(S)painful Defeat

Spain managed to win the Euro 2008 Final against Germany.I've been supporting Germany for years,since World Cup 2002 in Korea and Japan to be precise.Germany's 2-0 loss against Brazil was a really sad one.I feel Brazil deserved to win that one.Euro 2004 and WC 2006 weren't too great except for the fact that Miroslav Klose won the golden boot in the latter.

I was expecting Germany to do it in 2008.But Torres Lahm and Lehmann took the match away from Germany.Here's an interesting question-Who was the person responsible for Spain's only goal?Torres definitely didn't deserve it.Lahm was substituted at half time perhaps because he was blamed by the team for poor defense.Though Lehmann is very old(the oldest finalist),his performance in rest of the match proved that he deserves to be in the team.

I feel that Lehmann is to be blamed as he should have waited for Torres' shot or let Lahm block the ball.The match was evenly poised for most of the time.It was just a moment that did it for Spain.

I hope Germany wins the FIFA World Cup 2010.

Performance Clicks

Pay per click advertising is a great way to give your online business a boost by driving traffic to your website.Not all ppc advertising networks are effective and work.Here's where Performance Clicks differs from rest of the networks.Performance Clicks is a ppc advertising network launched by Network Solutions.Obviously,it is meant for people who are serious about their online business.

According to a study 71% of consumers start their internet visit at a search engine.This means that the search engine sponsored links column is the best place to advertise.With Performance Clicks,you can get your ads on Google and Yahoo search result pages.This increases the number of clicks you get.

Performance Clicks plans are pretty reasonable.There are pre-packaged starter plans available at an affordable rate of just $125 per month.A fully managed custom plan costs a reasonable $400 per month.They provide detailed analysis and reports time to time.Your advertising campaign will be adjusted as necessary to maximize conversions.

Basically if you have a big online business or want to make your online business big,Performence clicks can help you for sure.I feel that their services are worth every penny you pay for them.Its an investment you shouldn't be afraid to make.

I'm Back

I'm back to Delhi after a week's stay in Jaipur.I wasn't really in sight seeing mood as I was relaxing at my paternal grandparents' place.I had a nice time with my cousins.Basically,I have nothing at all to share and don't even know why I'm writing this post.Now that I'm back,I'll be posting regularly on my blog.

EPayday Payday Loans

Everyone needs payday loans.If you think you don't,think carefully.What if some emergency arises a few days before the payday?I've seen many payday loan services but epayday is a service which is worth mentioning.They have some really nice online payday loan schemes.Payday loans from epayday are dignified loans and its nothing to be ashamed of.

The charges that have to be paid on the payday loan amount are very low.Payday loans are ideal if you wish to clear your debt before payday to avoid huge interest rates.So don't just wait for payday,get a payday loan to get instant cash.

This post is Sponsored By EPayday

Firefox Download Day

Its Tuesday 17th June 2008.Those of you who didn't mark this date on your calendar,let me remind you,its 'Firefox Download Day'.All you have to do is to Download Firefox 3 to help Firefox create a world record.Just head to this site for further details.

I hope Firefox manages to set a new world record.That's all I can write from my mobile after a long journey.

AIEEE Counseling Details Out

The counselling details for AIEEE 2008 are out.The online counseling starts on 23rd June.Ranks upto 470266 are eligible for counseling.Before counseling,you should check if you are eligible for central counseling by visiting the eligibility page.There's loads of stuff you need to read before the counseling.I can't mention all of it so you can check out the following links-

Click Here for Counselling Procedure

Click Here for Central Counseling Schedule

Click Here to Download Information Brochure about Counseling

Off to Jaipur

I'll be going to Jaipur to visit my relatives tomorrow,17th July 2008 which also happens to be Firefox Download Day.I'll return in about a week so don't be surprised if you see some badly formatted short posts as I'll be using my mobile phone for blogging.

I'm not sure how I'll manage to download Firefox as I'll be leaving early morning.Perhaps I'll ask my dad to do so.

