गुलाबी कविता करायला वयाची अट नसते. पण योग्य वयात केलेल्या गुलाबी कवितेची लाली देखिल काही औरच असते .... ती करणारय़ा 'कवी'साठी! तर अशीच योग्य वयात सुचलेली ही एक गुलाबी कविता. आवडली तर प्रतिभा समजा, नाही आवडली तर वयाचा दोष समजा -
ना कळे कधी, तुझिया प्रति
हे भाव मधुर मनी दाटले
अस्वस्थ मी, अस्वस्थ ग,
हे काय मजला जाहले
दिसतेस तू, चाफे-कळी
की तारका, नभीची कुणी
स्मित-हास्य ते कवितेपरी
नक्षत्र धरी जणू उतरले
अस्वस्थ मी, अस्वस्थ ग,
हे काय मजला जाहले
सहवास तुझा, ग मृण्मयी
मिळण्या हे मन आतूरले
पुसण्या परि, धीर ना तरी
भय-रूपी राक्षस मातले
अस्वस्थ मी, अस्वस्थ ग,
हे काय मजला जाहले
नि मग एकदा, कळले मला
हृदयी तुझ्या वसतो कुणी
नैराश्य ते गगनापरी
मन:पटल व्यापुनी राहिले
अस्वस्थ मी, अस्वस्थ ग,
हे काय मजला जाहले
समजेल का मजला कधी
काय ईश्वरा तुझिया मनी
भेटेल का रे मज कधी
ती मानसी हृदयातली?
उत्तरे जरी प्रश्नांची या
मी शोधितो सगळीकडे,
प्रेषित का शापित मी, परि
ना समजले, ना उमगले
अस्वस्थ मी, अस्वस्थ ...
अरे हे काय मजला जाहले
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Movie Review - 3 Idiots
If you have seen Dil Chahta Hai and Rang De Basanti (which you should have, if you understand Hindi and appreciate even a bit of quality cinema), you are in for a dissapointment with this one.
When it comes to an Amir Khan movie, the expectations are always sky high. I guess, this weight of expectation might compare with what Sachin Tendulkar would have felt in the 90s when he would come in to bat. Due to Amir's past of Lagaan, Dil Chahta Hai, Rang De Basanti, Taare Zameen Par, it's but natural to expect 3 Idiots to be of the same calibre. Unfortunately, in my frank opinion, 3 Idiots doesnt fit in that same league. In fact, in comparison, it's quite bad.
Throughout the movie, Amir Khan's body language doesnt seem that natural; he looks rather concious of his appearance or his acting, than he should have while carrying off that character of a 20-something. And contrary to what people are saying, I felt Amir, at ~45yrs, didn't look a 20-something at all. He looked a bit too mature and reserved for his age and character.
Worn Out Jokes
3 Idiots being a movie about engineering college students, being based on the amazing 5-Point-Someone book, obvious expectations were a laughter riot with quality jokes. But even on that front, the film doesnt deliver much. There was no novelty in most of the jokes, as they were heard/read/seen before. Like, for example, the space pen or the induction motor startup and many other.
Way too Much Masala
The thing that surprised me most was the amount of masala scenes that defy logic and sensibilities in order to appeal to the mass public. This movie is full of such blatantly masala scenes. Something that people hardly expect from an Amir Khan movie. Time and again, you are reminded that you are watching a Hindi movie; like when Amir Khan drives the moped right into the hospital, or when baby is delived using a vaccum cleaner running on an inverter which in turn is running on car batteries or when the delivered baby doesnt cry but kicks on 'hearing' "all is well"!! Even a Mithun Chakravarty movie would have made more sense. Another thing I remember in the last scene, when the newborn baby doesnt cry for a long time, everybody thinks the baby is dead on delivery and then, this guy tells the mother to keep her hands on her heart and say 'all is well'!! I mean, there lies this lady whose newborn baby is supposedly not alive. Imagine the trauma she would have been going through. And in such a situation, how insensitive it is to tell her to say 'all is well'...?? What nonsense!!
Brownie Points
Though the overall impression of the movie is pretty bad, there are few scenes which are really hillarious. First scene that comes to mind is the chamatkar-balatkar-dhan-stan scene, which though seemingly little manipulated, generates huge laughter. Another would be one when both Rancho and director Virus throw the keys to director's office for fetching some instruments. Boman Irani, as usual, creates a masterpiece of character as Director Viru Sahastrabuddhe aka Virus.
Conclusion
All in all, I would say the movie is definitely a one-time-watch, but at the same time, dont expect too much from it. To reiterate, it's not in the league of DCH or RDB, as one would like to expect. This time, surprisingly, Amir slips on the high standard that he has set for himself.
Rating?? If I were a film critic, I would have given it 3 stars out of 5.
