Imagine, if you will, business travelers gallivanting across the globe with nary a care in the world — secure in the fact that should they lose their laptop by hook or by crook, they can disable it with a simple text message. Well, the dream is now a reality as Intel has put its third-gen vPro technology in Sandy Bridge Core i5 and i7 business chips, giving users the ability to lock down and reactivate a PC remotely via SMS. Not exactly a fresh idea, but nice to see it passed on to more modern chipsets. To further simplify the lives of IT professionals, the new version of vPro also has an encryption login requirement upon awakening from sleep mode, 1920 x 1200 resolution remote management, and host-based configuration to allow the set up of countless PCs at once. Of course, that assumes your employer’s willing to pony up for Chipzilla’s new gear — the economic downturn’s almost over, right?

InformationWeek Intel

Incoming search terms:

• difference between core i7 and corei7 vproP
• twitter sms pakistan delay

Pakistan’s cricket team disappointing performance once again created wave of anger among the cricket lovers who are not happy with efforts of players failed to chase the huge target of 302 runs against New Zealand and collapsed at 192 to face defeat of 110 runs.

Kamran Akmal has been held responsible by cricket lovers as he dropped and missed catches of New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor smashed swashbuckling unbeaten hundred to guide New Zealand towards mammoth total of 302 runs against Pakistan.

Birthday boy Ross Taylor scored unbeaten 131 off 124. His spectacular innings was studded with eight boundaries and seven massive sixes.

As the match was hardly over, cricket fans circulated SMSes widely to criticize the performance of Kamaran Akmal, the wicket keeper of Pakistan team.

“Wishing you a very happy birthday to dear friend Ross Taylor. I have dropped catches as birthday gift. Hope you must like it.

From: 3^rd Class wicket keeper Kamran Akmal!”

Also, the brief SMS came as strong reaction covertly suggesting a protest in front of his home

“Kamran Akmal’s address 283, Block E, Defence Lahore

Agr Aaj kuch nahi karo gay tu kal bhugto gay. Khamoshi ka boycott.”

( If you don’t raise your voice today then you will face the music on tomorrow. Boycott to Silence)

We do hope cricket lovers will record their protest through SMS and refrain from indulging any violent activity though Akmal performed very badly in the last match particularly.

We do hope he could improve his form and win our heat with his performance in the next matches.

Good Luck to Kamran Akmal

Good Luck to Pakistan

Around one billion text messages were sent in China’s capital, Beijing last Wednesday on the eve of the Spring Festival – or Chinese New Year, but the flood of greetings actually caused complaints from recipients saying there were too many.

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik today directed the authorities to block websites and SMS “propagating an anti-Islam agenda” within 24 hours.

Malik ordered the Interior Secretary to trace all websites that are “propagating against Islam”. Cases should be registered against persons who are involved in such acts and are residing in Pakistan, he said.

The minister also asked the Secretary to constitute a committee comprising representatives of the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority and Federal Investigation Agency to tackle anti-Islam propaganda.

The panel should submit its report in a week, he said.

He also called on people to inform authorities about websites that are “propagating against Islam and Pakistan”.

In a separate development, Malik told reporters at Pirpai village in northwest Pakistan that the government has no intention of repealing or amending the blasphemy law.

Due to the “sensitivity” of the issue, people should not play it up as the government has adopted a “categorical stance on the subject”, he said.

Malik went to Pirpai in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province to offer condolences to the family of senior Pakistan People’s Party leader Naseerullah Babar, who died recently.

He said the blasphemy law will be taken up with noted clerics and religious scholars of different schools of thoughts and the issue will be “amicably resolved”.

Senior PPP leader and Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer was gunned down on January 4 by a police guard who said he was angered by the politician’s criticism of the blasphemy law.

Keeping up with latest trends in technology and keeping an eye on youth patterns, Mobilink will be launching the first SMS based Twitter Service for the Pakistani market.

