getting stuck in traffic…

i want live traffic
reports!

im new to the city…

i want
directions!

i want auto fares, bus routes, and car
pool information as well!
Yes, and now its possible.

If you don’t know about it already, its high time you knew Ladies and gentlemen, if you’re from Bangalore, Hyderabad or Chennai, you can get directions, you can get live traffic reports, and you can get them as SMSes on your mobile!

Bangalore Transport Information System, or BTIS, gives you live traffic reports - where’s busy, and where’s not; whether its offpeak time, or peak time; whether there is a road block, or not. It can also provide directions, along with bus routes. It can also help you to carpool. And best of all, all this can be accessed by SMSing! Apart from these, the website also provides information on the city traffic, safety regulations, rules and so on.

A project by Mapunity and Airtel, the online Transport Information System concept began with their pilot project in Hyderabad. Immediately, BTIS was launched, and now Chennai is in the beta stages.

When Live Traffic is clicked, you get a map wherein the roads are marked with green, orange, or red buttons. Green means that the traffic is ok. Orange means that the traffic is moderately high, and Red means that the traffic is very high, and most probably blocked.

If you want traffic directions, go to Directions, and enter the place from where you want to travel, and you destination. Then click Go and you’re in business. The map shows a line, which is the path you must take. It also displays the distance, average auto fare, and bus routes. You can zoom in on areas. You can get the directions by SMS as well.

Best of all, if you have GPRS enabled on your mobile, you can get all features of BTIS on your mobile. Like a semi GPS!

Currently, Mapunity has these information systems for Bangalore (BTIS), Hyderabad (HTIS), and Chennai (CTIS). Well,
next time you’re in doubt about directions, or if you want a quick check on traffic before you go, or if you want to research side streets to use, you know where to go

Technorati Tags: BTIS, HTIS, CTIS, bangalore, hyderabad, chennai, traffic, bangalore traffic, traffic problems, directions, car pool, auto fare, bangalore traffic information system, traffic information system

Ladies and Gentlemen,

When I logged in to my PayPal account today, I found a small ad (yes! it was a paid ad!) showing "NEW! Withdraw money from your PayPal account directly to your Visa® credit or debit card" and this small ad redirected me to an eBay help page, wherein it said that you could now withdraw PayPal funds to 26 countries, including India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Philippines, via Visa credit, debit or prepaid cards! All for a small fee of $5.

I didn’t believe it at first, but I checked it out, and yes, it was true. The complete list of countries -

Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Cyprus, Estonia, Gibraltar, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Philippines, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Uruguay.

The minimum withdrawal amount is $10, the fees charged is $5. There is also a currency conversion fee of 3.9% + $0.30 USD (for Withdrawals below $3000. For viewing the complete list, go to PayPal Transaction Fees help page). It may take around 5-7 days for the transaction to go through.

That is, if you’re withdrawing $1000 USD -
First, $5 will be deducted as PayPal Withdrawal Fees.
Then 3.9% of the amount will be deducted as Currency Conversion fees. Thus $39 will be deducted. Yet another $ .30 will be deducted for the same reason. Thus $39.50 USD will be deducted as Currency Conversion fees.

You get $1000 - $5 - $ 39.5 = $955.5 USD credited in your account.

If withdrawn into your Credit Card, it will be displayed as credit (in negative) and its your choice when to use it against your credit payments. If withdrawn into your Debit card, it will be transferred to your bank account and you can use it using your Debit card, or withdraw it, even through an ATM! If withdrawn into a Prepaid card, you can use the money as you would have…

And how to Withdraw?

From http://pages.ebay.com.sg/sea/paypal/withdraw.html#1

Follow the 3 easy steps below to withdraw your funds from your PayPal balance to your Visa® credit, debit or prepaid card. Here’s how:

1.Log in to your account and click the ‘Withdraw’ tab.
2.Click ‘Transfer funds to your card’.
3.Fill in the required information and click ‘Continue’.

This truly is a boon for all us PayPal users from these countries, especially India. I hope this article was helpful. I’ve taken all information from the PayPal website, and eBay help pages. All images in this post were taken from the PayPal help pages and are copyrighted to PayPal.

For more information, visit -
1. Overview of withdrawal to Visa card feature (eBay help pages)
2. Currency conversion fees page
3. See all withdrawal options and general notes (PayPal help)

Cheers And enjoy PayPal!

Technorati Tags: paypal, withdraw funds, india, paypal india, paypal withdraw funds to india, paypal funds to india, malaysia, indonesia, philippines, visa card, credit card, debit card, prepaid card, paypal transfer to india, paypal money transfer india

Ladies and gentlemen,

   Today is Blog Action Day. Today, we bloggers around the world, including certain hi-fi bloggers like Lifehacker, GigaOm, Google Blog, and so on, participate to help spread the word about a cause. A cause, which needs much concern for it is necessary for sustainable development. The cause, which many of us easily ignore in our haste. Our environment.

   So I was thinking all day about what I would blog about. Finally, I decided to settle for a simple, but useful topic, and I decided to stick to the Indian context, because this blog is chiefly to serve Indian people (sorry people ).

