All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1)

If you get this error in Odin while trying to flash Samsung firmware, there is a simple fix - unzip the ZIP file that you downloaded (probably from sammobile.com).

You need to use TAR file inside the ZIP to flash via ODIN.

The ZIP file can be flashed via recovery menu.

:)

Bucket Ride - Begins here...

Kiran is traveling from Mumbai Chatrapati Shivaji international airport to Los Angeles international airport...

I could have done this FB check-in 15-20 times since last year and half. It indeed was busiest time for flying with multiple trips to Bengaluru, Kochi, Hyderabad, Delhi, Chennai, Abu Dhabi, Jakarta and even USA. I am once again at the airport for 39th flight (I counted!!).

Its said that, "If you want to have something that you never had, be prepared to do something that you never did". There can't be any other sentence that can describe what I am into right now.

The anxiety cannot be described in few words, the fear of unknown cannot be contained in few lines and excitement cannot be penned down even in few paragraphs now.

This is a teaser of time ahead and looking forward to an exciting, ecstatic euphoria that lies ahead. Last time I felt this was when Momo arrived...but this even bigger (Oh Momo, I will miss you).

I am all set to take "the" journey which I had been daydreaming for years. I am not known best as a planner, nor as the guy who can get things right the first time. This journey however requires commitment and planning. I have been quite secretly working on getting this kickstarted. This is not something that can be done time and again. There is no second chance, "this is 2016" and its now or never.

I am about to board a flight of imagination, dreams and madness. This flight changes everything: money, mind, experience and life will not be same where it is. I might come back broke, or might come back a new me.

There are just few things now between that sense of accomplishment or failure...however there will always be a comfort of trying that can overcome everything. These efforts and pains are needed to keep us alive, afterall, "Failing to try is failure and not the failure itself".

So I am going to take that first step to knock of some items from my bucket list.

I will be riding into the USA and Canada over next two months. Starting from west coast, i will be riding towards east and crossing into Mexican/Canadian border when possible. This is too big a country to see in this short time yet I will try to make most of the time available.

This once in a lifetime RIDE is named "Bucket Ride"!' It's a solo ride but there is truly no solo achievement in life. Everyone around you helps you shape your life in some way. Somewhat like the movie "Slumdog Millionaire". I will need lots of wishes and prayers to make this possible. Please do ☺

The ride updates/report will be available on
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/bucket.ride (warning: too many check-ins ahead)
Instagram - @globe_treader
Blogger - http://blog.kiranghag.com

Subscribe/like/follow the page as I follow my dream on this Bucket Ride!

Coke studio, travel and friendship day

When I listen to each mesmerizing new song on coke studio and drown into songasm...

When I imagine how Indo-Pak-Afghan via Khyber could have been a "must do before you die" like "getting leh'd" for tourers...

When I imagine the picturesque mountains to keep clicking endlessly...

When I imagine that rich colourful culture of cloths and carpets that could be witnessed...

When I crave for tasty, spicy food that could be had on the way...

When I drool at those beautiful babes in the region...

When I realize that world that we have today owed a lot to travel in this part of world...

Wish people treated religion as underwear - wear, don't show and don't care what others have...

I really wish that we could have a friendship day at higher level...world could be even more beautiful place to live in...



 

How to achieve songasm?

Songasm (n): When a song is so good, you feel waves going through your body and soul. Basically a portmanteau of words - Songs and Orgasm.

Have you experienced songasm? Do you know how you can achieve songasm?
If not, then keep reading.

First of all, choose the right song...there is not one fit for all here really, just choose a song that you can relate to, choose a song that you understand. Oh wait! understanding a song is optional too (even though its like a one night stand after party with a guy from different country :D )
But yes, choose a song that you can understand.

Be in a right place. While a song can hit you anywhere, having less distractions helps. Go away from anything that can break the rhythm - phone, emails, people or whatever/whoever that can distract.

Every song has a background to it, think about that as you hit play button...Someone has just fallen in love before that song, feel the love. Someone might have lost all his life, empathize with that situation. Someone has just given up the shackles of life, smell that freedom. Consider that as foreplay!

Every song leads you somewhere, follow that song as the song plays, this is where the lyrics play a role...read the song and read between the lines...a song may take you from desperation to being hopeful, follow that journey as if it is your own.

Appreciate the elements that make music. Have you ever focused on a particular instrument in the orchestra...just choose one and isolate that track in mind...you can choose a different instrument every time or just jump from one to another...but connect with that one and let it reverberate in the mind...you would realize the even though we don't realize explicitly , that each instrument is integral part of the song, its not possible to let that song be same without it. However the player has to standby and wait for its turn to come, sometime halfway into the song. Player would play a bit and then again wait.
Some songs have those delicate interludes which you can simply miss unless you are paying attention. But once hooked onto those, they can reach deep inside. The ups and downs can convey the mood without words.

