If you want to check the latest movie running at your nearest cinema house, or you want to read reviews about a new restaurant - its all available on the Internet.

Infact, buying any new product is a breeze, since you can read first hand reviews online, and then make a decision if you really wish to go for the product.

All this sounds good and while you can find most of the information online, there still are things which dont exist online.

Recently, I wanted to travel from Vashi to Bandra, and I had coupons with me, which meant I didnt have to stand in the queue, and I could just punch in the coupons and travel. But WAIT! How do I know what is the fare for a first class single ticket to travel from Vashi to Bandra - the line was so huge that I didnt wish to waste my time standing in the line. Anyhow, I finally managed to get hold of the right amount, but thats a whole story on its own.

Later when I got home, I tried to find this information online, and to be surprise there is no single website that mentions the fares to travel from one station to another in a Mumbai local train.

Surprising eh?

Most of us were expecting a very competitive price, but Vodafone and Airtel failed to impress and launched the base model 8Gb iphone for Rs 31,000/- and the 16GB model for Rs 36,100/- which is a very heavy price to pay, when most of the functions don’t work in India.

So did you buy the iPhone or are you like others waiting for the companies to reduce the price.

But I am just wondering how much would you pay for a domain name? If the domain you wish to acquire is available, absolutely good for you, but if it isnt, how much will you shell out to buy it.

I recently inquired about the domain name “riteshsapra.com”, and the owner of the domain asked me for a cool $2200. I owned riteshsapra.com in 2003 I think, but didnt renew it, and it was acquired by someone else. No way am I shelling out $2200 for a .com, if I already have riteshsapra.net

Now for the kicker. A relative of mine owns “Surat.Com” and has had it since the year 1999. For those you dont know, Surat is a city in Gujarat, and was even awarded the cleanest city in India. He has put up Surat.Com up for sale, and is expecting a whooping 6 fugure $. Any takers?

Is he justified in asking for so much, or is that a distant dream?

O2 started the pre-orders at 8am on 7th July. Around 2,00,000 people had already pre-ordered their iPhone online, but as more and more people started getting online - the O2 website crashed. It couldnt take the load of so many users simultaneously tryign to pre-register their iphone.

Now, this is the impact the iPhone already has

Since emails have become such an integral part in our professional lives, we should use them wisely and think twice before sending them out.

Some tips that might be useful:

1. Be concise and to the point
2. Answer all questions, and pre-empt further questions
3. Use proper spelling, grammar & punctuation
4. Make it personal
5. Use templates for frequently used responses
6. Answer swiftly
7. Do not attach unnecessary files
8. Use proper structure & layout
9. Do not overuse the high priority option
10. Do not write in CAPITALS
11. Don’t leave out the message thread
12. Add disclaimers to your emails
13. Read the email before you send it
14. Do not overuse Reply to All
15. Take care with abbreviations and emoticons
16. Be careful with formatting
17. Take care with rich text and HTML messages
18. Do not forward chain letters
19. Do not request delivery and read receipts
20. Do not ask to recall a message.
21. Do not copy a message or attachment without permission
22. Do not use email to discuss confidential information
23. Use a meaningful subject
24. Use active instead of passive
25. Avoid using URGENT and IMPORTANT
26. Avoid long sentences
27. Don’t send or forward emails containing libelous, defamatory, offensive, racist or obscene remarks
28. Don’t forward virus hoaxes and chain letters
29. Keep your language gender neutral
30. Use cc: field sparingly

The iPhone is launching at $199 in the US, but people tend to forget it comes with a 2 year contract, which means you commit to pay a fix monthly sum. Ofcourse you get credits worth that much, but what if you dont utilise your minutes, its not worth it.

As far as I understand, AT&T have hiked their data plans, and wouldnt be less than $50 per month, so a 2 year contract would costs $199 (Iphone) + ($50 X 24) = $1399 (INR 58,758)

In Australia, telstra is launching the iPhone at $279 AUD for the 8GB model, and $399 for the 16GB model, but you would have to go on a $30 monthly plan, which works out total to around $999 AUD(INR 35,964) for the 8GB model.

If you do not wish to pay anything for the iPhone, you can do so on a $80AUD monthly plan, which works out to $1920 AUD(INR 69,120). I’m wondering who would really go in for this option?

So, all said and done, folks in India should not think that INR 20,000 is expensive.

