Cellphones... mobile phones and such

Thinking back to 2001, and the very first mobile phone which I had... it was a Nokia, something which looked like the one below. I was given this when I first went to the hostel, and I used to keep it switched off almost all through. Never carry it, just keep it locked in the cupboard and use it to call my parents or receive calls just before I head to bed. I did not know what was the model number, in fact I did not even know that there were model numbers for different phones.

The life of this phone was certainly short lived, as within 6 months into college, I wanted to get another phone, one which would at least fit in my hand and could also be shoved into jeans pockets. This certainly was not working in that respect.

 My next phone was a Siemens C35i which was gifted to me on the happy occasion of coming home after surviving 6 months in college and still deciding to head back after a month long break at home. I think parents really thought they needed to keep in touch with me and figure out how I was managing.

This was one of the sturdiest phones which I have come across. From those times in 2002, I think I had a penchant for dropping mobile phones and it was an almost weekly affair which I am talking about. The battery used to come out, sometimes the body used to get ever so slightly nicked, but there was never a time when the phone stopped working with all these small drops ( as I would call it). Falling is something which is far more serious and that is also something which did come about , finally causing the demise of this loyal partner.

So when did this phone fall down? As I was coming down the stairs of my institute building after a lecture on the 8th floor. The phone was in my hand along with books ( not in the jeans pocket as it was to be) and it slipped and fell through the hollow space of the spiral stairway. I still remember the sharp draw of breath around me, and I rushed down, as fast as I could through 6 flights of stairs, to receive my phone in a similar way after the numerous drops. The battery was dislodged, there were many dents and I prayed hard as I inserted the battery and tried in vain to power it up. The phone never switched on after that, and I was left thinking what shall I tell my parents after a year of usage.

Next up in 2003, I decided to get a phone as it was something I had gotten used to, and my parents had agreed that I could go and pick up what I wanted. So, I went ahead and picked up a Sony Ericsson T105.

This was to be a long standing relationship which i was to have with Sony Ericsson. I loved the clean look of this phone and I did not think that there would be anything else I would want in a long time.

Little did I know that there are some forces which never really work for me and phones! In another year, I was travelling in an autorickshaw and this phone was in my 'pocket'. But, as I slipped out of after the ride, the phone also conveniently slipped out of my pocket. I still it was a pair of burgundy trousers, with a small pocket which fit the phone very snug. So, it slipped out, and I never really laid my eyes on this beauty again. I was completely heart broken. I really did love this phone as it was something which was my choice.  Here again, my parents grudgingly agreed to let me pick another phone, and in my mind I had decided I shall pick another Sony Ericsson.

Now with the changing times, the new fad in 2004 was clamshell, or flip phones. The whole generation was set on flipping open the phone and taking a call. And that is exactly what I went looking after. I decided to get a Sony Ericsson Z300i in Granite Grey. This was the phone I believe I used for a really long time. I liked the phone, it was conveniently sized and was again very sturdy in terms of my frequent drops.

I used this phone for a good 1.5 years and the keys started to wear off. The paint was peeling and the keys were also being non responsive after all the usage. I was glad that this was not a phone which was to spoil or be lost, but well used. I believe my parents also thought this was certainly an improvement in my usage and care of my phone. They decided that now I could be gifted another phone. This time they told me to make a pick and see what is that I wanted when they visited me next year. This led to a flurry of activity with my friends, all armed with desktops, would search for a really nice phone. And after a long search I told my parents what I wanted and they said I shall have it for my birthday.

So, in 2006, I got the Nokia 7373, which was pretty much the only swivel phone I have ever seen in my life. I think this was the most beautiful phone Nokia ever shipped out of their factory. The phone was a dream and with no OS complications and all, I decided to trade loyalties with Sony Ericsson and move to this beauty.

This was the phone which I came with to work at my first job. I loved this phone to bits and I do not think I would have changed it, unless I was again faced with a dash of bad luck. I was off to have a biryani on a sunday night in bangalore, and as I stepped out of B's car, the phone slipped out of my hand and on the street. I think it was on my lap and when I stepped out, I did not realize it had fallen. We had the  biryani before I shrieked at my realization. But by then, the streets were all clear with no trace of my beauty. I still love the look of this phone and I think it shall be the beauty which I shall cherish the most on this list.

