aavaas

BSNL Broadband Outage in Chennai - Time for good old Dial-up

Vivek — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:47:17 +0000

Today was a rather difficult day for folks in Chennai who relied on BSNL broadband connection. Since around 1000 HRS local time, the modem just would not respond to the connection attempts either from the Netgear wireless router or the main PC via a PPPOE connection. On calling the toll-free number for BSNL - 1500, we realized that an Optic Fiber Cable was severed somewhere rendering the whole of Chennai subscriber base in stone age.

I was desperate to get online but nothing worked. Finally I found my old dial-up serial modem from D-Link (DFM 560ES Modem from D-Link. ) sitting on top of the almirah. Dusting it and connecting it, I was able to make it talk to a new OS - Vista. Surprisingly the same old tricks which worked in Windows ME and XP worked here too and I was able to get the modem to dial out the number.

Image Courtesy : tienda.jmo.cl. Shown here : DFM 560EL Modem from D-Link.

But it was more than 3 years since I had used a dial up connection. Obviously I did not have an account. But here is were the accountless internet service from BSNL came to the rescue. It is simple:

Configure your modem to dial 17-22-22
Your username is “44-followed by your 8 digit BSNL phone number” (if you are in Chennai)
Your password is “bsnl1234″

That is it. You are set to dial up and browse the net. Frankly GPRS and EDGE enabled phones are probably faster but this worked. The only issue is that most of the websites including Aavaas have been fine tuned for broadband experience and even instant messenger websites refused to work.

But if you have urgent mails to send or receive or you want to do some searching online, dial-up is a good way. The other options are to run to the nearest web browsing centre. But I would never touch that mouse and keyboard !

Airtel, Tata and other broadband service providers were not affected today.

Clock inside a Hard-disk

Vivek — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 08:10:32 +0000

If you have time to spare and some patience, you can create wonderful items and adorn your home with them. I had this old Hard drive lying at home. It was not functioning anymore and I didn’t know what to do with it. I didn’t want to throw it out either. So I decided to convert it into a clock. The picture can be seen below:

Click on Image to enlarge.

Click here for more including Video of the clock!

Oral B - Battery Operated Toothbrush

Vivek — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 07:33:57 +0000

I recently purchased a battery operated toothbrush from Oral-B. It is called “CROSS ACTION POWER”.

It has a rotating head and also a criss-cross head which clean the teeth with a double action.

In India, this product is marketed by P&G.

Features

Rotating Powerhead
Powered CrissCross™ Bristles
Soft end Rounded Bristles
Blue Indicator Bristles
Refill Head
Sleek Soft Grip Handle
Battery Powered

The product costs Rs. 399/- and comes with a AA Duracell Battery. So it is ready to use out of the pack. It also has a detachable head so that you can change it when the bristles turn white. Oral-B toothbrushes have these color indicative bristles which change color when it is old enough.

The pack of 2 heads cost Rs. 200/-

From Oral-B’s archived website:

Oral-B CROSSACTION POWER combines a clinically proven rotating PowerHead™ with CrissCross® bristles for more cleaning action in every stroke.

Its CrissCross bristles reach deep between teeth and along the gumline to lift and sweep away plaque, while the rotating PowerHead effectively surrounds teeth to loosen and whisk away plaque from surfaces and hard-to-reach back teeth. The result is a deeper, more complete clean.

CROSSACTION POWER features an ultra-thin handle with soft rubberized grip for greater comfort and control and offers a choice of an easily replaceable soft or medium brushhead.

Product Benefits

+ Deeper, more complete clean
- Lift and sweep away plaque deep between teeth and along the gumline
- Helps clean hard-to-reach places
+ More cleaning action than the leading manual toothbrush
+ Significantly reduces gingivitis
+ Ultra-thin handle for greater comfort and control
+ Convenient, replaceable brushheads
Product Features

+ Multi-Angled CrissCross bristles that reach deep between teeth to lift out and sweep away plaque
+ Rotating PowerHead loosens and whisks away plaque from surfaces, gumline and back teeth
+ Replaceable brushhead with QuickRelease™ tool
+ Ultra-thin, SoftGrip handle designed for comfort and control
+ Available in both soft and medium bristles
+ Indicator® bristles fade halfway when it’s time to replace your brushhead
+ Easy-Access Waterproof Battery compartment makes replacing batteries fast and easy
+ Battery Powered with 1 replaceable Duracell® AA Battery (included)

BRUSHHEAD TYPES

Soft, Medium

HANDLE COLORS

Blue
Magenta
Violet
Emerald

Note: This product was recalled in the US market as on Oct 2004! You can see the details here:

http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/recalls/recall-102704.html

It is a mystery why the product continues to sell in India.

Recycling old goods at home

Vivek — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 09:31:06 +0000

We were involved in the process of shifting our grandparents to an apartment opposite to ours. At this time, we realized that there are many goods/items at home which need to be thrown away. Some of them are in good working condition and we were wondering if it is possible to get them sold to second hand dealers at reasonable prices. But then despite the condition of these goods, the items were not taken by any second hand dealer in Chennai. The following are the items which we tried to dispose off.

BPL Sanyo VCR
Philips Powerhouse without CD
Sansui Audio system with only Audio CD compatibility
Philips Gramophone player!
Couple of Philips tape recorders
Philips Home theatre system

As you can see, some of the items in the list are mighty old. This brings me to the relevance of the topic - recycling.

