Typing in Indian Languages inside Gmail

Official Gmail Blog: Typing in Indian Languages
Gmail now support sending mails in Indian Languages. The Gmail official blog now states that you can now type in English and Google will typhonically translate it to the indian language.

Check it out.

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FREE ATM Cash Withdrawal from April 1, 2009

Notification from RBI

Customer charges for use of ATMs for cash withdrawal and balance enquiry

RBI/2007-2008/260 DPSS No.1405 / 02.10.02 / 2007-2008 March 10, 2008 The Chairman / Chief Executive Officer (All Scheduled commercial banks including RRBs) Dear Sir Customer charges for use of ATMs for cash withdrawal and balance enquiry 1. Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) have gained prominence as a delivery channel for banking transactions in India. Banks have been deploying ATMs to increase their reach. While ATMs facilitate a variety of banking transactions for customers, their main utility has been for cash withdrawal and balance enquiry. As at the end of December 2007, the number of ATMs deployed in India was 32,342. Commensurate with the branch network, larger banks have deployed more ATMs. Most banks prefer to deploy ATMs at locations where they have a large customer base or expect considerable use. To increase the usage of ATMs as a delivery channel, banks have also entered into bilateral or multilateral arrangements with other banks to have inter-bank ATM networks. 2. It is evident that the charges levied on the customers vary from bank to bank and also vary according to the ATM network that is used for the transaction. Consequently, a customer is not aware, before hand, of the charges that will be levied for a particular ATM transaction, while using an ATM of another bank. This generally discourages the customer from using the ATMs of other banks. It is, therefore, essential to ensure greater transparency. 3. International experience indicates that in countries such as UK, Germany and France, bank customers have access to all ATMs in the country, free of charge except when cash is withdrawn from white label ATMs or from ATMs managed by non-bank entities. There is also a move, internationally, to regulate the fee structure by the regulator from the public policy angle. The ideal situation is that a customer should be able to access any ATM installed in the country free of charge through an equitable cooperative initiative by banks. 4. In view of this, RBI had placed on its website an Approach paper and sought public comments. The comments received have been analysed. Based on the feed back a framework of service charges would be implemented by all banks as under:   Sr.No. Service Charges (i) For use of own ATMs for any purpose Free (with immediate effect) (2) For use of other bank ATMs for balance enquiries Free (with immediate effect) (3) For use of other bank ATMs for cash withdrawals No bank shall increase the charges prevailing as on December 23, 2007 (i.e. the date of release of Approach Paper on RBI website) Banks which are charging more than Rs.20 per transaction shall reduce the charges to a maximum of Rs.20 per transaction by March 31, 2008 Free - with effect from April 1, 2009. 5. For the services at (1) and (2) above, the customer will not be levied any charge under any other head and the service will be totally free. 6. For the service number (3) the charge of Rs.20/- indicated will be all inclusive and no other charges will be levied to the customers under any other head irrespective of the amount of withdrawal. 7. The service charges for the following types of cash withdrawal transactions may be determined by the banks themselves: (a) cash withdrawal with the use of credit cards (b) Cash withdrawal in an ATM located abroad.

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FREE online drive right on your desktop

Use your existing web applications right from your desktop.

1. Google Docs
   
2. Picasa Web Albums
   
3. Zoho Drive
   
4. Microsoft SkyDrive
   

All these appear as a drive in your Explorer , and you can decide what to show and what to hide. Try it out.

http://www.gladinet.com/

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False claims on Victory – Lottery SMS from UK

"Unsolicited fraudulent SMS's are being sent to various subscribers informing them that they have won a prize and need to call an international number to collect their prize. When calls are made to the number in the text message the subscribers are billed a high amount (up to Rs 500 per minute).Subscribers are cautioned not to respond to such SMS's"

This message has been published in the Airtel's official website www.airtel.in .

I have received quite a few SMS saying that I have won a prize with an UK number. Just that we never tried to call them back.

 

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Consolidate your Mailboxes

Be it Yahoo! Mail, Google Mail, Hotmail. AOL, even Rediff and Indiatimes, this website lets you aggregate all your mails in one place to view. It can also send you a new mail notification to one email address (say your official mail ID) at the time you set.