When it comes to an Amir Khan movie, the expectations are always sky high. I guess, this weight of expectation might compare with what Sachin Tendulkar would have felt in the 90s when he would come in to bat. Due to Amir's past of Lagaan, Dil Chahta Hai, Rang De Basanti, Taare Zameen Par, it's but natural to expect 3 Idiots to be of the same calibre. Unfortunately, in my frank opinion, 3 Idiots doesnt fit in that same league. In fact, in comparison, it's quite bad.
Throughout the movie, Amir Khan's body language doesnt seem that natural; he looks rather concious of his appearance or his acting, than he should have while carrying off that character of a 20-something. And contrary to what people are saying, I felt Amir, at ~45yrs, didn't look a 20-something at all. He looked a bit too mature and reserved for his age and character.
Worn Out Jokes
3 Idiots being a movie about engineering college students, being based on the amazing 5-Point-Someone book, obvious expectations were a laughter riot with quality jokes. But even on that front, the film doesnt deliver much. There was no novelty in most of the jokes, as they were heard/read/seen before. Like, for example, the space pen or the induction motor startup and many other.
Way too Much Masala
The thing that surprised me most was the amount of masala scenes that defy logic and sensibilities in order to appeal to the mass public. This movie is full of such blatantly masala scenes. Something that people hardly expect from an Amir Khan movie. Time and again, you are reminded that you are watching a Hindi movie; like when Amir Khan drives the moped right into the hospital, or when baby is delived using a vaccum cleaner running on an inverter which in turn is running on car batteries or when the delivered baby doesnt cry but kicks on 'hearing' "all is well"!! Even a Mithun Chakravarty movie would have made more sense. Another thing I remember in the last scene, when the newborn baby doesnt cry for a long time, everybody thinks the baby is dead on delivery and then, this guy tells the mother to keep her hands on her heart and say 'all is well'!! I mean, there lies this lady whose newborn baby is supposedly not alive. Imagine the trauma she would have been going through. And in such a situation, how insensitive it is to tell her to say 'all is well'...?? What nonsense!!
Brownie Points
Though the overall impression of the movie is pretty bad, there are few scenes which are really hillarious. First scene that comes to mind is the chamatkar-balatkar-dhan-stan scene, which though seemingly little manipulated, generates huge laughter. Another would be one when both Rancho and director Virus throw the keys to director's office for fetching some instruments. Boman Irani, as usual, creates a masterpiece of character as Director Viru Sahastrabuddhe aka Virus.
Conclusion
All in all, I would say the movie is definitely a one-time-watch, but at the same time, dont expect too much from it. To reiterate, it's not in the league of DCH or RDB, as one would like to expect. This time, surprisingly, Amir slips on the high standard that he has set for himself.
Rating?? If I were a film critic, I would have given it 3 stars out of 5.
Movie Review - James Cameron's Avatar
Actually it's quite a long time, almost couple of week, since I saw Avatar, but had quite a few opinions about it, which I very much felt like putting into a blog.
First things first. I saw Avatar in probably the best location in India - the IMAX Dome in Wadala, Mumbai. The screen there, was monstrous, in comparison with what I had seen till date - 3 to 4 times larger than normal screen I guess. We were almost in the first row. I dont know how it was from the back rows, but I actually felt myself in an advantageous position when the 3D promos of animation films started.
First time in my life, I experienced 3D. Before IMAX, I had a really horrendous experience in E-square Pune, with almost non-existent 3D for Ice Age 3. So this time, when I learnt that Avatar was being tipped as the best 3D film of the decade, I realised it was time to 'experience' 3D in the best location possible. IMAX dome has been touted as the biggest screen in Asia, and when you step in, you realise, that's not mere marketing. The screen is really huge.
The 3D promos themselves knocked us out, with the objects being thrown in our face, and we literally ducking under to avoid it hitting the face!! When you do that while watching a promo, with full knowledge of the virtualism involved, you know you are in for a treat with the main movie.
On that count, Avatar was mind-blowing. The experience was superb. The feel was awesome. The meeting places, the science labs they were all rendered 3D, and it felt like we were sitting right in the midst of it, and things were happening around us. We were blown away with respect to 3D and the highly detailed graphics. As has been said around the world, graphics in the film is amazing, with attention to tiniest of the details. It inspires awe. It was so good that, coupled with the 3D effects and the huge IMAX screen, we didnt realise that the film hardly had anything else to offer!!!
Poor storyline, bad acting, horrendous technial mistakes, all make the impressive graphics look excessive, in the hindsight. So much so, that you start wondering, if it's the same James Cameron who created Titanic. Also, few of the key concepts, are not novel either. The concept of donning an Avatar by connecting to the scientific cube, immediately reminds you of Matrix. The alien objects shown, bear so much resemblance with the humans and creatures on the earth that, you end up feeling like the Na'vi are living somewhere in the Amazons, untouched by humanity till date. The horses, the trees, the wild animals (resembling wolves and monkies), the social setup of the Na'vi all remind you of the similar things on Earth. So no novelty there either. Only the concepts of suspended mountains and Eiwa, with upload download of ages of knowledge, using their hair-connectors, seemed really cool and a very techie thing.