Losing this phone was a huge blow and my parents very clearly told me as you are a earning person, buy your phone and take care of it. So, there I was on a search for a phone in 2008. I did my web research and I landed myself back with a Sony Ericsson, a S500.

I was trying to find a beautiful phone, similar to something I lost, and in those times, this was the best I could come up with. This was again a phone which still sits in my bottom drawer. It functions, you can make calls, though there are some dents which are only too obvious. I used this phone also for a good 2 years before I decided that I need to change this phone. Here again, the keys had worn off and some keys were not functioning.

As I said, I am a Sony loyalist and I did again turn to another Sony Ericsson. This was the time they had got out their Xperia series and the whole new deal in 2010 was touch screen phones. I was not too sure about a touch screen and hence got a Xperia X10 mini pro. This was again one of those really short lived phones.

T was born in 2011 and she decided that it would b a teether of sorts with smooth edges and me being a newbie mother, had no clue what would truly work for a phone with regard to baby saliva, and lots of it. The phone started giving me trouble in just about year and I do not think this was dropping or over usage. I guess this was more like dropping the phone in water, or maybe sprinkling water on it many times. Anyhow, by the end of a year, I was done with trying and I decided to move on to another phone. This was again catalyzed by the software upgrade which also resulted in the phone being really slow.

At this point, I decided I did not want anything expensive and went and got a Samsung galaxy Y, which was in budget, but the on screen keypad was a deal breaker. I hated it completely.

It certainly played the part very well, but it was really slow too, and maybe I was a bit spoilt too!

This ended in me being frustrated and come my birthday I decided it was time for a new phone. This time yet again it was to be a Xperia. And learning from experience I decided to go for a Xperia Go which was said to be rugged, water and dust proof. I was thrilled with  the prospect that this phone might just outlast all my other ones. And I also got this one in a cherry yellow, which certainly helped the matter.

This phone was a beauty, loved it completely and had me hooked to it and I almost was becoming a less and less a laptop user. My Mac was bearing the brunt of it all.. I was not charging it and so on. And then I dropped the phone and the screen cracked! There that was the end of it all. Now I had a phone which was defective. I got the screen changed, but then the screen again started giving me issues, and I could also see some dust particles which had gotten inside, or the small break in the casing was causing it. But either way, I was back to being without a phone.

Then a friend offered his Samsung Galaxy S II and I thought, let me try this next. I will use it till I decide what is going to be my next move.

As for this phone, I think it is really too big. Fast and good no doubt, but just too huge. I do not know if this is something I will ever want. I find it so difficult to push into my pocket, or even my handbag interior pockets. But if you love to carry it about in your hand, it works like a wallet and thats just fine.

I am still not sure which phone will I buy next, and iPhone is on the cards, but lets see. At least they have a good customer service and warranty! That should really work for me. Till then…

All images have been linked to their sources.

Itasveer: Not a stickler for quality

When Itasveer came about, the concept was new and being fresh out of college, memories was one thing I wanted to live by. This website allowed me to get some momentos done, photos printed to keep and such. That was way back in 2008. The first product I had got done from them, was the two-tone mug, and this was my gift to two of my best friends, and I must say this mug was of amazing quality. The mug looks as good as new even today. 

Recently, 5 months back, I ordered another Classic White Mug as a birthday gift for B, and it was delivered promptly, but being in use for just these 3 months, the print has started to peel off, and I could see in fact very quickly, that the print was not really onto the surface, but a thin film which is pasted onto the surface of the mug. This can certainly be expected to peel off when washed and used. 

In fact just 2 months back, we did order another classic mug, and that too is in the same state as of now. I am very disappointed with the kind of products which are being sold. I was under the impression that they did have a good product range and quality and time were of utmost importance. But, now I see that time is what they adhere to, but the quality is not that great. 

I am not sure whether it is because the Classic Mug is different from the Two - tone one, but even then, why sell a product which will not even last 2 months, and that too something like a coffee mug, which has the potential to be used every single day!

