Sanjay's Blog

Five Steps to Save a Wet Mobile

2012-06-17T21:50:00.000-07:00

Sometimes there comes situation when you panic and forget everything else. After a while, you remember why I did not do this and that. Slip of mobile or any other similar gadgets from your hand into the water is one of those moments and rare situations. But it is not the time to panic. The right and immediate action may sometimes be beneficial for your assets.

Mobile company is not responsible for damage caused from water even you have the warranty period. So when you accidently drop your mobile into water, you should be prepared to tackle those situations. Below are the few steps to follow.

Step 1

The first thing you should know when your mobile get wet by the accidental fall into the water is to react quickly as soon as possible. You need to take out the cell phone immediately from water so that the internal circuit may not get further more wet. The cell phone’s housing or cover is tightly assembled. So, the water may enter a bit slower.

Step 2

Next thing you should do is to remove battery and GSM card (if you use any) from your mobile. There is no time to switch off; you can directly remove the battery even if the phone is ON. The reason behind it is that the water is a good conductor of electricity and by doing so; the chance of short circuit will be less.

Step 3

Now is the time to dry up the mobile. For this, you can take a piece of cloth that can absorb water quickly and rub it to the outer surface along in the corners where reachable.

Step 4

One of the tips to save your wet mobile is to cover it inside uncooked rice. It seems quite weird but this is the main part as the rice has capability to absorb moisture. Take a bowl of rice and hide your cell phone completely inside it. Leave it untouched for 24 hours. Do not get aggressive instead let the rice do its job.

Step 5

Now that 24 hours has passed, you can now insert the battery and GSM card into your mobile once again. Switch on your mobile and see if it is working or not. If working, it is good news; if not then say good bye to your phone.

The above mentioned steps do not guarantee that your wet mobile will work again but it is worth giving it a try rather than to buy a new one. I have done it myself on my Nokia 5530 Xpress Music and luckily it worked well. But one thing to remember, react as soon as your mobile gets wet or else it would late.

TP-LINK ADSL Router Configuration for NTC Internet

2012-06-14T05:08:00.000-07:00

Here, I am going to show you how to configure ADSL router of TP-Link for accessing the internet service of NTC (Nepal Telecom Corporation). This tutorial is mainly for TP-Link router. For other brands of ADSL routers, the settings may be same but not the procedures.

The router can be configured in two modes: Bridge mode and Routing Mode

The Routing mode is recommended for most of the users as this mode is easy to configure and more secure. More secure in the sense that it uses PPPoE concept.

In addition, routing mode is used for connecting multiple PCs and login information is stored in the router itself. Thing is different in bridge mode. It is used for connecting single PC and is less secure for which the login information is stored in the dialer of your computer.

So, let me show you how to configure your router using routing mode through the following steps. I assume that all necessary components are connected and working correctly.

Step 1

Open your browser (any) and type 192.168.1.1 into the address bar. This is the default IP address of the TP-Link router.

A new window will open asking you to enter username and password.

The defaults are:

User Name : admin

Password : admin

Step 2

Enter the above information and log in.

Step 3

For first time users, Quick Start wizard may appear. Discard this and click on Internet Setup.

Click here for full image

The following screen will appear.

Click here for full image

Step 4

There are Virtual Circuits from 0-7. Activate only PVC0 and deactivate others.

Step 5

Again, return to PVC0 options from drop-down menu. Choose PPPoA/PPPoE in the ISP section.

Step 6

Enter the information as shown in the image below except username and password. Here, you need to enter username and password provided by Nepal Telecom.

Click here for full image

Step 7

Save the settings.

This is it. You can now use NTC ADSL internet. Remember that, if connection is successful the Internet bulb on your router will be ON. Otherwise, there is still some problems. Let me know if this tutorial worked for you or not..

How to Make Image Background Transparent in Photoshop

2012-06-09T09:26:00.000-07:00

Let me show you how to make an image's background transparent using Adobe Photoshop CS2. Note that it will work only if saved in formats like GIF, TIFF, PNG and PSD. This is not supported in JPG, JPEG or JPE.
So, here we go.

Step 1
Open the application (Adobe Photoshop CS2). Go to File > New. A new window will open like the one below.

Keep the value of Width and Height as of your image. And select Transparent in Background Contents. To know size of the image, just hover mouse over the image. For example, 223 x 360 is width x height.

Step 2
Now, open your image. For this, you can either directly drag your image to the Photoshop or click File > Open > Select the file and click Open.

