Call 9008890088 when you are lost in Bangalore

Onze Technologies India Pvt Ltd today announced the launch of location search and driving directions service in the easy to use SMS platform, wherein people can search where a place is located, as well as how to get there from any other part of Bangalore.

90088 90088 is an SMS-based location search and direction finding service that provides directions to people with or without Smartphones to any location in Bangalore.

How Latlong works: The user sends an SMS to 90088 90088, the request goes to a server managed by Onze.

The server automatically and instantaneously entertains the request from the customer as the information is already preloaded into the server.

The SMS service is available free of charge and all you pay is the standard SMS rate according to your plan. It needs no subscription. The Latlong system is equipped to understand the customers’ request and gives them what they want – directions!

The service is reliable and involves very little waiting time. The reply back time varies from 3 seconds to 1 minute depending on the mobile operator’s message traffic congestion and availability of signals.

The example usages of LatLong are:

Example 1: Jayanagar 4th Block TO MG Road

Example 2: INOX

Example 3: Mekri circle TO ESI Hospital

Example 4: SBI atm NEAR M G Road

You will get a reply SMS with the exact location and directions to reach the place from a prominent landmark.

Reasons adsense accounts get disabled

There are hundreds of reasons a Google adsense account disabled message can appear. Two of the more common ones are:
1. Someone abusing your website. In other words, refreshing the page all day long and clicking your ads like there's no tomorrow. This causes your adsense stats to be inflated and is a form of fraud.
2. Your account undergoes a drastic change in ad impressions. I mean it has to be a huge change. I once had a change from 1,000 impressions per day to 15,000 the next and this caused no problems. But say for example you have been receiving 300 impressions per day growing at a steady pace for 6 months up to 1,000 impressions, then the following hour you receive 50,000 impressions in one hour. This can cause your adsense account to be "flagged" and disabled.

"But it's not my fault" I hear people saying

Your Google adsense account disabled? It's not the end of the world, because as is clear above, it's not always our fault that this happens. In fact sometimes we have no control over it at all.

How to get your account back

"Google adsense account disabled" does not mean that the account has been terminated for good. It also does not mean that Google hates you. You'll still be able to use GMail and other Google services, and it IS possible to re-instate your account.

1. E-mail Google.
2. E-mail Google again.
3. E-mail Google again after 1 month if there is still no response.

I have gotten through to Google Support on a number of occasions and I know from personal experience that people have gotten their account re-enabled after contacting Google and explaining the situation (with evidence and stats to back it up).
It might take 2 months or longer, but if it wasn't your fault (if you didn't breach the adsense TOS) the chances are you will get your account back.

Personal advice

Here is the Number 1 piece of personal advice I have to offer on this subject -

"Diversification of Passive Income"

1. Never depend on just a single source of passive income online. This is just not a good idea. Google adsense is not the single site that disables accounts for reasons such as the above. CJ, AdBrite, and almost all other ad serving companies have similar policies.
2. Create more income streams to minimise potential losses. Have at least 5 streams of income. If one goes down for a short or long period the losses are just 20% of the full income flow.
3. Have a back-up plan.

Google adsense account disabled?

This person just received a "Google adsense account disabled" notification.
It's true. Such a message is prone to swing someone into rampant anger and furious chaos, causing them to throw chairs and scream "armageddon is here! Save Yourselves!"
Well, perhaps not quite. But I've known several people who have had their adsense accounts disabled, and it is not fun. Some of them were earning $1000 per month in revenue from adsense and having those earnings terminated and halted caused an instant and sudden stop of their passive income flow.
If you've had this happen to you, do not fear. Take a deep breath and continue reading.

History of the Internet

No medium in recent years has had such a great impact on us as the INTERNET - though its birth was simply a matter of pure chance More than one and a half billion people are online daily.

1964 - The idea
Paul Baran lays the theoretical foundation for the Internet with his treatise “On Distributed Communication".

1969 - The forerunner
The USA starts the first big test: “Arpanet” goes online. It only connects four research institutes with each other.

1978 - New network standard
The protocol IPv4, which is used even today, is introduced. With it, computers can be identified by their IP addresses.

1984 - Sending emails
The American platform, CSNET, sends the first text message to Germany on 2nd August 1984. the recipient is computer scientist, Werner Zorn, at the Karlsruhe University.

