Tricks to get Twitter working when it is blocked - Twitter Alternatives

These days, most of the organsations such as educational institutions,financial organsations,offces and many others ban social networking sites such as twitter to be used. And if yo are a twitter fan,you'll be in problem.

So what should we do.

I researched the internet over the various ways to get over this trouble, and here are the best of them.

Use Twitter on your phone. Thats the best way possible. Neither the administrator can track your activities,nor he can block. But in case you cannot afford the data plans, or don't have a gprs enabled phone, here are a few other good alternatives.

Try using tools like Posterous or Nutshellthat allow anyone to send and recieve tweets through regular email.

And if you have a firewall which blocks twitter.com website, you can use third party sites like Brizzly or Dabr.

These sites give you a brand new interface to your Twitter account with all new re-invented regular features(retweets,@replies,etc), and will work even if Twitter is restricted to be accessed from your network computer. Upto 5 accounts can be used with Brizzly.

If using IM clients is allowed at your workplace, you can use this TweetSwitch to send and recieve tweets through popular Instant Messaging clients like AIM, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, Skype and GTalk.

If Twitter is allowed, abd you don't want your boss to know that you're using too much twitter, here's the trick. Try using Quitter.
Quitter is a simple twitter client that runs through the command prompt or the DOS window. With Quitter, you can read and reply to tweets, follow /unfollow people or even manage your direct messages with it. This is the safest possible client to use. All you need is a computer which runs on Windows.

But those who can afford to use a client which might give the administrator a hint of Twitter usage, you can try this link of index.

If you work too much on Microsoft Office, you can use Spreadtweet. This is a complete Twitter client which disguises in form of a Spreadsheet. Hence you can show your Boss that you're working(which you're having a great leisure time). Spreadtweet allows you to send and receive updates, @replies and direct messages all inside an application that looks like a clone of Excel 2007.

Another option with Microsoft Office is TwInbox, which disguises as your Outlook client.

I hope all these are more than enough to cater all your needs. If you have any doubts/comments/suggestions, feel free to comment.

Now use 3G VOIP on your iPhone

Fring - a VOIP and chat app for the iPhone is a great VOIP application to use on iPhone. In its latest update, you can make video and voice calls over a 3G connection. And the best part, its free !

Some even say that it can convert your iPod into an iPhone(using internet and Skype's VOIP). The updated version of Fring uses your 3G network on your iPhone to to call or video chat(and ofcourse Wi-Fi when you're around a Wi-Fi hotspot).

For all those who already have Fring on their phone,need not worry about updating. Fring will automatically update itself the next time you open it. In case you're getting an error message on your first attempt at a voice or video call, click on More -> Go Offline and open Fring a second time.

And for those who cannot access 3G on their iPhone(as their devices are unlocked), they can also use it. Its a great app to stay connected to all your buddies and friends on AIM, Google Talk, MSN, and so on.

Download fring from Here.

Google mixes things up,sends shipment to the wrong place

If you're from UK and one of those customers who're still waiting for your Nexus One to be delivered,you might have to wait more.
One of Google's dispatchment has been sent to incorrectly. The consignment which was meant to be sent to United Kingdom(UK) has been delivered to Uraguay(UG).
Twitter has been flooded with tweets from people irritated because of the delay.
Some even said that Google should ship new phones instead of the ones landed up in Uraguay.

From POD to PAD - The evolution of Steve Jobs

From powerbook's,to iPhone's,from iPod to iPad,all the releases have been kept very anonymous.
Thats another feather in the hat of the founder of Apple corporation , Steve Jobs.
Growing up facing difficulties,Steve learnt early in life how to face difficulties,and control situations. And that ability of his payed him off . Till now,all his releases have been major successes , and even under enormous pressure,he manages to keep things secret.
UnLike the Backflip(whose images were leaked online weeks advance prior to its unveiling),Apple never faced any such situation. Even before the historic iPhone unveiling,no-one had a clue what it would look like,or of its configuration. Instead,controlled rumors infact grew people's interest in it.
That shows the strong management,ability to understand the market of Mr CEO .

Apple launches the hyped iPad for under $499

Steve Jobs released the much hyped Apple iPad. This iPad was a surprising one. Priced under 1000$, Apple surely ahs taken thw world by shock. Here's a glance at the new iPad



The iPad comes in a 9.7" touch screen. It is 0.5" thick,weighs 1.5 pounds. No physical keyboards there,it has a touch screen full QWERTY virtual keyboard.