Appreciate the people behind the music, real and characters. A lot of efforts are put by people to make that song happen. Don't we feel a hart-break, Don't we feel bit lost? We do but we perhaps cannot create something beautiful like a song out of it...we need to appreciate that someone is gifted to pen down those feelings in words that we can understand and relate with. Someone is gifted to create fictional character that can enact and present those for you. Someone is gifted to act those characters out of you. Someone is gifted to shoot the video beautifully as you see it. There would be someone just shaking "ghungaru" in the orchestra, while someone playing a distinct prelude that identifies the song with masses...all these make up the song.

Be Youself. Like all these, you are also a critical part of that music...without your readiness to connect with the song, the song cannot exist in isolation. IF your heart if full of grief, you would hardly like a party song. That grief can instantly connect with a sad song.

So choose what you are and you will find a song that takes you towards that finest experience. Close eyes and get immersed in the song.

It may take a while but suddenly you will resonate with the music and it will stir you from within. You can feel goose bumps and forget everything else for the moment. If you are emotional, perhaps tears will roll down your eyes. Its a maddening experience and  can teleport you in the song instantly. As the name suggests, this is exactly like an explosive orgasm as the name says.

Congratulations, you have perhaps achieved your first Songasm!!!

Here is my current top favorite

"Living with Ninja Experiences" - 50,000 KMs!

3 years and 4 months and just completed 50,000KMs on Kawasaki Ninja 650R 2011 today!

Some boring stats below Words cant do justice to how beautiful this machine is, so if you have specific questions, I would be happy to answer.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ODO Reading - 55011 KMs
Consumables -
4th Set of tyres
- Stock Bridgestone Battalax (16,000 KMs)
- Metzzler Sportec M5 (6,000 KMs)
- Metzzler Sportec M5 (8,000 KMs)
- Dunlop Roadsmart (16,000 KMs)
Chain sprocket set
- Stock set (28,000 KMs)
- RK X Ring + Sunstar Sprockets (49,000 KMs)
Clutch Plates - (48,000 KMs)
Fork seals (42,000 KMs)
Spark plugs (42,000 KMs)
Battery
- Stock died at (47,000 KMs)
- Replaced with Motobatt AGM with warranty (cheaper than stock and better technology, dealer in Mumbai!)
Brake pads, Air filter, Oil/Oil filter and Chain lubes etc at regular intervals

Cost Per KM - INR 18
Fuel Average - 21 KMpL
Total Fuel - 2358 Litres
Total Fuel Cost - INR 174314
Average Fill up - between 12-13 Liters
Typical Range between fills - 250-270 KMs

DIYaFIX Sunday...broken grab rail bolt removed

broken grab rail bolt removed using ancestral hand dril, hammer, center punch, bolt remover and trusted WD40.
- Spray WD40
- Use center punch to mark point on broken bolt
- Drill using small drill bit
- Lock thread remover with light tap of hammer and reverse the bolt out using hand drill
- Clean the debris
- Pat yourself for good job done

 

Unboxing - Xiaomi MI3 - India

Finally got the Xiaomi MI3 after wait for nail biting lottery of FlipKart 2nd lot and adrenaline rush of frantic clicks/retries...

got it delivered one day before promised date as usual

typical Flipkart - box in box

 In Box - phone, manual, charger, data cable, no headphones

Its pretty lightweight and sleek, display is sharp and really feels like a premium phone

Fraudulent behaviour of Vicky.in

A recent bad experience on Vicky Shopping...

Ordered for 3M chain lube and cleaner and they called me back saying cleaner is not in stock. they shipped lube however didnt update me about cleaner. after continuous attempts to reach out to them via mail/phone, they refunded partial cost of lube without any explanation till date. from the complaints on net by others and my experience, i can confirm the following

- the "in stock" stuff on the website is not really guaranteed to be in stock. they try to find from vendors after you place the order

- even if they ship partial items, the website status shows "shipped" status against all.

- they offer you any other replacement, which usually costs higher than the item you order (they send you link and stress on QUICK payment, the quickness doesnt reflect in their service)

- in case you decline, they refund you less than the cost advertised. atleast one person was told that its how their bank works. you get less even if they havent shipped your product at all.

