Siddharth Razdan's Blog

Not Acceptable

2011-11-24T20:00:00.000+05:30

Not Acceptable. And I refer to the today's slapping of our Agriculture Minister, Mr. Sharad Pawar, by an unknown youth on the pretext of price-rice and corruption. Even though I belong to the league of those who do not view politics and the politicians in a very high regard, but todays incident is something to which nodody can give his/her stamp of approval. Agreed the concerns were genuine, but this is absolutely no way to get your point accross. And given the age and stature of the personality involved, it was all doubly unacceptable so. Stern action should be taken against the miscreant, who, given the fact that he had attacked another high profile misiter few days ago, is doing all this for some cheap publicity, so that incidents like these do not repeat again in future.

Even more disheartening was Mr. Anna Hazare's comments that immediately followed the incident. One advice, Mr. Hazare, even though you want it or not, but you've become an internationally followed figure whose words and actions depict those of majority Indians. Please show some restrain in future. And as for this time, apologize as soon as you can.

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Text-To-Speech

2011-04-22T14:16:00.000+05:30

Title of this post happens to be the topic of my 8^th semester major project training, and also very much the reason for keeping me out of blogosphere since Jan. Interesting project though. You click a button in front of a parea/phrase/word and the computer reads it for you...! Should be wrapping up this project in a week or two, now that I’ve to report back to college in a jiffy.

Among other things, I just had this realisation that my college is finally over...! Within a few weeks time I’ll be Er. Siddharth Razdan :-) Thinking of putting up a post or two on the same.

Also since nostalgia is the buzzword for me these days, I was wondering what became of Dynamix, the lovely computer clan of my school? Was thinking of putting up a post on DynamixNotes as well.

Regards

(Siddharth Razdan)

Awwww....! Blogrolling is gone :-(

2011-01-24T04:14:00.000+05:30

And along with it, all my links as well. Now that I'm returning to blogosphere, it doesn't look like much encouragement :-(

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Yahoo Mail Beta glitches

2011-01-24T03:44:00.000+05:30

Alright, It's been half an hour with me trying to figure out where the hell are the options for managing Disposable E-Mail addresses, but without any success. And it really doesn't matter now whether I find it or not after I press the "Publish" button here. What matters is that the new interface is definitely not worth switching to if at all an experienced user like me is facing problems finding options for a very important tool an E-Mail service can offer.
Even if the service has been discontinued(as a friend has just informed over the phone), it does makes sense to at least put a link informing users of the same.
Ufff, I'm frustrated...!

comeback

2011-01-08T20:39:00.002+05:30

Whoa...! It's been a long, long, long, long, long time since I had last posted a post of content. And reasons being all the same: internet access not there, no other person blogging, and most importantly losing touch.

Forget it. Now that I'm *almost* an engineer, permanently in Delhi now, and with access to fairly good internet speed, it's time I revive my old, dear habit of blogging with same zeal and passion that I had for it say arnd 4 years back.

Hopeful of getting all my audience back :-)

And yeas my template sucks. It's time for a change.

Regards

(Siddhatrth Razdan)

I'm starting again...

2009-12-20T23:16:00.002+05:30

It's been exactly 1 year n 13 days since my last post...A considerably long time given the type of avid blog hopper I was...Never mind, I'm starting again...Hopefully would come up with a post in a day or two...

Regards

(Siddharth Razdan)

IRCTC's welcome change...

2008-11-07T01:38:00.002+05:30

Earlier, while booking a train ticket through Internet using irctc.com services, one had to give the Identity card[which could be anything like driving license, passport, PAN card, etc] details at the time of booking and when travelling, it was mandatory to carry ONLY that ID card whose details were entered at the time of booking. Agreed it's very important to verify the passenger travelling on an e-Ticket, it was equally ridiculous to bind a person with that ID card, which once entered, could not be changed. Also, only ONE person was allowed to provide those ID details. I remember how much harassment I had to go through when I had lost my college ID card and in spite of me having the FIR for that and the driving license, TTE charged me 100 bucks as the "fine".
But now, as the title of the post says, there has been a much awaited and a welcome change has been made by the IRCTC...Now, it's not required to give the ID details at the time of booking. You just need to carry any[only those mentioned earlier] of your ID card in original and it'll do. Also, any of the passenger travelling on the same ticked can produce the ID...Which means, there's little chance for any harassment and complete peace of mind...

It's feels nice when brains work, and specially in govt. PSU's which are so very infamous for low productivity and inefficiency...

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Musharraf::Is this the dead end now?

2008-08-08T23:29:00.001+05:30

Again it has been the Pakistan and it’s 3^rd grade cheap politics that has been making the headlines in the recent times…Though he(Mush) has a very good history of miracles favouring him, this time ball seems to be in the other court now…Coalition leaders in his country have decided to go ahead with the impeachment process and chances are bleak that he’ll be able to use the President’s tag before his name for long…Corruption and other cases that’ll follow once he’s out of power are other things to watch out for…It is certainly not going good for him…

I remember when I was reading his autobiography(In the line of fire) sometimes ago, I could easily make out that he has lived his life very passionately, as if at each and every moment he has lived was with his testosterone and adrenile levels high…I personally had a very neutral opinion of him as a politician, neither too good, nor too bad…But as a person, yes I had some regard for him and therefore would not want to see him go down the history lanes as a waste product(the treatment that had been given to the Dravid and Ganguly of team India)…Hopes are on that whatever happens is good for their country(and subsequently, the world)…Let the good sense prevail…

Regards

(Siddharth Razdan)

Money, Future

2008-07-05T20:09:00.004+05:30

I remember around 2 years ago I read an article in Times of India titled "Even 1 crore is not Enough"...Now, if you don't find the title self-explanatory, let me tell you the details of that...That article read in those days, 1 crore rupees held little value...Of course this amount may seem huge for a few, but was not impressive for getting personalised wealth management services from the "good" companies in the market...It could not buy even a decent house in an upper middle class locality...And other things that you could not do but wanted to which I can't remember exactly...
Note: Inflation is at an all time high now
Now coming back to my own life I was wondering how in world I would ever be able to make those 1 crore, which held and hold a dirt value...After 3 years when I complete my engineering, and hopefully get a placement somewhere, earning around 3-4 lac per year, its gonna be really very difficult to make that crore...Actually, it is all a rat race as I read in the book "Rich Dad, Poor Dad"...You study, then do a job, spend a lifetime building a home and then die peacefully...And the most unfortunate part of this race is that arnd 90% of the people spend their lives stuck in this rat race...They never(try to)come out of this race and live like ordinary people with ordinary means and ordinary aspirations...The problem is, I don't want to go about that lifestyle, rather, no one does...
For your information people, this was not a random thought...Interestingly, today I read in a newspaper that there exists three sure shot ways to make that buck...And those are: Enterpreneurship, Stock market investing and real estate...Sadly, I don't have enough capital to go about any of the idea stated...Point is, how do I get the capital...? I'm still confused...Please help...

