Category: Personal

I have tried to shed light on this blog before and many times on the Omicronlab forum. But new users continue to be at-a-loss-what-to-do when they see only boxes instead of the Bengali letters. Or the Bengali script appears anyway, but the vowel signs may not show in the correct order!

First, make sure you have the Bengali Unicode fonts installed.

Windows XP / 2000 – Windows XP doesn’t come pre-enabled with support for Bengali, or any other Indian language for that matter which are ‘complex scripts’ anyway. So you need to install the pack meant for complex script for which you will need the Windows installation disc.

Windows XP users: Go to Control Panel, Regional and Language Options. In the Language tab, select Install files for complex script and right-to-left languages (including Thai). Click Ok. You may have to restart your computer. (see screenshot)
Windows 2000 users: Go to Control Panel, Regional Options. In the General tab, see the Language settings for the system. Select Indic from the list. Click Ok. You may have to restart your computer. (see screenshot)

Note:- If you are scared (or too lazy) to tinker with these language settings, then you can use this very useful third-party tool that will install the necessary files with a single-click.

Windows Vista / 7 – Windows Vista and Windows 7 come with in-built support for Indian languages.

It has been a little more than a year I am using the online banking facility of SBI and I must say, it just rocks! It’s user-friendly, rich with features and boasts of robust security.

Online SBI

Registration

To enable internet banking, one has to download the Internet Banking register form, fill it up and submit in his bank. Upon activation you will receive a confidential mailer by post containing a one-time-usage password to kickstart your online account.

Security

It comes with, like other banking websites, 2 passwords. One is meant for normal tasks like checking account balance, recent transactions, transferring funds and so on while the other lets you edit profile details (e.g. mobile number), add/edit beneficiaries, etc. On top of that, I have enabled high security for my account which means that every transaction is protected by a security code sent to my mobile.

Suppose you are in a cyber cafe or using a friend’s laptop which is neck deep with spywares and viruses and you desperately need to make an online payment e.g. book a train ticket. There is always the risk of a keylogger – a malicious program that can record your keystrokes – stealing your credit card details! The SBI virtual keyboard, which is a mouse-based onscreen keyboard, rules out any such threat.

Recent Transactions

This is perhaps the most used feature. Every month I withdraw a sum from my Paypal account and transfer it to SBI. As soon as it is credited, it is reflected in the recent transactions. Also, I come to know as soon as my parents plonk my monthly dole on my account!

Online Payment

Many consumer websites (from Flipkart to IRCTC) allow you to pay via SBI Internet Banking which is a lot safer than using your credit card or debit card. It’s easier too – instead of having to type a 16-character long number you just have to enter your SBI username and password. For added security, every transaction needs you to enter a one-time-use security code sent to your mobile via text message. Now I can purchase books online with absolute peace of mind as well as book rail tickets online. I am also immediately notified via SMS as soon as a transaction takes place. This proves useful especially while trying to book tickets through IRCTC. Slow as the IRCTC site is, often the connection is lost leaving one to wonder whether the payment was successful. Thanks to the SBI sms alerts, I can be sure if the payment actually went through!

Funds Transfer

A very handy feature that has made life easier. I can transfer funds to any friend having an account with any bank (SBI or non-SBI), which I often need to do in order to share online advertisement revenues with friends. Before sending money to a friend you have to add him/her as a beneficiary and enter all their bank details. Then you must confirm the beneficiary account by entering a high security code sent to your mobile phone via SMS. To avoid sending excess amount by mistake, you can always set an upper limit.

গতকাল মেহদী হাসান এর সাথে মোলাকাত হল. পন্ডিত দের বৈঠক এ ডিজিটাল এর চেয়ে মেডিকেল বিষয়ক কথাই বেশি হযেছে.

Today I was bathing with pants on. To my horror, I discovered the phone was in my pocket. I took it out and it refused to turn on. I placed it against the laptop vent, against the heat. Then it came alive. I told my phone – So you live to die another day.

Dr. Medhi Hasan, the developer of the hugely popular software Avro, has come to tour in India. He is also an old friend of mine, as Niponwave has been a loyal supporter of his Omicronlab and I have been attached with Omirconlab in more than one way. Interestingly, Mehdi Hasan is a medical guy! He has completed his MBBS only recently. It is going to be great to meet this geek-doc friend for the first time! Glad that Siliguri falls on his itinerary. He is staying at Hotel Central Plaza in Siluguri.

For the unitiated, Avro allows you to type Bengali on Windows platform – be it on any webpage or any application like MS Word, etc. Very recently, Omicronlab has come up with a Linux version of Avro that I mentioned here earlier, making it truly a cross-platform Bangla writing solution. 

Avro is used in lakhs and lakhs of computers. The current version 4.5.1 has been downloaded more than 1,25,000 times from download.com, 37,ooo from Niponwave and many more times from Omicronlab server. There is also a portable edition of Avro. It has been used by the Bangladesh election commission in their National ID Card project. See link

I ordered some books on flipkart last night.

1. The latest novel from Chetan Bhagat – 2 States: The Story of My Marriage – which is a story of love blooming in 2 young hearts from 2 different states and their struggle to get married. Once again it is priced at Rs. 95, but I got it at a heavily discounted (32%) price of Rs. 65!
2. Anuja Chauhan’s Zoya Factor – this was in my to-read list after a friend mentioned it esp. the use of ‘Indian English’ in the book.
3. Milton’s Paradise Lost – this one I wanted to read since a long time back but never really ended up doing so.

All of these for Rs. 384!

Sex is the celebration of highest human values from Ayn Rand’s philosophical viewpoint. Sex should be seen in the light of broader ethical and psychological theories introduced by Rand in Atlas Shrugged. It is not a mere animal instinct. It is not an act of depravity. People who have no purpose in life finds sex meaningless. Sex is a phsyical response to intellectual and spiritual values, a real concrete expression that could otherwise be felt only in the abstract.

I have set up the website for an orphanage which is located in Siliguri, the same town where I am doing my medical course. The North Bengal Orphanage or Uttar Banga Anath Ashram (as it is called in Bengali) is a flicker of hope amidst darkness. In a time when female child trafficking is rampant in our state, this orphanage takes in only girl children. The founder Uma Mallick, who is no less than a magician, does the impossible task of running the ashram despite very limited resources. Thanks to her indomitable spirit and a help from a handful of well-wishers, the 28 little girls there get basic education and a proper diet. But the children could really do with a lot more. One of their well-wishers, Dr. Anjan Kr. Das, an ex-professor from my college, felt the need for an online medium to garner help and support for the ashram. On Anjan sir’s request and also out of my eagerness to do something for the nobel cause, I have set up the website http://uttarbangaanathashram.org. I am a volunteer of the ongoing Mozilla Service Week and I’m glad I actually spent my pledged hours doing something for the society. I really hope the online community will come forward and donate something to the orphanage.

The weather for the past few days is fantastic, a little warm in the day though! Oddly enuf, this weather is making me feel nostalgic n what not… as if i am transported back into time… I don’t know what’s wrong with me but I think it is that exact North Bengal weather when you feel there is a tinge of sadness in the air…. time has become slow n i m caught in a time warp it seems. I’m sad but want to live in that moment a bit longer… melancholy is da right word 🙂

Reposted on Bong Buzz.

After a long wait and much anticipation, the Linux version of Avro is finally here! This truly makes Avro a cross-platform solution to write Bangla.

Read the official post on OmicronLab forum.