A honest Apple MacBook Air Review: First Impression

I had a dream of owning a Macbook Air since the launch of the first MacBook Air in January 2008. Totally loved the machine for its thin, lightweight and most importantly its beautiful design. Still remember the beautiful "I am a young soul" ad it had. But back then I was a student and waited for me to start earning to buy the machine. So finally in December 2013 I decided to buy one. But since then the whole experience has been disastrous.

First the purchase process. I went to a local Authorised Apple Dealer in Panjim Goa. When I visited the shop near Hotel Fidalgo they told me that they did not have the machine in stock. When I inquired if they could provide me the same before 31st December 2013 they said they will have to speak to the store supervisor who will give me a call the next day to inform about the same. They also noted down my name and phone number on a book. Sadly I did not get any call next day and I had to visit the shop again next day and upon inquiring why they did not bother to call again they just gave a blank look. The store supervisor present there told me that they could give me the machine in a 3-4 days time however I will have to make full payment in advance and only then the order would be processed else they will not get the machine. Since I did not have a choice I returned to the store with my cheque book to make the payment however before making the payment I tried to confirm if I would get free iWorks as informed by Tim Cook at WWDC. However the employees in the store had no clue about the free iWorks and told me that again the store supervisor would call me next day with details. Luckily I did get a call but the supervisor refused to comment anything about free iWorks but instead gave me an online link of Apple uptodate Program and a helpline phone number and asked me to speak to them and find out about the feature of the laptop which I was going to purchase from them. Upon calling the number I was told that they are not the right people to speak to and I will have to call up the sales team and was given yet another number and the sales team informed me that I will have to call the local dealer  to know if my laptop qualifies for the free iWorks. Yup ! I was back to the point from where I started. All this for the famed apple purchase experience !

Finally I decided to take the risk and go for the purchase and made the payment. I received my MacBook Air after three days time on Saturday 28th December 2013. I was super excited to finally own a Mac. Wohooo !! A dream come true.Sadly my excitement was short lived. The experience of unboxig was great.The devise looks amazing, like a piece of an installation art. Super light weight. Ultra Thin. In short the look and feel is just amazing. Upon filling in the details and setting it up I finally logged in the devise. One of the first thing I did was to visit the App Store and download the latest version of OS X Mavericks. I also put XCode and Twitter for download. However after few minuits it gave me an error message saying unknown error.

I also tried starting twitter and XCode download but the same error occurred. The download used to work for a few minuets and then fail. This problem occurred again and again. There was no problem with my internet connection as I was able to browse websites as well as able to download data on my Dell PC. When I called up the support centre Mr. Rakshith who asked me to make a few changes in the network settings and downloads started working. He also asked me to download a small app to check if it works. I downloaded Pocket and it got downloaded and installed properly. I also managed to download twitter which was unable to install for which Mr.Rakshith told me that it was the problem of the 3rd Party app maker and they could not help. I also kept Mavericks again again seemed to work fine. However after another half a GB of download it again filed and the the problem continues. I also tried to download flash player to run youtube videos but even that installation had error.

During this process I had not connected the power supply for a long time and must say the battery life is  just out of this world and full marks for apple on this. However when I tried calling apple support centre again for support and to inform that the problem has persisted I got a recorded message that they were alwready closed. In a world where even startups areA shifting to 24X7 support Apple has support timings till only 6.30 pm. Now I am waiting for the apple support centre to open so that I could try and fix the issue which I have no clue when it is going to be sorted out.

The whole issue is becoming more trouble as I am used to some extraordinary service for my laptop from Dell. Whenever I faced the problem with my Dell Laptop the person from Dell Service centre was at my home the very next day and sorted out the issue. Once my charger got spoilt when I was in Mumbai and they Dell executive made sure that the new one was on my desk very next day. For Apple however if there is any fault you have to try troubleshooting the devise on your own with help from Support Centre which has got working timings from 19th Century. Also if it needs to be sent to repair then I think you need to personally go and give it to authorised service centre of apple or to the dealer from where you purchased it.

