Whether we eat to live, or live to eat, there is no denying that we all enjoy good food. And many of us would recall the times when we craved for something more than, and other than the usual everyday cuisine. Normally we end up picking up the first menu card that we can reach, and order a pizza, or burgers and sink our teeth in the forbidden delights. Yet, there are times when our taste buds would rather opt for a scrumptious home-made recipe — but something that is different from everyday fare.
Recipe Zaar (http://www.recipezaar.com) is your answer to all these cravings. This website is must treat, not just for those who love cooking, but also those who enjoy good food. What is more, this website is not just about searching and printing recipes only. There is so much to do here that it can easily keep you occupied for hours.
But before anything else, create an account here, which is free and easy. Of course, you can browse many sections of this website even without signing up. But it is always smarter to create an account and then sign in as soon as you visit the site so that you can thoroughly enjoy all the member benefits.
The website has been divided into recipes, cookbooks, menus and a community. In the recipes section, you can browse more than 2,45,000 recipes which have been categorised in various ways. You can either browse them by courses (salads, appetisers, desserts etc.) or ingredients (say, if you want to make a chocolate flavoured dish) or for mealtimes like, brunch, lunch, dinner etc.
There are many other categories of browsing recipes as well, which you can use according to your requirement.
With each recipe that you view on the website, you have various options. You can correct typos or other errors. You can even review the recipe (and you do not necessarily have to have tried it beforehand). You can post your comments and suggests improvements or alterations to recipes as well.
The cookbooks have been uploaded by the members. If you feel you are a chef-in-making, or just are a cooking enthusiast, you can write your own recipes and upload your own cookbooks on the website. Other members will then be able to read, review and rate your recipes. Cookbooks are searchable by tags, for instance, Asian, cookies, desserts or vegetables. There are hundreds of tags and once you click on a tag, all cookbooks which have been tagged with that particular keyword will be displayed for you.
The community section is the place where you can carry on conversations with other cooking enthusiasts, and discuss the recipes that you tried and tested. If you are looking for a specific recipe, you can request it as well, and someone just might have it for you. As mentioned before, it can easily keep you occupied for hours.
There is also an elaborate help section for you, along with the frequently asked questions regarding the usage of this website and there is a kitchen dictionary too. Plus, there is a measurement converter in case you need to convert any measurements given in the recipe.
Probably the best thing is that unlike other cooking websites which have recipes with ingredients one cannot comprehend, let alone buy, this one has recipes for things as desi as ‘green chutney sandwiches.’ So basically, recipe zaar is the place to be for all the cooking buffs out there.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Friday, October 26, 2007
Hijabified Concerns during Weddings
When one talks about hijab generally, it is mostly to do with whether or not hijab is obligatory, who to observe hijab in front of and is the covering of face essential? Of course, these are all valid questions, which must be and have been answered at length by many scholars. This article then, will move away from these questions and look at a phenomena, which is, to say the least, quite disturbing when it comes to hijab. And that phenomena is the wedding of a hijabified girl.
The wedding itself, of course, is a happy occasion for all. But if the bride is someone who observes strict hijab, then certain guidelines automatically become binding, not only on her family members and in-laws, but on her friends as well. And, unfortunately, these very guidelines are the ones they usually choose to ignore. And sometimes, the fact is, they do not even think in those directions.
So, what are the directions? First and foremost, let's analyse some of our routine wedding practices. If you attend any wedding, you generally want to snap some photographs and take them back with you to either show them or email them to those family members who didn't attend. You also want to keep them with you as a token of good memories. But if the bride observes hijab, and she is dressed up for the wedding day only because the function is segregated, then ask yourself -- should you snap her photographs, while she is decked up?
The answer, of course, depends on who you will be showing the photographs to. If you cannot be careful about what you do with those photographs, it would be better not to snap them at all. After all, if those photos inadvertantly fall in the hands of someone who shouldn't be seeing them (namely your brothers or male relatives), it will be a gross violation of your friend's hijab on your part.
The second of our routine practices is making videos. The reasons are the same as photographs. This has become common especially after the advent of cell phone cameras. Now, everyone seems to have a video recorder on their cell phones, which is used liberally in weddings. Again, the same directions apply. If the bride observes hijab, it is better not to take her video. And in this day and age, when you have no idea when your cell phone might be snatched, it would be a good idea not to store any photos and videos in your phone. You have no idea in whose hands they might fall in and what he would do with them.
Coming back to weddings, one step which some families take is prohibiting photographs and videos altogether at their functions. If you go to such a wedding, and are stopped from taking a photograph, don't take any offence. Some people really do have issues with these things and it would be nice if you respect that.
Let's now talk about what generally happens during the wedding of a hijabied girl, and how, consciously or unconsciously, her friends and family members end up doing things, which are not only in gross violation of her hijab, but are also upsetting to the hijabified girls among the clan as well.
It is generally observed that irrespective of how strictly the bride observes hijab, a whole bunch of people from her own clan as well as in-laws surround her, snapping her photographs at random at a time when she is dressed up to the fullest, courtesy a segregated function. And even though there are girls who choose to be strict at that time and decline to be photographed, at the severe risk of offending even their in-laws, there are many others who don't dare to speak up in fear of being ostracized by their family later. The issue of these girls, of course, is that you don't know who the photographs might be showed to later on.
