simple 2 learn !!

Rahul Dravid Retires : Salute The Wall !!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 15:29:00 +0000

Modern Day Cricket is all about pumping fists and raw emotion. The arena is dominated by the Gambhirs, Virats and the Rainas who like to return the favour (verbal volleys) as soon as they can. Players live for short-lived moments of glory and don’t care to stick for the long haul.
Dravid was an exceptional exception to the rule. The team’s cause always came first. There were no personal targets. Strategies were devised towards the larger goal. Focussed, patient, determined and nerves made of steel, that’s Dravid. Never the one to talk, he let his willow do it for him. Overshadowed and under-rated compared to flamboyant peers, the Gentleman never seemed to care. Always aware of the bigger picture, he seemed to carry the entire team’s weight on his shoulders.

Undoubtedly, India’s best Test Batsman of my time, it has been a privilege to witness his entire career unfold.

Sad but Proud !!

My post on Technorati !!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 18:38:00 +0000

Check out my post published as Gods of the Tennis Arena : Federer Nadal and Djokovic !! on Technorati.

Arsenal, Messi, SimpleToLearn : It's a full circle !!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 07:14:00 +0000

I had to do this post. One look at the previous post and you would know why !! Life seems to have come full circle as far as Arsenal are concerned.

Whacked 8-2 by Man U ( that was painful and this is me looking for closure) and last I heard 4-3 by Blackburn Rovers. Currently 15th in EPL standings ( to be fair, it's only 5 match old) and Cesc Fabregas gone ( no points for guessing where !!) they have already been written off. But somehow things have always been like this. Always been a young side having a good time on field, play attractive and aggresive football, individual brilliances (Thierry Henry, Denis Bergkamp, Patrick Viera...) and still written off at the first instance of failure. But they always comeback and with Persie still there and a host of amazing players ( don't want to single out, it's my team you know). So let's wait and watch.

Keeping a watch at the standings...

And by the way Messi was in India and if you remember it was Maradona 2 years back. So really life of this blog seems to have come a full circle too !!

Arsenal sets EPL on fire !!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 08:52:00 +0000

It's that time of the year. The English Premier League started last weekend with a bang !! Arsenal turned on the style that makes them the most amazing team in EPL ( Yeah they're my favourite ) to beat Everton 6-1 ( no, it's not a typo. You read it right. )

The results of big 4 :

Man Utd 1-0 Birmingham (Man U scraped through !! )

Tottenham 2-1 Liverpool (yup, Liverpool left red faced !!)

Chelsea 2-1 Hull City ( Drogba on fire !! )

Everton 1-6 Arsenal ( Arsenal Reloaded !! )

Manchester City's quest for a top 4 finish started on a good note : Blackburn 0-2 Man. City

I guess I will be following EPL this year on Footbo : the networking site for all football lovers. Just add your favourite players and teams and connect with other football fans like me !!

Some of the recent discussions on Footbo :

To end the post, a tribute to Arsenal's performance

Stand Up And Salute.. by 11gunners

Add me on Footbo : rakesh4ever

Social Networking of a different kind !!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 10:08:00 +0000

I have been doing a lot of social networking these days ( I know it pales in comaparison to some of my friends !!) and have discovered quite a few unique networking sites. I mean really unique and specific involving two special interests of mine. Check them out !!

1. Footbo (beta): Amazing site for football lovers. We can create our profile, add our favourite players, teams, all time favourite playing 11 and keep track of everytrhing football. Most importantly, we can do all this with our friends and discuss football !! My page.... This I discovered thanks to MakeUseOf

2. Colorlovers (beta): Not a networking site in true sense but has a growing forum. Great site to check out color, style and patterns for web designing and CSS. We can create and share our own color shades, patterns and comment and rate each other's work !! My page....

I'm new to both but I guess coming weeks will find me in action on both !!

Champion's League, IPL, French Open : The Plate is full !!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 30 May 2009 04:53:00 +0000

Last few months have seen some amazing sporting action. Just look at the sports calendar and and we find that there is no respite for the sports lovers ( not that we want it ).

Let's take a look :

Football : The Champion's League just got over and the English Premiership League and the Spanish La Liga just before that. And they will start again all over in August !!

Barcelona's awe-inspiring flawless (ok almost) display in the Champion's League final left Manchester United ( read Christian Ronaldo )gasping for breath, who had an amazing season otherwise. But then what else did we expect with Messi, Eto, Henry, Iniesta, Puyol, Xavi and co. in the line-up !!

I'm more of a Premiership fan like most of us and it was disappointing to see Arsenal (yeah, my side) perform the way they did. But they are a young side and are getting better. Man U was the clear winner and everyone knows who got the La Liga crown !!

Cricket : The game is bracing for the new version Cricket 3.0 with T20 taking centerstage and the game going the soccer way with more professional club level matches than international ones. The IPL just got over with the Deccan Chargers led by Adam Gilchrist rising to the occasion in key matches.

