January 8, 2007
BSNL 2mbps plan
Here is a quick summary of this plan you guys probbably missed a few bits when you say you can download enough.
Monthly charge : Rs. 500 /- comes down to Rs. 417 /- if you pay 5000rs for 1 year
Speed: 256 Kbps to 2Mbps
Limits: 2.5 GB for usage during the day 8 am to 2 am next day
Night Unlimited: YES (from 2 am to 8 am)
Extra charge if traffic exceeds imposed limits: 80 paise per MB
Minimum hire period: 3 months
Security Deposit: None
October 12, 2006
Bsnl Customer Care Service
Dataone Broadband ‘1600-424-1600′
PSTN Call Center ‘1500′ (in select states)
Sancharnet Help Desk ‘1957′
CellOne all India Help ‘9400024365′
BSNL DataOne Wireless home network guide
So, Here is my Step-By-Step guide to configuring a Wi-Fi network with BSNL DataOne. Though many wireless routers claim that it is a no-brainer setup to configure the wireless network, I found it to be not as easy as it looks to be. For example, NetGear comes with a wizard that never works with BSNL broadband connected via HUAWEI SmartAX 880. For those of you desperate to take your BSNL DataOne broadband wireless, follow these steps. It took me more than 2 days to figure and come out with these configuration details.
Before I start, let me share what I have:
1)BSNL DataOne 256Kbps connection.
2)HUAWEI SmartAX MT880 (The modem supplied by BSNL).
3)NetGear WGR614v5
There are 2 steps to configuring your wireless network. First, you have to change the default settings of the SmartAX MT880 modem and configure it to enable PPPoE (PPP over Ethernet). Second, you have to configure the NetGear Router to talk to the modem.
Keep your modem, wireless router and your username and password from BSNL handy before you proceed to the next step.
If you want to change your existing configuration, take a backup of your configuration. This guide is to build your network from the ground-up.
1)Configuring and testing your Broadband connection
·Setup the modem as per the instructions mentioned in the manual. Ensure that the RJ11 (thin) cable from the splitter is connected to the ADSL port and the RJ45 cable connects your machine to the Ethernet port of the modem.
·Change the IP properties of your Ethernet card to the following:
192.168.1.2
255.255.255.0
192.168.1.1
·Open the browser and type http://192.168.1.1 to go to the HUAWEI configuration tool.
·Enter ‘admin’ as username and ‘admin’ as password
·Expand the Home node and select the WAN Setting
·Under this web page, configure the following:
PVC Number – PVC 0
Wan Type – PPP
Connection Type – PPPoE
VPI/VCI – 0 / 35
Default Route - Enabled
User Name –
Password –
Use DNS – Enabled
Max Idle Time – Always On
·Click on Apply and allow the modem to restart.
·Close the browser window
·Open the browser and type http://192.168.1.1
·Enter ‘admin’ as username and ‘admin’ as password
·You should see the Summary page. The Status is normally Red indicating that the connection is not ON.
·Click on the Plug icon in the Note column to connect.
·After the Connecting message, you should see the summary page again with the Status turning Green. Notice the IP Address and the Gateway Address.
·Expand Tools node and click on Misc.
·Type www.msn.com and click on Ping
·You should see Ping Result: Successful
·Click on the Lan Settings link under the Advanced node.
·Configure the following:
IP Address – 192.168.1.90
Subnet Mask – 255.255.255.0(/24)
Local Domain Name – Blank
·Click on Apply and allow the modem to restart
·Open the Network properties of your Ethernet card and change the IP properties to the following
IP Address – 192.168.1.2
Subnet Mask – 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway – 192.168.1.90
Preferred DNS server – 61.1.96.69 (BSNL DNS Server IP)
Alternate DNS server – 61.1.96.71 (BSNL DNS Server IP)
·Open your browser and type your favorite URL. You should be online by this time!
2)Configuring the Wireless Router and enabling the WPA security
·Connect the network cable from the NetGear wireless router to the machine.
·Open the IP Properties of your Network card and Enable DHCP. Select the following on the IP properites dialog.
Obtain IP Address Automatically
Obtain DNS Server Address Automatically
·Open the browser and type http://192.168.1.1/basicsetting.htm
·Enter ‘admin’ as username and ‘password’ as the password
·Click on Wireless Settings link on the navigation pane and configure with the following values
Wireless Network
Name (SSID) -
Region – Asia
Channel – 11
Mode – g and b
Security Options
WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy)
Security Encryption (WEP)
Authentication Type – Automatic
Encryption Strength – 64bit
Security Encryption (WEP) Key
Passphrase -
·Click on Generate
·Record the value of Key1 – This is required when you log on to your Wi-Fi network the first time.
·Click on Apply and wait till the router reboots
(Wireless will not be enabled till you complete the next step)
·Click on the Basic Settings link on the left side navigation pane and configure the following
Does your Internet connection require a login? – No
Account Name – blank
Domain Name – blank
Internet IP Address
Use Static IP Address
IP Address – 192.168.1.91
IP Subnet Mask – 255.255.255.0
Gateway IP Address – 192.168.1.90
Domain Name Server (DNS) Address
Use These DNS Servers
Primary DNS – 61.1.96.69
Secondary DNS – 61.1.96.71
Router MAC Address
Use Default Address
·Click on Apply and wait till the router restarts
·Connect the Network Cable coming from the ADSL Modem to the Wireless Router
Few things to remember –
·Don’t connect the ADSL Lan Cable to the Internet Uplink port of the Wireless Router. It never worked for me. Always connect it to one of the 4 ports excluding the designated Internet port.
·IP Addresses can be anything of your choice. But it is a good idea to follow the 192.168.x.x convention
·If you get lost any time, feel free to reset the configuration by poking a pin into the reset slot on the modem and the router.
·Don’t compromise on the security. Always enable WPA and save your key. Don’t let your friendly neighbors ride on your network!
Have a happy Wi-Fi surfing and drop a comment in case you want more inputs.
September 26, 2006
A New Format of Google Calendar with Live Content
To show the weather forecast in your calendar, go to settings, choose your location and select "Show weather based on my location". Note that there are countries where you won't see this option.

