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An ideal google phone - the Nexus 4

This review is a bit late considering that the Nexus 5 is already available in India.

I am sure it is going to be an awesome phone, just like the Nexus 4 is.


I have been through a lot of Android phones - over the last few years ; I must have used almost every major Android device at some point or the other since Gingerbread was released - which is quite some time ago now.

One of my favourite devices was the Galaxy S3. It felt just right to hold - the perfect shape and size , slim et al. It was STILL all plastic and the only, the biggest gripe for me.If only Samsung could have done with better quality materials. . .

I have heard a lot about the so called "Pure Google" experience or the "Pure Android" experience. For a while, before I switched over to the "Nexus" bandwagon, I didn't really think it was that much of a difference.

To me, all droids stuttered, coughed every now and then and I had accepted this as a natural phenomena on all droid devices. Until, I laid my hands on the Nexus 4 and its amazingly well integrated software and hardware experience.

Let me start with the build - not an iPhone by any means but its times better than a Samsung PlasticDroid. It has the right heft and weight to it. Feels very comfy in one hand and as long as you dont drop it , there is nothing to complain about the build quality.

Stutter ? what stutter - this is truly the first android phone I have seen which has the seamless software experience people craved for. Pretty much the best hardware specs at the time of its production and fantastic integration on software by LG/Google - after a while it dawned on me, what project "butter" and other under the skin improvements by google had materialized into.

The more I use it, the more it feels "just right" in all aspects. Yes the camera could be better in certain conditions and to each his own on the quality of pictures considered acceptable.

Bottom line is  - N4 is the biggest bang for buck in the market today and if prices drop further when N5 floods the market, you can buy a N4 for even cheaper and make a really good buy - one that you wont regret even 3 years down the line and that is a long time in Smartphone terms.



Wild flower




A wild flower in bloom - as if it was conscious of its beauty.

Intemperate and haughty , knowing her like is not in bounty.

Near so perfect outside , a fragile makeup inside.

Founded on floundering principles  , staggering in her ambitions.

The right and wrong all in one place , confusing and amazing are his ways

Should I enjoy the fragrance and let be or pluck it and take it with me ?

A,B and C of Software Teams



In India, there are "A" players and "B" players, mostly, who make up the bulk of a Software Development company. Of course there are "C" players but there should be a good reason for them to exist and in small numbers so we exclude them here. And then there are an equally small number of "AB" players.

"B" players make up the vast majority of Devs. Its like the middle-class of India. Most of these are people who dabble in almost every technology in the project portfolio but are not really a master of any. Example, a .NET web developer (B) would perhaps be a good all-rounder in client side technologies, C# based backend tech stack, decent DBMS programmer etc but not really stand-out at any one of these.

The "A" players are the ones who are hard-core technologists. The lot who can have an intellectual orgasm at the mere prospect of deciphering / delivering a very complicated system. The people who can stare at the same 5 lines of code for a thousand minutes and still find an optimization ; or those who can hold a program in their head for days on end and have the solution etched in mind before it becomes code. No QA/QC required.

There are very few "AB" players who overlap between being very good at something - say, algorithms or overall concepts of the system etc, and are also "good" at the rest of it. Their numbers are about the same as the "C"

Looking at what each of these bring to the table :


  • The "A" players bring technical expertise - they are specialists and most of the time focused only on coding, refactoring, efficiency et al. These people are the real "DEVELOPERS". They push the limits, push the framework, break code and rebuild it. This is the sharpened edge of the team. These are they guys who are always bugging the support team of some latest framework on the market. They raise the most tickets, the most complicated tickets and for the rest of the team, they appear to be working at an unimaginable level of coding.
If a product development manager / lead wants a cutting edge feature, he would be looking at the "A"s first.  Say you have a legacy spaghetti bowl which needs to talk to the greatest and latest ERP modules of a Co's product , with the usual improvements in speed, reliability etc. - this is where you would come to.

  • The  "B" players are more like "coders" or "programmers" than "developers" - the difference being that, A's push the limits and explore the boundaries of the stack while B's are tasked to concentrate on known areas and often come up with "safe" solutions. Unspectacular yet solid. In this sense, the B's all put together are nothing but a relatively stable "processing program". They take-in a lot of requirements from their leads,designers and turn out 100's of lines of code - not the best or the most efficient, but something that works most of the time. This is the mundane part of the team.
If you had to develop 15 modules for an ERP with dedicated features/screens for each ; dependency on each other and well defined business rules, you would push it to the "B"s and expect an almost error-free working prototype in a time-bound manner.

  • The "AB" players are an interesting lot. They are few in number and sometimes very "malleable"  / "scalable" - they are mostly clear B+ people who can upstage an A from time to time at something very particular. Its like the LINQ-to-SQL expert in your front-end team who can write more efficient queries than an A for certain parts of the program ; and is still a better B than all the others. 
The "AB"s are floaters. Almost all  of the A's and the B's tend to work within well defined boundaries - their area's of expertise. But "AB"s wander around. At worst they are B players but from time to time they scale up and contribute to spikes in the development.

But there is another important facet of "AB"'s and "B"s which needs to be explored  - "Non-technical Skills".

"Your brain is not functioning correctly ... "



"a2"a2?a2"a3a2" BRAIN a2,a2dega2?a2-a23/4a2a2? a2a3a22a2, a2(r)a23/4a2!a3a2$?a2?a22a3a22! "


Like he had a eureka moment, this is what my dad told me a few min back. 


My dad bought me my first computer when I was in 9th STD.  Specs as below - 

  • Pentium II 233 MHz
  • 64MB RAM courtesy Hyundai Hynix
  • 2GB Seagate hard-disk at less than 4500RPM 
  • 11" or maybe 12" bulbulous CRT monitor
  • A CD-ROM drive rated at 32X
  • PS/2 connectors for mouse and keyboard
  • The already very nearly redundant floppy drive - 3.5" 
  • One USB port (!)
Seems pedestrian by todays standards but this was a pretty good "rig" back then  - almost 14 or 15 years back .  

To buy this PC my dad and myself went around town for 6-8 months. You see the personal computer was still a luxury in those days and my dad is not the kind to invest his money in "needless luxury". Considering that,  8 months is actually not a very long time to have changed his position ;)

The story of shopping the first computer is for another day. 

Back to 1999 - one fine day our brand new PII 233 (that was how I used to call it ever since I got the specs) landed up - complete with a UPS from "Genesis" worth 20min of backup ( it never, ever lasted more than 5 min - it was big heavy and fugly) ; and a very good HP Deskjet colour printer. 

2 months later, Intel launched the PIII and the processor race had started in earnest. Oh and my PC was obsolete already....

In the 14 years since I got this computer, the most frequent source of conflict between father and son is THE computer :) Credit to my dad, he took to the computer like a duck to water but he is by no means an expert on how it works - rather he is good at working with it.

And so every once in a while the computer would break-down for whatever reason - hardware , software , electrical and we would have a big argument as to why it broke down, what could have been done to prevent it, what I didn't do to prevent it and so on. 

I have come to understand that being proficient with any technology at home is more of a bane than a boon.  Don't agree ? Read on- 

  • You are the de-facto "operator" of the said device whenever the family wants to use the device.
  • You are singularly responsible for its operation and maintenance
  • You should be "available on hand" to "operate" the device "whenever the family needs it " ; in other words, because you are the expert, you should be like customer support 24/7
  • If it WORKS FINE, you are not responsible but  - 
  • If ANYTHING goes wrong with the device, its ALWAYS your fault.
  • ....and the list goes on....

And so with this PC, I was always and I still am the person responsible for everything wrong about it :D I can grin about it now, but a few years ago it wasn't like that ! 

3 weeks back, the HDD on the PC packed up. I had given up on maintaining this PC almost a year back - its running XP Home edition and is infested with virus like scavengers feasting on a rotten cadaver. So it wouldn't boot up and the BIOS doesn't detect the master drive. When I told so to my dad he was disgusted.  This coming on the back of a few weeks where the boot-up was troublesome - BIOS failures , RESETs etc

Apparently he must have tried to switch it on today and it works (!) - which is why he had the Eureka moment today evening and told me what I have written as the title of this post. 


BMTF vs BBMP

Very interesting article - http://bit.ly/O4dohT


Going by the tone of the parties involved, it looks like Tit for Tat.

Corruption is commonplace in all institutions in society today. More so in the individuals holding power as the  office-bearers / staff of such institutions.

While I feel a tinge of satisfaction in the BMTF chief and his loyalists taking on the apparently "more corrupt" corporators and their ilk - especially those in the BBMP, I really do fear of a strong backlash from the BBMP again.

Remember the last time the BBMP staff were on strike, they raised a big stink - literally.

It would be nice if all such corrupt entities were taken to task without causing inconvenience to the common man.

