Hotmail accounts upgraded

I have been a loyal Hotmail user for a long long time that I can't even remember when I signed up. It was my first email account and at that time, it wasn't even part of Uncle Bill's empire as yet. Microsoft only announced that it was acquiring Hotmail in early 1998. I was doing my MBA in University of Malaya then. At that time, it was pretty amazing because it was the first web based free e-mail (if I am not mistaken).

We have since moved on and hardly anyone I know, uses Hotmail anymore. I still take great pains to keep the account alive because you never know when a long lost friend might contact you. I had to re-sign up a couple of times because my account had become inactive.
Under Hotmail help, (Your account policies):

Account activity
* Your account becomes inactive if you do not sign in for 30 days, or within the first 10 days after signing up for an account. After an account becomes inactive, all messages, folders, and contacts are deleted, but the account name is still reserved.

* However, for loyal Hotmail users (like yours truly) who have been with them for 2 years or more, in order to maintain our account the log-in grace period is extended to 60 days. (added this later)

Today, I just signed in to see if there were any messages from my old friends. No such luck. Mostly spam and newsletters. However there was one from 'Hotmail Member Services' with the subject heading: Good news! You now have more storage.

I found out that my Hotmail inbox capacity has been upgraded from 250 MB to 1 GB. Not just mine but all Hotmail accounts, "regardless of the market and account age".

It's a welcome move but I can't just help but wonder whether they have missed out on the boat. Most of my friends have since, moved onto Yahoo! and Gmail.

p.s. Seems like they haven't updated everything as yet. If you look at the same help page mentioned above, the Storage limits are still given as:

..... 2 to 250 megabytes (MB) of storage space.

Related Posts:
- Now Yahoo
- Gigantic E-Mail

Related Link: It is Here: Hotmail to go 1GB (1,000 MB) of Storage

Tags: e-mail Hotmail Microsoft

What happened to my T-shirt?

Was going through my old G-mail messages when I came across one particular e-mail.

A long time ago (11, March 2005 to be precise), I was really excited when I received an e-mail from Asa Dotzler. In case you did not know, Dotzler is the co-founder and community coordinator for the Spread Firefox project.


Well here's what he wrote:

Asa Dotzler to me, Marcia

show details 3/11/05

Hello, Adam.

It sounds like you're doing some great work spreading the word about
Firefox through emails and lectures. I'd like to send you a Firefox
t-shirt as thanks for your efforts. If you would reply to this email
with your mailing address and your t-shirt size, we will sent it along.

Thanks again for doing such a great job spreading Firefox.

--Asa

Was really looking forward to the t-shirt but it never arrived. I had totally forgotten about it until I read the mail today. Maybe they sent me the t-shirt but somehow didn't reach me.

On an unrelated note, check out the Firefox crop circle in Oregon.

This 5,000 sq. foot crop circle is now available on Google maps.

Related post: Firefox fan

Tags: Asa Dotzler Crop circle Firefox Google maps

The queer hobbit

In Chapter 1 of the Hobbit:
Tolkien's description of Bilbo Baggins:

...got something a bit queer in his make-up from the Took side,...

And Gandalf has this to say:

'Gets funny queer fits, but he is one of the best...

Today, people would give me a strange look if I were to say "I am feeling queer".

I blame it on a certain TV series where five guys with a particular lifestyle, gives normal people (or are they) a total make over.

Trying to write politically correct, is tough and that's queer.

Related posts: Cheapest books ever

Tags: Hobbit Queer Queer Eye Tolkien

Cheapest books ever

I am slowly but steadily building up a small collection of books again. Yesterday I just put down Tolkien's The Hobbit.

For those who are not aware, this exciting story is the prequel to the Lord of the Rings and also tells us how Bilbo Baggins (the main character) found the One Ring. There are some rumours that Oscar winning director Peter Jackson is going to shoot the movie adaptation of this book soon.

I bought this book along with Frank Herbert's Chapter House Dune, the final book in his series of six Dune novels for a mere 50p (approx. RM3.48). I also bought a limited edition Official Annual 1981 issue of Superman (hard cover) and Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows (hard cover) for 50p each. Where did I get this amazing deal?

Well! I bought all of them last Sunday at the car boot sale in Stoneleigh. The best part is that all of the books, apart from The Hobbit, are in pristine condition. Looking forward to next Sunday and some more great deals.

p.s. I just realised that my daughter has a bigger collection than mine.

