Reviews With Rao

JBL Flip II Speakers -

2015-12-28T09:14:00.000+05:30

The JBL Flip II Speaker (Black Edition) is a portable Bluetooth enabled speaker. It can be bought in stores or online. The FLip II is slightly smaller in size compared to others in its class. Even though it is smaller, the music output in terms of volume and bass is amazing.

Music can be played on the speaker by either connecting your phone via Bluetooth or by using and AUX Cable which can be bought for about Rs. 150/- online. It is quite easy to pair your phone via Bluetooth. The range of the speaker isn't great and this is the only slight disadvantage. Like stated before, music quality is great be it outdoors or indoors. Though I have not played music using the AUX Cable, I think that there shouldn't be any problem.

The battery life is just above average. JBL's website claims that the speaker will run for about 4 - 5 hours. This is not true. While connecting and playing via Bluetooth, it lasted for about 3 - 3.5 hours only. 3 hours is not bad though. A good thing is that, music can be played even when the speakers are charging. Overall, I don't think that the battery life is very low and this 'con' is worth overlooking unless you are keen on buying speakers only for its long battery life.

The buttons on the speakers are easy to use. Calls can be taken by clicking the answer button. Volume can be increased and decreased, Bluetooth can be switched on/ off easily to save battery. Also, the speaker can be easily powered on/ off. The only disadvantage is that the music can't be changed by pressing buttons on the spekaer.

The speakers cost Rs. 5490/- on Amazon and Flipkart. It is very well priced for its features which is great. For users who do not want to spend too much money on speakers, but at the same time want a well reputed brand with great quality, this is a good speaker.

Conclusion:
Pros:

Small and highly portable speaker with good music quality.
Bluetooth and AUX Cable enabled.
Easy and hassle free to pair with bluetooth.
Calls can be taken.
User friendly buttons.
Affordable, high quality speakers.

Cons:

Low range connectivity. (Can be overlooked)
Battery life is only above average. (Can be overlooked).
Music can't be changed on the speakers. (Can be overlooked).

Final Conclusion:
These speakers are worth buying since they have only a few minor cons which can be overlooked if the customer is not very picky with those specifics. Overall, I rate the speakers 4/5.

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JBL has not paid me to write a review that benefits their company/ product. This review is based on personal views of the author and doesn't mean to offend any company/product. Any part of this review cannot be copied and published without the consent of the author.
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Reviews With Rao. All Rights Reserved

Ola Vs Uber - The Ultimate Debate

2015-12-18T12:20:00.002+05:30

For sometime, there has been this continuous debate over which taxi operator - Ola or Uber is better. So, I took it upon myself to distinguish between the two, analyse the pros and cons of both the apps, their drivers and customer satisfaction and here is my report:

Ola Cabs

OlaCabs:

Ola Mini (Rs. 80 for 4 kms and thereafter Rs. 10/km)
Ola Sedan (Rs. 100 for 4 kms and thereafter Rs. 13/ km)
Ola Auto (Meter Rate + Rs10 convenience charge)

Ola Mini offers its customers a small car with a small boot space at a relatively lower price. This car is ideal for 1 - 3 passengers but can hold 4 passengers (excluding the driver).
The Ola sedan can more or less comfortably hold 1 - 4 passengers (excluding the driver) at a slightly higher price.
The Ola Auto allows customers to book an auto which can hold upto 3 people. The advantages of an Ola Auto is that it allows customers to travel whatever distances that they want without bargaining with the Auto Driver. I, have used this feature a m times and at certain instances, the drivers have been mean and refused to come even after accepting the ride. But, they have never demanded excess fare, a sight common in India.

The App:
The Ola app is quite user friendly.The app allows users to book taxis with ease. Like mentioned above, it is quite user friendly. This allows old aged people who are trying hard to adapt to modern technology to easily book a cab for themselves. The app also has a detailed section which allows the users to know the taxi fares. Users can also share their location with another while in the taxi. This not only maintains the security of an individual, but it also lets the other person know when their friend is reaching a particular place.