The storage in the tablet is done by 16/32/64 GB Solid State Drives. Running on the 1GHz Apple A4 processor chip,it supports Wi-Fi 802.11n. The battery life is stated to be around 10hours. The iPad has a speaker too. And to unlock the iPad,all you have to do is to slide it,thats it !

It also includes Speaker, Microphone, 30-pin connector, Accelerometer, and compass,but surprisingly NO GPS(that's why its below $1k).

The iPad is built on the iPhone's OS. Hence it can run the iPhone apps(as demonstrated by Scott Forstall, SVP of iPhone software). The demonstration included apps like Nova(a newly developed game), Brushes(A drawing software), and iBooks(for reading e-books,how come apple miss that).

On the hardware front, it does boast an Accelerometer. Travis Boatman of Electronic Arts demonstrated the gaming potential of the device, with Need for Speed Shift being demonstrated. The game run was same as of iPhone's - turning the thing left makes the car go left.

The bult has an LED backlight display tech, but IPS for everything else. This makes it easier to see at multiple angles. There’s some special type of silicone they used for this thing too.

The iBook(which should have been thrown open for the iPhone by the time you're reading this post) looks like a bookshelf. Learning from Kindle and Amazon,Apple decided to focus on its strong points, the ones where it is the market leader.

You can change the fonts, tap to change the page, or just flip the page with your finger.


More apps like the iWork(which Steve Jobs himself wanted to create) are available in the market now(iWork's available for around $10,though it still needs some improvement).



The Pas sync's with your PC or Mac, and syncs it n the same way as the iPhone. The 3G version does allow you to use 3G,costs $14.99n for 250MB/Month and $29.99/month for unlimted on AT&T's network. There's no contract,you're free to cancel. AT&T has decided to let all its wi-fi spots FREE fr the iPad(Now you'll call it simply 'Great').You activate this all on the iPad itself.

The iPad supports Google Maps and Youtube too.Youtube can be watched in HD. The musc player bundled with seems more of a new Tunes version.

Now here's the pricing

There are a lot of models. 3G models require an extra $130.

- WiFi only: $499 (16 GB), $599 (32 GB), $699 (64 GB)

- Wifi and 3G: $629, $729, $829

-Availability: 60 days for Wi-Fi models

64 GB with 3G is the most expensive with price $829. .

And this iPad can be accessorised too - with the Keyboard dock and a protectve case(Its an Apple,expect lot of them to be coming soon).

I'll post more info as i get them.



Picture Courtesy mashable.com
iPad Official Website

Shiv Sena opposes Australian team

In account of the attacks on Indian students n Australia, Shiv Sena has called for a non-cooperation movement against Australians as a mark of their protest.
In a interview to the media,Shiv Sena chef Bal Thackrey announced that they would not let an Australian team,or an delegation to participate in any activity. Some have welcomed,while some didn't approve of it.



My personal opinion is that he should stop only players to refrain from participating. That shall convey the message well to the sleeping Australian government, who cannot protect foriegn nationals on its land.

This i say keeping in mind that around two dozen Indian students were attacked racially which even resulted in death in many cases,and the relatives of the victims haven't get a proper response yet from the Australian Fireign ministry.

Places to visit in New Delhi

Being the host for the commonwealth games, here are the best places to go around. Do visit them whenever possible. Remember these aren't the ones which people/tourist guides usually refer. I call them the unseen,urban India.


South Delhi

Defence colony market - great for ethenic Indian tastes
INA market(Near All India Institute of Medical Sciences hospital)
Delhi Haat(opposite to INA market,near All India Institute of Medical Sciences)
Saket - PVR cineplex complex
Saket - Select Citywalk complex(Near Max Hospital) - This mall complex has pubs,shops,eateries
Vasant Vihar market complex(Near Hotel Jaypee) - Has Pubs and Discotheques, along with Hotel Jaypee just next to it

East Delhi

Rajiv Gandhi memorial park,also sometimes known as Indraprastha park(Near Akshardham temple,bus routes 534,543,492 and some more ply on that route,takes 10-15minutes by bus from Akshardham)
Pragati Maidan
Akshardham Temple(The largest Hindu temple in the world)

And you can go to any of the malls anytime freely. Please note that the notings i've provided in brackets are very important. They have to be mentioned,else you might reach the wrong place.

These are the places which would suit you the best,i've kept in view that you would be quite new to the city,its mixedbag culture and the country. The above mentioned places are extremely neat, a hub for foreign nationals,and have extensive police security.

And as for the eateries,you can opt for any of those mentioned in Times Food Guide,or any journal provided by Ministry of Tourism.