Very useful for people who use multiple emails and also for people who don’t even remember most of their email ids.

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Now its Hotmail’s time to go down

After the GMail incident, now its hotmail’s turn. The software giant’s mail server went down and they are yet to recover it.

Very sweet, they are kind enough to inform that the problem is not with my computer, but with their servers.

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Get Blood Donors through SMS - Airtel initiative

Now it has become easier to get the needed blood.

Just Type:
BLOOD and send SMS to 96000 97000

Ex: BLOOD B+

A Blood donor will call you!!

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Play Strategy game online – Nile Online

If you have played any of the city building games, you are sure to be bowled over by this “browser” game.

I am a very big fan of Sierra’s Pharaoh. I stumbled up on this website a few days back just to see that this has been in existence for a long long time.

The game is very interesting, as its more of city building and trading than wars. I personally was not very impressed with Travian (www.travian.com), as it was more war based, and when you start, the player who has been there next to you, would just loot you with his large army and you will be left to start from first.

Immortal Cities: Nile Online is a free to play persistent browser-based empire and city building game set in ancient Egypt. Play with thousands of other players as you construct cities and monuments worthy of your legacy as Pharaoh! Nile Online is casually paced; it's something you can play throughout the day, minutes at a time.

The game is free to play and there is nothing to download or install - within seconds you're commanding, tweaking and growing your empire from anywhere that you have access to the internet.

Supported browsers: Firefox, Opera, Internet Explorer 7+, Safari, Chrome
Recommended: Firefox 3, Chrome

http://www.playnileonline.com/

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PUFFED RICE UPPUMA (PORI UPPUMA)

PUFFED RICE UPPUMA (PORI UPPUMA)

We were used to snacking in the evenings and every evening Amma used to rustle up some tiffin for us, but sometimes we used to get bored with the usual fare and then amma used to make Pori (Click on the link to know more about Pori ) Uppuma for us, which is not only nutritious but tasty and kids love the softness and guess what a lot of vegetables used to go in along with it. I kind of forgot about this dish, but, one day after I was married and moved into Singapore, while I was pondering over what to make for nashta (evening snack or tiffin as it is called), I remembered the Pori Uppuma, so I made it. I served it to my husband(who happens to be a Maharashtrian, by the way) with a dash of lime and he told me they make it too and it’s called “Sushila” I kind of felt weird about the name, sounds like the name of a girl….Its called Pori Uppuma down south….what the heck, call the dish by any name it still tastes the same, there is some variation from one state to another, but I still call it my Amma’s signature dish. So here’s a low fat and nutritious dish that you can rustle up for your loved ones.

Ingredients

Puffed Rice(Pori/ Kurmura) - 400 gms (2 Packets)

Peanuts – 2-3 tbsps

Onion-1(finely chopped)

Potato – 1 (peeled and chopped into cubes)

Tomato – 1 (chopped into cubes)

Green Chillies-2 -3

Grated ginger – 2 tsps

Mustard Seeds -1 tbsp

Bengal gram (Chana dal) l-1 tbsp

Turmeric powder – 1 tsp

Asafetida – a pinch

Salt as per taste

Oil – 2 tbsps

Curry leaves – A sprig

Coriander leaves for garnish

Lemon – ½ a lemon

Method

In a wok, heat 2 tbsps of oil, Fry the peanuts until u see them cracking and slightly brown, keep aside. In the same oil put in the mustard seeds and chana dal and when the mustard seeds start to splutter, add in the green chillies, ginger paste and curry leaves and fry for a minute. Now add Onion and fry until transparent, then add in the tomatoes and potatoes, add salt as per taste, turmeric and a pinch of asafetida. Add in the fried peanuts.

Wash the puffed rice (pori) in a colander and soak for about 5 minutes, you can do this while the vegetables are getting cooked. Once, the potatoes are soft and cooked. Add in the soaked puffed rice. Mix well and cook covered for 5 minutes, then switch off the flame and keep it covered for another 5 minutes. Squeeze lime, mix well and serve hot.