Uber:

uberGO (Base fare Rs. 30 + Rs.1/ min + Rs. 7/km. Min fare: Rs. 50, Cancellation Fare: Rs.50)
uberX (Base fare Rs. 40 + Rs.1/ min + Rs. 8/km. Min fare: Rs. 75, Cancellation Fare: Rs. 75)
uberBLACK and uberSUV (Base fare Rs. 100 + Rs.2/ min + Rs. 17/km. Min fare: Rs. 150, Cancellation Fare: Rs. 150)

uberGo, is the equivalent to Ola Mini.
uberX is the equivalent to the Ola Sedan
uberBLACK and uberSUV are big cars, which can seat 7 people or even larger. They are considerably more expensive. Only if a group of people want to travel together in one car and are not willing to travel in two separate cars this type of car is useful. This is because, it is cheaper to book two uberXs than one uberBLACK or uberSUV.

The App:
The app is again very user friendly. The difference between the two apps are negligible.

Certain Similarities:
Considering that both these companies are mobile based taxi aggregators, they are bound to be major similarities. One similarity in both apps, that I personally think is very useful, is the 'Share Ride' option that allows its users to share a ride with their colleagues, friends etc. This will then result in the riders to share the cost of the ride in a hassle free manner.

Conclusion:

Both the apps are very well programmed.
The drivers are more or less courteous.
The fares are not too high and are affordable.
Ola has an added option of hiring Autos which Uber doesn't have.
Ola's rates remain more or less constant and the surcharge during peak time traffic isn't high.
Uber's rate at face value appear cheaper than Ola, but surcharge rates are applied almost throughout the day. This makes the ride more expensive.
Uber allows you to avail their services only after confirming your identity by using your credit card.
Uber's SUV & BLACK option isn't really helpful as mentioned previously.

As you might have guessed, the answer to my original question is:
Ola is a better taxi aggregator than Uber due to the reasons mentioned above.
In terms of star rating, I will rate Ola 4.5/5 and Uber 3.5/5
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Ola, nor Uber have paid me to write a review that benefits one of the companies. This review is based on personal views of the author and doesn't mean to offend any company. The review was written and judged in Bangalore, India and the quality of drivers/ service may differ in different parts of India. Any part of this review cannot be copied and published without the consent of the author.
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Reviews With Rao. All Rights Reserved

SHAREit - a Smooth, Super Fast, Hassle Free Way for Wireless Data Transfer

2015-12-06T16:56:00.000+05:30

SHAREit is an app that is mainly used to transfer files from a phone to another phone or from a phone to a PC or vice - versa by creating a local hot spot. This app is relatively famous especially among the youth since it helps to transfer games, songs, etc. very quickly.

SHAREit, personally is a very useful app. It provides hassle free connection and transfer of data between two devices unlike Bluetooth. SHAREit enables the receiver of the apps/ songs/ pictures and videos to save a lot of time, since he/ she does not need to go through the whole process of downloading the app/ songs from the net or copying files using a cable (let's be honest, half of the time we can't find a suitable cable).

" I transferred 75 MB worth of data in under15seconds!

Also like we all know, transferring files, especially large ones like a number of songs or a number of pictures after a vacation, via Bluetooth takes a long time. But, SHAREit copies files in a jiffy. For example, I transferred 75 MB worth of data in under 15 seconds! That is a staggering 5 MB/ second

SHAREit is overall a good app and I have hardly had any trouble with it. Except once or twice, the connection has been smooth and hassle free and super fast, which is what this app promises. I give this app 4.5 on 5.

In case, you need any help regarding SHAREit, or any other app/ want me to review something else, please do email me at:
sanjith.rao2002@hotmail.com or leave a comment below.

Build A Toilet Project

2015-02-20T17:37:00.001+05:30

First of all, let me start by saying that this post is NOT a review. This post is to increase awareness about a group of 4 people who have started a very good project. It is called the 'Build A Toilet Project'.

Danger Of Lack Of Toilets:
Lack of toilets can lead to many diseases, pollution, garbage, dirty streets etc.
To read more about the danger of lack of toilets click here.

