R.I.P Netscape

Netscape Navigator the most popular browser of the 90's is no more. AOL which acquired Netscape in 1999 in a deal with an estimated cost of $4.2 billion announced that there will be no more active product support after 1st Feb 2008 for the browser which is currently in the version 9.

For all those people who just can't do without Netscape AOL suggests to use FireFox with a Netscape theme.

Albeit official support ceases you might find some support from forums like http://ufaq.org/ ,

Netscape Community forum and http://sillydog.org/.

Reasons :

The following among others can be seen as the main reasons of AOL to discontinue Netscape:

• Market share of Netscape down to less than 1% ,the same browser in 1999 had a share of above 85%.AOL made two attempts to revive the market presence of Netscape in vain.


• Success of the non-profit Mozilla foundation which churns out the popular FireFox browser.

Let us all say good bye to old friend which many (including me) the first taste of Internet.

first version of the popular browser

Source:

Netscape Blog.

I-pod Touch

techblues is not much into product reviews, but the when the Apple's concerned i just can't resist my carvings to talk about their products.

Now, if you are wondering what's the product I'm talking about, its none other than the new I-POD Touch .This iphone like looking gorgeous i-pod comes with a 3.5" display and its a mere 8mm thick. Its available in 8GB and 16GB variants, as for the battery life, the touch is said to last 12 hours when playing audio and 5 hours when watching video.

Among many positives the USP of the ipod-touch would be its multi touch interface( the same revolutionary technology that made iphone a hit), you should actually use it to get to know how good the interface is. Another nice feature is the built-in Wi-Fi and Safari browser in ipod-touch which lets you surf the web in any Wi-Fi hot spot.

Now on the flip side we have a few things :

• Email is absent


• No Bluetooth


• Max size 16GB.


• To pricey for the size on the offer(16 GB).


• No external volume control( not really a negative , if you can get used to touch screen volume control which more than compensates for the absence of the external volume control).

Gallery:

Bajaj Pulsar 300cc

Here is the pic of the all new 300cc Bajaj Pulsar.

This is the pic that is doing rounds for sometime.

NOW, STOP DREAMING there is no pulsar 300cc (sorry or disapointing all those who expected one) . The pic you are seeing is a piece of great artwork by someone who is good at photoshop.

Here are some more pics just in case you are a fan of photoshop modified pics or you like the bike in the pics

Read more at confused programmer.

I am first.com

Do u know when the first ever domain name was registered?

It was way back in 1985 ,22 years back .
Now for the first .com which was registered on March 15 1985 and it was symbolics.com which still happens to be up and running, although not much to look at.

Now here's the list of the first 20 domain names to be ever registered,although there are very few names in the list that i have heard like xerox.com, hp.com,IBM.com,Sun.com,intel.com, many of them are still working .

SYMBOLICS.COM March 15 1985

BBN.COM April 24 1985

THINK.COM May 24 1985

MCC.COM July 11 1985

DEC.COM September 30 1985

NORTHROP.COM November 7 1985

XEROX.COM January 9 1986

SRI.COM January 17 1986

HP.COM March 3 1986

BELLCORE.COM March 5 1986

IBM.COM March 19 1986

SUN.COM March 19 1986

INTEL.COM March 25 1986

TI.COM March 25 1986

ATT.COM April 12 1986

GMR.COM May 8 1986

TEK.COM May 8 1986

FMC.COM July 10 1986

UB.COM July 10 1986

BELL-ATL.COM August 5 1986

Read the 100 oldest registered domains.

Four in the first five domains are working except for mmc.com and i didn't have Patience to check the rest if u have just comment here.

source:

http://www.jottings.com/100-oldest-dot-com-domains.htm

More Hero Honda Hunk Pics

Here's the front view of the hunk des's been 2 many requrests

for a front view.

Pics courtesy: Aunurag

His Orkut Profile:http://www.orkut.com/Profile.aspx?uid=13154777151517919697

Click Here For More Pics.

Hero Honda Hunk Teasers And Tv Commericial.

Click Here For Specs And More Details.

Bike Or A Wild Bull ?

Here's the TV ad of the Hero Honda's new 150cc bike.




After wathcing this commercial i personally felt HH is running out good ideas for their commercials, this really did not stand up to hype created by the initial teasers.




Pics1.
Pics2.

More Details And Specs here.

Hunk Pics

Read Details.

More Pics.

Wanna Ride A Hunk ?

Hero Honda unveiled its new 150cc bike on 17th October. This will be their third bike in the 150cc segment (Achiever and CBZ Xtreme being other two).

