Author: yazdi

Digital Photo Frame

We all love to share photos with our loved ones. The camera screen is too tiny and the computer screen too large, and to some, too complicated. And printing photos and sticking them in an album is sooo very outdated these days. We need something in between – enter the digital photo frame !

A digital photo frame is a photo frame that that displays digital photos without the need to print them or use a computer. Digital photo frames are common in 7 inch to 20 inch sizes. Some digital photo frames can only display pictures. Most digital photo frames display the photos as a slideshow and usually with an adjustable time interval. You can even add background music to suit the mood. So, on a single frame you can have several photos (of say a trip, or a navjot or a wedding), which can change every 10 or 15 seconds.
Some advanced models may support  movie clips recorded in a digital camera’s movie mode, MPEG video files and/or MP3 audio.
Digital photo frames can display the pictures directly from a camera’s memory card, though certain frames also provide internal memory storage. Some allow users to upload pictures to the frame’s memory via a USB connection. Built-in speakers are common for playing video content with sound, or just the pics with background music.
Because a digital photo frame’s display is not very flexible, some pictures cannot be displayed in a satisfactory manner. They tend to have thick black borders or somewhat distorted.

But overall, a Digital Photo Frame is a welcome addition to your family gadget collection.

Google Wallet

In the past few thousand years, the way we pay has changed just three times—from coins, to paper money, to plastic cards. Now we’re on the brink of the next big shift.

Google Wallet is an Android app that makes your phone your wallet. It stores virtual versions of your existing plastic cards on your phone. Simply tap your phone to pay and redeem offers using near field communication (NFC).

Google Wallet has been designed for an open commerce ecosystem. It will eventually hold many if not all of the cards you keep in your leather wallet today. And because Google Wallet is a mobile app, it will be able to do more than a regular wallet ever could, like storing thousands of payment cards and Google Offers but without the bulk. Eventually your loyalty cards, gift cards, receipts, boarding passes, tickets, even your keys will be seamlessly synced to your Google Wallet. And every offer and loyalty point will be redeemed automatically with a single tap via NFC.

Google Wallet is coming soon. When it launches, you’ll be able to use Citi MasterCards and the Google Prepaid Card with Google Wallet. You’ll be able to tap to pay at hundreds of thousands of merchants. At launch, Google Wallet will be compatible with Nexus S 4G by Google, available on Sprint. Over time, they will be expanding support to more phones.

This is just the beginning, but in time, your phone with Google Wallet will be the one thing that holds everything you need to carry.

Samsung Galaxy SII

The Samsung Galaxy SII is dubbed to be an iPhone killer. And with a 1.2GHz processor, super-slim chassis and feather-light finish, it’s easy to see why.

It is one of the thinnest smartphones on the market at the moment, rivalling the iPhone 4 and Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc. And, at just 116gms, it is one of the lightest too. The super AMOLED 4.3 inch screen is a delight – looks even better than the iPhone with its vivid colors, but some may find the colors of the iPhone little more natural. The 8.1MP camera with single LED flash takes great pictures and videos for most day to day requirements.

As compared to the iPhone 4, the Galaxy SII has a tad lower screen resolution and has a plastic body. But otherwise, in terms of speed of browsing and customisability, the SII scores over the iPhone 4. Maybe the iPhone 5 will catch up with this later, but as of now, the SII has an overall breezy experience.

The Android Marketplace for the SII has many more free apps than the Apple iOS marketplace. Besides, for the flexibility of the Android system, the ease of replacement of batteries and the simplicity of the entire experience, I would vote for the SII.

Finally, finding your phone is like finding your life partner, you don’t know whether it is the right one until you meet in person. The final choice must be made after holding the phone in your hand — finding out the build quality (sturdiness), the actual speed of launching applications, the ease of use etc.. But, based on the hard specs, Samsung definitely has an edge. And if you are looking for a good smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy SII is going to be top of the line for a while.

Stress Simplified

Stress can be triggered by many things in life, and it can be helpful to know the source of our stress. Stress has been linked to coping with grief, depression, sleep problems, worry, among others. Learn how to recognize the signs of stress so you can manage it effectively, by visiting http://www.stresssimplified.com.

The site states that your body is naturally equipped to deal with a certain amount of stress. But if stress increases and your reserves are low, stress can have a bigger impact. Building up your defenses is a “long-term” plan for reducing stress. It will also improve your overall health and give you more energy.

www.stresssimplified.com has many useful sections to understand stress, the symptoms,  different types of stress and ways and means of how to deal with them. The complications that can arise out of extended stress handling are detailed. Support groups for stress and Clinical Trials are also covered (mainly US based). It also has links to podcasts ( audio broadcasts) on various topics of stress handling and how patients coped with the same. You may hear them online or download them for future access.