Overall from this experience I have released following:

• Apple MacBook does not work out of the box as they promise. You will have to spend a lot of time to get it working functionally and as in my case a lot more then it takes for a Windows PC.
• When it comes to service apple is average. It does not comes anywhere close to the service provided by a company like Dell.
• Apple is not about great engineering. Its about extraordinary marketing.
• All this bad experience when I am paying almost two times the cost of a PC make it just not worth it.

While may would some how try to convince you about their MacBook experience being amazing simply because they have already paid twice the amount they would have paid for a PC but here I have decided to truthfully list out the issues faced by an Apple user. This is my honest MacBook review. My old Dell Laptop was not as beautiful as this Mac and the battery lasted for one fourth the time but then it at least did the work I bought it for. MacBook is just a beautiful glowing piece of art that suits for Art Galleries not a office where people are trying to do some serious technical or managerial work.

Chance to Change !

What is common thing about Google Search, Yahoo ! and Facebook ? Besides the fact that they all have revolutionised the internet, all of them were college projects of their creators.* This truly tell you the importance of a college project project. For most of the students the finale year project is the biggest project of their college life hence this post is directed towards the finale year projects. However  it is equally valid for all engineering projects.

Your finale year project is one chance to change the world. But then what should be your finale year project ? How do you go about it ? Here are few points:

1. Create stuff that Amazes you.

You need to remember that at the end of the day the project is your baby. It has to be something that you would love to show off. It has to be something that will be proud of. Create stuff that you will be startled looking at. The best project is when you create something that others thought was impossible and still you managed to create it. And even if you are not able to get the final output I am sure you will be satisfied be your work.

2. What an Idea !

The Idea is the Heart of the project. The reason why Facebook is a big hit is not because it has some complex technology but because it is based on an amazing Idea of connecting people. The features of status updates, Like, Comment etc are part of an amazing Idea called Facebook. The part of developing the Idea of the project is one of the best part of the final year project however not many people spend enough time on it. Many times the ideas is just picked up from the net or students ask the faculty for their Idea. This should be strictly avoided. Do not refer to other sources for the Ideas of the project. The Idea should be yours. It should be a creation of your mind. The Idea of the project is the central theme of your project. Sometimes it takes even a year for a good Idea to develop and it undergoes a major changes with time. e.g. in case of my project we started an Idea of creating a GPS controlled car and ended creating an Internet controlled Robot. The finale idea, though absolutely different from the starting Idea, did evolve from the original one. This process of evolution of Idea is the most exciting one. Come up with an Idea, Check its FEASIBILITY, See if someone else has already created it, check how you can go about . Spend time and your Idea will metamorphose from a cartpiler into a beautiful butterfly.

3. Keep it Simple

Which is a bigger invention ? A bipedal robot or a stapler ? I feel a stapler is more important as it has influenced my life a lot more then a Bipedal Robot. A stapler is such a simple devise yet so awesome. I am sure you use it frequently in your life (People who take lots of supplements during exams are eternally grateful to this devise :-)). What makes it so great is the simplicity. Simple to create yet so revolutionary. Remember the simple things influence our life a lot more. So keep your project simple on technology and focus on application.This will also ensure the feasibility as well as will help in keeping the costs low. The project should be simple to create but should have profound impact on human life just like the ‘'simple machines’.

4. Focus on Application.

To have a great impact your focus of project should be on application. By application I mean what the project is providing/giving you. e.g The Application of a bed mattress is to provide comfort while sleeping. The application should come first then the simplest possible technology to achieve this application should be used. However most of the student follow exactly the opposite process. They pick up the technology and then somehow try to fit it into some application. I am sure all (almost all :-) ) the computer engineering students will be able to create a website to update a database entry when a button is clicked. However its the right application of this simple technology created the awesome ‘Like button’ on Facebook. Remember that if your project becomes available for the general public to use (and this has to be your final aim) then the public is going to choose to use it based on the application not on the technology used.

5. Create something that YOU would use.

Forget if others like your creation or not. Don't think if others will use it or not. Make a point to create something that you will not only like but also you would love to use. Create something that has capability to become part of YOUR life. After all this is your ‘chance to change’ the world and most importantly change YOUR own world.

