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Make Your Television into an Internet Powered Television
If you are a Geek or a Computer addict then this post is not for you. You can close the browser and get back to your work.
If you are someone, a light internet user who likes to have the comfort of browsing internet on your Television then this post is for you.
Vodafone recently launched a gadget which looks like a Keyboard which you can directly plug into your Television. (No HDMI cables, just like old days Audio/Video). Basically Inside the keyboard there is a processor and an Operating system is running. If you want to know the operating system then its none other than Android 2.1.
Webbox from Vodafone
You can place your SIM card into the keyboard and connect to internet via the mobile network. You can connect even in 3G. It uses an optimised version of Opera and it renders and shows web pages very fast compare to ordinary Android browsers. Also you can send SMS, Email, listen to music, watch video and read and edit documents such as Word and PDF. It supports SD card too.
You can see the Home Screen below. It has easy navigation to SMS, Email, Audio Video, Chat etc.
Webbox Home Screen
Now lets come to the availability in Sri Lanaka. Dialog introduces the device here for 12490 LKR. You can also pay in installments (1190 for 12 months OR 650 for 24 months).
Webbox Promo from Dialog
IMHO, I won’t go for this device. Its a low-end Android device with a Physical Keyboard and output to Television. Nothing Much! Even Vodafone itself made it clear that this device is for emerging markets only so its targeted for countries like Sri Lanka, India, Russia, Pakistan etc.
“The Webbox is a simple yet very innovative product. It has the potential to make a powerful difference in the lives of people in emerging markets who have limited access to the internet, but where TV penetration is typically very high. The simplicity of the product is striking – it brings the internet to the TV, be that at home for the family, in schools for education or in small businesses to assist local economic growth.”
But it’d be suitable for Kids and Senior Citizens who have trouble learning computer and geek stuff on Android mobiles.
And a bonus video of Webbox demonstration.
How to Force Skype to Move from Task Bar to System Tray
If you are using latest version of the Skype you might have noticed the intrusive behavior of the Skype by placing its presence always on task bar. You can simply get rid of the Skype bar in the Task-bar and keep it running in the system tray just like old days.
To do that do the following.
- Open Skype (lol
) - Select Tools
- Select Options
- Now click Advance Option on the left pane
- Uncheck “Keep Skype in the taskbar while I’m signed in ”
You may refer the image below.
Get Rid of Intrusive Skype on Task Bar
Happy Skyping guys.
New Packages from SLT Broadband
I’ve learned that Sri Lanka Telecom has enhanced their broadband speed this new year. Even entre package can go upto 2Mbps speed, which is awesome. The highest speed you can reach via SLT broadband is enhanced to 16Mbps.
In one hand fixed broadband connections are more stable and reliable than mobile broadband. But mobile broadband have the advantage of mobility, affordability and cost effective. So I’m gonna stick with my mobile broadband.
16 Mbps Speed
There was a time broadband means unlimited. But this luxury is no longer available from SLT Net. Early days we used to download even 100Giga bytes per month by running the computer 24*7, but this is no longer possible. New Broadband packages from SLT Net is not only limits the speed but also the usage amount in GB. When you reach the download limit your download speed will go down to 64Kbps and you can restore the speed by paying 250 per GB which is tooo much.
Unlike mobile broadband, SLT’s broadband usage limit is bit fuzzy. Just like you see on voice call tariff sheet, you see Peak and Off-Peak in Mobile broadband price list. Usage is limited based on time also. Those who download torrents while you sleep, I’m sorry to say but these SLT packages are gonna hit you hard on your movie & TV series downloads
SLT net’s Packages starts from as low as 499 and goes upto 20,000. you can check the list of packages here.
All in all, I love the wide pool of choices available in the new packages but the download limit hits back hard. Sri Lanka’s broadband should mature more to match the developed countries.
Tablet Prices in Sri Lanka
As we know electronic gadget prices are crazy in Sri Lanka. Most of the time prices are very much higher than any other countries in the world. These days Tablets are catching up as they are more convenient than Note Book. Tablets are no exception. Prices are too crazy in Sri Lanka. I started to look out for tablets and collected price details. Thought of sharing with rest of the people in Sri Lanka as there are already several people doing the same and it would ease their work.
When it comes to tablets we have 2 main camps
- iPad
- Android Tablets
iPad
iPad devices are state of art expensive over priced items. At least that’s how most of the Apple products are being sold. There 2 version of iPad available in the market (beside iPad1 and iPad2).
1. With wifi
2. With wifi and 3G
iPad devices are usually priced above 110,000. You can check cellular lanka, for more information
Android Tablets
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
There are mostly two sizes of Androd Tablets are available. 7 inches and 10.1 Inches. To get the real feel of Tablet I’d suggest anyone to go for 10.1 Inches. 7 inches tablet is more like a large screen phone. At least that’s what I feel.
Just like Android phones, there are variety of Android Tablets available in the market. If you are looking for a high end sleek Tablet as better as iPad then I’d suggest you go to for Motorola Xoom or Samsung Tab 10.1. Since Google bought Motorola I hope there will be constant firmware updates available to Xoom.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 inches price is around 60,000 LKR and 10.1 inches is around 95,000 LKR
Recently Etisalat featured a Huawei Android Tablet. The cost of the tablet is around 25,000 and with all the commitments you have to make it’ll costs you around 30,000 LKR. But it’ll not be as good as Samsung Galaxy Tab. Obviously you can see the price difference.
Alternatively you can go for a cheap Android Tablet available in Ebay. It’d cost around 15,000 LKR with custom taxes. But the quality would be very cheap. You won’t be able to run high end applications such as Games. Even Angry Birds won’t work properly in these devices. But for reading documents etc you can use this tables.