Step 3
Drag the opened image to the file we created in step 1 and adjust it to fit the space.

Step 4
Now that the image has been copied, your next task is to remove the background. To do this, select Magic Wand or Lasso tool which you can find at the left of the Photoshop application. Both tools are located side by side.

With this tool you need to select or highlight the image background as shown below. To select multiple sections click the background along with the Shift key of your keyboard if you are using Magic Wand tool..

Step 5
Hit Delete key on your keyboard and press Ctrl+D. Now your image background will be like the following.

Step 6

Save the image in GIF format and File name of your choice.

And that is it. You have now created an image with transparent background.

Load Shedding in Nepal: Causes and Solutions

2012-05-05T08:54:00.000-07:00

After six years of the start of 2000 millennium i.e. on 2006, Nepal was struck with load shedding problems as the electricity demand continued to increase. Even worse was on the following years as the nature played bad game at some parts of the country with flood and landslides resulting in the interruption of power supply.

At present time, every citizens of Nepal is familiar with the word ‘load shedding’. The reason was and still is the power cut off by the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) to the maximum of 16 hours per day on dry seasons. To manage this crisis, NEA started to plan for the availability or unavailability of electricity to its customers with the load shedding schedule. However, the routine is fairly provided with the equal supply to all considering exceptions for industrial areas.

The overall blame for the load shedding problem does not point to the present government of Nepal. Instead, it was the result of previous government and the related authorities. Because, in my opinion, the period for construction of hydropower plants usually takes minimum of 3 years (rough guess).

Looking at the present load shedding problem, the situation would be even worse if the people in rural areas do not rely on the firewood. The chart from the fiscal year 2007/08 below shows that only 2.04 % of total energy consumption is occupied by electricity, 75.06 % by firewood and rest by other energy sources.

Causes of load shedding

Higher electricity demand than the supply
Incomplete hydro power projects
Political instability
Under efficiency of NEA
Natural calamities

Solutions to load shedding

Overcoming all the above causes except the last one.
Gravitational Vortex Power (GVP) as proposed by Peter McKenzie-Brown
Down the Drain: A Solution to Nepal’s Power Crisis
Installation of solar plants

Conclusion

Despite the promise made by Nepal Electricity Authority to overcome the load shedding, the time has came for all Nepalese to get united on solving the problems directed by the Nepal Government rather than spending time on criticizing others. For this, rational and acceptable plans need to be developed for the making of new Nepal..

Specialties of Nepal

2012-04-20T11:30:00.000-07:00

Mt. Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam

Nepal is a country located between the two giants (India and China). Even being a small country in the world map, it remains high above all because of the reasons that I am going to mention below. But before that, let me give you a short history about the country – Nepal.

Nepal is a landlocked land with the population of 27 million according to the recent census. The country consists of mainly Hinduism and Buddhism. Looking at past, the war fought between British East India Company and the kingdom of Nepal is known as Anglo-Nepalese war that lasted from 1814 to 1816. After the signing of ‘Sugauli Treaty’, Nepal lost some part of its territory. Nevertheless, it’s a country that has never been conquered by the foreign rulers.

Now let us come to the main topic. What makes Nepal so special?

Highest peaks in the world

Some of the highest peaks in the world are located within Nepal. At the top is the Mt. Everest also known as the roof of the world. That is why Nepal is considered as ‘The land of Himalayas’.

Birth place of Siddhartha Gautama Buddha

Siddhartha Gautama Buddha is the founder the Buddhism who enlightened the Asia. This is the reason why Buddha is also called ‘The Light of Asia’. Although the controversy is being developed that Buddha was born in India but the real truth is he was born in Nepal (623 B.C.).

Natural Scenery

Being a mountainous country, Nepal has got some of the best natural scenery in the world. Thousands of tourists visit annually to experience its beauties.

One horned rhino

The rhino other name of rhinoceros is an animal with only few hundred or may be thousands left in the earth. Among various species is one horned rhino which can be only found in Nepal that are well preserved at the national parks.

Herbs

Being a country that lies at the great Himalayas, Nepal is popular for rare herbs and natural medicinal plants. One of the main is ‘Yarshagumba (Cordyceps Sinesis)’ found in the Himalayan region of Nepal.

Cultural sites

Last but not the least is the diversity of culture and religion the country posses. People of various religion and hundreds of caste speaking hundreds of different languages can be found in Nepal. Mainly the two religious sites, Swayambhunath Temple and Pashupatinath Temple are listed in the list of world’s top cultural heritage sites.