Another trend, which is generally witnessed during a hijabified wedding function is that the photographs are snapped by a female photographer. This is a positive step, no doubt about that. But then, the family or the in-laws give them to a male developer for printing. That, of course, defeats the entire purpose of a segregated wedding and a female photographer. The question arises, do you really need those photographs in print that badly so as to actually sacrifice someone's hijab on the way? Then, once the photographs are developed, huge albums are made and showed around to family members, whether they are male or female. Again, this amounts to nothing but a gross violation of the girl's hijab. And in this case, it is worse, because in some cases she doesn't even know that her album is being showed around indiscriminately.
Moreover, there are some families who just don't bother taking the hijab of the bride seriously. They end up having non-segregated functions, with male photographers. The poor girl has to pose in front of them for her wedding portfolio, because, in most of the cases, she is too scared to speak up.
At the end of the day, unfortunately, there are a very few people who actually follow a strict code to ensure that they respect the hijab of the girl getting married. Therefore, as a wedding attender, it becomes our responsibility to act sensibly and not only respect their hijab ourselves, but get others to do so too.
Advice for hijabified brides
This is a word of advice to all the hijabified girls getting married.
• Instead of running away when your wedding ceremony is being discussed, take an active part in it and ensure that all functions of your family are segregated. Make sure your family does not book a male photographer/male video maker.
• For the functions of the in-laws, get your parents to talk to your in-laws about having segregated functions and ensure there are no male photographers.
• There are loads of female photographers and female waitresses available. Get your family and in-laws to avail their services.
• Make sure your in-laws know your ideas about hijab and especially the fact that you are strict about it.
• Designate a couple of like-minded friends around you on the day of your functions to keep a watch out around you and politely request people against snapping your photographs indiscriminately.
• Be firm if you have to, and decline having your photograph taken indiscriminately yourself if you have to.
• Have your hijab handy so that you can quickly don it if any male members of your family come in the ladies section. You can ask a friend to hold on to your hijab for you and give it to you the minute you need it.
• If there is no way your family/in-laws agree to a segregated ceremony, get them to make a special enclosure for you so that you don't have to sit on the stage. You can also get a matching hijab stitched with your wedding dress so that your 'satar' is covered at all times.
• Understand that you cannot please anyone. There will be people who will be offended by your adherence to your hijab. Some will tell you off. Others will call you an extemist. Your key is to be firm, yet polite. And, of course, make loads and loads of duas to Allah Almighty to make things easier for you.
• Realise that there may be loads of girls attending your wedding who may look to you as their source of inspiration. If you falter in your hijab at this critical time, these hijabified girls might lose hope. And if you truly respect your hijab, it will inspire them to do the same, or at least convince them that there is such a thing as a hijabified wedding.
• And finally, learn to stand up for yourselves. Once you start voicing your concerns, a very clear message will go out that you are indeed very serious about your hijab and would like people to give it due respect. If you remain quiet, the automatic message that will go across is that you are one of those people who really don't mind anything going on. So, be firm on what you believe is right.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
And they live on in our hearts
Almost all bookaholics have, at one time or another, wished that some of the characters that they have read about actually existed. The reasons can be elaborate or trivial. It can be something they said, a noble deed they did or the simple way in which they responded to adversities in life. It can be that you see people around you in some of these characters, or you wish for certain people to be like specific fictional characters.
A tête-à-tête with some avid book lovers reveals that they each have their own list of characters that they admire. Graduate student Hira Tahir says, ‘the characters I want to be real are Mr Knightley from Emma, Michael Olson from Christopher Pike’s Final Friends Trilogy and Sirius Black, from the Harry Potter series. Put plainly, they are all very fanciable. Sirius is hot, handsome and one of the most talented wizards of his age. Michael is very intelligent. He has the most beautiful set of brains you ever laid eyes on. Mr Knightley is a true gentleman - a dying breed.’
Mahwash Ajaz, who is a faculty member at a private university, names Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter series), Emily Starr (Emily of New Moon series by Lucy Maud Montgomery), Professor Henry Higgins (Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw), Hamlet (Hamlet by William Shakespeare) and Atticus Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee) as her all-time favorite characters.
‘Dumbledore’s a sage’, she says. ‘He’s the man with answers. In a world of confusion, who doesn’t want someone like that? Emily Starr is possibly the most interesting kid of her age. She writes poetry, waits for ‘the flash’, a thrill that goes through her at odd inspiring moments, and apparently has a vivid imagination. A child like that would be extremely fun (or a handful) to have around. Professor Henry Higgins is a confirmed bachelor with a love for phonetics. Nothing could be more interesting than blasting apart his reasons against marriage. I picked Hamlet because I want to finally lay rest the debate regarding the Oedipus complex. That’s right. I want Hamlet to be real because I want him to go into therapy.’
Interestingly, Nausheen Fazal ur Rehman also cites Albus Dumbledore and Atticus Finch as her favorite characters along with Jane Eyre (Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte) and Sydney Carton (Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens). ‘Albus Dumbledore is extremely intelligent and powerful, he possesses qualities of immense kindness and infinite wisdom, and has the ability to see good in people who are generally not accepted by most’, she says. ‘Jane Eyre is no doubt the strongest heroine in literary fiction to date. In the book she is not described as a beautiful woman, instead she is rather plain-featured, simple and small. However, there is a well-defined beauty about her, and that is her heart. She is also very reserved which adds to the beauty of her character. She possesses an unusual sense of morality when it comes to making decisions. She stands out from other female protagonists who are generally beautiful, and initially shallow and overly passionate. Not only is Jane a strong character, she is also a strong woman.’
