU/s1600-h/drag.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_scso15QPo3c/S4lAmi1RP3I/AAAAAAAAARU/wgaNjihjHYU/s1600/drag.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Turn off Buzz Completely from the bottom of the page</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This will remove the Buzz integration (not permanently). It's a quick fix, and if you ever want to check it out again, you can - by turning it on.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_scso15QPo3c/S4lAmv9lypI/AAAAAAAAARY/U5Gy6gUoBZ4/s1600-h/buzz%20off.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="95" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_scso15QPo3c/S4lAmv9lypI/AAAAAAAAARY/U5Gy6gUoBZ4/s400/buzz%20off.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<b>Delete Buzz</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
In Gmail's Settings, click on the Buzz tab, and you can delete the service from there altogether. Note - by doing this, you're severing any Buzz-related connections and posts.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/z6A0NzY45ons2P83vNR4EQ?authkey=Gv1sRgCIbEnYmIsczMQA&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_scso15QPo3c/S4lCXVtghpI/AAAAAAAAAR4/hz1FSZLm4BM/s800/buzz%20option.png" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Hide your followers from prying eyes</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
Everyone who has Buzz has to make some form of a profile in order to be followed or be a follower - or even Buzz. All your (public) buzzes are made available on your profile - but you can tweak some information on that.<br />
<br />
Head over to <a href="http://www.google.com/profiles/me/editprofile?edit=t#about">your profile</a> and disable <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">the "</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Display the list of people I'm following and people following me" option. </span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/x6-i4ctQUwwDi6A1ek_Omg?authkey=Gv1sRgCIbEnYmIsczMQA&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_scso15QPo3c/S4lCXfrDgmI/AAAAAAAAAR0/95Qlbqu0pHI/s800/profile.png" /></a><br />
<br />
There are a few other tips that you can take note of, but for now, these four items should help you do what you want with Buzz. Stay tuned for more later on.shaheerkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05981745318294049219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153034711576906711.post-36917272127440717942010-02-23T23:18:00.001+05:002010-02-23T23:18:33.738+05:00From Blogger to Tumblr, and backI don't know what to do. But in short:<br />
<br />
1) I've already "publicized" my Blogger blog on places, so doing the same with Tumblr would be too daunting a task.<br />
2) Tumblr has lovely themes. So does Blogger. No edge on that.<br />
3) Both aren't really <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization">Search Engine Optimized</a><br />
4) Tumblr's interface is a little cluttered (but nice in another way) - either way, I think the advantage still goes to Tumblr<br />
5) I tried posting with Tumblr, and the linebreaks are awful - I can't distinguish between one paragraph and another!<br />
6) Images are restricted to 500pixels at max. That's not the case in Blogger (although Blogger has it's own host of issues)<br />
7) Blogger posts can be written from many places - considering it's old, established, and well-known. That's not the case yet with Tumblr.<br />
8) I really really like Tumblr, and I think it's got a lot of potential - but what do you do when you don't have a basic comment system up and running on each post you make over there? Inserting HTML code should NOT be necessary :/<br />
<br />
So I ended up switching back to Blogspot. Yeah - not the best interface and all (and I know my blog is uglyyyyyyyyyyyyy!) but - atleast it works!shaheerkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05981745318294049219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153034711576906711.post-27989282782240968712010-02-23T22:50:00.004+05:002010-02-23T23:08:52.749+05:00Multi purpose email address<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr"><div>It's one of the underhyped feature of Gmail - everyone who has a Gmail username has a multitude of options in terms of the email aliases they have.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Let's get down to business, shall we?</div><div><br />
</div><div><table style="width: auto;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/BejytKbkFp5wPAdynC9zuw?authkey=Gv1sRgCIbEnYmIsczMQA&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_scso15QPo3c/S4QYQa8BUlI/AAAAAAAAAQ0/AO9UmnORui4/s800/email%20header.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/shaheer.a.khan/CaffeineAndQuirks?authkey=Gv1sRgCIbEnYmIsczMQA&feat=embedwebsite">Caffeine and Quirks!</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div>Gmail doesn't recognize dots in your login. For instance, if your email address was <b>demo@gmail.com</b> (note, this email address does not work), inserting a dot anywhere won't matter - the email will come to you.</div><div><br />
</div><div>If I send an email to <b>d.emo@gmail.com</b> or <b>de.mo@gmail.com</b> or <b>dem.o@gmail.com</b> or <b>demo............@gmail.com</b>, it'll still arrive at one place - your <b>demo@gmail.com</b> email address.</div><div><br />