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Long Time

2008-06-21T16:19:00.002+05:30

It has been a long time since my blog was last published and reasons for that are all the same...College, studies, internet, peers, etc etc etc...But now as I'm back home and nothing very important to do, this blog will be updated very regularly I assure that...

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Vodafone Delhi SMS pack

2008-01-05T14:00:00.000+05:30

The sms pack worth Rs. 35 that allows a Vodafone Delhi subscriber 300 free local sms's expired when my message counter read only 100 something messages! And this happened with me not once but twice. Upon contacting the customer care, they just said blatantly it's not possible but registered a complaint and have assured of a call-back within 72 hours. Let's see what this company is up to.
Also, as there's no way to know when does the pack expire, or how many messages are left, one ends up exhausting his balance and then gets to know of the disaster that has just happened. Is anyone responsible enough in the UK based multi billion dollar company listening?

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Assasination of Bhutto :: More good than bad

2007-12-30T02:00:00.000+05:30

Benazir Bhutto has been assasinated everyone knows. So, there's no point expounding upon the circumstances/reasons/details of the same. I only want to express my joy over the brutal killing that has just taken place, and the positive aspects of the same.
It has not been a well-guarded secret that Benazir was anti-Indian, that is, her policies regarding Kashmir, cross border terrorism, etc. were in place to give a serious head-ache to India. She was never serious to solve the Kashmir issue and had used the infiltration method to maintain and further extend whatever control she(Pakistanis, in general) had over Kashmir. It has been on record that she said "Kashmiris can't be left to the mercy of Indians". Though I understand it was natural on part of any Pakistani patriot to think in the same lines but morally everyone knows, it was not correct. She was not special in that way. Yes, she did encouraged trade between the two countries when she was PM, but can we call it the most serious of attempts to ease the tension between the two countries? Even prominent people in the Indian govt have said that she couldn't be trusted.
On the issue of prima facie leadership of Pakistan, even some international agencies has admitted Bhutto couldn't have been an better alternative to Musharraf. Though he's another mean personality(Mush), Bhutto as an incharge of Pakistan could have been much more dangerous.
Also, as the news of riots is flowing in from every nook and cranny of Pakistan, it gives me immense pleasure to see a State which has given my country 60 years of tension, spiral down into anarchy. Pakistan has almost been destabilised and what better moment can be for us Indians to derive sadistic pleasure out of it. Now those of you fuming after reading till now, I request you to please refer to the events of 1947, 1965, 1971, 1999 and Kashmir.

And now taking a neutral view of Bhutto, without considering myself as an Indian, I really admired the lady. She was a born leader, must have been a bomb-shell in her primes. Her communication skills were excellent. Even Karan Thapar and Barkha Dutt seemed pale in front of her. She was the hope of Pakistan. Her father and brothers met cruel ends, and she had to face them. She was strong, popular, and brave. May her soul rest in peace.

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Time Constraints...

2007-08-31T17:45:00.000+05:30

There're so many things I'd like to blog regarding my life in SMIT...But I'm just not getting the time...

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Leaving...

2007-07-19T11:00:00.000+05:30

No, I'm not to be blamed for not being able to blog for so long...Actually, I AM to be blamed...

Ah! Leaving all those confusing philosophies apart, latest news regarding myself is that I'm leaving on 21st of this month, to Sikkim, and probably for a very long time...Yes, I've got admission in Sikkim Manipal University and for the next four years I'll be there, pursuing B. Tech. in Computer Engineering...Rest Later...

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Wow!

2007-06-20T18:30:00.000+05:30

In spite of the fact that I wasn't blogging for the past few months, page rank of my blog has been pushed to three from the previous two...

Some mistakes are lovely aren't they...?

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Some Crap...

2007-05-30T12:00:00.000+05:30

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Check this out...

2007-04-11T11:45:00.000+05:30

Just found out this link while I was hopping profiles on Orkut...

http://siddharth.youaremighty.com/
(In place of "siddharth", you can even use your own name)

Enough to stimulate one to study/work for the next 4-5 hours...Do visit the page...Worth watching

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

CAS: The positive Note

2007-03-14T10:45:00.000+05:30

Enough of blah-blah has been done stating why CAS shouldn't have been implemented. But till date, no one has been able to get the essence so as why the addition of a Set-Top-Box has been made to our experience of cable viewing. Let me be the first one to explain.

The world is going digital. Rather, it has already gone digital. Except for some utterly backward government departments, computer has a major role to play in almost everything. But somehow, this "digital-ness" was not extended to our cable TV viewing experience. Reasons: cost involved, un-awareness and low compatibility. People still were going on with a co-axial cable which used to transfer signals across the whole metropolitan, and usually without paying a fee. The govt. had put a full stop to it. By making it all "mandatory", people had no option but to shell out some cash from their pockets. Yes, arguments followed, but as of today, the matter is settled. People have something else to discuss. And Set-Top-Boxes are like mobile-phones :: Everyone has one.
And the final verdict: people are viewing high quality video coupled with high-definition audio. There's no need to Fine-Tune channels as they are already crystal clear. There's no channel repetition, and Sub-Title handling is as easy as ever. Few games are also there to play. Electronic Program Guide is there to help us manage our time, and parents can be sure that there kids are watching the right thing.
In my opinion, all the above benefits of digital cable TV are worth Rs.200/- per month. Isn't it?

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

World Wide Web City

2007-02-15T16:45:00.000+05:30

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

iTunes 7.0

2007-02-07T23:00:00.000+05:30

I'd have definitely reviewed the latest version of media player by Apple, iTunes 7.0, HAD IT BEEN WORTH REVIEWING! Yes, it's crap. Rather than removing the short-comings of it's previous version(s), it has inherited ALL of them, and added more. So, I'll only end by providing the list of reasons so as why you should, and should not use iTunes.

