Honestly, I don’t know where she got many of these pics. I haven’t seen many of them myself like the ones @Call_Me_Ninja took and so on. OMG, I am popular! yay!

p.s: This was my first YouTube Upload and it was Milana’s first time with Windows Movie Maker!

p.p.s: Its onam, hope you are having fun. Here is my Onam present for you: “Colors of Onam“

The Biggest Gift for Kuttappi! OMG! is a post from: The Kuttappi

He had about a dozen employees and was running it pretty well. However, when I tried contacting him for my college project last January, he was gone. I went to his factory, and it was closed down. I was told that he had to close down cuz of some sales tax issues.

I got the real story from Mr. Shine. He was using a Freelancing accountant for filing his company tax and all the paper work. Unfortunately, this accountant wasn’t doing his job well and was taking home all the money Shine paid him. He wasn’t paying taxes for 36 months, so the Tax department sent him a notice. Shine was forced to shut down the business and pay the huge fine.

While in the Bus and while walking home on foot, we talked about various stuffs, photography, travel, marriage, radio and everything. He was passionate about all the things he told me.

When it was time to take the turn to my home, we said good byes. He walked away. I stood there watching him for a while and I felt something heavy inside me. It was nothing but the respect to a person who took the road uncommon, walked the ways his heart took him. He is an example of a true Entrepreneur. He is 39, and he is not a quitter.

It doesn’t matter where he reach, the journey is the reward.

The Journey is the Reward is a post from: The Kuttappi

The idea is simple, a kid is born into a system. The kid goes to school, then college, then finds a job, then gets married and have a couple of kids and those kids repeat the same. The cycle never ends.

To be honest, the Rat Race is easy, its something what others expect you to do and obviously you live a common life. The framework is set for you, you just have to go along the flow.

Last day, I was at cochin with my friend @Zeqox and I heard him saying to a friend of mine (@Rajeshtaracad) that I was now off the framework, out of my comfort zone. Thats when I realized that I was off the rat race, and that moment just felt awesome.

Now it doesn’t matter what I do; honestly I am not 100% sure of anything right now, but I am loving it. There is so much to learn, so much to see and so many places to go. I am so glad I have a great bunch of friends to turn on to and to support me when I am in doubt.

I believe the opportunity I have to choose my way at my will is not something everyone have. I feel so blessed for the awesome opportunity

Finally I feel that I am off the RAT-RACE is a post from: The Kuttappi

We went for the movie, Inception. Its the first time I am going for a Hollywood Movie in a Public Theatre. Given the fact that, I only watch hollywood and I have seen over 400 movies (I can prove that, I have a list), its pretty odd. Anyway, this is the first. Inception rocks, gotta see it again. If you think you got the whole movie, watch out for this forum.

We were driving along the Marine Drive late into the night after the movie and police stopped us and started asking all sorts of questions. I was laughing inside the car all the time, they even asked Kenney if he was drunk and made him blow. he he.

We slept in a car. Its the first time I do it. Then I drove Kenney’s Lancer. Its the first time I got to drive someone else’s car (I didn’t tell Kenney that anyway) and its the first time I am driving a Lancer.

The we ate many stuffs, I don’t know the names of half of them. So let me just say, its the first time I eat them.

Am back home and guess what was waiting for me? I had ordered a UV Filter for my Canon 550D. Its a very cheap one, just 3.5$, I would be using it just as a safety thing for the lens. Like, when I have to shoot in a running bus and its raining, I guess its better to have a filter. I am sure the one I bought would degrade my image quality, though I wont be able to recognize it. lol

Lots of First Times In a Couple of Days is a post from: The Kuttappi

Yesterday morning I went to collect my Smiley Card (a privilege card that gives you flat discount at selected outlets) in their office at Kaloor. I met up with the man-behind-the-show, Mr. Benjith, we started talking. A question that he asked me got me thinking.

How am I going to get what I want, if I don’t really know what I want?

Well, I do like to do something nice and BIG with my life. I want to be someone for my loved ones to look forward to. The problem is, I don’t know (yet) what that is. I was hoping to find it eventually, but I am not sure if that is ever gonna happen. And even if it does happen, that wont be what I want to be, that will just be what I happen to be. You get the difference?

There is difference in marrying the girl you love and loving the girl you marry, rt? Something similar. I got this big tip yesterday, to quantify my dreams.

Obviously, I need money to make it come true, so one step I can take is to find out exactly how much I am going to need and how soon am I going to need it.

That’s a start.

After that, I Had some really nice time with @Shalvinpd (we went to check out a house first) at his home. From there I went back and collected my replacement 8GB Pendrive. Shalvin dropped me near North bridge where I met up with @RajeshTaracad and went to his home. His mom makes awesome Doshas! Love it

This Got Me Thinking. What do I Really Want? is a post from: The Kuttappi

Following his steps, I ordered a similar card on ebay and finally got it working this week. Here is what you need to get and what you need to do to stay connected on the move using BSNL 3G.

