In an earlier post [ Compare the UK iPhone price war: O2 vs Orange vs Tesco] we compared the actual price of an iPhone in the UK on the three carriers. Today, Vodafone released its tariffs for the iPhone. The question remains that whether the fourth addition to the iPhone carrier range really adds value for the customer or is it just yet another player which doesn’t add any significant change.
The data download limit for Vodafone remains capped at 1GB per month. Compared to the Orange data plan which allows 750MB download per month, it is not much of an improvement. But what about everything else? Let’s find it out.
This is a long overdue review since the Sky Player was released on the XBOX 360 for UK users on the 28th of October. Well, I have been keeping busy. But nevertheless, I am here writing this review. Sky player’s introduction into the Xbox could be a major game-changer in terms of sheer innovation, control, and distribution channels that this medium opens up, and the game console can finally state as it has arrived. Frankly because, Sky is certainly the lion’s shareholder when it comes to Cable and Satellite TV distribution. All the major sporting events – Sky Sports; Movie channels – Sky; TV Entertainment – Sky 1 shows – House, Fringe, Modern Family and Stargate Universe amongst others. So there is no denying that Microsoft did choose the right partner to collaborate with. But does the Sky Player meet all the expectations or does it disappoint? The answer is a mixture of both.
After the Jump, Full Review of the Sky Player on the XBOX 360 including screenshots.
This post should not be considered as just a mere rant. This actually works for job interviews and in my experience of the few that I have attended, it has certainly got the positive attention of the recruiter. So, how does it work? By definition, blogging can be at different levels – personal – which is focussed on personal likes/dislikes etc and hence, is already driven by some niche. The other end of blogging is – professional blogging – which is primarily done by people who earn their bread and butter by means of blogging. Such are writers who majorly write about specific areas – such as Technology, Blogging, Making Money Online, Entertainment, Television, Pop culture etc. They are the next generation of press reporting, and arguably pose a threat to the traditional news reporting. Such is the impact that News reporters and the likes have resorted to Blogging online. So, coming back to the question is how does Blogging add value to one’s resume?
Stan Schroeder from Mashable raised an interesting question of the frequency of visitors now to the main homepage of Google, i.e. Google.com ( etc. depending upon your geographical location). It is true that with browsers which have in-built search functionality in the address bars viz. Chrome and Opera, the middle layer of the Google homepage has been largely eliminated. Add to that, other browsers like Firefox, IE and Safari include a search bar. It’s pretty safe to state that the entire spectrum has been covered. So, is anyone really using Google homepage and why?
One of the major reasons for people still using the Google homepage is that fossilised browser that it still breathing. Yes, IE6. There are no search bars, and the only option to search is Google. Of course, users here would be able to install Google Toolbars and stuff. According to W3counter statistics, as of Sep 2009, IE6 still maintains the fourth position in browser usage share with 13.28%, behind IE7, Firefox and IE8. It is difficult to segment the share of people out of this percentage who use search solely through Google’s homepage. There were no Google toolbar statistics to help us out.
Initially, when I heard about the idea of a browser on a USB portable pen-drive, I started questioning about its applicability. I mean, why would someone not install an actual browser on the machine itself, and rather have it on a USB pen drive. The answer is simple: Portability. Not only of your favorite browser experience, but also of all that comes with it – bookmarks, addins etc etc. The applicability does not actually matter much if you access internet only at home, through your own machine [ in case of which, its better to just install it]. Or if work does not allow access to USB ports and installing of any new browsers, you are indeed forced to use whatever is available. But, if you do have access to USB ports at work, and you do not want to install your browser [ or are not allowed so by corpo firewall] , and also share your history data, bookmarks etc on your work machine – Portable browsers are the way to go.
Good news is – all your favorite flavours are available in their portable avatars. And here’s the list.
1. Firefox 3.0 on USB:
Portable Apps bring the Mozilla Firefox, Portable Edition. So, now you can take your bookmarks, passwords, history, extension with you. Visit the PortableApps website - Mozilla page to download the browser. It is just 9 MB in size, and after installation it expands to 27 -77 MB. I really don’t know what that * sign, beside the 77MB figure, means on the Download button.
Works fine on Win XP SP2 onwards, Win Vista SP1 and Win 7.
This one is different you say. Filmfresh lets users purchase Legitimate DivX rips of latest Hollywood releases ranging from the Watchmen to the just released on DVD -17 again. The catch here is that it is not DRM-free, but can be played on all DivX supporting players and Sony PS3 etc. Also there is no expiry date on the downloaded movies. So it is not a rent model, but more like owning a lower Quality rip also without the DVD extras. The cost per movie download is 10$ -13$ which is on the higher side, since DVDs cost just a few bucks more.
Considering all of this, do we see a future for this particular business model? Take this.
] The first thing you notice about the UI [user interface] on 44tips is that the site design is simplistic, clutter-free and quite minimal – yet, pretty. The colours are basic dark grey and Orange with a twang. Both remind me of Firefox somehow, which means-it works for me. Let’s explore the usability and the features on this website, and if it is worth making it your homepage. Shall we? 
