The Alarm Clock Xtreme for Android is of the geeky alarm app ever developed for android devices. The application is perfect to wake us up from any deep sleep. The app comes with option to solve math problems to turn off the alarm. Unless you solve the problem, the alarm doesn’t turn off. So this will prevent you from turning off accidentally. This way you can get your mind freshened and put into work. So unless you are not falling asleep even after turning off the alarm by solving the math problem, this app will do it’s job perfectly. All you need to do is get off the bed and start of with your daily rituals.

Here are couple of screenshots from the app:

The screenshots above show the options to select the alarm dismiss methods and setting up options. While on the bottom, you can see the mathematical problem solving method to disable the alarm. Also you get to select the math difficulty level, tougher you choose, better time you get to wake up!

Download the app from here or directly scan the QR code on your phone.

Apart from the math-solving feature, the app also sports several other features like shake to snooze, music alarms, timer, countdown and several other options. This app can be downloaded from the Android Market and weighs 670 KB.

So it is really necessary to monitor your site’s uptime and compare it with the promised uptime by your host. This is a must if you own a unmanaged VPS. Monitoring a site’s uptime is no big deal. You don’t need to sit in front your computer, there are several services out there just to do the job. And one of the best I would suggest others to use is the Pingdom.

Using pingdom service is very simple. All you need to do is create free account and it lets you monitor 1 website. If you want to monitor more sites, you can consider upgrading to pro-account or use multiple free accounts. I would suggest to use the IP address to monitor the uptime of a site instead of URL since DNS downtimes can also give false alarms.

Once added, you can set the interval between checks in “Check Interval” to 5 minutes which is I would recommend. Once everything in place, it starts to monitor your site’s uptime and you can also using options to get notification methods whenever the site goes down. And also the advantage of using Pingdom over other services is that it can also let you monitor uptime from their Android app. All you need to do is enable Android notifications.

In the above screenshot you see pingdom’s uptime report for a month of one of my VPS. The host guarantees 99% uptime and they live up to their promise with just 3 downtimes spanning around 15 minutes.

Traditional way of learning math might be helpful for most, but for me it is a big no-no. I started discovering new ways to understand and learn math. I purchased many math reference books, started browsing through the web for best tutorials, made use of wolfram|alpha etc. But this just didn’t help me out to my expectations.

I wanted something that is a blend of both tradition as well as modern way of learning math and I was lucky enough to hit the sweet spot and found “Khan Academy“ through one of my friend on Google+

Khan Academy is free, non-profit, one man initiative with over 2400 educational videos teaching math, science, finance, history and test exercises. It is founded by Salman Khan who holds multiple bachelor’s degree from MIT and is very generous to help reach the knowledge to the mass. His teaching method is brilliant and uses good examples when needed just like in normal classes. The best advantage of this sort of learning is that you can pause, rewind and or forward the lecture if boring. This way you can learn at your own pace. Even Salman quotes this in most of his speeches. Also the ability to download the videos with click of a button is added bonus to share with people having no access to internet. To encourage visitors watch more videos, the academy also has included a pointing system where you get more points for watching videos and analyze the stats.

His collection of videos and his teaching is so good that it has attracted eyes many biggies like Bill Gates and co-founders of Google. Bill Gates himself has made a statement that Salman Khan is his favorite teacher and uses those videos to train his children. Recently Google funded Khan Academy with $2 Million to encourage making new tutorials.

Here’s what I got recently stating to update one of my site:

Wordpress update notification from Google.

It is always good to keep updated since insecure versions of wordpress are vulnerable to attacks. Newer versions come with possible solutions to patch those vulnerability until new loopholes are found.

The moment I received this notification, I was bit in doubt since I had never heard of Google sending such mails to its webmaster users suggesting to update the wordpress and the formatting of mail was not good! I even thought this might be fake, but after looking at the details of the mail, the sender ID was google’s official webmaster tools address. Later I did a search on internet and was confirmed that it is official after reading Matt Cutts’s update on twitter.

You don’t need to enable any option to get such notification in webmaster tools. It’s great to see google sending such update notification to wordpress users. Hope this will make people who often tend to be lazy updating their installation. All it takes is just a click to update the wordpress to latest version.

1. Google Sky Maps

If you are an astro buff and love to gaze at beautiful night sky, this is the must install app. It is so cool that it syncs to the direction using the inbuilt compass & accelerometer and displays all the celestial objects on it as you tilt the phone. And when you see above, you see the exact object and constellations. Google Sky Map turns your Android-powered mobile phone into a window on the night sky.