The role of social networking has become more and more entrenched into our daily lives, and so a service of such a kind fulfills our customer’s evolving needs. Twitter has recently gained popularity particularly in the Pakistani youth. Launched shortly after introducing Jazz Jazba, the Twitter SMS service shows the company’s vision and focus on the youth of Pakistan.

Through this service, users can link their Twitter accounts to their handset, sign up for Twitter and access Twitter via SMS, with no need for internet/GPRS. The service allows users to simultaneously send and receive Twitter messages

through SMS. They can follow all their friends andcelebrities along with their fellow tweeters, thus ensuring that the tweets get to them right on their handsets via SMS.

How to start Tweeting via SMS:

• The user simply needs to subscribe to Twitter by sending an SMS ‘Start’ to 40404.
• Customers who are already subscribed to Twitter, will need to get their phone number linked to Twitter Account with handset. Just SMS ‘Signup’ to 40404 and follow the steps.
• To unsubscribe completely from Twitter SMS. Send an SMS ‘Stop’ to 40404 and confirm.

Users can visit http://support.twitter.com to learn about more functions that can be performed using this SMS based service

• To choose your own user name
• To turn ON all authorized Twitter updates and notifications
• To turn OFF all updates including direct messages
• To turn OFF all phone notifications
• To turn ON notifications for a specific person on phone. Example: ON ali
• To turn OFF notifications for a specific person on phone. Example: OFF sara
• To FOLLOW a specific user and receive SMS notifications. Example: FOLLOW umer
• To stop receiving SMS notifications for a specific user. Example: LEAVE hasan·         Commands to send private messages, favorite Tweets
• To Follow/Unfollow some fellow tweeter.

Some things to note are:

• Using on/off username from phone only, stops notifications coming to mobile phone; customer will still collect a person’s updates on the web since he/she will still be following them. The OFF, LEAVE, STOP, and QUIT commands will only disable mobile updates from that user.
• Following someone from a phone for the first time will also cause you to follow them on the web.
• Customers can also set individual notifications from a person’s profile page on the web, or go to the Twitter website and manage all phone notification settings there.

Charges:

SMS on Shortcode 40404: Rs. 1 + Tax/SMS

Incoming search terms:

• MOBILINK TWEETER

When Twitter was in its early days, users of the service in Pakistan could use it easily via sms. After a while, Twitter stopped supporting certain international countries for sms, thereby leaving a gap. Mobilink has realized that providing a service for Twitter via SMS is a good marketing and business move.  This week, Mobilink announced that it will be launching the first SMS based Twitter Service for the Pakistani market.

Mobilink adds that “Twitter has recently gained popularity particularly in the Pakistani youth. Launched shortly after introducing Jazz Jazba, the Twitter SMS service shows the company’s vision and focus on the youth of Pakistan.” Translation is that Mobilink wants to hook the youth through Twitter … a Jazbati Twitter!

Here’s how it works.

Through this service, users can link their Twitter accounts to their handset, sign up for Twitter and access Twitter via SMS, with no need for internet/GPRS. The service allows users to simultaneously send and receive Twitter messages through SMS. They can follow all their friends and celebrities along with their fellow tweeters, thus ensuring that the tweets get to them right on their handsets via SMS.

How to start Tweeting via SMS:
• The user simply needs to subscribe to Twitter by sending an SMS ‘Start’ to 40404.
• Customers who are already subscribed to Twitter, will need to get their phone number linked to Twitter Account with handset. Just SMS ‘Signup’ to 40404 and follow the steps.
• To unsubscribe completely from Twitter SMS. Send an SMS ‘Stop’ to 40404 and confirm.