The abundant technical mistakes and logic defying, unbelievable scenes really dissapoint. Biggest one being - when Jack gets trapped in the jungle, alone, for the first time, what does he do to scare away wild animals? He uses a matchbox to light fire!! Now correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't pandora supposed to be an oxygen-deficient area? There are many such occasions, when you can't help but feel cheated(!).
Conclusion
Avatar is all about graphical effects and 3D. Don't expect too much from the storyline or try to apply logic. Hollywood class remains limited to graphics. It doesnt spill over into acting, story or even direction. To reiterate, given the poor storyline, bad acting, hasty screenplay and lack of conceptual novelty (which you come to expect with every movie dealing with aliens), the impressive graphical and 3D effects in the film, start looking excessive in the hindsight.
It's about 3D, so experience it in the best 3D location possible. I would definitely recommend IMAX Dome in Wadala, Mumbai.
If I were a film critic, I would not rate it more that 2 stars out of 5. And both stars exclusively for the graphics and 3D experience. Technorati Tags: avatar
First things first. I saw Avatar in probably the best location in India - the IMAX Dome in Wadala, Mumbai. The screen there, was monstrous, in comparison with what I had seen till date - 3 to 4 times larger than normal screen I guess. We were almost in the first row. I dont know how it was from the back rows, but I actually felt myself in an advantageous position when the 3D promos of animation films started.
First time in my life, I experienced 3D. Before IMAX, I had a really horrendous experience in E-square Pune, with almost non-existent 3D for Ice Age 3. So this time, when I learnt that Avatar was being tipped as the best 3D film of the decade, I realised it was time to 'experience' 3D in the best location possible. IMAX dome has been touted as the biggest screen in Asia, and when you step in, you realise, that's not mere marketing. The screen is really huge.
The 3D promos themselves knocked us out, with the objects being thrown in our face, and we literally ducking under to avoid it hitting the face!! When you do that while watching a promo, with full knowledge of the virtualism involved, you know you are in for a treat with the main movie.
On that count, Avatar was mind-blowing. The experience was superb. The feel was awesome. The meeting places, the science labs they were all rendered 3D, and it felt like we were sitting right in the midst of it, and things were happening around us. We were blown away with respect to 3D and the highly detailed graphics. As has been said around the world, graphics in the film is amazing, with attention to tiniest of the details. It inspires awe. It was so good that, coupled with the 3D effects and the huge IMAX screen, we didnt realise that the film hardly had anything else to offer!!!
Poor storyline, bad acting, horrendous technial mistakes, all make the impressive graphics look excessive, in the hindsight. So much so, that you start wondering, if it's the same James Cameron who created Titanic. Also, few of the key concepts, are not novel either. The concept of donning an Avatar by connecting to the scientific cube, immediately reminds you of Matrix. The alien objects shown, bear so much resemblance with the humans and creatures on the earth that, you end up feeling like the Na'vi are living somewhere in the Amazons, untouched by humanity till date. The horses, the trees, the wild animals (resembling wolves and monkies), the social setup of the Na'vi all remind you of the similar things on Earth. So no novelty there either. Only the concepts of suspended mountains and Eiwa, with upload download of ages of knowledge, using their hair-connectors, seemed really cool and a very techie thing.
The abundant technical mistakes and logic defying, unbelievable scenes really dissapoint. Biggest one being - when Jack gets trapped in the jungle, alone, for the first time, what does he do to scare away wild animals? He uses a matchbox to light fire!! Now correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't pandora supposed to be an oxygen-deficient area? There are many such occasions, when you can't help but feel cheated(!).
Conclusion
Avatar is all about graphical effects and 3D. Don't expect too much from the storyline or try to apply logic. Hollywood class remains limited to graphics. It doesnt spill over into acting, story or even direction. To reiterate, given the poor storyline, bad acting, hasty screenplay and lack of conceptual novelty (which you come to expect with every movie dealing with aliens), the impressive graphical and 3D effects in the film, start looking excessive in the hindsight.
It's about 3D, so experience it in the best 3D location possible. I would definitely recommend IMAX Dome in Wadala, Mumbai.
If I were a film critic, I would not rate it more that 2 stars out of 5. And both stars exclusively for the graphics and 3D experience. Technorati Tags: avatar
Thursday, December 17, 2009
माझा पहिला हिंदी शेर
ऑफिसमधल्या एका मित्राच लग्न ठरलं असं कळल्यानंतर त्याची खेचत असताना त्यानं एकदम विचारलं, "तुम्हारा क्या? कब कर रहे हो शादी-वादी? कोई गर्लफ्रेंड तो होगीही???"
त्यानं माझ्या मधे एवढा विश्वास(!) दाखविल्यावर सुचलेला हा शेर.