‘Atticus Finch is a very upright character; he represents the moral ideal of both a lawyer and a human being. He is intelligent, brutally honest, highly moral, a tireless crusader for good causes (even hopeless ones), a pacifist and, for the most part, devoid of any of the racial or class prejudices afflicting the other citizens of the fictional town of Maycomb. As for Sydney Carton, his dual personality, one that is selfless and sensitive, as well as self-pitying and inconsiderate, makes him one of the most fascinating characters in English literature. Carton makes the great sacrifice for Lucie. He dies a redeemed hero.’
Atticus Finch is also popular with undergraduate student Sarah Akram. But she cautions, ‘to name fictional characters that we would want to come to life is a very difficult task. During the course of our reading, we may fall in love with characters like Catherine and Heathcliff, Hamlet, Maggie Tulliver (The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot), etc. but can we actually accept the presence of such highly individualistic characters in our lives? Despite all the depth and profundity, which are traits common to all these characters, they would be — in my opinion — hard to cope with in real life’.
‘Nevertheless, there are some characters which, if they existed in real, would be admired by many if not all. And most of these characters are those that are quite moral by nature. Atticus Finch is one such character. Morally upright, full of wisdom and integrity, he is a man of principles. He never looks down upon those who differ with him. Such is the magnanimity of his character. His speech is never merely words — it is a collection of words that opens an entirely new world before the reader to experience and reflect upon.’
Seher Farouk names Gilbert Blythe (Anne series by Lucy Maud Montgomery), Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara (Gone with the Wind) as the characters that she admires. ‘Gilbert Blythe is very popular amongst many’, she explains ‘He’s a true lover, loyal husband, sweet father, ambitious doctor and good-looking companion. Rhett Butler is a strong-headed, passionate yet sensible lover. He may not be very good-looking but has the killing charm to behold any female. Scarlett is a character who can add spice to an otherwise routine life — she is an unstable character, but very attractive personality. Such people can be difficult but they possess an aura and charm that attracts attention.’
No doubt it takes a very active imagination and sheer talent on the part of the author to create characters like Mr Darcy and Max de Winter the stir the emotions of readers. It takes some talent to come up with the likes of Gilbert Blythe and Anne Shirley who make one yearn for them to exist in real life. The creators of such memorable characters have ensured that their creations will live in the hearts of readers for generations to come.
A tête-à-tête with some avid book lovers reveals that they each have their own list of characters that they admire. Graduate student Hira Tahir says, ‘the characters I want to be real are Mr Knightley from Emma, Michael Olson from Christopher Pike’s Final Friends Trilogy and Sirius Black, from the Harry Potter series. Put plainly, they are all very fanciable. Sirius is hot, handsome and one of the most talented wizards of his age. Michael is very intelligent. He has the most beautiful set of brains you ever laid eyes on. Mr Knightley is a true gentleman - a dying breed.’
Mahwash Ajaz, who is a faculty member at a private university, names Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter series), Emily Starr (Emily of New Moon series by Lucy Maud Montgomery), Professor Henry Higgins (Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw), Hamlet (Hamlet by William Shakespeare) and Atticus Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee) as her all-time favorite characters.
‘Dumbledore’s a sage’, she says. ‘He’s the man with answers. In a world of confusion, who doesn’t want someone like that? Emily Starr is possibly the most interesting kid of her age. She writes poetry, waits for ‘the flash’, a thrill that goes through her at odd inspiring moments, and apparently has a vivid imagination. A child like that would be extremely fun (or a handful) to have around. Professor Henry Higgins is a confirmed bachelor with a love for phonetics. Nothing could be more interesting than blasting apart his reasons against marriage. I picked Hamlet because I want to finally lay rest the debate regarding the Oedipus complex. That’s right. I want Hamlet to be real because I want him to go into therapy.’
Interestingly, Nausheen Fazal ur Rehman also cites Albus Dumbledore and Atticus Finch as her favorite characters along with Jane Eyre (Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte) and Sydney Carton (Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens). ‘Albus Dumbledore is extremely intelligent and powerful, he possesses qualities of immense kindness and infinite wisdom, and has the ability to see good in people who are generally not accepted by most’, she says. ‘Jane Eyre is no doubt the strongest heroine in literary fiction to date. In the book she is not described as a beautiful woman, instead she is rather plain-featured, simple and small. However, there is a well-defined beauty about her, and that is her heart. She is also very reserved which adds to the beauty of her character. She possesses an unusual sense of morality when it comes to making decisions. She stands out from other female protagonists who are generally beautiful, and initially shallow and overly passionate. Not only is Jane a strong character, she is also a strong woman.’
‘Atticus Finch is a very upright character; he represents the moral ideal of both a lawyer and a human being. He is intelligent, brutally honest, highly moral, a tireless crusader for good causes (even hopeless ones), a pacifist and, for the most part, devoid of any of the racial or class prejudices afflicting the other citizens of the fictional town of Maycomb. As for Sydney Carton, his dual personality, one that is selfless and sensitive, as well as self-pitying and inconsiderate, makes him one of the most fascinating characters in English literature. Carton makes the great sacrifice for Lucie. He dies a redeemed hero.’
