Things I KNOW

Final Date for Filing of Annual Income Tax Returns

noreply@blogger.com (Zaheer Iqbal Naru) — Thu, 02 Nov 2017 05:46:00 +0000

FBR extends last date for filing annual income tax returns up to Nov 15, 2017.

FBR has again extended last date for filing annual income tax returns up to Nov 30, 2017.

Tornados in Pakistan

noreply@blogger.com (Zaheer Iqbal Naru) — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 06:19:00 +0000

We have heard of this freak weather phenomenon happening in US alone. However, news about BAGULAS (Dust Devils) hitting places around Lahore, Sheikhupura Districts would still be in the memories of some who observe. Some people relating it to the wrath of JINS off course. A few Video clips available on the YouTube covering the twisters of Sialkot District are as under. I happen to be a native of Sialkot District and have seen a tornado formation near Daska on the Sialkot Gujranwala Road in the 90s'. But fortunately that thing never touched down.

Cellular Services Suspended in certain cities of Pakistan owing to Security Threats on the eve of Eid 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Zaheer Iqbal Naru) — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 18:15:00 +0000

Cellular and data services were blocked in some parts of the country, including major cities of Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, Quetta and Multan,
A letter issued to Pakistan Telecommunication Authority by the Ministry of Interior, directed cellular service providers to block services from 12:00 am tonight to Monday 11:00am. However, the service providers i.e., Mobilink, Warid, Telenor, Ufone and Zong started to shut down as early as 20:00 hrs, Sunday.
Earlier during this week, Cellular Service Providers in Pakistan had been told by the Ministry of Interior that they may be asked to immediately stop services in certain areas of the country between August 19 to August 20.According to a letter issued by the ministry’s National Crisis Management Cell to the CEOs of the companies, the authority aimed to cut off communication capabilities of miscreants and terrorists to foil their plans. It seems that the government must have smelled something fishy communication in the form of voice or digital data going on these networks.
Lets see if PTCLs' Network can handle the voice traffic which will now be diverted towards this old dog which has considerable stakes of government in the form of shares.
On the other hand I wonder what would happen if the terrorists now opt for the landlines or Satellite Phones in total dismay and disappointment.
The historical unofficial data collected from cellular companies depicts that during moon sighting and late past mid-night around 300 million SMSs' were usually expected at Mobilink system followed by around 250 million with Ufone, 200 million Telenor, 150 million Warid and 100 million with Zong, the youngest cellular company in the country.
Bottom line is that these companies were expecting an exchange of more than one billion SMSs' during the Eid day and the following day too.

Removing SHORTCUT Virus from USB Flash Drives

noreply@blogger.com (Zaheer Iqbal Naru) — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 16:18:00 +0000

just right the following in your command prompt window
attrib -h -r -s /s /d F:\*.*
and then press Enter
(remember substituting 'F' for the Drive Letter of your Flash Drive)
this may take a while but wait for the process to complete and then Explore your Flash Drive. the folders must have now been restored to their original state and will be accessible as ever before.
don't forget to manually delete those annoying redundant shortcuts from your Flash Drive.
and that's it!

Suzuki ALTO, crossing the LOWARI TUNNEL (10,500 ft above sea level)

noreply@blogger.com (Zaheer Iqbal Naru) — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 15:48:00 +0000

A Pakistani successfully crossed Lowari Tunnel in Suzuki Alto, the peoples car of Pakistan. This tunnel is situated at an elevation of 10500 feet. While watching this video one can remember Top Gear;Bolivia Special in which the three stooges tried to traverse a road at an elevation of 17000 feet probably.

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The Youngest MCP of Pakistan, Arfa Karim Randhawa

noreply@blogger.com (Zaheer Iqbal Naru) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:38:00 +0000

a child, who achieved so much in such a younger age has passed away.
CNET pays its tribute
Hifftington Posts Version
GeekWire Narrates

Free Laptops for Punjab Youth

noreply@blogger.com (Zaheer Iqbal Naru) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 12:14:00 +0000

upto 100K students of Punjab will be getting free Laptops at the expense of the government. i wonder do we all need Laptops? or should the amount be invested on some other educational gimmick?
although, getting a Laptop is one of the dreams of every student i believe, but life remains almost the same after getting this gadget.
moreover, what would be the specs of these machine?
Further information including lists of eligible candidates can be found at;
Free Laptops by Punjab Government
Punjab IT Labs Project
Specifications of laptop Computers as advertised on the website of Punjab IT Labs Project are as under;

The Bid Document which stipulates these specifications can be downloaded from;
Bidding Document for Supply and Commissioning of Laptop Computers Through out the Province of Punjab
I wonder what would be the end product that students of Punjab will be getting?
Uptodate details can be found at;
wiredpakistan: Free Laptops for Punjab Youth

Colonel Muammar Gaddafi Killed

noreply@blogger.com (Zaheer Iqbal Naru) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 17:18:00 +0000

Bosch Spark Plugs for Cars in Pakistan

noreply@blogger.com (Zaheer Iqbal Naru) — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 06:47:00 +0000

These are Bosch FR78X 4 Pin Spark Plugs which are going to be installed on a Toyota Corolla 2005. There is a common misconception that use of these spark plugs causes premature deterioration of Petrol Engines due to increased power of the Spark. However, spark only occurs once on anyone of the Four Pins.

