Wisetechie Blog : Ctrl your Tech Life

It was being touted as a Wikipedia Killer, but “Knol - a unit of knowledge”  seems to have died a painful death so to say. No one uses knol, i didn’t ever remember whether the URL was google.com/knol or knol.google.com , They both redirect to the subdomain though.

Knol was supposed to be the first place one would go while searching for a particular topic, but i am unimpressed. I searched for computer graphics and got pages about women in the computer industry and computer buses , ports etc. If you cant find a topic in Knol, then knol isnt so great, is it ?

Wikipedia had welcomed the entry of Knol into the online knowledge sector, it had said the more the free content, the better. However it seems that Knol seriously lacks on content and content quality. Also the images on Knol did not have separate pages like Wikipedia and had no individual licensing information.

There was also criticism to the Knol from other quarters, people had said that Google might try to fudge rankings to ensure that Knol ranks higher up in the search rankings. Google however dismissed all such allegations.

Knol also scared the media industry, a lot of people in the industry said that Google is slowing switching over , first it was a data searching company, then it became a data organising company, and now its a data generation company seriously threatening a lot of media houses.

For the time being though it seems like knol isn’t used by all

Ask any newcomer to the Internet if he has ever been conned, the answer would invariably be yes. Here comes the concept of a Trusted Internet , wouldnt it be great if before interacting with someone on the Internet, you would know if he/she is genuine ? , what if there was some way to tell that the person whom you are buying that auction product is going to defraud you.

Trusted Internet as a concept appeals to me, although i do feel that a 100% trusted Internet will never be a possibility. The use of secure certificates i believe is a part and parcel of trusted Internet. You can now know which sites to trust with personal info and which sites not to trust. The Identity of sites can be verified, so can the fact that your communication with a certain site is properly encrypted.

In the trusted Internet of tomorrow, computers shall be able to take decisions autonomously with a very high accuracy rate as to the authenticity of transactions. However money always comes and spoils the fun. I will take the example of our college computer labs, all of them run on AVG, and all of them have viruses because initially no AV was loaded on them and only when viruses started emerging the software was loaded as it became necessary. In case this trust was free, all S/Ws were free , wouldn’t it be better ? Comodo is looking to introduce free tools to make the Internet a little bit better for all

I have linked to Comodo above, i came across this concept of  a trusted Internet from their site only. I must say its a very interesting read

What do you feel ?

Fans of Apple in India arent happy, well the majority arent, i admit Bhaichung Bhutia looked happy with his Iphone. Apple’s announcement of the Iphone in India turned out to be a huge whimper due to the exhortative pricing strategy employed by Apple with Airtel and Vodafone. Lets admit it, we knew the price wasnt going to be the US price os $199 or 8000 rupees. We were pegging it at 13k-18k rupees which would sort of even justify some of the hype but what was the result is truly a gameplan lost.

We have scores of emails from prospective buyers telling Apple to keep the Iphone with themselves, most cant evven think about spending >30k on a mobile device with a shitty 2 MP camera, no video recording and a 3G USP which isnt even functional yet.

Forums are full of people hitting back at the hype, people are telling Airtel agents to goto hell and stop promoting their iBoxes as iPhones. Iphone fanatics who were certain to purchase the phone have dumped it, quite frankly as they cant afford it.

So who would go for a Nokia N96, Nokia N95 instead of the Iphone ? , the smart money says anyone with a decent amount of brain and anyone who isnt a Steve Jobs obsessed fanboy.

So unless you want to show off your Iphone by pinching a photo to zoom in and zoom out, give the Iphone 3G India a HUGE miss. There is a price drop around the corner for this overpriced piece of junk. Or better, get a laptop instead.

In what will directly impact the sales of the Iphone 3G phones, the Indian Government today announced plans to e-auction the 3G spectrum in India. BSNL and MTNL will get the spectrum automatically by paying the highest bid price, private operators will have to bid.

International parties too can bid for a piece of the Indian 3G spectrum slice but with a catch, they will either have to get a license or invest in an existing Indian company to offer 3G services.

The non-availability of 3G services was the biggest drawback as far as the Iphone 3G’s sales in India were concerned. Vodafone and Airtel must be thanking their stars as this announcement is bound to boost both interest and demand for the new Apple Iphone 3Gs in India which is expected to be launched this month.

The 3G or 3rd Generation platform offers download speeds of 14.4 Mbits/second and upload speeds of 5.8 Mbits/sec . These speeds are much more than the present ones offered under 2G. India has a huge range of 3G phones in the market for a long time now, but the services were missing. 3G will allow services like video calling, streaming data and VoIP at a fast and hopefully economical price.

The 3G spectrum offers a much higher bandwidth which ensures faster data transfer as more channels are available and simultaneous transfer of different types of data like Voice, Video and misc. data.