I played the Fantasy Cricket on Cricket.c om and ended up finishing 234 rank with a tournament high of 55, not bad considering I couldn't substitute at crucial junctions hard-pressed for time (had to give some excuse, right !!). But then, no worries T20 World Cup is on the cards and another chance to win.

By the way, I favoured Delhi Daredevils and yeah, they lost but got a berth in the Champion's League !!

Tennis : Clay court season is on and there is only one winner. No points for guessing. I don't think there is a safer bet in International Sports than Rafael Nadal winning at Roland Garros !!. Federer also had his moment when he beat Rafa in Madrid Master's but that's the closest he can get. Rafa is one favourite that won't disappoint. For proof watch his match against Hewitt (6-1, 6-3, 6-1) at Roland Garros yesterday !!

6 Best Movie Series !!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 13:58:00 +0000

Today's post is like a poll. We have to decide which is the best movie series ( 3 or more sequels /prequels) ?

Here is my list :

1. X-Men : I loved this trilogy and the fourth one X Men Origins : Wolverine is coming soon. Just can't wait for this one. Hugh Jackman as Wolverine has been the key figure in all the 3 parts which boasts of a great cast.

2. Rocky : The legendary series which immortalised Sylvester Stallone. The last one ( Rocky Balboa ) in which both Sylvestor Stallone and Rocky made a comeback too proved to be a hit. The movie centers around Rocky Balboa, a boxer played by Sylvestor Stallone.

3. Star Wars : Everyone knows about it, right ? The strange thing about this series was the fact that sequels came before prequels. Written and directed by George Lucas the prequels were not considered interesting enough but the enormous success of the movie ensured that all parts were made. Theprequels which came recently proved to be even bigger success.

4. Indiana Jones : The George Lucas and Steven Spielberg combo weaved this magical trilogy. Just loved Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones the treasure hunting Archaeologist. The fourth part Indiana Jones and Kingdom of Crystal Skull which came last year too proved to be a huge

success with Harrison Ford making a comeback.

5. James Bond : I guess I don't need to say more. There has not been a more famous brand of movie series. I must confess I have joined the fan list recently since Daniel Craig assumed the role of secret spy James Bond 007. In my opinion Casino Royale was better than Quantum of Solace. Every movie of this series sets a new record on the box office. The Legend goes on...

6. Bourne Series : Matt Damon as Jason Bourne the spy stars in this amazing thriller trilogy. Based on the novels by Robert Ludlum, one can safely say there has not been a better fast paced thriller in recent years. The 4th part is expected to be released in 2011

Tell me if you think your favourite movie series should feature in the list.

Web Browser war and Javascript Performance !!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 03:48:00 +0000

Any discussion on web browsers inevitably centers around how fast web pages load. We keep saying that a particular website loads faster in a particular browser. Let's try to get why this happens.

While there are a number of factors that determine the page loading time of a web page, one major factor is Javascript performance.

Blogspot bloggers would have a good idea where this comes from. How often have we discarded a javascript coded widget just because it made it almost impossible for the page to load.
Many a times we place all the Javascript code at the bottom of the page source code in order to enable the rest of the page to load faster.

The importance of Javascript performance for a web browser can be understood simply by the fact that the web browsers have interesting names for their Javascript engines.

Have a look :

Google chrome : V8 , I have been using it a lot. The fact that the addressbar itself serves as Google Search is it's USP for me.
Mozilla Firefox : Tracemonkey My favourite browser, simply because of the amazing add-ons owing to open source.
Opera : Futhark (Carakan is coming ) While it's my lifeline on my symbian mobile, the latest desktop version seems to have a little too much.

Safari : Nitro ( Based on Apple's open source Webkit's Squirrelfish extreme ) hve to try this one. I keep hearing that it's hot !!

As far as Javascript performance goes Internet Explorer 8 is a non starter when compared to Firefox or Chrome.

Web apps are the future with Google looking to make everything we have on our desktops available in the browser itself and the browser war has extended to the Javascript arena as the alternatives like Adobe's Flash and Flex are not that practical or easy to implement.

I can see only benefits as faster the Javascript loads better the website performs and more web apps can be added.

Before I end this post just have a look at few of the Javascript coded widgets on this page :

1. Footer : Yahoo Badge, Sitemeter, Label Cloud

2. Blogcatalog and Mybloglog widgets

3. Technorati

4. Disqus's recent comments

There are many others and they need to load faster !!

Linux OS : Get to know it !!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 13:22:00 +0000

I have been thinking of giving a specific direction to the " Tech Tuesday " posts. We have discussed a number of " well heard but not fully understood " technologies like the one on wifi, dSLR cameras, megapixel and images, touchscreen, netbooks and so on....

The big question is what is it we will be discussing then. Let's break the news : It will be Linux OS (atleast for a number of Tuesdays ).

