Home / Archives for 2015

How to know Mobile Number Portability (MNP) Status

Mobile Number Portability helps in keeping you same number in spite of you change your place or operator. You can keep same number across all states in India and you can switch to any operator depending on your convenience but how to check status of port request made by you to the new operator? 
Considering the vast geographical area and large number of mobile phone users in India, department of Telecom has divided the number of states into two zones, zone 1 and zone 2. Zone 1 covers Northern and Western states of the country and Zone 2 cover the south and eastern states.

The license to provide portability technology in Zone 1 is given to Syniverse and in Zone 2 to Interconnection Telecom solutions.

The status of Zone 2 porting requests can be known through the website of Interconnection Telecom solutions.

Zone 2 includes the state of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Karnataka, Kerala, Kolkatta, Madhya Pradesh, North East, Orissa, Tamil Nadu including Chennai, Telangana and West Bengal.

To check mobile number portability status visit MNP Status

Provide necessary details

Provide your mobile number, 8 digit unique id given by your service provider and captcha code, you will get the status of your mobile number portability.

you can get the status of your SIM card's port request

How to port:
1. To get unique porting ID send message as ‘PORT <mobile number> to 1900.

2. You will receive Unique porting ID with expiry date on your mobile as SMS. Your present operator may immediately call you to retain you on their network by providing some exclusive offers only for you.

3. Visit the new operator you wish to port to anytime within that expiry date along with ID proof, Address proof and a passport size photograph. Fill in the Customer Acquisition Form (CAF) and Porting form (Some operators have single form for both CAF and porting)

4. As a porting charge, operators charge a maximum of Rs. 19.

5. You will receive new SIM card from the new operator and you will receive the time and date when your new SIM will be activated on your present SIM card only. Based on that change your old SIM card. Porting may take 7 working days usually and for the mobile users of Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and North East it will take 15 working days.

FAQs of MNP:
Q1. Can prepaid customers switch to postpaid and vice versa?
A: Yes, as long as all the conditions are met, that you have paid your postpaid bill till recently and no dues. Similarly, no dues should be pending in your present prepaid SIM card.

Q2. Can porting request be cancelled?
A: Yes, it can be cancelled within 24 hours of request made to the new operator.

Q3. Can CDMA be ported to GSM and vice versa?
A: Yes it can be done provided your handset support GSM and CDMA. As all CDMA phones are not GSM compatible and vice versa.

Q4. What about talk time, data balance and other services if I port?
A: Make sure that there is no talk time and data balance before you port as those cannot be carried forward to new network and you need to subscribe to all services as a fresh according to your new operator.

Q5. What to do with my old SIM once it is ported to new SIM card?
A: You need not return that SIM card to old operator. You can take back up of contacts and SMS in SIM card and you can destroy it.

Q6. How will I know when I need to change SIM card to new one?
A: You will get a SMS from new operator on your present working SIM card (or old SIM card) when you need to change your SIM and you will get a service disruption of 4 hours. Usually this will be done during night.

Q7. I am changing the State and can I retain the same number?
A: You can retain the same number through National Mobile Portability as long as you are in any state of India.

How to Receive Payments Online in India using PayUMoney

Are you running a website or blog or providing any service or collecting money for a cause or an event and looking for simple procedure to set up a payment gateway to receive payments via multiple payment options – debit cards, credit cards and net banking without any maintenance and setup charges?

payment button on this blog created with PayUMoney

PayUMoney is a simple way by which you can receive payments online by creating a payment button on your blog or website or by payment link. All you need to have is a PAN number in your name or in your business name to setup a merchant account on PayUMoney by which you can receive payments. Another advantage of using PayUMoney is you can setup payment gateway online itself and no documentation is required. Even you can create a web store online at free of cost to sell your products using free tools offered by PayUMoney.

sign up for PayUMoney Merchant/Seller account

complete the required details, as they are filled - on right side you can see a blue tick

You can register as a merchant on PayUMoney using this link. Provide details such as your name, email address and phone number. You will get a SMS and an email to verify and setup your account.