S.#	Bosch Spark Plugs	Application
	MADE IN RUSSIA
1	WR 8DC	Suzuki / Corolla ,Cuore Charade , Nissan, Mazda (Carburetor Model)
2	FR 8DCX	All New Suzuki, Toyota, Honda
3	W 7BC	2 Stroke, Yamaha
	MADE IN GERMANY
4	FR8DCX+19 (Yttrium)	All New Suzuki, Toyota, Honda
5	YR7DE+ (Yttrium)	Mini Pajero
6	FR 7LDC+7 (Yttrium 2 Pin)	Honda, BMW, VTI, EXI, City
7	FR78X (Blister 4 Pin)	All New Suzuki, Toyota, Honda
8	WR78 (4 Pin)	All old Suzuki, Toyota & Cuore (Carburetor Model)
9	FR6MPP332 (Double Platinum)	Vitz, Nissan March
10	FR5DPP222 (Double Platinum)	Honda Accord C7L - C9L ESM
11	FR 8DPP33+45 (Double Platinum)	Mercedes Benz / Honda / Toyota (N/M)
12	HR7DC+ (Yttrium)	Mercedes

FR8DCX+19 Yttrium Electrode (Rs. 800/-)

FR78X 4 Pin (Rs. 1200/-)

FR8DCX Copper Electrode (Rs. 700/-)

Local Dealer in Pakistan

Adamjee Automotive Private Limited

A subsidiary of The Adpower Group

Product Range can be found under the same heading by following the below mentioned hyperlink;

http://www.adpower-group.com/goc/adpowerautomotive.php

Local Representative in Lahore

Shams Zaman

Cell: +923004869944, +923008220245

Tel: +924235833801-3

Fax: +9235833804

Email: shams.zaman@adpower-group.com

Nostalgic National / Patriotic Songs

noreply@blogger.com (Zaheer Iqbal Naru) — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 08:16:00 +0000

Canon T3i/600D vs Nikon D5100; the deal breaker

noreply@blogger.com (Zaheer Iqbal Naru) — Sun, 22 May 2011 07:30:00 +0000

Both dSLRs target beginner segment of the consumer market and offer very similar features. The only Deal Breaker I can find in favor of Canon's toy mentioned above is that it uses a proprietary Canon APS-C CMOS Sensor. On the other hand Nikon uses a Sony CMOS Sensor (shouldn't they be manufacturing their own sensors like canon).

A Comparison of specifications can be found at;
imaging-resource
dpreveiw
DxOMark
Official specifications of Canon T3i/600D can be found at;
Canon T3i/600D
Official specifications of Nikon D5100 can be found at;
Nikon D5100

However, it should be noted that Nikon D5100 boasts better low light performance owing to its higher ISO sensitivity. Whereas, some dSLR videographers prefer Canon T3i/600D over Nikon D5100 due to better manual control capabilities found on the former camera.

Osama bin Laden is Dead!

noreply@blogger.com (Zaheer Iqbal Naru) — Mon, 02 May 2011 14:36:00 +0000

Short Version

Over the years I have managed to convince myself that Osama bin Laden must be dead. An ailing old man having insufficient kidney function could not have survived the perils of frequent traveling and that too by avoiding security forces now present at every nook and corner of my homeland Pakistan. I am somehow bewildered to know that he was still alive and living in the suburbs of PMA Kakul in Abbotabad for the last many years, an institution visited by the Army Chief of Pakistan maintaining seventh largest army of the world and other Military and Intelligence high ups frequently. We should not blame our security forces for an Intelligence failure or feel uncomfortable, Americans too had an operational Air Base in the suburbs near Ghazi-Tarbela.

Let’s see what happens next. To me a lot of questions still remain. What if Americans could have captured him alive and interrogated him, very similar to the Saddam Hussein episode in which the whole fiasco was brought to a logical conclusion. But I am afraid that doing so would have invited a lot of troubles for the Obama Administration which could have been blackmailed to release Osama by Alqaeda giving a threat of nuclear attack in Europe or by trading him at the cost of lives of hostages taken from a hijacked plane. Drowning of his dead body into sea has left many unsatiated. To me he should have been buried in Saudi Arabia in an entirely Islamic way. We as Muslims believe in graves disappearing with the sands of times.

(The picture on the left is a file photo from Reuters. The center image was sent in by a number of readers as an email attachment--it's initial provenance is unknown. The image on the right is a blend of the two others we made here at msnbc.com.)

Rumors have already started to emerge. If you look at the pictures pasted above, all it seems is an amateur Photoshop job. Details can be found at msnbc photoblog.

Osama bin Laden; Home Videos

(as released by Pentagon)

Millat Ka Pasban (by Masood Rana)

noreply@blogger.com (Zaheer Iqbal Naru) — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 16:50:00 +0000

GIMP, a novice's (beginner's) version

noreply@blogger.com (Zaheer Iqbal Naru) — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 16:59:00 +0000

GIMP
http://www.gimp.org/

Is the short for GNU Image Manipulation Program where GNU = GNU is Not Unix (a recursive acronym).

To me the most noteworthy thing about this assemblage of computer lingo is that it is open source and subsequently free to download. One must have heard about the Firefox thing which too is one such brilliant model of an open source software package. One of the most prominent benefits of open source software is that there are no upper confines for enhancements. Community keeps on incorporating improvements as well as encoding plugins on their own which are then shared on equal opportunity basis among the associates.
I am essentially a mechanical engineer and was on the look out for something better than Picasa which too is a convenient collection of easy to use image enhancement packages bundled together by Google for the sole purpose of tweaking images shot through a Canon SX100IS. Though GIMP is not as powerful and refined as Photoshop I suppose but I wonder if a novice like me needs that hyper functionality with an equally outrageous associated cost.

Another important thing about the software is its mascot named Wilber which looks like a small puppy to me.

GIMP download page offers software packages for Mac as well as Windows. Moreover, user manuals in different languages as well as FTP and Web Mirrors for faster downloads in respective locations can also be found on the same page addressed as below,

http://www.gimp.org/downloads/

Following is an array of plugins that I have found very useful and interesting for editing images with one click in most of the instances.

All of these plugins can be downloaded from the GIMP Plugin Registry that acts as a depository of such packages shared by the esteemed users which in fact is the real beauty of open source software.

http://registry.gimp.org/

Lomo-Gimp
I came across this terminology while on the look out for adding top gear effect (called Lomo Effect) to the digital imagery. It was rather surprising that those tunneling dark and light shades are in fact an imperfection caused by some Russian cameras. But who cares as long as it looks good to the eyes.