2. Widgetsoid

If you are not satisfied with the widgets that came with your phone or don’t like its look and feel, you must install widgetsoid to create custom widgets. Widgetsoid lets you create your own widgets like toggle buttons, indicators like wifi, battery etc, shortcuts and even system related functions like rebooting and unmounting SD etc. Widgetsoid is the only app which has custom color for icons and indicator!

3. Pulse News

Meet Pulse. A beautiful application that makes browsing news from websites and social networks fun and engaging. Pulse takes your favorite websites (including Facebook) and transforms them into a colorful and interactive mosaic. Tap on an article, and you will see a clean and elegant view of the story. Sharing a story via Facebook, Twitter or email is as easy as two taps.

4. Google Goggles

This app enables you to search the real world by taking a picture. Goggles uses image recognition technology to recognize objects and return relevant search results. Identifies products by scanning barcode, famous landmarks, storefronts, artwork, and popular images found online. Goggles can translate words in English, French, Italian, German & Spanish. Goggles can extract contact information from business cards. Oh well, it can even solve your Sudoku. Watch this video to get a clear picture.

5. Titanium Backup

There are times when you will need to backup all your installed apps like when you want to move them to your new phone or if your apps are installed on SD card, you may need to move to new SD card. This app needs your phone to be rooted, if done it lets you backup and restore all your Apps, Market Links. It can also remove unwanted bloatwares from your phone.

6. Dropbox

Dropbox is a free service that lets you bring all your photos, docs, and videos anywhere. After you install Dropbox on your computer, any file you save to your Dropbox will automatically save to all your computers, your Android device, and even the Dropbox website! With the Dropbox app, you can take everything that matters to you on the go.

7. ASTRO File Manager

You might have wondered where is the file manager / browser in your android phone. It is because majority of android phones come without file manager. To any user, a file manager is a must have utility. This is where the ASTRO File Manager app comes to the rescue. This app lets you browse, backup, rename, delete, move, search, compress files etc. It also comes with a inbuilt image viewer and many other features.

8. Swype

Tired of typing on your default keyboard on your screen? Especially if your android phone comes with smaller display, you will feel the heat while typing longer messages or mails. Swype will replace your default keyboard with it’s very own which can be used to input text by just swiping across the screen. It traces out your fingers motion and inputs the word.

9. Twitter

The official Twitter app is a must install app to every twitter user. This app lets you do almost everything that you do on the twitter web interface. It includes features like: Browse interests, Find & follow friends, Tweet, Retweet, Favorite, Direct Message privately with your followers, share photos, videos and web pages, real-time search, view maps, trends, and follow.

10. Angry Birds

Now that you have many essential apps installed, you will need something that is really addictive to kill time when you bored. The survival of the Angry Birds is at stake. Dish out revenge on the greedy pigs who stole their eggs. Use the unique powers of each bird to destroy the pigs’ fortresses. Angry Birds features challenging physics-based gameplay and hours of replay value. Each of the 240 levels requires logic, skill, and force to solve.

EOS 600D comes with a 18 Mega Pixel CMOS image sensor, powered by new improved 14-bit DIGIC 4 image processor, a 3 inch Vari-angle Clear View TFT display with 1040K dots which is now making some buzz in Canon DSLRs, the ISO sensitivity ranges 100-6400 and can be extended till 12800, continuous shooting remains same at 3.7 FPS on burst with 34 JPEG images & 6 images RAW limit, shutter speed can be set from 30 – 1/4000 sec, 63-zone focus points, wide-area 9-point auto focus, capable of recording full HD videos (1920 x 1080) and more features.

The EOS 600D also comes with Scene Intelligent Auto mode which lets camera to choose appropriate scene mode automatically, Basic+ and Creative Filters, Built-in wireless flash control, the camera can house all EF and EF-S lenses etc. You can view the complete specification of the camera over here.

The Canon EOS 600D can be pre-ordered with 3 options:

With EF-S 18-135mm Lens at Rs. 59499 (buy from flipkart)

With EF-S 18-55mm kit lens at Rs.44699 (buy from flipkart)

And body-only at Rs. 41199

To change the hostname in Ubuntu, follow these simple steps:

1. Find out your existing hostname by entering this command in terminal:

hostname

So on my computer, the hostname is “santhosh-desktop”

2. Change the hostname by editing:

sudo nano /etc/hostname

You will see the existing hostname. Change it to whatever new hostname you want and save it by hitting Ctrl + O

In this tutorial, I change it to

gigacore-desktop

3. Now edit the hosts:

sudo nano /etc/hosts

Here change the ::1 and 127.0.1.1 to the new hostname you chose.