For this and many more reasons, four students, Aniruddha Das, Anirudh Bakre, Riddhi Bhatt and Sanjana Bakre have started what they call "an initiative by a group of young school kids to help make a better and cleaner India! An independent student volunteer project in partnership with Let’s Do Some Good Foundation".
They are trying to collect funds from people and use it to build toilets in schools. So far, they have visited a few offices (to gather more information) and schools (to see the state of toilets in schools and see if they need to be replaced).

According to me, this 'initiative' is a very thoughtful idea. Please do like the 'Build A Toilet Page' on Facebook (a page which is constantly being updated) and help them by donating to this cause. For more information, please do visit their Facebook page.

NDTV Mobile App

2015-02-17T16:24:00.002+05:30

4.5/5

In a busy world in which most of us live in, it is difficult to even read the news. For that reason most leading newspapers allow you to download their apps to read news on the go wherever you are. One such app is the NDTV (New Delhi television Limited) app. In this review, I will be writing the pros and cons of this app.

Pros:

Crisp Pictures

The easy to use interface makes it very easy to change articles and the subject that you are reading (Cricket, Top News, City News etc.).
Live match scores are instantly updated unlike other newspaper apps likes Times Of India.
The NDTV Live Blog is updated instantly even on the application.
Excellent, crisp pictures.

Cons:

In certain articles, multiple pictures are shown at the beginning of the article. Sometimes, after reading the heading, the user might decide that it is not important/ valid news and skip to the next article. When the user swipes their finger across the screen to go to the next article, instead of changing the article, it is changes the picture. This might confuse a user who does not know about this and might think that it is a bug. Though it is not a huge problem, it confused me for a while.

Overall, it is a good application that is extremely useful and easy to use because of its good user interface. According to me, even senior citizens who are not used to gadgets will find it comparatively easy to use this application. For this reason, I award this app 4.5/5 stars.

Scores are instantly updated


Easy to use interface

Lazy Swipe

2015-02-07T11:31:00.000+05:30

4/5 stars

Lazy Swipe is a program that can be downloaded in Android's Play Store. It is a program that suits lazy people (like me). Lazy Swipe was designed by Woody Developers. 10 million users have downloaded this app and it has got an average of 4.5 stars out of 5. After using this app extensively for over a week, I have come out with a review.

What is Lazy Swipe:
Lazy swipe is an app in which you can open your favourite or recently opened apps.

Opening Lazy Swipe:
After downloading the app and customizing it would be ready to be used. Drag your finger from either the bottom right or bottom left side of your screen to use the app.

Review:
It is a very good app. I found it really helpful because at times it would take me time to find some particular applications After installing this app, I found it much easier to gain access to my favourite apps. The 3 main uses of downloading this app are:
Opening:

Recently opened apps.
Favourite Apps.
Tool Box.

Recently Opened Apps:
In recently opened option just as the name suggests, all the recently opened applications are shown.

Favourite Apps:
This option can be customised i.e. you can select what kind of apps you want keep in this tab. It is very useful since sometimes we might find it slightly difficult to find particular apps that we want to use.

Tool Box:
The tool box is basically a customised settings. You can keep different tools such as WiFi, Mobile Data, Screen rotation etc in this tab. In this feature, we can easily switch on/off essential tools such as WiFi and Mobile Data (3G) etc.

Overall it is a good app which makes gaining access into apps much easier. You will no longer have to keep sifting through pages looking for one app. I award this app 4/5 stars.

Recently Opened Apps

Favourite Apps


Tool Box

Android Lollipop (5.0.2) Update

2015-01-31T12:21:00.002+05:30

Android Lollipop

After a gruelling 2 hours, my OS was updated. I had updated my Moto G 2nd Generation's OS from Android KitKat (Android 4.4.4) to the latest Android Lollipop (Android 5.0.2).
After downloading the 350+ MB OS, I couldn't wait to see the new user interface and OS. I had read excellent reviews online since the OS had been released to other parts of the world before it was released in India on 23rd January, 2015.

Lock Screen:
The minute my phone had switched off and switched on I could clearly see the differences.