   Here are a few things which I think could make an impact. These are the few basic things, which, though we know, we always tend to ignore.

• Please switch off all lights, fans and air conditioning when leaving a room. (Savings on your electricity bill, helps reduce global power consumption, helps reduce power crisis and blackouts, helps reduce global warming)
• Draw back the curtains, and utilize sunlight instead of the bulb in the mornings.(Savings on your electricity bill, helps reduce global power consumption, helps reduce power crisis and blackouts, helps reduce global warming)
• Use CFLs instead of incandescent bulbs.(Energy efficiency, savings on your electricity bill, helps reduce global power consumption, helps reduce power crisis and blackouts, helps reduce global warming)
• Please please please please do not waste water. Please turn off a tap while not in use. Shave using a mug of water. And turn off the tap while brushing your teeth.
• Reduce, reuse, recycle.
• Reuse paper. In small scale offices and industries, review your paper policy. (Savings on paper, help save trees)
• Put your PCs and laptops on Stand By mode when not in use. Helps save power, and extends the life of the computer.
• Ever tried purchasing wrinkle free shirts and trousers? Saves on the electricity bill BIG TIME (and helps our lazy chaps like me )
• Use plastic bags and bottles again, and again, and again, and again….
• Do you have any idea how newspapers can be reused? Of course, you can sell it to have it recycled, but you can reuse a bit of it yourself, and save a little bit of money (you can also boast to your friends). What can you make from a newspaper you ask? Temporary table covers, napkins, gift wrapping (especially the comics page), working paper, temporary wraps, file contents separater, CD cover (I’ll be posting that "How to" next time) and so on and so forth… The list is endless.
• Use public transport whenever feasible. Try to car pool / bike pool. If you’re in Bangalore, visit www.btis.in to find pooling partners. Offer lifts to those who ask for it. Try to reduce air travel. By doing these, you will be helping to reduce the energy crisis, saving a lot of money, and making a bunch of good friends . (Oops, forgot to mention, WALK wherever possible)

By doing these simple things, you can help ensure yourself, and others, a better life, and a better future environment. Something you should understand (and what my friend keeps saying every single time I mention environmental conservation) is that, you, or I, as a single person can’t do a thing. But if one Billion people of India conserve power, fuel, and water, there definitely WILL be a change. So spread the word, practice conservation methods, and encourage others to do the same.

The steps above are just my views. You’re free to form your own views, ideologies, and methods. Go ahead, spread them, maybe comment here, I’ll add them to the list. Also remember, all these steps cannot be followed in every walk of our life. We’re not fanatics! What we can do is help little by little. Practice little one day, a little more another day, and so on. And finally, we might actually end up saving our world .

And for the move active and time savvy of you, here a few more things to do -

• Publicize the cause, and the need. Many people publicize just the cause, and not the need. This leads to false beliefs, and false beliefs to unacceptancy.
• Openly support environmental causes. Use your area of expertise to do your best. Everyone could be a part of it. If you’re a journalist, write about it. If you’re a radio jockey, talk about it. If you’re a web designer, make websites about it. If you’re a software engineer, help organize it. If you’re an LIC agent, talk to your clients about it in every meeting. If you’re an service man at Cafe’ Coffee Day, talk to your customers about it, and maybe distribute extra tissue papers with the logo for the cause?!!!
• Adopt a tree. Adopting a tree isn’t as simple as what we see our politicians do. We don’t just plant a sapling, pour some water and leave it there. Adopting a tree will mean planting it, watering it daily, pruning it, helping it to grow, and protecting it.
• Launch campaigns, and conduct speeches in public areas, schools, colleges, and other educational institutions.
• Conduct such talks in otherwise neglected areas like orphanages and old age homes as well.

   I hope that I’ve made my point. I hope that someone will take off from here, and I hope that we can together, create a revolution, produce a change, and delay the inevitable. Peace!

Technorati Tags: blog action day, environment, 11 ways to go green, green India, green @ India, environmental conservation, save environment, power crisis, energy crisis, reduce, reuse, recycle

What would happen if every blog published posts discussing the same issue, on the same day?
One issue. One day. Thousands of voices.

Hi guys,
    All you bloggers out there, please take note of Blog Action Day, on October the 15th. You can participate in either of the 3 ways -

• Publish a post relating to an issue of your choice, pertaining to the environment.
• Commit a day’s earnings to an environmental charity. (a list is available in the blogactionday website)
• Publicize Blog Action Day

    Blogs as small as this, and as big as Problogger, are participating. Why dont you? Once you decide to participate, dont forget to register at their website. Also, if you’re a blogactionday participant, comment to this post, or send me a mail, and I’ll give you some link love. :)

    Cheers, and hoping to see you participate.

Technorati Tags: blogactionday, blog action day, october 15th

Hello all,
I’m sorry to say that I wont be blogging as actively as before due to my leaving home for pursuance of my higher studies at Christ College Bangalore. I will blog whenever I get time, and I do promise at least 1 post per week. Please do bear with me.

If you have any emergency queries, please feel free to contact me at my email address -

Cheers, and ciao…
Mohan K.
aka Neo Garfield