Unlike the USB broadband connections, this card is placed inside the laptop, so the whole thing is an integrated unit, nothing to carry around and absolutely nothing protruding. It looks as if the laptop is born with internet

Things you would Need

• A Laptop with a Sim Card Slot. My Dell Studio 15 has a hidden Sim card slot under the battery compartment, you will need it.
• Option GTM378 PCI-E HSPDA Module. Order it here.
• A 3G GSM SIM. I bought a BSNL 2G SIM which is available for free and then upgraded it to 3G for free. A 3G sim costs Rs. 120.
• Drivers and a couple of Software’s, I have included download links below.

Unboxing Option GTM 378

Here are some shots of the pci-express card. My Card came with a 3G Antenna.

Step By Step – Installing the Card

Order a similar card on ebay (this is the one I bought) or get one from a local shop. From what I know, it costs around 4500 INR here locally, but I got it online for 43$ which is only half that cost.

Open up the back compartment of your Laptop and install the Card. The Antenna port or connector marked A is the port for GPS Antenna (Refer this). We are supposed to plug in the 3G Antenna to the other connector (one not marked A), but since I had spare wires on my laptop, which I assumed to be connected to some kind of internal antenna, I connected one of those to the 3G antenna connector and connected the 3G Antenna to the GPS slot (the one marked A).

I haven’t been able to lock on to any satellites yet, maybe its because of the connection as said above. Anyway 3G works great, have to figure out the GPS issue soon, will keep you posted.

OK, once the stuffs are in place, close the compartment. Restart your PC.

Now Windows will detect new hardware and try to install drivers. If you are on Windows 7, you probably wont need any driver.

Download Drivers

If you are on Vista or XP, you probably need a driver. Use the download links given below.

• Driver Software – For Windows to Detect the Card. Go here and Select ‘Driver Win’.
• Connectivity Software – For Windows to Connect to the Network. Go here and Select ‘Dashboard Win’.

Install the driver first and restart your computer. The installation will complete and windows will show a installation success message. Now install the Dashboard software.

> Check this forum for many FAQ’s

Buy a 3G SIM

I got mine from BSNL, as I said earlier, a 3G sim costs 120 bucks. Instead buy a 2G sim which comes for free, and upgrade it to 3G, again for free. Plug the SIM to its port and restart your pc.

Make sure 3G is active on the SIM (check by dialing *123# from a mobile with the sim and see if the plan says ‘3G General’ in it or something similar). Open up the Dashboard we installed earlier. Its called GlobeTrotter Connect. Click on “show settings” and you have to enter a APN. This is tricky.

The APN depends on the the mobile number of the SIM.

• @TheAnand uses ‘gprssouth.cellone.in‘ (without the quotes of course)
• I use ‘bsnlnet‘. I got it from here.
• You could get some more from this list here.

Both username and password are meant to be left blank. If that doesn’t work, try what is said in the link above.

If you get it right, when you press Connect, it would connect to the internet and you can start Browsing.

> Find Details of the 3G Data Plans here

OK, So I got GPS?

Well, Not yet. But I got the GPS thingy activated and it started searching for satellites successfully. Have to resolve that issue, should be an issue with the antenna (now that I am using the 3G antenna with it) or poor signal strength or something.

Here are some links that will give you a head start. GPS is disabled on the card by default (why would they do that?)

• GPS Activation Details and Some Useful Links from @TheAnand
• How to Enable GPS on Option GTM 378 – The official Version
• HyperTerminal For Vista
• Free GPS Softwares for Windows

Ok, Have fun, Stay Connected and Move Your A$$ around. lol.

Internet On the Move with BSNL 3G and Option GTM 378 is a post from: The Kuttappi

As usual, and for one last time (yay), I had to borrow my mom’s awesome mobile camera, Sony Ericsson K 810i for the photo shoot. (I have skipped some stuffs like warranty card, leaflets etc. to keep the number of images down).

First Impressions

Since its my first time with any DSLR, I don’t have a frame of reference, but I do really feel great about this Camera. Thanks to the internet, I do feel comfortable with the Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority Modes. The menu is neatly arranged and I feel easy with everything. Just like I use any mobile phone or a point and shoot camera.

Click Click

Couple of shots with Canon EOS 550D.

Keep Track of my best shots, here is my flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/arunbasillal/

Linkies

I have created a Twitter Profile to Collect the Photography Tutorials I read online, if you are interested, you may follow it here: @ProClicks

The day after the Canon Photography Workshop I googled to see if there were any email groups for Photographers in Kerala, I couldn’t find any. So I have created one to share news of Photography Workshops and Seminars in and around Kerala and general discussions. If you are into Photography, please do join in – Photography Kerala Google Group

Ok, time to snap!