Sharpening Motorola's Focus

This is an excellent article that touches upon the key points of the Motorola Mobility business.

Remember, Google bought this out recently and hasn't seen any great success with it so far.

Now, it seems, there will be an effort to cut the losses, sharpen the focus and put out "fewer" and more "focused" products on the market.

This echo's the strategy of fierce rival Apple. In a recently conducted interview, the legendary designer  - Jonathan Ive, said that they concentrate on making  a few really great products and that they often say no to a lot of things that they are otherwise capable of manufacturing.

This is the kind of luxury that BIG companies like Apple, Google and perhaps even Samsung can afford - and while Samsung's strategy is perhaps not under review given its superb sales of the Galaxy premium range, its the right time for Google to re-asses its strategy.


Slaughtered Down Under

The batsmen looked mentally scarred for most of the time. They looked tentative - every ball they faced, you felt something was going to happen. There was hesitation, trepidation.  In each and every game, except perhaps in the first innings of the first test.

People talk a lot of stuff about Dhoni being a recluse, unresponsive to suggestions - yeah right, like they sat in the team meetings and were part of the squad themselves. Its the usual speculation that the media and so called "Cricket Experts" talk about when the team is in dire straits.

I think Dhoni's nonchalant behaviour is his strength and weakness. Appearing to be nonplussed about anything in the game was something that everybody hailed as he led the team to numerous wins in all forms of the game not so long ago. Now the same trait is being regarded as his Achilles heels.

The same with Sehwag. He never had any footwork. He was always a hand-eye co-ordination player. It hurt him, it helped him, it made him and it might break him. But thats who he is - its nothing new - people talk about his game as "shoddy", "lacking responsibility" etc today - but I actually think he was honestly trying to curb his instincts and play the unnatural game.

Thats the hard part for these people - they are all out of their natural zone of comfort and they failed to adapt - for N no of reasons. Why ? Is it age ? Could be. Dravid getting bowled 9 times or so might mean he is slow or that he has lost his technique a bit. Technique and temperament can be moulded, but age ?

On the topic of age - Neither do Dravid nor Tendulkar look like they are physically out of it for me. These two can easily carry on for another 2-3 years, form and body permitting. The one who looks really out of shape is VVS. He is the one who is most lethargic on the field and his forte - heavy scoring ability overseas- especially against Australia, has seemingly deserted him. He will ofc do his analysis but with Kohli arriving on the scene I think the transition should start with VVS bowing out. Hard on the man but the time is right.

Zaheer Khan looked like the only bowler who could take wickets. I dont know why they didn't take Varun Aaron. They played Vinay Kumar who was treated like a spinner by the Aussies and the team has probably destroyed his yet to take off international career. That was the blunder of the tour. Destroying a fledgling career.

Zaheer was immature with the bat. Very irresponsible. The worst shot of the tour was the one he played in the last test ...Kohli waiting to get a ton and the senior guy flashes at a ball. Fucking unbelievable. For that he deserves a rap. For Sure. Zaheer used to bat well enough for a tail ender-  these days he is worse than one.

And Zaheer knew he didn't have support at the other end - it showed in his sometimes inconsistent bowling - I guess he wasn't too happy at having to do all the work himself. He would get one break through or a couple more and then the workload and expectations wouldnt stop there. He would have to come back again and again to try and stop the juggernaut.


Its hard to find positives. Tendulkar looked so circumspect. It looked he was unsure in his mind. I think he needs to play a bit more - maybe he should stop idealizing the 100th hundred and just get it out by smashing some minions. He looks like a player weighed down by something playing on his mind.

Kohli deserves his place in the team now. After trying and failing with Raina,Yuvraj etc, I think Kohli is the first of the new lot who can be groomed. He is a great cricketer - arrogant but you need that fire in you at this level.

R.Ashwin tried to behave like the pro - like the man who knew it all - it was on good display in his dumb witted press conferences. He also has the tendency to tweet his opinions I believe. He looks like the guy who likes to be in the spotlight a bit. He should probably learn to keep his mouth shut and do the job on the field. But the positive thing is his batting - he should learn to resist the pull and he is going to be a good batsman. He has probably already ended Harbhajan's career which is great news for me - I for one never believed in Harbhajan's action and I never really thought he was an asset though he has deservedly won games for india by getting under the skin of the opposition or with the bat.


Looks like the Indian team need a break. Yes. They really ought to stop playing cricket for a while. The skillsets are not there to the levels before. They need some time off and recoup. But there is no time for that - with the T20 and ODI series coming up I think a lot of them will be maxxed out by the time they are back home.


I think the biggest entity to be blamed is the BCCI. In their ivory towers , these people have lost touch with reality. There needs to be some connect between the players and the BCCI . Right now they play as much cricket as the body allows - there is no consideration for the mental fatigue.



Just Ride ...




A few weeks back, my Yezdi mechanic told me -

 "Saar, don't feel bad about what I am about to say , but there is no such thing as perfection in our Yezdi bikes - even the factory bikes had a long list of items to crib about ... you are chasing perfection which never existed - just ride it Saar... "

Of course I know - I mean , of all people know especially about the Yezdi...but still it set me wondering - when was the last time I  "just rode it " -- on any bike ?


Can't recall it in recent times on any bike  - there's always something to crib about -  wonder what it takes to "Just Ride..." ? 

Mobile Office Mail

Is access to information anytime, anywhere always a good thing ? I don't think so. Specifically, I am talking about email. More specifically, office mail.

There was a time when having instant email access on your phone was the domain of the "Blackberry" elite. Post the 3G revolution almost anyone can have email access on their phones. And that is probably not so good.

While working on a project in which there is a big time difference between our time and the clients location, the need to be able to respond immediately was having very high value. Though we had worked out that we can only extend our working hours a little bit to ensure that there is overlap between our working hours, I wanted to go the extra mile for the client. And so I went in for a 3G plan that allowed me to respond to the client  via mobile mail - ALL the time.

Yes, for the first few months, I was so happy that I can respond to all the official mail in spite of not being in the office. It gave me my team the ability work without my physical presence as long as they got the information from me via email. There is no need to wait for me to be back in office. Response times are vastly imprived. I could send them notes,documents,images so on all without having to visit the office.When I am on vacation and there is a crisis, I can communicate in real time and solve issues without being there. Great!

But as time went by, I noticed that I was always checking if I had office mail on my mobile. And on many occasions there would be no mails and I would start getting worried. Maybe my inbox was full. Maybe there is a connection error. I would switch off/on the 3G network, or send a test mail to myself to ensure my mobile office mailbox was in working order. Sure enough it was ok most of the time. But the addiction to checking the inbox remained - it became a headache actually. I was not comfortable if I saw an empty mailbox for a long time. What if we have a crisis, what if I need to back to the office ... maybe there is some bad news. Constant worry.

Then there is the other kind of worry - so we have worked our backsides off for the last 2 months stretching ourselves to 12 hour days on weekdays and working 8 hours a day over weekends on some occasions -  under such conditions the last thing you want to see is an office mail when you go back home detailing some other stupid problem that arose AFTER you left the office. It can be quite deflating. It just steals your peace of mind since you are always flooded with information and there is no time to rest. 

I figured that the solution to this second kind of worry was to not to open the mailbox at all when I decide to take some time off or logout of work. But then there was the third kind of worry - how long can I keep away from the problems ? Not checking my mailbox doesn't mean there aren't any mails and hence there are probably some problems in waiting. I am only delaying attending to them and probably that is not the right thing to do. So then I am still worried about what mails I might see when I open the mailbox !

The only solution is to stop receiving office mail on mobiles and go back to the good old days' idea that once you log out of office you are available only at the start of business hours on the next working day. Yes. I think that should be the right way to do it. Otherwise you can never have piece of mind. Leave the team an "emergency only" number and get away from it all !



Classic Adventure

This wednesday could have turned out to be a real adventure  ...

I had ridden down to Vijayanagar on my Yezdi Classic to meet a friend and then proceeded towards Yeshwanthpur to get it fixed by a mechanic. As usual I had left my wallet in my office backpack - like most techie people I carry a bag to office and all my stuff is in the bag including the wallet - lest a sudden downpour causes some serious damage ;)

Having realised this, I checked with my friend to see if he was carrying some cash - and he wasn't either. Since the mechanic is a very good acquaintance not paying him on this visit wouldn't be a problem but its a bit embarrassing....

Picking our way through the ridiculous traffic, we landed up at the mechanics place - stomach growling over the roar of the half muffled Yezdi. Now that is a problem. We didn't have any cash to eat anything ! Being a regular to the area, my friend took me to a small eatery and had 2 "Khali Dosa"'s  per head on credit basis (!) .... which satisfied our hunger pangs for now.