This article is only a heads up to you. You need to explore more into the type of Tablet you are anticipating to own. Use google and search specific to the tablet you are expecting to buy and decide your buy. Good luck.
Dialog MMS Settings for Android Mobile
Recently bought LG OPTIMUS GT540 and I manged to figure out the settings for MMS today. It’ll b aplicable for most of the Android mobiles.
- Menu
- Settings
- Wireless Controls
- Mobile Network Settings
- Access Point Names
Now Create a APN for your data connection.
- New APN
- Name: Dialog
- APN: dialogbb (if you are using data package on mobile)
- Save
Now Create another APN for MMS (updated)
- New APN
- Name : mms
- APN: dialogbb
- Proxy: 192.168.122.2
- Port 8080
- MCC : 413
- MNC : 12
- APN type: mms
Now try send a MMS to your phone.. It should work like magic. If it doesn’t work for you lets discuss. If you are on Mobitel, please check this post on how to enable MMS for Android.
Mobile Prices in Lanka is a JOKE
There was a time when people those who wanna save some money on mobile purchase go to Petta AKA Pitta Kottuwa. But things have changed a lot with the tax redemption regulated by the SL Gov. Those who bought phones from Pettah realized that those phones are even cheaper in Maharagama or Kiribathgoda.
This tax redemption was initiated to encourage people to buy more mobile phones which will result in high telephony usage in the country.
Another reason is, to encourage the tourist to buy electronic stuffs from Lankan market. Most of us know that some of us travel to Singapore only for shopping. We can save thousands of bucks if we buy electronic goods in Singapore. But my question is, are we really there?? Or this tax redemption is a joke??
For an example, I’m in India on an official Trip. I bought LG Optimus GT540 for 10,000 INR (almost 25000 LKR). When I asked the price of the phone here at Lanka, it was around 38,500 LKR. Sri Lankan electronic good prices are not even competing with India so isn’t it a joke that we are going to attract the tourist segment that comes only for shopping to Sri Lanka??
Another example was Nokia’s so called revolutionary product N8 (with HD cam, new Symbian OS etc etc) is 24,000 INR in India. Can you guess the price in Lanka?? It is around 77,000. I couldn’t stop but laughed my ass out.
I believe, it’s the mobile sellers in Sri Lanka making a good deal of money from the tax redemption not the public. There must be a dark mafia going on between the sellers to control the price so they can make good money. Good for them to find this cash cow but not good for the vision set by the Gov of SL for the future of our nation.
Just a food for thought!
Mobitel Mobile Broadband – A Never-ending Cheat
Last December I moved from Dialog to Mobitel and bought Mobile Broadband connection. I didn’t realise that I’m making a grave mistake till I brought the modem home. From the day I bought the connection, it sucks.
It’s been almost 8 months ever since I bought the connection and I have a damn one year commitment with Mobitel. They really don’t give a damn about their customers.
I’ve been calling their customer care ever since and the guy answering the call always try to be a smart ass by saying “Sir, You need re-plug the modem” or “NO NO NO Sir! You should not start the mobile partner application manually, let’s restart your machine”. God what nonsense is this?? I’ve studied an IT degree and these people are trying to teach me how to plug the modem when they don’t have a good answer.
Lastly, I launched a complain and there were no response about it. As I remember when u lodges a complaint you’ll be given a tracking number but for Mobitel they don’t have such system because they can’t cheat their customers if they have system.
And I happen to have called Mobitel CC and nagged the guy and he told me, “Sir, they have found the root cause”. Yeah they have found the root cause after 8 fucking months. “Mmmm… Sir there is heavy network congestion in your area”, damn what nonsense even I know that. I don’t have to lodge a complaint to know that there is a heavy congestion.
I have no idea whether Mobitel will ever change or their customer care agents will ever learn to talk with the clients. I have another 3 damn months with Mobitel. I can’t wait to finish the contract with these cheaters who kept on cheating me for last 8 months.
If you are considering buying Mobile Broadband, please dear sisters and brothers DON’T BUY MOBITEL BROADBAND. They are bunch of CHEATERS, who have cheated me for last 8 months. They’ll NOT hesitate to cheat you also.
Following are the two common Error you’d get when you try to connect
“Show hidden files and folders” Doesn’t Work in XP
The symptom of this problem is every time you select the Show hidden files and folders options under Folder Options, the screen just flashes when you click OK and the hidden files and folders are not unhidden. You can fix this problem with a registry hack:
1. Click Start > Run and type REGEDIT
2. Click the plus sign next to HKEY_CURRENT_USER
then SOFTWARE
then Microsoft
then Windows
then CurrentVersion
then Explorer
then Advanced
On the right side, double click the hidden value and give it a value of 1.
You should now be able to enable hidden files and folders.
This is a issue caused by virus, so please make sure to use a updated virus scanner.
Add Background Image to Google
There are some third party scripts and sites to enable background image for google.com page. Now the great Google itself introduced a way to add background image to your Google home page.
Procedure is very simple.
- Navigate to http://www.google.com/addphoto
- Upload a photo or select an existing one
All set good to go now. Hope u like the new background feature.
Google Doodle and FIFA World Cup
Google’s innovative Doodle’s are one of the most creative items I find online. Few weeks back they had Pac-Man game and I end up playing it whole day. Now the Soccer fever has caught up with us and Google respond to it with a FIFA Doodle.
If you visit Google home page you’ll see the FIFA Doodle. If you click the Doodle it’ll show the results with latest match. Check out the screen shot, it shows with Sri Lankan time also.
FIFA Schedule in Google
I’m going to bookmark the link “FIFA World Cup” so I can check match schedules via simple Google interface.
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