Why you shouldn't use iTunes 7.0
(-) Setup file is too heavy [35.5 M.B.]
(-) Startup time is too long
(-) Songs are sorted using Title rather than the File-Name, and that results in a list which reads "Track 01", "Track 02", "Track 03", and so on...
(-) Synchronizing iPod is a lot more slow now
(-) Poor song management controls

And the reason(s) you should have iTunes installed in your PC is
(-) iPod synchronization, obviously
(-) Song/Video sharing over LAN

In my opinion, iTunes 6.0 was much much much much much better than iTunes 7.0. It seems that in an attempt to make 6.0 version cool(er), the guys at Apple Research and Development laboratory have failed badly, rather, very badly.

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Geeta for Geeks

2007-01-30T21:30:00.000+05:30

This Geeta Sar, forwarded to me by Varun Misra, is worth reading. Take a look.

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Happy Republic Day!

2007-01-26T12:08:00.001+05:30

"Sare Jahaan se Accha, Hindustan hamara
Hum bulbule hain iski, Ye gulsitan hamara"

Wow! Another reason to celebrate. This time, it's the Republic Day of India, the day on which India was declared a republic in 1950. Shortly after independence from the British rule, India passed it's constitution on this day and that's why it's Republic Day and a National Holiday too. I wish all my fellow Indians, a very happy Republic Day.
Now as I press the "Publish" button, our President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam salutes and leaves with the Chief Guest, Vladimir Putin, which marks the end of the official Republic Day celebrations.

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Stupid Britishers

2007-01-23T14:45:00.000+05:30

Well, the latest racist slurs against the Bolly-Wood beauty Shilpa Shetty by a stupid Britisher Jade Goody is no topic that needs introduction. It has become an international issue that shows how much superior these whites consider of themselves. Being industrially and technologically advanced doesn't give them the licence to look upon others as inferior. It's time something should be done to curb this racism. But how, I'm still unclear on that. Imagine when Indians of note like Shilpa Shetty, Salman Rushdie are subjected to behaviour not in accordance with the principles of Equality, imagine how how difficult would it be for others. So my dear fellow Indians and others who feel humiliated by the Milky Whites, Join the "We hate Britishers" community on Orkut. This little act of patriotism from you will go a long way in checking the unruly behaviours, Indians outside face occasionally.

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Interesting Liquir Ads

2007-01-10T16:15:00.000+05:30

Now stop smiling and leave a comment. After that, continue blog-hopping. Cheers!

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Software Cracks

2007-01-08T11:45:00.000+05:30

I remember when I used to download and run a software which wasn't a free-ware, say 2 years ago, it used to ask me a license number(or a combination of them) for it to be fully functional. And it was only in a matter of minutes that I could find that "secret" code and use the services of the program for nothing. I'm sure same might be the case with many of you.
But off lately, I've been noticing that it takes some amount of effort to get the paid program work for you. They no longer require a monotonous single sequence of digits which can easily be obtained from un-official sites. Rather, they now need sophisticated cracks which are a bit difficult to obtain(specially for new programs).
Take for instance, Norton's activation. It requires three inter-related codes to get the program working. And AVG; the codes that are there on most of the popular serial providers are blocked. Damn it! Now what should someone do? Buy it? Na..............

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Merry Christmas and A very Happy New Year!

2006-12-30T12:30:00.000+05:30

The last fifteen days of any given year are a ~~bit~~ of a party time. Few birthdays, One Christmas and A New Year. Reason(s) enough to celebrate. And this year too(i.e. 2006), year end is up to it's rep. Ansal Plaza, a cool Shopping Mall just five minutes from my home is again flooded with people & cars, and the plaza itself is decorated like a wanna-be bride! Discount boards are everywhere and people have a polite smile over their faces. Off-line messages and sms' wish you every time you're online and gifts pour in and out. Celebrations are on world over and as said earlier, It's party-time! So, a very Happy New Year and Merry Christmas to you! Wishing you a blasting time ahead!
Although the announcement of date-sheet of my final exams which are to be held in March has infused a tension factor in me, but I still hope to shake a leg or two on New Year's eve. Greetings once again. Enjoy!

~ Signing Off
Siddharth

Blogger Beta is Beta no more

2006-12-21T13:30:00.000+05:30

And maybe because of this, I'm facing no more Sign-in problems. But unfortunately, they're still not done with their Template problems.
Anyway, long live Google.

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Orkut Review

2006-12-20T12:00:00.000+05:30

Orkut, a online social networking site and an innovation by Google, which has surpassed many of it's rivals(like hi5, Friendster) by a big margin is the latest buzz word of today. First and the foremost reason why it's the No. 1(or maybe no. 2, next to MySpace) is obviosly, speed. It's much faster and simpler than hi5. You have all the tools that you need to stay in touch, make new friends or just pass the time. And that's why I call it a "complete" social networking service. Let's check it out.

Signing-Up:
It's easy. If you've got a gmail account(which almost everyone has), no problems, get going. If not, create one first, and that'll be the username-password for your orkut account too. Next, complete your profile and you're a member of the growing orkut community.
This integration, I'll say, is kind of uncool as signing out from either of them will result in a sign-out from both of them.

Finding Friends:
Check your inbox. There must be many a mails inviting you to join orkut/become friends. Accept them. Now you've some friends. Check their friends network and expand. In the rare case that you don't have any invitations, use their "search" option which is, in my opinion, is useless. Mostly, there are no donuts for us(that means search could not be performed at that moment). Hopes are on that Orkut will fix it ASAP. Anyway, one friend is enough to expand your friends list to several thousand. So, don't worry about that.

Scrapping:
Scrapping, the very "essence" of Orkut, is actually, chatting, with a few differences
- There's only one "window" for all conversations
- It's not private i.e. all the people can view what you and the other person is writing
- All the conversations are saved
- It's fun

Describing friends:
There are two ways to do so. Firstly, you can give them a fan, trusty, cool and/or sexy status. Alternately, or contemporarily, you can also write a testimonial for your friend which is second option.

Communities:
There are so many people on Orkut. Hence, wavelengths and interests are sure to match. To cater to the need of common interests and providing a platform, Orkut has provided an option for communities. A person can create or join a community, and therefore can communicate his/her ideas. You can be part of as many communities as you want. I'm a part of 74 of them!

Photos:
Upload your photo so that the world can see you, and leave comment(s) too. Same as hi5. Notable problem is, once you define a primary photo, or delete one, it takes 1-2 days for the changes to take effect.

Total Fun:
Join Orkut. You're gonna have the blast of a time. If you've ever been on hi5 and loved it, Orkut will be god-like for you. It's addictive.

