Google did it again, well i heard about it an year back in news when an engineer at Google had figured out a way to track exact location of a cell phone user without the authorization or knowledge of cell phone network carrier. It did seem like hoax and still does because if Google can do such a thing without the knowledge of cellular network carrier then its a big privacy concern as Google is not CIA and its not a Govt entity as i am sure Govt. and Intelligence agencies can do that without our permission but if a private company does it then its violation of my privacy. BBC does talk about it and you might want to read it as well.

Any how getting back to the new product Google just launched called Google Latitude. As the name suggests Google Latitude helps you track your friends location either via web or thorough your cell phone.  For cell phone users first you have to install Google Maps and there you will get an option to first allow to share your location with any one of your friend. If you friend is using Google Maps on his phone or is on his computer using Google Map he would be able to find out where you are and in return can send you an sms or call you up. The two sided communication needs Google Maps to be running 24/7 which is quite expensive on a cell phone as i only open Google Maps when i am looking for some location rather then keep it open for the sake of opening it does cost bandwidth.

Though the information shared is also not known to be 100% accurate and my guess is that the information is tracked with the help of your cell phone internet connection maybe its IP , server and provider of course that can be easily traced which can give an approximate location and bypass the cellular network carrier.

Unfortunately i could not test it as that application is so far restricted to 27 countries only in which Pakistan is not yet included. I would love to know if some one in US could check it out and give a feedback.

World Call Serial Planet & I am an Addict.

This is addictive for those who have got Worldcall Cable internet, its a world which is hidden from the WWW and is sort of an exclusive access to only Worldcall Cable Internet subscribers,  with a very huge collection of almost all Tv Serials that you probably watch either on Hulu or on Star World. If enjoy watching Friends, Family Guy, Heroes, Scrubs, Prison Break, CSI Miami …… and so on then WorldCall got a portal for you only accessible to worldcall consumers. http://tv4.go4b.net.pk (its a hidden world indeed)

Telecommunication industry is Robbing Me.

Some times its sicking, when was the last time you watched TV which was not sponsored by a Telecom Company, there is Zong ’sabe sei sasti call’ then Jazz ‘aur sunao’ then Ufone its all about U but Warid seems to be a bit quite or i don’t remember their slogan somehow but still dont you think its too much. Geo Tv charges 180,000 for 1 min of air time so can you imagine how much these telecommunication companies pay per day for air time on tv / radio and print ads / banner that we see on the Road and in the newspaper. And its all our money.

Twitter is turning into a Message Board.

Twitter asked a Question “What are you doing?” but why when i look at my twitter page then its really difficult to find what other people are doing rather its easy to find what other people are discussing about so i guess its time that twitter should change the question from “what are you doing ?” to “What do you want to talk about ? ” or “Start a thread” (a billion $ idea indeed).

This is getting more and more exciting, feels like our Tech crowd is coming to life. Thanks to Google & Blogger.com there is an upcoming get together at Lahore called “Lahore Blogger Meet up”. Historically speaking this is the second blogger get together in Lahore, the first one was arranged by BuzzVines on 14th August 2007 with a controversial “I still love Pakistan” campaign (yeh it was me :P )  and this one organized by Google Pakistan and you are invited if you:

• Want to learn what blogging is?
• Have a blog but how can I earn from it?
• Am earning by blogging but very little; how can I increase my earnings?
• Am a pro-bloggers and want to share my secrets on how to setup & earn from blogging…
• Want to see what kind of ppl are bloggers ;)
• Networking & socializing…
• Other:

So who is coming up, well i am going to drop by as its on Sunday so i ll probably utilize my lay around tv time to a more productive socialize & pro-bloggers meet up, apart from that i have heard Pakistan’s pro bloggers are going to make a keynote on their success story :

1. Sizlopedia.com (Saad Hamid)
2. PinkWool.com (Maryam Nasim)
3. Sizzledcore.com (Haris Nadeem)
4. For Beginners: Blogging & how to start earning from it? (Badar Khushnood)
5. For Advanced Users: Tools for professional blogging! (Badar Khushnood)

Time & Venue:

• Date: Sunday, November 23, 2008
• Time: 3:00pm – 6:00pm
• Location: Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)
• Town: DHA
• City/Country: Lahore, Pakistan
• Registration: Registration is FREE but the seats are limited.

Blogger Meetup Imp Links

1. Facebook Event Page
2. Registration for Bloggers Meet up

What others are saying

• BuzzVines Lahore Blogger Meetup
• Lahore Met Blogs – Lahore Blogger Meetup
• Light Within – Lahore Bloggers Meetup

Seems like a really positive movement in our tech crowd, recently ‘The Interaction Design Center’ organized ‘World Usability Day’ at the UMT campus here in Lahore. When i heard about the event i was a bit surprised as i never expected “A World Usability day” here in Pakistan, but really happy to know that it did.

I reached the event at around 10:20, expected start time was 10am but it started a little late so i was technically not a late comer. There was a tremendous energy and excitement in the people who organized it and the people who came to attended it. Imran hussain started off the event with a welcome note and Adnan was the official host and i guess the brains behind the event. Google sponsored the event along with a live international video link with the creator of Google MapMaker (Lalit Ktaragadda at Google India), quite interesting and well prepared presentation. The biggest turn off was the speech by the Dr. Tanvir Iqbal from UET lahore, seemed like he wasn’t prepared or was not well guided on what the actual event was about.

I couldn’t hang around to attend the complete event so i skipped off during the tea break as i had a bunch of tickets to resolve and work to look after but over all i really appreciate the effort, it a positive movement and i hope in future we get to see and attend many such tech conferences in Lahore.

• Facebook Event Link
• Interaction Design Center
  
• University of Management Sciences

Received an interesting email from a friend who is in HR, so check out what kind of an Employee or Worker you are on the bases of your Zodiac signs :

This is me >>
Aquarius Employee Profile (january 21 – february 19)
The Aquarius employee can’t tolerate unfairness in the office. Hair brained schemes will get the positive attention they deserve if an Aquarian has anything to do with it. They’ll try to help everyone see the good side of a bad situation if it’s the last thing that they do. They are so smart-they can’t help but hold management in disdain if they feel that they are being unfair and unintelligent. It isn’t that they are overly ambitious and think they could be doing a better job- just that they think people in power should know better. Most Aquarius workers are still looking for themselves and will want to try their hand at a variety of jobs in the workplace. Whatever they are doing, they will do conscientiously. They usually have strict personal codes that include a strong work ethic.Their bright, off-beat intelligence, and trustwothiness will typically gain them many friends-in and out of work. Beneath that sometimes odd-ball behavior is solid, concrete thinking and sensitivity to co-workers. Keep your smart Aquarius co-worker happy by giving them plenty of opportunity to learn news kills. Raises are less important to them. No amount of money will make it worth their while to stay in a stagnant position. Don’t let them get too bored or they will simply find another job as easily as they found this one-their genius is easy to spot.

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