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Take a photo and buy the item from Amazon. Just amazing!

Amazon shopping app fro BlackBerry

Amazon.com has long been optimized for mobile experience but today I came across this interesting app by Amazon.com for BlackBerry devices. You simply go to http://www.amazon.com and it offers you to download the app. The app is simple to install and use. It has normal options of searching products, reading descriptions, viewing reviews and checking out product photos and eventually buying it right there and then fromt he app.

The feature that impressed me a lot is called “Amazon Remembers”. The feature allows you to take a photo of an item that you want to purchase and Amazon suggests a product same or similar to it.

Here’s how it actually detected my BlackBerry charger 🙂

The app showed me the number of steps I need to perform to make the feature work. I grabbed my BlackBerry charger and took a photo right away to see how it works.

It took a few seconds to upload the file.
I thought it will fail if its automated and it will take more time if it is manual but it literally took 30 seconds to get the status updated in the app and an email in my inbox that the product has been identified. Here’s what it found:
OMG! Its dead accurate. There is definitely sitting there identifying items for us 🙂
Then I added a Nokia E51 and that got recognized correectly as well
And then I got a bit too odd on Amazon guys and added a few un-popular items and obviously they started returning totally unrelated results.
Conclusion
Amazon’s BlackBerry app is not only an easy way of shopping online but it provides you value against the plain old mobile site. Most apps out there actually replicate the functionality of their browser based app but this one has much more to offer.
Green Home Computing Approved
Last but not least, to match our theme of Green 2010, this app fits into the environment friendly computing model. Using mobile for shopping is much more eco friendly as compared to shopping using conventional desktop computers.

Go-Green – What is it all about?

Go -Green, you must have heard the slogan and might be practically working on the idea as well. Go-Green is a movement, a frame of mind or a philosophy that is very much concerned about the environment. Environmentalism is another name for going green. The philosophy has been promoted throughout the ages but has gone intense in the current times and there is a whole set of guidelines to be followed in every walk of life that eventually reduces or eliminate the effect of our ways on the environment. Eco friendly ways of life are our social responsibility that not only help keep the environment as it is, does not cause negative effects on environment but also helps us in several ways like saving money and time, improving our health and reducing negative impacts on our health and lives and making businesses more profitable.

If you have been reading my blog, I’ve always been talking about technology, computing, electronics, gadgets, internet, online services and other related things. We will talk about the green aspect of all these things and the life-style surrounding them.

We will be talking about the computers and how to go green with computing. How to go for eco-friendly internet use and which gadgets are more environment friendly. We will also look at different appliances at home and will replace them with new more energy efficient ones. We will talk about energy saving and more energy efficient alternatives. So stay tuned for all-new-more-green 2010 on BA’s Brain Waves 🙂

BA’s Brain Waves goes Mobile enabled

At the beginning of 2010, it was announced that BA’s Brain Waves, (i.e this blog) goes green, though we have done nothing green so far. One of the most strong argument we will advocate and will continue to discuss during this year is the use of mobile devices and hand held devices for surfing and accessing internet. Why? You old computer desktop sets and even your laptops and netbooks take a lot more power as compared to the mobile devices. To allow you to read my blog in a green way, I’ve decided to go mobile on the blog as well, so if you are accessing the blog from a mobile device, please point your browser to http://www.basitali.mobi, while the usual basitali.com and basitj.blogspot.com will also continue to work as usual.

Google to phase out Internet Explorer 6 for Google docs

Google docs will no longer support Internet Explorer 6 and other older browsers. On march 1, 2010 these older browsers will start working either very slow or will not work at all with google docs.

This step has been taken in favor of new high speed docs site with newer standards like HTML 5.

The site will continue to work on Internet Explorer 7 and above, Fire Fox 3 and above, Chrome 3 and above and safari 3 and above.

Google also plans to phase out these older browsers from Google Mail and Google Calendar as well later in 2010.

BerrySnooper – A Walkthrough

BerrySnooper is a BlackBerry software that allows you to find your lost BlackBerry or stolen blackberry. This post is a walkthrough of BerrySnooper, how it works and what are the restuls.

BerrySnooper can be downloaded from BerrySnooper’s website. The setup is simple and straightforward and download is available over the air. Once you purchase and download blackberry, you will get the registration key in your email inbox.

First time you run the software, you will have to enter the registration key and configure the software for its tracking and alerts parameters. For example, where do you want to send alerts when you phone is stolen, how often you send the location information, what are you remail addresses etc.

There are two ways you can ask the phone for its location and then there are three ways you can check for the resultant location:

Walkthrough
Here’s the walkthrough of the typical use of BerrySnooper.
Step 1 – I forgot my phone in the car and don’t remember, whether its in my car, I left it at home or somewhere else.

Step 2: Grabbed somebody’s phone and sent an SMS to my BlackBerry

Step 3: Waited for a few seconds till I received the location of the phone in SMS

Clicking on this link shows a map too:

This result can also be viewed in your email

Or you can logon to BerrySnooper web-console to view the location:
Auto-Theft Detection
This is not all BerrySnooper does. Once you have BerrySnooper properly configured, the phone automatically listens for theft detection all the time. As soon as a theif switches the sim-card in your p hone, BerrySnooper comes into the action and starts sending the tracking results to you. This feature works even if you dont have data connection enabled and SMS results will be sent to you every 5 minutes by default (you can change your configuration from the BerrySnooper website.

Other interesting features:

  • You can always logon to your web-console to change your BerrySnooper settings, view your last known location or change your current BlackBerry handset (the software is locked against your handset to detect change of sim or change of handset)
  • Works with both Blackberries with or without GPS. When its without GPS, network infromation is used to find the location.
  • GPS enabled phones also find approximate location when indoors
  • The app restarts automatically and runs in the background without disturbing the user.

Conclusion:


BerrySnooper is a great tool to find your lost/forgotten  phone. It also lets you know about the location of your BlackBerry if stolen but I’m not sure if you’ll be able to retreive the phone  yourself. I recommend you take police with you if you are chasing somebody who mugged or stole your phone.

Last night was a blue moon in Pakistan – When is blue moon in my country?

What is a blue moon? Thats the first question I wanted to answer today. In one year, there are usually 12 full moons, but the lunar cycle allows a 13th full moon every 2 or 3 years. It happens exactly 7 times in 19 years. Blue-moon is the 13th full moon in such a year.

Last night, January 30th 2010 was a blue moon in Pakistan. First full moon of 2010 was on 1st January and then its the second full moon of the month. Hence it explains the term “once in s a blue moon”.

When does the blue moon happen? It happens in different months in different time zones. You can find the blue moon calendar here as it happens at different time of year in different time zones.

Google’s Workshop – updates.

just a simple summary of what's being discussed:

Use following tools and techniques for marketing your products online :

1. Use insight.
2. Use website optimizer.
3. Use the keyword tools/advertise on google.
4. Make your site content relevant.
5. Optimize landing pages.
6. Use webmaster tools.
7. Use google site maps.
8. Last but not least use Analytics.