Atticus Finch is also popular with undergraduate student Sarah Akram. But she cautions, ‘to name fictional characters that we would want to come to life is a very difficult task. During the course of our reading, we may fall in love with characters like Catherine and Heathcliff, Hamlet, Maggie Tulliver (The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot), etc. but can we actually accept the presence of such highly individualistic characters in our lives? Despite all the depth and profundity, which are traits common to all these characters, they would be — in my opinion — hard to cope with in real life’.
‘Nevertheless, there are some characters which, if they existed in real, would be admired by many if not all. And most of these characters are those that are quite moral by nature. Atticus Finch is one such character. Morally upright, full of wisdom and integrity, he is a man of principles. He never looks down upon those who differ with him. Such is the magnanimity of his character. His speech is never merely words — it is a collection of words that opens an entirely new world before the reader to experience and reflect upon.’
Seher Farouk names Gilbert Blythe (Anne series by Lucy Maud Montgomery), Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara (Gone with the Wind) as the characters that she admires. ‘Gilbert Blythe is very popular amongst many’, she explains ‘He’s a true lover, loyal husband, sweet father, ambitious doctor and good-looking companion. Rhett Butler is a strong-headed, passionate yet sensible lover. He may not be very good-looking but has the killing charm to behold any female. Scarlett is a character who can add spice to an otherwise routine life — she is an unstable character, but very attractive personality. Such people can be difficult but they possess an aura and charm that attracts attention.’
No doubt it takes a very active imagination and sheer talent on the part of the author to create characters like Mr Darcy and Max de Winter the stir the emotions of readers. It takes some talent to come up with the likes of Gilbert Blythe and Anne Shirley who make one yearn for them to exist in real life. The creators of such memorable characters have ensured that their creations will live in the hearts of readers for generations to come.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Earth to Google
How would you like to browse through the entire Earth from your PC or laptop? What is it like to see your own house as it is visible in satellite photos? How about navigating to your favourite shopping mall or eat-out? All this and more is possible only though a software called Google Earth (http://earth.google.com) . It is likely that most of you would have heard of Google Earth and its wonders, but have you ever explored it thoroughly to discover most of its uses?
First and foremost, what you really need to do in order to appreciate the many uses of Google Earth is to download it. The software is available for free on the website if you only want it for your personal use. There are different versions here available for various businesses as well. And these versions are obviously with advanced features and hence, need to be purchased. But if you are an ordinary, internet-savvy individual, the free version will more than suffice.
Once you have downloaded and installed Google Earth, you are ready to explore it. To start, you can type the name of the continent in the search box and then the name of the country and the software will zoom into that particular place. You can then browse different cities, and also areas within the city. For places in Karachi, for instance, the names of different areas may be spelled differently so it would be better to manually browse for the location rather than type the name of a place and be told that it does not exist.
Google Earth basically shows you how your desired area looks in satellite photos. There are certain countries in which you can enter a specific address and the software will take you to that very spot. Unfortunately, Pakistan is not included in the list of those countries.
The website of is quite helpful when it comes to guiding you on how to use it. There is a detailed section on Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), where you can determine if your system can really supports Google Earth, and whether or not your graphics card can enable the software to be run smoothly. The system requirements have been explained in detail as well.
Moreover, there is an entire Product Tour as well which you can take to find out the different uses of Google Earth. Did you know, for instance, that you can actually use it to find out your business prospects in a certain area? Or did you have the slightest idea that you can actually get driving instructions to and from your destination? This is just a sneak preview of what Google Earth has in store for you.
Apart from all the technical details, there are links to some very interesting Google Earth blogs. Yes, there are people who actually blog exclusively about Google Earth, and you can read up all that they have written about the new and exciting features of the software that they discovered while using it. Bugs found and fixed have also been covered in detail.
Plus, there is an entire Google Earth community, which has created its own different ways of using the software to explore outer space as well as within the Earth. These users have created their own files, which you can download and open in your Google Earth to discover just how exciting your experience can get. There is an archive of these files at your disposal as well, so rest assured, you will find something that appeals to you.
The latest addition to Google Earth is its version 4.2: a literally out-of-the-world experience which enables you to explore the outer space. So now you can view and skies and various galaxies, and the best part is that not only can you view them, you can discuss them with other users in the community as well, and keep yourself updated through a special blog.
Moreover, if you happen to be somewhat of a tech-savvy architect, you can avail the services of Google Sketch Up to build three-dimensional models of just about anything. As the website says, you can design anything ‘from a shoebox to a skyscraper.’ This is not all: once you finish designing your models, you can place them on Google Earth as a user-created file.
So there you have it – there is a whole new world out there waiting for you to explore it, and Google Earth is only one of the means to help you along the way.
First and foremost, what you really need to do in order to appreciate the many uses of Google Earth is to download it. The software is available for free on the website if you only want it for your personal use. There are different versions here available for various businesses as well. And these versions are obviously with advanced features and hence, need to be purchased. But if you are an ordinary, internet-savvy individual, the free version will more than suffice.
Once you have downloaded and installed Google Earth, you are ready to explore it. To start, you can type the name of the continent in the search box and then the name of the country and the software will zoom into that particular place. You can then browse different cities, and also areas within the city. For places in Karachi, for instance, the names of different areas may be spelled differently so it would be better to manually browse for the location rather than type the name of a place and be told that it does not exist.