- the website has a form to return an item you bought. there you need to specify "reason to return". however there is no text box/drop down against that. ultimately you cannot return anything. even if you can, they would deduct cost of shipping plus some cost out of the product

- their support numbers keep ringing no matter how many times you try

- emails go unanswered if they do not wish to answer these are not one off experiences and many other such on the net.

hope you are aware of these before you buy from them. i would never buy from these frauds again

Whatsapp/Viber and their stalkers/telemarketing friendly behaviour

Whatsapp and Viber are next generation of messengers. Who uses Yahoo, Gtalk or MSN messenger anymore? I guess not much of the population. Get a phone, enable data connection, install app and bang, you are connected to all of your friends in your phone. No hassles of finding who is on which messenger, mail id or anything like that. Just a phone number is all you need...Whatsapp seems to be replacing group medium like forums and mailgroups too. Make a group and gather online. Easy and near-online way to chatter, syncup and share things. Once live voice and video conferencing comes in, that could be another step.

With Whatsapp and Viber, I generically refer to similar family of messaging applications that are cropping up on various app stores. Whatsapp is used by me and many others that I know. So focus of this post remains on Whatsapp. Feel free to replace word Whatsapp with app of similar behaviour.

I have never been a fan of modern programming techniques, used by majority of Android and iOS clan. Call it generation gap and I would not mind too. Compare features on any old messengers and you would probably realise how half baked current software is. 

What Whatsapp and others dont tell you is the way it can affect you in a negative manner. Here's how...

These apps upload your contact list to their server. If your contact is on their records, its a match and you are connected. You can see that person online on your list and you can send a message right away. This is a convenience for stalkers/.

• All they need is the number of other person, add it and shoot messages, till they block.
• As long as the stalker doesnt send a message, he/she can see your display picture and status message. Depending on how much enthusiastic you are about your profile, you can give out good clues to them, about your name, gender, location and current activity.
• They can see it without you even knowing them. You wouldnt know who has added you on their list. There is no way you can find it out.
• You cannot prevent others from contacting you, you can block numbers but a determined person can use new numbers.
• An idle person doesnt need to know your number too, they can add any random number to their contact list and voilla, they can start.
• Telemarketers (in India atleast) can be banned from SMSing or calling you. Whatsapp broadcast storm is probably not under scope of DnD. Sooner or later telemarketers would start adding you on their contact list and spam with messages.

How can you save yourself?

Nothing much you can do beyond blocking people who approach, but...

• Change your display picture to a generic picture, use your favorite celebrity, cat, dog, motorcycle, car, building, road or whatever. This will attract less contact mining stalkers who randomly add you.
• Avoid putting detailed status messages, better yet, do not put one at all.

How the developers can help you?

• Build user's contact list on mutual existance i.e. only if two people have each other's number saved on phone. So unless you know each other, you cannot see each other online, till both want to be seen.
• By default block people who are not on your contact list. This will prevent random people from seeing you or contacting you or following you
  OR
• Allow people to send out invitation request in old fashioned way
• Allow users to choose if they wish to be contacted by people not on their list. If they select not to be, people can't send invitations.

As per mashable, As of June 20, 2013, WhatsApp has over 250 million active users, and handles 27 billion messages in a single day. There are already security concerns over your contact list lying on various servers and evesdropping poorly written apps that transmit plaintext data. Encryption can solve that to an extent but with every other app reading your contact list, you can't trust all, can you?

Getting lucky on Jet Airways...stupid SkyMart con

"Nothing is free...", they say, and probably right.

While recently travelling on Jet Airways to Mumbai, air hostess handed over a booklet of "made in china" items, marketed by a brand called SkyMart.

I wondered who buys such stuff that too on a flight. (Though once I had seen a guy enthusiastically buying a perl necklace in-flight (facepalm))

A little scratchcard inside caught my attention. I was never lucky with such coupons but gave it a shot. Guess what!!!! I won something!!!

Wow, never happened. "Whats the catch?", I asked myself, "Well, that can't be so easy. Something is wrong!".

It is indeed. You need to pay "nominal" charge to claim your gift....and the cheap prizes seems cost less than the so called nominal charge itself.

Airtel Irritation - example of how morons run Airtel mobile support - Round II

Continued from ...

Here is their mail support

Re: MO - 98........ : INCORRECT BILLING [BALQrc108041313043715553585]
121@in.airtel.com <121 in.airtel.com=""> Mon, Apr 8, 2013 at 6:37 PM

To: kiran@k...g.com

Namaste Kiran Ghag,

You wrote in on 08-04-2013 with a concern regarding activation of Subscription Service without your consent on your airtel mobile 98.........

We completely comprehend your viewpoint and sincerely apologize for any difficulty caused to you by our Customer service department.

We take pride in enhancing our customers with our responsive and friendly approach. It has always been our constant endeavor to ensure, that our customers are delighted by our inimitable approach.