De-Facebooking

One of the things I have decided I would be doing is de-facebooking myself. I will certainly not be going overboard and deleting account or such. I will just restrict my Facebook checking to on the mobile maybe just twice a day. I mean I have come to that kind of maniac facebooking that I am bored, so will just vile away time on Facebook rather than read the so many books which I have at hand. I have not been blogging on so many things which I want to also courtesy this social networking giant! I do not think I want to go and hand my life over to this guy. Its just not worth it. 

The one major thing which steered me towards this decision is that they have yet again changed the layout and notification stuff which is making it irritating and also way more cluttered and too many numbers on the page, for my liking. Something which I had picked up recently again after a bad stint previously was gaming. I used to love the Facebook games.. and I am a great gaming addict… hell… my blog is called Vector Gaming ! This is something which I need to stop too… I think its such a wasteful activity, and all you are trying to do is spend time which you could have else done something more useful with. Like blog! Or Read! 

Speaking of reading, I re-iterate, I have so many books piled onto my to-read list and in fact have three books sitting right at home, waiting to be read. And knowing me, I know that its just a matter of getting these books into my hand, and getting engrossed in it. Like yesterday, I happened to be up reading till 1 am… and thats just because, I knew I was getting interested in the book, and the plot was really something one would ponder over after reading a few pages. 

The book that had me immersed at 1 am? Escape by Manjula Padmanabhan. Have you read it?

Emails

There was a time in high school when all I received in my email inbox was FWDs. But, now, what I mostly receive is newsletters, subscription mailers, offer mailers, and in between all that junk, what the dear people in my life send. Another added feature is that now everyone one generation older are the ones who send me FWDs... be it about the bad luck if you don't send it to 13 people, or the health hazards of soya milk, KFC chicken source in depth analysis, etc.

This makes me wonder, is it the start of the internet phase and the information available, which makes you gullible to these facts. Initially I used to think it was because I was a high school girl, who would believe that maybe not sending it to 15 people would mean I would have bad luck for 15 years, but on seeing my mom also sending it to 15 people I wonder...

What are the different categories of emails you receive?

A few things about e-businesses

There are some things about the internet businesses which I see, and I am just listing them down.

1. One can not expect a concept to catch on very quick, esp if its new, it requires the right kind of marketing. ( Twitter existed in 2007, but did anyone know about it? )
2. One can not expect a bad looking webpage to attract any 'eyeballs'. This also does not mean you need to make it a artistic stop also, it just needs to be attractive. It cannot be always different from every other website out there, but it should be pleasing and help in getting the message you are trying to drive, across.
3. If you say you are any kind of creative firm, your creativity should, rather must, be shown in the way you present yourself to the world wide web. if you are design firm, a typical client would base his decision on how your corporate webpage looks!
4. Internet does not really have a first move advantage, but it does have a first impact advantage! So it is all about what you offer, and i believe its also about how it appeals to the eye.
5. If you do not have what it takes to be a part of the present, then you really wont get anywhere. The world will determine your worth through your website. ( Images and HTML are so 90s )
6. In terms of design, copying a single website usually does not get you anywhere, if you want to copy, make an impressive, intelligent copy! ( Rectify their errors and implement changes)

I am sure there are many more.. so would love to hear additions

An excellent source of Bio diesel

I have left coffee overnight at the office desk to come back the next day to find the film of oil on the surface. But, me being no great researcher, never bothered to find out if that can be put to any use.

Here is a researcher and his students at University of Nevada at Reno who took up this simple observation and have given the world a recycling methodology to help everyone in this era of fuel crisis.

Read about the Bio diesel produced from Coffee

Legalize or not?

Most of my thoughts are spurred from some piece which I read across the web. This time too, I read an article in The Economist, that suggests a law and the same it suggested 20 years before also.

The article talks about legalization of drugs, and urges the UN and the next assembly to take a step towards it. They say that if we are not able to curb the trafficking of drugs,then the next step should be taken such that they are legalized and will be available for purchase.

The argument in favor from their end being that drugs have been and are ruining lives of many are the following.

There is an associated black market for these drugs which also results in the impurities in the drugs, which can be in many cases much more harmful to the person who intakes the drugs. Here the suggest that when the drugs are legalized, then we can have checks on composition and then the sales to minors will also reduce. The impurities reduced would mean the intake of drugs and the money spend by addicts would significantly reduce.