Like everything else, this service also has it's share of Con's. As said earlier, it's "search" feature is not of much use. Also, changes in photo album take effect after a day or two.
It's "news" and "media" options don't make up for interesting matter and the worst about it is, you can only delete 10 messages at one time, a bane for those(which includes me), who have more than 1000 unread messages in their message box and want to get rid of them. Figuring out who's online and who's not is also a ~~difficult~~ task. Trend is, the person appearing first in the square friends list is online, but then, that's not a sure shot method.

But all said and done, Orkut deserves a 9 out of 10.

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Blogger Beta...A few Cons...

2006-12-18T16:00:00.000+05:30

Blogger Beta may be getting many a rave reviews(link, link), 10 outa tens, but I'd like to deduct a few rating from it's so very "rave reviews". Firstly, Blogger Beta has occasional sign-in problems(you'll feel it, as you get along). Many a times my log-in request have been un-successful due to no apparent reasons. A sheepish "Your request cannot be processed now" is displayed. Go back to the sign-in page, key in your username password again, and you're into your dash-board.
Did you excuse it just because it's beta? Okay, read on. What's most irritating about the new version is it's so very unprofessional way to promote their own templates. If you've a template whose coding, designing, and everything you've done, and plan to check out their templates for a day or two, and think of reverting back, then I must say that guys, you've something to fear. The new blogger, I don't know from where it finds a few faults within the coding of your template and denies accepting the template. Agreed that the code may have inculcated some errors while storing(like line-breaks, etc), but I'm not able to figure out what business has blogger got to do with it? It's in the essence of HTML that how ill-prepared, untidy your code is, it compiles(unlike C++). Blogger is defying that norm and I hate it for that. And it's also the reason why I'm up with a new template.
Wish I could get my previous blogger back(hey! Another Con).

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Access Denied...? Try Windows safe mode...

2006-12-16T12:30:00.001+05:30

Okay....My PC(OS: Win. XP Home) was infected by a nasty program which was intelligent enough not to be interfered my Norton & AVG alike. reason: Access denied to the file...as it was already in use. It was no use terminating all the suspicious processes as most of them resurfaced after a couple of seconds. It was then when my mind struck with a brand-new, going-to-be-patented idea. I rebooted, logged into safe mode, and guess what, that file amicably accepted my command of (Shift + Delete). Again some rebooting and my life(I mean my PC) was up again in spirits. Cool na?
Also, I'm glad to note that I'm not the only person out here who is not able to decipher the mystery behind the blogger templates. Rest Later.

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Blogger Template(s)...

2006-11-30T13:13:00.000+05:30

One thing that I've been trying for quiet sometime now is...How to get hold of the template of a blog(which obviously does not belong to me). Google doesn't help. Indegenious ways do not work. Copying the page source is of no use. And I've no clues.
So, anyone smart enough out here can tell me what to do? Keep in mind that I do not know how to hack blogger(and many others, either) pass-words.

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

The Addictive Orkut...

2006-10-24T13:00:00.000+05:30

Today is the day when there was only one tab opened in my beloved Firefox for more than 6 hours in continuation...and that too of Orkut! Personally, I was never into these kinda online social networking and stuff...but today...as I was wandering through Orkut as i had nothing more important to do..., the online Friends and Communities out there kept me glued in front of the monitor for such a long peiod. I never realised time was passing by so fast. It was all fun...rather...It had to be...Otherwise had I spent my precious hours virtually doing nothing?

There was something about Orkut...Yes, it was addictive. It had a definite edge from my previous favourite hi5. It's speed, interface and such an extensive database...Fantastic! People whom I could have never imagined tuning into internet for the the purpose of keeping in touch had very well groomed profiles with friends list always expanding. Orkut had changed their mindset too. And why it shouldn't be the craze? Orkut has done a really nice work and it's just the fruit of their hard Work...Ah! Google has struck again...Now allow me, I'd like to go scrapping...

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Virus in iPod(s)...Interesting

2006-10-21T17:30:00.000+05:30

Even the adorable Apple iPods, the one and only favourites when it comes to mobile music, very recently have been brought under the umbrella of those species, which are usually found to reside in Window's innovations(i.e. Viruses). Company says that the fraction of the models rolled out for purchase after 12th Sep contains an executable "RavMonE.exe" which is the un-required part out there. And very blatantly, all the blame has been put to, we know who, Microsoft. They're being accused of not being hardy against these kinda malwares. So, what's up next? Norton for iPods? Huh!

Anyway, a very Happy and Prosperous Diwali to all the readers of this blog!

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Cricket, Akhtar and Asif...

2006-10-17T15:30:00.000+05:30

As I'd be pressing the "Publish" button, I'm sure everyone who has cricket running down their nerves might be knowing what's latest with the duo of Shoaib Akhtar and Muhammad Asif. And if you don't know, let me inform you that this time, it's doping. They've failed a drug test and as a consequence of it, they've been chucked out of the Champions Trophy and most probably, will not hit the pitches for at least two years down the line. Poor Chaps! They were the star bowlers of Pakistan and without them, I don't know how the hell Pakistan team would fare.
Chalo, India now has a name striked out from the list of opponents with potential. But it is really a pain to see bowler(s) of that note depart in such a way...

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

secondlife.com

2006-10-13T18:00:00.000+05:30

How does someone feel like when one doesn't have a Paypal account, neither a credit card nor a mobile operator based somewhere in UK or US? Disappointed, I'm sure must be your answer.
Well, this was(is) the sit. with me when I tried to sign up for the much talked about secondlife(or to say it correctly, teen-secondlife) virtual world. They required a verification kind of a thing to ensure that a person has no more than one free account. And for that verification, one of the above three parameters were required and I had nothing to prove that...Yes, this is me, Siddharth Razdan. Result: I switched over to Zanpo, another similar service in which my interest is comparable to that of a black, malnourished, Bangladeshi girl. Any suggestions, except the much hated phrase...Wait, every doggie's time comes?

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Viewing the past...Live

2006-09-30T11:45:00.000+05:30

The sun that you may be watching right now isn't exactly the sun at it's present state. Yes, We are not viewing it live! It's 8 minutes older than what our eyes are sensing! Surprising...But true.