Price:This bike is competitively priced at 55,000 RS for a kick start and RS 57000 for the self start Ex-showroom Delhi.

Styling:
True to its name the bike has a masculine look with a big tank and side tank shrouds.The headlight seems to be similar to Achiever's.The side view might just remained you of the Xtereme except for the tank shrouds.Its a good looking bike overall (If u didn't like this one just think of the Ugly Xtreme u'll definitely like this one).

It is expected to deliver a decent mileage just like Xtreme or even better, because this one's provided with what the HH people call Carburetor Controlled Variable Ignition for the improved fuel efficiency.

Another notable feature is the 5 step adjustable gas filled rear shocks promising a smooth ride even in the extreme riding conditions.

Other things to look out for:

• Retro looking speedo.
• Raised rear seat (not split though).
• Chrome finish 3d "HUNK" emblem.
• Puncture resistant rear tuff-up tube.
• New Generation 10W30 SJ Grade, JASO MA Grade Engine oil for longer oil change intervals of 6000 kms – reduced maintenance cost and excellent cold starting ability.
  

Sources:

http://newsgaze.com/18-Hero-Honda-unveils-Hunk.html

More Pics At:

http://rahulsblogbeta.blogspot.com/2007/10/hunk-pics.html

More Pics.

Teaser And Tv Commercial:

http://rahulsblogbeta.blogspot.com/2007/11/bike-or-wild-bull.html

Saawariya music review

Sanjay Leella Bansali who always had a music extravaganza in his earlier movies will not disappoint us this time around, the music was composed by Monty Sharma not a new name to the industry, he has done background score of Sanjay's earlier movies like the Devdas and black this music consists a total of 10 songs the first goes " Saawariya" i think every one had listened this as it is widely used in all the teasers of the film "fresh and young" as i call it and it has a reprise to it too which gives a contemporary look to the album next comes "maasah-allah "song which is a slow romantic number which is quite good too and then " thodde -badmash" this gives u a acute nostalgia of devdas( i mean songs of devdas). GOOD and then the " daras bina nahin chain" listening to the lyrics of the song we can say it is a sad slow song "yooh shabnami and chaabeela " are kind of a typical bollywood songs and other songs like sawar gayi , jaan-e-jaan are slow indeed and i didn't like them especially ,and people who like all slow songs would like it i guess and the song called pari is OK overall i give it 7 out of 10 for a simple reason that 7 songs are worth listening out of the 10 songs .


Techblues verdict:
7/10.

review done by :Padma Kumar
his blog : Outlandish photos.

Mash - the sweet heart

Yahoo has recently launched a new social networking site called MASH.This is another attempt by Yahoo to cash in on the social networking phenomenon.

Reasons behind another social networking site by yahoo-

1. -Yahoo' unsuccesful attempt to buy Face Book for 1 billion $'s and-



2. Yahoo 360- yahoo's first social networking attempt failing.-



3. Stats saying the number of daily American visitors to My Space and Face Book more than the visitors to Yahoo and Google.

I got a invitation to Mash last week. Well , here's what the Mash feels like.First thing that one would observe at the Mash is that it borrows its features from all the popular social networking sites like face book and My Space.

These features set Mash apart from other social networking sites according to the Mash Blog:

1. You can make starter profiles for your friends. Think: “first round’s on me.”



2. You can leave your profile open to contributions by trusted friends.



3. You can customize your — or your friend’s — profile with modules from a growing gallery of apps.
   

The Times call this a "wikipedia of social networking as you can create your and modify your friend's profiles.Unlike Orkut( India's favourite social networking site) it offers much more customization .You can just drag and drop a module to add it to your profile.There is big( still growing) list of modules to select from. The modules are Flicker RSS, Ego Boost, Common Friends , Blog Module (RSS 2.0) just to name a few.Much like the FaceBook the mash Say's “in the coming months we’re going to open up our module development platform to 3rd party developers,” .

Celebrating 5000 visitors

Yesterday my 5000th visitor dropped in. 5000 visitors in 7 months that's at a rate of above 700 visitors per month .

Well, it was a nice journey with 20 posts ,27 comments and 60 tags since my first blog post on 8th February 2007.
Thanks to all the visitors and special thanks to those who shared their thoughts through comments.

Keep visiting this blog as I'll try to make this blog even more interesting with consistent updates.

Go Sachin Go

Is Sachin Tendulkar retiring from ODI's ?. This is the topic of discussion doing rounds all over the media. And if you thought this is just another post adding to the speculation you are mistaken.I wouldn't definitely want to write an article speculating about his retirement.

I'm writing this post just to wish Sachin all the best for the last and decisive match of the serise on Saturday at Lords .The whole of India is waiting for Sachin to overcome the nervous nineties and make a century at the Lords.

