Category: My Mystic Stuff


The dot in your Gmail id is insignificant

Filed under: All, My Mystic Stuff — 2 Comments
March 21, 2012

Yesterday I received a spam mail and the interesting thing about it was that, it had some pictures of a kid. This is the first time I’ve ever received a spam mail like this.

When I checked the email id to which it was send, the email id is the same as mine except that the dot (.) was missing in the id. After some R&D over it, I figured out that the dot in your Gmail id is insignificant and you can login, send / receive mails even without the dot and it just works perfectly. Don’t believe me? Try it out!

I seriously don’t understand the logic behind this and why Google is treating your email id’s this way.

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Control your Home at the click of a button

Filed under: My Mystic Stuff, Tech — Leave a comment
March 7, 2012

This was like a treasure found when I went to my native few weeks back. The device that you see in the picture was something that I made during my good old college days. This was one of the most exciting stuff that I ever did. So what’s so great about this device? Well, you can turn on/off any of your electrical devices such as lights or fan or whatever you can think of, using your computer, and this device acts like a controller. For all the techies out there wondering how this stuff works. There is a software application that I developed using Visual Basic which displays couple of buttons that act like virtual switches and are mapped to the electrical devices that you would like to turn on/off. The software controls this device and the device in turn controls these electrical devices.

So why the hell did I make this stuff??? I was too lazy to get up and switch on/off the fan every time the room got a bit chill/warm while I was on the computer. :-)

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Appraisonality

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February 2, 2012

Appraisonality is a particular attitudinal and behavioral response pattern of an individual that occurs when the individual foresees any benefit of any kind for oneself. Appraisonality can usually be found during performance appraisals.

Various symptoms of Appraisonality are:

  • Trying to prove subordinates or colleagues of same level are wrong even when they aren’t.
  • Trying to over deliver on the work even when it’s not expected.
  • Manipulating a situation to favor oneself.
  • Projecting minuscule achievements as something unachievable.

Now I wish I could add my newly coined word “Appraisonality” to Wikipedia :-)

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Avoid your Facebook from being Hacked

Filed under: My Mystic Stuff, Tech — 3 Comments
November 16, 2011

Here are couple of tips that would help your Facebook from being hacked.

  1. Strong Passwords: Your password is the main source of access to your account. So keep it strong. Use combination of lower and upper case characters, numbers and special characters.
  2. Tough “secret answer”: Birthdays and pets names can be easily guessed. Hence, they are not  the best secret answers.
  3. Run a virus scan: Update your Antivirus virus definitions before you run a scan and make  sure your system doesn’t have any Viruses and Malwares.
  4. Enable Secure Browsing in Facebook: This would help you browse Facebook on a secure connection. You can find this setting under Account Settings -> Security -> Secure Browsing.
  5. Enable Login Notifications: This would help you to know if your account is being accessed by someone else from a different machine or location. You can find this setting under Account  Settings -> Security -> Login Notifications.
  6. Avoid Facebook Apps you are unfamiliar with.
  7. Keep your profile information private: Keeping your profile information private would avoid hackers getting your details like birthdays and so on. This information can in turn be used to gain access to other services like email or twitter. Also, keep your personal pictures and videos private so that they are not misused.
  8. Don’t select “Keep me logged in” option: Make sure the “Keep me logged in” option is not  selected when you access Facebook from a public computer like a cyber cafe.
  9. Check the Facebook URL: Once the Facebook home page is loaded. Make sure you check the URL before logging in. Viruses and Malwares can redirect you to a fake website whose look and feel are almost identical as Facebook. Use https://www.facebook.com/ instead of http, this would help you avoid landing on a Phishing site.
  10. Log out once you’re done: Once you’re done using Facebook, make sure you “Log Out” and not just close the browser window.

Happy Facebooking :-)

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How Google+ plans to get more users

Filed under: My Mystic Stuff, Tech — Leave a comment
September 21, 2011

As Google+ has now opened its doors for all to join. I thought of trying it out. There was one thing that caught my attention and this is something that I haven’t found on any other websites so far. Its about the Gender selection. Check out the screenshot below.

Software developers, now this trend is going to catch on, so be ready to change your code. :-)

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Interactive chart controls

Filed under: Code Corner, My Mystic Stuff — Leave a comment
September 13, 2011

Recently I came across a few interactive chart controls. You can check them out and include them in your application if found useful.

Highcharts
I found Highcharts to be one of best chart controls, considering its “interactive” factor. You can check out the demos here and you’ll find that the chart is even displayed with some effects.

Highcharts are purely build using JavaScript’s and hence would load the charts and render them very effectively. You would also have hardly any impact on your page performance since the charts are not being created on the server side.

There is also a .Net version of this control that is coming up. You can check more details on that on CodePlex.

Highcharts are completely free as long as it’s used for Non-commercial purpose.

Google Chart Tools
This is another option that you have. You can check out the Google Chart API which would help you easily integrate the chart into your application.