1988 - Internet relay chat
The Finnish student, Jarkko Oikarinen, first brings forward the idea of chatting on the Internet. The first system was developed as early as in 1981 in the computer network BITNET.

1989 - ISDN
ISDN is the highlight of CeBIT.  Approximately 75 DM is the charge for a transmission of 64 Kbps.

1989 - The www interface

British computer scientist, Tim Berners-Lee, is the founder of the modern Internet. He develops HTML, the World Wide Web service and the first web server.

1990 - Opening of the network
The outdated “Arpanet” is hopelessly overloaded and is shut down. The NSF-NET (National Science Foundation) takes up its tasks and opens the net for commercial purposes for the first time.

1994 - Netscape Navigator

The browser that is based on “Mosaic” offers a lot of comfortable functions for easy surfing and becomes the market leader within a year.

1995 - Online shops

The first shops go online - Amazon the small web book dealer, being one among them. Today, the company has a turnover of about 15 million USD.

1998 - Search engines

Some search engines, which include Yahoo and Altavista, had already established themselves in 1998. Google starts in this year. Today, it is one of the most expensive brands in the world.

1999 - Online auctions
Bargain hunters and private retailers discover the Internet. eBay goes online in Germany by buying the auction house Alando.

1999 – DSL
The telecom provides the first large cities, which include Berlin and Munich, with DSL access. The transmission goes up to a maximum of 768 Kbps.

2000 - Dotcom bubble
There is an explosion in the spreading of start-ups, a stock hysteria is created. Firms cannot withstand the high winning expectations and the market collapses.

2001 - Peer to peer

Filesharing becomes a popular sport. The exchange market Napster has up to 60 million users. The first lawsuit breaks out and the service temporarily goes offline.

2004 - Online games
“World of warcraft” brings the secondary phenomenon of “Online games” into the mass market. Today, the game has about 12 million subscribers.

2005 - Web 2.0
Static homepages begin to pall and start getting replaced by “join-in” Internet. Sites such as studiVZ and Wikipedia are the new highlights on the net.

2007 - The mobile net

Apple’s iPhone shows you how much fun you can have while surfing on your cell phone, for the first time. Competitors follow and mobile Internet gains popularity.

The Future - Always online
The Webciety: Cell phones are permanently connected to the web. Even TV devices have an Internet connection – IPTV slowly replaces the classic TV. Through Cloud Computing, tools can be stored on the net and the user can access them from anywhere.

Trends We Suggest for the Nobel Prize

With Internet being nominated for the much deserved Nobel Peace Prize, it gets me thinking about other great technologies that probably need to be awarded for their key role in revolutionizing our lives. Let’s take a quick look at some of these great innovations.

Apple iPhone

Even though India has been generally starved of the iPhone with only one out of three generations releasing here, the iPhone without a doubt revolutionized the way we use mobile phones. Steve Jobs’ simple keynote about how every application should have the interface it needs and not settle for a phone’s restrictive interface, was definitely one of the top ideas of the decade. Of course Apple has been adequately rewarded with ground-breaking sales figures and a ginormous fan following, but considering how the iPhone revolutionized the interface for us, it could do with the mother of all prizes.

Social Networking

Sure it may be a part of the whole Internet bandwagon, but Social Networking applicability has gone beyond being simple websites. It’s the technology that helps long-lost friends get in touch, helps daughters find their fathers after 48 years, get people logging in their daily lives, gaming socially and even help push businesses. As much as you may hate the “Going to the loo now” tweets, you probably can’t live without social networks.

USB Flash Drives

The 90’s had floppies, the early 2000s had CDs and DVDs and after a lot of eco-damaging plastic wastage the USB flash drives are now truly a man’s best friend. With flash memory storage getting higher in capacity, smaller in size and faster, we seriously doubt that these little babies are going the way of the dinosaur anytime soon.

BlackBerry

Sure emails revolutionized the way we communicated, but that didn’t make it fun or even easy enough to access. Enter the Blackberry and you have even the laziest guy at work responding to mails almost immediately. Their OS perfectly suited for handling communication in all its forms. Now only if the data plans were more affordable!