Anyways, the plugin can be downloaded from the following link.
http://registry.gimp.org/node/7870
http://lomo-gimp.berlios.de/

BEFORE

AFTER

National Geographic Script
An interesting plugin which livens images with increased contrast and nearly untainted National Geographic colours. The script is available at,
http://registry.gimp.org/node/9592

BEFORE

AFTER

Fake High Dynamic Range Effect
Another very useful plugin that is best suited for highlighting minute details in images of buildings employing crisp bright colours. The said plugin can be downloaded at,
http://registry.gimp.org/node/11776
Another flavor recently released with increased functionality is available at,
http://registry.gimp.org/node/24310

BEFORE

AFTER

Wavelet Denoise
Digital and Colour noise in images acquired through cameras becomes quite annoying at times. To me this was another factor for choosing GIMP as a potent image editor which is definitely capable of removing noise in one click provided right choice of plugins is made. Following is an example of such a script,
http://registry.gimp.org/node/4235

Che Guevara Script
This script enables one to recreate the Che Guevara phenomenon which has stormed the world in recent past when everyone was wearing a T-Shirt with the said imagery. The esteemed plugin is available at,
http://registry.gimp.org/node/14255

Note: Batch edit options of above referenced plugins are also available which can be used to edit multiple files at a time.

Donate via SMS to help the Flood Affectees of Pakistan

noreply@blogger.com (Zaheer Iqbal Naru) — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 18:24:00 +0000

Donate via SMS (Pakistan):

SMS "FUND" to 1234 to donate PKR 10 in the Prime Minister's Relief Fund

SMS "D" to 247 to donate PKR 10 to the Express Helpline Trust for flood relief.

Text "FLOOD" to 27722 to support victims in Pakistan.

Text "PUKAAR" to 4361 to donate to Imran Khan's Flood Relief efforts.

Donate via SMS (Canada):

Canadian wireless subscribers: Text "REDCROSS" to 30333 to donate $10 to the Canadian Red Cross.

Donate via SMS (Germany):

Send SMS with Pakistan to 81190
(€5 plus usual SMS fee of which go to Aktion Deutschland Hilft €4.83)

Donate via SMS (UK):

Text 'GIVE' to 70707 to donate £5

(Oxfam) Readers in the United Kingdom can send donations through text messaging as well. To donate by text message, text 'DONATE' to 70066 to give £5

Donate via SMS (USA):

Hillary Clinton announced that Americans could text the word "SWAT" to the number 50555 to donate $10 per SMS message to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to provide tents, clothing, food, clean water and medicine to Pakistan.

levelx.me: Pakistan Floods 2010 – How To Donate

chowrangi.com: Donation links and relief resources for Pakistan Flood victims

tribune.com.pk: D for Donate, SMS to save lives in flood crisis

Pakistan Floods 2010 in Pictures

Pakistan Floods 2010 in Google Images

To scale how the devastation compares to your locality, use this amazing tool from BBC.

Google crisis response: Support Disaster Relief in Pakistan

Donate $0.10 by watching this video on YouTube:

PTCL launches NITRO EVO Rev B

noreply@blogger.com (Zaheer Iqbal Naru) — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 14:21:00 +0000

At last!

A true wireless broadband era has dawned upon us that will ensure jitter free youtube playbacks. The promised theoretical download speeds of up to 9.3 Mbps and uplink of up to 5.4 Mbps are very encouraging indeed. We shall have to wait for the actual results though. This new service is initially available in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore & Karachi only. But, backward compatibility on the now older 3.1 Mbps is also available in areas where the infrastructure for the new highspeed network has not yet been installed.

Nitro USB Device Charges(the cost of owning one device): Rs. 3,999/-

Nitro Unlimited(line rent): Rs. 2,999/- monthly

(One must admit that the charges are very competitive and ISPs around the country are now in trouble, to my understanding at least. Lets hope wateen and witribe also announce some new technologies to jump on to the bandwagon)

They are claiming it as “The World’s first & most cutting edge EV-DO Rev. B commercial network". However, engadget has already crowned Smart Telecom of Indonesia for doing the claimed "FIRST" in January 2010. Further details are available on the following links;

First: by engadget, Indonesia's Smart Telecom deploys world's first commercial EV-DO Rev. B network

First: ZTE Launches the World’s First Commercial EV-DO Rev.B Network in Indonesia

Second: China Telecom Launches CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev.B Pre-commercial Network with Huawei' s Solution

Second: China Telecom second cellco to commit to EV-DO Rev B

This makes PTCL the third compoany to do so. Their official verdict can be found at;

NITRO EVO Rev B

LED the future of efficient green lighting; in Pakistan

noreply@blogger.com (Zaheer Iqbal Naru) — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 15:30:00 +0000

I wonder how many of us are quite willing for a change and are making up their minds to shift towards this technology of efficient lighting which dawned upon us recently. This technology of future has reached our doorsteps by the courtesy of our Chinese neighbors. I have been in contact with the local representatives of OSRAM, a leading European firm working in the field of LED lighting. According to them a single PRATHOM LED bulb can be made available @4500/- PKR which to my understanding is quite high a price in every respect. I wonder if people have ever tried their Chinese counterparts like OSAKA etc which are readily available in the local market and almost on all the supermarkets.

LEDs are just an application of solid state physics and are not that new to us. We have seen these lights in radios, cell phones etc already. Only the improvisation to use these as dedicated light sources to replace incandescent bulbs is revolutionary and rather new.