We see something when the light from that object gets reflected to our eyes. Now, as the speed of light is very very large and the distance generally is meagre as compared to the travelling capabilities of it, the time delay due to conveyance is of least importance. But, imagine a situation in which even the light is not on time if we wish to see something. Obviously, it cannot be a case with anything in our dear Earth. So, the next big thing to be looked upon is the night sky. The distances involved there are so large that the numbers will not make sense. Only few of us pay heed to those un-interesting zeroes if they exceed even a modest 10(10000000000).
Upon following simple mathematics, it can be easily found out that an object more than 3 crore(dist. travelled by light in 1 sec.) kilometres away will take more than one second to present itself. What about the objects farther away in exponential terms? Such is the case with the Sun. Being 240 * 3 crore kilometres away, it needs 8 seconds from the light out there to reach our eyes. If anyhow, it(the sun) gets off-track, or just stop emitting light, we'll be able to observe that change only after 8 minutes. Such is the constraint of light!
Uptil now, we were talking about the sun. What about the infinite number of galaxies that are hung beautifully in the sky today? Some of them might have ceased to exist today, or maybe, what we are seeing today might be the state of them when the earth was in it's infancy. Ah...So very interesting.

The second thought that comes to my mind as I discuss this topic is through this phenomenon, can there be a way to peep into the future? Could travelling faster than light would capture that incoming light wave from the future? If it is possible...the results would be extremely exciting. And that's why... it's interesting.

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Let the pictures speak!

2006-08-19T15:45:00.000+05:30

Hmm...This is what can happen if you intend to park your car in front of a shop advertising for Nike.

And he(the person below) might be the best biology teacher in the world. Agree?

Is Dial-Up losing relevence?

2006-08-17T18:45:00.000+05:30

Even from a country like India where technology boom is not at it's maxima, when I get to hear from most of the people I encounter that they've got broadband, it makes me wonder what modem is out here for now(obviously except FAXing, hope/guess that you get my point)?
Computer sales graph is showing an upward trend. And so is the race to provide a net connection to it. How can the promoters fail? Companies like Airtel, Sify, MTNL, Hathway(and there are many others, of course) are advertising like anything and as a result of it, broadband has penetrated deep into everyone's life, or to say it directly, computer. With dial-up rates alomost six times that of broadband, I think it's time to say good-bye to the former one.

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Google Analytics is for everyone

2006-08-17T18:15:00.000+05:30

Google Analytics, an invisible tool to track your web-site's traffic, which earlier was accessible only if you get an invitation upon requesting,is now available to all. God Bless Google.

Review

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

I'm feeling Lucky

2006-08-09T16:00:00.000+05:30

The "I'm Feeling Lucky" feature of Google is amazing, and equally disgusting.
While firing away the word "Siddharth Razdan"(that's me only) directly took me to my blogger profile, which is 100% correct and relevent, it produced an absolutely absurd result when I typed in other searchable terms.
So, what I've concluded is that this feature works well only for the established online entities(which can be anything) as experience of keying in my School's name and also the name of "Abhishek Nandakumar"(a pal of mine) was exciting.
My Advice: If you're not in a mood of mischief, or as google says - your luck is not with you, do not try this feature.

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

E-Mail Clients - A Past Tense Now

2006-08-07T22:45:00.000+05:30

With GMail, Yahoo, and now rediff too, offering such a beautiful, stunning and easy-to-use user interface, I think it's time for everyone to bid farewell to their present E-Mail client(s), if they haven't done it already.
They(petty clients) used to make sense sometimes ago when something extra was required to manage their mails. Earlier, the interface were not powered with AJAX, rather even the simple searching and sorting was a difficult affair. But now, time has changed and so the interface(s). Using those clients today(their updated versions, I mean to say) would only result in one wasting his/her precious MB's as most of the mails one get are forwards(and I hate that).
And the above stated effect can easily be seen whenever you see the full header of a mail. It would be really interesting to see a client's name in the "X-Mailer" field, provided the sender is an individual and not a bot.

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

1 Year of Blogging

2006-07-29T15:30:00.000+05:30

It has been one long year since I joined the blogging community. Just thought of dropping this note here.

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

India bans services of blogger.com

2006-07-17T21:00:00.000+05:30

Very strangely and for reasons unknown, every entry into the address bar with .blogspot.com as sub-domain has been banned in India by none other than the govt out there. As majority of the bloggers in India has chosen this Google-Sponsored service, there's a cause for concern. Even the home-page i.e. blogger.com is not accessible to explain. Gosh!

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

GMail's another gift to its users

2006-07-07T10:00:00.000+05:30

Although the recent introduction of the feature "Delete All Spam Messages" & "Select all conversation(s)" may be a minor improvement in the GMail's already wonderful pool of services, but these services proved so benefitial to me that I thought of dropping this note here.
Only a few days ago, it wasn't possible to select more than the first 100 mails that appear on the front page. So, if you get many a spam messages, you had no option but to hop around your ID for a few minutes to clear your Spam folder. Now, only a mouse click and your most dreaded folder is cleared. Boon for those, who get more mails in their Spam than Inbox. Nice na?

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Google ToolBar: Review

2006-06-23T12:15:00.000+05:30

Google Toolbar makes it to the list of one of the few useful & trusted application(s), that net users around the world love to integrate their web-browser with. And why shouldn't it be the case? With such a simple design and many a tools-that-you-can't-live-without-with, this naturally makes it the preferred choice among all the web-page hoppers.
Needless to say, it's free, and safe. It is detected neither as an Adware, nor a SpyWare from all the recommended apllications that you can hope to see around - Microsoft Anti-Spyware, Norton Anti-Virus-2006, Yahoo Anti-Spyware. An easy Un-install button also adds to the programs ecstacy. It has got an enhanced Search Box and skins to work out with. It's Auto-Update feature also keeps out of worries of being outdated(at least, regarding the ToolBar). Easy Clearing of History also, is an expected yet important feature of this Bar.

Host of services that it offers in alpha order is -
- AutoFill
- Autolink
- Highlight Toggler
- Search(tad obvious)
- Spell Check
- Subscription to Feeds
- Link to it's GMail service
- Page-Rank
- News

Although this program has nothing negative to it's credit, but being not as exhaustive & stylish from it's rival Yahoo! ToolBar deducts it's ratings.