We would like to confirm you that, ASK A DOCTOR service has already been deactivated on 13-02-2013 and currently no Value Added Serviceis active on your airtel mobile 98.........

You can also text STOP to 121 or 155233(toll free) and follow instructions to stop the Value Added Services.

We would also like to confirm that a waiver of Rs. 11.23/- including tax towards Value Added Service has already been posted in your account on 21-03-2013. The credit amount for the same will be reflecting in your forthcoming invoice dated 12-04-2013.

airtel appreciates your business and always welcomes your suggestions/feedback.


Yours Sincerely,
Apsar Ahamad
Customer Care
Bharti Airtel Limited



---------Original Message---------
From: kiran@k...g.com
To: 121@in.airtel.com

Cc:

Sent: 08/04/2013 01:04:42 PM

Subject: Re: MO - 98........: INCORRECT BILLING [BALQrc108041311045915550122]



If service was disabled as per your mail, why I kept recieving messages and why

it stopped today after I sent unsub mesaage?



On Apr 8, 2013 12:57 PM, <121 in.airtel.com=""> wrote:

Namaste Kiran Ghag,

You wrote in on 08-04-2013 with a concern regarding activation of Subscription

Service without your consent on your airtel mobile 98.........

We completely comprehend your viewpoint and sincerely apologize for any

difficulty caused to you by our Customer service department.

We take pride in enhancing our customers with our responsive and friendly

approach. It has always been our constant endeavor to ensure, that our

customers are delighted by our inimitable approach.

We would like to confirm you that, ASK A DOCTOR service has already been

deactivated on 13-02-2013 and currently no Value Added Serviceis active on your

airtel mobile 98.........

You can also text STOP to 121 or 155233(toll free) and follow instructions to

stop the Value Added Services.

We would also like to confirm that a waiver of Rs. 11.23/- including tax

towards Value Added Service has already been posted in your account on

21-03-2013. The credit amount for the same will be reflecting in your

forthcoming invoice dated 12-04-2013.

airtel appreciates your business and always welcomes your suggestions/feedback.



Yours Sincerely,

Shruthi KM

Customer Care

Bharti Airtel Limited



---------Original Message----------

From: kiran@k...g.com
To: 121@in.airtel.com

Cc:

Sent: 08/04/2013 11:47:51 AM

Subject: Re: MO - 98........: INCORRECT BILLING

[BALQrc122031310030215036563]



your customer support on this case has been pathetic. looks like you have

recruited monkeys. reason below...

i had to search on my own and finally found that "ask a doctor" service was

active on my mobile and "STOP" message to 121 does not work. I have to send

UNSUB message to get this nuisance stopped.

your support executives have been useless to assist on this.

please let me know how the service got activated in first place.

Kiran




On Fri, Mar 22, 2013 at 1:12 PM, <121 in.airtel.com=""> wrote:

Namaste Kiran Ghag,

You wrote in on 22-03-2013 expressing concern about subscription service

activated without your consent for your airtel mobile number 98.........

Thank you for your mail to airtel and the opportunity to assist you.

We wish to inform you that we have already deactivated subscription service on

your number with effect from 13-02-2013

If you wish to stop or disable the service related SMS received on your mobile,

we request you to follow the below mentioned path:

Step 1: Go to Menu - Message - Service inbox settings / PUSH SMS - Off status.

(This path may vary depending on the handset)

Step 2: Please switch off and switch on your handset. Further to this process

of turning off the Push SMS, you will not receive any service SMS.

We hope that we have been able to fulfill your query suitably.

Please do write in for any further assista



Re: MO - 98........: INCORRECT BILLING [BALQrc122031310030215036563]

________________________________________

121@in.airtel.com <121 in.airtel.com=""> Fri, Mar 22, 2013 at 1:12 PM

To: kiran@k...g.com

Namaste Kiran Ghag,

You wrote in on 22-03-2013 expressing concern about subscription service activated without your consent for your airtel mobile number 98.........

Thank you for your mail to airtel and the opportunity to assist you.

We wish to inform you that we have already deactivated subscription service on your number with effect from 13-02-2013

If you wish to stop or disable the service related SMS received on your mobile,

we request you to follow the below mentioned path:

Step 1: Go to Menu - Message - Service inbox settings / PUSH SMS - Off status.

(This path may vary depending on the handset)

Step 2: Please switch off and switch on your handset. Further to this process

of turning off the Push SMS, you will not receive any service SMS.

We hope that we have been able to fulfill your query suitably.

Please do write in for any further assistance.