Since this is the first post in this direction, let's keep it simple.

All of us have heard about Linux and many of us might be thinking of trying it or taking a plunge into the world of Linux. But there are a few myths that keep us from doing it.

Linux and Unix : What's the difference ?

Unix is an operating system developed by AT&T in 1969. Official trademark of Unix is with " The Open Group ".
It's a text based ( terminal ) OS and not the graphic based Windows and Macs we are used to.

Linux : Linux is a Unix like OS developed by free and open source software collaboration. Linus Torvalds wrote the original Linux Kernel ( read system files) in 1991 while rest of the utilities and libraries come from GNU OS by Richard Stallman ( hence the name GNU/Linux).

It's cliche but true : Linux is not Unix.

Do we need technical and programming experience to use it ?

No, the Linux distributions ( different versions since it's open source ) now a days like Ubuntu, Fedora, Suse, Debian and the likes comes with graphical user interface ( X window interface ) much like the Windows and Macs and in some cases even better.

Just have a look at the 3d linux desktop

Earlier Linux was mostly used as a server and programming purposes . Those willing can really see what goes on under the hood of an OS. Programming from scratch with ease has been it's USP.

Now it's really commonplace with a number of laptops and desktops coming with Linux distros

The very fact that it's open source ( the source codes are open to public to develop it) means it's updating all the time.

I have been using Fedora Linux (Fedora 4 onwards ) and let me tell you it's a beauty. It's like having a fully customised OS of your own. It's this " control in the hands of user " aspect that makes Linux special.

I also carry with myself Knoppix Linux live CD. Just boot with it into any system and it becomes your own, do your work and get going.

Once you discover the world of Linux, you will be hooked. Much of my Tech Tuesday future posts will be in the direction of getting you hooked to THE OS and simplifying the how to use part.

20 best sites for free symbian software : The Symbian Directory !!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 18:40:00 +0000

Trying out new softwares is fun on Symbian gadgets. One finds new versions and better alternatives coming up all the time. So I thought of sharing my " Symbian Bookmarks " for free symbian S60 software download.

This one is a comprehensive directory. Take your time and check them out !!

getjar : Get both Java as well as symbian applications.
symbian-freeware : One of my favourites.
smartsym : Find S60 5th edition (Nokia 5800 expressmusic) softwares !!
dotsis : Terrific site with forums where we can discuss everything Symbian. Register to post !!
wapain.net : Another one with S60 v5 softwares. Another one of my picks.
mobilefan.net : Softwares by category, a well simplified list.
mobiletopsoft : Find all freewares and shareware.
my-symbian : Freewares as well as shareware.
gallery.mobile9 : Cool Interface, community based site. User uploaded.
soft32.com : Cool interface and some really amazing collection.
mobiles24 : Another cool site to look for the latest softwares.
brothersoft : Well known for all your software needs, not only Symbian.
getsymbian : Large collection of softwares.
freesymbiansoft : Another great collection.
symbianstock : Large stock of softwares
bestsymbian : Good collection !!

The Best Blogspot/Blogger Blogs in this Business :

Tell me if you think I missed out on that one amazing link that would make this directory a more complete list !!

5 simple ways to add Social Bookmarks in every post !!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 18:56:00 +0000

For most of us bloggers nothing can beat the joy on seeing a post Dugg, Stumbled, faved on technorati or bookmarked in delicious. I missed the Feed count, right.

But then I also missed scores of other equally important social bookmarking and networking sites. That's the point, we need to make sure that we don't miss out on anything and at the same time not overdo the whole thing.

Here are some of the simplest and best implementations of Social Bookmarks.

Pick yours ....

1. We can apply this one at the footer of each post Find it at Smartbloggerz

2. This is the text version, to go with every post of ours. Find it at TechieBlogger

3. Taller ones, this is a new compilation by MoreTechTips

4. Bigger is better, a Bloganol effort.

5. A wonderful and simple to implement widget by Sociofluid

Find another interesting compilation of multiple social bookmaark widgets by EazyCheezy

If you think there are better ways to do this, share and Disqus....

The Best Movies Ever : Make your own list !!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 19:15:00 +0000

I just love to do this Friday Movie Post. Yesterday I had a discussion with my friends about whether they can make up their mind as to which is the best movie they have ever seen ( when I say best I MEAN ONE !! ).

We often find lists like the " top 10 hollywood movies of all time " or titles like " one movie you must see before you die " ( hope I see a lot more before I do die ).

But then when I try to figure out my pick for the best movie ever I just can't think of 1, not even 5 or 10 ( beyond that my mental reserves get exhausted !! ).

I was looking at my Orkut profile yesterday ( which I created 4 years back and is pretty much unchanged ) and I found that there too I have written " too many to list" in the favourite movie section !!

Many a times while I'm watching a movie I feel this one is going to be the best I have ever seen but a day later when the side-effects have rubbed off I realise it's not.