I have seen countrymen confusing it with Emergency Lights which are easily available in the local market @300/- PKR. In fact a lot of Emergency Lights being sold out in the local market employ LEDs but I am talking about LED bulbs or tube lights that can directly replace the Incandescent Bulbs and Fluorescent Lights.
e.g.,
OSRAM PARATHOM LED
and
LEDTRONICS
the former is being owned by a Pakistani entrepreneur who in fact is one of the pioneers of this technology. One may check their line up at
LEDTRONICS PRODUCTS 1
LEDTRONICS PRODUCTS 2

Pervaiz Lodhie is President and CEO of LEDtronics, Inc. He established LEDtronics in 1983 in Torrance, California. Mr. Lodhie founded and serves as Chairman of PABE, Pakistani-American Business Executives, and an information portal. He is Founding Director of PAL-C, Pakistan American Liaison Center.

INTERVIEW OF PERVAIZ LODHIE
http://www.pabe.org/index.htm
BLOG OF PERVAIZ LODHIE

I have always been thrilled to hear the success stories of Pakistani entrepreneurs functioning in the foreign markets. I was quite surprised to know that a Pakistani has been pioneering the field of LED lighting solutions. Furthermore, the clients list available on LEDTRONICS was another surprise where even Buckingham palace and large suspension bridges are on it.

One fine example of LED powered Emergency Lights are Rechargeable Lamps which can run on both AC and DC i.e., when there is Electricity running in from the mains and when there is no power (battery mode). It is listed at @899/- PKR and might be available in the local market at around 330/- PKR.

LED RECHARGEABLE BULB ON SYMBIOS.PK

To me the main hindrance towards adaptation of this technology is the associated cost. Even in the west LED lamps haven't been yet mass adopted due to this reason. Maybe once when prices drop substantially then masses will switch over to LEDs. Just like solar panels, substantially high prices discourage mass adaptation, otherwise every one among has already switched towards solar power if the photovoltaic panels were cheap.

Q. One must be curious as to why there is such a difference in price?

On one hand a single LED bulb (of European origin though) costs Rs. 4500 but on the other side Chinese LED emergency lights can be bought for a few hundred rupees. Is it because the Chinese emergency lights are not really LED technology but just claim to be for marketing reasons?

A. Chinese emergency lights also use true LEDs but to my opinion it is only the painstaking potentially expensive qualification process that makes these light bulbs expensive. Furthermore, CFLs in Europe cost way much than that in Pakistan. Anyone can confirm this by checking prices of these on international websites.

Q: Are LEDtronics products available in Pakistan?
A: YES!

I left the same question on the website of LEDtronics. Surprisingly, I was contacted by their country head, some Lodhie guy residing in Karachi who told me that they have an in house manufacturing facility at KEPZ Karachi but they are not retailing their products at the moment at least. Though, he looked very interested in corporate lighting projects.

He is manufacturing inside KEPZ simply because of duty free raw material. The Government of Pakistan should allow alternate energy projects to be setup inside Pakistan and give them duty and tax relief. Unless people at the helm of affairs in the Pakistan Government become genuinely serious about alternate energy the situation would remain pathetic. Simply creating AEDP or committees (with irrelevant or unsuitable people) won't solve the problems.

I talked to the representative (still doubting their credibility though) of Toshiba Lighting (Kainat Enterprises Lahore) recently about any possibility of introducing Toshiba LED lighting solutions in Pakistan, but they too are relying upon CFLs and Tube lights alone. Some of the LED products being boasted by Toshiba are as under;
TOSHIBA LED LIGHTING PRODUCTS

However, they are planning to introduce Chinese LED lamps with Kainat brand name (Latest News; Kainat Enterprises are introducing/launching re-branded LED Lighting product as well as TOSHIBA LED Lighting products. The first shipment will be arriving in the first week of March 2011 and an 8 watt light will be retailed @Rs. 1000-1200/-.). ORIENT a giant conglomerate is practicing the same business strategy by importing CFLs manufactured in china and then marketing those with their own brand name, a legitimate practice as a lot of power generator manufacturing companies in Pakistan are doing this by importing CBUs from UK and China and selling those with their own brand names.

Private labeling is happening in a number of sectors in Pakistan. Firms are importing stuff from China (factory of the world) and labeling it with their own brand name and selling it here.

Some Pakistani firms offering LED Lighting Solutions;

OSAKA (LED LIGHTS)
A prominent firm in this field which is now gaining increasing acceptance of the consumer day by day.

Prices for a very few of their products are as under;

OS-6030L Rs.250/pc

LED Spot Light 3W Rs.445/pc

as on 27.02.2012

COUNTRY GADGETS (LED MAGLITE)
A firm which boasts about dealing in legendary MAGLITE

PAKARCADE - LED Light Bulbs
An online shop offering free home delievery of LED Light Bulbs of various wattages and having applications covering indoor, outdoor as well as automotive lighting.

GET Technologies; Super NRG Saver

NRG thing seems a bit overkill. However, they are out to bring about a revolutionary change in the electricity consumption pattern of common citizens of Pakistan. Let's hope for the best and see if the masses are ready to take the next quantum jump in the direction of optimal usage of available energy.

Philips LED Light Bulbs
Philips a reliable multinational company has cataloged its LED Light Bulb products on its website. Although, these are a bit expensive but it is very obvious of the fact that the said products bear the name tag of PHILIPS. Surprisingly prices being mentioned are in PKR.

Shaan Technologies (PVT) Ltd.

ShaanTech is an affiliate of LEDtronics, Inc, which is a leader in innovations and solutions for LED lighting products since 1983. Mr. Pervaiz Lodhie, President of LEDtronics, Inc established ShaanTech in 1998 to both create employment in Pakistan and provide skilled product assembly for his North American manufacturing facility. ShaanTech is an acknowledged high quality Hi-tech LED lighting manufacturing company with a well trained and experienced workforce led and managed by a professional management Team.