I'll add on more information later this year as dedicated tourist and transport services are launched.

Travel Advice for India

On the upcoming commonwealth games 2010,being the host to all the global tourists, here are a few important guidelines to note down before reading anything else

Carry a global credit card all the time,and keep it signed.

Note down the emergency and handy numbers
Police - 100(STD CODE-100)
Ambulance - 101(STD CODE-100)
Address/Information helpline - 011-22222222,011-62222222,011-198(for government services)
Dial a Cab - 011-38383838(Valid in New Delhi only)



Do keep all the embassey/counselate numbers stored in your phone.

Do NOT carry SATELLITE phones. Using satellite phones in India is ILLEGAL and PUNISHABLE(Only the Indian armed forces are allowed to use them,a step to check on terrorism). If its inevitable,inform your embassey and ask them for directons to follow.

Keep in touch with your close ones all the time(no matter where they are)

Go ONLY for the government registered travel agent/tour operator/pre-paid taxi stand.

Ask for a bill FIRST always whenever you make a transaction.


Thats and if you have any queries/questions/doubts, or need to know something,just post it here. You're welcome

Moto launches BackFlip

Motorola,after the Droid comes up with a new handset - the MotoFlip,also known as BackFlip. Code named as Enzo, this handset runs on verson 1.5 of the Android Operating system.



Ths new handset would be exclusive for the users of AT&T , hence makng it the frst Android handset on the American cellcom.

The new part is that the device comes with a touchpad on the back of the screen. The screen already being a touch screen, still Motorola guys decided to give it an additional browsing option for those who find the screen too congested,and might face display problems while selecting things.(Now thats what i call 'wierd').

A funny part, being a google powered handset,the device does have a Yahoo search widget. That was something shocking. AT&T(whch happens to have the iPhone's exclusivity) seems to be making a blunder with this, as google fans wouldn't be liking it at all.

Reports say that it is slightly thinner, slightly shorter both length and width, and lighter than the G1(big deal,G1 was enormously big,probably the largest possible).

And here's the technical specificaton for the device

528 MHz Qualcomm MSM7201A
512 MB ROM
256 MB RAM
3.1 inch display 320 x 480 (HVGA)
5 megapixel camera with LED flash
WiFi / Bluetooth 2.0 / GPS
OS Android 1.5 with Motoblur
GSM 850/900/1800/1900 W-CDMA 850/900/1700/1900/2100
Reverse flip keyboard
Rear directional touchpad

More details when i get an in-depth review.

Source

Nokia Brings out its new N900

After much hype,the Noka N900 comes out. ts qute smlar to the N810.

It has the same general shape as Nokia's earlier Internet Tablets. A slider with a large

WVGA touchscreen and a landscape-oriented keyboard,the addition of a cellular radio and
the cohesion of the user interface makes this feel more of an entirely new device that's

aimed to gain some new fans, but also disenfranchise some older ones.

On the display,there's still a resistive touchscreen, running at a comfortable 800 by 480

pixels within 3.5 inches diagonally. At just under 270ppi, that's about as close to paper

as LCD screens get these days.

When it comes to usability,the N900's is a three-row keyboard which ingeniously integrates

directional keys on the right side. While it's smaller (width and height) than the one on

N810, it feels much better due to its domed keys and excellent travel. It lacks a

directional pad, though, so you'll need to train both hands to use directional keys.

The 3.5mm headset jack has evolved to include TV-out (PAL/NTSC), yet remains on the right

side. It's joined by a dedicated screen-lock toggle button and a well hidden stylus.

The micro-SDHC card slot is located under the this panel, as is the 1320 mAh battery. This

simply means accessing problems.

The phone comes wth a 5 megapixel Carl Zeiss camera. This is a camera module similar to the

one used in the Nokia N97 and other recent devices from this company. has two LED flash

bulbs for better low-light pictures and video usability. The camera comes with dual-LED

flash, autofocus, full-screen viewfinder, and even a built-in photo editor.

Battery has an inferor storage capacity (1320 mAh). This is much smaller than the 1500 mAh

that ships with the N97 and N810, and the space is packed very tight.

The phone runs on Maemo Linux. The Maemo 5 made its debut with this model, and is something

of a departure for this operating system.

The notifications system has seen a complete makeover, pulling a page or two from Android

and Palm's webOS with an innovative task manager and aggregated pull-down

status/presence/system status tray.