वाचण्याआधी चप्पल लांब बाजूला काढून ठेवलीत तर ती उचलून मारायची बुद्धी होणार नाही आणि तुमचाच मनस्ताप थोड़ा कमी होइल बाकी काही नाही. असो. नमनाला घडाभर तेल नको. मला सूचलेला तो शेर असा -
जालिम मुहोब्बत तो हमें सिर्फ सितारोंसे होती हैं
कंबख्त मुश्किलें भी देखो हमें कैसी कैसी आती हैं
सितारें जमीन पे कभी आ नहीं सकते
और जीतेजी हम आसमान में कभी जा नहीं सकते
वाह वाह वाह वाह ..... चप्पल बाजूला काढून ठेवल्याचा उपयोग झाला की नाही सांगा?
Updated (२ जानेवारी १०): शेर मधल्या शेवटच्या दोन ओळी बदलून शेर थोडा इफेक्टिव करायचा प्रयत्न केलाय.
त्यानं माझ्या मधे एवढा विश्वास(!) दाखविल्यावर सुचलेला हा शेर.
वाचण्याआधी चप्पल लांब बाजूला काढून ठेवलीत तर ती उचलून मारायची बुद्धी होणार नाही आणि तुमचाच मनस्ताप थोड़ा कमी होइल बाकी काही नाही. असो. नमनाला घडाभर तेल नको. मला सूचलेला तो शेर असा -
जालिम मुहोब्बत तो हमें सिर्फ सितारोंसे होती हैं
कंबख्त मुश्किलें भी देखो हमें कैसी कैसी आती हैं
सितारें जमीन पे कभी आ नहीं सकते
और जीतेजी हम आसमान में कभी जा नहीं सकते
वाह वाह वाह वाह ..... चप्पल बाजूला काढून ठेवल्याचा उपयोग झाला की नाही सांगा?
Updated (२ जानेवारी १०): शेर मधल्या शेवटच्या दोन ओळी बदलून शेर थोडा इफेक्टिव करायचा प्रयत्न केलाय.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
अबू आझमी आणि विधानसभेतील राड़ा
अलीकडंच महाराष्ट्राच्या विधानसभेत झालेल्या राड्यानंतर अबू आझमींनी ठरवलं की झालं तेवढं खूप झालं, आता यापुढे मराठीतच बोलायचं. राजला वावगं पोलिटीकल माइलेज मिळू द्यायचं नाही. आणि मग काय विचारता एक-दोन दिवसात त्यांनी मराठीचा जोरदार अभ्यास केला अणि विधानसभेत झालेला राड़ा चक्क 'रेशमाच्या रेघांनी' च्या सुरात म्हणून दाखवला.
तर तोच हा राडा, शब्दबद्ध केला आहे अबू आझमींनी -
शपथ घेत होतो मोठ्या गुर्मीत
रोवण्या हिंदीचा झेंडा, मराठी मातीत ... मातीत बाई मातीत ...
सोनेरी वंजाळेनं, चकाकत्या हातांनी
स्टेजवरचा माइकच उपसून काढीला
हात नका लावू माझ्या माइकला ...
हिंदीवरती माझी पोळी भाजण्यासाठी
गरज होती मला, मराठी झिडकारायची ... बाई बाई, झिडकारायची ...
हिंदीतच शपथ घेतली, अणि वर चप्पल दाखवली
कुवे-के-मेंडक का तोरा कैसे जीरवला
हात लावून दाखवा माझ्या बॉडी ला ...
नवीकोरी चप्पल, माझ्या आझमगडची
मुलायम ने दिली, राजला दाखवायसाठी ... बाई बाई, दाखवायसाठी
शिंद्यांच्या शिशिरानं, महाराष्ट्राचा नकाशा,
गालावर माझ्या की हो काढीला ...
हात नका लावू माझ्या गालाला ...
करायला गेलो, एक, झाले भलतेच
भर विधानसभेत झाली रस्सीखेच ... रस्सीखेच बाई रस्सीखेच
वाचवण्या जीव माझा, मीनाक्षीताई धावल्या
एका स्त्री च्या मागे आश्रय शोधीला
प्लिझ हात नका घालू माझ्या अब्रुला ...
तर तोच हा राडा, शब्दबद्ध केला आहे अबू आझमींनी -
शपथ घेत होतो मोठ्या गुर्मीत
रोवण्या हिंदीचा झेंडा, मराठी मातीत ... मातीत बाई मातीत ...
सोनेरी वंजाळेनं, चकाकत्या हातांनी
स्टेजवरचा माइकच उपसून काढीला
हात नका लावू माझ्या माइकला ...
हिंदीवरती माझी पोळी भाजण्यासाठी
गरज होती मला, मराठी झिडकारायची ... बाई बाई, झिडकारायची ...
हिंदीतच शपथ घेतली, अणि वर चप्पल दाखवली
कुवे-के-मेंडक का तोरा कैसे जीरवला
हात लावून दाखवा माझ्या बॉडी ला ...
नवीकोरी चप्पल, माझ्या आझमगडची
मुलायम ने दिली, राजला दाखवायसाठी ... बाई बाई, दाखवायसाठी
शिंद्यांच्या शिशिरानं, महाराष्ट्राचा नकाशा,
गालावर माझ्या की हो काढीला ...