Do you know other specialties of Nepal? Please comment below so that I can add it to the list.

How to Delete Hotmail or Windows Live Account

2010-08-17T05:25:00.000-07:00

You have landed to this page may be because you wanted to delete your Hotmail or Window Live account. Before this post, I have shown you how to delete Gmail account. Here, I will show how you can delete your unwanted account of either Hotmail or Window Live.

You want your account to be removed for number of reasons. May be you haven't used it for long and don't need it anymore or may be you receive too much spam mails. This happens with many people. For this reason, deleting the account is a better idea than to keep it idle.

Remember that the emails at your Hotmail or Live account will be deleted automatically if it is not used for more than 270 days. It was just a reminder for you.

Now, let's get to our topic. Just follow the simple steps provided below to delete your account.

Go to this link: Delete your Hotmail or Window Live account

If the above link doesn't work, click the following link.
Delete Window Live account
Enter your email id and password.
If you have clicked the the first link, the following confirmation will appear. Click "Close account" to delete your account.

If you have clicked the second link, the following will appear. Enter your password and click "Yes".
Finish.

How to Delete a Gmail or Google Account

2010-08-13T23:00:00.000-07:00

Here, I will show you step by step process to remove Gmail service from Google account permanently or deleting the entire account and its associated products and services. But before deleting, remember the following points:

Make sure no other users are part of the account you are going to delete.
Make sure you do not want to use any of its products and services.

Steps to remove only Gmail account

Go to the following link
Remove Gmail account permanently
Enter your username and password
Click on checkbox and enter new email address which you want to use to access other existing Google services.
Again, enter your current password and click on "Remove Gmail".

Steps to delete the entire Google account

At top right corner, click on Settings>Google Account settings

Click on Edit next to "My Products".
Click the link below "Delete Account".
Follow the instructions.

5 Ways to Make Money Online in Nepal

2010-08-08T00:08:00.000-07:00

Everyone in this world requires some sort of jobs to live happily. Getting a job in Nepal has become very difficult these days. It is due to the lack of companies and industries in comparison to the population. This is the reason why most of the Nepalese students try to go abroad to get quality education as well as to earn money.

Keeping in mind the above situation, I would like to show you the ways to make money online and work from home in Nepal. Since the existence of the internet, most of the people have been making money on the internet adopting different strategies. However, there are few people in Nepal who are aware of opportunities to earn money online.

A basic search in Google will show you many ways to make money online. But unfortunately, all of those options are not applicable in Nepal. So, I have listed below some of the possible online jobs in Nepal.

Blogging

One of the best option to make money online is to create a blog or website that allows you earn money by displaying the advertisements and selling the products or services. Generally, setting up a website or blog in your own domain looks more professional but if you are a beginner, you can go for free blog services like blogger.com. Learn how to create a blog in blogger.
Affiliate Marketing

This method of making money online involves promoting a specific services or products and earning commissions whenever the customers make a purchase through your referral link. If done correctly, affiliate marketing is the most powerful way to make money online. Amazon, ClickBank and Commission Junction are the three biggest affiliate marketplaces.
Data Entry Jobs

Data Entry jobs are probably the most easy way to earn money online as it does not require any professional skills. Online data entry involves entering the data in spreadsheets, databases and web pages using a keyboard or other input devices. You should be more careful while searching for these kinds of jobs as more that 90% of them are scam (Read online job scams in Nepal). Generally, data entry jobs do not require you to pay any fee. You can start working as a data entry freelancer at GetAFreelance.com based on projects.
Google Adsense

To make money from Google Adsense, you need to apply for an account at Adsense.com. After having an Adsense account you can put ads on your websites or blogs. Whenever someone clicks on your ads, you will be credited the amount. The more your adsense ads get clicked the more you will earn. Many webmasters are making huge money online each month through this program.
Freelance Jobs

Freelance means to provide your services directly to your customers. As a freelancer you do not have to work under the pressure of the company. The most common types of freelancing service includes web designing, programming, graphic designing, internet marketing, online data entry, online writing, etc. If you are specialized in these types of services then you can freelance your work on the internet.

Conclusion

There are different ways to make money online and work from home. Above are the methods that I found appropriate in Nepal and besides you need to find out other money making opportunities as well. Remember, to earn money on the internet successfully, you need to dedicate your time, effort and keep your patience.

NTC ADSL or UTL U-SIM Internet Service?