::1 gigacore-desktop localhost6.localdomain6 localhost6
127.0.1.1 gigacore-desktop

3. Restart the hostname service.

sudo /etc/init.d/hostname restart

Now check the hostname by following the step 1 and you should see the new hostname.

Amazingly, even consumers started ignoring the fact that Android devices are supposed to be less priced. In the midst of all these ups and downs, there are people who are still in debate that there is no use of thinking about expensive Android devices. So apparently, manufactures began listening to the consumers’ far cry and are launching new mid-range affordable android mobile phones.

Here is a list of 10 affordable Android Phones in India at the moment:

1. Samsung Galaxy 5 I5503

The Samsung Galaxy5 I5503 is a perfect phone for those who are seeking to switch to android phone and get started with it. This phone looks like an Corby, but runs on Andorid, making it smarter and better. Galaxy5 I5503 comes with better specs too – It is powered by a 600 MHz processor, 170 MB onboard storage, microSD card slot (up to 16GB) with 1GB card included, 2.8″ capacitive TFT touchscreen of QVGA resolution with 16M colors, 2 MP camera, runs on Android OS v2.1 Eclair, Wi-Fi connectivity with DLNA, HSDPA 7.2 Mbps, Standard 3.5 mm audio jack, TouchWiz UI v3.0, SWYPE text input method and Social networking integration.

Price: Rs. 8989

2. Samsung Galaxy Pop S5570

Galaxy Pop is one step ahead of Galaxy 5. It houses the same 600 Mhz CPU, comes with Android 2.2 Froyo OS, 3G is an added bonus and is capable up to HSDPA 7.2 Mbps, Wi-Fi, 3 MP camera, a much larger 3.14 Inches TFT Capacitive Touchscreen, Music player with DNSe sound enhancement and 3.5 mm jack, high quality Video recording with multi-format video player, Digital compass, GPS navigation, Gtalk and other integrated Social networking and a powerful 1200 mAh battery.

Price: Rs. 9350

3. Samsung Galaxy Fit S5670

The Samsung Galaxy Fit is upscaled model of Pop with new useful features. This phone aims at providing a “premium” android experience to it’s users. The phone is powered by 600 Mhz CPU, 3.3 inches TFT capacitive touchscreen with 16M colors, Android OS, v2.2 (Froyo), 5 MP camera with autofocus, geo-tagging and smile detectio, TouchWiz v3.0 UI, 3G – HSDPA connectivity up to 7.2 Mbps, GPS navigation, Digital Compass, WiFi, Google Maps, Sweep Interaction Phonebook, DNSe sound enhancement and 3.5 mm jack, Swype text input method, Accelerometer sensor, Proximity sensor for auto turn-off and a powerful Li-Ion 1350 mAh battery.

Price: Rs. 10790 ( Buy Samsung Galaxy Fit S5670 (Metallic Black) from Flipkart.com )

4. Samsung Galaxy 551 I5510

Compared to Galaxy Fit and the rest listed above, this Samsung Galaxy 551 comes with much larger screen and a sliding QWERTY keyboard which stands-out in the crowd. This phone is an cheap alternate to HTC’s Desire Z. The phone is powered by a faster 667MHz processor, 3.2″ 16M-color TFT capacitive touchscreen, QWERTY keyboard, Android OS v2.2 with TouchWiz launcher, 3.15 MP autofocus camera with QVGA video recording at 15fps capability, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, GPS, 160 MB internal storage with microSD slot, Accelerometer and proximity sensor, smart dialing, Quad-band GSM and dual-band 3G support, 7.2 Mbps HSDPA support.

Price: Rs. 10990 Buy Samsung Galaxy 551 I5510 (Modern Black) from Flipkart.com

5. LG Optimus One P500

The LG Optimus One is a good alternative to the mid-range samsung’s galaxy phones. The phone is powered by 600MHz CPU, runs on Android 2.2 Froyo, 419MB RAM is an added benefit, 3 megapixel autofocus camera with face and smile detection & geotagging, 3.2″ 256K-color capacitive TFT touchscreen of HVGA resolution with mutli-touch support, microSD card slot up to 32GB support, GPS, Digital Compass, Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support, Wi-Fi b/g; Wi-Fi hotspot functionality built-in, Accelerometer, Proximity sensor, Office document editor, Portrait and landscape on-screen QWERTY keyboard, DivX/XviD support, Social networking integration.