6. Be the Donkey !

When I was a kid I was told a story of a Donkey who praised his own tail. I was taught that this Donkey was stupid. During my visit to IISC –Bangalore while speaking to Prof. Murthy I told him about how we got coverage for our project in various local media. He replied “So why did you do all this promotion of your project? Isn't it for publicity ?”. We dint knew what to answer. After all we were always taught that self publicity is bad thing to do. But then he went on to explain why all the self publicity of the project was the best thing that we did. When you have worked hard and created. the world will not come to know on its own so it is very important that we tell the whole world about it. You have to shout out about your awesomeness. This a very important change in culture we need to bring in India if we want the world to recognise our technology. If you keep quite someone else will claim it as his own. Apple products are great not just because of its design and technology but also because Steve Jobs stands on the stage at Macworld WWDC and tells the whole world how awesome, revolutionary, unprecedented, great, unbelievable etc etc their products are. Promote, Publicise because you deserve it. Remember the Donkey wasn't stupid, he was the smartest.

7. Do what you love.

The most important factor in selecting the project is to work with a technology that love to work with. By the time we reach in the final year of Engineering we all have some favourite technology, Technology we are sure we can spend hours on. For me it was Robotics and Internet hence I worked on a combination of the two.

To sum it up there is a beautiful Steve Jobs Quote which says

“ You've got to find what you love, and that is as true for work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work, and the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”

Note for Engicos : The Project is something that should absolutely NOT done for marks. After all everyone ends up getting similar marks in the project. You have nothing to lose so go ahead and create...

* Facts confirmed from http://www.fortystones.com/college-ideas-that-changed-the-world/

My views for buying a new Laptop

Since I have bought my Dell™ Inspiron 14R New Laptop (T540614IN8) I have been getting quite a few queries about buying a laptop. So here is my post about my views on buying the laptop. It also included a review about my laptop.

Please note that the finale choice would depend on your requirements. Also this quote is more applicable if you are buying a laptop in Goa or for use in Goa.

Why DELL?

I researched a bit about other brands.

HP: The biggest problem according to many is that the motherboard stops working after a year. For all it stopped just after the warranty expires. A motherboard costs about 12k-15k. So it may not be a good Idea to go for HP.

Apple: If you have the money go for it. Mac Book with Core 2 Duo will cost you about 75,000 and Mac book Pro with i5 will cost about 1,20,000 So that's almost 4 times. :-)

I did not do much of a research about the rest. However a good responses by almost every dell user and the “DELL Complete Accidental Cover” scored over the rest.

Studio or Inspiron ?

Studio :

• Better Graphics card: Useful if you are into designing. I don't think its a good Idea to play games on the laptop.
• Sound card and speakers with woofer. I think its better to got for speakers then the laptop speakers. The laptop ones don't make much difference.
• Hard Disk with 7200 RPM speed instead of 5200 in Inspiron.
• In studio you can go for a 9 Cell Battery instead of 6 Cell one. This gives longer battery backup. about 4 hrs instead of 2.5 hrs. This option is sometimes handy if you are in a classroom without plug points answering an open laptop exam. Though if you are joining GIM then its not much issue as the benches plug points.
• The Studio has got more customizations options like backlit keyboard, different artistic designs on the chassis etc. but go for this only if you requite as they cost a lot of money.
• Has a 3.2 Megapixel camera instead of 2 Megapixel. I don't think it makes any difference. I mean you don't click important photographs with your laptop.

Inpiron:

• Costs almost Rs.10,000 less. Thats about 25% less.
• Smaller in size.

Which Processor to go for ?

Your Choice should be between i3, i5, or i7 depending on your requirements. I went for i5.

What is the ideal Screen Size ?

15 inch gives you an option to go for 9 Cell battery instead of 6 cell even in Inspiron. Also the HDD space can be 500GB instead of 320. It hardly makes any difference in  viewing and costs about Rs 4000/- more.

14 inch looks cuter. Also if you have to carry your laptop every day to class/office its much better to carry less weight. Also a smaller laptop fits easily on bench for an MBA class. :-)

How much Hard Disk Space should I go for?