</div><div>But it doesn't end there.</div><div><br />
</div><div>At times, you may want to send invites to a whole bunch of people, but at the same time, you're in no mood to get your inbox cluttered with the countless number of potential emails that may pour in. And you're too lazy to go searching for a website that does invitation handling for you.</div><div><br />
</div><div>No worries - there's another tool for that: add a <b>+keyword</b>, and after it, key in a word. For instance, if I want to invite people to a party, all I have to ask them to do is email me on demo<span style="background-color: #ffff66;">+yes</span>@<a href="http://gmail.com/" target="_blank">gmail.com</a> (if they are) or demo<span style="background-color: #ffff33;">+no</span>@<a href="http://gmail.com/" target="_blank">gmail.com</a> (if they aren't).</div><div><br />
</div><div><table style="text-align: center; width: auto;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/I5GQSKl03h0arkWch2v7lQ?authkey=Gv1sRgCIbEnYmIsczMQA&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_scso15QPo3c/S4QYQcCt0qI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/OytReps-3TI/s800/sidebar.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/shaheer.a.khan/CaffeineAndQuirks?authkey=Gv1sRgCIbEnYmIsczMQA&feat=embedwebsite">Caffeine and Quirks!</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;">In Gmail, I can easily set filters and labels, and any email that is SENT to demo<span style="background-color: #ffff33;">+yes</span>@<a href="http://gmail.com/" target="_blank">gmail.com</a> will get archived AND labelled to one specific label, and the same goes for the other email address.</div></div><div><br />
</div><div>It doesn't stop just there - you can use it for filing mailing list subscriptions (I have a jokes subscription that sends me an email with a +jokes email address, and labeling is as easy as it gets in Gmail).</div><div><br />
</div><div>What may be other uses for this? While I don't encourage spamming, certain websites don't accept certain types of email addresses - some websites may not accept email addresses with a +keyword appended, so the dots come in use. Some websites aren't friendly with the dots system - so the +keyword system helps. And if you're a target of spam, just see which email address was used, and you can instantly recognize where the spammer got the address from.</div><div><br />
</div><div>There are a few issues people face. Some say that they're getting someone else's email - that's not the case. The systems have been designed as such that all possible dot-combinations of your username/login are assigned to you from the moment you sign up till the moment you delete your Gmail account (if you ever decide to). If you do, it's most likely a spam attack - but that's a story for another day.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I'll discuss general tips on what to do if you think you're being asked for certain information from Google - or any other website for that matter - in a later post. But for now, I hope this taught you that</div><div><br />
</div><div>a) you don't receive anyone else's email, and</div><div>b) you don't own just one email address, but an infinite combination of email addresses - all with one username.</div></div></div></div>shaheerkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05981745318294049219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153034711576906711.post-16785125790552510112009-12-17T13:05:00.000+05:002009-12-17T13:05:22.084+05:00Ovi SuiteI have yet to use Ovi Suite, released from Nokia. Apparently, it's the successor to PC Suite, and the major reason why I haven't gotten around to using it is because it's around 90MB big (I have DSL btw, but laziness has gotten the better of me).<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.comms.ovi.com/m/p/ovi/homepage/promos/SDKTout.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.comms.ovi.com/m/p/ovi/homepage/promos/SDKTout.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Does anyone know what are the changes (apart from an interface overhaul) and anything new? I know i t's a pretty daft statement, but I just don't see what's the point of downloading something when the old software works fine!shaheerkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05981745318294049219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153034711576906711.post-61400683572057671672009-12-15T21:40:00.000+05:002009-12-15T21:40:18.980+05:00Rumors, or is Google actually serious?Turns out Google is actually coming ot with it's own phone! It's based on the Android 2.1 operating system, with hardware from HTC. Rumors are surfacing on the internet, and they started showing up a few days ago, actually.<br />
<br />
Click on the post title to read more.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
The <a href="http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article6957219.ece">Times Online states</a><br />
<br />
<blockquote>Speculation is mounting that Google may release its own handset in 2010 to go head-to-head with Apple's iPhone in the mobile phone market. The search giant has confirmed that selected employees are testing a new device, but some analysts are sceptical that a ‘Google Phone’ is imminent</blockquote><br />