VIT 2nd Phase Counseling

After the First Phase of counseling,there are a few vacant seats in VIT which claims to be India's top private engineering college.But from what I've heard from people elder to me,its a crappy place and the only thing good about it is its Prospectus which depicts it as a Paradise.Also the hostel food is cooked in Coconut Oil which is intolerable and you'll feel miserable if you get a room near the kitchen.

Anyways,if you are still keen to join VIT,I have news for you.VIT has announced the 2nd Phase of it counseling.The number of vacant seats are as follows-

BIOINFORMATICS-NIL

BIO-MEDICAL ENGINEERING-NIL

BIOTECHNOLOGY-NIL

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING-27

CIVIL ENGINEERING-47

COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING-NIL

ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING-NIL

ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING-94

ELECTRONICS AND INSTRUMENTATION ENGINEERING-60

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY-105

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING-85

MECHANICAL AND ENERGY ENGINEERING-36

If you wish to get one of these seats at VIT and your rank is under 8000,register for 2nd Phase of counseling via SMS.To get more information about the 2nd Phase of counseling,visit the following link-

VIT SECOND PHASE COUNSELING

AIEEE 2008 Counseling Postponed

The counseling schedule for AIEEE 2008 which was due to come out today has been postponed.The counseling details will be revealed soon.

While you wait for the central counseling board's decision,you can check your eligibility for Central Counseling.

Click Here to Check Eligibility for Central Counseling

On June 13th,a new admission criteria was released for admission to NITs.A 50% state quota will be implemented for the state in which the NIT is located.Rest of the seats will be filled according to All India Rank.

Download details of New Admission Criteria

AIEEE and BITSAT Cutoffs

Recently I've been receiving loads of queries about AIEEE ranks and BITSAT scores.It will take me hours to reply to all these queries if I visit each and every post and reply to the comments,all thanks to Blogger's commenting system.

If you wish to check your chances of getting admission to any of the NITs or IIITs etc.,you can check last year's opening rank and closing ranks by clicking here.The ranks will be more or less similar this year except for the fact that a few extra IIT seats can give people with ranks in the higher range some hope.

Here's a solution to your BITSAT queries.Last year's BITSAT cutoffs(I got these from Ankur's post)

BITS Pilani,Pilani Campus



BITS Pilani,Goa Campus



For Hyderabad Campus,don't expect the cutoffs to be low.The cutoffs for Pilani and Goa will definitely go up as this is the general trend.

Kubuntu 8.04 is DISASTROUS

At the end of my last post,I had mentioned about my plans to do a fresh install of Kubuntu.I did so and here's what I think.

A year ago,when I read this post on Ankur's blog,I thought Kubuntu can't be that BAD.When I tried Kubuntu 8.04,it was confirmed-"Kubuntu Sucks".

I installed Kubuntu 8.04 from the live CD and the setup was smooth as ever and took about 20 minutes as usual.I booted up Kubuntu to hear a very simple default KDE startup tone as opposed to the cool Ubuntu Afrikaans tone.The wallpaper was the default KDE wallpaper.I quickly configured my network as I had dhcp enabled on my modem.I don't like using Konqueror as a web browser and thus decided to download Firefox.Here's where the problem started.The package manager refused to start.

Its always a nice idea to apt-get stuff,so I did that for firefox.
IP:To install a package named xxxx,open the Terminal/Console and type-

sudo apt-get install xxxx

Next up were the 'Restricted Packages' and the codecs.I restarted my computer hoping that the package manager might open but it failed to open again.

Kubuntu is just KDE in its native state and nothing else.It has no touch of Ubuntu at all.Even a pocket distro like Slax has a customized wallpaper and look.Here's a tip for Kubuntu users-

Order an Ubuntu CD and get rid of Kubuntu.

I'm sticking to Ubuntu as I don't use sticky keys and use the buggy parts of it rarely.

640 MB RAM

Refer to my post-384-256+512=640 before reading this one.My RAM finally reached Delhi on 6th June at my cousin's house which is about a kilometer away from my house.I went to my cousin's house at 10:00am to get the RAM as I was eager to try it out.