Go for the default HDD Space. In my case it is 320 GB. If you need more space then I think you should buy an external disk as that costs a lot cheaper. *Though please confirm this fact.*

How is the Keyboard and Touchpad ?

The keyboard is nice and working well. But the most surprising future of the laptop has been its awesome multi touch keypad. It has got two figure scroll, Pinch to zoom and many more features. The biggest testimony to its awesomeness is the fact that till today I have not used the Dell(TM) Bluetooth Wireless Mouse I got free with the laptop.

What is “Complete Accidental Cover ? ”

Your default warranty covers only the damages due to manufacturing defects or due to faulty company design. So what if the laptop falls from the bench in your MBA class and screen breaks(it happened to my classmate). What if you accidentally spill coke on the keyboard ? All this damages are covered in “ Complete accidental cover.”

One important point is the costs for this rise exponentially. Its Rs. 800/- for one year, Rs.4000/- and Rs. 8500/- for three years.

However if you take it for three year you are also entitled for 8% corporate discount. Please note that this discount is applicable on the total cost of the machine. So practically if you are using the corporate discount then instead of Rs.8500/- its almost costs you Rs.4000/-.

So I think one should go for this scheme (Along with the corporate discount) if you are a student or a young person since the chances in this case of accidental damage are a lot more and in case you break any part then Rs.4000/- sounds a lot cheaper as the Laptop Parts cost a lot. Even the service engineer for Dell charges Rs.1650/- for a visit to your place.

This scheme I believe is must for MBA students who use laptop like books. Its something you will carrying with you all the time and even during exams in the open laptop exams. Will you worry about your laptops or answer exams.  have to answers open laptop exams.

Why should I buy Accessories with my laptop when I can always buy them later separately ?

The biggest reason you should buy them along with your laptop is the cost. The accessories bought along with the laptop cost almost half the market prise.

The accessories I have bought are:

Targus Curve 16" Backpack [Rs.1,497.87]. Looks nice. Enough space to carry all the laptop accessories. Light weight and  compact. However the front pocket design is weird. Overall its a good buy. Though I feel the Belkin bag is better option.

Dell(TM) Bluetooth Wireless Mouse [Free worth Rs.1,033.51] as I have mentioned before I Haven't used it. But it seems good when I tested it. I was entitled for these scheme as I had the 3 Yr Complete Cover + Corporate Discount + MacAfee Antivirus for 15 months.

Dell BH200 Bluetooth 2.0 EDR Stereo Headset, VOIP Capable [Rs.1,963.34].

Pros:

• Foldable so that they even fit into your front pocket and so beautifully designed they don't make any sound when you open the folds.
• Great sound quality
• Good range
• Easy control options on the headphones itself
• Most importantly they work with any Bluetooth devise, not only laptops but even your cell phone.

I can bet you will fall in love with them. :-)

Note: This headphones cost about Rs.3500/- if you buy separately from the laptop.

Which Antivirus?

I bought McAfee(R) Security Centre (Multi-Language) - 15 Months Version [Rs.982.77]  as it also entitled me for a free Bluetooth mouse. Its running pretty good so far. Though ill need to test it for a longer time to give a final verdict.

How do I avail the Corporate Discount ?

For this you should be employee or should have been placed at any company registered with DELL. Please note that all the corporate companies are not registered so you need to check if your company is. Then as a proof you will need to send an E-Mail from your official E-Mail ID or mail them the signed copy of your placement letter. Please not that they do not accept any E-Mail placement letter as a proof and only a duly signed hardcopy is needed.

However the best part is you can enrol for these scheme even if you are not working with any of these companies. You can always avail the discount with help of your well wisher who works there. And most imp the laptop will be in your name and it will even be delivered at your place. Just ask the guys at DELL helpline and they themselves will guide you about this.

The amount of discount varies:

• 3% for inspiron
• 5% for studio
• 8% for either if you have taken the “Complete Accidental Cover” for three years.

Please note that the corporate discounts are available only if you buy directly from DELL website or on Phone (Option 3 in “Where to Buy ?“ section.) It is not available with dell resellers.