Since I had left my phone for over 2 hours I had many notifications.The notifications appeared on the lock screen, just like in an iPhone. On the bottom left corner of the screen you can directly go to the dialer by dragging the phone icon and then keying in the password. On the bottom right corner, you can drag the camera icon and directly open your camera. Just like previous versions, photos clicked by the owner of the phone cannot be seen unless the phone is unlocked. If your phone is charging, on the lock screen you will be able to see how long it will take till the battery is full.

Home Screen:

Once you unlock your phone and reach the home screen, you realise that the home screen isn't that different compared to the previous version. The only differences are that:

The Google search option bar is redesigned.
There is a redesigned menu button.
Many inbuilt applications have been redesigned.

Inbuilt Applications:
Most inbuilt apps like Email, music and google chrome have had a slight makeover. In settings there are a few new options such as multi-user, Cast screen etc.

Pull Down (Control Panel):

The New Pull Down Option (Control Panel)

In the older version, we could open the control panel by dragging our finger from the top of the screen to the bottom. In this version when we do that, it opens notifications and also a completely new control panel. The control panel has consists of most of the old features like WiFi, Airplane Mode, Location services, etc. In this version, we can directly switch on and off the WiFi, Airplane Mode, location services etc.

Cast Screen:
Cast Screen is a new option in this OS (atleast in the Moto G 2). Using this option, we can instantly show a copy of our screen on our computer/ TV. To do this one must download the Chromecast App both on the laptop and phone. One must download it onto the laptop since we can show our phone's screen on our TV only through our computer.
After downloading these apps, we must buy the Chromecast Streaming Media Player to connect our phone to the Laptop/ computer. We can buy this on Flipkart for Rs 2,999.
For more information as to how to connect the phone to the laptop, click here.

New Keyboard

Keyboard:
The new keyboard consists of a white background. I personally like the new keyboard.

Multiple Users:
Android L can now accommodate multiple users on your phone. You can now lend your phone to your friend without worrying that he/ she will look at your personal texts, pictures etc. To add users follow the following instructions:

Go to settings.
Click on users.
Click on guest.
Your user ID will be changed. The guest won't be able to call anyone unless you activate the calling option for the guest. In the guest ID none of your applications will be shown. Only the built in apps will be shown.

An Interesting game:

Android Lollipop's 'Hidden' Game

Android L has released a hidden game that does not appear in the form of icons. To play the game follow the instructions given below:

Go to settings.
Click on About Phone.
Click about 7-10 times on Version number.
Your screen will change and a lollipop will appear on your screen.
Keep holding your screen for about two seconds.
The game will open.

In older versions, if you do the same thing, you will get something interesting. Try it out yourself! No spoilers!

Battery Saver:
A new feature in Android 5 is the battery saver option. When you switch on the battery saver option, the processor speed becomes slower. Therefore your phone also becomes slower. In critical situations when you are not near a power supply and you need to constantly use your phone for something or the other this feature is really useful.

There are many more features which have not been added to this blog post since I thought that it was not necessary.

The Android L is a really interesting and sophisticated software which is full of surprises. I suggest that you install this software. For a badly done menu and the costly cast screen option, I award the new OS 4/5 stars.

Look out for my next post: Difference between Android L (5.0.2) and Android K (4.4.4)! It is going to be an article mainly consisting of pictures. It will come out before 10th February, 2014.

Reviews, Reviews & More Reviews

2015-01-25T09:25:00.001+05:30

Hi,
After a gap of over a year, I am going to resume blogging. From now on I will be reviewing applications, OS updates, restaurants and many more things/ places. My first review will be about the new Android OS update (Android L). Stay tuned!

Sneak Peak:
After a grueling 2 hours, my OS was updated. I had updated my Moto G 2nd Generation's OS from Android KitKat (Android 4.4.4) to the latest Android Lollipop ( Android 5.0.2).

iOS 7 Update for Apple Devices

2013-09-21T19:27:00.001+05:30

There is an OS update for iPads, iPhones and iPods (only for some generations). In this update there are many changes. The button on the right side of your iPads and iPhones now can be used to either, lock screen rotation, mute, pause or play your music.

