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03.19.06

E-Mail - The 7 Deadly Sins Uncategorized | Comments Off
How to really mess up a great conceptIn June 1995, Kishore Bhargava and I were planning a seminar tour. We were finalising the "story line" of the seminar - with me sitting in Bangalore and Kishore in Delhi. In a span of about 2 hours, we sent each other almost 50 messages, occasionally dragging in other friends into the discussion, seeking advice and suggestions from them. It was almost a real time conference, and looking at the ...
03.19.06

Tuning up TCP/IP Uncategorized | Comments Off
Tips on setting up serious Internet accounts, with PPP and SLIPKishore Bhargava and I just took off from Madras, en route to Calcutta for the next leg of our "Business on the Internet" seminar tour. Though the flight feels somewhat like a one-eyed drunken sailor in a sack race, I have reasons to grin: I am using my notebook computer in mid-air. For a change, I am actually getting some work done on the flight, instead of looking ...
03.19.06

Women Online Uncategorized | Comments Off
In August and September of '94, Kishore Bhargava and I were on tour around the country holding seminars on datacommunications. Though we expected (and got) a lot of questions from the 450+ people who attended the seminars, one question really stumped us: "Why aren't there more women online?" This was a rather embarrassing question - Kishore and I usually had to look at each other and shrug our shoulders. Being men, it was almost impossible for us to supply an answer to this one without sounding flippant or confirmed MCPs. The plot thickened on reaching Delhi, when a member of Kishore's ECTCnet BBS, ...
03.19.06

Invasion of the File Snatchers Uncategorized | Comments Off
Late April was a rather busy time for me. I was in Delhi setting up PCQ Online. Now Delhi is a hot place in the month of April, but that wasn't really bothering me (I could even live with the fact that PCQ got hit by a 440 volt surge and that PKR's air conditioner didn't like me and blew every time I walked in).What really bothered me was a series of meetings I had with the growing number of BBS sysops (system operators) in Delhi. They had some really disturbing statistics for me. These statistics were about the growing number ...
03.19.06

Communicating on the Road Uncategorized | Comments Off
Here's a question for you -Q: "What is the fastest way to drive Atul Chitnis round the bend ?" A: "Send him to a place where he can't connect his notebook computer's modem to the telephone line !" In the past few months, I have written about various modem aspects, but all of them were aimed at desktop users. Notebook computer users are increasing in numbers - it's time to address their problems. WHAT ? NO RJ11 SOCKET ???? This has happened to me too many times in the past. I go to a place, need to connect my modem to the phone line, ...
03.19.06

INET Uncategorized | Comments Off
In the past few articles I have been writing about how to communicate using modems. While a lot of ground has been covered there, we have been assuming that you are calling from one place to another via a direct telephone call.This is OK if you are talking about calling within the same city, since it is just a local call. Once you start communicating with computers that are in another city, a new (and nasty) factor shows up - long distance phone charges. "Aaaaarrrrrrggghhhhhh!!!!!!" The above expletive is heard in most offices at least once every two months - the time ...
03.19.06

Get your Fax right Uncategorized | Comments Off
Many of you who have attended my seminars across the country will be very surprised seeing an article by me that actually acknowledges faxes. My (opiniated??) stand about faxing seems to be legendary - I don't like faxes, and I don't hesitate in saying so.Yet I must accept the fact that faxing is a way of life, especially in India, where the concept of electronic mail is yet to get widespread acceptance. And as my job is to make you more productive, I must show you how to get the most out of faxing. The first step is to junk your fax ...
03.19.06

Killer DoT Uncategorized | Comments Off
Author's note: This article was probably the first "electronic activism" article that ever appeared in the Indian media, though I didn't know it then. What I *did* know was that I was thoroughly misusing my technical column - with pretty stupendous success. I never regretted it. Before continuing with this particular article, I must first state that the views and opinions that follow are strictly my own, and that the PCQ management may not necessarily endorse them (though I sincerely hope that it does). A bolt from the blue A month back, I received a VERY disturbing e-mail message from the sysop of ...
03.19.06

More on Compuserve Uncategorized | Comments Off
I got a call this morning. All the way from Bombay. Wow !The gentleman at the other end had a very interesting query - what's Compuserve's Bombay phone number ? Oh oh. Many moons ago I wrote a full article on Compuserve. I never had so many responses to anything I wrote in my life before ! Not even after that unfortunate incident I had with a cheque I once issued without checking my bank balance.... But the phonecall gave me reason to think - Compuserve seems to be indelibly on the Indian businessman's mind. Am I to blame for that ? Yes ...
03.19.06

Troubleshooting file transfers Uncategorized | Comments Off
You know that feeling when you have spent the past hour hunting for your glasses, only to find them perched on top of your head ? I mean, a really serious situation (I am blind without my glasses) that has a perfectly stupid and simple answer ?Well, you won't believe what I have seen people come up with when it comes to file transfers. While this article may seem funny, it is also dead serious. Read on... "Nothing wrong on my side" The above is probably the most common thing I get to hear when I try to figure out why some ...

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