Where to buy?

Three options

1. Dell reseller: The models they sell are of different configuration. Here you can get few freebees like carry case, headphones(Don't expect Bluetooth :-) ), Mouse etc. Also in case of a problem the service may be better but I am not sure about it. One problem here is no chance to customise your laptop configuration and you have to buy the available configs. But the main problem here is the high cost as you are charged extra for VAT. So this comes to about 5% extra. Also no option for Corporate Discount. You can buy under this scheme at 160by0,Panjim Call: 9923633906
2. Dell Resellers who buy for you online: Here the main advantage is that you get the VAT discount. Also the dell resellers like Jamsons Dell Showroom (Alfran Plaza, Near Hotel Delmon, Call: 9923699827)  or Computer Shop (Kamdhenu Building, Panjim Call: 2422991) have their own service centre so an added advantage of better service. However there are no other discounts (e.g. Corporate Discount) or schemes (e.g. Free Bluetooth Mouse) available here.
3. Buy directly from DELL website or on Phone.: You can either visit www.dell.co.in or call 1800- 425- 4026 (Toll Free) or 080-2506-8026 (standard charges apply). I feel calling on phone is a much better option as the DELL person also advises you on what to buy or what are the best schemes and discounts you can possibly get. I found the person on line was very frank where he even advise me not to go for 320GB HDD instead of 500GB HDD and instead go for external hard drive so as to save my cost. That was nice on their part. Here besides the added advantage of not required to pay VAT you can also get  the corporate discount besides various other freebees (Like a Bluetooth wireless mouse in my case). So if you take the advantage of the discounts to the fullest then you can get benefits of about 5 – 7K. I will advise that after you make a choice of the configuration online have a look at that hardware at any of the DELL shops before you make final buy online. There is a lot of chance that you will change your mind after you try the hardware. Like I was planning to go for the creative earbuds initially but changed my mind to go for the awesome Bluetooth headphones after I saw them. I bet you they are a product to fall in love with.

Any Other advice?

Please do consider a very important fact that unlike a common belief your laptop is not a permanent investment. The life of a laptop is about two to three years with proper and careful use, otherwise even lesser. After that its parts will stop working one by one, starting from battery. Also most importantly you laptop will be out dated after 3 years. Its best advisable to buy a new laptop after three years.  So spend on what you really want rather then what you might want. Above specified configuration works perfectly for an MBA.

“ Have a happy new laptop.” :-)

Open Letter to Cognizant

Dear Mr. Francisco D'Souza.
(CEO Cognizant)
First of all "Cognizant Rocks" !
Here is what I have got so far coz I cleared your placement.
1) Rs. 5000/- discount on my new Dell Laptop. Simply coz I am your employee.
2) A free Bluetooth Wireless mouse from Dell. Again coz I am your employee.
3) Lots of cake to eat after selection. :-)
4) 2 Pages of recruitment letter to sell Raddiwala.
Sadly I will cease to be your employee from 1st of July. Coz I dont think I will be even starting the modules. :-(
Thank you for selecting me. It was honer to be part of your company.
I have enjoyed and extracted full benefit of your generosity. ;-)
Love you cogni,
PPV
PS:How can anyone actually select me for the Job of a progarmor. I dont even know how to spell progemer properly.
Note: In case any one of you is buying a Dell Laptop then just produce the recruitment letter (Given on the day we were placed) and you can avail the awesome offers specified above.

Why is there no Nobel Prize in Mathematics?

The Nobel Prize is an international award administered by the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm, Sweden. These prizes were created by the will of Alfred Nobel, a Swedish chemist. Each prize consists of a medal, personal diploma, and a cash award. Every year since 1901 the Nobel Prize has been awarded for achievements in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and for peace. However a prize in Mathematics is absent from this list. This even I came to know recently and wanted to know why Maths is not included, so after searching I got this result at cliqueway.wordpress.com.

One of the most unfounded reasons as to why Nobel decided against a Nobel Prize in math is that a woman he loved rejected him because of (or cheated him with) a famous mathematician. Gosta Mittag-Leffler is often claimed to be the guilty party. There is no historical evidence to support the story. But one thing is all known that Mr. Nobel was never married.