Also announced in MNP or mobile number portability, so people will be able to switch networks without changing their numbers. Idea and Spice users who wish to get the Iphone may choose this route once the MNP is implemented.

Well, we had made these videos a few months ago telling people how to secure their Wifi connections quite frankly because many people use other people’s internet without their knowledge. We had made the videos to prevent pranks where kids use other people’s networks to save some money.

But the recent blasts in India opened a new picture. Terrorists used the Wifi connection of an American citizen living in Navi Mumbai to send threatening emails and emails taking responsibility for blasts. As an Internet user, its your responsibility to secure your connection and make sure criminals are not using it. The following 2 videos will help you secure your Wifi connection. I will also make another video, showing you how to implement MAC address filtering to further strengthen your Internet security.

These videos are for Linksys WRT54G series, if you have some other router, refer to your user manual to see how this is done or search youtube, someone might have made a video for your model too.

Securing your Wifi connection (WPA security , only people will passphrase will be able to logon to it wirelessly)

Password protect your Router also

This post is issued in public interest

So finally i was fed up with my earlier router which would start rebooting itself sporadically sometimes and wouldn’t calm down for hours. I filed for a change in router and my area’s engineer did it pretty fast.

Its a Telenet router TNDSL 2120 and hopefully wont fail me. It has slightly more features than my previous router, but the same firmware, version is newer. My earlier one was a Broadcom router which served me for 10 months before becoming problematic.

The last level support in my area from Tata Indicom broadband has been pretty good. The nodal officer at the top level is a horror though, if you live in Delhi, there is no use contacting the nodal officer of Tata Indicom broadband, he will never solve your queries and keep blaming it on someone else. Its such a long story that i cant even post it here. TOOOOOO LONG !

I hope the current officer is changed quickly though, people like him don’t deserve to be in such posts.

Well you all cant have enough of Iphone related stuff so we gotta bring out another post. While the Iphone India Airtel/Vodafone FAQ is a great place to quench your Iphone 3G thirst, a lot of questions just need to be answered again and again, big names are starting to copy our posts and post structure. When newbies start writing posts, there are bound to be mistakes, a newbie writes that 3G in India is expected later this year ?

The truth is there is no telling when 3G services will be launched in India, 3G allows faster data transfer rates, video calls and other exclusive features. The iphone 3G’s main advantage is pretty useless in India and Vodafone and Airtel know that. They are relying more on Apple fanatic and fanboys to gobble up the Iphone and creating hype around the launch. Vodafone which will be the first to launch the Iphone 3G in India is doing a lousy job of promoting the Iphone, many people are not even aware that the Iphone is going to be launched, and many of those who are dont seem to know that Iphone doesnt run Symbian or Windows mobile.

Also you dont need sources in Vodafone/Airtel to predict availability. Ofcourse the Iphone will be sold out when its launched in India, when will it be launched, anywhere from August 2008 to October 2008. Airtel has a later launch date as it jumped onto the bandwagon later.

Anyway thats it for now, more Iphone 3G India related stuff soon.

For all of those who have tried to find the railway schedules and fares on the Internet, there is no feeling more frustrating than the stupid errors from one of the Railway’s servers that its  too busy. These servers all have Indian names BTW like real people. So enter private company, the railways provide them access to their database, in-turn the private player takes load off the railway’s servers, symbiosis !

Rediff Online Indian Railways Train Enquiry Video Review

The above video review tests the functionality of the Rediff website.

Pros:

• Faster than Normal Railways Search
• No Logging in required unlike IRCTC
• Easy to Use

Cons:

• Station suggestion needs improvement
• It would be great if Rediff passes info to the IRCTC website
• Booking should also be allowed directly

Verdict: An incredibly easy to use and functional service, it offers great utility, highly recommended.

Well we have been getting a lot of questions about the Iphone 3G, so here is a short FAQ for the time being  , but first some general Iphone 3G news, the Iphone is out of stock in the USA and its GPS is pretty bad from various reviews we have read. Updated 20th July 2008.

1. Who is going to launch the Iphone first in India ?

90% its going to be the Vodaphone Iphone 3G that will be launched first in India, it will be followed by the Airtel Iphone 3G , other companies like Idea and Spice will not be launching the Iphone 3G on their networks. The Indian Iphone 3G will most probably be locked to Airtel and/or Vodafone, ofcourse it will be unlockable as hackers worldwide are working to unlock the Iphone.

2. What kind of plan will the Indian Iphone have ?

The Indian Iphone as we said will be locked to Airtel and Vodafone, as Apple is supposedly subsidizing the cost of the Indian Iphone 3G, its very much possible that like in the USA, it will come bundled with a data plan, so cost could be as high as Rs.500 per month data charges apart from rent and call charges. Ofcourse final details will be known later. We’ll will update you as soon as Vodafone and/or Airtel announce their Iphone tariff structure.