Create PayUButton to create HTML code with a link to your acocunt

Provide details on your business or your name, address and PAN number. Make sure that your name and PAN card name matches. Next, fill your account details such as IFSC, Account number, bank name etc., PayUMoney will deposit some money into your account to verify your account. Once you receive money in your account, you need to enter the transaction UTR number or the exact amount you received on PayUMoney website to verify your account details. You are done wait for a day and your account will be activated.

Login to your verified account, now you can get HTML code to create payment button associated to your account setup. Also, you can create an event and receive payments online.

paste the HTML code in your required website so that you can receive payments to your linked account

Go to PayUMoney tools and select PayUMoney button. Click on Create New Button. You can set fixed amount to receive or you can leave it open (so that donors can decide how much they would like to pay), fill payment details – payment name and description and set look of PayUButton you like to receive payments and then save PayUButton. Copy the HTML code of PayUButton and paste it on your website or blog using which your readers or customers can pay online. Only requirement payers or donors should have is PayUMoney buyer account which can be created in minutes and also it is helpful to track failures if any during transaction.

How to turn Windows 7 PC or desktop as WiFi hotspot using TP-Link TL-WN721N 150Mbps Wireless N USB Adapter

With smart phones ruling the World, WiFi has become next important thing as data pack charges are increasing by mobile service providers. If you are looking for turning your Windows 7 Personal Computer or Desktop computer into wireless hotspot then TP-Link TL-WN721N 150Mbps Wireless N USB Adapter would be a better option. It quickly turns your desktop PC into WiFi hotspot and you can connect your other devices through WiFi sharing the LAN based or cable based internet connection. TP-Link TL-WN721N 150Mbps Wireless N USB Adapter has many advantages that it occupies less space, no need of external power to device; it can be used as adapter also to connect your desktop to available WiFi connections and also cost effective apart from its use as WiFi hotspot.

Set up is very simple, you can install its driver and wireless utility from the Compact Disc (CS) provided with the device or you can download it form this link (TP-Link TL-WN721N 150Mbps Wireless N USB Adapter driver) if in case CD disk is disabled on your computer.

TP link utility, turn on SoftAP mode ON

Open the utility by the short cut created on desktop and go to Advanced menu, by default SoftAP mode will be off and you need to turn it on in order to use it as WiFi hotspot to connect other devices. As SoftAP mode will be on, an icon SoftAP will appear next to Advanced in Menu bar. Go to SoftAP and in that select ‘Local Area Connection’ as Internet Connecting Share (ICS), it will automatically assign IP to route LAN or Internet connection of your system as WiFi. 

Automatically broadcasting IP is selected, you can chose a name and password to network

You can set SSID, the name you would like to route the WiFi connection and also a password, so that only the ones having password can access your internet. Now you can search and connect WiFi devices to access WiFi internet.

NOTE: TP-Link TL-WN721N 150Mbps Wireless N USB Adapter cannot be used to route or turn your system running with Windows Xp as Wireless hotspot. TP-Link TL-WN721N 150Mbps Wireless N USB Adapter is not required if you are sharing your internet connection through Laptop running with Windows 7.

How to make your Blogger blog title appear at the end in search results

Even though in blogging content is king, certain level of optimization (search engine optimization) is required for the search engines to make readers to land on your page. Google search results rank your webpage or blog higher if the searched word is matching with your title. 

In blogger by default the blog title appears first in the search results which makes some keywords in title to miss and as a result your website or blog will be ranked slightly lower and sometimes if the blog title is lengthier then very good chances are there that your blog may not be ranked properly.

Blog title Technophilo appearing first in search results

To make your blog title appear at last in search results for the blogger, replace code

<title><data:blog.pageTitle/></title> 

with 

<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType == "item"'>
<title><data:blog.pageName/> | <data:blog.title/></title>
<b:else/>
<title><data:blog.pageTitle/></title> </b:if>

old code <title><data:blog.pageTitle/></title> 

old code replaced with the new code so that your blog title appears at last in search results


search results after replacing old code

Expand template if in case you are not able to find the searched old code

Code can be replaced by editing your blogger template, accessing it by Template -> Edit HTML -> Edit Template in interface.