Tell me your favourite 1, 5 or 10 movies. Atleast that way I will get to see a few more to decide about mine.

Here are some of the best movie lists we can refer to make up our mind :

1. IMDB TOP 250 movies of all time.

2. Top 10 movies at box-office decade-wise.

3. TIME's list of 100 best movies upto 2005

4. AFI's 100 best movies upto 2007

5. New York Times 1000 best ( I guess we can decide on 1000 movies when we see that many !!)

The list of movies I have seen till date. It hasn't been updated for last two months but I guess that's okay.

So, make up your mind and when you do, tell me !!

7 Best Gmail Labs Features : Try Them !!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 19:05:00 +0000

Heard about Gmail Labs?? I guess many of us haven't. It's the place to test Gmail features being developed and which will be an integral part of Gmail in future.

So, why not try them before others do. All we have to do is :

1. Goto Gmail Setting and click on the Labs tab.

2. Enable the Gmail Lab feature we want and save changes.

As simple as this. In case something goes wrong :

1. Disable the particular Lab feature the same way we enabled it.

2. To disable Gmail Labs completely go here http://mail.goo gle.com/mail/?labs=0.

Here are my picks for the best of Gmail Labs :

1. Title Tweaks by Fedor K

Changes order of elements in the browser title bar from "Gmail - Inbox (20) - rakesh2b@gmail.com" to "Inbox (20) - rakesh2b@gmail.com - Gmail". This way we are able to see if a new mail has arrived even if Gmail window is minimized.

2. Undo Send by Yuzo F

Can you believe it !! We can now stop messages from being sent for a few seconds after hitting the send button. My pick for the best Gmail Lab feature.

3. Superstars by Kai H & Julie W

We need to do a few things to get this one right.

Adds additional star icons. After enabling this feature:
1. Go to the "General" Settings page to choose which superstars you wish to use.
2. Use either the keyboard shortcut ('s') or click to rotate through your selected superstars.
3. Use the search operator "has:" to find all messages with your superstar (e.g. "has:red-bang", "has:blue-star"). Learn the name of a superstar by hovering over its image in the "General" Settings page.

4. Pictures in chat by Dave C

We can see our friends' profile pictures when we chat with them.

5. Signature tweaks by Keith C and Dave C

Places our signature before the quoted text in a reply, and removes the "--" line that appears before signatures.

6. Random Signature by Chad P

Rotates among random quotations for our email signature.

7. Location in Signature by Marco B

Appends our location to your signature. We must have your signature enabled.
A signature can be anything from a quote to your website's address which will appear in evry mail you send. To enable it GoTo Gmail Settings, General Tab and type in your Signature.

So, get started. Make your Gmail your own and unique and at the same time contribute to it's development.

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth : Simple to learn Wireless !!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:30:00 +0000

Wireless networks are the future of seamless connectivity. Already we are used to various Bluetooth enabled gadgets and accessing internet in Wi-Fi enabled zones. In this post let's try to simplify these technologies for a better understanding.

is for resident equipment and its applications and is intended as a replacement for cabling for general local area network access in work areas. The category of applications is outlined as WLAN, the wireless local area networks.

Wi-Fi is a trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance for certified products based on the IEEE 802.11 standards. This certification warrants interoperability between different wireless devices.

Wi-Fi is often used for wireless internet (WLAN ), but actually every product does not have the Wi-Fi certification and hence not all WLAN's are Wi-Fi.

Wi-Fi is supported by most personal computer operating systems, many game consoles, laptops, smartphones, printers, and other peripherals.

Through interconnected access points (hotspots) Wi-Fi can lead to connectivity over large square miles of area, though a typical Wi-Fi home router has a range of 32 m indoors and 95 m outdoors.

Bluetooth is an open wireless protocol for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks (PANs).

Bluetooth is intended for non resident equipment and its applications. The category of applications is outlined as the wireless personal area network (WPAN). Bluetooth is a replacement for cabling in a variety of personally carried applications.

Bluetooth has a range of less than 10m for gadegts we use (class II device), but it can go upto 100m (class I device). The current version of Bluetooth is 2.1

Next version Bluetooth 3.0 (codename Seattle ) is expected to be released this year which will allow use of Bluetooth over UltraWideBand ( UWB) radio, and data transfer upto 480 Mbit/s.

I guess it's enough for the day. Now we can keep an eye on the future developments in Wireless Connectivity in a more informed way !!

12 must have Symbian apps : Review and download !!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 18:43:00 +0000

Trying out different apps on a Symbian gadget is really fun. One finds useful and interesting apps being developed all the time. Now with Nokia's acquisition of the Symbian platform rest assured this is the platform of choice ( did somebody say Google Android ?, we'll see when it comes).