Yours Sincerely,

Divya. M

Customer Care

Bharti Airtel Limited



---------Original Message----------

From: kiran@k...g.com
To: 121@in.airtel.com

Cc:

Sent: 22/03/2013 10:52:10 AM

Subject: Re: MO - 98........: INCORRECT BILLING [BALQrc121031323031815024283]



Why am I recieving mesaages from ask doctor service if its not active



On Mar 22, 2013 10:50 AM, <121 in.airtel.com=""> wrote:

Namaste!

Ref: Email dated 21-03-2013, expressing concern regarding the activation of

value Added services for your airtel mobile number 98.........

Thank you for your mail to airtel and the opportunity to assist you.

On receipt of your email we verified our records and found that the ASK A

DOCTOR is already deactivated with effect from 13-02-2013.

We request you to clear the billed amount within the due date to avoid late fee

charges and to enjoy uninterrupted services.

We hope that we have been able to assist you suitably.

Please do write in for any further assistance.



Yours Sincerely,

Shrisha P

Customer Care

Bharti Airtel Limited



---------Original Message----------

From: kiran@k...g.com

To: 121@in.airtel.com

Cc:

Sent: 21/03/2013 11:13:45 PM

Subject: Re: MO - 98........: INCORRECT BILLING [BALQrc121031322032915024000]



Hi,

Thanks for the refund.

I have received VAS messages from ask doctor today itself at 14:57. The message

to stop service has not worked. please do it from your end

Kiran



On Thu, Mar 21, 2013 at 11:10 PM, <121 in.airtel.com=""> wrote:

Namaste,

You wrote in on 21-03-2013, with a request to stop ask-Doctor for your airtel

mobile 98.........

As requested, The ask-Doctor service has been stopped on 21-03-2013.

You can also text STOP to 121 (toll free) and follow instructions to stop the

Value Added Services.

We would like to confirm that a waiver of Rs. 10/- towards VAS charges has been

posted in your account on 21-03-2013. The credit amount for the same will be

reflecting in your forthcoming invoice dated 12-04-2013.

Service message:

If you wish to stop or disable the service related SMS received on your mobile,

we request you to follow the below mentioned path:

Step 1: Go to Menu - Message - Service inbox settings / PUSH SMS - Off status.

(This path may vary depending on the handset)

Step 2: Please switch off and switch on your handset. Further to this process

of turning off the Push SMS, you will not receive any service SMS.

We request you to clear the billed amount within the due date to avoid late fee

charges and to enjoy uninterrupted services.

Thank you so much for choosing to continue with airtel. We welcome your

feedback.

Yours Sincerely,

Ranjith HK WCC MO

Customer Care

Bharti Airtel Limited

Airtel Irritation - example of how morons run Airtel mobile support

Out of nowhere, once Airtel decided to activate "Ask-A-Doctor" service on my mobile. I quickly asked their customer service to stop it. I was told that they have "deactivated" the service and I need to wait till the bill to be generated to know if any refunds are needed.

The bill was generated and there was additional charge. After complaining, that was reversed quickly.

However, I still kept getting annoying tips from their service, atleast one message daily.

I kept complaining and they kept telling me that the service has been deactivated and I can send message "STOP" to 121. Sending this message informed me (via message) that there are no value added services active on my number. And their tips kept raining.

Once again I complained and I was told same solution - send STOP message. But this time there was an additional input, they asked me to disable flash messages. Nevertheless, that didnt help.

I tried to post feedback to their case response. There was a link for feedback in the mail communication. However, upon submitting the response, an error is thrown - "User not authorised to access page!". Perhaps its a preset logic to avoid negative responses reaching in their queue!

Upon serching net a bit more, found that they have another keyword "UNSUB" for the "Ask-A-Doctor" service. I sent that and got immediate reply - the service has been deactivated!!!

I still wonder
- How this service got activated on its own?
- Is this a consumer scam/tactics by Airtel to generate additional revenue from users who dont care? (They were quick to reverse the charge. Normally they would fight for one paisa of outstanding bill amount but here since they started it on their own, they quickly tried to cover it up maybe. So people who complain would keep quiet, others would keep paying)
- Why their customer reps keep sending irrelevent replies? They are not even aware that there are two different types of services (facepalm)

Do let me know if you have similar experience with these tactics of Airtel.

Jugaad - Data recovery from old hard disk

My neighbor came to me a day and said, "hey look, I got this old PC laying around and there is some data on it. Can you recover it? The hard disks is crashed. There are some old pics on it which I would like to have back."

"Bring it over", I said.

So he sent it over. I opened the cabinet and took out the disk - Western Digital Caviar 40GB ATA. Quickly connected it to laptop using USB IDE adapter and waited for the disk to be detected.