Google Earth basically shows you how your desired area looks in satellite photos. There are certain countries in which you can enter a specific address and the software will take you to that very spot. Unfortunately, Pakistan is not included in the list of those countries.
The website of is quite helpful when it comes to guiding you on how to use it. There is a detailed section on Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), where you can determine if your system can really supports Google Earth, and whether or not your graphics card can enable the software to be run smoothly. The system requirements have been explained in detail as well.
Moreover, there is an entire Product Tour as well which you can take to find out the different uses of Google Earth. Did you know, for instance, that you can actually use it to find out your business prospects in a certain area? Or did you have the slightest idea that you can actually get driving instructions to and from your destination? This is just a sneak preview of what Google Earth has in store for you.
Apart from all the technical details, there are links to some very interesting Google Earth blogs. Yes, there are people who actually blog exclusively about Google Earth, and you can read up all that they have written about the new and exciting features of the software that they discovered while using it. Bugs found and fixed have also been covered in detail.
Plus, there is an entire Google Earth community, which has created its own different ways of using the software to explore outer space as well as within the Earth. These users have created their own files, which you can download and open in your Google Earth to discover just how exciting your experience can get. There is an archive of these files at your disposal as well, so rest assured, you will find something that appeals to you.
The latest addition to Google Earth is its version 4.2: a literally out-of-the-world experience which enables you to explore the outer space. So now you can view and skies and various galaxies, and the best part is that not only can you view them, you can discuss them with other users in the community as well, and keep yourself updated through a special blog.
Moreover, if you happen to be somewhat of a tech-savvy architect, you can avail the services of Google Sketch Up to build three-dimensional models of just about anything. As the website says, you can design anything ‘from a shoebox to a skyscraper.’ This is not all: once you finish designing your models, you can place them on Google Earth as a user-created file.
So there you have it – there is a whole new world out there waiting for you to explore it, and Google Earth is only one of the means to help you along the way.
Picture Perfect
I magine the following scenario. You are sitting on the Internet and you cannot wait to join a really fascinating website your friend told you about. You are really keen to make your very own profile, list down your hobbies and your likes and dislikes, join new forums and interact with people of your age and interests. After you have sat down and filled out the detailed forms on the said website, a webpage comes up which asks you to upload a photograph to be displayed with your profile. You hunt down your latest and best looking photo from the ones that were recently snapped with your digital camera, and in no time at all, you have a profile ready with you smiling from ear to ear in the photograph alongside it.Then, you discover that there is actually an option to add an entire album. Well, you access the photographs of your latest class get-together and put up the entire stock of photographs complete with captions.But wait a second. Should you be using that photograph option in the first place? If you look closely, it is not at all necessary to display a photograph. You can easily skip that step. But why should you? Why should your profile look bland when everyone else’s is looking so sophisticated because of the lovely personal photographs?The question of whether you should or should not put up your photograph online is, of course, something that you have to answer yourself. But there are a few things that must be kept in mind at all times. Many websites ask you to display your photograph, but the issues remain the same. Let’s take a quick look at some of these issues with the photographs.The first issue of course, is privacy. It is important to realise that this is the Internet one is talking about. Anyone and everyone who has a computer and an Internet connection can log on to the same website. And hence, anyone in the world can view your complete profile and photograph. And maybe it does not concern you if someone from somewhere across Africa sees your photo, but what if people in your city come to recognise you?There can be many people not just in your city but the area in which you live who use the same website and interact with you online. Would you like it if someone stopped you in the supermarket and demanded of you as to why you wrote something on a community or why you never replied to his/her message? If your profile is without a photograph, no one would be able to recognise you by face. You would have a protective shield around you. But once you reveal what you look like, well, then you pretty much give yourself away.Closely related to the privacy issue is the security concern. As mentioned earlier, your photograph is your basic identity. There are many people on the Internet who would simply glance at your profile and hence your photograph, and then move on to do their work. But there are many others who would not have such noble intentions.Over the Internet, it is really easy to save just about any photograph on one’s own personal computer and then manipulate it. With new and advanced photo editing software available in the market, it would be really easy for anyone who is good at graphic designing to save your photograph and do just about whatever he/she wants to do with it. The scariest part is that you will never know who did it or where does your photo reach or for what purposes it is used.And if you think this is exaggeration beyond measure, here is a little incident to reinforce the theory. Some months back, there was a message floating around a popular social networking website, Orkut, that there are many spammers on the lookout for those female members of the website who have put up their photographs so that they can save and manipulate their photos for their own not-so-noble intentions.Another point to consider is the privacy policy of the website where you are putting up your photo. The fact is that these privacy policies, which are freely available for you to read on their websites, have very cleverly written a few things which you can only find out when you go through them very carefully. At the start of the policy document of course, they tell you that they will protect your information, but many of them clarify somewhere in the middle that any information you share on their website (along with the photograph) can be exchanged with third parties. Very few websites actually define who these third parties actually are, and how this information will be used.So basically you should be considering these basic issues when deciding whether or not to display your photograph for public viewing online. Of course, there is a great temptation to put up photos like everyone else, and sometimes you just have to stop