So , what are the must have apps on a S60 2nd edition device ( or even a 3rd edition one ) :

Browsers : Accessing internet on the go is one main reason of having a smartphone, isn't it? This is how we can get the most out of GPRS ( I just can't wait for the 3G launch for private players) :

Opera Mini : This is one software I guess all smartphones must have, what with the java version also out there. Landscape browsing and zoom view are it's biggest plus.

UCWeb Browser : This one comes in Chinese but there is the English translated version by Akushah. Tabbed browsing and in-built downloader with resume capability makes this one really special.

Downloader : What's the point in having an unlimited GPRS plan when you can't download files of larger size. These tools make downloading big files a piece of cake :

Fget : The ability to resume downloads and work in background make it worth ahving on our device, even though the UCWeb browser with its in-built downloader has really made this one redundant.

Symtorrent : I have already covered thisone in my earlier post. The only working torrent downloader on Symbian platform. Amazing software to have.

Audio/Video players : Multimedia is what mobile phones are all-about now a days. See how to get the most out of your Symbian gadget with these apps in this post :

Divx Player : We need to install the xvid codec along with this and play files in avi format in addition to mp4 and 3gp.

Smartmovie Player : Nothing to separate this from the previous one.

Mp3 Players : There are quite a few mp3 players. Download these and find which one works for you.

Miscellaneous : Some softwares to make our life easy :

SFManager : This is a file browser/explorer which makes it easy to browse through files on our memory cards. The native browsing system on these devices can be really frustrating at times.

Adobe Reader : We know this must have app to go through our pdf files

Pdf + (mBrain Software): A great lighter alternative to Adobe

Screenshot ( http://www.rock-your-mobile.com product ): This one is for people like me who like to take a screenshot of their device screen for blogging or other posting purposes.

Flashlight : A great tool for Nokia N70, to turn your camera flashlight into a torch. It's amazing to see what a powerful torch a N70 is !!

Direct Download most of these here....

If you have a terrific Symbian app in mind, do Disqus !!

Simple2Learn Quarterly Review : It's pagerank 3 now.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:14:00 +0000

Simple2learn is a Pagerank 3 blog now, after yesterday's Google Pagerank update. Last update in January saw the blog rise to pagerank 2 from 0 and I did a post to simplify the Google Pagerank technology and how important it is plus a list of my favourite sites to analyse our websites. Take a look.

A higher Google Pagerank simply means that the site has been linked to by a good number of sites and it helps a website to rank higher in Google searches done by people across the web.

I strictly believe an overkill of Pagerank and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) should be strictly avoided as it takes the focus off quality of CONTENT, but at the same time a few simple things done the right way never hurts !!

In this weekend post let's analyse the progress made by Simple2Learn this quarter :

1. Blogcatalog : Blogcatalog and Mybloglog are 2 of the best networking sites for bloggers. While I joined Mybloglog recently in February, I have been a member of Blogcatalog since November when I really started blogging. While my BC score/point has been around a meagre 25 ( primarily because I haven't started many discusions or groups ) I have benefitted a lot as the focus has been on making quality friends and trying to follow each others blogs.

2. Technorati : An amazing search engine for weblogs, tags and keywords. Keep checking what's hot in your niche and how we can discuss about them in our posts. A technorati fave or backlinks has a lot of weight , it seems. I guess Simple2Learn's Technorati authority (backlinks )was 7-8 during last pagerank update and currently it's 16.

3. Digg/Stumbleupon : While I joined the bookmarking and link submission giants Digg and StumbleUpon almost at the sametime when I resurrected my blog in November, I am still discovering them and have started exploring them only now. But I hear they are terrific ways to promote your posts and articles.

4. Google FriendConnect/Followers widget : The best way to show appreciation for a blogger/blogspot blog and connect with fellow bloggers.

5. Feedburner RSS feed : Most people use Google Reader and many other online feed readers or softwares to keep themselves updated on blogs/websites they like. A must for all frequently updated websites.

6. Directory Submission and Indexing: Simple2Learn features in many reputed link submission directories. Most importantly Simple2Learn was submitted to Google directory through Google Webmaster or Google Analytics ( for analysing traffic), in Yahoo's directory through Yahoo Site Explorer and to MSN for indexing.

7. Ping : With so many social networking sitesand other tools mentioned above it's important to let them know of our site's updates. Ping-o-matic is a great tool for pinging most of these at once. But I think it helps to keep logging in most of these wabsites manually and checking their updates and notifying them of ours.

Enjoy your weekend and review your progress.

The Friday Movie Post : Al Pacino's 5 best flicks !!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 19:05:00 +0000

I guess I had to write this one. Everytime I would think of doing a post on movies, I would get stuck on his name. Al Pacino is easily one of the finest actors off all time. In my book he is right up there. Here I would list his 5 performances I loved the most. Let's get started :

1. The Godfather II : Not much to say about this one. I read the book by the same name, a masterpiece by Mario Puzzo, before I saw the trilogy. Pacino as Michael Corleone delivers the performance of a lifetime and earned an Osacar nomination. If there has been a movie close to perfection, it's this one. Might sound exaggarated but tell me how many people haven't seen this one and how many disagree with me !!