By then the mechanic had opened up the erratic front end of my bike and was down to some serious business. It was already past 9 PM and then our good friends at BESCOM decided it was time for some load shedding. Lights out. Work halted. We had no option but to while away our time chatting about all things mechanical and Yezdi. Finally, the power was restored at 11PM and the good mechanic finished up on the front end in a jiffy.

By then we had also noticed that there was hardly enough fuel in the bike to get back home ! Here we are at 11.30PM in the night having to to ride back at least 20km with almost no fuel in the bike and no cash in hand. Once again we got out of trouble since the mechanic gave us 50 bucks for fuel (!!!)...what next ? Find a bunk !

At 11.45 PM there was hardly any petrol bunk still open for business and we seriously dreaded getting stranded somewhere. If that happened it would have been a right royal EffUp. So we started looking out for ANY open pump - no luck and soon enough the bike started sputtering . Oh god ...what a predicament !

To add to the excitement, my friend wasn't wearing a helmet and we went past many cops - one of them did stop us but didn't fine us for not wearing the helmet - he was only checking for DUI and more interested in a guy who was driving with a "pickup girl" in his Innova. 

All said and done, with probably just 100 ml of fuel in the tank, we landed up at the Sheshadripuram Circle petrol bunk and refuelled for the grand total of Rs 50 - forty five for fuel and 5 rupees for 20ml of shit 2T oil.

I was just wondering, in case the cops had fined us for not wearing a helmet - what would we do ? Who would believe our story that, two working guys, rode all the way to Vijayanagar with no cash or wallet in hand, ate dosa's on credit basis, borrowed 50 bucks from a mechanic who also fixed the bike, and then were trying to find a petrol bunk to get refuelled ? Too tall a story to believe .....





Anna-giri and the youth

So I wasn't at "Freedom Park", neither did I take part in any of the long marches or demonstrations during Anna's fast - but that doesn't mean I don't support the cause. Or the movement. I have nothing against the way in which the protest was carried out - in fact I quite like it that Team Anna as it is known gave the GoI a real kick in the guts .... but I do have one gripe....

Thousands thronged the streets, took part in the demonstrations and posted great slogans on Facebook, Twitter etc. The shameful thing was to see so many of the youth go there just to be part of the "occasion". Occasion my arse. You should be there to lend a voice, to show your support and be sure of your convictions.

Shame on people who called on the youth to be part of a historic "occasion". Shame on all those techies who bunked office and went over to Freedom Park so that they can pose with their buddies for photos to be shared on FB later - a way to claim more popularity. In short - so many people used the movement to milk some PR and while you obviously expect it from the Neta's, Babu's and the Media, it was pathetic to see some of the youth trying to score some brownie points on social networks through these antics. FU guys.

Now, I feel rather good about myself not being there.



Clearing the cob-webs

The last one week has been very hectic. Lot of running around, lot of work, lot of tension ... very little downtime !

The only relaxation I got was by spending a day with the bikes. Well at least I got some downtime  - coz I spent the whole day cleaning and lubing the machines and ended up pretty tired. So much for relaxation.

But its been a while - since I cleaned any of these beauties.A couple of them are literally covered in cob-webs in my garage !

Started off with the oldest of the lot - the 81 Roadking and spent a good amount of time getting off the rust and muck from the underbelly. She did startup on the third kick (been in cold storage for over a month) but not before a few violent kickbacks. Recently the point-set was changed, might be that the tune is not in sync. More work this week then !

Next was the 82 Classic. Ah - the bike for which I broke my own promise not to buy another Yezdi. I haven't been riding her at all since she has developed a terrible grinding noise coming from the engine and its no fun to ride like that. Lubing and dusting done, took her for a spin - the front suspension is jammed. Hard. Tight. Zero movement. And another bike in a wrong state of tune. More kickbacks. Sigh - this one needs an open heart surgery some time soon :(

Looking around I realised that I hadn't run my friend Vasu's Roadking for about 10 days. Took out this bike which I like to call the "Clubman". It kind of looks short,stubby and very much reminds me of a neanderthal caveman with a clubin his hand. Its got an awesome beat to it - which is what enchants me.



No air and low fuel. Sigh - more work. Took out the foot pump and had a hard time filling up the tyres with air. Refuelled from one of the other yezdi's and took it out for a longish run. Music to my years. It runs on a Jikov which needs some tuning as well but the real problem is the clutch setup - needs to be opened up sometime next month.




It was already mid-day now and I still was only half way though. Had a look at the ZMR - low fuel, engine oil change pending and bike really needs a wash. Fork nut needs to be tightened up and so on .I passed it up.  Just not having the enthusiasm to do it now. Maybe for another weekend.

That left the R15 and the 96 Roadking. Chose to do a complete check on the latter - decided to get it refuelled (again!) with Shell and went there with half a litre of 4T oil. After waiting in the Q the asshole told me that he didn't have 2T oil. Miffed. Refuelled using only 4T oil - came home, drained half that fuel into another Yezdi ( the joy of having bikes with a big appetite ! ) - ran out to Shell again, this time with my own 2T oil.

Clean the pipes - done.
Clean the rims - done.
Lube the bike - done.


Light diesel coating for underbelly - done.


I got a pair of mufflers fit into this bike recently, and boy, doesn't it transform the bike ! The bike has run about 1600 km without  mufflers ever since its enginer was rebored. It was terribly loud. Too loud. Vulgar. And to be frank - its all show and no go. Putting the mufflers back has made it SO smoooth and SO much quieter. I am really enjoying this feel now- though there is no technical explanation for it entirely, the RK with a good pair of mufflers feels like it just got a catcon exhaust (ala RX135). Pulls neat and linearly.  Another 1600km to go and then lets see how this baby can run !

Got rid of the OE design round indicators and stalks and put the Shogun ones (spare set) and the bike looks really neat now. A few minor things are still missing on the bike - the rubber cover over the nipples opening for the fork is something I haven't found in a long time.

Finally the R15. I dont remember the last time I rode this bike. After the last service, it has run maybe just 200km. And I got a call from Yamaha folks for the next service :| I am pretty sure they are interested more in the Rs 400 odd they charge for lubing+engine oil change rather than anything else. Might drop it off on Tue but wanted to check it out anyway. Again - no air, another round of puffing and huffing on the foot pump. checked engine oil level - Shell 10W40 it is - top it up, idle for a few min, then took a small ride. Not impressed. Somehow this bike has lost its charm on me. Feels odd to handle- not sharp like before, and the engine feels too noisy. Its hardly run 4000Km.  Got a tank guard on , didn't bother to clean the bike or lube the chain - must do before next ride. Kind of a damp squib to end the day.

It had been quite a while since I spent so much time on my bikes - the whole day almost. It meant I was away from office mails, calls and tasks bugging me on usual weekdays and weekends. That was a welcome change. Because come monday, the routine will start again. Its been a long week and quite tiring - need some good sleep tonight to see out the next week !














Michael Schumacher 2011

Most of the people have been questioning Michael's decision to return to racing. After a very poor season in 2010, this year was supposed to be make or break. I quite agreed with this back then, and I agree with it now. The only change is that, Michael might have reached the tipping point for his decision - to continue or not beyond this year. And I think he will continue.

What happened last year was a combination of things - a 40plus top racer coming back into a highly competitive field, in a sub par car, with a highly motivated and extremely fast team-mate, new rules, new everything and most importantly not enough testing. Given all that, Michael was not too bad, but you ought to wonder why risk his rep and endure this nonsense ?

What has happened this year is that Michael has found incremental steps, race by race, session by session to a level where you expect him to be qualifying right behind Nico Rosberg. Thats not bad at all because Nico has been very good in qualifying - with the tyres and one lap pace. Michael is almost matching him here and has of late been able to beat the young wunderkid. Thats good. Because, Michael is the ultimate "race" driver and at this age, with tyres not yet being 100% to his liking, he might not be pulling fast ones every time in qualy. But he is getting better at qualy - thats for sure.

The races have been very good. Canada was excellent. Spa was excellent and the last one @ Monza was perhaps the best. It was, as one of the of head-honcho's of Mercedes said, "purest" racing. Schumacher has lost none of his racing instinct and it was good to see him not averse to giving our "hot-headed , genX champion" Lews Hamilton a thorough schooling for 20 odd laps.

There was criticism that he was weaving - c'mon people ! Michael has always been driving on the edge and I dont think he ever did anything that warranted censure. His famous "chops" are not on show...just yet. When they come out, I am sure he will be rapped on the knuckles but lets enjoy the racing and stop bitching. People like Webber (who just dropped the ball and the championship at Monza) should stop whining.

Ultimately, the story of Schumacher's return might well depend on the last few races this year. You can sense that he is getting to grips with the system - the tyres,the car, the rules, the pace of things - everything. And I would be happy to see him beat Rosberg a few more times.