How to make your Blogger blog Search Engine friendly with Structured Data

Structured data helps search engines in understanding the content of your blog and in turn provides better indexing and ranking in search results.

Google has come up with live structured data testing tool to test whether your website or blog is having structured data. Upon testing I found few errors in my blog hosted on blogger that is showing structured data error concerned with image source (usually picasa for blogger blogs) that is image_url , postId and blogId as not recognized as part of the schema. But these errors can be rectified by editing blogger template and making your blogger blog compatible with Structured Data.

Errors showing up in Structured test data tool marked in red, image_url error has been rectified

In blogger, template can be edited by accessing it as follows: Template -> Edit HTML -> Edit Template.

1. Image_url error
It can be rectified by editing your template. In blogger usually images are uploaded in picasa and being used in blogs. Search for word ‘image_url’ using Ctrl + F in template HTML code if in case you are not able to find it then expand the template as sown, then you can search. Replace ‘image_url’ with ‘image’ and save the template. This rectifies ‘image_url’ error being appeared in structured data testing tool.

Expand Template and search for keywords

search for 'image_url'

'image_url' is replaced with 'image'

2. posteId error and blogId error:
It can be rectified by same way editing blogger template. Search for <meta expr:content='data:blog.blogId' itemprop='blogId'/> and <meta expr:content='data:post.id' itemprop='postId'/>. Those two lines will be together (don't confuse with and in between), select the lines and DELTE it. Save the template, this rectifies blogId and postId error and it will be not recognized as part of schema error. 

Then again test for possible structured data error using Google structured data testing tool, you can find that error are rectified.

Errors are rectified with indication in green color

How to Update Mobile Number in AADHAR Card Online and Offline

AADHAR card has been a first of its kind multi-modal biometric based identity card issued to citizens of India. Even though it has not been fully utilized, once implemented can help in many ways reducing corruption, identity card issues, authentication issues etc., Personal details like age, sex, address has been fed into system by a data entry operator and there are possibilities of human to err. UIDAI offers AADHAR self service update portal to handle the issues related to update and change of AADHAR information in case of any discrepancy.

Among all details usually mobile number being the common one changed frequently. To update mobile number or change mobile number or add mobile number, AADHAR self service portal offers following services:

1. If your mobile number is not yet registered
If your mobile number or any mobile number is not registered for your AADHAR card then you can do so directly using this link and entering your mobile AADHAR number and mobile number. You will be receiving One Time Password (OTP) on your number to add your mobile number.

2. To change your mobile number having your old number with you
If you have changed your mobile number recently and have old mobile number with you. You can update your mobile number as below using the AADHAR Self Service Update Portal


Enter your AADHAR number and captcha


a. Click link to generate OTP on your old mobile number by entering your AADHAR number and text shown

Enter the OTP received on your old number


b. Click continue and select mobile option as that you can update your mobile number in the next screen

Select Mobile number option to update your mobile number

Confirm your Mobile Number

Proceed for confirmation page

c. You need to select any of the BPO services to get your mobile number updated

Select any of the BPO services to update your Mobile Number

d. You will receive an Update Request Number (URN) and your number will be updated in a day or two.


Sometimes you may get update message on your mobile number and if not you can check using status link providing AADHAR and URN number.

Check update Status

Your Mobile number update status will be shown

3. To change your mobile number without having old number with you
Suppose if your mobile number is wrongly updated or you are no more able to access your old phone number then also you can update your mobile number by submitting this form along with an identity proof, address proof and DOB certificate as mentioned in Annexure -1. It is required so that someone cannot misuse your AADHAR card providing number change request form. You need to send the form to following address to update your mobile number.
            UIDAI                                                                                                    UIDAI
      Post Box No. 10,                                                                             Post Box No. 99,
    Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh                                                       Banjara Hills, Hyderabad,
        India – 480001                                                                                   India – 500034 

Link to Application form to change mobile number

Annexure - 1

Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple and Trekking

Sabarimala is the abode of Lord Ayyappa(sometimes spelled as Aiyappa also) located in midst of absolute greenery. Devotees all over the country visit sannidhanam wearing Ayyappa Maala – a vratam performed by devotees for a period of 41 days. Sabarimala temple attracts large number of devotees from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana compared to any other state. Peak season at Sabarimala will be from November to January till Makara Sankrathi or Makara Sankramana day. Temple management with kerala police arranges all the facilities in order to provide hassle free darshan for devotees during peak season and other arrangements like virtual Queue. Temple will be open every month for mandala pooja apart from the regular pooja of the months of November, December and January and will be closed till sacred days of next month. Devotees are less during Mandala pooja time and one can have easy darshan of Lord Ayyappa.