There are other sources online that state Google will sell the device directly, bypassing operator subsidies. There are other sources that say that the phone will be sold like the Droid - subsidized. Some say it'll be sold with T-Mobile, but no one really knows. Right now, all Google says is that<a href="http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2009/12/android-dogfood-diet-for-holidays.html"> it's having it's own dogfood</a>.<br />
<br />
Either way, I wouldn't mind having a test copy. It certainly looks delicious - for dogfood, that is.<br />
<br />
You can check out some of the leaked pictures on the internet.shaheerkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05981745318294049219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153034711576906711.post-35232426312101606752009-11-21T20:50:00.003+05:002009-11-21T20:56:14.860+05:00Kanye West, Charlie, Baloon Boy...I'm not even going to explain this. Someone created a mashup of popular cult - easily found on Youtube, and on television.<br />
<br />
<object height="364" width="445"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/FMbVPMzSqYY&hl=en_US&fs=1&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/FMbVPMzSqYY&hl=en_US&fs=1&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object>shaheerkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05981745318294049219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153034711576906711.post-42614804272604198252009-11-21T20:47:00.000+05:002009-11-21T20:47:11.696+05:00Office 2010 Beta - out (and for free too!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.microsoft.com/office/2010/images/Logo_MSFTOffice2010_187x54.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="70" src="http://www.microsoft.com/office/2010/images/Logo_MSFTOffice2010_187x54.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
</div><br />
I'll make this a quick one: in case you haven't followed the blogosphere, the <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/office/2010/en/default.aspx">Office 2010 beta is out</a>. And as with Windows 7's release candidate versions, this is free! Microsoft will ask you to sign in, and long story short, it'll give you the license key to use with the software, and a link for downloading.<br />
<br />
Office itself is around 700MB in size, additional files will increase the download obviously.<br />
<br />
What's new? It's an iteration of Office 2007 (similar to what Windows 7 is to Vista). Got new graphics, layouts, animations (page transitions, that is) and a few other things. Haven't been able to check everything as of yet, but I liked the Technical Preview (I got access to the Technical Preview from Microsoft out of the blue).<br />
<br />
The direct download link (not sure if they'll allow direct links, or need a Microsoft page referral, but here it is anyway): <a href="https://profile.microsoft.com/RegSysProfileCenter/wizard.aspx?wizid=402f9246-461c-4a79-bb8d-2f794a83fa4d&lcid=1033&ci=393">https://profile.microsoft.com/RegSysProfileCenter/wizard.aspx?wizid=402f9246-461c-4a79-bb8d-2f794a83fa4d&lcid=1033&ci=393</a>shaheerkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05981745318294049219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153034711576906711.post-16058924123861244682009-11-21T20:19:00.001+05:002009-11-21T20:23:40.352+05:00Are scary movies actually scary?<a href="http://draft.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_1258816269745"></span><span id="goog_1258816269746"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.paranormalactivity-movie.com/images/Header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="57" src="http://www.paranormalactivity-movie.com/images/Header.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
</div><br />
<br />
The other day, I watched <a href="http://www.paranormalactivity-movie.com/">Paranormal Activity</a> on the recommendation of a friend.<br />
<br />
Now while everyone says it's the scariest piece of work they've seen in a while, I'll say "I've seen better". Admittedly, there were a few places where the movie gave a somewhat eerie feel, but nothing that would make me adore the movie's brilliance. <a href="http://www.paranormalactivity-movie.com/">Read more</a><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
Sure it's the lowest-budget horror film after <a href="http://www.blairwitch.com/">the Blair Witch Project</a> (it cost around $15,000 to make), it's making millions at the box office. But I was expecting more from it.<br />
<br />
Go check it out for yourself if you want. I wouldn't say it's the best thing out there (since I think there are a few other movies that are scarier - like the Exorcism of Emily Rose, and The Ring). But I won't stop you from not watching it - so go ahead and enjoy some of the interesting moments of the movie. Check out their website as well for more content.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.paranormalactivity-movie.com/images/homepg_biggraphic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="339" src="http://www.paranormalactivity-movie.com/images/homepg_biggraphic.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
</div>shaheerkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05981745318294049219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153034711576906711.post-62829744941498221332009-10-25T23:07:00.000+06:002009-10-25T23:07:13.362+06:00Is LUMS really all that pure and worth it?A blog post that I managed to snap from Facebook regarding the plight of the students in <a href="http://lums.edu.pk/">LUMS</a>, one of the top-notch universities in the country.<br />