2010-08-05T03:38:00.000-07:00

Well, I hurried up to write this article because I found most of the Nepali friends were in dilemma whether it is better to use NT Adsl or UTL Nepal’s U-SIM internet service. After reading this article, which includes my own experience shall help to decide which one to subscribe for – NTC’s ADSL or UTL Nepal’s U-SIM internet service.

First of all, it is better to know the requirements and prices of each to be able to access internet service.

NT ADSL

Desktop computer/Laptop

Local phone line

ADSL Modem – (Rs.2000-Rs.4500)

Internet Subscription:

Activation charge Rs. 500

Monthly charge Rs. 904(128 kbps)/Rs. 1404(256 kbps) – Excluding Rs. 100 port charge.

UTL Nepal

Desktop computer/Laptop

U-SIM card – (Rs. 848)

USB Wireless Modem – (Rs. 2300-Rs. 3000)

Monthly charge Rs. 565(Note: Internet service is needs activation in U-SIM)

Now that you have known the requirements, let me explain according to the following terms:

Cost

From the above, it clearly shows that Nepal Telecom’s ADSL service costs you more than UTL’s internet service.
Speed

Since I have been using ADSL, I can assure you that its browsing speed is very much satisfactory. For 128 kbps bandwidth, average download speed is 11 kb/s and maximum download speed is 16 kb/s.

What I have heard from my friends who have been using UTL internet service is that its speed is very much slow even it is said as high speed internet.
Comfortability

ADSL internet can be accessed from one place only whereas UTL internet can be accessed from anywhere since it is wireless but the speed differs at different location.

UTL uses dial-up connection which needs to be dialed when you want to connect to the internet and also there is more chance of connection interrupt.

Calls can be received and dialed at the time of using NTC’s ADSL service, whereas it is not possible in USIM internet service.

There are some options you can have. If your budget is low and you are located near UTL’s tower, then it is better you go for it. In another case, if you want to stick with NTC but cannot afford it, then my advice would be to share the internet with others who are near to you using the same connection so that you can pay the monthly bills.

BIM Colleges in Nepal within Kathmandu Valley

2010-07-26T03:39:00.000-07:00

Many students who completed their +2 examination are searching for more information about BIM (Bachelors in Information Management) course in Nepal. At the time you have reached here and reading this article, I am sure that you are interested to know more on this too.

So, what is BIM course all about?

Bachelor in Information Management (BIM) is a 4 year academic program designed by Tribhuvan University. It is a blend of IT and management courses based on semester and grading system. The whole course is of 40% management and 60% IT. With completion of the program, he/she can be able to hold the positions that require competitive managerial and IT as well as communicative skills.

To be eligible to study BIM, the student must require successful completion of 12 year schooling and secure the minimum of second division.

As the program is focused more on practical matters and projects comparing to other bachelor courses, the students will be able to face the real life situations in the future. BIM education is equally competitive as BBA and BIT.

Colleges that offer BIM courses:

Nagarjuna College (not recommended)
Kantipur College of Management and Information Technology (KCMIT) – Old Baneshwor, Kathmandu
College of Applied Business (CAB) – Tangal, Kathmandu
Prime College – Naya Bazar, Khusibu, Kathmandu
St. Xavier College – Maitighar, Kathmandu
National College of Computer Studies (NCCS) – Paknajol, Kathmandu
Kathmandu Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) – Kamal Pokhari, Kathmandu
Institute of Management Studies (IMS) – Thapathali, Kathmandu
Thames International College - Old Baneshwor, Kathmandu
Orchid International College - Sinamangal, Kathmandu

Now that you have known the colleges that provide BIM program, you should also know that only 60 seats are available in each colleges per semester. This means TU accepts only 480 students in a semester. Therefore, you need to rush up before others do and fill up the form for CMAT examination taken by TU in respective college. You need to pass this exam to be eligible for the admission. CMAT exam paper includes four sections i.e. Verbal ability, Quantitative ability, Logical reasoning, and General awareness. Preparation classes will be held in the colleges before the exam is taken.

How much should I spend to study BIM?

Since it is a practical based program, the total amount to be spent is comparatively expensive than other bachelor courses in Nepal. The admission fee is around 10,000 to 15,000 and the fee per semester is around 30,000 to 35,000. To calculate in average, the total amount to be spent for four years will be around 2.5 -3 Lakhs.

To conclude, if you have decided to choose the BIM program for the betterment of your career, it is necessary to select the best college as well.

Visit the TU website for more details on Bachelor in Information Management.

Read an article "My Heart Goes BIM" published in The Kathmandu Post.