Stress is an ailment like any other, more so, in our fast-paced city lives. This site simplifies the understanding of stress and shows ways and means to overcome the same. Interesting if you are affected or pass it on to others whom you know, could benefit from the same !

Everyone’s talking to SIRI !

The brand new Apple iPhone 4S has an inbuilt personal assistant called Siri. Siri helps you do things by just giving oral instructions to the phone.

Suppose you want to send a message – you can just dictate the message to Siri and tell her whom to send it to and voila – the message is sent – without your having to use the keyboard! You want to mark an appointment or book a table at a restaurant or book movie tickets – just tell Siri and it will be done. Siri understands what you say, knows what you mean and even talks back. e.g. if you are going to Delhi, you can ask Siri “ Do I need a jacket in Delhi tomorrow?” and Siri may answer you with the forecasted temperature in Delhi and also whether you will need a jacket or not. Siri is so simple to use and easy to handle that you will keep discovering new ways to utilize her capabilities.

Under the hood is a very powerful and intelligent voice recognition program that recognises what you are saying, sends it to a central server for analysis and comes back with answers. So, if you ask Siri, “where is RA.one playing tonight?” it will send the message to a central server, which will find out where you are (through GPS) then go to a portal to find where RA.one is playing in your vicinity and come back with appropriate answers. Pretty efficient !

Siri can even voice-guide you with locations on the map, set tasks and appointments, find out “am i free this Sunday” and handle almost all the functions which your phone is capable of executing. You will most certainly fall in love with her for her efficiency – just that your wife won’t mind !

Catch Free Stuff online

We all like free stuff. But how does one find free stuff online and having found something, how do we know it works well ? www.catchfree.com is the answer.

This simple website lists several softwares which are available free online. It makes it easy to compare the best free online solution for your exact need. For example, if you wish to share your desktop, would you use Skype or Teamviewer ? Which sites offer free music and are accessible easily ? How does one make voice calls free on the Internet ? How do I watch free TV online ? catchfree.com provides comparisons and allows you to choose the option which best fits your precise need.

CatchFree was founded in 2010 by a team that was tired of the challenges of trying to compare free alternative solutions on the details that really matter. Today CatchFree collects feedback from thousands of real users across a broad range of categories so you can easily compare and choose the best free solutions for your particular needs.

So the next time you need to manage projects, share files or manage your personal finances for free, just login to www.catchfree.com and you will find neat little charts comparing the top free apps available online.

saveenergy.co.in

As we enter the month of May, tempers and temperatures start rising and availability of power starts falling. We all want ACs but have no clue where the additional power is going to come from !  And the best way to have more power is to conserve it !

http://www.saveenergy.co.in is a great resource to find ways of saving energy. The site provides information and tips for saving energy. It is an initiative of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) which is responsible for making the star rating of appliances across the country mandatory.

The energy labeling program is explained in detail. Did you know that if ALL ACs in India had a 5 star rating, the power saving would be equivalent to a month’s power supply in Mumbai ? or emergency services like hospitals will have uninterrupted power 24×7 all year round ? India Room Air conditioner Industry has approximately 38 brands of Air conditioners as of March 2010. Before the labeling program was introduced, the consumers could not easily get information on and understand the energy consumption details from the name plate information of Air conditioners. Now, since it has been made mandatory for ACs and Refrigerators (and a couple of other products too), it has become easy for the consumer to find the efficiency of the equipment he is buying.

There is an interesting section on Energy Calculation. You can choose your room size and matching airconditioners, the operating time and the city in which you live – and voila ! It tells you how much you will pay on electricity bills on account of airconditioning. If you choose a higher star rating for your ACs you can even see how much savings you will be able to achieve. Energy Saving FAQs and power savings guide are incorporated in different sections.

Energy saving is good not just for your pocket but also for your environment. So better start saving energy now, contribute to reduction of Global Warming and leave the earth a better place for our children !

Iranichaimumbai.com

Mumbai – Parsis – Iranis – Chai – a very logical and binding connection. And who can forget the nostalgic Irani restaurant down the corner. Bun Maska or Brun Maska and chai – the staple snack for 100s of Bawajis in the good old days. Iranichaimumbai.com takes you down memory lane, into the labyrinths of unforgettable nostalgia.