2. Scent of A Woman : This one finally earned him an Oscar after 8 nominations. An older Al Pacino is absolutely brilliant in an otherwise low profile movie. Pacino plays the part of Lt. Colonel Frank Slade, a blind and retired army officer and delivers some of the most memorable dialogues. Another out and out Al Pacino flick, though Chris O' Donnell delivers a convincing performance in the role of a prep school student.

3. Dog Day Afternoon : This is one of his lesser known but for many one of his finest. This one will make anyone fall in love with Al Pacino's character Sonny Wortzik if not with the man himself. A comic situation ending on a tragic note, another Oscar nomination that he couldn't convert. John Cazale as Sal, Pacino's partner in crime delivers a performance of his lifetime.

4. ...And Justice For All : Another one that makes it impossible not to love Al Pacino. Pacino as an ethical defence lawyer Arthur Kirkland defending a Judge he despises , is absolutely brilliant in this movie which made a great statement on he American Judicial System of those days, in its own satirical way. Another Oscar nomination.

5. Scarface : No Oscar nominations and yet thiso ne is a legend and one of his most remembered performances. A dark and violent movie starring Al Pacino as Tony Montana, an illegal Cuban immigrant who takes the drug empire by storm. Movie has a lot of profanity, what with almost every dialogue having the forbidden f word, but one for the Al Pacino fans.

Those who have watched these are the fortunate ones and those who haven't are still fortunate as they would have the time of their lives when they watch the Pacino Classics.

Pay for Antivirus Protection : You must be kidding !!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:24:00 +0000

Protecting our PC's from virus, trojans, spyware, malware.... is top on most people's mind. I have seen people getting real paranoid, linking everything wrong with their PC's to a virus problem instead of identifying what's really wrong.

I believe we don't really need to pay for antivirus and antispyware. Not for our Personal Computers, though it makes sense for an organization to go for it. Just get the right combination of free antivirus and antispyware installed. We tend to think that free antivirus softwares are not that effective, but....

Believe me, they are really effective and they don't even take a toll on your computer's memory like some of the highly rated antivirus's that cost.

Following are the best free antivirus/ antispyware softwares : A Simple2Learn presentation.

Antivirus

1. AVG antivirus : I guess it needs no introduction and it's really effective. Just keep it updated.

2. Avira antivirus : Another one that works really well and is really free.

Antispyware

1. Spybot antispyware: A very effective spyware and absolutely light on your system.

2. Ad aware antispyware: Another top of the line free software. You can upgrade it if you want but the free edition is good enough.

Just install one antivirus and one antispyware each and stop fussing. I prefer AVG antivirus with Spybot. Just keep them updated and those of you who have been using the obvious highly rated antiviruses will finally get to feel what it is like to have softwares that don't take all your system's memory.

And yes please remember any antivrus protection is mostly preventive. So there is absolutely no point in cursing the software if we install it after the damage has been done. Install them beforehand : prevention is better than cure ( cliche but so true !! ) .

Know the Digicam : Point and Shoot or dSLR !!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 20:16:00 +0000

Digital Camera is one must have gadget. The luxury to go on clicking without worrying about film rolls and everything getting automatically saved on that tiny Memory Card having 1 gb, 2gb or more space is something, really. So, lets try to know the digicam in a Simple to learn way.

Basically there are two types of digicam :

1. Point and shoot digital camera : Small and portable camera with Live Preview capabilities and limited motion video features mostly used for taking Snapshots.

2. dSLR (digital single lens reflex) digital camera: The reflex design scheme is a major difference between a dSLR and an ordinary digital point and shoot camera, which typically exposes the sensor constantly to the light projected by the lens, allowing the camera's screen to be used as an electronic viewfinder.

There is also the Bridge / SLR ( Single Lens Reflex ) digicam often confused for a true dSLR Digicam. It has small sensors and Livepreview just like Point and Shoot digicam and shares a few features with dSLR but it's not a true dSLR.

Points on which dSLR digicam scores over Point and Shoot digicam :

1. Optical viewfinders which tend to be more comfortable and efficient, especially for action photography and in low-light conditions.

2. Accurate preview of framing close to the moment of exposure

3. Larger sensors : similar depths of field and picture angle to film formats.

4. Choose from a variety of interchangeable lenses

5. Less shutter lag, faster autofocus systems, and faster frame rates

6. Ability to attach additional accessories. A good dSLR can really be customised.

Now, points on which Point and Shoot digital camera scores over a dSLR digicam:

1. Generally smaller size and weight.

2. Generally lesser cost and if chosen wisely, a great value for money.

3. Few DSLRs with a video mode, while this has become a standard feature of compact digital cameras.

4. Most DSLR models lack live preview on their LCDs, a nearly universal feature among compact digital cameras (many newer DSLRs do offer this).