Balle Balle Hollywood to Bollywood

As i watch the Saawariya's trailer showing heroin in a flowing beaded gown gliding through a pond,The big and elaborate set with immense detailing appear in every frame and virtually stunning scenes.But amid all these what grabbed my attention was the legendary Columbia TriStar logo.This reminds me of the fact that the Hollywood studios have started making Bollywood films.

Of the five big studios in America namely Universal, Columbia Tristar, 20 th Century Fox, Disney and Warner Brothers . Three have entered Hindi film industry in a big way, ColumbiaTristar with Sanjay Leela Bansali's Sawaariya, and Disney is all set to produce a joint venture with Yash Raj Filims India an animated movie named 'Roadside Romeo'. The third one Warner Brothers had announced a Bollywood venture 'Made In India' soon to made by Rohan Sippy and director Nikhil Advani. The remainig are expected to follow the suit.

X-SEED 4000

image courtesy:http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/08/20/self-contained-tokyo-highrise-eco-city-x-seed-4000/

Ever wondered how tall the tallest building ever designed is ?Before you try let me remind you the tallest building in world at present is the Burj Dubai(still under construction ) at 1,680 ft and will be 2,275ft when finished.
Well, The largest building ever to be envisioned and designed fully is X-Seed 4000 .The X-seed 4000 is 13,123 ft (4 km) tall steel construction of 800 floors with a 6km base, the building was designed to be built in water in the Tokyo bay.Beating even the tallest structures dozens of radio and television broadcasting towers which measure over 2,000 ft.

Roughly based on the japan mount Fuji's structure ,this building would house somewhere from half a million to a million people. The X-Seed 4000 would cost about $ 300-900 billions US.


Being designed by Taisei constructions as an " Intelligent building" the X-SEED 4000 would maintain light temperature and air pressure in response to changing extreme weather condition.


Really wonder if this building will ever be made?

Rave Reviews For Chak De India

Yesterday, i was just going through reviews of Chak De India.

I noticed This movie *ing Shah Rukh Khan and directed by Shimit Amin of Ab Thak Chapan fame got some really rave reviews .

HidustanTimes.com - *** 1/2.

Indiaglitz.com -****.

ExpressIndia.com - ***1/2.

Bollywood.com --***1/2.

Of all the reviews i read one which really kept me wondering was the review by Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN in Buzz18.com. I was really really surprised to see a 4 on 5 (very good) rating by him. There was also a article Chak De :Shah Rukh's best movie ever ? in Buzz18.com .

Seems like the movie is a hit with the critics now we have to see how it does at the box-office?
The advance booking and the start was poor very unlike previous films in SRK -Yash Raj combination, but the reports are positive.

Bullet Machismo

The Royal Enfield India has released a new 500cc Bullet Machismo.
This beast has got a power of 24BHP and 499cc engine
read more


Related Posts:
Royal Enfield Thunderbird With Twin Spark.

Looking Glass for the future

Project Looking Glass by Sun Microsystems is open platform for creating an innovative 3D desktop environment for various Operating Systems.

It created lots of interest among developers when it was first demonstrated publicly by Jonathan Schwartz at Sun Networks 2003 in San Francisco, but it seems to have taken back seat for some time now.


Today when Operating systems (like vista ans OS X) seem to have gone 3D in order to look better people must look at Project Looking Glass which is an Open source software promising to make entire PC environment a 3D world.

Other links:
wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Looking_Glass

more screen shots:
http://www.sun.com/software/looking_glass/details.html

Open Source developers site:
https://lg3d-core.dev.java.net/

TVS Apache 160 RTR

As expected , the big brother of TVS APACHE 150 is here. But it is just 10cc bigger than its predecessor and 2 kg heavier , letting down all those who expected a 180 cc version of APACHE.

TVS APACHE 150 is a big hit in fact , it is the largest selling bike for TVS. Just like 150 which came in when the pulsar 150's and 180's were ruling the road ;as a sigh of relief , I would feel this one is a serious competition for all the 150's out there in the market . Just get a feeling that TVS managed another good one . Another advantage TVS has is , 150 APACHE as the lowest ex-showroom price in 150cc segment , so, the pricing of 160 APACHE RTR can be much more competitive . Expected to be out very soon, with an ex-showroom price of around 60k ..
Read the full post.

$100 in FREE Links

Shah Rhuk Khan’s Spanish fan

I always heard of SRK’s overseas fans, the most popular bollywood star overseas.
I founds some pics and videos of SRK on a blog by a Spanish author
Read the full post.

