Wisetechie Blog : Ctrl your Tech Life

A lot of us aren’t aware that MTNL Delhi telephone bills can be paid online with credit cards, all you need to do is follow the steps :

1. Log onto http://billalert.mtnl.net.in/ (Note: If link is down, try again in 1-2 days, sometimes their server goes down) and click on register to register a user for you and your telephone number.

2. After creating your user, login and see the left hand side menu, click on add telephone.

3. Fill in your telephone number and CA number which is available on your bills.

4.Now whenever you login and click on unpaid bills , you should be able to see the currently unpaid bills and pay them via the pay button which takes you to an ICICI bank payment gateway. You can then pay via your VISA or MASTERCARD.

Now wasn’t that easy ? I personally have been using this method for the last 2 years and have only once faced a problem when i made the payment twice (my mistake ) , anyway the problem was taken care of by contacting the MTNL accounts dept. pretty easily.

Disclaimer : We do not endorse any payment method, post is for informational purpose only.

I am was the proud owner of a Imate phone till now. Sure it turned heads, one mention of Imate and people’s eyes twinkled. I was happy till recently. In college one day i saw that the screen had developed a huge crack. I decided to get the screen replaced. Having replaced the screen of one of my earlier phones for 800 rupees i didnt really think of it as that much of a big deal. I thought the screen would costs anywhere from 1000 to 1500 rupees.

I went to Asian electronics at Rajouri garden to get the screen fixed. The clerk very casually told me that the screen would cost me 4000 rupees. I was shocked, i asked him how it could be, the cost should be proportionate to the phone cost atleast. ‘Aisa hi hota hai’  the clerk said. One surfing the Internet i found more people with similar stories whose screens had gotten cracked by themselves and Imate had asked for exhortative screen costs. 5000 rupees another customer of Imate has written on an online forum.

Wow, i never thought that this company would be looking to make quick bucks by robbing its loyal and old customers with superoverpriced spare parts. Old and loyal customers should be respected not robbed. Ask Apple, it tries super hard to keep its loyalists and thats why its a successful company. I decided not to get the screen repaired. Its not that i cant afford the 4000 rupees , but its just that i cant stand the sight of an Imate phone now. Whenever i see someone with an Imate i think to myself, such an unlucky guy.

So i have also written to Imate’s support about this issue, lets see what they reply.

But advice to all our readers, think twice before taking this plunge.

One of our readers Mac Kalvin has successfully run his Iphone mobile on Airtel India’s network after unlocking it. He has also compiled a step by step procedure to unlock the Iphone. Here are also some photos showing proof of the Iphone working on Airtel, the photos have been taken by Mac Kalvin. All these things are being posted here with permission from him.

In case you encounter any problem, you can clarify it with him, feel free to call him, IM him or email him (he says).

Airtel Network being received by Iphone

Airtel Customer Care being called on 121

Airtel Symbol and Edge Symbol on the Iphone

You may also download the PDF detailing the step by step unlocking of the Iphone from this link (external)

Iphone Unlock PDF (Updated)

How to unlock the iPhone using the anySIM program (New !!!)

Disclaimer :: Unlocking the Apple Iphone might void your warranty of the Apple Iphone, furthermore proceed with unlocking at your own risk, we will not be responsible for any damage caused as a result of you trying to unlock your Iphone.

And in the end, if you unlock your phone, please shoot a small video of the unlocked phone and send it to us.

Also the Iphone after being unlocked properly will run on Hutch, Airtel, Idea etc. and all other Indian GSM networks.

Also do not buy the iPhone from Indiatimes or other such shops, they are selling it for 45000 rupees, you can get an iPhone for Rs.16000 only and you can unlock it yourself for free.

Nokia is a funny company, after it recalled the faulty batteries, it literally saved its reputation, but the interesting thing is who lost ?

Matsushita did for one, they will bear all the costs of battery replacement. But did Nokia gain in monetary terms ?

It might shock you , but it did. With all the hue and cry over the batteries, one could contact Nokia by 3 routes ::

1. Web
2. Outlet
3. SMS-es to 5555

The third option is the jackpot, gullible and non-techie users found SMS the most convenient way to find if their battery was indeed defective. But most of them weren’t aware that Nokia earns from short code SMSes sent to 5555. 5555 is a premium number for sending SMS. So in a way ,bad batteries made money for Nokia in India atleast. All said and done, its really bad business ethics on Nokia’s part to earn from their customer’s misfortunes.

Of course i am waiting for someone to sue Nokia over this.

Employers all around the world are keeping a closer watch on their employees, whether its sneaking on their web browsing habits or reading their personal and corporate email. While there is little you can know about how they are tracking and using your web browsing habits. Your IT Hub system administrator knows about your browsing habits. He knows how much time you spend on Orkut or Facebook. Perhaps he is the one who told the company about the man hours wasted on Orkut and Facebook, which led to the sites being banned.

There is an easy way to track your email and to see if its being read by someone else. The easiest way is to send an email to yourself with a picture hosted on your server.Include words like secret and classified documents in the email. Dont post actual company secrets. Dont read the email yourself, and see in stats if that particular image was requested. You will also be able to see the IP address of the person reading your email. Doing a WHOIS on it, you will be able to tell whether its someone in the office who is reading your email or whether its a friend who has been able to guess your password. I am saying this from personal experience , guessing passwords isnt so tuff.

LCD screens can get dirty easily, but they require extra care when cleaning them, otherwise you can do more harm than good. LCDs are easily damaged by a lot of things and factors. Your notebooks, Ipods, mobiles all have LCD screens. LCD screens do not need anti glare stuff no matter what your PC salesman tells you, so dont get cheated.

LCD monitors are also very delicate.

Cleaning an LCD screen

Never use alcohol, detergents or even mild soap for an LCD screen. All good LCD screens have outer protective coatings which can get damaged by abrasives, so always use a soft cloth (muslin), never use a scrubber. First switch of the LCD monitor and disconnect the power supply. Now wipe the screen with a cloth and gentle strokes, do not apply pressure or you may damage your screen. In case you see some dirt sticking, put 3 drops of water on the cloth and clean gently. Dont use too much water also.

Pressure on an LCD

Never press on LCDs too hard. Pressing too hard can permanently damage LCD pixels in that area.

Same image for so long, LCD Burnouts

LCD burnouts are another huge problem. Those who use CRTs are not aware that using LCDs can cause burnouts if the same image is displayed for a long time. Like my monitor has a weak imprint of the firefox browser, which basically stays there. That area also has become more prone to future burnouts. I was stupid. One should always use screensavers on LCD monitors, keep the waiting time as 2 minutes only so that screensaver is deployed quickly.

Extreme Temperatures

Never keep your LCD monitors directly in the sun, heat will damage your LCD monitor. Always keep the LCD monitor in a cool and well ventilated area. Also never use the LCD monitor in snow or sub-zero temperatures. It can cause permanent damage to the pixels.

Handle Carefully

Although it may not appear so, LCDs have glass too. Shocks to the screen can cause it to break and render your LCD useless. Sometimes cellphones in pockets get so much pressure that their screen just cracks and you have to get an expensive new screen.

Dont stick stuff to it

This might sound stupid, but NEVER stick post its to your LCD, the glue will damage your LCD monitor. I have seen people doing it.

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Keep these things in mind and enjoy your new LCD monitor. Remember LCDs save money compared to CRT monitors and produce lesser heat helping you save on AC bills too.