Nintendo Wii

How do you get the biggest technophobe in your family to become an active gamer? Just get him (or her) the Nintendo Wii! After a series of slackers like the Nintendo 64 and GameCube, Nintendo once again has the best selling home console in the world thanks to the brilliantly innovative control scheme of the Wii. It has singlehandedly gotten grandparents into gaming and with the Wii Fit, gaming is even considered healthy. Though hardcore gamers admittedly wouldn’t be caught dead with the console, there’s nothing that can dampen Wii’s parade.

So these were a few award winning innovations I could think of off the top of my head.

Upcoming Racers of 2010

2010 may not be the best year for racing fanatics but it’s got a few tricks up its sleeve with games guaranteed to please both arcade racing fans and fans of the authentic simulation experience.

ModNation Racers (PS3 PSP)

If LittleBigPlanet picked Mario Kart up at a bar ModNation Racers would probably come along nine months later. The comparison to Mario Kart comes from gameplay similarities (that also includes child friendly vehicular combat btw) while the LBP part comes from the same “Play, Create, Share” ideology that allows you to create and share cars, racers and tracks online.

Need for Speed Untitled Project (PS3 Xbox360 PC)

So EA have passed over the reins of the Need for Speed franchise to Criterion, the very same lads behind the Burnout games. Sadly we have absolutely zero information on this game (we don't even know its official name) but looking at Criterion’s track record (look ma a pun), it seems the franchise is in good hands. I mean anything would be better after Undercover right?

Blur (PS3 Xbox360 PC)

Taking a tiny sabbatical from the Project Gotham Racing franchise, developer Bizarre Creations have taken on full-fledged vehicular combat with their latest venture that puts players in exaggerated renditions of real world cities like LA and London as they annihilate competition using a plethora of violent and entertaining power ups.

Split Second (PS3 Xbox360 PC)

I wouldn’t hold it against you if you got confused this game with Blur since both games have somewhat of a similar premise. What sets Split Second apart from the pack is the fact that throughout a level you will be able to trigger certain environmental hazards the results of which will be highly catastrophic, entertaining and beneficial all at the same time. Now that’s how we like our racers.

Gran Turismo 5 (PS3)

The definitive racing simulation will finally make its appearance this year with old and new gameplay elements like both internal and external damage, nightracing , 16 player online play and dynamic weather effects. All this will be accompanied by gorgeous photo realistic visuals running at a solid 60 frames per second.

Upcoming RPGs of 2010

This generation has been harsh as far as RPGs are concerned. Sure we've had some great games in Dragon Age: Origins, Fallout 3 and Mass Effect but barring a handful of titles, it's been slim pickings. However all of that is about to change this year with a variety of sweet role-playing goodness apt for your most jaded, old-school RPG fan and newbies alike.

Final Fantasy XIII (PS3, Xbox360)

Known for its turn-based combat and epic story line, FFXIII seeks to keep the legendary plot the franchise is known for with a more active, almost real-time combat system so much so that it's been called Final Fantasy May Cry in a few quarters. The game sees you don the role of Lightning (just like Lara Croft but infinitely hotter) taking on the might of the Cocoon Military in what seems to be the trippiest art-directed FF world yet, Pulse.

Resonance of Fate (Xbox360, PS3)

You have to feel for publishers Sega. Here we have what's probably the freshest Japanese RPG in terms of concept and gameplay only to be out the same time as Final Fantasy. Packed with stellar gunplay, some interesting exploration options (where unlocking new areas is akin to putting together pieces of a puzzle, literally) and a wealth of gun customization, Resonance of Fate seems to be one of the more interesting RPGs outthis year.

Fable 3 (Xbox360)

The Fable series has always been the RPG lover’s version of GTA or Saints Row except taking place in a more primitive era. With a rumored November release and the ability to import your Fable 2 saves, Fable 3 takes the series a step forward where not only do you liberate Albion (the staple location of the Fable series) but end up ruling it giving the game a part hack and slash RPG and part Civilization feel. The creator of the series, Peter Molyneux states that it’s got support for Project Natal as well giving an added impetus for the motion control curious among us.