`

Pulsar 200 , how much does it cost ?

Here are the prices of Pulsar 200 in different cities

Bengaluru:
on road price:
74,714 Rs

Chennai:
On road price :
74,175 Rs


Hyderabad:
Ex-showroom:
63,935 Rs
On Road:

73,935 Rs

Mumbai:
On road price:
73,615 Rs


New Delhi:
Ex-showroom:
65,497 Rs
On road:
69,323 Rs

Prices in more cities and towns

http://bikeblues.blogspot.com/2007/05/pulsar-200-cost.html

Other posts related 2 pulsar 200:

Why only pulsar 200:

http://rahulsblogbeta.blogspot.com/2007/03/pulsar-200-my-new-bike.html

or

http://techblues.wordpress.com/2007/05/10/metal-fatigue/

Front fork breakage:

http://rahulsblogbeta.blogspot.com/2007/05/metal-fatigue.html

or

http://techblues.wordpress.com/2007/05/10/metal-fatigue/

pics of pulsar 200:

http://foto-blues.blogspot.com/2007/05/blog-post.html

Metal fatigue

The Pulsar 200 has been out there for sometime doing rounds, its time defects come out .

Here's a major problem with it,

Off-late the front forks of the pulsar 200 have been breaking, because of what the bajaj people call a major design defect/ metal fatigue issues











"We would like to have the Forks in hand before calling up a customer for a recall. We would not like to commit & then cut a sorry figue to you saying "Sir the Fork is yet to come in / todays stock is thro’ sir!"

These Forks would arrive on daily basis from the vendor & hence reducing the Space & logisitic issues at the Dealerships.

All vehciles replaced with new forks have to updated on the Server of BAL.

A vehicle sold by a dealer, not traced hence no retrofit done, then the dealer becomes answerable at very many fourms inside BAL. More specifically Probiking dealers have a Walk on the Knife edge. Any silly mistake, the Probiking teams pulls them up very very badly, these types, well it might cost them Probiking logo going off.

Please note that Replacement decisions can’t happen very soon. There are couple of other things to look into mainly the Law of the Land . Any way the Replacements are underway & would be completed in a few days.

At this point of time it would be premature to call Customers informing them about the Possible Failures. This would be pressing the Panic button in them. Pressing the Panic button + the arrival of the customer at the Workshop , Chaos etc causes even more Distress in them.

Banglore has about 400 P-2’s, now if all the 400 come into the workshops for the replacement. All customers want priority in their replacement. This would lead to chaos, thus leading to greater dissatisfaction. Practically we We can push ourselves to about 25~35 Replacements a day, Beyond that fatigue takes over & there could be some side effects too.

Don’t worry, BAL would help all those who have trusted them & bought this beautiful machine out of this possible Crisis. Hope its clear. --

Bye & have a Safe Ride
Venkat Shyam,

BV Auto Service

(M) +91 94480 40349

email: v.v.shyam@gmail. com


this letter was supposedly written by pro-biking dealer in Bangalore few weeks back.






Now, the probiking dealers are calling all the bikes for replacement.


I got the call from the probiking dealer for replacement of the front forks. If u didn't get a call contact Ur dealer immediately.


some say it is not safe to ride the bike before getting the forks replaced . I would rather say try not to apply disc as far as possible until replacement.

Other Topics of interest:
why only pulsar 200:
http://rahulsblogbeta.blogspot.com/2007/03/pulsar-200-my-new-bike.html

Pulsar 200 My New Bike

Ahhhhhhh , a bike at last.
And finally after all the struggle the bike is here a brand new pulsar 200.


Initial Choices I Had :

When I first short listed the names of the bikes , i had quite a many options.

1. Apache (TVS)
2. Gladiator 150 (Yamaha)
3. Pulsar 180 (Bajaj)
4. Pulsar 220 (Bajaj)
5. CBZ Xtreme (HH)
6. Karizma (HH)
7. And OFF COURSE PULSAR 200 (Bajaj)

Apache:

Actually I liked the red coloured Apache with the black mag wheels, but the bike is 2 short for me.

Gladiator 150:

Truly speaking , I never saw it ,some of my friends recommended it . I never really thought of buying an Yamaha, because I feel Yamaha India is on the verge of bankruptcy( most of the top officials left and also the sales hitting all time low).

Pulsar 180:

Believe me at some point in time i actually went to Babaj showroom to book one .It lacked the exclusiveness. Not that Pulsar 200 looks very different other pulsars but just that it has some unique features and bit different look unlike 180 which is just another pulsar 150 with a powerful engine.

Pulsar 220 :

As a matter of fact , Pulsar 220 wasn't much of a choice as it is yet to be released .