Lock Screen:
In the older version to unlock the phones/tablet we had to swipe at the bottom part at the screen.
Now we can swipe anywhere on the screen. As you can see in the picture, I have circled something at the bottom. If we swipe upwards we get many shortcuts. We can pause, play, change music tracks, increase/decrease volume, put the tablet/phone into airplane mode, Turn On/Off Wifi/Bluetooth/Do Not Disturb Option and mute our device.We can also view the current time in different time zones. The keypad that we see when we unlock the phone is also different.Changing the brightness is also an option.Here is a picture of this shortcut panel and the unlock iPad keypad.

Control center

Different Keypad in lock screen

Home Screen:
The minute you unlock your device you see that the home screen has changed completely. All the default apps' icons (the ones that come when you buy your device) have slightly been changed. Some do have a major change though.

Below I have mentioned a few changes:

The game center app has a completely new logo. It now has 4 huge bubbles taking up the entire icon area.
The Camera now does not just have the lens of the camera on the logo, but now has a completely different logo icon. It now has a grey background with a black camera.
The clock icon has not changed, but the hands of the clock move and shows you the current time.
Instead of the old FaceTime icon which had a grey background with a lens in the middle now there is a green background with a rectangle and triangle attached together which forms a camera like looking figure.

Folders:

Before the update we could only store a certain number of apps in each folder. Now we can store infinite apps in a folder. This is because now when there are more than 9 apps in 1 folder, the other apps go into the next page. This way we can keep on adding apps.

Page 1

Page 2

Bottom row:

All apps on the bottom row have changed. Here are some pictures: The old icons are on the left and the new are on the right.

Sneak Peak!! iOS 7 Update

2013-09-19T21:05:00.000+05:30

There is a software update for iPads, iPhones and iPods (only for some generations). IN the update there are many new changes........

TO read this full post wait for it to come out.
Subscribe to this blog for FREE by just typing in your email address into the box that says 'Follow By email'. You will then receive an email when I publish a post.

Lime Soda. Sanjith Rao- Fresh, Fast And Simple (Like Donna Hay- Fresh, Fast And Simple)

2013-09-14T20:04:00.000+05:30

Fresh Lime Soda ( make 200 ml)

Ingredients:

Soda
a pinch of salt
Sugar- 1.5 tsp
Lemon juice- half a lime

Steps:

In a mixing bowl add all the ingredients.
Mix the sugar till it dissolves.
Your juice is then ready!

Make sure you use well chilled soda.
If you add ice into the juice, the taste and sweetness will reduce. So DO NOT use ice while serving.
Serve fresh.

Pictures will be added soon.

Sliced Brinjal With Zatar

2013-09-14T19:57:00.001+05:30

This is a recipe with Brinjal as the main ingredient.Ingredients:Big, purple aubergine (bhartha baingan)Zatar SaltPepperOil (Preferably Olive Oil).Steps:

Slice the brinjal into 2-3 mm circles.

Shallow fry in a pan.

While shallow frying it add zatar, slat and pepper.

When the brinjal turns a brownish- yellow colour turn it over.

Get the same colour on both sides.

Cooking this dish is very time consuming. So plan ahead.

Serve HOT.

Coming soon- Lime Soda

Paneer

2013-09-13T18:17:00.005+05:30

In the past few months I have started to enjoy cooking. With one of my favourite ingredients, Paneer I created my own dish. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

Paneer

Coriander Leaves

Salt

Pepper

Oil (Preferably Olive Oil)

How To Make It:

Cut the paneer into small pieces to get small cubes.
On a frying pan shallow fry the paneer to get a light brown colour.
Put it into a bowl and add salt and pepper to taste.
You can add the coriander leaves as dressing or for a light flovour of herbs.

Serve it HOT.

Variations:
You can also add some lemon juice for tanginess.

Coming soon- a tasty recipe that uses brinjal!

Toll Tickets

2013-08-17T21:37:00.000+05:30

Well, almost all of us have gone on atleast one long distance journey during which we have stopped at a toll gate and paid. All we do is stop, pay, go. I can assure you that 99% of you would not have actually studied a toll ticket. So here I have. As you would have read from my previous blog post, I went to Chitradurga. During that visit, I collected toll tickets.