Pokemon Heart Gold / Soul Silver (DS)

Being DS remakes of the GameBoy Color Pokemon Gold and Silver games it would be interesting to see if Nintendo adds anything new for its western release barring full compatibility with existing DS titles, namely Diamond, Pearl and Platinum, allowing you to capture Pokemon previously unavailable. Like the games before it, your character is that of a budding Pokemon trainer setting off on a quest to be the best there is. Expect the usual addictive Pokemon collecting experience that we’ve come to know and love since the days of the GameBoy, which is fantastic, if you have a social life you’re dying to get rid of.

iPod Docks for Your Home

Music is such an essence of life that it can enhance any situation and carve it into a memory, be it as banal as a morning routine, or  a jog in the park with your dog or a full fledged party in the living room. The iPod has taken it upon itself to provide the music for all these situations, and while we are not ignoring the presence of other (some really good) MP3 players out there, the iPod does still rule the roost. iPod docks are essentially docking stations for the iPod and its avatars like the Touch etc., with of course a 3.5 mm jack input for other branded players. Here is a list of some nice iPod docks for different parts of your home; even for the garden (for who ever is lucky enough to have one in Mumbai.)

For bedroom: Altec Lansing Moondance Home
Rs. 5,490

The dock for your bedroom need not be loud, though of course it needs a decent, comfortable sound. And of course it should have a clock and radio function, something that has been included in bedroom audio since forever. The Moondance dock is very well designed, perfect to fit into any modern decor. The screen is large and illuminates with bright blue LEDs. Audio quality is good, but lacks thumping bass, something which is anyways not such a requirement for a bedroom.

For Living room/Hall: JBL MX100 Music System
Rs. 29,990

This product is perfect for the Hall, as it's really loud at 30 watts RMS output. It's a stereo system, meaning two speakers built into the big black chassis. It's not just an iPod dock, it also plays CDs and the obvious provision for other music players is thrown in. It has video out too, thus enabling one to watch videos via the pod. The docking station is modular, and detachable from the side.

For bathroom: iCarta iPod Toilet Roll
$59.95.(2800 approx)

This one is a no brainer. It dispenses soft white toilet paper, in the most normally looking roll, but there are speakers on the sides. Jokes apart this one is a a smart contraption, as the speakers are "moisture free"as touted by the official site, plus it has a full fledged dock on the top, with a selector switch for changing tracks.

For Terrace or garden: Harman Kardon G0+Play
Rs. 24,999

This model has taken the concept of a boombox, and modernized and ruggedized it for usage outside in the open. Thus the name suggest us to take it out and, well, play it. It's got very seriously accurate frequency response, which is great for overall sound quality, and not just that, we get that clear sound in huge dollops, entailing that the system is really loud, perfect for a ghazal audience on the terrace. It has a futuristic look, but ergonmics are not compromised, as the handle on top of the system makes it very easy to carry around.

MWC 2010: Vodafone Launches Ultra-low Cost Phones for India

A couple of days ago news emerged that Nokia was planning a Rs. 500 mobile phone to reach the rural masses in India. At MWC in Barcelona Nokia didn't announce any new phones let alone Rs. 500 ones, but Vodafone it seems has seen potential in the rural sections of emerging markets and has announced two ultra low cost handsets.

The phones will be launched first in India, Turkey and 8 markets in Africa – The Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Qatar, South Africa and Tanzania.

To maximize the availability of the handsets across countries with sizeable and isolated rural populations, the launches will be supported by an extensive logistics infrastructure, reaching deep rural segments where mobile penetration typically remains low.In India, it is expected that device availability will reach 60% of the population.

Patrick Chomet, Vodafone's Group Director of Terminals, said, “The cost of mobile handsets can be one of the most significant barriers for people in accessing and benefiting from the growing number of socially valuable mobile services. The lives of people who use these phones - theVodafone 150 and Vodafone 250 – will be changed and improved as they become part of the mobile society. I am proud of the work we have done and will continue to do in this critical area of customer empowerment.”

The Vodafone 150 and Vodafone 250 will offer voice and SMS services, as well as support for mobile payment services. The two devices share most specification features, the main differences between them being that theVodafone 250’s screen is both colour and slightly larger, and it has an FM radio.

By focusing on a custom-built feature set and packaging design Vodafone and handset manufacturer TCL have been able to significantly reduce the usual manufacturing costs and, therefore, the retail price.

The Vodafone 150 will retail unsubsidised at below $15 USD and the Vodafone 250 will retail unsubsidised at below $20 USD, depending on the local market.