One more thing a chief purpose for creating the Nobel Foundation was to honor people who do something practical to help humanity.And Mathematics was not considered a practical science from which humanity could benefit.

Further, at the time there existed already a well known Scandinavian prize for mathematicians. If Nobel knew about this prize he may have felt less compelled to add a competing prize for mathematicians in his will.

10 Ways to pretend you are studying

( This ideas are robbed from MTV Ticker )

1. Put on headphones and listen to music. Tell your mom you are listening to recorded lectures.

2. Keep texting your friend. Say you are testing each other by SMS.
3. Read a magazine. Say you’re using the article as a case study for something.
4. Solve a Su-doku and say your math teacher asked you to do it.
5. Pretend you’re doing an assignment and write love poems for your crush.
6. Keep a book open and doze off. When your mom wakes you up, say you were memorising in your head.
7. Call your friend and chat. When your mom comes in, start asking questions about your subject.
8. Keep surfing online and say you’re researching further information.
9. Keep your book right next to your sibling who’s watching TV and make irrtated faces whenever your mom looks at you.
10. Projects are the best thing to happen to education. Do whatever you like and say it’s a project.

Gtalk Tips and Tricks

Run Multiple Accounts In Google Talk Simultaneously

Google Talk does not provide option to login to multiple accounts by default. If you have several Gmail accounts that you want to login in Google talk, follow this procedure.

1. Right click on desktop. Select NEW and then SHORTCUT

2. Paste this into text box “c:\program files\google\google talk\googletalk.exe” /nomutex”
3. Click NEXT and name it Google Talk Multiple (or whatever).
4. Click OK until you are done
Use this new shortcut on your desktop to login to multiple accounts in Google Talk simultaneously.

Make the text bold, italic and underline in Google Talk

Yes you can do basic formatting with text in GTalk. There is no formatting panel or visible button to do so but you can easily write bold, italic and underline text. If you want to type a sentence or some word in bold, just add a * before and after that text so *ppv999* will give you ppv999. To make text italic, enclose the text in _underscores_.

Create contact shortcut on desktop

You can create a shortcut on your desktop to chat or call any friend. You can click this shortcut anytime to chat with your friend or call them. For example if you want to make a shortcut for ppv999@gmail.com, right click on your desktop and go to New > Shortcut and type gtalk:chat?jid=ppv999@gmail.com for text chatting or gtalk:call?jid=ppv999@gmail.com for call.

Write Paragraphs in Gtalk

If you want to write a message that spans multiple paragraphs, hold shift and hit enter to start a new paragraph. It will move cursor to new line.

Change the font size in Google Talk

Hold the control key and move mouse wheel up or down for adjusting the text size to your liking. This trick works on write and read areas.

Show Hyper links in Gtalk

You can show your website or blog by simply writing the URL in away message (at the top of main window). It will turn it in a clickable and invisible link to others.

Know calorie count of food items in Gtalk

You can know calorie count of food items using Gtalk. Add calories@lifemojo.com in your Google Talk (click add button and enter calories@lifemojo.com) and then send food name as message to know about calories in that item. Send messages like: rice to know about calories in rice.

Use Gtalk as free website live chat client

Place Gtalk button on your site and visitors can contact you using it. You can create your Google Talk badge here.

Is a Google Talk contact Invisible?

Yes there is a glitch in Google Talk’s invisible status and we can take advantage of it to know if a user is really offline or in invisible status to avoid you. Follow these steps to find out.
1. Select the chat as off the record with the target user (Google tells you HOW). This can only be done if the target user is online.
2. Now try sending chat to the target contact.
3. If the contact is invisible, he/she will receive the chat. In case if they are offline, you will get an error message like “ did not receive your chat”.
This is simple tip to checkout if a user is invisible on Gtalk.

Use Google Talk With Twitter

Invite twitter@twitter.com to your friends list in Gtalk and verify your account. Whenever you IM this account, the message will automatically publish on your twitter account.