Indians generally hold on to their items for as long it lasts. Little do they realize that the longer they hold on to it, the more junk value it is accumulating. So in my personal opinion the following should be the guideline for appliances and gadgets at home after which it would make sense to dispose it off and get a new one all together.

TV - CRT - 3 to 5 years
Washing Machines - 3 years or less depending on the salinity levels in your area and the frequency of use
Refrigerator - 5 years for conventional cooling and upto 7 years for frost free
Audio systems -2 - 3 years
DVD/Home Theatre and the like - 3 years
Microwave oven - 5 years
Pressure cookers - 1 - 2 years max

If you have any comments on these, please let the readers know your opinion…

Happy Deepavali to all Aavaas Readers!

Vivek — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:06:55 +0000

Dear Readers

We from team aavaas, would like to wish all of you and your family members a fabulous Deepavali.

Best regards

Team Aavaas

VEGERATOR (Inverter Refrigerators) from Panasonic

Vivek — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 18:16:08 +0000

Panasonic India has launched their new series of refrigerators - VEGERATOR. It is an inverted refrigerator with the freezer on the bottom and the more commonly accessed parts on the top. This has advantages of not having to stoop low and fetch the vegetables which are one of the most commonly used section of any refrigerator. The philosophy of having the vegetable section at the bottom was to keep it away from the cooler parts so that the vegetables didn’t become frigid and die or cold.

Panasonic has removed this issue by separating the freezer section from the normal section via a two door access. This is also seen in many of the frost free and also direct cooling refrigerators these days. Only the very low end refrigerators have a single door.

Image Courtesy : panasonic.co.in

There is no word on the pricing on the website though. The following are the features of this refrigerator.

For convenient storage of heavy, space-consuming vegetables, the vegetable case is located in the center where items are easy to see and take out. Panasonic’s Vegerator is a completely new style of refrigerator.
Convenient, Revolutionary “THE VEGERATOR”

Easy to See - The frequently used vegetable case is right at waist height, so you can see all the way to the back.

Easy to Get - You can reach the food inside while standing straight up. It’s easy to get even heavy or bulky foods in and out

Easy to Arrange - You can do everything in a natural posture, with no bending down. This makes it more efficient to use while cooking.

Twin Bio Attacker

BIO Odor Attacker–60 Times More Powerful Deodorization!

BIO Bacteria Attacker–Powerful Inactivates 99.98% of Bacteria!

Safety Tempered Glass Shelves

Strong and clean tempered glass shelves that can withhold load as heavy as 100kg. Heavy loading of food can even be done at the top shelves.

Capacities available ( as mentioned on Panasonic India Website )

231L
255L
299L
355L
395L
512L

For more details please visit : http://panasonic.co.in/web/productssolutions/homeappliances/kitchenappliances/refrigerator

Number 1 CFL Manufacturer in India - Halonix#

Vivek — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 17:16:00 +0000

According to the articles and advertisements published in leading newspapers, Halonix - a brand of Phoenix Lamps, is the No. 1 manufacturer of CFLs in India.

Check out : http://www.phoenixlamps.com

But our readers have pointed out that the products from Halonix are not so easy to procure thanks to their distribution network!

Hope that the No. 1 manufacturer also takes efforts to sell the products and make it available all over India - at affordable prices too.

And it also looks like Eveready is no longer in the picture. Halonix now has products ranging from 5W to 110W.

# - Source : ELCOMA - Electric Lamp and Component Manufacturers’ Association of India.

Bedroom Range from Zuari - Part 1 : Cosmo

Vivek — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:57:52 +0000

Today we give you some product details from Zuari (company profile will be put up shortly).

They have a whole range of products which would go into one’s bedroom. We start with Cosmo.

You can choose from these pieces and make up your bedroom.

Click on Image to enlarge. Image Courtesy : .zuari-furniture.com

To read the rest of the article, click here

Top search queries leading people to aavaas.com

Vivek — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 18:20:34 +0000

These are the keywords which led most of our visitors to our site in September 2008.

Have you used any of these terms to arrivee at aavaas?

Digital Photo frames

Vivek — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 17:58:31 +0000

With the advent of digital cameras, no one these days actually buys the good old film based cameras. Even professionals who had these SLR cameras are switching over to Digital SLR cameras. With so much of exodus going on in the camera industry, wouldn’t you expect the same in the photo frames market too? Well, guess what? Digital photo frames are here.

Click on image to enlarge. Image Courtesy : blogs.zdnet.com

Digital photo frames are wonderful devices. They have a color LCD screen inside, similar to the ones found in laptops. They also have an inbuilt memory where you can load images and advanced models have memory card slots where you could put in the card directly from your camera into the frame.

You can choose the rate at which the picture changes and also play with various other settings. Really advanced models sync with your computer via a wireless network and display all the latest images.

Digital Photo Frames are real fun especially when you want to show a lot of photos to visitors. A few models have a remote control where you can watch slide shows of the pictures.

Prices start from around 5,000 rupees for the smallest size (6 inches approximately). These are just approximations. For accurate prices please check your local stores.

Many brands deal with Digital Photo Frames. Popular ones include Philips, Kodak - to name a few.