It seems like PTCL is going to double the DSL speeds of broadband customers very soon, most likely with in month or two, at most – same like it did last year. According to news the existing packages will be doubled as

• 1 mbps to 2 mbps
• 2 mbps to 4 mbps
• 4 mbps to 8 mbps

According to PTCL representative and feedback of different users PTCL is testing these double speeds on randomly selected subscribers from different areas of country. These users will be downgraded after the testing period ends to their original speeds and will be upgraded after official announcement, which is most likely to be on 23rd March, but can be delayed as no final date has been announced yet.

The up gradation process may take several months according to the size of network. Though PTCL is using is ADSL2+ which supports up to 24mbps but at same time there are many subscribers on Copper media, which supports up to 4 mbps at most (that too with distortion).

We hope that student package users will also get this upgrade and can enjoy higher speeds at discounted rates as recently PTCL discontinued all student packages above 1mbps.

We will keep you informed on this, you can also share your experience in comments if you got this test up gradation.

No official words on the situation yet.

Ufone is offering this new SMS package, that allows 500 Ufone to Ufone SMS a day for Rs. 2.39 including tax where validation period is 24 hours.

Details:

Packages: Daily On-net SMS Package
Subscription: Rs. 2.39 (including tax)
No. of SMS: 500
Validity: 24 Hours

How to Subscribe:

To subscribe the Daily On-Net daily SMS Package send “sub” to 611

Step 1: Write message “Sub”

Step 2: Send to “611”

How to Un-subscribe?

The customer can unsubscribe by sending “unsub” to 8611. Un-subscription will be charged at Rs.2 + Tax.

Terms and Conditions:

• This package is only valid for Ufone to Ufone SMS
• SMS to all other network will be charged according to customer’s tariffs.
• This service is available to all Prepaid Ufone customers on all packages.
• Users can subscribe to multiple SMS Packages.
• Daily On-Net SMS Package has highest Priority in case of multiple package subscription i.e. On-Net Package will be consumed first before other packages.
• The package is valid for a period of 24 hours from the time of subscription, but if the number of messages offered is consumed before 24 hours then the service will be expired before the validity period ends.
• The customer can check remaining free SMS by sending a blank SMS to 606.
• SMS to short code 606 and 600 will charged at Rs. 0.50 + tax or a SMS from customer’s SMS package.
• The customer can activate multiple SMS packages at the same time by sending a separate subscription SMS for each package. Both subscription charges will be deducted, remaining free SMS will be shown separately.
• The customer will be able to send SMS even after reaching zero balance, as long as the subscription is valid (available free SMS and within 24 hours).
• Upon auto-renewal of Daily SMS Package after 24 hours, remaining SMS from the previous day will not transfer over to the next day.
• The remaining valid free SMS will be available till expiry time even after un-subscription.
• If multiple Daily SMS packages are subscribed within 24hrs, auto re-subscription will be based on the last package subscribed.
• Customers can subscribed to Daily On-Net SMS package multiple times, however, as policy only one package per day is allowed. If any customer is found subscribing more than one package, her/his MSISDN may be blocked

Incoming search terms:

• ufone utoubucket
• ufone utoubucket unsub
• UtoUbucket package unsubscribe

Ufone SMS Bucket for PostPay users

Bucket Name: SMS Monthly Package
Number of SMS: 10,000
Price Bucket: Rs 150 + Tax
Validity: 1 Month

How to subscribe?
Customer will SMS sub to short code 610 to subscribe – upon successful subscription customer will receive an acknowledgement SMS.

After IM over SMS warid brings in SMS to PTCL V-Fone. Now all Warid customers can receive and send SMS to any V-PTCL number within Pakistan any day any time.

Every SMS sent to any V-PTCL number will be charged as per standard off-net SMS charges of the package plan opted with no charges on receiving the SMS. The facility is available for both Prepaid and Postpaid customers. There is no activation procedure for this facility.

Terms and Conditions

◦All charges are exclusive of government taxes and levies including FED at 19.5%.
◦10% withholding tax is deducted on each recharge amount by ezeeLOAD & scratch card.
◦Using SIM without proper Documentation is a Crime.