A minute went by and no sign. I checked power and disk had not spun up. Looked like it was real dead all this time and sleeping peacefully in the ATX coffin :)

However, detailed look at the disk revealed this ...

"Ohh well, lets try to revive it", I said to myself and shoved some aluminum foil in the molex connector, hoping that it would make contact. It didnt work.

Cut a small wire, put in molex and taped it over exposed 5V contact on PCB. Voila! disk spun up and Windows found it in seconds. Resurrection!!!

One problem though, tape wont hold the wire over PCB and disk spun down :( I could press it down and it would stay on but remove the finger and it powered down again. Soldering was other option but I hate to solder these wave soldered contacts.

Solution: keep a laptop power adapter on the contact to keep it pressed :)
It worked. The disk appeared to be very fine and I could retrieve entire data off it without problem :)

Morale: Believe in Jugaad :) :) :) :)

Why I dont dig Smartphones

Computing has come a long way since it started. History has proven that every new thing replaces the older and takes things higher, floppies gave way to hard disks, hard disks to SSD. Monochrome got replaced by color, crt by lcd, CLI moved to GUI and GUI aims to go touch way.

Its time for android and ios to play battle. I am no way an expert on both but having witnessed computing over years, I still feel these smartphones are still phones. They can replace the phone, but not the PCs yet.

Since I surrendered my workhorse thinkpad when I left job recently, I am without a laptop. All I have is this android slate with. I am trying to get things done, which I would normally do on a laptop. Results: few months on, and I am still struggling! Why? Lets see...

Touch
Its easy to type with swype, prediction but I still miss the pure full 3D keyboard

Nagware
Its based on open model, but free is no more free as in free beer. Suddenly every developer wants to blast you with free adware version or buy full version. Makes me think how these guys earned their living before. People used to write freeware and there were so many good ones. Looks like that word and culture is history now.

Behaviour/usability
One thing annoys me is the way wheel is being reinvented. There was a time when critics and fanatics fought over how a particular OS has bad GUI behaviour and how it requires x amount of more clicks to get a job done. Are they sleeping in their graves?

I am writing this post on a tablet, as I have moved beyond one page, simple stuff like formatting one word into bold or italics needs back and forth scrolling in blogger!
I haven't managed easy way in google mail app to select all mails in a click.
There is no standard way to layouts and most developers are creating their own. It can be easy for literates but try teaching a computer illiterate and you will know the difference.

Integration
Convergance is good for hardware but it leads to half baked software. Stuff that looks good on 4inch looks sparse on tablets. Folks its okay if you code specific versions for tablet or handheld. But try to write a one size fits all version and you mess both.
One example of half baked software apart from ones shared above is google maps. Nokia offerred a perfect solution for maps, full with offline maps, turn by turn navigation and route editing. Google maps cannot do offline maps for entire state or multiple countries. I have had tough time while trying to customise route. Then I created custom map on pc and sent link to googl maps on iphone. The app re calculated path and it was not same as its desktop counterpart. Nokia never had such issues and that phone was equally good at rest of the things.
On integration, bill gates was sued for integrating browser into OS. Now its defacto to have everything mixed into OS. There is no OS infact. The browser is os, os is camera and camera has file uploader. Anyone?

One button
Also obsession for one button is beyond me. Many pre android/ios smartphones had multiple buttons for camera, volume, audio controls and. On a newer phone its so frustrating to unlock and navigate just to change song. And with bigger tablets, holding one to click photo, especially self clicks is sure lame. Atleast give full keyboard on screen with shortcut keys or modern equivalent s of ,

Crappy multitasking
No other word, its not true multitasking yet. Its TSR way of multitasking. We are just stretching a phone screen concept to match what we do on a desktop. They blame it on lack of processing power but if today's calculatora can pack prehistoric supercomputers then smartphones can atleast pack a humble pentium, can't they?

Multiuser
First the computer was personal, then it became multiuser and now its back as single user. Couldnt anyone see this as a necessary feature? May not be on a phone, but on a a shared tablet in a family? Its going to be here but why was it lacking in the first place??

Open?
I can no more use one media to setup on different phones. its not what you do everyday but Imagine if you needed different OS media for your dell pentium and you have to wait for Dell to release it for your particular version. Or you are stuck with x version of ubuntu on your desktop since no one has ever written update for your hardware combo? Why a particular app wont run on samsung tab but can run on others flawlessly?
Interoperability was dealbreaker back in earlier days, many superior products died cause they were proprietary. Now no one bothers! Its so easy to switch devices than expect value for money and better programming.