If you want to include special Google doodles, click on the "+" next to "Other Calendars", select "Browse Calendars" and add Google Holiday Logos, a slick calendar that shows a modified Google logo and the details about specific holidays. You can also add "Phases of the Moon" calendar, to see the date when the moon phase changes.

September 25, 2006
Celestia - Explore the Universe

Celestia is a space simulator that lets you travel in our universe. You can explore the entire solar system and even go beyond our galaxy. Celestia doesn't just show you the sky, it lets you view the universe from any point you want. If you are familiar with Google Earth, it will be easy to use the program.
You can capture images and record videos, so you can use the program for your school projects. The program is also useful to learn information about planets, satellites and stars.
If Google Earth has Sketchup and 3D Warehouse, Celestia has Motherlode, a repository for 3D models and textures.
Celestia is open-source and it runs on Windows, Mac and Linux. After running the program for the first time, go to Help / Run Demo and select the full-screen mode.
Google / Saturn Video Ad
"The project begins (...) with a test of a campaign for Saturn, bundling together several Google products and services like clickable video clips, the Google Earth satellite mapping tool and geographic finding of computer users.
Visitors to a variety of Web sites in six cities around the country that are home to 22 Saturn dealerships will see what look like typical banner ads for Aura, a new Saturn midsize sedan. Clicking on an ad will produce a view of the earth that zooms in on the dealership nearest to the computer user."
Here's what the ad looks like (this is just a video, not an ad). Clicking on the ad would send you to this landing page.
{ Thank you, TomHTML. }
Synchronize Your Calendars
* Calendars: Microsoft Outlook at work for professional scheduling, Google Calendar for personal scheduling
* Contacts: Gmail for email addresses, Microsoft Outlook at home for contacts
* Gadgets: Nokia 6682 for access to contacts/calendar on the go (or any mobile phone that has software to synchronize with Microsoft Outlook), iPod for access to contacts/calendar on the go
To synchronize Google Calendar and Outlook, it uses a free service called ScheduleWorld. Although it will take you some time to go through all the steps involved in the process, the results might make you happy.
Other solutions:
Sync Google Calendar and Outlook using a desktop tool
Add events to your calendar faster
Random Pictures from Daily Life