My Take: 8.5/10
Official Page cum Download Link

Goodbye Gates

2006-06-19T11:00:00.000+05:30

CNN's Breaking News: Gates decides to quit
BBC's Breaking News: Gates: End of an Era
Newspaper Headline: Bill Gates logs out of Microsoft

This was the most surprising & the breaking news too around the world a few days back. Gates had finally decided to quit. At the time when the most famous & the rich don't know when to stop, this can be considered as a smart move by my favourite tech personality.
And I must say, I'm feeling really sad. I've loved this business tycoon since the day I came to know about him. And therefore, me getting emotional is quiet natural.
This handsome American has changed the way people work. He has changed almost the way the world is, with his powerful & famous applications. The easiest-to-use operating system is to his credit. He's the initiater of the "online" revolution, and much more. In short, he's just too good. And adding to his good-will is the >10.5 billion $ that he has contributed to make this world a better place. The more I say about him, the less it is. So, I'd end by praying to God that in future, give him much more than what he's possessing presently.

Links reading him:
Official Page
Wikipedia Page
Special Report

A very happy retirement as well as road(s) ahead to you, Sir. I wish you were reading this entry.

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Paradigm

2006-05-27T13:30:00.000+05:30

There's a quote about Microsoft saying "They(Microsoft people) always try to do something extra-ordinarily innovative, but fail". And this quote can easily be applied to me as well.
There has been 16 long years since I came to this planet earth, but till date, I have contributed virtually nothing to the community. Nothing concrete, for which this world would remember me if I leave for heaven(or may be hell), today :-(

You may call it boasting or stuff, but let me tell my dear readers that I am not just another ordinary species wondrering around here and there on this planet. I am a very good, refined planner. I can create revolutionary schedules, mind-blowing thoughts, extremely sweet dreams and rather anything virtual, anything that mind could think of. But the sad part is "I can never put anything what I thought, to action". And possibly, this is the very reason for my present "ordinary" state. I know what are the consequences of continuing with my present style. I also know, what are the rewards, if I change my style. But I don't know why, my actions & thoughts, don't co-operate.

I get inspired & motivated at the speed of light, if I get even the speck of some charged-up talks or experiences. But like hot water, I cool down after some time and then the saga of "plans" repeats itself.
I've a confession out here now :-
I'm tired of this periodic cycle. I'm bored of being average, ordinary and frankly saying, I just don't want to die as a good son, brother, student, teacher, father, grandfather & so on. I just want to be an odd one out from the crowd now.

My desires - I want to make my life big, and show off. I want money, happiness and everything, more and more. I want to enjoy, and enjoy to the fullest. I want to live my life, king size. That's it. Yes, that's it.

And I've got a plan, sorry a lifestyle for it, which would help me achieve my goal if I copy it as it is.

It's the lifestyle of a lawyer. A very successful lawyer. He loved his work. And moreover, he had every material possession anyone could think of. Mansions everywhere, Ferrari(s), and what not? He was obsessed with work. He could not imagine himself, being surprisd in the courtroom. He couldn't tolerate if his research was less than perfect. He was willing, and used to work 18 hours a day. And for this very qualities, he frequently was the front page news of the newspapers. His extra-curricular activities were also equally well known. Late night visits to the city's finest restaurants with all the sexy young fashion models, his expeditions, his rash driving and many other activities. In short, he was a man of passion.

And I am going to copy him, AS IT IS. I am going to change my paradigm(title justified). Definitely, I am not going to go throught the law books, it is the "Work hard but party Harder" lifestyle, I am talking about. So, from this moment on, i.e. 13:30 P.M. IST, 27th May, I will not be the earlier Siddharth Razdan, you used to read.

I know this a long post, but you know I am a programmer, after all. I am used to writing those unreadable piece(s) of code :-)

Have A Nice Time
(Siddharth razdan)

Internet Language

2006-05-19T10:45:00.000+05:30

Those of you working on un-formal online ventures, or maybe, real life in general, might have came accross, or noticed, what we call emotions [like :-)] & shorthands [like B.R.B.]. They are the fundamental(s) of Internet Language and this very aspect of the online language makes it stand distinct.
I very well know that they(acronymns & emotions) are so very common now & almost every single personality who "Logs-In" & "Logs-Out" knows about it. So, what I am doing here? Going to explain you what they are & blatantly define them? No. I'm just giving you the source where you can find the list of them all. Very important and interesting too.

Smileys & emotions
Acronyms & Text Messaging Shorthands

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

How Nerdy You Are? I'm not.

2006-05-18T11:15:00.000+05:30

I always thought myself to be a geek/nerd but a recent test on "How Nerdy You Are?" has proved me wrong. I have secured terribly low and that's a matter of concern, sorry depression, for me. I've spent almost my whole life sitting in front of a monitor and after that much efforts, if you're not able to score, then I must say, all those efforts & time have gone in vain :-(
Anyway, you take the quiz, and reply, what was your score, and kindly, don't ask mine.

How Nerdy You Are?

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Note: All the above statements are false to the best possible extent and I must tell my readers that I do not judge myself on the basis of some stupid nerdy test or stuff, although the score pinched me somewhat.

Virus-Making

2006-05-16T17:00:00.000+05:30

After researching on net for quiet a few weeks(maybe months) now, trying to figure out how to make a Virus in language C++, the conclusion is this sheepish paragraph -
"If you're intending to write an illegitimate malicious code also known as Virus, C++ is not the right tool. It does not have the capability to jump from one program to another and hence, your code might not be that effective. But if you're really serious about making a virus, go check out assembly language(best) or VB(second best)."

Now buddies, I'm pressing the Orange button as the PDF version of the book "The Art of Assembly Language" has been downloaded and I got to study that.

Signing Off
~ Siddharth Razdan

A Tale Of two Boys

2006-05-02T15:15:00.001+05:30

There were two boys in U.S., best friends, but always trying to show their superiority in terms of their skills in computers. Both of them used to hack into each other's machines, but that was just for fun. They never crossed the L.O.C. between "hacking" and "cracking". Had they crossed it, they would have spent rest of their lives in jail, which would not have been good for them, as well as for us.

Do you know who these boys were?
Bill Gates & Paul Allen.

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Can't believe I'm at this stage now!

2006-04-09T15:30:00.000+05:30

It happens sometimes in your life that the result/consequences of a something very very important are the result of the proceedings concentrated over a very short span of time. Like it is sometimes in a game of cricket or soccer. The whole result of the game is dependent upon the last ball/minute. You lose it. Or you win it.

Now the interesting psuedeo is, the remaining years of my life(maybe 50 or more) are depending upon whatever I am going to do in the next 6 months(at least academically). Either I will make it, or I will mar it. Either I'll be driving a Mercedez, or I'll be struggling with another low-budget vehicle. The choice is mine. And I have chosen to study and study hard(for the first time in my life). Wish me luck.

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Any other OS. Why?