At the top of the ticket usually there is the name of the company followed by the serial number, date and time, lane number etc. On every ticket there is also something called an operator ID. On the way to Chitradurga The IRB TCBOT Tollways Pvt. Ltd. company's operator IDs are made of numbers. But the company called NBTL has a few letters as well as a few numbers in the operator ID. This is a difference that I observed.

One more thing that I noticed was that, both these companies wished you either a 'Happy Journey'or a 'Safe Journey'. The ticket also tells you your registration number. I have noticed that in India, toll booth attendants do not always type down the correct registration numbers. For example if you registrations number is 1234 he might type 1235 or even 3232!

As you can see in the picture I have circled something in red. This tells us about how many kilometers the toll road is for. For Example in this particular image it says 75 km to 132 km. This means that it is 75 km from Bangalore (the closest big city) and it goes on till 132 km from Bangalore.

Did you know that, when you are on a toll road you can get free ambulance service, crane service and patrol service ? Yes you can! Look at the picture below:

Tip:

If you are travelling from Bangalore to Chitradurga, you can buy a ticket at the 2nd toll booth for Rs 33. This ticket is valid for the 3rd toll also. You only save a mere Rs 1, but you do not have to go into the crowded toll lanes. Instead you have to go in a separate lane which is usually not crowded.

A Visit To Chitradurga

2013-08-15T10:09:00.000+05:30

Chitradurga Fort is located in the city of Chitradurga in Karnataka. It is about 200 km from Bangalore and 200 km from Hubli too. It is accessible from most cities and small towns by buses and trains. You can also come here by car. Its website is http://www.chitradurga.nic.in/

At Chitradurga Fort Entrance

Clouds Kissing The Hill

In Chitradurga there are many points of interest. Its main point of interest is called the Chitradurga Fort. The fort was built in the 17^th century by the chieftain of the area which was under the Vijaynagar Empire. Further into the fort the sights are breathtaking. I could see clouds kissing the hillocks. The fort was a city in the olden day. It’s surrounded by a 32 km moat which cannot be seen everywhere today. An interesting fact about this fort is that a lot of importance is given to it, though it was just built by a local chieftain.

The fort is mostly made of stone so it is advisable to go early in the morning before the scorching sun hits you. The fort was built by stones which were found on a hill close by. On the fort walls there are no grand reliefs as this fort was built by a chieftain.

Inscriptions

There are also a few temples on the way. If you ask for a guide he will explain everything to you in detail. The sights at a few points are breathtaking.

Coming Out Of The Tunnel Where Obavva Caught Soldiers coming out.
Thankfully she did not see me!

If you ever go to the fort, ask your guide to show you to a place where a woman named Obavva went and killed enemy soldiers.
He will show you a place where little water runs. Over there is an informative board about Obavva. Here is an interesting story about Obavva. Those days enemies tried to attack them from the front, but they could not. So they decided to attack from the back. One particular day, Obavva’ s husband had gone for lunch. That time Obavva came to take water. She heard some suspicious noises and went to investigate. She found these soldiers coming through a little passage from the back. She killed each one with a wooden staff. Sadly, she got killed at the end, but she had saved her kingdom. Now, you can go to this place in the fort and go through a small part of this passage. It is really nice.

There is also a steep mountain which you can climb. It might be slightly dangerous, but if you are willing to do that it should be really exciting. Unfortunately, I could not climb that mountain as we did not want to stop our guided tour.

A few tips/ information:

· The Hotel “Naveen Regency” is a nice hotel, which is located about 3.5 km from the fort. It gives you a spacious room, complimentary breakfast and wifi (Wireless Internet) for about Rs 3000 per night + taxes. They offer lunch and dinner at additional costs. Another advantage is that it is located right off the highway. Visit http://naveenregency.com for more information.

· From Bangalore the road to Chitradurga is newly tarred 6 lane highway. The only disadvantage if you are travelling at night is that there are no street lamps and it is difficult to drive.

· The entrance fee to the fort is nominal Rs 5 and free for children below the age of fifteen.

· A certified guide charges about Rs. 350 for 1 and a half to 2 hours. Disadvantage is that not all guides know English.