हात नका लावू माझ्या गालाला ...
करायला गेलो, एक, झाले भलतेच
भर विधानसभेत झाली रस्सीखेच ... रस्सीखेच बाई रस्सीखेच
वाचवण्या जीव माझा, मीनाक्षीताई धावल्या
एका स्त्री च्या मागे आश्रय शोधीला
प्लिझ हात नका घालू माझ्या अब्रुला ...
Monday, September 21, 2009
Choosing Instant Messaging client for Windows Mobile
Since I have baught my HTC Touch Pro, it's awesome keyboard has opened up a lot of doors for me. Staying online 24x7 through GTalk has been one of them. It's very exciting to be online and accessible always. It helps you keep in touch with your friends. The choice for an appropriate IM client for Windows Mobile, is not a straight-forward one though. You have to first be clear about what to expect from such a client - whether it's chatting or voice calls or file sharing or something else. Then you can go on and select a client. Everyone of available free IM clients on WinMo, has it's own set of shortcomings; so it helps to have your priorities defined in advance.
Anayway, here I present a few (or rather most of the available) winmo IM clients, that I have used recently and the factors that set them apart from each other. I have listed pros and cons of each of them alongwith my personal rating.
I have used/tested these IM apps on my HTC Touch Pro running Windows Mobile 6.1. Though it's a shipped ROM and not a customized one, I have done some performance tweaking using Advanced Config Tool.
Palringo
Website: http://www.palringo.com/en/gb/
Download Link: http://www.palringo.com/en/gb/download/
License Type: Free
Supported Protocols:
MSN Messenger, AIM, Yahoo!, GTalk, ICQ, Jabber, iChat / MobileMe, QQ, Gadu-Gadu, Facebook Chat (Alpha)
Pros
Fring
Website: http://www.fring.com/default.asp
Download Link: http://www.fring.com/download/
Licence Type: Free
Supported Services:
Skype, MSN Messenger, GTalk, ICQ, SIP, Twitter, Yahoo!, AIM, Facebook
Pros
Nimbuzz
Website: http://www.nimbuzz.com/en/
Download Link: http://www.nimbuzz.com/en/mobile/download
Licence Type: Free
Supported Protocals:
Skype, MSN, Yahoo!, ICQ, AIM, GTalk and more
Pros
BeejiveIM
Website: http://www.beejive.com/
Download Link: http://www.beejive.com/download/winmo
Licence Type: Free (beta)
Supported Protocols:
AIM, iChat / MobileMe, MSN Messenger, Yahoo!, MySpace, GTalk, ICQ, Jabber
Pros
Octrotalk
Website: http://www.octro.com/
Download Link: No direct link, as you have to accept a EULA before the download.
Licence Type: Paid
Price: $29.95
Supported Services:
GTalk, Jabber, MSN Messenger, AIM, ICQ, Yahoo!
Description
This is one IM app that I used to use on my O2 XDA Orbit, sometime ago. It was in beta that time, and I pretty much liked the functionality it offered, with very good notifications support. Now the IM client app has become paid, and is priced at a steep $30 (keeping in mind the presence of free IM clients).
Features
Agile Messenger
Website: http://www.agilemobile.com/
Download Link: http://www.agilemobile.com/download.html
Licence Type: Paid
Price: $44.95
Supported Services:
MSN, Yahoo!, ICQ, AIM, GTalk
Description
While I found this IM client while searching on google, I didn't even give it a thought of testing, when I found out the ghastly price tag of $45!! And still no support for voice calls it seems. It only mentions voice messaging (which is not equivalent to voice calls).
Features
A few Others
Below are two more free winmo IM clients that I came across, but found the interface very bad and non-intuitive. I wouldn't like to use them in their current state, hence I haven't reviewed them. The links are included here just in case they turn out to be useful to somebody.
Talkonaut
Website: http://www.talkonaut.com/
Download link: http://www.talkonaut.com/download.shtml
Type: Free
Slick
Website: http://www.lonelycatgames.com/?app=slick
Download Link: http://www.lonelycatgames.com/?app=slick&page=download&platform=windowsmobile
Type: Free
Conclusion
I have tried to capture the plus points and annoyances of each of the IM clients I used. After sometime of use, I have found BeejiveIM to fit my bill, even though it doesnt offer file/photo sharing or voice calling. Everybody has their own needs and expects different features. I hope this comparison helps people find their desired IM client app.
I have tried to be as correct as possible. In case you find any of the above information wrong/mis-interpreted, please let me know; I will verify it and will update this blogpost accordingly.
Technorati Tags: touch pro, winmo, gadgets, instant messaging, IM, gtalkAnayway, here I present a few (or rather most of the available) winmo IM clients, that I have used recently and the factors that set them apart from each other. I have listed pros and cons of each of them alongwith my personal rating.