Mech-speak...

a2,a23/4a2dega3.. a2"a3a2ua3 a2a2 a2a2|a2a3a2a3 a2dega3a2a2? a2$?a3a2dega2?a2,a2?a2!a2?a2a3a2a2?a2|a3a2deg ! a2a2 "change" a2(r)a23/4a2!a2?a2|a3a2dega3 a2$?a3a2a2!a23/4  "rough" a2a2a2?a2!a2?a2!a3a2$?a3a2$?a3 !!

(Sir, you have given it a taste of the stuff - if you change now, it will become very rough).

Ahem. That sounds like somebody talking about a meat eating creature  - once it has tasted blood it wants more of the same ! 

Yet, this is exactly what one of my Yezdi's mechanics was saying - that having run it with one type of engine oil for a while, if I change over to a different type, it would make my engine rough. Technically  - he was right considering the differences in the oil that I planned to use, but the way he said it was very funny - he made it sound like it was a creature which develops a taste for its prey !

"a2dega3a2a2? "  indeed !

"Why are you obsessed with motorbikes ??"

Probably heard this a million times. A million million times.

Friends, family, relatives.... everybody - they all have the same question :

"Why are you obsessed with motorbikes ??"

Its not just the question itself, but the way it is asked - as if you are doing something crazy, which rankles me sometimes.

Motorcycling is much less about logic and reason as it is about spirit and freedom. Unless you feel it for yourself, its not worth explaining. If I tried, it would fly in the face of the so-called "accepted logic".

To quote an example, a long time ago when I was a fan of the CI engined bullet, I happened to be checking out some second-hand bulls for a friend and we chanced on a pretty good bike. A bit pricey but not too bad. As our negotiations with the gentleman continued, he came across as a person who was a genuine bullet buff. The way he spoke of the bike, its characteristics, his riding style, etc clearly he loved the bike. The most revealing thing though was this comment he made "Sir, my office is 38km away. I work for about 10 hours a day. After a long hard-days work, hopping on the bike and thumping my way back home is actually a big stress buster - that is what this bike is for me - it relieves me and gives me freedom - you feel good while riding it".

As I said, people will start saying, he was just talking up his bike, that nobody who is actually stressed out can hop onto a bike and feel refreshed. Not to say that riding a bike has therapeutic effects, but point is that, real bikers love their machines because it gives them a sense of freedom and joy which is not always explained with logic or reason.

Of course, if your bike was a piece of shit, and would choke and stop after every 1km - worse if it wouldn't start easily at all, there is probably not much joy to talk about. But real bikers are romantics and a strange breed. Whether its their blinding love for the machine or not, in these faults and painful experiences, they find admiration for the machine. Its like a flawed beauty to them. And they wont give up on it just yet. Because all it takes is one good ride on the machine to feel good again.

People laugh it off and again logic doesn't hold ground entirely, but its true that each bike even of the same type has a nature / characteristics of its own. This is especially true for 2 stroke bikes and bullets which are tweak able and can be tinkered with till no end. Over a period of time you know very well if the bike is going to run well today or not. You make out from the way it starts to life, the way the engine runs, if things are good or not. While that statement might mean to say that a bike changes characteristics on a daily basis - its not true. What I mean to say is that generally speaking,  after some time, you will get to know the machine well enough to be able to "feel" it rather than treat is as some piece of mechanical junk. It takes time of course but you will get there - and then the fun starts.

There is so much more to motorcycling than just "ride". The "ride" is a key component of owning a motorbike but to think that, by buying a swanky new sports bike with a hefty price tag, you become a biker is entirely wrong. There are no requirements or achievements or grades to be fulfilled before you can call yourself a biker.  At the same time, just riding the latest and greatest is not the definition of a true biker.

Sure, one call always brag to be a "biker". If you ask me, its not about having all the best and greatest bikes that make you a biker. Bikers share some common attributes - usually, these people have had more than their fair share of mess-ups with their bikes. They would have lost a lot of money,spares and time on things which would seem mundane,ordinary or even downright crazy to other people. They would scour the city for ages to find that one small part which gives them the feeling of completeness. They probably have their quirks about fuels and oils. They spend a considerable amount of their free time with their bikes. A spin-off of that is that they probably have their family and friends complaining about their "obsession" and not spending enough time on other things/people. So on and so forth. So what does it boil down to ?  How do you say somebody is a biker at heart ?

Maybe you cannot. Maybe you shouldn't. Suffice to say that somewhere along this journey, the so called "biker" will have a flash point where you realise how much you have put into this -  the time,effort,sweat,tears,blood (believe me you can cut yourself bad when you try to be a grease monkey at home ) and money that has gone into making this mechanical contraption an object of pleasure. So much passion, so much ambition. The physical convergence of all this is this machine standing in your garage -and you just watch it and think about these - and then you understand why you are obsessed with your motorbike.

That is the day, your spirit roams free and you feel freedom has a new meaning. Don't ask me why I am obsessed with my motorbikes - because I can't explain it to you.










FIA clamps down on blown diffusers

The FIA has rightly decided to ban this nonsense. For those of who watched the Monaco Grand Prix 2011 on ESPN/STAR in India, you would have heard Steve Slater and Gary Anderson talk about how the cars sound so different with the blown diffuser bullshit.

I hate it. All motosport buffs will tell you that one of the things that appeals to them a lot is the pure bliss of hearing a high performance machine on full chat. Pure - unadulterated mechanical sound. None of those - fart like cutouts and chatter from Traction control, off throttle blown diffusers etc.

Also, one wonders what were the safety implications of having the engine put out gases even when the driver was off throttle ? Whatever it was, I am really happy that as early as by the British Grand Prix 2011- F1 will no longer have off throttle blown diffusers and cars will start to sound like they should. Hopefully !

And for those of you who want to sample what a proper F1 engine should sound like, here is the once mighty Illmor Mercedes Benz F1 engine :






2011 Grand Prix du Canada - Pre-race thoughts

Its fair to say that the Canadian Grand Prix is a popular event amongst everybody in the F1 fraternity. Another of those mid-season fly-away races, it has given many exciting races till date.

However, its easy to forget that not so long ago the Canadian Grand Prix actually faced the axe and a lot of negotiations happened behind the scenes to get it back on the calendar as a firm entry.

Fast-forward today and you see the media hyping this as one of the most exciting races of the year. True, it has the potential to be a real hum dinger but then, what is it about the track that it has seen  such adulation yet repulsion at times ?

The track itself is not used all through the year and can be quite dusty and dirty at the start of the weekend. It is also very bumpy at many places and the kerbs very difficult to ride over. But most important of all is the fact that there are no high speed corners and most of them are jump-hop-clatter chicanes between shortish and straightish stretches.

Then there are two long straights - the back straight from the hairpin into the last corner and the main straight down the start finish line. In terms of downforce, you are probably looking at a low drag low downforce spec for a dry race. Most of the slow speed chicanes exit into straightish sections which need excellent traction out of the corners - mechanical grip is high priority here.

What all this means is that a car tends to eat up its tyres - even faster if you dont have a good mechanical setup - as the downforce is already absent. And that brings us nicely to the biggest determining factor in a dry race - TYRES.

In the DRS-KERS-SLICKS era, managing tyres has been the biggest issue and since Montreal is punishing on tyres - especially the rears, this will be a race where the team that can best spread its pace over least wear will have an advantage.

Not so long ago, in fact since 2001, we have seen that overtaking at Montreal was possible but not any easier than at the other tracks. Who doesn't remember the repeated abortive attempts of Ralf Schumacher (BMW-Williams F1) on Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) in the 2001 race. Ralf had better tyres (Michelin) and an immensely powerful BMW engine which was clearly pushing that Williams a lot quicker on the back straight than the Ferrari. Blame Ralf, but with DRS/KERS, he would have made a pass within a couple of attempts. As it turned out, he did pass Michael but only in the pitstop poker.

And that is my point about tracks like Montreal - DRS/KERS/SLICKS have changed racing to an extent where previously difficult tracks have now become great shows for overtaking. F1 has for too long been a sport where overtaking was a rarity. DKS (DRS+KERS+SLICKS) has changed it - for the better.


In qualifying, Vettel obviously squeezed his RBR in T1 and T2, and despite not having the grunt of the other engines, his Renault powered RBR slithered down the straight without losing time and put him in P1. We also know that RBR have not had the same pace in the race as in Qualy so given the small gap between RBR and the rest in qualy we can expect a much closer race between Vettel and his chasing parties.

Ferrari probably dont have the best aero but they have a solid engine and a great driver in Alonso - so we can expect the Spaniard to hustle Vettel if the car allows him to. Massa pulled a good one and he might yet be a factor in the race and is like a wild card - if Alonso trips up he will be there to seize it.