<br />
The sad part is that people are being rebels - not just socially, but religiously, crossing the boundaries of what should happen and what is an outright indecent move. Clearly, these guys haven't heard of "Do in Rome as the Romans would do".<br />
<br />
The blog post is a litte long, and those from the Pakistani background would probably find a few interesting things about LUMS (and a video in which a person is <i>trying</i> to dirty dance... and she fails, MISERABLY!).<br />
<br />
<a href="http://letusbuildpakistan.blogspot.com/2009/10/love-life-at-lums-does-that-represent.html">Let Us Build </a><a href="http://letusbuildpakistan.blogspot.com/2009/10/love-life-at-lums-does-that-represent.html">Pakistan: Love Life at LUMS</a>shaheerkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05981745318294049219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153034711576906711.post-5413478756816730602009-10-14T00:13:00.000+06:002009-10-14T00:13:17.873+06:00Nickelback - If Today Was Your Last DayI don't generally listen to songs with their lyrics and all - I'm more along the lines of good music over lyrics. But this time, it's slightly different. And Nickelback's done that.<br />
<br />
I wouldn't say I'm a fan of Nickelback, but the lyrics struck me (psst - that's another thing I don't do much about my life anyway :P ). Here are the lyrics to the song and the video.<br />
<br />
Video (which I don't own; all content is owned by their respective copyright owners and I don't have anything to do with it)<br />
<br />
<object height="220" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4790384&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4790384&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="220"></embed></object><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/4790384">Nickelback - If Today Was Your Last Day</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1795983">Nickelback</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
<br />
My best friend gave me the best advice<br />
He said each day's a gift and not a given right<br />
Leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behind<br />
And try to take the path less traveled by<br />
That first step you take is the longest stride<br />
<br />
If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late<br />
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?<br />
Would you live each moment like your last<br />
Leave old pictures in the past?<br />
Donate every dime you had, if today was your last day?<br />
What if, what if, if today was your last day?<br />
<br />
Against the grain should be a way of life<br />
What's worth the price is always worth the fight<br />
Every second counts 'cause there's no second try<br />
So live like you're never living twice<br />
Don't take the free ride in your own life<br />
<br />
If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late<br />
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?<br />
Would you live each moment like your last?<br />
Leave old pictures in the past?<br />
Donate every dime you had?<br />
<br />
And would you call those friends you never see?<br />
Reminisce old memories?<br />
Would you forgive your enemies?<br />
And would you find that one you're dreaming of?<br />
Swear up and down to God above<br />
That you'd finally fall in love if today was your last day?<br />
<br />
If today was your last day<br />
Would you make your mark by mending a broken heart?<br />
You know it's never too late to shoot for the stars<br />
Regardless of who you are<br />
<br />
So do whatever it takes<br />
'Cause you can't rewind a moment in this life<br />
Let nothing stand in your way<br />
'Cause the hands of time are never on your side<br />
<br />
If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late<br />
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?<br />
Would you live each moment like your last?<br />
Leave old pictures in the past?<br />
Donate every dime you had?<br />
<br />
And would you call those friends you never see?<br />
Reminisce old memories?<br />
Would you forgive your enemies?<br />
And would you find that one you're dreaming of<br />
Swear up and down to God above<br />
That you'd finally fall in love if today was your last day?shaheerkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05981745318294049219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153034711576906711.post-17677580251602690062009-09-21T12:05:00.000+06:002009-09-21T12:05:04.511+06:00Eid MubarakAfter bidding a farewell to Ramadaan, it is now time for Eid.<br />
<br />
Eid Mubarak, everyone. Meanwhile, we'll try figuring out why Pakistan still has two Eids...shaheerkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05981745318294049219noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153034711576906711.post-73853145317919863822009-09-19T21:48:00.001+06:002009-09-20T15:57:06.625+06:005320's handy searchAnd here's another bit of the 5320's review.<br />
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Last night, I discovered that my phone is actually pretty nifty when it comes to searching for files and folders. And for free, too! Click on the post to read more.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
