India broadband

I have been here in India for some time now and I think its about time I go back to UK and get my act together I have booked my ticket for next month… Yeh Virgin Atlantic.. you guessed it right Its the airhostesses.. not the fare which makes me go back to them every time.
I had a blueyonder broadband connection there which I got disconnected when I came to India as I didint want to pay for it when I was in India as it was a long trip this time around. I have spent this long hot and sweaty summer in Delhi and would love to go back to the damp cold and wet weather which does feel lovely for a few days after you get out of an oven which New Delhi is in summers..

Crap apart I am going to be without a broadband connection for a few days when I get to UK and as far as I know isp’s like bethere and ukonline who provide fast connections are still not available in Crawley (thats where I live) so I will have to put up with whatever is available like bt which is somethign I dont like due to a bitter experience a few years back and then there is blueyonder which has been alright but they are going to take a lot of time to get my connection up and running .. last time it took almost a week and I dont have a week to spare as I need the net 24/7 Yeh call me a geek if you like but thats how I make my living

As I was struggling to find out what all isp’s are available in Crawley my beautiful friend Anne shows up on messenger and told me about this broadband site which lets you see which all broadband providers are available in a given area and all you need to do is enter your post code and you get a list of what all is on offer by different isps and what is available for you to choose from with all the speacial offers and all those all singing and dancing packages they have for you. I am going for virgin media this time which has got some great offers and is very reasonably priced.. I would have gone for a 24meg connection from bethere but they are still not available in my area in westsussex.

Having said all the above I will have to wait for a few days before my connection is provided by virgin media as my flat is locked so I would need a way to connect to the WWW as soon as I land in UK because I also manage my own servers and with no one to help me on that front I have to have my e-mails accisible 24/7 as help comes at a price and I would rather blow that money in a pub instead of paying it to some server management firm who do nothing except for taking instructions from you and monitoring your server which any one with a little linux experience can do him/her self. I am going to get mobile broadband for starters when I get to UK and use it untill I get my wired broadband and this mobile broadband thing will also come in handy when I am travelling so it wont be a waste of money I guess.

Virgin media also provides wireless broadband which means they will provide you with a modem and a wireless router so you can use your wifi phone or laptop in and around your house without having to plug in a cable. I am planning to get this wireless router so I can use skype on my mobile phone when I am at home.

If you have any better ideas for me please leave your comments… And lastly I thank Anne for giving me such a wonderful idea Muaaaaahhhh.

It is big, exactly what they are claiming it to be! The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group launched its DTH service called Big TV last month. The service is supposed to revolutionize the TV viewing experience in India.

What makes it special?

With its entry, the Big TV service becomes the fourth DTH service provided in India. The Big TV service enters the market with an edge of the MPEG-4 technology over its two popular competitors. This technology helps it offer more channels than its competitors.

What are the features?

Video-on-demand: The Big TV service comes with 32 video-on-demand channels for you. With no advertisements interrupting movie watching, you can convert your home into a theatre and enjoy the good picture quality. You will be able to watch the latest movies as the movies on Big TV are updated every fifteen days. You can apparently watch as many as 600 movies a year.

Quality picture: The Big TV service promises better picture and audio quality as compared to other DTH providers.

Video-recording: The set-top boxes of the Big TV service have digital video recording facility.

Plan your viewing: It is extremely easy to keep track of the channel programmes with schedules for up to seven days are available with the Big TV service.

Set reminders: You will not miss your favourite programs anymore. Set reminders with Big TV and let it remind you of programs minutes before their telecast time.

Parental control: The Big TV service offers the flexibility to censor the channels for family viewing. Parents can block the channels they do want children to access.

Make a list of favourites: Viewers can customize the listing of channels that they like so that they do no have to look for their favourite channel later.

Better starting offers: The starting offers of the Big TV service are better than the offers by other providers, making its offer lucrative.

Better signal: With the Big TV service, there will be no worry of losing the signal during rain. This comes as great news for all the people tires of losing the TV signal in the midst of a downpour.

What is in store for the future?

The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group is confident that its DTH service will take over the market. Reliance’s DTH service has big plans of taking over forty percent of the Indian market over the next one year. The plan may sound ambitious but it is definitely not misplaced. With thorough study of the limitations of the earlier DTH service providers, the Big TV service has made a smart entry in the market.

The entry of the Big TV service is not only good for the people who will opt for the service but also for those who are with the other service providers. The service is definitely going to shake up its competition, thus forcing them to improve their quality of service.

Only time will tell if the Big TV service will live up to its name.

To discuss this furthur please visit Reliance Big TV DTH service forum.

The iPhone: What makes it special?

Apple says the iPhone is a phenomenon and will change the way people look at mobile phones. So, what is it that the iPhone offers? The Apple iPhone 3G is an internet-phone made for more things than just talking and texting. If you look closely at the features of the iPhone, you will find that it is several devices put into one. The Apple iPhone 3G is touted to revolutionize the electronic world. Let us look at what the iPhone offers:

* An iPod
* An internet-enabled computer
* GPS device
* A gaming console
* Friend-finding device
* A blogging platform
* A camera
* And of course, a talking device!

Let us look at the features that make iPhone an all-in-one device:

* Built-in iPod
* Internet access
* 3G network speed enabled
* GPS enabled
* Smart keyboard
* Microsoft Exchange
* Scientific calculator and calendar
* Access to infinite application
* 2 megapixel camera
* Photo storage

Will the iPhone be popular with the Indian consumer?

The urban Indian consumer is obsessed with gizmos. A product like the iPhone is targeted at the technically savvy urban consumer. Though the initial response to the iPhone in the Indian market has not been very exciting, there are definitely chances of its sale picking up in the next few months. The price of the phone proved a deterrent to the most ardent of gizmo lovers. However, there is hope that the price of the iPhone will reduce given the reaction of the Indian public. Currently, the iPhone in India costs almost four times of that in the US.

Let us look at why the Indian consumer will go for it.

Prior knowledge: The Indian public has been waiting for the iPhone to arrive in India for a while, so much so that people were looking for a crack for using the US version in India. As soon as the price comes down, the iPhone sales will increase.

Future prospect: India hopes to get the 3G network set-up in the near future. The iPhone is already enabled to provide the 3G support.

Access to applications: The technologically-savvy people will love the application store offered by the iPhone. A lot of the applications available can be downloaded for free.

Music, E-mail, Applications at one place: The iPhone’s music features make it very lucrative for the Indian consumer. The ease of doing everything on one hand-held device is what makes the iPhone a gotta-have commodity in India.

Apart from the price, the factors that could deter the Indian public are:

* Absence of SMS-forwarding and group-messaging features
* Absence of MMS
* Limited Bluetooth capability
* Absence of video recording

Apple’s sleek, stylish iPhone has been on the wish list of many a young people who want to be a step ahead of the times. The price cannot deter this generation for long. Moreover, it is not everyday that one come across something so chic and so useful.