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Know the rules; otherwise Traffic Police will fool you

Motor Vehicle Act, 19(8)  No. MVA-0593/1708/CR-29/TRA-2.- In exercise of the powers conferred by section 200 of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988(59 of 1988) and of all other powers enabling it in this behalf and in suppression of all notifications issued in this behalf, the government of Maharashtra hereby specifies the Officers of the rank of Sub -Inspector of Police in the police dept. (Traffic) and the Inspector of the Motor Vehicles Department, to be the Officers by whom any offense under the section specified in column (3) of the scheduled hereto may either before or after the institution of the     

Prosecution, be compounded for the amount specified in column (4) of the said schedule.                                                            

 

Sr.No	Description of Offences	Motor Vehicle Act Sections	Compounding Fee (In Rs)
	.
1	Parking in 'No Parking' Zone.	MVA - 119/177	100
2	Parking at a corner/turning.	MVA - 119/177	100
3	Double Parking of Vehicle.	MVA - 119/177	100
4	Vehicle entering in a 'No Entry' Zone.	MVA - 119/177	100
5	No 'U' Turn.	MVA - 119/177	100
6	Obstruction to other vehicle or Pedestrians.	MVA- 122/177	100
7	Driving on the wrong side.	MVA- 119/177	100
8	Overtaking a vehicle from left side	MVA-119/177	100
9	Disobeying traffic signs or  signals.	MVA-119/177	100
10	Carrying passenger on footboard.	MVA-123/177	100
11	License not in possession.	MVA-130/177	100
12	Owner not giving information about his / her driving License.	MVA- 133/77	100
13	Using unsafe vehicle.	MVA- 190(1)/177	100
14	Driving under influence of Alcohol.	MVA- 185(1)	Non Compoundable
15	Driving two wheeler without a Helmet	MVA- 129/177	100
16	Carrying passengers on Bonnet/Cabin/running Board.	MVA- 123(2)/177	100
17	Driving without License.	MVA- 3(1)/181	300
18	Giving vehicle to a person who has no driving license.	MVA- 5/180	300
19	Rash Driving.	MVA- 184	500
20	Underage person (below 18 Yrs of age) driving geared vehicle.	MVA- 4(1)/181	300
21	Underage person (below 16 Yrs of age) driving non- geared vehicle.	MVA- 4(1)/181	300
22	Speeding or Lane cutting.	MVA- 112/183	200
23	Driving or giving out for use uninsured vehicle.	MVA- 146/196	300
24	Triple seat driving.	MVA-128	100
25	Driving or giving out for use non registered vehicle.	MVA- 39/192	1000
26	Unauthorized transport of passengers or goods without valid permit	MVA- 66(1)/192	Non Compoundable
27	Ignoring Traffic Officer's Signal.	MVA- 132(1)a/179	200
28	Parking Rickshaw/Taxi not in an Authorized Rickshaw Stand.	MMVR-21(5)/177	50
29	Demanding excess Auto / Taxi meter charges.	MMVR- 21(12)/177	50
30	Auto or Taxi driver refusing to carry passenger(s) to nearby destination.	MMVR- 22(d)/177	50
31	Demanding Auto / Taxi fare beyond the Meter Charges applicable.	MMVR-21(d)/177	50
32	Dazzling/Glaring Light.	MMVR- 235/177	100
33	Illegal/Fancy Number Plate.	MMVR- 235(2)/177	100
34	Parking On Footpath.	MMVR- 237(1)/177	100
35	Auto / Taxi driver deliberately not taking the shortest route to a passenger's destination.	MMVR- 21(8)/177	50
36	Auto / Taxi drivers soliciting passengers.	MMVR-21(13)/177	50
37	Auto / Taxi driver smoking while driving	MMVR- 21(16)/177	50
38	Auto / Taxi driver not in uniform while driving.	MMVR- 31(1)/177	50
39	Carrying persons or articles causing obstruction to the driver's seat.	MMVR- 23(1)/177	50
40	Blowing horn in a Silence Zone.	MMVR- 231/177	100
41	Driving Auto/Taxi without valid badge.	MMVR- 24(2)/177	50
42	Carrying Goods of more than 12 feet in height.	MMVR- 229/177	100

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