I have recently contacted their below mentioned representative,

Yasser Khalid
Business Development Executive
Off: +92-21-35080062
Cell: +92-300-8288198
email: sales-admin@shaantech.net

The information communicated is detailed as under;

Dear Zaheer

As per our telephonic discussion earlier and the requirement you send.
Kindly go through the following web link for features & specifications for your requested LED Lamps & Lights.
Our LED A19 Bulbs are operatable at 85~265Vac

Product Description, Web Link & Quotation:

LED Light Bulbs, A19 Style, E26 Base, Only 7 Watts Replaces 40 to 50Watt Incandescent - Non-Dimmable
http://www.ledtronics.com/Products/ProductsDetails.aspx?WP=930

LED Light Bulbs, A19 Style, E26 Base, Only 8 Watts Replaces 60 to 75 Watt Incandescent, Dimmable (Also available in 220 VAC)
http://www.ledtronics.com/Products/ProductsDetails.aspx?WP=88

Prices are in US Funds EX Works ( Torrance, CA 90505, USA)

Payment required in full prior to production via bank wire transfer, delivery 08 weeks or sooner after receipt of funds. Please advise if official quote required.
See attached terms & Conditions with payment instructions. Also provide your favorable mode of shipping and carrier (FEDEX / UPS/ TNT/ DHL etc)

CLEAN POWER (SOLAR POWERED LED BASED LIGHTS)
CLEAN POWER (INNOVATIVE LIGHTING SOLUTIONS)
HOMESHOPPING (CAR FOOT PEDALS WITH LED LIGHT)
A VERY GOOD PRACTICAL EXAMPLE OF LED ILLUMINATION AND INTERIOR DECORATION EMPLOYING THE SAME IN PAKISTAN
GLOBAL LIGHTING AND SYSTEMS (LED FOR BUSINESSES)
PIERLITE PAKISTAN (PROFESSIONAL LIGHTING SOLUTIONS)
TRILLIUM-PAKISTAN (PVT) LTD, SOLAR POWER SYSTEMS
DIGGIADD (NEXT GENERATION VIDEO AD - LED SCREENS)
ECONOMIA AGECO (LED FIXTURES FOR OFFICES)
SAPPHIRE RENEWABLE SOLUTIONS
OK ELECTRICAL INDUSTRIES
ZAMTAS LED STREET LIGHTS
SAMNUN SOLAR LED LIGHT SYSTEMS
ELEKTRO CONTROL INDUSTRIES (SOLAR AVIATION LIGHT)
ELEKTRO CONTROL INDUSTRIES (MASHAL)
HAROON BROTHERS (LED STREET LIGHTS)

New Year Resolutions to choose from (revisited the ones of 2009)

noreply@blogger.com (Zaheer Iqbal Naru) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 14:33:00 +0000

MMX

(a.k.a 2010)

these were my new year resolutions for the last year i.e., 2009

it seems that I have achieved a very few of my objectives
anyhow, something is better than having nothing
the success colour chart with rating points mentioned against each is as follows

(green ones were done amicably) - 2

(I didn't get it right with the ones coloured in red) - 0

(some partially fulfilled objectives are portrayed in orange) - 1

Spend more and more time with parents & siblings

Enjoy life

Tame the ever increasing bulge which is on 38" right now

Get fit with few true biceps and six pack abs

Eat right in buffets

Save money

Learn something new like PRIMAVARA or MS PROJECT

Sharpen the skills of face and mind reading

Get better education order of preference is an MBA or MS in engineering

Try to get a better job by posting more resumes

Reduce stress overall across the board

Reduce stress at work

Get organized

Magazine Subscription
(did it; rather my brother got subscription for Spider magazine)
top contenders are,

Spider

Reader's Digest

Time

Fitness
(lost some weight probably)
get fit simply or,

join some swimming pool facility in the following,

Avari or Pearl Continental

Digital Camcorder
(I still have to get one)
a High Definition, preferably a Memory Card based or Hard Disk based one

PDA Cell Phone
(I am now an owner of a Nokia E63)
one with Touch Screen, QWERTY, GPS, 3G and WiFi preferably with a price label of less that 20,000/- PKR.

Classy Watch
(didn't get it right yet; on the otherhand my budget is now hovering around 20,000-30,000/- PKR)
one with metallic strap, square or rectangular shell, black or dark blue dial carrying a price tag of 10,000 – 15,000/- PKR

A Power Suit
(I still have to get hold on to some, though bought some casual jackets)
not "A" but "FEW" power suits preferably one that can be worn on a promotion interview

PC Speakers
(got a scanner instead as my birthday gift)
at least a 2.1 Altec Lansing PC Speaker set with some wooden units and a remote control for my brother's computer

LCD TV or a Flat screen slim Monitor
(I need an LCD TV and that is for sure)
one capable of showing resolutions in the range of 1080 in HD with lots of input ports, 32 or 22 incher and having manual controls

Broad Band internet
(I am now hooked through PTCL EVDO + wi-tribe to the cyber world)
I want to board this wagon now. I am already on DESI LAN and know the perils therefore, EVDO will be my choice

Parents
(I am still on it)
Daily ask the parents to start a walk and eat healthy and visit the doctor for routine health check ups

got 25 rating points out of 56

anyhow, my single point new year agenda for the year 2010 will be to

get things right first

UP (2009), the PIXAR movie

noreply@blogger.com (Zaheer Iqbal Naru) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:39:00 +0000

Movies teach us precious things. I doubt if it was the fine weather in Lahore on 1st November or the fullness of a lavish breakfast brought by my father from Capri (the restaurant) in the shape of Halwa Puri with Meethi (sweet) Puri and Mutton Katchuri that made this marvelous piece of animation made by PIXAR come into life.

Human life is full of wondrous possibilities and momentous but hard to transpire priceless joys. Try to live every moment of it and make most out of the challenges thrown out to test your vigor. Mankind has been bestowed upon by a unique force called emotional drive which if steered in the right direction can lead to a happy, joyful life for everyone. Learn to live life for others too.