2006-03-17T19:00:00.000+05:30

My packet of Ubuntu Linux all the way from France arrived today. And minutes after I receieved it, I put the CD's inside the packet, to use. And very soon, I was working on the new, free OS I had just receieved.
Now, don't expect me to write another review of the same as they are many, readily available on cyber-space. Click here to have a look at one of them(reviews).

After working, using, feeling the new OS, I was pondering over, or you can say, admiring the supremacy of Windows XP. I just couldn't think of a reason, why people use or switch over to other OS's when an ultimte master-piece is in front of them. Rather than not being a free affair, is there any other fault in it? Even that is not a problem. Most of us get it approximately for nill(pirated version). So, according to me, sit down, enjoy your present product from microsoft and there's no need to look for anything else till september(Vista expected).

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Note: This post is meant for home, personal users. Above lines will make no sense if they are mistakenly or intentionally taken for commercial use

Secrets of a Successful blog

2006-03-15T14:30:00.000+05:30

Although I am not an authority on the subject, but 64 unique hits and 130 page views(excluding my own) on 12th March 2006 inspired me so much that I decided to write a couple of paragraphs on the subject.

To start with, I'd like to explain the meaning the word "success" of a web-log(or may-be any other online venture(s) in general). Your blog can be called as a successful one, if you've got hits and/or comments to impress the person reading it and compelling him/her to come back, and come back again.
Content of the post matters, but what matters more is where it is being posted. Many a nice posts goes un-noticed because of the in-adequate advertismant of the host blog. Hence, it is necessary to have a say of yours, or to say it presicely, the say of yours blog in the online community or at least, the blogging commuinty. And this post helps you develop and expand your blog. Read on...

Securing, defining elements of a successful web-log namely hits & comments is an art involving stress on two areas
* Content
* Advertisment

Content
- Write Quality Content: The pre-requsite of a "good" blog is its content. Make sure that the subject and language is nice and is fun to read. The most common and most natural mistakes we bloggers make is to run out of interesting subjects and write the post as if we are writing to the editor of a national daily. No, it should not be the case. If required, give more than the usual efforts but make sure, your post makes your blog, worth a book-mark.

- World-Specific Content: Although this is not always possible, but one should try to write things which would interest people accross the globe.

- Maintain a standard: No-one likes cheap, obscene matter. So make sure your blog doesn't host some of it.

- Language: As already said, language is an important aspect of your blog. Hence, write which will interest others and makes reading a pleasure. Don't be stale, damn formal in your approach but be humourous, lively authoror. But remember, excess of everything is bad.

Advertisment
Girl Power: Believe me, if you're a female, half of your job is done. Given a case in which a boy and a girl a starting a blog. Same is the theme, same is the writing standard. After one month, chances are, the girl's blog will have more hits recorded than her counterpart(the boy). Reasons, probably we all know.

- Don't just take, give too: It is regarding the comments. Don't just always be ready to accept them. Give them too. Visit other's blog, read what are they writing, and most importantly, give your feed-back. And I'm sure, 99% of them will definitely visit your blog after finding it out from your profile. Also if possible, get into "treaty within the web-logs". Link each other and sometimes click on them too :-)

- Update Frequently: There's one tendency of humans, which has to be kept in mind while writing(and while not writing too). Tendency, to get bored. So, give readers something new in every couple of days.

- Boast: Announce people that mine blog is also being read. Get a counter.

A blog is for fun, not for taking undue tensions. So, Even if you're not getting enough hits, don't worry. Keep writing. After all, we have blogs to express ourselves . It doesn't matter if other foolish people are opening our blogs or not. Also come what may, this fact is not gonna change "I am the best".

Terrorism at its Best

2006-03-12T07:30:00.000+05:30

"Whatever you intend to do, do it in style". This is a very famous quote and I think, terrorists have defined for me what's that "doing it in style".

Visit: http://rapidshare.de/files/4534022/armstrong_murder2.wmv.html

Activities Explained: 5 men, dressed in black, guns and pistols in hand, chanting their Islamic prayers, and chucking the head off an un-armed U.S. journalist! Difficult to imagine. But its true. Click on the link provided above, download the video, and see for yourself.
And I am sure, after watching this video, readers might got have an idea of what's that doing it with style and with passion, with the hearts, bodies and souls involved.

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Into the minds of Virus Makers

2006-03-07T17:00:00.000+05:30

It is said about these people that "They are the one's, who suffer from social loneliness". And I find this statement true, very true.
Being brought up in a place where there are no people with similar interests, they desperately asks for some friends & fame. And when they can't find it(which usually happens), they leave the arena depressed. But the feelings within them don't die. Rather, the fire within them gets hotter and hotter.
They make a resolve within themselves to do something concrete and this resolve only gets harder and harder with time. And if anyone gets a computer to shower his frustrations on, the results of this resolve are what we know today as Love-Bug, Melissa, Kamasuitra, etc, etc, etc.

Now, If you are wondering how I know all this, then keep wondering.

Gadgets, I can't do without.

2006-03-03T08:02:00.000+05:30

Everyday, infinite number of electronic devices get past my eyes, and many of them goes un-noticed. May-be beacuse i didn't understand their worth. But "today" was some-what different. Right in the middle of the chapter "Vectors", I started pondering, and counting, what are those master-pieces, without which, my life is directionless. And after a long analysis of my day-to-day activities, three things/objects/machines/master-pieces/whatever have been short-listed, which really keep my life organised and an enjoyable one. Read on, to discover, what are they.

1) Personal Computer : It is not just another box with some accessories attatched into it by some way or the other. It's my biggest asset. It's the hub where all my skills work. It's the only thing, other than driving, where I can say that I have expertise, both as an user and as a developer. It's the major source of entermainment for me, but there have been some instances(although very rare), where I've extracted something useful from it. It keeps me organised. I've increased my social networking upfolds through this machine. Needless to say, I just love my HP machine, and without it, urgh..., I don't even want to think about the consequences.

2) Mobile Phone : Aha! This is the expression which immidiately comes to my mind on even the first thought of my mobile phone. Although the model I possess is terribly old, it has been the most loyal non-living friend of mine till date. To sum my mobile services up, I have the most dependable set of all times, with the best available network today. It was, and is, a pleasure for me, to be the owner of 00-91-9810532060.

3) Digital Diary : Although this Casio product possesses no feature that my PC lacks, but it comes in handy when I don't want to waste my precious five minutes switching on/off the computer.