The question mark is on Webber - he had KERS issues, he didn't run in FP3 and a little more fuel than needed in qualy. Yet he was only .4sec down on Vettel in qualy. Great lap ! But can he get a good start and maintain his position or even better it ?

Hamilton and Button bitched about their McLarens not being quick enough - maybe its true, but what about the admission by Martin Whitmarsh that they are running a wet weather setup ? That explains the tall gearing and slow speeds down the straight.

If there was anybody else who could spice up the show at the front, it would be the two Mercedes drivers and the two Renault drivers. We could see an epic scrap between McLaren,Renault and Mercedes. Mercedes have been quick - including Michael , here and the Renaults are not too far behind. If McLaren dont show pace in the race, they will have a hard battle on hand against these teams.

I think, the weather is not much of a factor for Alonso or Vettel. How much it helps the McLarens is the question mark. both drivers are good wet weather racers so it depends on whether their gamble really pays off.

If I were a betting man, I would place a lot of money on Alonso !









Visual Studio 2010 - very slow to save projects : a fix to end this problem

"Visual Studio 2010 is a PIG".


I didn't say that - its probably one of the most frequently heard remarks about VS 2010 on the web. I dont agree with that coz I haven't had any lag issues with VS2010 - until last week.

I have been using VS2010 for like about 9 months now and this is the first time that I hit this problem. I don't know why it hadn't happened to me in the past but in the last week has been a real torture.

Whenever I save a project in VS2010 - it was taking like 15-30 seconds to save the solution. In the mean time I would not be able to click on any other tab/file on VS of course - doing so would give me the annoying Windows7 indicator that the system is busy and the background on VS would become opaque - begging me to wait before it is ready.

Initially I thought it might be related to some CDN links or script references in the head section of the ASP files but then  I saw that even for a small change in markup - like changing the text on a button and then saving, the result was the same ridiculous amount of delay.

Today was the last straw. I spent a good 30min investigating this issue and finally some search on the net threw up this invaluable link  :

Fixing VS2010 slow save problem

Specifically - "Clear out the project MRU list" is the one that has been reported widely to improve performance - same here. It did the trick for me !



Read me.


Solving ASP.NET "Invalid postback or callback argument. Event validation is enabled ..." Error

The "Invalid postback or callback argument. Event validation is enabled ..." Error can crop up in many different situations in an ASP.NET application. I was having this issue whenever I clicked on the "Previous" - "Next" buttons for pagination in a telerik Radgrid. After some R&D on the net, I tried to add a RadAjaxManager with the following settings, and voila ! it works !

Here is the crucial part to be added to the page :


<telerik:RadAjaxManager ID="RadAjaxManager1" runat="server">
        <AjaxSettings>
            <telerik:AjaxSetting AjaxControlID="radGrid1">
                <UpdatedControls>
                    <telerik:AjaxUpdatedControl ControlID="radGrid1" />
                UpdatedControls>
            telerik:AjaxSetting>
        AjaxSettings>
    telerik:RadAjaxManager>




And Here is the full code :




<form id="form1" runat="server">
    <telerik:RadScriptManager ID="RadScriptManager1" runat="server">
    telerik:RadScriptManager>
    <telerik:RadAjaxManager ID="RadAjaxManager1" runat="server">
        <AjaxSettings>
            <telerik:AjaxSetting AjaxControlID="radGrid1">
                <UpdatedControls>
                    <telerik:AjaxUpdatedControl ControlID="radGrid1" />
                UpdatedControls>
            telerik:AjaxSetting>
        AjaxSettings>
    telerik:RadAjaxManager>
    <div>
        <telerik:RadGrid ID="radGrid1" runat="server" AutoGenerateColumns="false" Skin="Web20"
            AllowPaging="true" AllowSorting="true">
            <MasterTableView AllowPaging="true" AllowSorting="true" ShowHeadersWhenNoRecords="true">
                <Columns>
                    <telerik:GridTemplateColumn UniqueName="ckboxSelect" >
                        <HeaderTemplate>
                            <asp:CheckBox ID="ckBoxSelect" runat="server" Visible="true" onclick="checkAll(this);" />
                        
                        HeaderTemplate>
                        <ItemTemplate>
                        <asp:CheckBox ID="ckBoxItemSelect" runat="server" />
                            <asp:Label ID="lblPartky" runat="server" Visible="false" Text='<%#Eval("partky") %>'>asp:Label>
                        ItemTemplate>
                    telerik:GridTemplateColumn>
                    <telerik:GridBoundColumn DataField="col2">
                    telerik:GridBoundColumn>
                    <telerik:GridBoundColumn DataField="col3">
                    telerik:GridBoundColumn>
                    <telerik:GridBoundColumn DataField="col4">
                    telerik:GridBoundColumn>
                Columns>
            MasterTableView>
        telerik:RadGrid>
        <telerik:RadCodeBlock ID="radCodeBlock1" runat="server">
            <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">
                function checkAll(obj) {
                    
               
        }
        
            script>
        telerik:RadCodeBlock>
    div>
    form>





Code-Behind






using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Web;
using System.Web.UI;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls;
using Telerik.Web.UI;
using System.Data;




namespace RadGridClientSelectColumns
{
    public partial class _Default : System.Web.UI.Page
    {
        protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            if (!Page.IsPostBack)
            {
                DataTable dtSourceTable = new DataTable();
                dtSourceTable.Columns.Add("partky");
                dtSourceTable.Columns.Add("col2");
                dtSourceTable.Columns.Add("col3");
                dtSourceTable.Columns.Add("col4");
                dtSourceTable.AcceptChanges();


                for (int i = 0; i < 100; i++)
                {
                    DataRow dtNewrow = dtSourceTable.NewRow();
                    dtNewrow["partky"] = i.ToString();
                    dtNewrow["col2"] = i.ToString() + dtSourceTable.Columns.IndexOf("col2").ToString();
                    dtNewrow["col3"] = i.ToString() + dtSourceTable.Columns.IndexOf("col3").ToString();
                    dtNewrow["col4"] = i.ToString() + dtSourceTable.Columns.IndexOf("col4").ToString();
                    dtSourceTable.Rows.Add(dtNewrow);
                    dtSourceTable.AcceptChanges();
                }


                Session["Source"] = dtSourceTable;
                radGrid1.DataSource = dtSourceTable;
                radGrid1.DataBind();


            }
            else
            {
                DataTable dtNewsource = (DataTable)Session["Source"];
                radGrid1.DataSource = dtNewsource;
                radGrid1.DataBind();


            }
        }
    }
}




Elation and disillusion. The elusive road trip...


The last major road trip had been a very ill prepared quick ride to Mangalore on the KZMA-R. That was almost a year back. And that was on the Karizma - probably the most reliable bike in the country. Hence the lack of preparations and checks didn't leave me stranded in the middle of nowhere.

It has been such a long time since, that I was elated to join the BJYMC riders for their Southern Raid 2010. As it turned out, it was a complete rout from my perspective. Riding on one of my Roadkings which I had bought recently ( with a so called "sealed engine - std bore" ) I hardly did any check overs leading up to the ride and paid a very hefty price for it.

We got as far as Krishnagiri and just as I climbed over a flyover my engine seized - pretty badly. Game over. After a couple of hours,200 ml of engine oil down the tank and lot of cursing later, I limped home on the same bike covering 130 odd km in 3 hours. Opened up the head and saw the piston - it had the name "Ambika" engraved on it :| Sheesh..what a total ripoff 

Following this failed attempt to ride my yezdi on a long road trip, I signed up for the second outing with BJYMC - a weekend ride to Coorg. And it was another disaster. This time round the mistake I did was to use some cheap oil which was readily available near my place. The oil was full of muck ( as I found out later when I came back home ) - I hadn't checked and just poured it into the tank in a hurry on the day of the morning after refueling. Somewhere near hunsur, the bike packed up. The carburetor was already suspect and over that the jets were blocked and despite getting it cleaned repeatedly, it was of no use, the bike would stutter and stall every half a km. Disillusioned, I again limped home taking 4 hours or more to cover the 150km.

Thats two trips that have come a cropper on the yezdi's. Its still my intention to take one of the yezdi's on that elusive long road trip.....maybe I will take on of the two favourites next time.




1996 Roadking 

1981 Yezdi Roadking 

Destroying the legacy of a famous racing marque

This is just daft. It beats me as to why the Chapmans would want to side with a malaysian based Co. that is rumoured not to have the financial clout to implement their worldwide racing program - let alone achieve their goals in each of those series.

And they want to build their own engine too - Sigh. Utter crap. Bollocks.

Even a dumbwit who watched the 2010 F1 season would have told you that Lotus Racing deserve to carry on this rich heritage and not people behind "Lotus-Renault" as it would be called in the future. Brainless. Its an absolute shocker.