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The main screen (aka the desktop) features a search function (depends whether you have the Active Standby feature turned on or not; in my case it was turned on). When you click it, you're presented with the default internet search options (I had Google set as the default), and sub sections such as Messages, Contacts, Calendar, Music, Music, Email Messages, Bookmarks (which seemed to search web history instead), Images, Videos, Landmarks, Applications and Notes. Optionally, you can turn on the option for the phone to search in your Files as well.<br />
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In the search box provided, as soon as you begin typing something, the phone starts searching. If you enter a part of a phone number, it starts searching numbers throughout all phone locations, including contacts, and brings you a list of matches (if a few matches are provided), or lets you know how many contacts it's found, or messages and so on and so forth.<br />
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For instance, if I want to quickly dial my father's number, all I have to do is enter the name associated with his number, and wait for the results to show up (which take a few seconds), and press the Call key. The phone begins calling. I can view other files, videos, navigate through songs and well - pretty much everything on my phone via the search feature.<br />
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The only downside of the search feature is that it takes a few seconds to show up some results, but that's probably because it doesn't pre-index the files, unlike other programs available for the S60 platform (such as SkyeQuicKey or T9 Nav). One major drawback of these two S60-based programs that I saw were (apart from the fact that they're not for free):<br />
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SkyQuicKey didn't allow me to enter service commands easily (for instance, *444# for checking my account balance - it would always end up showing 444 instead, and never dial the correct syntax)<br />
T9 Nav - when listening to the music player, it would interfere because the keypad tones would stop the audio from being relayed (while the music player was continuously counting the seconds). Not sure whether it's been fixed in the newer versions, or whether it's phone-specific or not.<br />
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And the searching doesn't end here - when composing messages, I can type the person's name and let the phone recognize (or give me results if multiple searches show up) within a seconds. Convenience, indeed, because the other method of opening the list and marking each name was just awfully long. This is relatively quicker, even for multiple recipients being keyed in one-by-one.<br />
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I like! I really like this feature. And I don't see any reason why others shouldn't.shaheerkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05981745318294049219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153034711576906711.post-41948251436858844642009-09-19T16:39:00.000+06:002009-09-19T16:39:20.883+06:00Facebook now lets you login via your usernameTitle says it all. You can now login using your username - the same username you've chosen for your profile.<br />
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If you haven't, then... I'm not sure. But it's definitely quicker than typing your email address again.<br />
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/">Facebook</a>shaheerkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05981745318294049219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153034711576906711.post-68080288718750407412009-09-19T16:07:00.002+06:002009-09-20T15:56:33.388+06:00Telenor Pakistan's Customer Support Initiative - via SMSWhen using *444# to inquire about the balance, I got the message that the SMS bundles won't be available for Eid, but right after that, it said "SMS queries to 346".<br />
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Click on the post to read more<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
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345 is their SMS-based number for various services, but it turns out that when I texted "queries" to 346 (yes, a silly thing to do), I got a message stating I'll get a response in 5 minutes (which I didn't) but I did get one later on, stating (in Urdu)<br />
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<blockquote>Moaziz customer takleef k liyay hum moazrat khwah hain k aarzi tor per Bundled SMS ki sahulat band ker di gai hai 24 september dopahr 2 bajay tak.<br />
</blockquote><br />
Which loosely translates to: SMS bundles have been temporarily suspended till 24th September till 2 PM.<br />
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Not bad. Not bad at all.<br />
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Then I decided to write the following<br />
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<blockquote>Is this another helpline type of a service? Are we charged anything for txting to 346? And what exactly can we use this service for?<br />
</blockquote><br />
To which I was promised another reply in 5 minutes, but after not-sure-how-long, I got<br />