If you have a digital camera, then you know it uses templates for the name of the saved photos. For example, some Kodak cameras use this name convention: dcp#####.jpg, where ##### is replaced by a number, HP Photosmart uses IM######.jpg. Many people are too lazy to change the default file names and some of them upload the photos to their sites. Some of their sites are crawled by Google.
Random Personal Picture Finder is a site that generates random file names using the name conventions for some popular digital cameras and sends them to Google Image Search. The result is a list of unrelated personal pictures. Some would say they're a snapshot from our daily life, others will appreciate the diversity of the photos. They're people you don't know, doing familiar things, in a chaotic mix.
Note: if you don't want to see "adult images", choose strict SafeSearch in the settings.
Innovation, Emerging from Google Chaos
Fortune has an interesting article about Google's management called Chaos by design. Adam Lashinsky illustrates the difference between Google and other companies using a weird situation:"Take the case of Sheryl Sandberg, a 37-year-old vice president whose fiefdom includes the company's automated advertising system. Sandberg recently committed an error that cost Google several million dollars -- "Bad decision, moved too quickly, no controls in place, wasted some money," is all she'll say about it -- and when she realized the magnitude of her mistake, she walked across the street to inform Larry Page, Google's co-founder and unofficial thought leader. "God, I feel really bad about this," Sandberg told Page, who accepted her apology. But as she turned to leave, Page said something that surprised her. "I'm so glad you made this mistake," he said. "Because I want to run a company where we are moving too quickly and doing too much, not being too cautious and doing too little. If we don't have any of these mistakes, we're just not taking enough risk."
This example speaks a lot about Google's attitude. They launch a lot of products, without thinking too much about their future or if they're going to be successful. Even if you make mistakes, there's always a lesson to be learned.
The article also mentions some interesting details about Google Earth, a software that has been downloaded more than 100 million times. Google makes money from Google Earth by placing ads and by offering users Google Toolbar. "We know the lifetime value of a toolbar user. So we know how much value we're getting back out of somebody who downloads Google Earth and then subsequently downloads the toolbar," says Marissa Mayer. Instead of charging users for Google Earth (a Microsoft-like attitude, and the initial strategy of Keyhole), Google chose to monetize their software in a not-so-obvious way.
Google also decided to transform orkut's failure in an opportunity to learn more about social networks. They'll provide search and ads for MySpace. "Winning MySpace kept the Web's gem of the moment out of the hands of Microsoft and Yahoo, which both privately claim that Google overpaid by several hundred million dollars. Whether that's true won't be known for years."
If this chaotic way of doing business will continue to work for Google, that remains to be seen. But if you're doing things chaotically, it's always a good idea to control the situation, at least apparently. Chaos has a small chance of creating a better order by innovation, but a small change can lead to butterfly effects.
September 24, 2006
FoxyTunes - Control Music Players in Firefox

FoxyTunes is a Firefox extension that lets you control a music player from the browser. The idea is not original, but this add-on supports a lot of music players (from Winamp, iTunes to RealPlayer, Windows Media Player, Amarok and foobar2000) and autodetects the current player. You can even use keyboard shortcuts if you don't like to click on small buttons.
If you use Winamp, you can obtain a similar effect by selecting the modern skin and entering the "Windowshade mode", a mini version of Winamp that could remain always on top. Windows Media Player can also be minimized to a small player integrated into the taskbar.
So why would you install this extension? Well, maybe you use a player that doesn't have a mini mode. Or maybe you want to use the search functionality of FoxyTunes. You can find information about the artist, song lyrics, videos and buy songs from iTunes. Foxytunes takes advantage of the new medium by letting you play files linked in a web page.
The interface is customizable and there are skins you can download. If you spend most of your online time in Firefox, it's a good idea to try this extension.
Related:
SongBird - Firefox as a media player
If Google developed a music player...