Anyhow, PIXAR has very effectively created a life like movie out of the inert animated characters in this instance. The cinematic emotional strength of this movie stands almost at par with another movie titled “BICENTENNIAL MAN” for me. I strongly recommend watching these two movies and reading a famous novel “The Alchemist” for people trying to learn the true meaning a.ka. soul of this world.

Is Baitullah Mehsud dead? Is it official yet?

noreply@blogger.com (Zaheer Iqbal Naru) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 12:22:00 +0000

I am afraid we won't be able to confirm this very soon as not very surprisingly the govt. of Pakistan has no established writ in that very area of Baitullah's stronghold. I wonder if the credit of his death will be taken by Mr. Rehman Malik or not. I am afraid that with this aerial attack our govt. has reached on the threshold of declaring the responsibility of not this but all drone attacks.

I doubt if this will bring an end to the long strain of seemingly desperate unending suicidal attacks in my homeland Pakistan.

What is taking so long to confirm his death?

(i heard it on TV) TTP (Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan) and the Government of Pakistan (unofficial) have confirmed his death already.

Anyhow, another mysterious chapter in Pakistan's history has come to an end. I wonder what would now happen to the Benazir Bhutto's Murder Case which is being probed by the United Nations nowadays, as Gen. (Retd.) Pervez Musharaf's regime nominated rather accused him (Baitullah) of masterminding the suicide attack of 27^th December which claimed the life of one of the best spokeswoman of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto.

I am afraid the new so-called Taliban leader would also be faceless.

This footage symbolizes a lot for the Muslims of Pakistan. Apparently suicide bombings in Pakistan have not come to an end yet.

word AMBULANCE in reverse, why?

noreply@blogger.com (Zaheer Iqbal Naru) — Sat, 23 May 2009 16:52:00 +0000

One must have questioned to oneself at least why the word AMBULANCE is written in reverse / backwards on medic automobiles?

The answer to this is fairly plain.

It is made to appear in this way so that the drivers see and recognize the word (AMBULANCE) right way around in their rear view mirrors and give way to it preferably to save valuable moments for someone not feeling very well.

Note: mspaint.exe of Windows XP can generate HORIZONTAL FLIPPING of any text but the results can be saved and used in image formats only.

NIMBUZZ, FRING, Skype and TiVi woo Internet Telephony on Nokia E63; VoIP

noreply@blogger.com (Zaheer Iqbal Naru) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 13:49:00 +0000

NIMBUZZ, FRING, SKYPE have surfaced no brainer solutions of VoIP targeting the emerging mass market of symbian operated business phone users in the recent times.

Each of the above mentioned software packages are bundled with solutions aiming the rather simpler demands of a cellular phone user who requires casual voice chats with buddies online in any part of this world to create an escape from the bitter realities being delivered right on the office desk.

I was introduced to this extravagance with the recent up gradation of my cellular device in shape of a Nokia E63 during an informal examination of conveniences offered with this device. In fact the idea of installing a voice chat client in E63 came to my mind while I was googling for text chat clients on the bundled internet browser. A quick search on the default search application of E63 revealed FRING on the Nokia website. The name of this colossal cellular phone maker nearly constrained me to install this application hastily. This installation was followed by the ones of SKYPE, TIVI and NIMBUZZ.

The best thing about all the above mentioned softwares is the clear advantage of easier registration procedure requiring a username, password and occasionally the cell number in operation on the device. Moreover, this can all be accomplished right through any WAP enabled GPRS / EDGE / 3G / WiFi cellular device like a Nokia E63.

Anyhow, a comprehensive list containing the names of IM Services compatible with these clients is being tabulated as under.

Chat Clients for Nokia E63

NIMBUZZ

Skype®, MSN Messenger®, Google Talk™, ICQ, SIP, Twitter 2.0, Yahoo!™, AIM®, Orkut, Facebook, Gmail Notifier, Yandex.mail, WeFi, Last.fm, MySpace, studiVZ / meinVZ, schulerVZ, Gadu-Gadu, Giovani, Hyves

FRING

Skype®, MSN Messenger®, Google Talk™, ICQ [No Voice Chat], SIP, Twitter 2.0, Yahoo!™ [No Voice Chat], AIM® [No Voice Chat], Orkut, Facebook, Gmail Notifier, Yandex.mail, WeFi, Last.fm

Skype

Free calls, video calls and instant messaging over the internet. Plus great value calls to phones anywhere in the world.

TiVi

TiVi Phone's mobile version is a VoIP application that works on 3G, Wi-Fi, UMTS and GPRS-enabled wireless networks. It delivers voice conversations and real-time video streaming for users of the newest mobile devices on the market

Summary

I have not touched pure VoIP aka SIP services in this article.

NIMBUZZ, FRING and Skype are good for kick starting Voice Chat from any WiFi or preferably EDGE enabled cellular device by interacting with the existing list of users on MSN Live Messenger and Google Talk chat client etc.

NIMBUZZ demands ample time to load the contacts of compatible services for each start up but it has a slightly well formed interface when compared to FRING.

FRING starts up speedily but lacks fully optimized graphic intensive interface.

TiVi has not yet worked on my E63 for some unfamiliar reasons and that's why I have not yet experienced the much hyped Video Chat aspect of this service which it boasts to stream through WiFi / EDGE or some other network facility turning an ordinary chat into a Live Video Chat.

I am planning to uninstall FRING and TiVi.

E63 vs K500i; comparing apples to oranges

noreply@blogger.com (Zaheer Iqbal Naru) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 11:38:00 +0000

It is entirely unreasonable to compare these two cellular devices of technological eras that are poles apart and targeting an altogether different user base but let's do it for the betterment of minority who are still not there.