I just hope that Lotus Renault hit a trough next year and then we will see the resolve of Proton Car Co. in seeing it out. I am rooting for Tony Fernandes and Mike Gascoyne. I am pretty sure Dany Bahar is just another motormouth.

The mechanic's favourite line ..





" a2"a23/4a2"a3 a2a2|a3a2|a3a2"a22a3a22 a2,a23/4a2dega3 ....a2-a23/4a2a3 a2ua2dega2? a2(r)a23/4a2!a3a2a3a2$?a3a2deg ??? ! "



Translates to :



"Why do you worry Sir, when I am here ??? !" 



Sigh. Yes. That is why I worry - that you are here : last time around you said the same thing and I limped home with a seized engine....

The "Team-orders" saga....

The dust is settling on the shenanigans of the German GP. Ferrari have escaped any further punishment - and thats quite disappointing - shocking to some.

There are two problems here :

1. The amount of money involved - especially the sponsorship deals with blue chip companies - is so huge that a team cannot afford to have incidents like the one we saw between the two Red Bull drivers in Istanbul.

2. The amount of TV patronage is so huge and the money comes from TV audience ..and the sport - the teams and the sponsors can ill afford sustained low viewing figures.

And this is where the tangle is. The spectators at the tracks and the TV audience want to see a "race". Not a pre-ordained drama being played out in front of them. The teams and their sponsors want results and they will not be in a position to jeopardise a good result since there is too much at stake to lose.

Ban on team orders  ? How can you ever ensure that there is no covert understanding within a team to implement team-orders anyway ? Nada. Not possible.

Keep team orders ? Yes - it makes things more transparent to the viewing public but that is not what we want to see ! We want to see a proper race. Further, imposing team orders is nothing but humiliating one driver in front of millions of people the world over.

Not a trivial matter this.

So whats the solution ? I am afraid, it appears there isn't a straightforward way to resolve this. As long as Formula 1 has existed, team-orders have existed. Teams will find a way to impose team-orders, covertly or overtly. Its a sad fact. We can only hope that such scenarios don't happen too often and dilute the real racing.

Dell XPS M1530 - Windows 7 drivers

Since Dell seems to consider the M1530 an obsolete model, the chances of getting a good set of working drivers for Win7 are rather slim - nah, make it zilch.

Some good soul has posted info at  this link : :  7 drivers for Dell XPS M1530 : A lot of good drivers to be found there ! Thanks mate !

LimeWire AI Studio Review 2023: Details, Pricing & Features

 

In the rapidly advancing landscape of AI technology and innovation, LimeWire emerges as a unique platform in the realm of generative AI tools. This platform not only stands out from the multitude of existing AI tools but also brings a fresh approach to content generation. LimeWire not only empowers users to create AI content but also provides creators with creative ways to share and monetize their creations.


As we explore LimeWire, our aim is to uncover its features, benefits for creators, and the exciting possibilities it offers for AI content generation. This platform presents an opportunity for users to harness the power of AI in image creation, all while enjoying the advantages of a free and accessible service.


Let's unravel the distinctive features that set LimeWire apart in the dynamic landscape of AI-powered tools, understanding how creators can leverage its capabilities to craft unique and engaging AI-generated images.


Introduction


LimeWire, a name once associated with the notorious file-sharing tool from the 2000s, has undergone a significant transformation. The LimeWire we discuss today is not the file-sharing application of the past but has re-emerged as an entirely new entityaa cutting-edge AI content publishing platform.

This revamped LimeWire invites users to register and unleash their creativity by crafting original AI content, which can then be shared and showcased on the LimeWire Studio. Notably, even acclaimed artists and musicians, such as Deadmau5, Soulja Boy, and Sean Kingston, have embraced this platform to publish their content in the form of NFT music, videos, and images.


Beyond providing a space for content creation and sharing, LimeWire introduces monetization models to empower users to earn revenue from their creations. This includes avenues such as earning ad revenue and participating in the burgeoning market of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). As we delve further, we'll explore these monetization strategies in more detail to provide a comprehensive understanding of LimeWire's innovative approach to content creation and distribution.


LimeWire Studio welcomes content creators into its fold, providing a space to craft personalized AI-focused content for sharing with fans and followers. Within this creative hub, every piece of content generated becomes not just a creation but a unique assetaownable and tradable. Fans have the opportunity to subscribe to creators' pages, immersing themselves in the creative journey and gaining ownership of digital collectibles that hold tradeable value within the LimeWire community. Notably, creators earn a 2.5% royalty each time their content is traded, adding a rewarding element to the creative process.


The platform's flexibility is evident in its content publication options. Creators can choose to share their work freely with the public or opt for a premium subscription model, granting exclusive access to specialized content for subscribers.


LimeWire AI Studio

As of the present moment, LimeWire focuses on AI Image Generation, offering a spectrum of creative possibilities to its user base. The platform, however, has ambitious plans on the horizon, aiming to broaden its offerings by introducing AI music and video generation tools in the near future. This strategic expansion promises creators even more avenues for expression and engagement with their audience, positioning LimeWire Studio as a dynamic and evolving platform within the realm of AI-powered content creation.


AI Image Generation Tools



The LimeWire AI image generation tool presents a versatile platform for both the creation and editing of images. Supporting advanced models such as Stable Diffusion 2.1, Stable Diffusion XL, and DALL-E 2, LimeWire offers a sophisticated toolkit for users to delve into the realm of generative AI art.


Much like other tools in the generative AI landscape, LimeWire provides a range of options catering to various levels of complexity in image creation. Users can initiate the creative process with prompts as simple as a few words or opt for more intricate instructions, tailoring the output to their artistic vision.


What sets LimeWire apart is its seamless integration of different AI models and design styles. Users have the flexibility to effortlessly switch between various AI models, exploring diverse design styles such as cinematic, digital art, pixel art, anime, analog film, and more. Each style imparts a distinctive visual identity to the generated AI art, enabling users to explore a broad spectrum of creative possibilities.


The platform also offers additional features, including samplers, allowing users to fine-tune the quality and detail levels of their creations. Customization options and prompt guidance further enhance the user experience, providing a user-friendly interface for both novice and experienced creators.


Excitingly, LimeWire is actively developing its proprietary AI model, signaling ongoing innovation and enhancements to its image generation capabilities. This upcoming addition holds the promise of further expanding the creative horizons for LimeWire users, making it an evolving and dynamic platform within the landscape of AI-driven art and image creation.

Sign Up Now To Get Free Credits

Automatically Mint Your Content As NFTs



Upon completing your creative endeavor on LimeWire, the platform allows you the option to publish your content. An intriguing feature follows this step: LimeWire automates the process of minting your creation as a Non-Fungible Token (NFT), utilizing either the Polygon or Algorand blockchain. This transformative step imbues your artwork with a unique digital signature, securing its authenticity and ownership in the decentralized realm.


Creators on LimeWire hold the power to decide the accessibility of their NFT creations. By opting for a public release, the content becomes discoverable by anyone, fostering a space for engagement and interaction. Furthermore, this choice opens the avenue for enthusiasts to trade the NFTs, adding a layer of community involvement to the artistic journey.


Alternatively, LimeWire acknowledges the importance of exclusivity. Creators can choose to share their posts exclusively with their premium subscribers. In doing so, the content remains a special offering solely for dedicated fans, creating an intimate and personalized experience within the LimeWire community. This flexibility in sharing options emphasizes LimeWire's commitment to empowering creators with choices in how they connect with their audience and distribute their digital creations.


After creating your content, you can choose to publish the content. It will automatically mint your creation as an NFT on the Polygon or Algorand blockchain. You can also choose whether to make it public or subscriber-only.


If you make it public, anyone can discover your content and even trade the NFTs. If you choose to share the post only with your premium subscribers, it will be exclusive only to your fans.


Earn Revenue From Your Content

Additionally, you can earn ad revenue from your content creations as well.

When you publish content on LimeWire, you will receive 70% of all ad revenue from other users who view your images, music, and videos on the platform.


This revenue model will be much more beneficial to designers. You can experiment with the AI image and content generation tools and share your creations while earning a small income on the side.


LMWR Tokens

The revenue you earn from your creations will come in the form of LMWR tokens, LimeWireas own cryptocurrency.

Your earnings will be paid every month in LMWR, which you can then trade on many popular crypto exchange platforms like Kraken, ByBit, and UniSwap.

You can also use your LMWR tokens to pay for prompts when using LimeWire generative AI tools.

Pricing Plans

You can sign up to LimeWire to use its AI tools for free. You will receive 10 credits to use and generate up to 20 AI images per day. You will also receive 50% of the ad revenue share. However, you will get more benefits with premium plans.