The phone supports only T-Mobile USA's 3G frequencies (2100/1700/900) -- though it's

otherwise quad-Band GSM (850/900/1800/1900),

Nevertheless, call quality is reportedly pretty good. The speakers are loud and clear

Nokia, more like the 5800XpressMuzic in that it can get very loud.

The N900 supports Wi-Fi b/g, and Bluetooth 2.0. The Wi-Fi antenna was said to be excellent.

The MicroB web browser returns for this version of Maemo.

The GPS antenna is much, much, much improved over the N810,but the developers at Nokia

wasted it. Ovi Maps for Maemo is not the same application the ones on Nokia's Symbian

devices. Besides missing integration with the Ovi Maps service (shared routes and POI),

without fast wireless (Wi-Fi or 3G), it becomes useless for driving directions. There also

no electronic compass to orient the map according to where you are facing. At this point,

it's just a map application

The developers seem have done an great job in making a mobile device that is a spiritual

successor to the N95(rest time will tell).

Sure, it doesn't have a capacitive screen, and is a fingerprint magnet (comes with a

cloth), but it’s as powerful as mobiles are these days: 600 MHz OMAP 3430 processor, 1 GB

of RAM, 32 GB internal memory and micro-SDHC expansion for more, etc.

A quick view at the tech specs

3.5in Touchscreen (800x480px)
256MB RAM (w/additional 768MB reserved for heap)
32GB Flash RAM internal storage
Micro-SDHC (up to 32 GB)
1320mAh battery; charges via micro-USB
3-row sliding QWERTY
5 megapixel camera, w/dual-LED, autofocus, geotagging
Video: WVGA(848 x 480)@25fps
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
Bluetooth 2.1 w/A2DP
Quad-Band GSM (850/900/1800/1900) with HSPA (2100/1700/900)
GPS w/A-GPS
Maemo Linux 5 (v1.2009.42.11.002)

New Posts coming

I've been working on a lot of new posts these das, and will uload them once the're finalised. Your wait's about to get over

Regards
PH

IPL auction ..... Paki headache

Last week, players for the fresh season of the Indian Premier League(popularly known as IPL) were auctioned. The only players that any of the team owners did not bid for were the Pakistani ones. Diplomatic strains between the Indian and Pakistani governments,uncertainity in cricketing scenario in pakistan, doping to name a few issues. Now a country plagued by uncertainity,ruled my a 'mentally insane' president,haunted by Taliban and various international terror organisatons like Al Qaeda,Hiabul-e-Mujahiddin, and so, even cricket board problems, how come any team owner risk his money.


And now the Pakistani government and players old Indian government responsible for this. This seems stupidity. Players like Shahid Afridi are jewels, everyone'd like to have him in his team, but who'd risk his money in a player, whose country's politics rules every game,every committee, every rule, and that when the politics isn't anywhere near stability. I find it pretty amusing to call Indians responsible for it.

What do you say? Do you agree with me or have a different opinion?

Accounts being hacked

Ever since last month, i've been finding that someone is trying to hack into my facebook and gmail account. This i got to know yesterday.

Facebook developers, being quite smart, had put on a suspect check to control the usage. Now when i checked it yesterday, i found that someone had been using my account very very frequenly. Infact, all the previous visits were at such timings when i was either sleeping,or would be offline. And after when i changed the password, just after 5 minutes,i was again asked to re-enter my password as my session expired. This seems like soeone is using cookies to infriltrate into my account.

So just be very very warned. Hackers are still out there tryong to get hold of your account.

China becomes a buisance

After being repeatedly in news for its non-liberal policies, China added a new chapter to it. This one, being just too much.

From now onwards, the biggest cellphone market its going to keep unprecedented censopship over its nation's text message traffic.

Users who send 'unhealthy and illegal' messages as defined by unknown criteria of propriety may find their text messaging services suddenly suspended. And only after those affected by this 'promise' the police not not to send 'bad' messages again to be allowed to use the service again.

Nine government departments have enlisted 13 criteria to judge the messages. An automatic filtering system will be activated on detection of keywords in message content.

This means that even using the cellphone for personal conversations wouldn't be possible.

Being aimed to wipe out mobile porn, the message filtering would block any suspected 'unhealthy' message,suspend the number's text functonality and would wait for the police to evaluate. In case the police gives it a clean chit,it will issue the user a certificate to seek redemption of the services. In case the police finds it offenive, teh functionality shll remain barred.

Already under fire for exercising too much surveillance and censorhip, the Chinese government , which has still blocked internet access and text messaging services from XinJiang district where the riots erupted last July, and many blogs and sites like Facebook,Twitter etc banned throughout the nation, this has come as another shock.