Unboxing DSLR Canon EOS 550D, 18-55 IS Kit is a post from: The Kuttappi

I didn’t want to be late, so I set out really early in the morning (had a plan to see a guy before the event which was at 10:30 am, thanks to the slow ordinary bus, I missed the meeting, but was really early for the workshop). From what I had known from my friends, I had decided to get off at Kacherippady bus stop; I didn’t bother to ask anyone where it was, by the time I asked someone, I had missed the stop.

I got off in front of Sunny Diamonds, well, this stop is much closer to Abad Plaza than the other one. It was my lucky day!

So I reached the registration counter and was prepared to pay Rs. 200 as mentioned in the invitation. But they didn’t ask for any, gave my name and visiting card (yay! I got plenty of them ).

There were about 10 guys inside, and by the look and feel I could say that they all were professionals. I found a guy who looked more like an amateur near the front row.

Okay, here is the deal – I forgot his name, but I have it on my notepad. I kept my notes in @BinnyVA’s carry bag and left it there. He is supposed to send me the scans by now, well, he is super busy, so that will have to wait. Notes from the camp will come up once I get it

Update: Got his name, he is @mahadevaniyer.

I saw coffee being served on the sidebar (?). I was not sure if it was free or paid, so I waited. Then I saw the guy in front of me, one Mr. Binil, (he gave me his card), having coffee. So I followed.

Right after I finished coffee, @Jinson and @NeenaNair walked in. I remember Neenz from BlogCamp Kerala 1, but I couldn’t recall Jins. He could recall me, so I was in an embarrassing situation. Anyways, we got introduced. (After reaching home and some digging up, I found him here, now I remember!)

Our resource person, Mr. Balan Madhavan (@WildFrames) came in with his Mac (oooh!). Lights went down, and a Canon Feature Video came up on the huge screen.

@BinnyVA came in from nowhere and took a seat near me. Balan sir introduced himself and started off with some of his shots.

The aim of the photography was to enlighten the Digital SLR users about the possibilities of their gear and make then get the most of it.

The morning session was about the technical aspects of the Camera, and how the Digital concepts are related to the old film photography concepts. Mr. Balan knows everything so well and his examples were so to-the-point.

I had the feeling I had at BlogCamp Kerala 1, the feeling of an alien, but I tried to keep up and took notes. BlogCamp Kerala 1 proved to be a milestone in my blogging career and I hope this one turns out to be one for me in Photography.

After a while we spotted @BinoyXJ on a back row. He was my companion for the rest of the day. We had great free lunch (discovered: there is something called Free Lunch, find out where the next Canon India Workshop is ), and had lot of fun at the Social Media Meet up later in the evening.

I was surprised to meet @KarmaDude, I thought he had left India. Next surprise came in the form of @ShalvinPD, he too is into photography! Also met @Zuhiboy who is a fashion photographer himself.

[@BinnyVA just sent me the scans of my notes, so here they are, just in time. And this link is a thank_you for his effort, no he didn't ask for it. Go check out - http://binnyva.com and get a hang of #BinnyVA]

Notes From Canon Photography Workshop

For clarity, let me introduce the least effective way for the human brain to remeber – Bullets . All thanks to Mr. Balan.

• Digital Photography is ever improving, so if you are buying a Digital Camera, buy the latest. The latest would have all the issues fixed as compared to its ancestors.
• Raw Image Format is called “Digital Negative”. Shoot important shots in Raw. Raw format allows a lot of post-production edits. Also if you have to file a copyright claim, you need raw image to show that you shot the image.
• JPEG is not compression, its removing the repeated pixels. JPEG is finished image, the output and not recommended for post-production. Shoot in Raw if you are planning of post-production edits.
• Adobe Lightroom is a recommended software for editing Raw. Costly option.
• Buy the oldest and one of the cheapest accessory that can improve your shots dramatically – The Tripod.
• We talked about Exposure Bracketing and HDR.
• Its not all about how many Mega Pixels you have, the size of each Mega Pixel vary. DSLR cameras have bigger sensors. So an image taken with a 8 MegaPixel Mobile Camera, 8MP Point and Shoot Camera and 8MP DSLR, all three will be different. DSLR will be far better.
• Show the world only your best shots, trash the rest.
• Always transfer pictures to a studio computer via CD Rom or DVD. There are viruses that affect camera’s software and many cases have been reported.
• Buy a Desiccator Box to protect your gear.
• If you cannot afford a Desiccator Box, buy an air tight, transparent pearlpet jar, buy a packet of silica gel (about 500 grams), make a layer of Silica Gel first, cover it with a dry towel and store the camera on it. When the Silica Gel turns white, remove moisture from it by heating in a microwave.
• One thing I really understood from the camp is that, they all are damn serious about their profession. They are ready to go to any extend the situation demands and buy any equipment no matter how expensive they are. I met an old guy who had over 3 lack rupees worth of gear in his bag.
• The afternoon session was a practical session with a real Model (Mumtaz). Lighting up a model using minimum lights was discussed.