OK, Now that was all about me. How was it? Readers, It's your turn now. Tell me, what are those things, without which you find your respective lives incomplete. I don't want stupid answer's like Television, Referigerator, Air-Conditioner and stuff like that.

Note: The list you see above, has been arranged in the priority order.

Screen Shot(s)

2006-02-21T19:23:00.000+05:30

I had seen the "prt scr" button on key-board for quiet some time now.
I have heard of screen-shots for quiet some time now.
And I wanted to take screen shots, for quiet some time now.

A silly debate, over the compiler "turbo C" by the students of my class, took me all the way to wiki-pedia, for finding the exact and correct way to take screen-shots. I was familiar with this word, and had seen them (screen-shots), many a times in the Dynamix-Notes and other popular blogs but the more silly laziness made me look out for the procedure, years after I was through with the basic definition.

Q) So, what actually a screen-shot is?
Ans) A screen shot is a photograph or a snap of whatever the monitor is displaying.

Q) How to take them?
Ans) Simple. When the desired pose is on the show, or when the 15' or 17' inch box is saying "cheeeeeez" to you, CLICK(press the "prt scr" button). The image will be copied to the clip-board. Then, open an image editing software, like mspaint or photoshop, and do "Ctrl+V". Save it in the format you want. Enjoy.

(Screen Shot while I was writing this post)

Really Kool Photographs

2006-02-20T22:38:00.000+05:30

Following photographs, definitely not clicked by me, are really the cool ones and worthy of becoming a part of everyones collection of sexy snaps.
Look at them...

Now the big question. Do you like them?

My Life, These days

2006-02-13T20:07:00.000+05:30

These days, my life has been exceptionally busy, exactly ironical to the life of a student going to appear for his XI class final examinations in the next few days.
And following are the account of the activities keeping me busy.

* Got involved into a project, revieware. Writing reviews for it.

* Studying for the dreaded final examinations.

* Very recently, I got the admin right of
Dynamix-Notes. Therefore, was fiddling around with the template of the blog.

* Needlees to say, preparing for the upcoming Valentine's Day :-)

* Changed my E-Mail signatures.

* Lost all the contacts in the buddy lists of both Yahoo Messenger and G-Talk. This was as a result of experiment conducted on the addresses stored in my E-Mail ID(s) by me myself, of course.

* Discovered the fun, resourcefulness and romance of C-Net

* Cleared the FIIT-JEE entrance examination and joined it too. Classes will commence from 2nd week of April.

* Enjoyed the two consecutive victories of India over Pakistan.

* In short, rocking it all the way.

The Top 10 Ways to Live Longer

2006-01-28T18:01:00.000+05:30

I came across these remedies to live longer in a news-paper whose name I don't remember. Even then they are worth reading.

* Don't Oversleep
* Be Optimistic
* Have more Sex
* Get a pet
* Get a VAP
* Be rich
* Stop smoking
* Chill Out
* Eat your anti-oxidants
* Marry Well

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Start loving your enemies

2006-01-23T09:44:00.000+05:30

Like everyone else, I've accumulated my share of enemies in the course of a lifetime. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Forgive thy enemies is very difficult advice for many of us to follow. After all, if someone has harmed us, we tend to want to get back at them. We can carry our grudges for many years. Of course its counterproductive and as a result lost more than did the object of revenge. "If you can't take the best advice and forgive your enemies, then take the 2nd best and forget them. The only way you can achieve true revenge is not let your enemies cause you to self-destruct." - Harvy b.Mackay.

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Scientists :: Mere people or something else

2006-01-21T13:35:00.000+05:30

Whenever I make my way to study physics or chemistry, amazement immidiately hovers around my mind about how could scientists have worked it all out. The concepts, the formulaes, the logical reasons, that I can't even understand, was discovered by someone someday. They have exercised their grey-matter to the best possible extent. Intellectually, they are far better than the normal-human-citizen of this civilization.
These people have spent their lives doing experiments, calculations and it is all for the cause of humanity. They are the idols, they are the heroes and they are the ones worth worshipping. From the innermost core of my heart, I salute 'em all.

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Mumbai, from sky

2005-12-28T11:24:00.000+05:30

This is how Mumbai looks from sky. Nice na?

I clicked this photograph from the aircraft while going to Goa, soon after the take off from "Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport"(Mumbai) on 17th December 2005.

Merry X-Mas

2005-12-25T21:57:00.000+05:30

May you be blessed with the god of faith , hope , peace and love on this Christmas!Wishing you Merry Christmas!

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

World-Space Satellite Radio

2005-12-03T14:30:00.000+05:30

Very recently , I brought home a World-Space satellite Radio . And for that I had to shell out Rs 2000 for the model Diva and a three-month silver subscription . It is a nice machine with many features that the normal radio can't offer .

This radio works on the beams transmitted by the Asia-Star and Afri-Star satellites which covers about 80% of the whole of our planet . Offering over 40 channels with crystal clear voice this radio is worth its cost .The songs that this radio plays are full (unlike FM) and and ads free (again unlike FM) . So you can enjoy each and every moment when this radio is on .

But this radio has serious disadvantages too . First of all this radio recieves the signal only when it is facing any of the two satellites directly . No obstacles in between (except the clouds , of course ) . Even if you place your hands in between , the music stops . So the antenna has always to be outside the home . But this isn't of much worry as the antenna supplied with it is weather-proof .
And second flaw is that this radio requires a subscription which is sky high i.e. Rs 1100 for one year for silver subscription and Rs 2700 more for the Gold one . Without this this radio transmits absolutely rubbish channels which are of no use .
Thirdly , it does not support 5.1 channel sound . So , you have to be satisfied with the 2.1 channel sound like I am :-)

Otherwise , it is a sexy master-piece .

Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Video iPod

2005-11-11T21:30:00.000+05:30

Apple , the celebrated name in the portable music mania tried some more creativity and introdeuced Video iPod in the market . Its for the geeks who enjoy video along with the song.
Right now it is available in two variants : 30 GB and 60 GB . Its more sleek , cooler than the older
20 GB versions and has a vibrant 2.5 inch LCD display .
All you need is only Rs 14,000 for 30 GB model and an additional 4000 bucks if you want the model of double its capacity .
Sorry , couldn't provide a screenshot .
Trying hard to get my hands on one :-)
Regards
(Siddharth Razdan)

Happy Diwali

2005-10-31T20:35:00.000+05:30

Ignite the spirit of Diwali with festive fireworks , colourful rangoli and delicious sweets .
I wishes all the readers of this blog a very Happy and a prosperous Diwali .
Play safe :-)