3. What will the Airtel and Vodafone Indian Iphone 3G cost ?

Not $199 we are afraid, the Airtel Vodafone Indian Iphone will most probably cost around 14000-15000 Indian rupees (INR) at launch, and with the high demand its expected to be sold out in India a few days after the launch. We ofcourse would recommend waiting a little before buying the Iphone in India so prices come down, never smart to buy a product when its being sold at a premium.

4. Will Apple Applications be available to Indians ?

Yes ofcourse, Apple Apps will be available to Indian customers, infact companies like Indiagames are already planning (i read it) to release games for the Iphone 3G.

5. My relative is in the US, should i get them to buy the Iphone 3G and bring it to India , willl it work on Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, Spice Telecom, Aircel etc.?

The Iphone 3G currently cant be unlocked to a non AT&T network. And also Apple has learnt its lesson, its offering in-store activation only. You can only buy the phone with a connection and it has a hefty cancellation fee. So really little use in getting these locked bricks attached to AT&T. Wait for some time, as soon as we get some clarity, we will let you know more. This phone will not work with Airtel, Vodafone, Idea etc. without activation.

6. Is Apple Iphone 3G really the ultimate phone to be launched in India ?

No, its not. 3G services really arent available in India. A lot of other phones also have 3G, but again its of absolutely no use.

Iphone has Wifi, most Windows Mobile phones come with Wifi, it has a 2 MP camera, which is pretty low, it has no video recording (huge setback) , the only feature we think is yet to be properly replicated is the Multi-touch feature. HTC Touch and other Windows mobile phones do provide a good touch interface though.

The Iphone has no expandable memory, no stereo bluetooth connection capability (NO A2DP) , its camera has no flash, it has no picture messaging and no cut and paste text support.

7. So what should i do ?

Well incase you don’t need the GPS feature and 3G being unavailable in India, buying an old Apple Iphone and upgrading it to firmware 2.0 might not be such a bad idea. Ofcourse check the fineprints.

8. Can i buy the Iphone 3G already in India ?

No but you may preregister the Iphone at both Airtel’s and Vodafone’s site.

9. Does the Iphone work on all continents ?

Yes, the Iphone is a quad band phone and will work on all continents, including Asia and North America.

10. I already have an Airtel and Vodafone account, will i have to change my number to get the Iphone 3G ?

Most probably no, whenever you sign up for a postpaid account, you are given the option of retaining your old number even if its prepaid. Iphone 3G plans should be no different.

11. Does the Iphone 3G’s GPS service work in India ?

The Iphone 3G’s GPS function is a global function and will definitely work in India, but as of now it will be very useless as Satguide and MapmyIndia, the two topmost routing providers in India dont have an Iphone 3G application yet. To use Google maps, you will need GPRS/Wifi to connect to internet and download maps, Google Maps are decent for Indian cities.

Original Iphone didnt have GPS.

12. Will Airtel/Vodafone Iphone 3G support EDGE ?

Yes it will.

13. How much will the Airtel and Vodafone Iphone 3G cost ?

This is a repeat question, but the fact is around 15000 Indian Rupees (INR) seems like the appropriate cost for  the Iphone 3G in India, the price could be higher, but definitely not lower. Apple will try and position it as a niche product so $199 cost is not feasible or appropriate. In US huge plan costs will help subside the phone cost but in India that cant be the case, most people love the freedom of prepaid unlike the USA.

14. Cant i buy the Iphone in America and come back to India ?

Apple and AT&T arent as stupid as you think, the Iphone is sold in USA with an AT&T contract. For the contract, AT&T will probably need your SSN and other identification documents. The phone plan like any other should have a security as well which would be forfeited if you try and rip AT&T or Apple off.

More FAQ will be added later,  Please correct us in comments if anything is wrong, also you are welcome to give your views, select comments may be incorporated in the post also.

Iphone Box Photo : Dan Taylor under CC 2.0 license

Every month your credit card statement comes with an insert with lots of offers. But do you realise that most of these so called ‘offers’ are selling you Chinese goods, smuggled grey market goods at prices greater than what the companies offer to regular customers.

You don’t! , let us take an example :

Please note we are not using any company name here, we will however be writing to a few companies to see their response.

This Credit Card company has tied up with one of the largest online retailers, but the prices quoted in exclusive offers to their customers is more than what normally one would have to pay:

We consider a 2GB quantum MP3 player, the cost for which is Rs.999 to all customers on the retailers website (shipping is free), but the exclusive offer for the credit card company’s customers is Rs.999 + Rs.200 shipping !

So the next time you feel tempted by an exclusive credit card offer that came with your statement, think again !