Overall, I found it really effective. I got to meet a bunch of cool people, thought I felt way out of the league

P.S: Dad bought me a Canon 550 D the day after the camp, un-boxing pics will follow.

Social Media Day @ Cochin

Mashable had declared the same day as World Social Media Day and so we had a Social Media Meetup there after. Basically all those of us who use Twitter, Facebook and the like met at a cafe and had some drinks

Me, @BinnyVA and @BinoyXJ walked to a nearby cafe, Coffee Cube. @ShalvinPD came in with his wife. Then came @KarmaDude (or maybe in the reverse order). @Zuhiboy came in, then came @Praseed3point14. @KenneyJacob also came in. and that was it.

We played some crazy naughty game, what is it called? some Jiggle I guess Had a couple of very expensive drinks and talked about everything under the sun. Saw some superb works of @Zuhiboy on his laptop.

After the meet, we said good byes. I came home with @Praseed3point14, he gave me company till Aluva Bus Stand, I got a Kothamangalam Bus and I came home. Lets call that a day!

p.s: Mumtaz’s mobile number: 9995394558 ( I kept my word!)

Notes From Canon Photography Workshop at Cochin is a post from: The Kuttappi

Well, a external storage stayed on my wish-list for a while and then when I bought a Dell Studio Laptop with a whooping 320 GB HDD, I was pretty much satisfied.

I was wrong.

Within 4 months, I was wondering, what did I do with the 320 GB? Thanks to the night unlimited internet and 8GB Pen Drive, it got filled up pretty easily.

To address this need, I bought a Seagate FreeAgent Desk I Tera Byte External Hard Disk Drive. Paid 4680 INR/- including taxes.

I had decided upon buying a 1 TB Internal HDD and a casing to use it as an external. In fact, I had placed an order last week. I posted it on facebook and twitter and soon people started saying that it costs as much as an external Drive, so why not get an external?

(Very luckily the order I placed was misplaced, so I got the change the order, as luck would have it! I read the signs!)

OK, here is the math.

Internal 1 TB, 7200 r.p.m HDD (Western Digital or Samsung) – Rs 3200

Casing for 1 TB HDD – Rs 1000

Total – Rs 4200 (plus taxes)

Seagate FreeAgent (the one I bought) – Rs 4400 (excluding taxes)

Both these Hard Disks needs external power. The model without external power costs around 8500. Who would want to carry around 1 TB of data anyway? Buy a 250 GB instead.

So if you are buying only once, the Seagate is a better option. It comes with 5 year warranty too. But 1 TB would run out of space one day and if you have plans to purchase another 1 TB and if you dont mind the looks, but a HDD + Casing. You dont have to buy Casing next time, so it would cost only Rs. 3200.

I am not crazy about storing all the movies and music and I think I can go with this 1 TB for at-least a year, plus I would be moving around a bit, so I decided to go for the Seagate thingy.

First Impressions

Seagate FreeAgent Desk comes with power cable, USB cable (not eSata), and 4 power plug adapters to choose depending on your location. I liked the power-plug design, I haven’t seen one like that before. Build quality and finishing of the product is great.

Once I plugged in the thing to USB (after plugging in power of course), the installer popped up, installed the thing. I am getting transfer speeds upto 55 MB/sec and about 24 MB/sec on average. I disconnected the HDD and connected it again, Vista shows it just as another drive along with the other hard disks.

So far so good

Unboxing Seagate FreeAgent

Here are some shots:

The LED display on the front panel looks great in the dark. While the transter is in progress it dims to about 20% and then lights up – a nice visual treat!

Bought a Seagate FreeAgent External 1TB Hard Disk Drive is a post from: The Kuttappi

First priority is Time. You never know where all the time went. I would wake up and read and write a couple of emails, reply to some facebook and twitter calls, and lo! its afternoon already.

Then I would have my breakfast (yes, breakfast) and get back and before I know it, lunch is ready. Time moves slowly only in the evening, and that’s when most things get done for me.

Einstein was right, Time is relative!

And I thought SSH involved freedom to sleep and go out. The truth is, I haven’t been having enough sleep, I feel like the exam days at college. I would take a nap at 11.00 pm and tell my sister to call me after an hour or so. Its been a crazy week and I still have a ton of work pending.

Anyway, as a result of ‘hanging-out‘ with @KenneyJacob and @TheAnand last Monday and Tuesday, I have decided to give up SSH and to move to the next level, more on that later.

P.S: There was a trip to Veega Land last Wednesday

SSH is Not as Easy as I Thought is a post from: The Kuttappi