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Net Gains (Apr 02, 99) |
The print media carried two full page ads of interest to Internet
users (or potential Internet users). The first was Videocon's
tv.comp ad showcasing convergence in technology and entertainment
- a computer and a TV rolled in one, with a price tag of Rs. 40,000.
Basically you use the TV as a computer monitor saving on costs
there. If you are planning to buy the tv.comp, keep in mind that
you won't be able to see TV and work on the computer at the same
time. And secondly, surfing the Net using the TV may not be a
very enjoyable experience, specially when there's a lot of text
on a page - it can get difficult to read.
The second full page ad was one that will completely revolutionise
the lives of Indian Internet users. Standard Chartered introduced
their global credit card, allowing Indian users to buy things
world-wide with their ordinary credit card! Which means you can
buy books or music from Amazon.com or any other foreign site and
pay for it in rupees here! This facility is most useful when gifting
something to people abroad (that way you don't have to pay hefty
delivery charges to India), or if you have to pay for services
in dollars (like domain hosting charges that I pay for my website
for example), or apply for online courses (like ZD Net's tutorials
teaching you everything from HTML to Net marketing). While Indian
with international credit cards could do this all along, the global
credit card has brought this within reach of the common credit
card owner - and that too at the same annual card fees - Rs. 700
per month onwards. The possibilities are immense - send your girlfriend
in the US a gift for her birthday, or for no reason at all, subscribe
to online pay sites (there are plenty of clean ones too : - )
), and you don't have to depend on friends and relatives there
to use their cards for you anymore! Of course, you have the RBI
restrictions that don't allow you to spend more than US$ 3,000
per annum, but that is still a lot of money! When I saw the ad,
I regretted cancelling my StanChart card just a couple of months
ago, and asked for another application. The other banks had better
wake up soon, or they'll suddenly realise that their customers
are switching over…
With Easter just two days away, let's spend some time on the Internet
digging up information about Easter and traditions, downloading
free stuff off the Net and more importantly getting hold of some
recipes for delicious Easter eggs!
Holidays.net has put together a virtual basket of goodies
for you - right from the Easter story and the various traditions
associated with it, to plenty of things for kids to do and free
cards to send!
Easter Dating Method - no it's not about dating - but it
shows you how to calculate Easter Sunday dates for all years 326
to 4099 A.D, and even has a the dates of Easter Sunday right from
1700 (11th April 1700) to 2299 (16th April 2299). Looks
like someone had a lot of free time on their hands…
And if you'd like to get into the Easter spirit, don't forget
to stop at FileMine for an Easter screensaver for Win 95
users, or at Kate.net for desktop wallpapers. As usual
- these are for free!
Last, but not the least, have an Eggs-otic Easter, with
a wide range of Easter egg recipes - from vegetarian Easter eggs
to Ukrainian Easter eggs. Oh, you can even buy a colourful, souvenir
wooden egg commemorating the traditional Easter Egg Roll
at the White House (a practise started way back for kids in 1878).
Available in blue, green, purple, and red, these are priced at
US$ 3 each - and if you have your global credit card you can buy
it right away!
Click here to win a free Internet account!