Jan 30

Changes in Paypal User agreement

Posted in exchange rate, government, internet, media

From https://www.paypal-apac.com/india/

In order to comply with the RBI Guidelines, our user agreement in India will be amended for the following services as follows:

1.Any balance in and all future payments into your PayPal account may not be used to buy goods or services and must be transferred to your bank account in India within 7 days from the receipt of confirmation from the buyer in respect of the goods or services; and

2.Export-related payments for goods and services into your PayPal account may not exceed US$500 per transaction.

Many online publishers / webmasters earn more than $500 from advertising from  a single source, so the ad network will either split the payments or use alternate payment methods.  As conditions change, you always find new methods.

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Jan 22

Field work, fact and fiction

Posted in cyberlaw, internet, media

This article on India’s knowledge bankruptcy

http://www.livemint.com/2011/01/21202028/India8217s-knowledge-bankru.html?d=1

summarises how little field work or practical experience are used by many “experts”. Even those working in “high -tech” areas will readily believe in hearsay and gossip which is not based of facts but often concocted by different individuals for personal gain.

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Dec 22

Top selling books in 2010 in India

Posted in internet, media

From

http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?269646

Through India has a large number of people with some knowledge of English, it appears that reading books is not very popular, since only 1 author in India sells about 1 million copies of his book in one year.

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Nov 23

Books, authors, online and offline publishers in India

Posted in internet, media, technical

As an online publisher ,  I have often wondered how the number of  visitors to my websites compare with best selling authors in India.

From http://business.in.com/printcontent/17642

An English book was considered a bestseller if it sold 10,000 copies. Five Point Someone and each of the other books he wrote sold a million.

I have been reading a lot of books in the last few months and books published offline are usually of  much better quality than most of the content online (especially if it is India specific).  An online publisher with a network of websites gets more than one lakh visitors a month , more than a million visitors a year,  but monetizing the websites can be difficult.  Profits depend both on your technical and writing skills.

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Nov 18

Secure phone communication

Posted in business, mobile, phone, technical

Last  Saturday, I was speaking to someone  and  was surprised at the poor quality of  communication network.  I could not hear  what he  was saying  for a major part of the conversation and  it  seemed that his voice was changing suddenly.  

 With the increasing computerisation  of phone technology, it appears that it is  easier to intercept, distort and spoof  phone conversations on both mobile and landline phones.

These notes on  Intercepting communications  are very educative.

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Nov 10

Book reading in India

Posted in business, internet

Unlike developed countries like USA, UK  and even other  countries like Russia , where millions of books are sold, reading books is not a popular activity in India.

From http://indiaedunews.net/In-Focus/April_2009/Book-reading_disappearing_in_India_-_Javed_Akhtar_7969/

“Do you know how books are selected in some of the homes in my city of Mumbai? They are chosen by interior decorators… by interior decorators! If you have brown-coloured furniture and carpet, you must have brown-coloured books,” the award-winning poet told sources.

Another article

http://expressbuzz.com/magazine/book-reading-a-dead-culture-in-india/65191.html

Reading books (and not just for exams) improves your knowledge and creativity and is important for innovation.   The quality of  India specific online content is quite poor and there is little incentive for  real experts to share their information online. Books may be expensive,  but they are worth spending money on.

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Nov 3

Privacy and power

Posted in cyberlaw, government, internet

The power of  the internet and  mobile communications has been overestimated for one reason – there is no privacy when you are online.   When you realise you are under surveillance,  you are willing to pay a price for privacy  – buy a book ” Schneier  on Security” costing Rs 1000+ though the same information is available for free online.

Links to 2 articles from the book

The Value of Privacy

Privacy and Power

the proverb  -  “Who watches the watchers?” is very relevant today, especially in the Indian context.

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Oct 30

Security concerns

Posted in business, cyberlaw, internet

If  you are trying to secure your computer and websites, it is very difficult to distinguish between hype and the truth and  choosing the wrong consultant/ expert/ software  could only aggravate your problems.

This website on  online security  has some interesting updates on security related news, companies and cybersecurity experts.

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Oct 6

Drivers for your computer/ notebook

Posted in internet, technical

If you purchase a desktop / laptop /netbook, without an  OS preinstalled,  finding suitable drivers can be very time consuming.

You can download the drivers you need using  the links posted at  Driverpool

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Sep 13

Declining credit card usage

Posted in business, internet

An RBI report  shows that  both the number of credit cards issued and credit card transactions is declining.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Credit-cards-out-debits-in/articleshow/6543407.cms

One of the reasons could be the poor customer support offered by certain banks issuing credit cards.

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