Price: Rs. 10299 ( Buy LG Optimus One P500 from Flipkart.com )

6. HTC Wildfire

One can term the HTC Wildfire as the scaled down version of HTC Desire. The phone sports a professional looks with decent performance. The phone is powered by Qualcomm MSM 7225 528 MHz CPU, 384 MB RAM and 512 MB ROM, 3.2″ capacitive touchscreen of QVGA resolution with multi-touch support, runs on Android OS v2.1 (Éclair) with Sense UI, 3G with 7.2 Mbps HSDPA, 5 megapixel auto-focus camera with LED flash and touch focus, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g and GPS receiver, Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate, Turn-to-mute, lift-to-tone-down, proximity sensor, microSD card slot, Flash-enabled browser and Social network integration: Facebook, Twitter and Flickr through Friend Stream.

Price: Rs. 13199 (Buy HTC Wildfire (Black) from Flipkart.com)

7. Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 Mini

As the name suggests, the Xperia X10 mini is a miniature model of sony ericsson’s Xperia X10 phone. The phone is very compact and portable. It is powered by Qualcomm MSM7227 600MHz CPU, runs on a customized Android OS 1.6 webkit, 2.55″ capacitive touchscreen of QVGA resolution, a 3G with HSPA, a 5 megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash and VGA video recording, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, GPS receiver and digital compass, Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate and turn-to-mute, microSD card slot with support for up to 8GB cards and Ultra compact body.

Price: Rs. 11507

8. Samsung Galaxy Ace

The Samsung Galaxy Ace can be considered as the upper mid-range android phones. The phone sports a Galaxy S like look and also comes with decent performance to make your experience smooth. The phone is powered by 800MHz ARM 11 processor, a Adreno 200 GPU, Qualcomm MSM7227 chipset and 278MB of RAM, 3.5″ 16M-color TFT LCD capacitive touchscreen, the phone runs on Android OS v2.2 (Froyo) with TouchWiz 3.0 UI customization, 5 MP autofocus camera with LED flash; Geo-tagging, face and smile detection, microSD slot, Swype text input, 3G capable up to 7.2 Mbps HSDPA support, A-GPS connectivity and Digital compass, DNSe sound enhancement, Accelerometer and proximity sensor and a Document editor.

Price: Rs. 15490 (Buy Samsung Galaxy Ace S5830 (Black) from Flipkart.com)

9. Dell XCD28

Dell XCD28 is a low budget entry-level android phone by the popular Dell company that produces great laptops. The phone is powered by 600 MHz ARM 11 processor, Adreno 200 GPU, Qualcomm MSM7227 chipset, 200 MB storage, 256 MB RAM, 256 MB ROM, 2.8 inches TFT resistive touchscreen, 256K colors, runs on Android OS, v2.1 (Eclair), GPS, microSD, up to 8GB, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps and Document viewer (.doc .ppt .xlx and .pdf).

Price: Rs. 7299

10. Motorola Zeppelin Lite Xt5 Xt502

The Zeppelin Lite Xt5 is a Motorola’s approach to mid-range Android devices. The phone is powered by Qualcomm MSM7201A 600 MHz Processor, 512MB ROM, 256MB RAM; 2 GB MicroSD card included, 5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels camera, LED flash, 3.2 inches MicroSD, MicroSDHC slot, GPS, Accelerometer sensor, Capacitive trackpad, HSDPA 7.2 Mbps; HSUPA, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, DLNA.

Price: Rs. 13299

Finally after a long wait, Samsung’s Google Nexus S is now up for grabs in India and can be pre-ordered at Rs. 27999.

Nexus S is the successor of Google Nexus One. The benefit of these Nexus series is that they come with unaltered Android OS. Nexus S comes with Gingerbread and sports no additional facelift UI, which many geeks like.

Coming to the specifications, the phone houses a powerful 1 GHz ARM Cortex-A8 (Hummingbird) processor, 16GB on board storage, 512 MB RAM, a unique 4.0″ WVGA (480×800) Super AMOLED Contour Display with curved glass screen, data transfer is capable up to HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps, Android OS, v2.3 Gingerbread, a 5 MP autofocus camera with LED flash with geotagging, a Front-facing VGA camera, a Near Field Communication chip, Google Maps 5.0 With 3D Navigation and Adobe Flash v10.1 Support out of the box.

You can pre-order the phone from Flipkart.

Enter the following in your terminal:

sudo dpkg-reconfigure -plow phpmyadmin

Reinstall database for phpmyadmin: Select “No”

Web server to reconfigure automatically: Select “apache 2″

It should world now. If not, do the following to include the phpMyadmin-shipped Apache configuration into Apache:

sudo ln -s /etc/phpmyadmin/apache.conf /etc/apache2/conf.d/phpmyadmin.conf

Restart apache:

sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

That’s it. Let me if you have any doubts in the comment.