  • Basic plan: 

For $9.99 per month, you will get 1,000 credits per month, up to 2a,000 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 50% ad revenue share

  • Advanced plan: 

For $29 per month, you will get 3750 credits per month, up to 7500 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 60% ad revenue share

  • Pro plan: 

For $49 per month, you will get 5,000 credits per month, up to 10,000 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 70% ad revenue share

  • Pro Plus plan: 

For $99 per month, you will get 11,250 credits per month, up to 2a2,500 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 70% ad revenue share

With all premium plans, you will receive a Pro profile badge, full creation history, faster image generation, and no ads.

Sign Up Now To Get Free Credits

Conclusion

In conclusion, LimeWire emerges as a democratizing force in the creative landscape, providing an inclusive platform where anyone can unleash their artistic potential and effortlessly share their work. With the integration of AI, LimeWire eliminates traditional barriers, empowering designers, musicians, and artists to publish their creations and earn revenue with just a few clicks.


The ongoing commitment of LimeWire to innovation is evident in its plans to enhance generative AI tools with new features and models. The upcoming expansion to include music and video generation tools holds the promise of unlocking even more possibilities for creators. It sparks anticipation about the diverse and innovative ways in which artists will leverage these tools to produce and publish their own unique creations.


For those eager to explore, LimeWire's AI tools are readily accessible for free, providing an opportunity to experiment and delve into the world of generative art. As LimeWire continues to evolve, creators are encouraged to stay tuned for the launch of its forthcoming AI music and video generation tools, promising a future brimming with creative potential and endless artistic exploration


Top 10 AI Tools in 2023 That Will Make Your Life Easier



 In this article, we explore the top 10 AI tools that are driving innovation and efficiency in various industries. These tools are designed to automate repetitive tasks, improve workflow, and increase productivity. The tools included in our list are some of the most advanced and widely used in the market, and are suitable for a variety of applications. Some of the tools focus on natural language processing, such as ChatGPT and Grammarly, while others focus on image and video generation, such as DALL-E and Lumen5. Other tools such as OpenAI Codex, Tabnine, Canva, Jasper AI,, and Surfer SEO are designed to help with specific tasks such as code understanding content writing and website optimization. This list is a great starting point for anyone looking to explore the possibilities of AI and how it can be applied to their business or project.

So letas dive into

1. ChatGPT

ChatGPT is a large language model that generates human-like responses to a variety of prompts. It can be used for tasks such as language translation, question answering, and text completion. It can handle a wide range of topics and styles of writing, and generates coherent and fluent text, but should be used with care as it may generate text that is biased, offensive, or factually incorrect.

Pros:

  • Generates human-like responses to a variety of prompts
  • Can be fine-tuned for specific tasks such as language translation, question answering, and text completion
  • Can handle a wide range of topics and styles of writing
  • Can generate coherent and fluent text, even when completing a given text prompt.

Cons:

  • May generate text that is biased or offensive
  • Can generate text that is not accurate or factually correct
  • May require large amounts of computational resources to run
  • The model can sometimes generate text that is not coherent or fluent, depending on the prompt given.

Overall, ChatGPT is a powerful tool for natural language processing, but it should be used with care and with an understanding of its limitations.

2. DALL-E

DALL-E is a generative model developed by OpenAI that is capable of generating images from text prompts. It is based on the GPT-3 architecture, which is a transformer-based neural network language model that has been trained on a massive dataset of text. DALL-E can generate images that are similar to a training dataset and it can generate high-resolution images that are suitable for commercial use.

Pros:

  • Generates high-resolution images
  • Can generate images from text prompts
  • It can be fine-tuned for specific tasks such as generating images of a certain style or category

Cons:

  • May generate images that are not entirely original and could be influenced by the training data
  • May require significant computational resources to run
  • The quality of the generated images may vary depending on the specific prompt

Overall, DALL-E is a powerful AI-based tool for generating images, it can be used for a variety of applications such as creating images for commercial use, gaming, and other creative projects. It is important to note that the generated images should be reviewed and used with care, as they may not be entirely original and could be influenced by the training data.

3. Lumen5

Lumen5 is a content creation platform that uses AI to help users create videos, social media posts, and other types of content. It has several features that make it useful for content creation and marketing, including:

Pros:

  • Automatically summarizes text from a blog post, article, or another source into a script for a video or social media post
  • Offers a library of royalty-free videos, images, and music to use in content
  • Has a drag-and-drop interface for easy content creation
  • Can create videos in multiple languages
  • Has a built-in analytics tool to track the performance of created content.

Cons:

  • The quality of the generated content may vary depending on the source material
  • The automatic summarization feature may not always capture the main points of the source material
  • The library of videos, images, and music is limited.
  • The analytics feature is basic

Overall, Lumen5 is a useful tool for creating content quickly and easily, it can help automate the process of creating videos, social media posts, and other types of content. However, the quality of the generated content may vary depending on the source material and it is important to review and edit the content before publishing it.

4. Grammarly

Grammarly is a writing-enhancement platform that uses AI to check for grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors in the text. It also provides suggestions for improving the clarity, concision, and readability of the text. It has several features that make it useful for improving writing, including:

Pros:

  • Checks for grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors in the text
  • Provides suggestions for improving clarity, concision, and readability
  • Can be integrated with various apps and platforms such as Microsoft Office, Google Docs, and social media platforms
  • Offers a browser extension and a desktop app
  • Has a premium version with more advanced features such as plagiarism detection and more

Cons:

  • The suggestions provided may not always be accurate or appropriate
  • The grammar checker may not always recognize context-specific language use
  • The free version has limited features
  • Limited to English language only
  • Overall, Grammarly is a useful tool for improving writing, it can help users identify and correct grammar and punctuation errors, and improve the clarity, concision, and readability of their text. However, it is important to review the suggestions provided by the tool and use them with caution, as they may not always be accurate or appropriate.

5.OpenAI Codex

OpenAI Codex is a system developed by OpenAI that can create code from natural language descriptions of software tasks. The system is based on the GPT-3 model and can generate code in multiple programming languages.

Pros:

  • Can automate the process of writing code
  • Can help developers to be more productive
  • Can help non-technical people to create software
  • Can generate code in multiple programming languages

Cons:

  • The quality of the generated code may vary depending on the task description
  • The generated code may not always be optimal or efficient
  • The system may not be able to handle complex software tasks
  • Dependence on the tool may lead to a lack of understanding of the code.

Overall, OpenAI Codex is a powerful tool that can help automate the process of writing code and make it more accessible to non-technical people. However, the quality of the generated code may vary depending on the task description and it is important to review and test the code before using it in a production environment. It is important to use the tool as an aid, not a replacement for the developer's knowledge.

6. Tabnine

Tabnine is a code completion tool that uses AI to predict and suggest code snippets. It is compatible with multiple programming languages and can be integrated with various code editors.

Pros:

  • Can improve coding efficiency by suggesting code snippets based on context
  • Can complete entire code blocks
  • Can predict variables, functions, and other elements of code
  • Can be integrated with various code editors

Cons:

  • The suggestions may not always be accurate or appropriate
  • The system may not always be able to understand the context of the code
  • May not work with all code editors
  • Dependence on the tool may lead to a lack of understanding of the code.

Overall, TabNine is a useful tool for developers that can help improve coding efficiency and reduce the time spent on writing code. However, it is important to review the suggestions provided by the tool and use them with caution, as they may not always be accurate or appropriate. It is important to use the tool as an aid, not a replacement for the developer's knowledge.

7. Jasper AI

Jasper is a content writing and content generation tool that uses artificial intelligence to identify the best words and sentences for your writing style and medium in the most efficient, quick, and accessible way.

Pros:

  • User-friendly interface
  • Generates a wide variety of content types
  • Guarantees 100% unique and free-plagiarism content
  • SEO friendly
  •  Create articles of up to 10k words

Cons:

  • Not the cheapest AI writer on the market

8. Surfer SEO

Surfer SEO is a software tool designed to help website owners and digital marketers improve their search engine optimization (SEO) efforts. The tool provides a variety of features that can be used to analyze a website's on-page SEO, including:

Features:

  • A site audit tool that checks for technical SEO issues
  • A content editor that suggests optimizations for individual pages
  • A keyword research tool that suggests keywords to target
  • A SERP analyzer that shows how a website's pages rank for specific keywords
  • A backlink analysis tool that shows the backlinks pointing to a website.

Pros:

  • Can help website owners and marketers identify technical SEO issues
  • Can provide suggestions for optimizing individual pages
  • Can help with keyword research
  • Can show how a website's pages rank for specific keywords
  • Can provide insight into a website's backlink profile

Cons:

  • Some features may require a paid subscription
  • The tool is not a guarantee of better ranking
  • The tool can only analyze the data it has access to
  • The tool's suggestions may not always be applicable or optimal

Overall, Surfer SEO can be a useful tool for website owners and digital marketers looking to improve their SEO efforts. However, it is important to remember that it is just a tool and should be used in conjunction with other SEO best practices. Additionally, the tool is not a guarantee of better ranking.