I know a couple of technology bloggers who are making a lot of moolah, and according to them, most of their traffic is via google.

Before going futher, lets try and analyse how a regular user would search for some information, say for eg: “iPhone launching in India”

He types in “Iphone launching in India” in Google, and suppose, a technology blog links pops up on the first page. He’d visit the site and if finds something he likes, he might explore the site further. If he doesnt find the information he is looking for, he’d ideally close the webpage and look at other search results on Google.

Whereas, someone who is searching for “motivation artciles” might tend to click on ads, if they are really relevant, coz the users might not be really tech savvy, but people who are searching for ‘Iphone’, ‘linux help’, or for that matter absolutely anything related to technology might be more tech savvy, and less likely to click on ads.

Can someone explain how people manage to earn 4 figures monthly??

I personally think someone who is searching for “Technology” related articles will NOT click on ads, so I have launched a bollywood website “http://bollywoodgyaan.com“, which according to me, should reap better benefits, and vistors to a bollywood website might tend to click on ads.

What do you have to say ??

If you own an iPod along with an iPhone, then one would suit you the most.

The website says “Aside from docking more than one iThing at a time, the $149.95 NX-PN7 features AM/FM tuning, alarm clock, timer and unspecified video out. Plus, the dock features two illuminated strips (one under each iPod) that can display nine programmable colors. That’s probably enough selection to match at least one of the other superfluously illuminative devices you have floating around the house.” Link

Vodafone has been chosen to officially launch the iPhone in India, and the expected date is the first week of September. So there’s still a little more than 2 months of wait. Once the iPhone is launched in India, Im not sure how Vodafone will manage to meet the demands, unless the price the phone a little steeply, and according to the rumours, the iPhone will be launched at a price between INR 27,000 to INR 30,000.

Now that surely will take away some buyers. The owners will not be restricted to using services from Vodafone alone. It will be an unlocked phone and the users are free to use any operator apart from Vodafone.

Apple has expressed their concern that they are not very happy with this kind of agreement, and they’d wish if the phone was available with an exclusive operator. Im not sure how the ‘contract’ thing will work in India, as its not popular. Ideally, what Vodafone can do is, launch the phone for INR 8,000 and restrict the users to only use their services.

My guess is most people including me, would then opt for the iPhone. Lets wait and watch what Vodafone has in store for us. Though I still dont understand what the huge hyper over the iPhone is, but maybe we can address that issue sometime later.

1. To remove a bandage painlessly,saturate the bandage with vodka. The stuff desolves adhesive.
2. To clean the caulking around bathtubs and showers, fill a trigger-spray bottle with vodka, spray the caulking, let set five minutes and wash clean. The alcohol in the vodka kills mold and mildew.
3. To clean your eyeglasses, simply wipe the lenses with a soft, clean cloth dampened with vodka. The alcohol in the vodka cleans the glass and kills germs.
4. Prolong the life of razors by filling a cup with vodka and letting your safety razor blade soak in the alcohol after shaving. The vodka disinfects the blade and prevents rusting.
5. Spray vodka on wine stains, scrub with a brush, and then blot dry
6. Using a cotton ball, apply vodka to your face as an astringent to cleanse the skin and tighten pores.
7. Add a jigger of vodka to a 12-ounce bottle of shampoo. The alcohol cleanses the scalp, removes toxins from hair, and stimulates the growth of healthy hair
8. Fill a sixteen-ounce trigger-spray bottle with vodka and spray bees or wasps to kill them
9. Pour one-half cup vodka and one-half cup water into a Ziploc freezer bag and freeze for a slushy, refreshing ice pack for aches, pain or black eyes.
10. Fill a clean, used mayonnaise jar with freshly packed lavender flowers, fill the jar with vodka, seal the lid tightly and set in the sun for three days. Strain liquid through a coffee filter, then apply the tincture to aches and pains.
11. To relieve a fever, use a washcloth to rub vodka on your chest and back as a liniment.
12. To cure foot odor, wash your feet with vodka.
13. Vodka will disinfect and alleviate a jellyfish sting.
14. Pour vodka over an area affected with poison ivy to remove the urushiol oil from your skin.
15. Swish a shot of vodka over an aching tooth. Allow your gums to absorb some of the alcohol to numb the pain.

I thought of posting about different things you could do with Vodka, after reading 8 Interesting uses of Everyday things posted by Devesh.