When I reached there,I found out that my cousin brother aged 8 had got a CD of The SIMS 2 and wanted me to tech him/to see me play the game.It is notable that the ESRB rating of the game was 'Teen' but in India,people don't care!Back to the RAM story,I had to play SIMS 2 for a few hours and I must say

It was fun

I managed to reach home at 6pm to find my elder sister working on the computer.I knew I would have to wait for her to complete her work.Which meant a few more hours to wait.That was the case.

Finally, I managed to open up my cabinet and insert the RAM module at 9:00pm.I tried booting up and it worked.As expected,my computer performs faster now.

I have lots of stuff to do.Since my Ubuntu upgrade didn't work out well,I'll try a fresh install.Ankur told me that Ubuntu 8.04 is a bit buggy even with a fresh install.Perhaps I'll try Kubuntu if this is true as now I have enough RAM to run KDE properly.I'll tell you more about it when I do so.

Euro 2008 Promotion - bet365 Poker

Have a look at this press release,it requires no explanation-

The 2008 poker championships at bet365 - your country needs you!

Now is the time to stand up and be counted, as this June bet365 are looking to discover the number one poker playing nation with their 2008 Poker Championship. During the championship they'll be giving away more than $50,000, with the chance to receive DOUBLE prize money if your country tops the table, this is one event you don't want to miss.

So if your football team doesn't win at Euro 2008, you can help ensure that they do at poker!

The 2008 Poker Championships is made up of three pulsating Races. Players from all countries are registered automatically to compete for the individual prizes in all three Races. However, if you are to gain access to the maximum rewards, you must contribute to your country’s success. Guide your country to a top two finish in the Group Qualifying stage; then battle it out with the other qualifiers in the Super League. Players from the top four countries in the final table will earn a Prize Money Multiplier on their individual Super League winnings.

You can find more information about the 2008 Poker Championships on the bet365 website.

During June, the poker room at bet365 also has the European Championships of Online Poker (ECOOP) II running with a guaranteed prize pool of $3,500,000 plus the FREECOOP (entry into the ECOOP II for nothing). The WSOP Last Man Standing promotion is still running, as well as many other chances to qualify for the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.

So if you like variety and value in your poker game then bet365 is the place to be this June.

About bet365

bet365 are one of the world's leading online gambling groups with over 1.5 million customers in 140 different countries. The Group employs over 700 people and is the UK's 32nd largest private company. The company's casino, games and poker operations are licensed and regulated by the government of Gibraltar.

bet365 poker are part of the iPoker network; who are leading way for online poker in Europe. bet365 takes responsible gambling very seriously and customers are provided with a range of options to assist them to gamble responsibly.

http://www.gambleaware.co.uk

Sponsored By bet365 Poker

Canadian Crash Prix

The 2008 Canadian Grand Prix was an incident filled race.Just 13 out of 20 drivers managed to finish the race.Robert Kubica and BMW won their first Grand Prix.Here's what Robert Kubica managed to do last time he was in Canada-



Last time around,he left the circuit on a stretcher,with broken legs.This time,he managed to leave with a trophy and the taste of Champagne in his mouth.Wondering what happened to Hamilton and Raikkonen?Read on..

This race also raised a question on the rule which says that the pit lane exit is to be closed during the first lap behind the Safety Car.This what Hamilton managed to do in the pits while driving within the pit lane speed limit of 100km/h-



One silly rule ruined the race for 2 top drivers.Hamilton has himself to blame but what about Raikkonen?I feel that this rule is silly and should be scrapped off at least for circuits like Montreal and Magny Cours which don't have wide and long pit lanes.

SocialSpark Review

SocialSpark is a new service launched by IZEA.I've used SocialSpark and all I can say is that it is the best paid to blog service till date.The code of ethics of SocialSpark make it the best advertising network.It is a perfect mixture of social networking and blog advertising.Most importantly,all links are "nofollow" links which means that Google has no problem if you use SocialSpark

You can also check out my blogger profile on SocialSpark to have an idea of what SocialSpark profiles look like.Here's a summary of my SocialSpark experience.