I have used/tested these IM apps on my HTC Touch Pro running Windows Mobile 6.1. Though it's a shipped ROM and not a customized one, I have done some performance tweaking using Advanced Config Tool.
Palringo
Website: http://www.palringo.com/en/gb/
Download Link: http://www.palringo.com/en/gb/download/
License Type: Free
Supported Protocols:
MSN Messenger, AIM, Yahoo!, GTalk, ICQ, Jabber, iChat / MobileMe, QQ, Gadu-Gadu, Facebook Chat (Alpha)
Pros
- Clean and simple interface
- Works in power and data save mode
- Location reporting in status (can be disabled if required)
- Requires registration with Palringo
- Weird notification - when an instant message arrives, there is sound played, and an icon is displayed in the start bar. but the pop up awkwardly contains two buttons - Open Palringo, Dismiss Message. Instead the message could directly have been reported in the pop up itself.
- After opening Palringo following an IM notification, the user is not led to the IM session itself, rather he has to click on Chat to open it. Not very intuitive.
- Gtalk voice-calling is not supported. only voice messages can be sent. Real time call is not allowed.
- The default sound notification for incoming IM, is very lame. If you want to change it, only a WAV file is supported. It turns out to be a nightmare to find an alert of choice in WAV format. WMA format would have been much nicer to have as all pre-installed windows alerts are in WMA format.
- If google or yahoo are the accounts you want to keep logged in, you will compulsory need to stay logged into the Palringo registered account. If you log out of Palringo, you logout of all other configured services. It means at least two IM services need to stay connected, which, I suspect, will result in higher data usage. It will also result in draining the battery.
- HTML links sent in IM are not clickable in chat window. You cannot copy them either. Very frustrating.
- Uninstallation is not clean. A link remains in startup, which keeps bugging you for missing Palringo executable, on each reboot. The registry entry is not cleaned up either. you have to do it yourself, which is not something that every end user will know how to.
Fring
Website: http://www.fring.com/default.asp
Download Link: http://www.fring.com/download/
Licence Type: Free
Supported Services:
Skype, MSN Messenger, GTalk, ICQ, SIP, Twitter, Yahoo!, AIM, Facebook
Pros
- Supports calling google talk contacts through VoIP
- Major: Fring appends its advertisements below every IM that u send. That's very bad in my opinion.
- There is no way to update ur status on fring. Fring 'hardcodes' it to something like 'Online through www.fring.com'. That's bad too.
- The interface is very amaturish and crude and contains a lot of annoyances. Hence not ideal for regular use, in my opinion.
Nimbuzz
Website: http://www.nimbuzz.com/en/
Download Link: http://www.nimbuzz.com/en/mobile/download
Licence Type: Free
Supported Protocals:
Skype, MSN, Yahoo!, ICQ, AIM, GTalk and more
Pros
- Has a good clean interface.
- Supports file/photo transfers.
- Supports VoIP chat with google contacts.
- Has an interesting Buzz feature. More details here.
- Major: DOESN'T HAVE NOTIFICATIONS!! You are notified only if the application is in the foreground! I totally fail to understand how come the designers/devlopers of Nimbuzz failed to understand the importance of proper notifications. It's like building a Ferrari and not putting in a dashboard inside - just the driving wheel. You can still drive using the driving wheel, but you cannot go and check the petrol every 10-20 mins. It's nasty.
- With Nimbuzz, if my Touch Pro's screen is turned off, there is absolutely no notification, neither audio nor visual. Both, IM pings as well as IM voice calls, are not communicated. Frankly speaking, this shortcoming makes this powerful app utterly useless. I cannot stress its importance more. notifications are must-haves not nice-to-haves.
- Major: Sometimes you may find that you are logged out without any reason. You never know for how long. It's very irritating.
- Requires account registration with Nimbuzz.
- HTML link is neither clickable nor the text is selectable in the chat windows.
BeejiveIM
Website: http://www.beejive.com/
Download Link: http://www.beejive.com/download/winmo
Licence Type: Free (beta)
Supported Protocols:
AIM, iChat / MobileMe, MSN Messenger, Yahoo!, MySpace, GTalk, ICQ, Jabber
Pros
- No account registration required.
- HTML links are clickable in chat window
- Status bar notifications and sound notifs are available for incoming pings and they are good.
- Clean interface
- Easy to set Status quickly
- Doesnt support voice calling
- Doesnt support file/photo sharing
- Leaks memory big time.
- Sometime it can go down and simply refuse to connect. Happened twice to me; out of which, once, I believe, was due to memory leak, and it started working after a soft reboot. The other occasion was this error. But I am back up now after few days of inactivity.
Octrotalk
Website: http://www.octro.com/
Download Link: No direct link, as you have to accept a EULA before the download.
Licence Type: Paid
Price: $29.95
Supported Services:
GTalk, Jabber, MSN Messenger, AIM, ICQ, Yahoo!