yourself from doing what everyone else is doing. But there are a few things which you can do which would address your safety concerns and ensure that you enjoy your time in cyberspace.First and foremost, you can avail the picture option on websites to show off your photography skills. Take photos of your plants or the sunrise, and put those up. You will have an exotic picture to go with your profile and it won’t be a personal picture either. There are loads of possibilities once you have the digital camera, and there’s no reason why you cannot experiment by snapping different photos and putting them up online for everyone to see without compromising your privacy and security.Of course there are times when you want to share your photos with your friends. There are times when there is a family event and you need to show the photos to your relatives living abroad. For such purposes, you can use websites like Shutterfly (www.shutterfly.com). On that website, you simply need to make an account, upload your photographs, label them as private so that only those who you choose can see them and then of course share the link with your family and friends.The privacy policy of Shutterfly clarifies that “In order to provide quality products, the Shutterfly employees and third-party service providers fulfilling your order or providing Customer Support to you may see your pictures.” Of course, this means that your photographs are not completely private here as well, but this is definitely better than everyone and anyone being able to see them off a website.Certain people trust websites like Facebook (www.facebook.com) to put up their photographs because the viewer ship is restricted to friends only. When asked, students had a similar take on this issue, as far as Facebook is concerned.“Yes, I am concerned about privacy issues and I don’t trust the websites,” said Azmat Ashraf. “But I think that it is relatively safer to put up photos on Facebook because only your friends can see them and not everyone else, unlike Orkut where whoever clicks on your profile, can see everything about you.”Rabya Ali agreed: “I think it is safe to put pictures on Facebook. I’m specifically talking about the pictures in my albums because only my friends can view those pictures. Putting up my picture made it easier for my old friends from school/college and elsewhere to recognise and contact me.”Once you find a website which suits you, another thing to bear in mind when putting up and sharing photos is that the photos must be of you only. You must absolutely make sure in this scenario that you only share photos of yourself. It would be an act of courtesy to respect your friend’s trust in you, by not putting up your friend’s photos online, irrespective of whether or not the concerned friend has an issue with it.So basically it is not just the privacy paranoia which has to reign. All that is needed is some vigilance rather than a lax attitude towards these so-called non-issues. If you take the necessary steps to ensure your privacy and security, and learn to go through the privacy policy of whichever website you are trusting to share your photographs, it would ultimately ensure that no one abuses or manipulates your photos. And at the end of the day, you can enjoy a hassle-free experience in cyberspace.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Greetings made easy
IT IS that time of the year again – the time when new clothes, shoes, accessories and jewellery take prime importance in our lives. It is the time to put mehendi on our hands, prepare sevyaan and other mouth-watering food. Above all, it is the time to rejoice, meet one’s friends and relatives, and of course to collect loads of Eidi. But the spirit of Eid remains if you have not wished your loved ones.
Among various ways of celebrating the Eid, one of the most obvious is the use of technology to send Eid wishes by e-cards or electronic cards that are definitely a major part in celebration. This is mainly because there are loads of family members and friends, who cannot be attained daily life, also there are others who happen to be settled abroad. And in this fast-paced life, e-cards are far more convenient than buying a whole lot of hard copy cards, personalising them, and then posting them to different destinations.
You can always send e-cards to people in the same city as well, instead of having to call them up. Besides, e-cards can be mailed to wider social circle – which include people who are mere acquaintances that you would only remember on occasions. This way, you not only save time, but money as well, and then you can also focus on writing a few paper cards for very close friends and family members.
So what’s the best place for e-cards? If you write, ‘Eid e-cards’ and Google it, you are sure to find a plethora of websites which offer free Eid-ul-Fitr e-cards. But there is one website which definitely stands out among the whole lot: Eid E-cards at http://www.eid-ecards.com
The best thing about the website is the neat division of categories so that no matter who you want to send an e-card to, be it family or friend, there is the precise category of e-cards. There is also a category of ‘thank you’ e-cards to reply to those who were considerate enough to send you one. There are invitation cards too, in case you are planning something special for your friends or family members this Eid and want to invite people over. There is also one entire section for ‘formal greetings’ in case you want to wish your colleagues or even your boss.
Of course, once you have chosen a category, all you need to do is to browse through the available cards in each category and click your selection to fill in the required details, preview your e-card and hit send on the required date.
But before you get excited about such a handy website, here is a word of caution. This website seems to be serving as a front page for the Eid greeting e-cards which are already available on another website. The only plus point of visiting this site, instead of the parent website, is that the former usually takes longer to load. Besides, parent websites mostly contains general e-cards websites, so it would take longer to navigate to the section on e-cards by going through different categories. This website offers more convenience. All you need to do is type a URL and you have the entire selection of e-cards at your disposal.
So basically, it is all about saving time while you are online. And even if you have a miserable connection, this website is sure to work.
Among various ways of celebrating the Eid, one of the most obvious is the use of technology to send Eid wishes by e-cards or electronic cards that are definitely a major part in celebration. This is mainly because there are loads of family members and friends, who cannot be attained daily life, also there are others who happen to be settled abroad. And in this fast-paced life, e-cards are far more convenient than buying a whole lot of hard copy cards, personalising them, and then posting them to different destinations.
You can always send e-cards to people in the same city as well, instead of having to call them up. Besides, e-cards can be mailed to wider social circle – which include people who are mere acquaintances that you would only remember on occasions. This way, you not only save time, but money as well, and then you can also focus on writing a few paper cards for very close friends and family members.