No one knows the release date , no not even the personal at the Bajaj Pro biking showroom.

It has some very good features . When released it will take on Hero Honda's karizma and hit its already affected sales very badly .

CBZ Xtreme (HH) :

Considering the fact that there so many crazy CBZ fans out there waiting , i had never expected such a dumb CBZ from HH . By dumb i mean the way it looks , the awful head light (indicators embedded in the dome) and tail light are a major turnoffs and also the back grab rails are bad and look like like horns projecting outwards.

But the engine is good. Even then who would care to buy an Ugly looking bike just for an good engine when one is getting a equally good engine and looks too(Pulsar 200).

Karizma (HH) :

The closest competition for pulsar 200 is from Zma. The newly released Karizma R has stunning looks with new black colour engine and changed graphics.

What Karizma lacks:
For the features like self-canceling Indicators that switch off when the turn has been completed and the handlebar comes to a ‘straight ahead’ position with a pre-set automatic switch off function, even if the turn has not been undertaken, auto switchover feature - which comes into play in case one of the two Headlamp filaments stops functioning, back lit, non-contact type, soft-touch handlebar switches digital speedo meter - which throws away the conventional cable, additional digital trip meter and indicators for air filter condition, engine temperature, battery voltage and oil level -all of which contribute to enhancing rider info for trouble-free riding and for a low maintenance battery with a unique venting valve - which drastically reduces the electrolyte loss and therefore reducing frequency of routine maintenance the new Karizma has no answers to Bajaj Pulsar 200cc.

also..............

Mileage :

Zma:

25-30 KMPL city riding conditions.

Pulsar 200:

I got a whooping 45 KMPL in city riding conditions .

Price:

Karizma will cost 83895 bugs on road in Hyderabad.

pulsar 200 will cost 73985 bucks.

a difference of almost 10000.

BHP :

ZMA 17 bhp .

pulsar 200's got 18 bhp in spite of karizma being 225cc.

The Special Features Of Pulsar 200:

Pulsar 200cc features India’s first oil cooled engine.

An all Stainless Steel silencer with a Aluminium muffler can for genuine sporty looks and long life.

A unique Battery Energy Conserving feature ensures a fixed delay after 3 continuous cranks.

It’s the first bike in India to feature both front and rear tubeless tyres, which besides offering superior stability are safer than conventional tube types and in sync with the offerings abroad for similar applications. The rear tyre is the broadest in its category to ensure better road grip and stability. Another first is the use of split seats in pulsar 200cc for styling and comfort.

Sleek, Twin row, Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs) for the tail and brake lamp ensures “Zero Maintenance”. and a long battery life.

Backlit, Non-Contact type, Soft-touch Handlebar Switches.

Self-canceling Indicators that switch off when the turn has been completed and the handlebar comes to a ‘straight ahead’ position with a pre-set automatic switch off function, even if the turn has not been undertaken.

Black paint theme carried over to the front fork legs, the rear shock absorbers, and the swing arm, in addition to the engine, for deadly looks.

High performance exposed ‘O’ ring Drive chain for running in dusty conditions, providing for clean uncluttered looks and commensurate with the bikes image.

More pros:

1. The riding position itself is very sporty.

2. The handle bar is lower than P180.

3. The foot pegs are kicked back.

4. The acceleration is really amazing, definitely a ZMA beater in terms of performance.

5. The vibes are lower than p180.

6. Exhaust note is better.

7. Cranking is smooth.

8. Low maintenance battery. Water level needs to be checked once in the year.

9. Spit seat is cool and does give some, actually very little, support. But the pillion seat needs to be unlocked from the battery compartment. But pillion will be very much comfortable.

10. Paint quality is really good and will last long.

11. The Headlight bulb and the pilot lamps are white.

12. The crash guard or the leg guard is smaller in height. It being black in color is not at all an eyesore. Though small but it will surely help if Bike falls.

13. Tubeless tires 90/90 at front 120/80 at back

14. Thick tank pad.

15. Huge air filter box. K&N should be an easy fit.

16. Bigger 260mm front disc

17. Embossed name and logo, similar to old karizma but not plastic, just thick sticker.

18. No chain cover.

19. No ugly footrest for saree wearing ladies.

20. Silencer is not black in color, silver color compliments the new design.

21. Better quality switches. similar to UG3, much better than the old ones.

Other links:

more pics of pulsar 200:

coming soon

prices in different cities:

http://rahulsblogbeta.blogspot.com/2007/05/pulsar-200-how-much-does-it-cost.html

Or

http://techblues.wordpress.com/2007/05/10/metal-fatigue/