5. Noisier (audio) operation, due to the SLR mirror mechanism.

6. Small digicams generally can focus on closer objects than typical DSLR lenses.

Simply put, if you really have keen interest in photography go for a dSLR

Also if you have money to splurge and videos are not a priority then go for a dSLR.

On the other hand if you want to strike a balance between cost and performance go for the compact Point and Shoot digicam. There are some real good ones in 6 MP TO 10 MP range. But as I pointed out in last Tuesday's Tech post, Megapixels are not everything.

Simple2Learn Video Convert : Symbian Mobiles and Ipod

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 19:01:00 +0000

This " Symbian Monday " post is not really an exclusively Symbian post. This one is also for the Ipod and other video freaks who want to convert video to formats that that would run on their gadgets.

As I mentioned in last Monday's post, I use Total Video Converter to convert files for my Nokia N70 ( S60 2nd edition ). The process is same for other advanced S60 edition mobiles and Ipod except for few steps.

So here are the Simple To Learn steps :

1. Run Total video converter and click on the " New Task " button.

2. Select the " Import File " option.

3. Browse and select your video file from your system.

4. Most Important Step : For s60 2nd and 3rd edition devices select Ms avi > Xvid Mpeg4 avi

For Ipod and Nokia 5800 express music ( S60 5th edition ) , select Mobiles > H264 mp4

5. Now, click on " Settings " button on bottom right corner. Select the Video Resize Tab > Custom Size > Select/Input the size of your device screen ( 320 x 240 is optimum size).

6. Press the " Convert " button and get all your videos reduced to half or less MB's without any loss of quality on your device/gadget.

Simple2Learn Tip : You can check the " Background Converting "option if it takes a lot of your System's Memory.

We can go for tweaking a few options here and there to see what works best for different gadgets. I guess this is enough for one Symbian Monday. Feel free to Disqus.

Blogger Widgets : The Saturday Blogging Simplified Post!!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 19:54:00 +0000

It's the Saturday " Blogging Simplified " post and I guess we have a little more time on our hands to tweak and " widgetify " our blogs and sites. I thought of listing a few for all of us. These are hosted on blogger and mostly for blogs hosted on blogger.

The Widget Treasure cove : A Simple2Learn presentation :

1. BloggerUniversity : Absolute gem of a site for anyone who wishes to implement those seemingly complex widgets and hacks. The interface might seem a bit too much but the posts are amazing. One University you'll be proud to be a student of.

2. BeautifulBeta : A cool and simple blog making life easier for other blogs.

Latest Post : Post Summary and read more

3. WidgetsForFree : Amazing repository of widgets and hacks. It's addictive, you might end up spending your entire day trying out different things. But then it's great value for our precious time.

Before we go on a tweaking spree, few suggestions for accident-free experiments :

1. Try the widgets on a test blog first. If that sounds a bit too much then download/backup your full template before making changes to the html code.

2. Don't add the widgets as it is. Try to customize them as per your needs. If you read the posts, you'll find great tips to customise the widgets you choose.

3. Don't give up on a widget you desperately want just because of few problems in implementing. Try making it work and if it doesn't then post your comments here in the ocmments section or on the respective blogs. You'll find a lot of helping hands.

4. Do tell me about the recent widgets or tweak you implemented ( Disqus in comments ).

Watchout for the Saturday post on Blogging Simplified. Any blog/site falling in this niche and willing to be featured mail me or comment.

Enjoy your weekend !!

The Friday Movie Post : Chillout with Simple2Learn !!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:33:00 +0000

This is the " Friday chillout " post. I saw quite a few movies this week ( like every week !!). Couldn't wait to disqus them.

1. The English Patient : First on the Simple2Learn menu is " The English Patient ". I remember the first time I came to know about Oscar Awards ( Academy Awards for some ) was way back in 1997 when this movie won 9 oscars. I got to see it only a few days back and felt it deserved a few more. An amazing tell of epic love ( or passion ) and how national identities mean so little in the face of true emotions. Set in a period of World War II, the movie boasts of actors like Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche (won the Oscar for supporting actress), Willem Dafoe which means no point in dicussing performances. A must watch.

2. Mississippi Burning : I saw this one as it has the great Gene Hackman in its cast. It's about how two FBI agents ( Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe), coming from different parts ( south and north US) and having different approaches go about solving hate-crime case in a deeply racist and hostile city. Gene Hackman is terrrific as always but it's Willem Dafoe who matches him all the way to make this movie a memorable one.

3. Dances With Wolves : A Kevin Costner masterpiece. Acted and directed by Kevin Costner, it's set in the period of American Civil War. It's about how an army officer posted on the Western Frontier inhabited by wolves and native tribes ( Sioux tribe) ends up more a Sioux than a " white man ". The movie won 7 oscars, a fact I came to know only after watching it.