Description
This is one IM app that I used to use on my O2 XDA Orbit, sometime ago. It was in beta that time, and I pretty much liked the functionality it offered, with very good notifications support. Now the IM client app has become paid, and is priced at a steep $30 (keeping in mind the presence of free IM clients).
Features
- Supports majority of the protocols
- Supports VoIP calls
- Support file/photo transfer
- Claims to support video calling
- Clean and very minimalistic interface
- Encrypted IM messaging for Google Talk (using TLS/SSL)
Agile Messenger
Website: http://www.agilemobile.com/
Download Link: http://www.agilemobile.com/download.html
Licence Type: Paid
Price: $44.95
Supported Services:
MSN, Yahoo!, ICQ, AIM, GTalk
Description
While I found this IM client while searching on google, I didn't even give it a thought of testing, when I found out the ghastly price tag of $45!! And still no support for voice calls it seems. It only mentions voice messaging (which is not equivalent to voice calls).
Features
- Voice/Video messaging
- Photo transfer
A few Others
Below are two more free winmo IM clients that I came across, but found the interface very bad and non-intuitive. I wouldn't like to use them in their current state, hence I haven't reviewed them. The links are included here just in case they turn out to be useful to somebody.
Talkonaut
Website: http://www.talkonaut.com/
Download link: http://www.talkonaut.com/download.shtml
Type: Free
Slick
Website: http://www.lonelycatgames.com/?app=slick
Download Link: http://www.lonelycatgames.com/?app=slick&page=download&platform=windowsmobile
Type: Free
Conclusion
I have tried to capture the plus points and annoyances of each of the IM clients I used. After sometime of use, I have found BeejiveIM to fit my bill, even though it doesnt offer file/photo sharing or voice calling. Everybody has their own needs and expects different features. I hope this comparison helps people find their desired IM client app.
I have tried to be as correct as possible. In case you find any of the above information wrong/mis-interpreted, please let me know; I will verify it and will update this blogpost accordingly.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Connecting to Internet on Ubuntu using GPRS on HTC PDAs
I own an awesome O2 XDA Orbit (base model - HTC P3350) PDA which has kept me satisfied with its features for almost last 2 years. Coupled with a fantastic GPRS plan from Idea (with really good connection speeds, I admit), it was very easy for me to remain connected 24x7. When my laptop had Windows (OEM version that came with my Dell Vostro), the internet connection sharing feature on the PDA allowed me to use GPRS internet on my laptop whenever I visited Sangli. Windows used to automatically configure itself to use this GPRS internet (I didn't like it though, as these things were happening without me knowing any details).
Then came a day when I got frustrated enough with Windows, and destroyed windows (with all its partitions) once and for all, from my laptop, and installed 3-4 different linux flavours instead. That (golden) day was Sunday 8 March 2009.
Since then, I have never missed windows again, but for some exceptions like iTunes, which is just not available on windows (see my previous post about this - iTunes for Ubuntu) or configuring different networking interfaces (like autoconnecting to wireless networks). Connecting to GPRS internet connection provided by my PDA to Ubuntu, had been one such problem that I didn't have a clue about.
The solution, though, turned out to be pretty simple. There are two ways to share Internet Connection from a windows mobile 6 device, like my O2 XDA Orbit -
USB Connection (RNDIS)
What is needed is an RNDIS (Remove Network Device Interface Specification) driver on Ubuntu.
So get the sources of one such driver, build it and install the kernel module -
shreyas@ghatotkatch:~$ svn co https://synce.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/synce/trunk/usb-rndis-lite
shreyas@ghatotkatch:~$ cd usb-rndis-lite
shreyas@ghatotkatch:~/usb-rndis-lite$ make
shreyas@ghatotkatch:~/usb-rndis-lite$ sudo ./clean.sh
shreyas@ghatotkatch:~/usb-rndis-lite$ sudo make install
Then edit the network interface file -
shreyas@ghatotkatch:~/usb-rndis-lite$ sudo emacs /etc/network/interfaces
Add following entries to the interfaces file -
auto rndis0
iface rndis0 inet dhcp
Save the file and restart your network interfaces -
shreyas@ghatotkatch:~/usb-rndis-lite$ sudo /etc/init.d/networking stop
shreyas@ghatotkatch:~/usb-rndis-lite$ sudo /etc/init.d/networking start
That's it. Now on your WM6 PDA, select Start>Programs>Internet Connection Sharing.
I assume you have already configured GPRS on your PDA. So in the Internet Connection Sharing app, select USB as PC-Connection type, and click Connect. Now connect your PDA to the USB port.
The RNDIS connection should be automatically configured and the rndis0 interface should have got an IP address. To check this, run /sbin/ifconfig command, and verify the rndis0 interface.
Reference - http://forums.opensuse.org/1579065-post1.html
Bluetooth PAN
It has been my experience that Bluetooth PAN (Personal Area Network) slows down the internet connection a bit (as compared to connecting to USB) and also eats into the device battery.