There should definitely be some more interesting chart controls out there. I’ll update this list as and when I come across them. For now, have fun with these :-)

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When its build with Passion and Perseverance it’s different

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September 13, 2011

Avatar isn’t the first 3D movie that was released, but then why was it such a unique movie. It’s interesting to note that James Cameron actually first build the technology required and then went into the making of Avatar. This is what I would call Passion and Perseverance.

There are so many 3D movies released even after Avatar. But I would say they were all made just to carry the title “3D” so that they can capitalize on such market. As Cameron himself said “The best alternative is if you want to release a movie in 3D – make it in 3D”

Now these kinds of situations and mindsets are visible in most aspects of life. Where people run after something which they think would fetch them success overnight. They might be successful, but it’s not going to make the difference. Think of the iPhone, there are hundreds of mobile manufactures in the world but we would always get interested whenever a new iPhone model is getting launched.

Ultimately the message that I want to convey is, when you’re really passionate about something, focus on achieving that, and not about making money. Money will follow once you make the difference and continue to follow thereafter.

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URL shortcuts

Filed under: My Mystic Stuff, Tech — 5 Comments
September 9, 2011

You might already be using this, but just in case you don’t know about them yet. URL shortcuts are nothing but short urls that would help you visit a site with very less typing. Here are a few of them

Yahoo Mail: ymail.com

Facebook: fb.com

Pepsi: pep.si – Not worth it unless you’re going to order a Pepsi online :-)

I’ll be adding more to this list as an when I get new ones. So watch out.

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Design flaw or a new trend?

Filed under: All, My Mystic Stuff — 4 Comments
September 6, 2011

Have you noticed something odd about the rear of Volkswagen Passat and Fiat Punto? Well, have a close look at the images below and you’ll notice that the rear of these vehicles isn’t symmetrical. I’m not sure why it’s been designed this way, but it really hurts my eye whenever I see them.

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iPad Alternatives

Filed under: My Mystic Stuff, Tech — Leave a comment
September 2, 2011

Planning to get something similar to iPad? Well, there are enough of devices to confuse you now. :-) I’ve consolidated a list of devices below. You can go through them and then make up your mind on your favorite iPad alternative.

Even before you go for one, I would say first decide on whether you would really need this kind of device instead of going with the iPad hype. Consider the usability factor and how often you would use such a device. This should help you on deciding if you would really need an iPad or even an alternative. For example, if you read a lot and also do a lot of travelling, I would say an iPad or an alternative would be great, since you would be able to hold it just like any other book and would also help you have a lot of eBooks in them. If you’re like me, who would like to kick in some post or some code every now and then, then, I personally feel a netbook or a laptop would be great because you need to do a lot of typing.

Also another thing about these devices is that you always need to hold them. It’s difficult especially when you’re travelling. Yeah you can leave them on your lap but then your neck is going to have a tough time unless and until you have something to dock the device. I’m not trying to discourage you in getting one of these devices; I’m just putting in some of my thoughts. Anyway, I’ll be glad to know if this list helped you in some way or the other in getting your dream iPad. :-)

Product OS Display size
Asus Eee Slate Windows 7 12.1″
EXOPC Slate Windows 7 11.6″
Acer ICONIA TAB A Series Android 10.1″ (25.7 cm)
Acer ICONIA TAB W Series Windows 7 10.1″ (25.7 cm)
Advent Vega Android 2.2 (Froyo) 10.1″
Asus Eee Pad Android 3.2 10.1″
Dell Inspiron Duo Tablet Windows 7 10.1″
Motorola XOOM Android 3.1 (Honeycomb) 10.1″ (25.6cm)
Motorola XOOM Wi-Fi Android 3.1 (Honeycomb) 10.1″ (25.6cm)
MSI WindPad 100W Windows 7 10.1″ (25.6cm)
MSI WindPad 110W Windows 7 10.1″ (25.6cm)
Notion Ink Adam Tablet Android 2.3 10.1″
Samsung GALAXY Tab 750 Android Honeycomb 10.1″ (25.7cm)
ViewSonic gTablet Google Android 2.2 (Froyo) 10.1″
ViewSonic ViewPad 10 Dual OS: Windows 7 & Android 2.2 10.1″
Zinglife E-Pad ZL101 Android 2.2 10″
HP Touchpad webOS 9.7″
LG Optimus Pad Android Honeycomb (v3.0) 8.9″
Ainovo Novo 7 Ainovo Novo 7 7″
BlackBerry PlayBook BlackBerry Tablet OS 7″
Dell Streak 7 Android 2.2 (Froyo) 7″
HTC Flyer Android 7″ (17.78 cm)
Samsung Galaxy Tab Smartphone Android 2.2 (Froyo) 7″ (17.78 cm)
ViewSonic ViewBook 730 Android 2.2 (Froyo) 7″
Zinglife E-Pad ZL700 Android 2.2 7″
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