Lord Ayyappa sannidhanam

Sabarimala can be reached from various places and nearest being the Chenganur called gateway of Sabarimla which is connected by road and railways. During Mandala pooja and regular pooja time Kerala road Transport Corporation arranges special buses plying from Chenganur to Pampa (also pronounced as Pamba) and back. Pamba bridge which has to be crossed to reach sabarimala is at a distance of 93 kms from Chenganur. It takes three hours for public transport to reach Pamba from Chenganur and same time for returning. Considering the travel time required, plan the travel accordingly.

Chenganur Bus stand

Chenganur Railway station - has clean waiting hall both for AC and non-AC reserved passengers

on the way to pampa from Chenganur


On the way to Pampa from Chenganur

Pampa bus stand

From river pampa, Ayyappa sannidhanam (sannidhanam refers to temple) is at a distance of 6 kms to be covered by walking. Initial two and half kilometers is steep and after that the road is normal suitable for regular walk. As a custom large number of devotees walk to sabarimala bare foot even though there is no strict rule on it.


way to Pampa

Pampa bridge to reach Sannidhanam

Shopping complex at Pampa

pampa


Trek to Ayyappa sannidhanam started with the dip in holy river Pampa which was clean due to heavy rain fall when we visited. Crossing river Pampa we need to proceed for Sabarimala Ayyappa darshan. After having darshan of Lord Ganapathy, Anjaneya, Rama and Goddess Parvathy, we started to starting point of trek which is backside of these temples.

Ganesha Temple at pampa

Way to Sannidhanam

Govt. Cardiology Center for devotees

On trek path - some times slippery

Trek path

Trek path 

Initial trekking path is steep and has steps. One can enjoy the nature and trek slowly taking little breaks. Be careful as it is slippery at some places. Street vendors selling water, fruits and other required things are common in trek path. Health center is also being set up in between for the devotees requiring emergency medical help.

Dolly service for the aged from Pampa to Sabarimala

Sabaripeedam

Sabaripeetam

In between Sabari peetam is present on the way where Sabari met lord Ayyappa and the name Sabarimala is due to her to the hill. Nearing Ayyappa sannidhanam we can see many shops and in the trek route tractors carrying construction material is normally seen. But other vehicles are not allowed to Sannidhanam from Pampa.

Tractors carrying construction material


View from Sabarimala


Since, it was Mandala pooja time we could have good darshan of lord Ayyappa twice and could take rest in reserved rooms before starting back. Also, we visited nearby deities and Vavar thara – a small temple built for sufi saint and friend of Lord Ayyappa. It was enriching experience to be in middle of greenery and see devotees coming from different places to have darshan of lord Ayyappa with a hope to relieve them from all their difficulties.

Temple Entrance with 18 steps allowed only for devotees with Irumudi


Alternate path for devotees without Irumudi

Vavaruswamy - friend of Lord Ayyappa

place in front of temple main gate to relax 

Sabarimala

Heavy rain

serve good quality Coffee and Tea at Sabarimala

In return we took other path which is being used during peak time. The road is steep and requires careful stepping as railings are not present to hold and carefully descend. The roads are well-lit and can walk during night time also.

Alternate path to reach or come from Pampa

Petrol bunk at Pampa


Due to modernization, mobile networks with 3G connection and ATMs of many banks are available both in Sabarimala hill and Pampa also. A petrol pump or petrol bunk is present in Pampa for refueling if you are going by own vehicle. Accommodation can be booked online itself for accommodation at Sabarimala itself using their online reservation system (website link) which helps for a planned journey to God’s abode.