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<blockquote>ASK is another convenient way to reach customer services for your queries/activations by sending an SMS in English/Urdu @ only 50 paisa+Tax to 346.<br />
</blockquote><br />
This does convey two things:<br />
1) They have their punctuation and spelling (and grammar too) correct, and<br />
2) Pretty nifty, and easier than calling their helpine and waiting (I haven't tried calling them in ages, since I prefer email).<br />
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Good job, I'll say. Are there other companies in Pakistan that have similar modes of contacting CSRs?shaheerkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05981745318294049219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153034711576906711.post-29656784227353658512009-09-13T23:37:00.000+06:002009-09-13T23:37:25.175+06:00Jailbroken iPhone 3.1?I came across this link just now on <a href="http://www.redmondpie.com/jailbreak-and-unlock-iphone-3.1-faqs-je279/">Redmond Pie</a> that has a FAQ on jailbreaking and the iPhone. Apparently, a quick runthrough of the FAQ revealed you can't jailbreak the iPhone in all cases - read more to find out. (it's pretty in-depth, I'll say, but still not a reason for me to use the fancy-yet-limited touch-screen phone).<br />
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See you (hopefully) in a few days, when I post something again.shaheerkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05981745318294049219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153034711576906711.post-13268091255237952312009-09-12T21:54:00.000+06:002009-09-12T21:54:48.886+06:00Reduced posting frequencyI'm afraid I won't be able to keep up with the previous posting level that I had maintained, due to a number of reasons (one of them being that my university has started, and I've got lots of other work to do). Hence, I regret I won't be able to post as much as I should (or would like to).shaheerkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05981745318294049219noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153034711576906711.post-45382318454285594512009-09-12T21:53:00.000+06:002009-09-12T21:53:22.218+06:00N-gage on the 5320The <a href="http://www.n-gage.com/">N-gage</a> service works like a charm on the Nokia 5320, another reason to buy the phone. Since N-gage's decline, Nokia decided to take a bold step: make it available on other devices. From what I've read, this is the only music phone WITH a keypad to support not only the S60 platform, but N-gage too.<br />
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Visiting N-gage's <a href="http://www.n-gage.com/">site</a> will give you details on whether your phone supports the N-gage platform, and where you can download it. Since my phone came with it preloaded with two N-gage games (SIMS 2: Pets and Creatures of the Deep: Hooked On), I managed to get my hands dirty - except there is a caveat - the games were trial only. Some games let you play for a certain number of levels, others didn't.<br />
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There are cracked versions of the N-gage games, but not all work with this phone. Some may give an error, others won't. It's a trial-and-error, and the reason cited for this is because the phone is a feature-pack 2 phone, and the games haven't been cracked for this software release as of yet. (In order to play cracked games, you need to go through a process called "hacking" on your Symbian phone, which involves installing a program. A firmware update or a phone reset erases those "hacks").<br />
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While I go on hunting for more (trial) games, I guess you can wait for another segment of the Nokia 5320's review.shaheerkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05981745318294049219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153034711576906711.post-40982690409176450832009-09-02T21:40:00.000+06:002009-09-02T21:40:54.425+06:00Facebook, finally with SMS notificationsI just saw this pop up in my account - Facebook will let us use SMS as an alert-based service. Interesting.<br />
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From what I've gathered right now, you can get alerts for wall posts, pokes, comments, inbox messages and a few other things. Oh, and if you want, you can subscribe to someone's status feed by typing in their name either via SMS or the web interface.<br />
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The service works with Warid, Mobilink and Telenor in Pakistan. I'm sure they have support for other operators abroad.<br />
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And this comes amid my decreased usage of Facebook. Interesting, indeed.shaheerkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05981745318294049219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153034711576906711.post-45618994841003149272009-09-02T21:36:00.000+06:002009-09-02T21:36:24.455+06:00The (Xpress)Music in Nokia 5320 (I know it's later than a day, but it was unavoidable).<br />
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The Nokia 5320 is an XpressMusic (XM, from here onwards) phone, and it does boast a pretty nifty musical experience. For starters, here's what I noted.<br />