Anyway, to configure a Bluetooth PAN on Hardy Heron (8.04), you need to install atleast following packages -
shreyas@ghatotkatch:~$ sudo apt-get install bluez bluez-compat
The network interfaces file will need to be edited -
shreyas@ghatotkatch:~$ sudo emacs /etc/network/interfaces
Add a new interface for our Bluetooth PAN -
auto benp0
iface benp0 inet dhcp
Then add the bnep module to the kernel. This module takes care of the Bluetooth PAN interface. By the way, BNEP stands for Bluetooth Network Encapsulation Protocol.
shreyas@ghatotkatch:~$ sudo modprobe bnep
Now select Bluetooth PAN as PC Connection type in internet connection sharing app on your PDA, and try to find the PDA from your laptop / PC -
shreyas@ghatotkatch:~$ hcitool scan
Scanning ...
00:17:E5:3F:BE:E8 hexaM!ner
Use the hex string to connect to the PAN network -
shreyas@ghatotkatch:~$ sudo pand --connect 00:17:E5:3F:BE:E8
That's it. You should be connected, and your bnep0 interface should have got a brand new IP address. You can verify it using /sbin/ifconfig.
Reference: This article on samiux.wordpress.com
Technorati Tags: gprs, internet connection sharing, ubuntu, bluetooth pan, rndis
Then came a day when I got frustrated enough with Windows, and destroyed windows (with all its partitions) once and for all, from my laptop, and installed 3-4 different linux flavours instead. That (golden) day was Sunday 8 March 2009.
Since then, I have never missed windows again, but for some exceptions like iTunes, which is just not available on windows (see my previous post about this - iTunes for Ubuntu) or configuring different networking interfaces (like autoconnecting to wireless networks). Connecting to GPRS internet connection provided by my PDA to Ubuntu, had been one such problem that I didn't have a clue about.
The solution, though, turned out to be pretty simple. There are two ways to share Internet Connection from a windows mobile 6 device, like my O2 XDA Orbit -
- USB
- Bluetooth PAN
USB Connection (RNDIS)
What is needed is an RNDIS (Remove Network Device Interface Specification) driver on Ubuntu.
So get the sources of one such driver, build it and install the kernel module -
shreyas@ghatotkatch:~$ svn co https://synce.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/synce/trunk/usb-rndis-lite
shreyas@ghatotkatch:~$ cd usb-rndis-lite
shreyas@ghatotkatch:~/usb-rndis-lite$ make
shreyas@ghatotkatch:~/usb-rndis-lite$ sudo ./clean.sh
shreyas@ghatotkatch:~/usb-rndis-lite$ sudo make install
Then edit the network interface file -
shreyas@ghatotkatch:~/usb-rndis-lite$ sudo emacs /etc/network/interfaces
Add following entries to the interfaces file -
auto rndis0
iface rndis0 inet dhcp
Save the file and restart your network interfaces -
shreyas@ghatotkatch:~/usb-rndis-lite$ sudo /etc/init.d/networking stop
shreyas@ghatotkatch:~/usb-rndis-lite$ sudo /etc/init.d/networking start
That's it. Now on your WM6 PDA, select Start>Programs>Internet Connection Sharing.
I assume you have already configured GPRS on your PDA. So in the Internet Connection Sharing app, select USB as PC-Connection type, and click Connect. Now connect your PDA to the USB port.
The RNDIS connection should be automatically configured and the rndis0 interface should have got an IP address. To check this, run /sbin/ifconfig command, and verify the rndis0 interface.
Reference - http://forums.opensuse.org/1579065-post1.html
Bluetooth PAN
It has been my experience that Bluetooth PAN (Personal Area Network) slows down the internet connection a bit (as compared to connecting to USB) and also eats into the device battery.
Anyway, to configure a Bluetooth PAN on Hardy Heron (8.04), you need to install atleast following packages -
shreyas@ghatotkatch:~$ sudo apt-get install bluez bluez-compat
The network interfaces file will need to be edited -
shreyas@ghatotkatch:~$ sudo emacs /etc/network/interfaces
Add a new interface for our Bluetooth PAN -
auto benp0
iface benp0 inet dhcp
Then add the bnep module to the kernel. This module takes care of the Bluetooth PAN interface. By the way, BNEP stands for Bluetooth Network Encapsulation Protocol.
shreyas@ghatotkatch:~$ sudo modprobe bnep
Now select Bluetooth PAN as PC Connection type in internet connection sharing app on your PDA, and try to find the PDA from your laptop / PC -
shreyas@ghatotkatch:~$ hcitool scan
Scanning ...
00:17:E5:3F:BE:E8 hexaM!ner
Use the hex string to connect to the PAN network -
shreyas@ghatotkatch:~$ sudo pand --connect 00:17:E5:3F:BE:E8
That's it. You should be connected, and your bnep0 interface should have got a brand new IP address. You can verify it using /sbin/ifconfig.
Reference: This article on samiux.wordpress.com
Technorati Tags: gprs, internet connection sharing, ubuntu, bluetooth pan, rndis
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