· All history lovers, I suggest that you visit this place for breathtaking sights and good history.

Standing On the Place where they crushed gun powder

If you sit inside here, you can here your own echo

A relief on the wall.

A gun fired at this wall. You can also see the mark.

Those cuts were made to break these boulders to build the fort

*All information given is as of August, 9th 2013. Thank You.

My Favourite Restaurant- Habanero- Review

2013-08-01T21:05:00.000+05:30

In Bangalore there are a variety of restaurants. From all the Leela Palace Restaurants to the Shanti Sagar Restaurants. So a Banglorean like me has a difficult time choosing his/her favourite restaurant. But I do have one favourite one............

The restaurant's name is Habanero. Although it has a 'H' in its spelling its pronounced Abanero. It is located in 12th Main Indiranagar and Park Square Mall, Whitefield. The restaurant is hard to miss as it has a large board saying "Habanero"( I am talking about the one in Indiranagar). It is opposite I and Monkey which is a cricketer's house converted into a restaurant.

Habanero is a Mexican (Tex-Mex) Restaurant. Its ambience is very nice. It is full of life as there is a live band. The food is also very nice. Me being a vegetarian eats a starter called Macho Nachos. I love this.For main course I eat a vegetable Burger with fries. To go along with all this I drink Coke.

If you like Mexican food I suggest you try this place. I rate it 5 out of 5 stars.

Located in:

Habanero In Bangalore

Visit www.habanero.in for more informaton.

Hey I am Back!

2013-07-22T13:26:00.000+05:30

Hey everyone. It is a long time since I published my last post, but here I am back and ready to publish my new posts. From today my blog will also include the following topics:
Reviews On Books & Movies
Reviews On Restaurants
I will also talk about cricket as it is my favourite sport.

Photos With Tripod

2012-12-20T15:03:00.000+05:30

Here are a few photos that I took on 18/12/12:
Equipment Used:

Sony Cybershot Camera
Vanguard Tripod

About The Camera:

Optical Zoom 10X
Mega Pixels: 16.1

This is the 100th blog post that is published on http://littlemairpady.blogspot.com!!

Video For Argus Camera

2012-12-04T17:25:00.001+05:30

As I had mentioned in my previous blog post, here is a video about my old camera. You can watch the video by clicking here.

Loading Film Into The Argus Camera

2012-12-02T13:21:00.001+05:30

As you would have read from my previous blog post, my grandfather gave me 2 old cameras. Recently my father and I went to G.K Vale and bought film for the Argus camera. We inserted the film into the camera. My father told me that when the film is exposed to light, the part of it that gets exposed will get damaged. The film contains 36 photos, but we could take only 30-32 photos. I took many different photos with this camera. G.K Vale told us that we can send this film for developing. Once the film is developed, I will scan a few photos and then upload them on the blog. I will soon also upload a video that shows us how to take photos with this camera.

AquaPod

2012-11-30T20:20:00.002+05:30

My father recently bought me an AquaPod. An AquaPod is a device that can launch a 2 litre plastic bottle about 100 feet up in the air. You need a pump and some water in the bottle to make all this happen. We pump air into the bottle filled with water.The air in the bottle gets compresed with high pressure. When we pull the string and release the valve, the compressed air pushes the water out and the bottle flies up like a rocket

Materials required:

AquaPod
Old 2 litre plastic water bottle
Air Pump
Water
String that is 15 ft long

The procedure:

Take an old 2 litre plastic water bottle (preferably Coke bottle).
Fill 1/3 of the bottle with water.
Attach it onto the AquaPod.
Pump air into the AquaPod.
Go back 15- 20 ft & pull the string and watch it soar up into the air!

Here are a few videos that I took. Click the below links to view the videos:

AquaPod Main Video
Under View Of The AquaPod (Must Watch)
AquaPod Flying In The Air

Here is a picture.