Things I like about SocialSpark
-All SocialSpark links are nofollow links.
-It is based on IZEA ranks which are based on real traffic.
-Timely payouts.

Things that need Improvement
-The format of Sponsorships needs to be improved.
-The queuing system for opportunities should mention the position in the queue.
-The minimum payout of $20 should be lowered.

There are some features in SocialSpark that need improvement as I've mentioned before.But we need to consider the fact that SocialSpark is just a few months old and will eventually improve as it grows.Thus I stick to my point that SocialSpark is the best advertising network.

Sponsored By SocialSpark

Using multiple Desktop Environments in Ubuntu

Various Linux distributions use different desktop environments.Ubuntu uses GNOME which is a lightweight environment that has moderately high system requirements.Other versions of Ubuntu called Kubuntu and Xubuntu use KDE(K Desktop Environment) and Xfce respectively.KDE is a bit on the high system requirements side but definitely not higher than Vista's requirements.It is around 180MB in size.Xfce is a lightweight desktop environment which amazingly has lots of features but is just 10MB in size.

In order to use both GNOME and KDE on your Ubuntu installation,all you need to do is to install the package kubuntu-desktop and all the packages that come with it.To do that,just run

sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop

You can also select to install the package 'kubuntu-desktop' from the Synaptic Package Manager located in the Administration sub-menu in the System Menu.

In case you wish to try out Xfce,you can also install the package 'xubuntu-desktop' by the same procedure mentioned above.

After doing that,you have multiple desktop environments.The next time you log in,click on change session and select GNOME,KDE or Xfce according to your choice and use the desktop environment you want to use.If you encounter any problems,refer to the Linux section of my blog for help.

Alien v Predator:Requiem

I have been eagerly waiting for the DVD release of the movie-Alien v Predator : Requiem.If you are also in the same boat as I am,I have some good news for you.The DVD has been released in UK on 12th May.If you live in UK,you wait is finally over.For others,I advice you to check the local listings.Have a look at this video if you don't know what's in store for you.




The DVD is full of extras and has scenes which nobody could see at cinema halls.So don't just sit there and read this post,go buy yourself a DVD and enjoy the movie.

Sponsored By The 7th Chamber

Blogger vs Wordpress.com

When I started blogging,I didn't know about Wordpress and created my blog on Blogger.Ankur suggested me to try out wordpress as it is undoubtedly a better blogging platform.I rejected wordpress at that time for reasons I don't remember.After more than 1 year of taking this decision,I'm proud of it.Although Wordpress is great,WP.com has some restrictions which are a big problem for me at least.Here's a short description of these limitations-

Using your own domain
Blogger allows you to use your own domain for your blog free of cost.This is perfect for people like me,who don't intend to buy hosting for some time.On the other hand,wordpress offers this service as an upgrade and charges a monthly fee for it.Basically,unless or until you can afford/get your own hosting and use WP on it,forget about your own domain.There's no point paying wordpress more than your domain registrar as you will still be subject to other restrictions.

AdSense
The Wordpress policies don't allow a blog hosted on wordpress to have AdSense ads on it,I've even heard of cases where blogs have been banned/locked if they use AdSense.Blogger has no restrictions on advertising(for obvious reasons).

Paid Posts
Wordpress doesn't allow you to do sponsored posts on your blog to earn from it.The point is that when you create a blog on wordpress,the next step is getting your own hosting and shift to it.How on earth are you going to get the money to do that if you can't do paid posts?If you have a blogger blog, you can earn form AdSense and paid posts and get a domain to increase your paid post payout.Later,you can even get your own hosting and shift to wordpress.org,the best blogging platform possible.

WP.org is definitely better than Blogger but if I talk about free blogging platforms,I feel that Blogger is a better choice than Wordpress for those who wish to go further than a free hosted blog on a sub-domain(not that I look down upon such blogs).