Iranian Cyber Army strikes again

Popular Chinese search engine Baidu faced troubles last week as a hacker group claiming their identity to be Iranian Cyber Army hacked into their systems and disrupted its services. Iranian Cyber Army is the same group twhich hacked into Twitter's systems earlier.

Now can they be the ones who attacked Google China last week,looking that Baidu's also a search engine?

China goes ballistic,strips Avtar

On the 19th, the Chinese government ordered its movie halls to stop screening the Globe winning Avtar's 2D version. This came as the story of Avtar resonates with the Chinese democracy(though the government doesn't act as if it is democratic).


Earlier this month, Google had also protested against the Chinese censorship that had been dictated on them.

Android's back...........with a Droid

Android's back.....with a bang !
And the new ones on the android - Moto Droid,HTC Hero,Dell Mini 3 to list a few.

Seems like Android is going to be BIG this year

New Year - old saga

Sometimes things aren't that good as they promise.

Mobile number POrtability(or MNP) was supposed to be starting from 1st of january this year, but by now, there's no sign of what it is. Telecom companies aren't very keen to execute these services,they find it more laborious than fruitful.

Lets hope that by the end of the year,it starts being operational.

Videocon launches new phones

Videocon International - better known as the largest CRT picture tube manufacturer in the world, has launched its new series of phones in December in Mumbai. Aimed to cater to all needs, the company projects to breach into the top three spots by the end of the year.

Did someone tell them that last year around 33 Handset manufacturers launched their products in India - and we hardly know any !

Kodak on a sueing spree

Photography giant Kodak Inc. yesterday filed a lawsuit against Apple Corporation and Research In Motion for infringement of copyright. It claimed that Apple's iPhone and RIM's Blackberry phones had a feature which infringed upon Kodak's copyright.

Seems like its shooting time for Kodak

Intel comes up with new processors

Intel unveiled its new series of processors at CES. The new processor series - The i series, and the core series were the latest additions to the Intel family.
Intel showcased its new trend of embedding a new graphics processor in its mainboard - something its taking as a new initiative(with uncertainity about its acceptance by people).
Also it launched a new processor called Moorestown(inspired by the same Moore who invented Intel and also formulated the popular Moore's Law).

More details on it as soon i get an update on that

Dell's new tablet

Dell Inc just launched its new tablet PC - Dell Mini 5. Based on Google's Android operating system,this tablet can also work as a cellphone,though the phone wasn't meant to be a full fledged phone. This 5 inched tablet seems to be a good piece of electronic engineering by what i've read about it. It also boasts a 5Megapixel camera along with 1GHz Snapdragon CPU and has two microSD memory card slots, and a 1,530mAh battery.

Unveiled at CES,Las Vegas earlier this month,it is expected to be priced around 500$. Furthur details are still to be announced

50's back

Somewhat recently,i caught up with Curtis Jackson aka 50Cent's newest single "Baby By Me" which features Ne-Yo.
Earlier in the days when i started blogging, 50 had come up with a not-so-good "Curtis",which some say wasn't more than an "Amusement Park". Since that,his fans were expecting a lot from him.

Known for his great beats,the attitude in his music reflects the aggression that the fans love listening to. And thats exactly what he serves in his "Baby By Me".

Day-dreaming about a girl and a possible future with her in the "Baby" video,after a long time the rapidness,action and adrenaline is visible in his spirits. Teaming up with Ne-Yo gives him a variation option in the track. This 3minute 34second long track has got me hooked at the moment,though i'm still not very clear with the lyrics,i'll have to go through them(but this is 50,so lyrics shouldn't be the preference,right?). Though he doesn't get the girl in the video(she's already married to some poor chap and has kids),50 surely strikes the right notes with this track.

The track features a snippet from his earlier album "Curtis"'s, "I get Money" which was written 50 himself. "I get money" track was earlier said to be the best track in the album. His second album "The Massacre" seemed to be a massacre for his fans who were expecting really high after the groundbreaking "Get Rich or Die Tryin".And the interesting part. The cover for "Before i Self Destruct" shows 50 behind a cracked glass pane, and similar was "Get Rich"'s cover, where a bullet hole is visible through a glass pane,giving a sight at his 'bling' studded cross.

Call it 'a good holiday','desperation for a decent hit','experience' or whatever. 50 has somehow managed to return himself(and return for good) in the same package in which he was introduced. It'll promote Hip-Hop culture more.

Do you think the same?