As the intro to the site says – “Irani Chai, Mumbai exists to remember and document, through words and visuals, the Irani cafes of Mumbai.”  “… … the aim of the project is to present the story of Mumbai’s Irani cafes – and its Irani community – online. What sits behind the nostalgia for these unmistakably Mumbai social spaces? What are the stories of the families who started them, and what are your recollections of time spent at your favourite Irani? Beyond the fading allure of bentwood chairs and marble tabletops lay a multitude of memories. Irani Chai, Mumbai invites you to share yours.” The site invites your comments and / or sharing of memories for the world at large – but alas, those who have never visited and experienced, would never know how it actually felt !

The metamorphosis of Leopold Cafe, the story of Cafe Universal, Fort, Hindi retro sounds live from Koolar & Co., Matunga, the disappearance of Crown Bakery, Stores & Restaurant from Mahim are all well documented. Jimmy Boy, B. Merwan and Kyani jostle with the lesser known cafes, to make the list exhaustive and complete. Personal experiences, laced with some great founders’ stories, all combine to make this site a must see, for oldies and youngsters alike. The pictures, sprinkled all over like gems in a crown, are rare and phenomenal – tables and chairs, signboards, mirrors, ads, instructions (no asking for change, no combing hair, no asking for directions !) take you back to the British days when Irani chai was a daily pleasure and a delightful outing. You can almost feel the smells and the sounds as you browse through, basking in the simple pleasures which are a rarity these days.

Documenting a part of history and uploading it online for posterity – iranichaimumbai.com does a great job. You could almost get lost once you are browsing through – so you better set an alarm to wake you up, before you venture to dip in !

BudgetYourTrip.com

So you are planning your vacation for this summer ? Where will you go and how much will you spend ? Do you have a budget ? How does one get started ?

BudgetYourTrip.com helps you discover your Travel Budget. Besides, as the introduction says – We can’t give you more money, but we can show you where it went ! The site helps you to Estimate, Plan and Track your travel expenses online.

The first step is to estimate your budget. Estimate travel costs by country, city, and category. Use the Estimate Trip Costs search form to plan your expenses, or browse the list of countries. The trip expenses entered by other travelers helps to calculate daily averages by location and category.

The second step is to enter your planned expenses into the table, and then see your budget breakdown by category and location. The site will give you charts, tables, categories, and an itinerary. You will know where, when, and how you plan to spend your money so that you can adjust your budget accordingly.

Lastly, after your trip has begun, find out how you spent your money. This is broken down for you with charts, tables, categories, and daily averages. Then compare your actual spending to your planned budget. Sign Up and start a trip to find out how easy it can be.

Incidentally, all the numbers depend on you. If you’ve been on a trip recently, your travel budget can help others plan. The travel costs from other people’s trips gets averaged and aggregated to create daily costs for locations around the world. They’re just starting up so don’t be discouraged if you can’t find your dream destination yet.

Wish you HAPPY and PLANNED vacation this summer !

wwww.whatsonindia.com

1st of March was a Bank Holiday on account of Holi. So I thought of relaxing and watching a movie on TV. I searched for the day’s newspaper, wanting to look up the films being aired for the day. But since the newspaper offices were also closed the previous day, there was no newspaper edition for the day ! I went looking for the online edition of the Times Of India – no luck there either – It said “Sorry, there is no edition for the day” So I started looking for a site which would give me what I needed at that moment.

I found many sites which gave information in different ways. This site – http://www.whatsonindia.com is very user-friendly and gives most of the popular TV Channels and their programs online. On the home page itself, it latches on to the date and time when you login and shows you the current TV programs being aired ! If you move your mouse over the names of the programs, a brief description is made available – to give you a hint on what’s in store. What’s more, you can customize your TV Guide – You can select the type of Channel you would like to look for e.g. Hindi Movies, Kids, Business News, English Movies, Gujarati, and many more. Further, you can filter by date to find the TV programs only for a particular day.

Another interesting aspect is that you can select your TV Service Provider such as Airtel, Tata Sky, Dish TV or BIG TV. Once having selected the provider, you can also select the package that you have opted for – and presto ! You will get a program guide customized to your requirement for that Provider for that Package !

There is more – you can browse by Channels, look up Featured Lists and also Viewer’s Choices ! You can sign in for free and create your own Profile in terms of likes and dislikes, which will customize the views when you next visit the site.

And to spoil you totally, you have an option to remind yourself by SMS or Email – Click on Remind Me or Remind a Friend, enter the Mobile no. and / or email id, and how many minutes before the program time you would like to be reminded – and you will get an SMS or Email at the right time ! This can be extended to repeats of the same program also. What’s more – you may never miss your favorite show, movie or actor again.!!!  Enter a keyword and whenever they find a match for it in a program title or cast, they will send you a reminder.

With all this, we might as well say goodbye to the Newspaper TV lists and go online, have a lazy Sunday !