So what’s the best place for e-cards? If you write, ‘Eid e-cards’ and Google it, you are sure to find a plethora of websites which offer free Eid-ul-Fitr e-cards. But there is one website which definitely stands out among the whole lot: Eid E-cards at http://www.eid-ecards.com
The best thing about the website is the neat division of categories so that no matter who you want to send an e-card to, be it family or friend, there is the precise category of e-cards. There is also a category of ‘thank you’ e-cards to reply to those who were considerate enough to send you one. There are invitation cards too, in case you are planning something special for your friends or family members this Eid and want to invite people over. There is also one entire section for ‘formal greetings’ in case you want to wish your colleagues or even your boss.
Of course, once you have chosen a category, all you need to do is to browse through the available cards in each category and click your selection to fill in the required details, preview your e-card and hit send on the required date.
But before you get excited about such a handy website, here is a word of caution. This website seems to be serving as a front page for the Eid greeting e-cards which are already available on another website. The only plus point of visiting this site, instead of the parent website, is that the former usually takes longer to load. Besides, parent websites mostly contains general e-cards websites, so it would take longer to navigate to the section on e-cards by going through different categories. This website offers more convenience. All you need to do is type a URL and you have the entire selection of e-cards at your disposal.
So basically, it is all about saving time while you are online. And even if you have a miserable connection, this website is sure to work.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Research? No, thank you
Come the final year at any university, and the thought which plagues the minds of students (apart from the fact that they now have just one year to brave through university) is whether they should opt for research. Research is optional in many instances. It is entirely up to the student to decide whether or not he or she feels up to the task. It is, after all, no easy feat. But the fact that research is optional at university level can become the very reason for the decline of the research culture in this country.
Why is that? The simple reason is that when research is something that one can opt for, then more often than not, many students choose not to opt for it at all. And when you have a whole generation of students who is disillusioned with the thought of doing research, then who will lead the next generation when they come at this stage?
Putting aside the question of the future, the present quest is to discover what exactly is it that makes students opt out of research? Why do they feel that research is not something which is worth undertaking? When approached, students explained the nature of research in their respective institutes and the general attitude of their peers towards it.
Summaiyah Ali has recently graduated from a business school. She explained that her institute has facilities for research at every level, but students are not willing to undertake it. The time factor plays a crucial role in this as instead of being spread over the entire year, the research work is too concentrated towards the end of the semester.
“The time schedule for the research project is usually not very carefully planned, and depends on the whims of the teachers,” she said. “As a result of this, students end up doing it as a pressure peeve in the last days of the semester, whilst studying for the exams too.”
She felt that the attitude of the teachers towards research was also questionable, and that students were not the only ones to be blamed. “Teachers usually don’t take an interest in the research itself,” she said emphatically. “Very few teachers actually read the research reports, and on the rare occasions that they do actually read them, they misuse them. For instance, one professor asked us for online copies of our reports, and then he erased the name of the student and put his own in, and sent the report to some international conference.”
Plagiarism of course is another story altogether, and an issue which has been much written about. However, it continues unabated by students and teachers alike, and hence definitely acts as a deterrent to those who are honestly looking to undertake something original.
Provision of facilities is also something which many universities lack. They allow students to do research but do not assist them properly by for instance, providing them access to international research journals and papers and providing them with the knowledge of modern and Internet-based research methods and statistical analysis. Hence, students feel they are left mostly on their own to fend for themselves.
“Our teachers help us to the best of their abilities,” said Farah Inam, who undertook social sciences research in her final year. “But they cannot give you what they don’t have. The university just provides you with guidance or what we say lip-service. Yes we need their guidance but this is not the only thing we need for research. We need facilities — things in concrete terms like Internet facility, proper record of periodicals, photocopier, printer, etc. The attitude of the non-teaching staff also gets to you. For instance, I found the library staff cooperative but sometimes they show rigidity and don’t realize your sincerity for work.”
The phenomena of being left on your own once you decide to undertake research is a very real fear amongst some students. Research already is something which is new, and something which has only been theoretically taught. Applying theory to actual research is definitely something which seems to be an overwhelming task. And once students have decided that they will not be getting any guidance, they seem to believe that there is no use undertaking any research project. Some students, however, feel that this no-guidance theory is rather overstated.
“It is tough to do research at any level and you definitely need to have interest as well as stamina,” emphasised Nida Khan, who also took up social science research in her final year. “But students too lack clear ideas and interest. They want quick results. They are not willing to put in their time and effort into something long-term, so they simply shy away from research.”
When it comes to IT research, the scenario is not too different from business and social sciences. Zenia Arshad, who is majoring in computer science, felt that many students in her institute were there simply to gain a degree and a job –- the general mindset which rules. Research does not feature in the picture at all.
“Research requires dedication, enthusiasm and interest. These three things are, unfortunately, what most of the students don’t have. The rewards of research are not very obvious,” she said. “But still there are some who do opt for it. I’ve a couple of classmates working on research projects as a part of MIC (Microsoft Innovation Center). They are the ones enthusiastic about their field of study. In the end, it’s a matter of interest.”
So what should be done about this? There are very real factors deterring students from research and surely they need to be dealt with. On the personal level, if the students themselves are lazy and not willing to invest their time in research, there is little any management can do, no matter how efficient. But surely some changes can be initiated for those who are really interested in pursuing a career in research and starting at university level.