Cracking the ring or network does not seem to a very good option, as then the land where the production takes place changes, but the ring remains intact far and wide. They claim to have even tried dumping chemicals on the areas where the cultivation takes place of opium and cannabis, without yielding much/any result. Cultivation of opium and cannabis used to be predominantly in Thailand and Turkey, and following the restrictions on growth, there was a shift seen towards Burma and Afghanistan. They have always aimed to grow it in areas where they have a strong communal acceptance, especially in hope of gaining money in return.

When there is such a great deal of sales in drugs, and also as a result the increase in the number of addicts, then they say that why not legalize and hence make money through taxes on these products? They also go on to elaborate that why not use the money gained from these taxes in setting up addiction support and hospital services for those in need.

How would you justify giving people the causal agent and then offering a solution? This would be seen in the same light as computer security companies, introducing insecurities into the system, and then coming up with a patch for it! Is this what the government supposed to do? With a computer we can replace it, if something goes complete hay wire, but here we are talking about abuse to the body, and killing oneself in many cases. They argue here that many drug takers, take only the amount required to make them in a happy state of mind, and they do not to lead to death. But, maybe this is because of the restricted amount which is available to them. If these drugs are to be offered in drug stores, are there chances that the number of deaths will increase?

They also claim that since no improvement has been seen after the last decade when a law against drugs was passed, we need to try to pass a different law and study the effect of the same.

Far too many questions, that too flying in all directions, and I do no think the solution is as simple as what they make it to be.

Themes !

I used to not believe the fact that some can eat in any environment, but when I came across this I was just shocked and didn't really know what to say except ' yeew'

A really interesting link i came across A Booze Test !

76%LUSH

Internet Interests

How often is it that when someone asks you what are your interests, the first few thoughts that cross most minds are reading, surfing the net, music, sports etc. Reading being the highly common answer as mostly it varies from those who pick up the morning newspaper to pass a glance at the days headlines, who follow a blog on the net, to the few who have to read something different before they can let their eyelids close and follow the thoughts of their mind. With the recent advent of the internet era (do not take it to be a complaint) we have seen the rise and even more stronghold the 'www' world has taken in many lives. Interests prior to its start have been pushed back, diminished or else everyone does eventually become smart, and they find a way to incorporate their past with the future. Many weave their hobbies and interests into the internet so as to attain the better of both worlds, or so they think so! Readers start to read .pdf or .doc files instead, sports freak start to play Soccer and Cricket over the internet with their avatars, music buffs start to search for the latest free download sites and so on. That leaves me with the question is there any sphere where the internet has not extended its tentacles?

Even if I start to think of my personal interests and leave aside all those who I know and especially those who I know for whom interests have almost sunken completely into the world wide web, I too am sure that I can’t say with conviction that I haven’t also in some way fitted the internet into my previously internet detached interests. I never ever had read E books in spite of the fact that I do enjoy reading a lot, but then this time around with Harry Potter being released at the beginning of the week, it left me with no option but to start reading the .pdf file before I could get my hands on the hard copy. So there, now I have used the internet and very easily mixed it up with my interest, now what waits to be seen is whether it was just a one time happening or will it be just a start to many other happenings… But I do know one of my interests which for sure can not be available on the internet. In fact I know of it being available in forms but those would never give you the true experience!

http://www.neopets.com/
http://www.marapets.com/
http://www.virtualpetsworld.com/

These sites have virtual pets wherein you adopt a baby virtual pet, feed it, play with it, put it to bed and so on. But, this certainly is not the way it feels to have a real pet in your house. One might say that these are for those who cannot keep a real pet, but I do not agree that its impossible to keep a pet of any kind... if you do not want an animal scurrying around the room, why not a fish or maybe even a bird in a cage. Or is it because you believe that a pet is not meant to be kept away from its habitat and should be left freely in nature? If that’s the case, then why all the virtual dogs and virtual kennels, just because they are virtual? So then in that case they don’t exist, which again beats the purpose of bringing in a new member to the family. I believe that there are some domains as I have shown above, where the web cannot replace reality though it certainly does try to do so…