Why can't manufacturer keep software and hardware seperate and focus on one of them. Ultimately there are no PCs and compatibles akin to old days, now there are note 1s, note 2s and blah blah. (I believe apple is bit different here)

Updates
Everyone complained how windows updates were annoying. Now updates keep coming every other day and that seems like a norm. We are no more users, we are beta testers for a product that never enters release.

Cloud
Every app assumes internet connectivity and thats kind of dangerous for your privacy. Someone said rightly, if you want to secure your data, dont connect your PC to the net. Now every bit is on net and you cannot know how many people see it.
You cannot use some basic apps if you do not connect to net and that freaks me out. One crappy software claimed video conversion. it uploaded every video to its server, convert it there and download it later #facepalm
Remember, clouds are in sky (net). Rings a bell?

Disclaimer
I do not make any claim that this is the final word. This is how I see things based on my usage. You are welcome to share your view or let me know how to get things done. Perhaps I am expecting too much from a phone.

PS
During the edits, somehow I can't see any bold formatted text. Unless I publish it, I wont know! And I am not bothered. This is my last post from an android.

Is this Time-Travel?

Case 1 : Catching up with others who have gone past you, in time before you.

Time	Scene 1	Scene 2	Scene 3
7.00 am	Arrive at a the highway signal as it goes RED right in front of youself. Watch others speeding away. Notice one particular biker who managed to pass when it was gree and revved up as if there is no tomorrow	Arrive at a the highway signal as it goes RED right in front of youself. Watch others speeding away. Notice one particular biker who managed to pass when it was gree and revved up as if there is no tomorrow	Just arrived at a signal as it goes RED right front me. Watching others speeding away. Noticed one particular biker revving up as if there is no tomorrow
7.01 am	Signal goes GREEN, start moving at leisure speed, the biker has vanished ahead	Do nothing, stop aside	Do nothing, stop aside
7.06 am	Keep moving slowly, the biker has reached next signal	Still wait	Still wait
7.07am	The biker gets GREEN again, he starts ripping	Start ripping	Still wait
7.09 am	Keep moving slowly, you reach next signal and it just goes RED as you reach	Reach the signal just before it goes RED, continue, biker is almost in sight,	Enter time machine
7.15 am	Biker has gone much ahead	Rip further and zoom by him. He is taken aback by the close fly-by	Exist the time machine behind just before the biker. Surprise him by similar fly-by as in Scene 2

Case 2 : Reaching office before those who start before you and reach after you.

Time	Scene 1	Scene 2	Scene 3
7.00 am	Wake up, hurry up, get ready for work	Sleep	Sleep
7.45 am	Ready to leave house	Wake up!	Sleep
7.50 am	Catch auto	get ready	Sleep
8.05 am	Reach bus stop	get ready	Sleep
8.10 am	Get into bus, sleep	Ready to leave the house, start bike, rip hard	Wake up!
8.20 am	Sleep	rip, rip, rip	Enter time machine
8.45 am	Sleep	Reach office	Exit at office
9.00 am	Reach office

Note: Dont disect the timeline, but get the idea. Travelling on Momo is like time travel :)

Wikipedia blackout workaround

Overall perceived IQ of humanity would drop down significantly today. Thanks to the Wiki Blackout :)

If you are those who still want to desperately refer wikipedia, try this:
Press <esc> (Escape Key) as soon as the page loads, it should prevent the redirection to blackout banner. Worked with Firefox atleast.

:)

so how does Mr. Sibbal expect to implment this pre-screening?

- Apply for SSN (Social Sites & Networking) ID (So be prepared to witness yet another fraud related to preparing and distributing cards, goof ups etc...)

- A new department will be formed and centers put up across the country. The department would be called - Department of Union Ministry of Badmouth Against Sajjan Sarkar (DUMBASS)

- Every time you wish to tweet or post on social sites, you would need to write all the posts/tweets in prescribed format on a form and submit it to the nearest center alongwith photocopy of your SSN ID

- The department would scrutinize and selectively approve your form and approval number would be provided. The approval is at sole descretion of the department and UT Tax is applicable (Under Table Tax)

- If you are part of any political family or on the official list of VIP (Very Irritating Persons) then this process is exempted.

- There would be standard tweets/posts which would be pre-approved e.g. Hi, whats up, happy birthday, congratulations etc...the government does not wish to take away your freedom of expressions you see.

"Living with Ninja Experiences" - First Day Out

Rode it to office on Temp registration. Didnt get caught :)


As expected, it was attention grabbing in the common parking lot. Colleagues came down to see and hear it live. Some unknown employees too went down and had a look. Got glances and questions everywhere :) The size and color is more attention grabbing that exhaust.