Farah Inam felt that the idea of research being optional was very correct, as worthless researches were worse than no research at all. “Not every student should be given research projects; only those who are capable. The university should carefully evaluate every student before allowing him/her to do research projects. But once they decide upon the capability, they must then invent in those students as well and provide them with the proper facilities.”
Shireen Azfar, who taught as a cooperative teacher in Karachi University had the following suggestions. “The overall environment should be conducive and students from the very commencement of their professional degrees should be given assignments and projects which are research focused and require a lot of information digging. This nurtures their minds in the direction to find it interesting and challenging to do a research study.”
At the end of the day then, until some serious steps are taken, research will continue to be treated with a certain degree of wariness. Of course there will always be some students who choose to take the initiative in spite of the odds, but that is no reason why others cannot be motivated to do the same.
Why is that? The simple reason is that when research is something that one can opt for, then more often than not, many students choose not to opt for it at all. And when you have a whole generation of students who is disillusioned with the thought of doing research, then who will lead the next generation when they come at this stage?
Putting aside the question of the future, the present quest is to discover what exactly is it that makes students opt out of research? Why do they feel that research is not something which is worth undertaking? When approached, students explained the nature of research in their respective institutes and the general attitude of their peers towards it.
Summaiyah Ali has recently graduated from a business school. She explained that her institute has facilities for research at every level, but students are not willing to undertake it. The time factor plays a crucial role in this as instead of being spread over the entire year, the research work is too concentrated towards the end of the semester.
“The time schedule for the research project is usually not very carefully planned, and depends on the whims of the teachers,” she said. “As a result of this, students end up doing it as a pressure peeve in the last days of the semester, whilst studying for the exams too.”
She felt that the attitude of the teachers towards research was also questionable, and that students were not the only ones to be blamed. “Teachers usually don’t take an interest in the research itself,” she said emphatically. “Very few teachers actually read the research reports, and on the rare occasions that they do actually read them, they misuse them. For instance, one professor asked us for online copies of our reports, and then he erased the name of the student and put his own in, and sent the report to some international conference.”
Plagiarism of course is another story altogether, and an issue which has been much written about. However, it continues unabated by students and teachers alike, and hence definitely acts as a deterrent to those who are honestly looking to undertake something original.
Provision of facilities is also something which many universities lack. They allow students to do research but do not assist them properly by for instance, providing them access to international research journals and papers and providing them with the knowledge of modern and Internet-based research methods and statistical analysis. Hence, students feel they are left mostly on their own to fend for themselves.
“Our teachers help us to the best of their abilities,” said Farah Inam, who undertook social sciences research in her final year. “But they cannot give you what they don’t have. The university just provides you with guidance or what we say lip-service. Yes we need their guidance but this is not the only thing we need for research. We need facilities — things in concrete terms like Internet facility, proper record of periodicals, photocopier, printer, etc. The attitude of the non-teaching staff also gets to you. For instance, I found the library staff cooperative but sometimes they show rigidity and don’t realize your sincerity for work.”
The phenomena of being left on your own once you decide to undertake research is a very real fear amongst some students. Research already is something which is new, and something which has only been theoretically taught. Applying theory to actual research is definitely something which seems to be an overwhelming task. And once students have decided that they will not be getting any guidance, they seem to believe that there is no use undertaking any research project. Some students, however, feel that this no-guidance theory is rather overstated.
“It is tough to do research at any level and you definitely need to have interest as well as stamina,” emphasised Nida Khan, who also took up social science research in her final year. “But students too lack clear ideas and interest. They want quick results. They are not willing to put in their time and effort into something long-term, so they simply shy away from research.”
When it comes to IT research, the scenario is not too different from business and social sciences. Zenia Arshad, who is majoring in computer science, felt that many students in her institute were there simply to gain a degree and a job –- the general mindset which rules. Research does not feature in the picture at all.
“Research requires dedication, enthusiasm and interest. These three things are, unfortunately, what most of the students don’t have. The rewards of research are not very obvious,” she said. “But still there are some who do opt for it. I’ve a couple of classmates working on research projects as a part of MIC (Microsoft Innovation Center). They are the ones enthusiastic about their field of study. In the end, it’s a matter of interest.”
So what should be done about this? There are very real factors deterring students from research and surely they need to be dealt with. On the personal level, if the students themselves are lazy and not willing to invest their time in research, there is little any management can do, no matter how efficient. But surely some changes can be initiated for those who are really interested in pursuing a career in research and starting at university level.
Farah Inam felt that the idea of research being optional was very correct, as worthless researches were worse than no research at all. “Not every student should be given research projects; only those who are capable. The university should carefully evaluate every student before allowing him/her to do research projects. But once they decide upon the capability, they must then invent in those students as well and provide them with the proper facilities.”
Shireen Azfar, who taught as a cooperative teacher in Karachi University had the following suggestions. “The overall environment should be conducive and students from the very commencement of their professional degrees should be given assignments and projects which are research focused and require a lot of information digging. This nurtures their minds in the direction to find it interesting and challenging to do a research study.”
At the end of the day then, until some serious steps are taken, research will continue to be treated with a certain degree of wariness. Of course there will always be some students who choose to take the initiative in spite of the odds, but that is no reason why others cannot be motivated to do the same.
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