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When you hook up the phone to the PC, you have the option to either go into the PC Suite mode, or a hard disk mode. There are two others, but not related with music. The hard disk mode will work everywhere (and when you are in the hard disk mode, the phone doesn't go offline, as was the case with some N-series phones).<br />
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After putting in your music, when you launch the music player, it sometimes detected new music and asked you to refresh - sometimes it doesn't, and you have to manually refresh. This takes around a minute or so if you've used alot of the space on your memory card (I have a 1GB card that came with the package).<br />
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After scanning, you can create playlists or listen artist-wise or all songs, or listen to the podcasts (separate service). The music plays fine, without glitches, although the response isn't instant when you forward/rewind (it takes up to half a second to act upon... maybe because it's symbian). If you forward a track, it takes almost a second to start playing the next track, but if you leave the player alone, it takes a split of a second to switch to another track.<br />
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The main screen has album art view in it, and you can set your own equalizer settings, amongst from a few other choices. On the track listing view, you can scroll either in normal speed, or a faster speed (press the button again, and it scrolls quickly). Or if you want, search by typing the name of the song!<br />
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The N-gage button, if pressed and held, is a "Say and Play" feature. You say the name of the artist, the song title, album or playlist, and it'll play the first track in the pop up list that follows. The speech settings may need to be tweaked in the phone settings before you can get good matches. Since I listen to English music only, I didn't have a problem with many tracks, though some were not recognized.<br />
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When forwarding, rewinding or playing/pausing while not in the music player nor on the desktop/standby screen, a small pop up appears telling you what it's doing. A helpful feature if you want to know what the title of the current song is, but it doesn't appear when the songs are in their normal playback.<br />
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The phone features a 3.5mm headphone jack - you could use either those pair of earphones that came with the phone, or use your own. I don't like the set that came with the phone because they don't fit in my ears (!), although if you can get them to fit in your ears, the sound quality is quite good indeed.<br />
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Nokia says they added a separate audio chip in the phone, and that audio chips certainly shows good results. The loudspeaker doesn't work well with loud volume, as I noted there's a bit of hiss. Lowering the volume a bit solves the problem.<br />
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I'd say this is probably better than the walkman phones in the sense that there's a standard headphone jack in the phone (and not as an adapter), and if you use any other pair of earphones, the phone's microphone can be used to answer and make calls - something that many new phones lack capability of. I'd give this a 9/10 for the music, and not full because there are a few (minor) glitches (such as the slow response while changing tracks manually)shaheerkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05981745318294049219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153034711576906711.post-81510465975864750672009-08-31T00:52:00.000+06:002009-08-31T00:52:37.843+06:00"Please stay on the line"It's a little late, and I haven't written anything more about the Nokia 5320. What I did want to write was about the music features and capability. It's near 1 AM, and I have to wake up early for fasting, and my university starts tomorrow.<br />
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So I shall write about the music features in the 5320 tomorrow (technically, today).<br />
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Till then.shaheerkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05981745318294049219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153034711576906711.post-55643322123238909272009-08-29T12:03:00.000+06:002009-08-29T12:03:33.586+06:00Nokia 5320: a breakdownAs promised, here's a broken-down review (read: parted review) of the Nokia 5320.<br />
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Briefly, these are the specs. I'll write more details in the following posts.<br />
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_scso15QPo3c/SpjEnAlvaYI/AAAAAAAAAKk/ttNnq51vNmI/s1600-h/5320.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_scso15QPo3c/SpjEnAlvaYI/AAAAAAAAAKk/ttNnq51vNmI/s320/5320.JPG" /></a></div><ul><li>Symbian S60 9.3 with the feature-pack 2 operating system</li>
<li>Approximately 50MB user memory, with around 80MB free memory for RAM. MicroSD card supported (I got a 1GB one with my pack)</li>
<li>It's an XpressMusic (XM) phone, meaning you get the rewind/forward/play functionality</li>
<li>It's also a device that supports the N-Gage gaming platform (you have to unlock the games for full functionality)</li>