Related posts:
- Car Booty in Coventry
- Led Zeppelin and the evil one

Related links:
- theonering.net
- theonering.com

Tags: Car boot sale CJ's Car Boot Dune Hobbit Tolkien

West Orchards Coventry

The most happening place in Coventry has to the West Orchards Shopping Centre. It is just 8 minutes drive from my place. Very popular with the residents here. The centre has a number of stores including Marks & Spencer and Debenhams.

If you don't like branded stuff, just walk out of the place and get to Wilkinsons or to the 99p shop, just a stone throw away. A lot of CHEAP yet good quality stuff there.

If you feel like having a bite, they have a food court with 8 food outlets including junk food specialists, McDonalds and KFC. If you want a proper restaurant, then you have go somewhere else.

By 6pm the place is dead. Most of the shops close by then, except for Debenhams, which close about 1- 2 hours later.

A notice on the lifts say that it is only for people on wheel chairs and parents with push chairs but noticed a number of able bodied people getting in.

My conclusion: Nothing to shout about. Good place to hang about and watch people if you have nowhere to go. And if you like branded stuff.

If you have been to the shopping malls in Kuala Lumpur, you have seen it all. The architecture is really interesting though.

The dome.

1345 - 2007

My daughter admiring the x-mas decorations.

Beneath Lady Godiva on her horse. 

Yeah! Those are shopping bags on the right. Just came out of Wilkinsons.

Calpol or Panadol?

What do you take when you have a headache?

In Malaysia, the drug of choice would be a Panadol tablet (or two). In the US, it would be Tylenol and Crocin in India. In the UK, if your kid is running a fever or just had a jab, the nurse would most probably recommend Calpol. (Andrew: probably the reason why you haven't heard of it)

It's quite funny but they are all common brand names for Paracetamol (known as acetaminophen in the US), the most common analgesic and antipyretic drug in the World.

One interesting info for cat owners is that Paracetamol is extremely toxic to the cats and should not be given to them under any circumstances.

Read more about this drug on the Wikipedia site.

Tags: Calpol Panadol Paracetamol Tylenol

My ebay computer

I love small laptops for their portability. However nothings beats a proper PC when it comes to everyday computing, playing games, editing photographs, designing websites and crunching numbers on the SPSS statistical software. I simply hate typing on the cramped tiny keyboard.

Even though I have tried the so called "desktop replacement laptops" said to be fastest growing segment in the portable computer market, I never really liked them. It's kind of funny when you look at the term itself. I mean is it a desktop or laptop?

We were also tired of fighting over the only lap top we have (actually belongs to my wife). It's quite fair as she needs it for her research work. So we finally decided to buy a PC.

When we checked around, we were quite shocked with the prices of PCs here in the UK. They even have insurance for computers. It is not surprising considering that almost everything comes from overseas. I am beginning to really miss Low Yatt plaza.

So in the end we ended up looking on eBay UK, our favourite e-commerce site.

Over a period of 2 weeks starting 16 of November, we bid on and lost and won several items. And yesterday, I have everything I needed.

1. AMD ATHLON 1.3 GHz powered PC (Refurbished) with 256 MB RAM and 40 GB HDD. Price: £47 (the most costly item).

2. A0C 17" CRT monitor (Used). Price: £2.20.

3. BENQ X530 Wireless keyboard and mouse + Misson 2.1 Multimedia speakers (Brand new). Price: £22.01. This was my best deal because the speakers alone costs £17.75 in the market.

4. Internal Wireless PC LAN PCI card Adaptor (brand new). Price: £14.

Of course we need a table to put the computer on:
5. Ikea Mikael Computer Table (Almost new). Price: £4.99.

The total cost: £90.20 (RM640.29 approx.).

Of course, this does not include the cost of petrol. I had picked up most of the stuff from the sellers' homes myself. This had two advantages - 1. I saved on postage charges and 2. It helped me familarise myself with the various roads. While fetching the stuff, I also passed by some very interesting and historical sites. For example, the Temple Ballsall in Fen End, Warwickshire. As the name suggests, it is related to the Knights Templar. Though I wanted to, I couldn't stop by as I had to rush back to Coventry. Maybe later.

Tags: eBay Temple Balsall PC