There was one moment on road when I decided to open throttle a little and it just surged ahead, I felt as it I would be thrown off. But realized that this can be avoided by leaning ahead a bit before doing so. It then beams ahead easily and objects in mirror start getting smaller faster :)

Heat was manageable too. Lights still need to be adjusted. The adjustment screw seems unresponsive :(

On return trip, it started drizzling and lightening due to receding monsoon (was I being photographed from above? :D ). Managed to reach home before it rained but bike had to face rains afterwards in parking. Will have to wipe it off before sleeping and put the covers on.

Loved the first day out!!!

"Living with Ninja Experiences" - Preface

 

They always said that life changes in India after you bring home a superbike. Ninja 650R is not really a superbike but by Indian standards of commuter biking, it definitely is one.

Its been just two days that the bike has come home. Registration formalities are underway and I am already feeling the "Living with Ninja Experiences".

People started approaching right at the showroom door and started asking price. Dad was zapped after knowing it. He couldnt believe that it costs that much. and then "You could buy a big car in that money!". The sweeper in the next building came running and insisted that I tell him the price.

One shop owner offerred me to park it inside his compound instead of parking on the road, without asking. Never happened in past when I parked P180 or P220F in front of this shop.

One guy on road, honked and gave thumbs up, then proceeded to tail for a while.

Met a guy at RTO, very excited to see "Ninja ZX 650". kept talking in english though I answered in hindi. He showed the "air cooler" to his partner, and then proceeded to tell him, "mere ko car me jyada knowledge nahi hai, lekin bike ka sab pata hai" (I dont know much in cars but I know everything in bikes)

Another guy : "isme silencer nahi hai?" (Doesnt it have a silencer?)
me (very innocently)": "nahi hai" (No!)
 
One fellow asked if he can sit and take a pic (I really appreciate these manners, as long as I can politely say No :) ). He took a pic and told me, "It would go on facebook now and your bike will be famous"
 
Two typical questions that deserve a placard to be put on bike with answers
- "Kitane ki hai?" (How much does it cost)
- "Kitana deti hai?" (How many kilometers a litre)
 
And thanks to the Daytime Running Light, people go crazy, drop their work and stand in middle of the road to tell that I am running with the lights on. This is accompanied with palm gesture similar to screwing a bulb in-out of its socket. I usually have my lights on so this is less of an annoyance now :)
 
Havent gone out since registaration is not completed, hopefully that happens next week. Till then it would stay parked :( More after that... :)
 

An unusual wedding...

She arrived and preturbed my miniscule world. I was simply love at first sight. Her voice was not the sweetest yet it was seductive enough. Touching her was romantic. Cupid arrow hit the vantage point and paralysed rational thinking system.




I looked in her eyes in anticipation. "I am no rich, I am no superhero, You will get small place to stay, but endless road to travel with me. Will you still be mine?", I asked with anxity. She was responsive and ready to come along.

"I want to take you home!", I promised her as I left. And it was another love story starting to brew...



The family was orthodox. I had to arrange dowry. "Nagad do, Dulhan le jao", her caretaker said withough blinking an eye. The demand meant a fortune and years spent inside four walls of professional jail to earn it. Friends were critical. "She is an expensive women and you are not meant to have one.", I was told and joked around.



She was not the only one around but she seemed perfect. "Would I want to give up a fortune to be with her, pamper her and take her places?", I asked myself.

"YES", this echoed somewhere deep within. Submission was destined.



The wait was long. I had time to prepare. I had to buy her stuff before she arrived. I wanted to look the best on "the day". The nights were long and days were dreamy. She was with me virtually every minute and on every road. The feeling of wondering didnt seem to end. There is always something in life that you crave for all along. It was this at moment and it seemed like a mirage.



Finally the day arrived. I reached the venue, eyes rolled in every corner for a view of her. Feet were shaky and palms had become damp. The priest stood in front and finally she arrived. My eyes didnt blink for next few minutes. She seemed eager too, anxious and nervous, I was more. Time was running slow and heart beat faster than an crazy engine on track.



Priests announced, "Who gives this woman to be married to this man?", her caretaker came forward, "I do".



I heard further, "Let me charge you both to remember, that your future happiness is to be found in mutual acceleration, idling, revving, honking, touring, commuting and affection. It is your duty to love her as yourself, provide tender leadership, and protect her from danger.", "It is your duty to treat him with respect, take him places and father happy triplogs.", "It is the duty of each of you to find the greatest joy in the company of the other; to remember that in both interest and affection, you are to be one and undivided. You will be rider because of her and you will ride because of him."



"Do you accept each other as your partner to hold and have hold from this day forward, for better or worse, to love and cherish, till 'death do us apart?'"





















"YES I DO!", I couldnt say anything else.



I can now kiss the bride!!!!!!