<li>It features a 3.5mm headphone jack, and an environmentally-friendly charger which consumes approximately 10% of the energy typical chargers consume when not charging the phone (but connected in the wall socket)</li>
<li>The USB is not a micro-USB port, but rather, something even smaller. So if you're planning to use your digital camera's wire, don't; it won't work. They've supplied a cable with it.</li>
<li>Bluetooth 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate and Audio Profiles</li>
<li>The phone supports 2G/2.5G/2.75G/3G/HSPDA with two-way camera (one of them is a 2 megapixel camera).</li>
<li>Battery life, on the other hand, isn't quite up to par. If you're using it for music and basic calling and texting, it should last you around two days or maybe up to three, but if you'll be running applications heavily, make sure you recharge atleast every night (the typical Symbian problem)</li>
<li>Because this is a FP2 phone, it does include some operating system tweaks and changes (which can be read <a href="http://www.mobile-review.com/review/nokia-s60-fp2-full-en.shtml">here</a>, a review done by <a href="http://www.mobile-review.com/">Mobile Review</a>).</li>
</ul><div>I guess these are the basics. More to come soon.</div>shaheerkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05981745318294049219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153034711576906711.post-76129480588140756852009-08-29T00:26:00.000+06:002009-08-29T00:26:21.503+06:00OSX's.. huh?(I need to stop my Apple thrashing)<br />
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I'm not going to go into the details, but<br />
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a) people are not getting what they paid for - they're not getting the "up-to date" version of OSX. See Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/#search?q=leopard%20up%20to%20date">here</a><br />
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b) the malware protection offers protection from... two types of malware. Yes, two. While something's better than nothing, the Windows counterparts offer MUCH more than just two pieces of malware. Great going, Apple. You certainly know how to please customers :/<br />
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Wow. Just wow!shaheerkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05981745318294049219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153034711576906711.post-25981406775856835302009-08-29T00:01:00.000+06:002009-08-29T00:01:54.124+06:00Nokia N900 - now we're talking.It's not Symbian - it's Linux. My first Linux smart phone was the Motorola E680i, and that was quite a nice experience (yes, it lacked a few things, but I got it for free), and now, Nokia's come out with the N900. You can read alot about it from the internet (as well as their website) but BetaNews has it <a href="http://feeds.betanews.com/~r/bn/~3/YMZJ4BMyK2o/1251406670">here</a>.<br />
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I'd love to get my hands on that gizmo, I tell ya.shaheerkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05981745318294049219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1153034711576906711.post-82719589518452877792009-08-28T23:59:00.000+06:002009-08-28T23:59:12.050+06:00More Apple idioticnessRemember the last few posts about me <a href="http://caffeinequirks.blogspot.com/2009/08/apple-going-really-low-this-time.html">not liking</a> <a href="http://caffeinequirks.blogspot.com/2009/08/crackberry-is-tougher-than-iphone.html">Apple</a> for it's actions? Apparently, this time, they've nailed one of their rock-bottom incidents. They say it's not their fault if one of their devices burn up and explode. Uh-huh, it's not their fault.<br />
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That's like Sarah Palin saying "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psyo4JDbJJ4">I can see Russia from my house!</a>" (see the Youtube link for the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturday_Night_Live">SNL </a>video snip).<br />
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Via BetaNews, an Apple spokesperson said<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"To date, there are no confirmed battery overheating incidents for iPhone 3GS and the number of reports we are investigating is in the single digits," </span><a href="http://tech.yahoo.com/news/afp/20090828/tc_afp/franceusitinternettelecomapplecompany" style="color: #2244bb;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">an Apple spokesperson told the AFP</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">. The report goes on to say that cracking in iPhone glass cases is due to a phenomenon it has termed "external force."</span></span></blockquote><br />
Ain't that sweet? Well, you know what - if you really love your customers (which you CLEARLY don't), then why not do something kind for them instead of bricking your wall to a lousy operator in the countries the iPhone is sold, build a genuine interface and not copy Creative, and get a life? I'm sure you'll get tons of praises then.<br />
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Sorry guys, but I just don't seem to approve of Apple's actions.shaheerkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05981745318294049219noreply@blogger.com0