E63 happens to be a phenomenal upgrade over an ageing K500i for me. It boasts a full QWERTY keypad, Office Applications, PDF reader, Push Email support, microSD card slot supporting up to 8GB, a decent music player with 3.5mm audio jack, a movie player that scopes 16 million colors on its 2.36 inch landscaped TFT screen, EDGE and most interestingly WIFI on a Symbian platform that also supports free proprietary applications like Opera Mini, Windows Live Messenger, Youtube and Facebook available online. It also features a 2 megapixel fixed focus camera for taking occasional snaps.

It lacks a standalone GPS chip but who cares. This deficit has not compelled me at least to spend an extra Rs. 10k to go for its elder brother tagged E71.

		Nokia E63	Sony Ericsson K500i
General	2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
	3G Network	UMTS 900 / 2100	X
	Announced	2008, November	2004, 3Q
Size	Dimensions	113 x 59 x 13 mm	102 x 46 x 14 mm
Size	Weight	126 g	80 g
Display	Type	TFT, 16M colors	TFT, 65K colors
	Size	320 x 240 pixels, 2.36 inches	128 x 160 pixels, 1.9 inches
		- Full QWERTY keyboard -	X
	Speakerphone	Yes	X
Memory	Phonebook	Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photo call	8 fields, 510 items, Photo call
	Call records	Detailed, max 30 days	30 received, dialed and missed calls
	Internal	120 MB	12 MB
	Card slot	microSD (TransFlash), up to 8GB, hot swap, buy memory	X
Data	GPRS	Class 32, 100 kbps	Class 10, 32 - 48 kbps
	HSCSD	Yes	X
	EDGE	Class 32, 296 kbps	X
	3G	Yes, 384 kbps	X
	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g	X
	Bluetooth	Yes, v2.0 with A2DP	X
	Infrared port	No	Yes
	USB	Yes, v2.0 microUSB	X
Camera	Primary	1600x1200 pixels, LED flash	VGA, 640x480 pixels
	Features	Video calling	X
	Video	Yes, QVGA@15fps	Yes
Features	OS	Symbian OS 9.2, Series 60 v3.1 UI	X
	CPU	ARM 11 369 MHz processor	X
	Radio	FM radio; Visual radio	X
Battery		Standard battery, Li-Po 1500 mAh (BP-4L)	Standard battery, Li-Ion
	Stand-by	Up to 432 h (2G) / 480 h (3G)	Up to 300 h
	Talk time	Up to 11 h (2G) / 4 h 40 min (3G)	Up to 7 h
	Music play	Up to 18 h	X

Syncing contacts between Sony Ericsson K500i and Nokia E63 (between two mobile phones / cellular devices of different makes)

noreply@blogger.com (Zaheer Iqbal Naru) — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 16:37:00 +0000

At last I decided to retire the antiquating K500i and picked a novel trend in the field of mobile phone technology a.k.a. a Smartphone in the shape of a Nokia E63 for my entire cellular needs.

The changeover of was swift as it only required relocation of the SIM card from K500i to E63.

Synchronizing Contacts amid K500i and E63 felt tricky in the first place, the reason being lack of through communication link between the said mobile phones.

K500i has only infrared port whereas E63 boasts WiFi and Bluetooth.

Google has established it's convenience in similar state of affairs earlier that's why I resorted to it yet again. Search results brought out free synchronizing services like mobyko.com and zyb.com which offer retention of IMEI, Contacts, Text and Image data on online servers for reclamation in case of theft of the cellular device, a common phenomenon in Pakistan at least.

Anyhow I opted for mobyko.com which forwarded a text message containing synchronization server settings to my K500i after going through a fairly quick registration procedure for the said phone. I was rather surprised to see Pakistan in the list of countries along with local operators like Mobilink, Ufone, Telenor, Warid, Zong etc on mobyko.com. Installation methodology for the settings received was very much similar to the one we have witnessed at the beginning of WAP era in Pakistan for installation of WAP, MMS and INTERNET settings.

For the rest I used the 3-step guide provided by mobyko.com and copied all my contacts from K500i to the online servers of the said free service by using synchronization utility now available on my cellular device. Keep in mind that this cannot be accomplished without using WAP services of Ufone.

Now in order to copy the online contacts to my E63 I changed my Mobile Phone in the settings section of mobyko.com and shifted the Ufone SIM to my E63. Certain settings were again pushed towards my E63 which were then installed using the previously mentioned 3-step guide of the said website. After getting the installation work done I headed towards the synchronization section and completed the process through employing the WiFi service of my E63.

That's it.

What is Section 144 of CrPC?

noreply@blogger.com (Zaheer Iqbal Naru) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 17:25:00 +0000

The Britishers prohibited assembly of more than five persons on Indian streets under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The aim, when the CrPC was first devised in 1861, was to curb any Indian uprising against the British sovereignty.

The British government feared that a group of five or more Indians would create trouble for it. The colonial rulers might have introduced the proviso as they were not well-versed with the local languages and thus, unaware of what was transpiring among Indians when they gather in streets in groups.

Almost 150 years have passed since the legislation was promulgated and yet the government in democratic sub continent feels comfortable with it. Section 144 of CrPC continues to be the most widely used provision of law, of course during emergent situations, across the country.

Punjab Police Enlightens section 144 of CrPC in its FAQ section as;

Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) empowers a district government to issue orders in public interest that may place a ban on an activity for a specific period of time extending to two months. Such a ban is enforced by the police who register cases under section 188 of the Pakistan Penal Code for violations of the ban. Section 188 carries a maximum penalty of six months in prison or a fine of up to Rs. 1000 or both. The ban may be lifted by the district government at any time or re-imposed after the expiry of the two-month period.