AquaPod With Bottle

Photos

2012-11-11T10:00:00.000+05:30

These are a few photos that I took:

Old Cameras

2012-11-01T14:34:00.000+05:30

Recently my grandfather gave me two old cameras that he bought about 50 years back. His first camera costed him Rs. 17 and his second one Rs. 400. I also got an user manual that teaches us about the basics of photography. The brand names of the cameras are Paillard and Argus. The Paillard (Swiss Made) and the Argus ( American Made) camera run on film. We cannot use the Paillard camera anymore. My grandfather said that we might be able to buy film for the Argus camera. The Paillard camera is a video camera whereas the Argus is a still camera. Argus still manufactures cameras. This is not a digital camera, but it is an old style film camera. Here are a few photos:

Paillard Camera

This is where you put the film

Paillard's camera's lens removed

Argus Camera

Argus's camera's lens removed

The front part of the Argus camera

The User Manual

IMS Video

2012-11-01T13:54:00.000+05:30

As I had mentioned in my previous blog post here is a video on IMS (Inventory Management System). You can view the video by clicking here. Please feel free to leave comments on You tube or on my blog. I created this video by using a screen recording software known as Cam-Studio Recorder. You can download it by clicking here.

Hampi

2012-10-21T18:45:00.000+05:30

As you might already know from my previous post, my family and I went on a holiday to Hubli and Bijapur. You can view the previous post by clicking here. After coming back to Hubli, we left our grandparents at their house and then left for Hampi.

Day 1

We departed from Hubli at 11:45 a.m. and reached Hampi at 3:30 p.m. After checking into a hotel we walked around Hampi. First we went to a temple. The architecture inside the temple was very nice. We left the temple and went to the river nearby. As the river is very dirty we decided not to step in to the river. Afterwards we went to a place which had a few rocks and ruins. We climbed a few steps and then stopped and headed back to our hotel as it was getting dark. Then we went to Hampi's famous restaurant for dinner - The Mango Tree.

Day 2

We had breakfast at around 7:30 a.m. Then we hired a guide and an auto-rickshaw. The guide agreed to take us around Hampi. First we went to a temple called the Virupaksha Temple.

Virupaksha Temple

The guide told us that the Chalukya Dynasty started building this temple. The whole temple was built with stone from a hill. All the plain walls of the temple were built by the Chalukya’s. The architecture was done later by the Vijayanagara king. We also saw a temple elephant that was 21 years old. After the elephant had bath in the river it came back to the temple. If we gave it money it would give the money to its mahout and then bless us. After looking at the Virupaksha temple we went to other monuments of Hampi. The architecture was very nice everywhere. The Ramayana was sculpted only in one of the monuments. All other monuments did not really appeal to me, that is why I have not written about any of them. We had lunch and then went back to our hotel room. At 3:00 p.m. we went out again. We saw a few more monuments and came back. We had dinner and then slept immediately.

Virupaksha Temple

Day 3

My family and I woke up at 7:00 a.m. We had breakfast and then left for a small hill. We crossed the hill and saw a temple called the Achuttaraya temple. The temple’s architecture was beautiful. After that we left to a place called Anegundi. To reach Anegundi we had to cross the river. We first walked along the river, see the old bridge that connected Hampi and Anegundi and then crossed over to the other side. As we had walked a lot, I was very tired and decided to sit back in the hired autorickshaw. So I did not see many monuments. I saw just 1 temple, whereas my mother and sister saw 2 other temples. After they finished we all came back to Hampi. We had lunch and then slept for a while. After we woke up we went to a cycle shop to rent cycles and cycled a bit. In Hampi the roads are not meant for cycling because there are many ups and downs. The up-slopes are so steep that I had to push my cycle 2 or 3 times. We rode 6 km in total. Then we returned the cycles and went for dinner. For dinner I had Italian Pizza made in a wooden oven. Afterwards we went to our hotel room and slept.

Day 4

We woke up at 5:00 a.m. and left for Bangalore. We reached Bangalore at 3:30 p.m. Our long trip finally came to an end!! You can view a few videos by clicking the below links:
Elephant Blessing People
Elephant walking back to the temple after having it's bath
Elephant taking blessings from a god. (Must Watch)

A few miscellaneous pictures:

(Click on a picture to enlarge it.) (The panaroma pictures look better if you enlarge them).