The next one is a complete off-beat affair. You'll either love it or hate it. I can only hope it's the former.

4. Kungfu Hustle : Also known as Kungfu, this one is hard to describe. Acted and directed by Stephen Chow, the movie is set in China in 1940's. Action of an alltogether different kind ( outworldly) yet enjoyable. The best thing about this movie is that it doesn't take itself too seriously and neither should you. A thoroughly enjoyable flick.

To have a look at all the movies I have seen till date check out " My Movies " on IMDB.

You can create one for yourself. All you have to do is register and whenever you visit a title you have seen click on " Add to my movies " on the left sidebar.

Portable Web Apps on USB : Protect your data !!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 19:11:00 +0000

With the spread of Wifi and people being constantly on the move we frequently access cyber-cafe, computer centre or other public venues. Moreover, with every business turning online and hundreds of web services coming up everyday there is always a fear of breach of security and privacy intrusion.

Today in this " Wednesday Web How To " post we will put this fear to rest in the simple to learn way.

We will look at how to fully equip your USB device ( it can be a 1 GB pen drive or 250 GB external hard disk ) with the necessary Portable Apps so that all we need to do is plug our device, do our stuff and eject the drive when done.

Here are the Simple2Learn steps :

1. Knoppix 6.0 : The best of all the live distros. Just save the bootable image on the portable hard drive and boot if you can . It has everything you need from web browser to office to multimedia players.

Check pendrivelinux.com to get Knoppix and learn to use it effectively and simply.

2. Portable Google Chrome / Mozilla Firefox : Best option. No need to install. Just keep it on yuor USB device and use it . Feel like being more secure just clear the private data after your session is over.

We will deal with safe browsing in general in the posts to come. In this post let's restrict to portable options.

Direct Download both from here....

3. Now, for bloggers and people who do a little more than just social networking on the web, goto PortableApps.com for all the portable softwares you need. Amazing array of softwares, all free and simple to download.

In Detail :
Leave your views/comments

Megapixel & Resolution : Difference is Simple To Learn !!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 20:01:00 +0000

Keep hearing that Megapixel thing all the time. So what is it and how important it really is. Let's try to simplify things. Just imagine a chessboard having 64 squares. A pixel is like one square on the chessboard. In case of digital images it's just so small that we can't really distinguish the borders and the resulting image is very sharp.

So just like a 8x8 chessboard has 64 pixels, a 3.1 Megapixel digital camera has a sensor comprising of 2048x1536 = 31,45,728 pixels = 3.1 Megapixels

Pixels can be both square and rectangular as shown below.

Pixels are mostly used as a unit of measure, like 1200 pixels/inch, 640 pixels/line and a space of 10 pixels. We come across these terms so often in Photoshop or CSS.

Number of pixels is often called the resolution in digital imaging but actually it's the maximum resolution a digital camera or computer monitor can achieve if all other factors are compatible.

Resolution ( or Spatial Resolution ) means the no. of close lines that can be resolved in an image or monitor.

Let's again consider a digital camera having 2048x1536 = 3.1 Megapixels. Now the clarity of the image it produces depends on spatial resolution which depends not only on the number of Megapixels but also the size of sensor, lens type etc.

The image it produces can have any resolution less than 1536 pixels/inch

So, don't just get carried away by the no. of Megapixels. A 6 MP camera with a better lens and sensor and if in the right hands can beat an 8 MP one just so easily.

How to set up symbian mobile theatre the Simple2Learn way !!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 19:30:00 +0000

In this " Symbian Monday "post we will learn to optimise the video playback capabilities of S60 2nd edition mobile ( e.g. Nokia N70-1). While the specifications of Nokia N70 leads us to believe that it supports only 3gp ( H 263), and MP4 plus realvideo 8 formats, the fact is that we can easily play dvdrips in AVI format ( xvid/divx codec). The latest offering from Nokia, the 5800 Express Music ( S60 5th edition) can additionally play H-264 (MP4) and real video 9 and 10 plus support for flash video.

All this without any compromise in quality and whole movie packed in say 150 mb. Even a 1 GB memory card sounds more than enough. All we have to do is set it up the Simple2Learn way.

A screenshot of movie Twilight on my Nokia N70.

Here are the simple to learn steps :

1. Download and install XVID codec on your S60 mobile. Free Direct Download

2. Download and install Smartmovie player or Divx player. Better install both. I prefer Divx player as it looks better and is easy to use. Free Direct Download both players.

3. Download and install Total Video Converter on your pc to convert all your favourite videos to avi with the right settings. Now what these settings are and how to convert videos the simple to learn way will be explained in the next " Symbian Monday " post.

Till then get all your movies pre-optimised for S60 mobile and Apple Ipod from moviesmobile.net

Also if you have any specific movie or Symbian app request, say it loud in the comment section.

In Detail :

Download divx player, smartmovie player and xvid codec here.