(ADDITIONAL INFORMATION-opens in a new window)

Federation of American Scientists a.k.a. FAS Explicates Section 144 as;

Article 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure allows the government to act preventively if it perceives the danger of public disorder. A magistrate may prohibit meetings of five or more persons, forbid the carrying of firearms, and impose "preventive detention" on anybody thought likely to disturb public order. Although a detainee is entitled to be informed of the reason for his detention and to a fair review of the case, these restrictions are in practice easy to circumvent, and the constitution specifically denies such detainees procedural guarantees. The government, especially in periods of martial law, has used Section 144 frequently when feeling its position could be threatened by demonstrations and public opposition to its policies; Section 144's provisions have also been used, however, to contain disorder that is not political.

The information given below is meant for fanatics only (obvious from its length)

Introduction
Under the Criminal Procedure Code (hereinafter the Code) wide powers have been conferred on an Executive Magistrate to deal with emergent situations. One such provision deals with the Magistrates powers to impose restrictions on the personal liberties of individuals, whether in a specific locality or in a town itself, where the situation has the potential to cause unrest or danger to peace and tranquility in such an area, due to certain disputes. In brief, Section 144 confers powers to issue an order absolute at once in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger. Specified classes of magistrates may make such orders when in their opinion there is sufficient ground for proceeding under the section and immediate prevention or speedy remedy is desirable.

Scope of Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code
Action under this section is anticipatory, that is, it is utilized to restrict certain actions even before they actually occur. Anticipatory restrictions are imposed generally in cases of emergency, where there is an apprehended danger of some event that has the potential to cause major public nuisance or damage to public tranquility. The gist of action under Section 144 is the urgency of the situation; its efficacy is the likelihood of being able to prevent some harmful occurrences. Preservation of the public peace and tranquility is the primary function of the Government and the aforesaid power is conferred on the Executive Magistracy enabling it to perform that function effectively during the emergent situations.

Though the power conferred under this section is extraordinary considering the fact that it enables them to suspend the lawful rights of persons if they think such a suspension will be in the interest of public peace and safety. But the Magistrate should bear in mind that every citizen has a right to ventilate his grievances either in public or in private and ask for redress. This right cannot be curtailed so long as it is exercised in a lawful manner. It is an illegal assumption of power to issue an order under this section on a pretended apprehension of the danger of the breach of the public peace. However, section 144 is intended to provide for an emergency, and it is idle to contend that in an emergency when a riot is apprehended and when there is apprehension of a serious disturbance of the public tranquility, the Magistrate is required to deliberate upon and decide the rights of the parties before acting.

Rationale for the application of Section 144
Orders under this section are justifiable only when it is likely to prevent any of the following events from happening

1. Annoyance: Annoyance may be either physical or mental. In the case of physical annoyance a certain degree of proximity between the object annoyed and the annoyance is necessary, but in the case of mental annoyance no question of proximity arises. This section covers both kinds of annoyance. Section 144 Criminal Procedure Code, can be used even against newspapers in proper cases of incitements to breaches of the peace or to commit nuisances, dangerous to life or health or to annoy officers lawfully employed. Even where an order under this section deals with a 'nuisance' there must be a danger to life or health involved, or of an affray or riot or breach of the peace. Mere defamatory statements, and even highly objectionable abusive articles against prominent officials, cannot be dealt with under this section unless they are likely to lead to a breach of the peace or to a nuisance endangering life or health. The section should not be abused by using it for dealing with abusive articles and defamation not likely to lead to a breach of peace.

2. Injury to Human life: A Magistrate has no jurisdiction to make an order under this section merely for the protection of property. He has got to be satisfied that the direction is likely to prevent injury or risk of injury to human life or safety. Most of the acts contemplated by this section are of the nature that if not prevented they will develop into an offence. But there is at least one item about which this limited view is not possible. The word 'injury' as defined under section 44 of the IPC states 'any harm whatever illegally caused to any person, in body, mind, reputation or property', and the word 'illegal' defined under section 43 of then same Code is applicable to 'everything which is prohibited by law, or which furnishes a ground for a civil action'. Whenever, an injury is caused to a person the recourse to this section can be taken in those situations. So, even if the act or the measure complained of be not such as would amount to an offence when allowed to be completed would furnish grounds for a civil action only, the protection of this section will extend to the person.

3. Disturbance of public tranquility: The act prohibited under this section must he so prohibited if it is likely to prevent obstructions, etc., or disturbance of the public tranquility, etc. it is not enough to say that by stretching several possibilities one after the other, it is possible to establish a connection of cause and effect between the act prohibited and disturbance of public tranquility. The connection must be reasonable or proximate and not merely speculative or distant. Where there are no circumstances peculiar to the locality and the matter is or of general impression, the absence of any near or reasonable connection between the prohibited act and the supposed danger to public tranquility will be a ground upon which the High Court is bound to act.

4. Order cannot be made to give advantage to one party: The section does give wide powers to the Magistrate, and imminent danger to the public peace may justify interference with even private interests. But the section is not to be invoked by one party to a dispute to secure a material advantage over the other.

Additionally, any restriction, which is opposed to the fundamental principles of liberty and justice, cannot be considered reasonable. One of the tests to find out whether a restriction is reasonable or not is to see whether the aggrieved party has a right of representation against the restrictions imposed or proposed to be imposed. No person can be deprived of his liberty without being afforded an opportunity to be heard in defence and that opportunity must be adequate, fair and reasonable.

Duration of the Order
As expressly mentioned in the section, any order passed under section 144 shall be subject to sub-clause (4) and would therefore be valid only for a period of two months. As it has already been remarked earlier, it is not competent to a Magistrate to revive or resuscitate his order from time to time. Such an exercise of power would clearly constitute abuse of power.

The state government can extend this time period of two months to a maximum of six months from the date of the expiry of the initial order, if it finds it imperative for prevention of certain situations causing disturbances of safety, health or peace. Although, the power conferred upon the state government is executive in nature, there can be a revision of the order by a Magistrate in case the court finds the arbitrary or unfair exercise of power.