9. Zapier

Zapier is a web automation tool that allows users to automate repetitive tasks by connecting different web applications together. It does this by creating "Zaps" that automatically move data between apps, and can also be used to trigger certain actions in one app based on events in another app.

Features:

  • Can connect over 3,000 web applications
  • Can automate repetitive tasks
  • Can create "Zaps" to move data between apps
  • Can trigger certain actions in one app based on events in another app.

Pros:

  • Can automate repetitive tasks
  • Can save time
  • Can improve workflow
  • Can increase productivity
  • Can be integrated with a wide range of web applications

Cons:

  • Can be difficult to set up
  • May require some technical skills
  • May require a paid subscription for some features
  • Some apps may not be compatible
  • Dependence on the tool may lead to a lack of understanding of the apps

Overall, Zapier is a useful tool that can help users automate repetitive tasks and improve workflow. It can save time and increase productivity by connecting different web applications together. However, it may require some technical skills and some features may require a paid subscription. It is important to use the tool with caution and not to rely too much on it, to understand the apps better.

10. Compose AI

Compose AI is a company that specializes in developing natural language generation (NLG) software. Their software uses AI to automatically generate written or spoken text from structured data, such as spreadsheets, databases, or APIs.

Features:

  • Automatically generates written or spoken text from structured data
  • Can be integrated with a wide range of data sources
  • Can be used for a variety of applications such as creating reports, summaries, and explanations
  • Provides an API and a user-friendly interface

Pros:

  • Can automate the process of creating written or spoken content
  • Can help users create more accurate and consistent content
  • Can help users save time by automating repetitive tasks
  • Can be integrated with a wide range of data sources

Cons:

  • The quality of the generated content may vary depending on the data source
  • The generated content may not always be optimal or efficient
  • The system may not be able to handle complex tasks
  • Dependence on the tool may lead to a lack of understanding of the data

Overall, Compose AI's NLG software can be a useful tool for automating the process of creating written or spoken content from structured data. However, the quality of the generated content may vary depending on the data source, and it is essential to review the generated content before using it in a production environment. It is important to use the tool as an aid, not a replacement for the understanding of the data.

Conclusion

AI tools are becoming increasingly important in today's business and technology landscape. They are designed to automate repetitive tasks, improve workflow, and increase productivity. The top 10 AI tools included in this article are some of the most advanced and widely used in the market, and are suitable for various applications. Whether you're looking to improve your natural language processing, create high-resolution images, or optimize your website, there is an AI tool that can help. It's important to research and evaluate the different tools available to determine which one is the best fit for your specific needs. As AI technology continues to evolve, these tools will become even more powerful and versatile and will play an even greater role in shaping the future of business and technology.


Top 10 AI Content Generator & Writer Tools in 2022


Are you looking for a way to create content that is both effective and efficient? If so, then you should consider using an AI content generator. AI content generators are a great way to create content that is both engaging and relevant to your audience. 

There are a number of different AI content generator tools available on the market, and it can be difficult to know which one is right for you. To help you make the best decision, we have compiled a list of the top 10 AI content generator tools that you should use in 2022.

So, without further ado, letas get started!


1. Jasper Ai(Formerly known as Jarvis)



Jasper is a content writing and content generation tool that uses artificial intelligence to identify the best words and sentences for your writing style and medium in the most efficient, quick, and accessible way.

Features

  •  It's trusted by 50,000+ marketers for creating engaging marketing campaigns, ad copy, blog posts, and articles within minutes which would traditionally take hours or days. Special Features:
  • Blog posts have been optimized for search engines and rank high on Google and other search engines. This is a huge plus for online businesses that want to generate traffic to their website through content marketing.
  • 99.9% Original Content and guarantees that all content it generates will be original, so businesses can focus on their online reputation rather than worrying about penalties from Google for duplicate content.
  • Long-Form Article Writing a Jasper.ai is also useful for long-form writing, allowing users to create articles of up to 10,000 words without any difficulty. This is ideal for businesses that want to produce in-depth content that will capture their audienceas attention.

Pros

  • User-friendly interface
  • Generates a wide variety of content types
  • Guarantees 100% unique and free-plagiarism content
  • SEO friendly
  •  Create articles of up to 10k words

Cons

  • Not the cheapest AI writer on the market

Pricing

  • Jasper.ai offers a free trial
  • Starter Plan: $29/Month 

Features:

  • 50 AI copywriting skills 
  • Unlimited projects,  
  • Up to 5 user logins

  • The cheapest option covers up to 20,000 words generated each month.

Boss Mode:  $99/Month 

Features:

  • Up to 100k words are generated each month and can go up to over 300k.

Wait! I've got a pretty sweet deal for you. Sign up through the link below, and you'll get (10k Free Credits)


2. Copy Ai



Copy.ai is a content writing tool that enables its users to create marketing copy, social media posts, Facebook Ads, and many more formats by using more than 90 templates such as Bullet Points to Blogs, General Ads, Hook Text, etc. 

The utility of this service can be used for short-term or format business purposes such as product descriptions, website copy, market copy, and sales reports.

Key Features:

  • Provides a large set of templates where you can input the data and the AI will generate Templates with around 10 or more options to make it easy for the user to choose.
  •  Smooth and efficient user experience with chrome extension where one can easily transfer information from Copy.ai to a content management forum, Google docs, etc without having to switch tabs.
  • Generates content  in 25 languages where your input and output language may differ if you are not a native English speaker.

Pros

  • The best option for short-length content generation such as market copy, sales reports, blogs, etc.
  • Facebook community and email support for users to understand the AI better and to interact with other users.
  • Beginner-friendly user experience with various templates to help the process of content generation.
  • Free plan and no credit card required.

Cons

  • The free plan from Copy AI is a welcome sight, however, it is just suitable for testing the software.

Pricing

Free Trial a 7 days with 24/7 email support and 100 runs per day.

Pro Plan:  $49 and yearly, it will cost you $420 i.e. $35 per month.

Wait! I've got a pretty sweet deal for you. Sign up through the link below, and you'll get (7,000 Free Words Plus 40% OFF) if you upgrade to the paid plan within four days.

Claim Your 7,000 Free Words With This Special Link - No Credit Card Required


3. Frase Ai



Just like Outranking, Frase is an AI that helps you research, create and optimize your content to make it high quality within seconds. Frase works on SEO optimization where the content is made to the liking of search engines by optimizing keywords and keywords.

Features:

  • Generate full-length, optimized content briefs in  seconds and review the main keywords, headers, and concepts in your SEO competitorsa content in one intuitive research panel.
  • Write high-converting, SEO-optimized copy and make writeras block a thing of the past with automated outlines, blog introductions, product descriptions, FAQs, and more.
  • An intuitive text editor that uses a topic model to score your content Optimization against your competitors.
  • A dashboard that automatically identifies and categorizes your best content opportunities. Frase uses your Google Search Console data to serve up actionable insights about what you should work on next.

Pros

  • Unlike Outranking, the interface to Frase is very user-friendly and accessible.
  • Users who are content writers and have to research get a lot of time to write and ideate instead of juggling from one website to another as data can be easily accessed on Frase for research on a topic.
  • Optimizing content with keyword analysis and SEO optimization has been made easier with Frase's Content Optimization.
  • Reports on competitors' websites help in optimizing our own articles and websites.
  • Content briefs make research very easy and efficient.

Cons

  • The paid plans are a bit pricey because they include many tools for content optimization.

Pricing

Frase provides two plans for all users and a customizable plan for an enterprise or business.

Solo Plan: $14.99/Month and $12/Month if billed yearly with 4  Document Credits for 1 user seat.

Basic Plan: $44.99/month and $39.99/month if billed yearly with 30 Document Credits for 1 user seat.

Team Plan: $114.99/month and $99.99/month if billed yearly for unlimited document credits for 3 users.

*SEO Add-ons and other premium features for $35/month irrespective of the plan.


4. Article Forge a Popular Blog Writing Software for Efficiency and Affordability 



Article Forge is another content generator that operates quite differently from the others on this list. Unlike Jasper.ai, which requires you to provide a brief and some information on what you want it to write this tool only asks for a keyword. From there, itall generate a complete article for you.

Features

  •  Article Forge integrates with several other software, including WordAi, RankerX, SEnuke TNG, and SEO Autopilot.
  • The software takes information from high-ranking websites and then creates more credible articles to rank well in search engines.
  •  If you want to generate content regularly, Article Forge can help. You can set it up to automatically generate articles based on your specific keyword or topic. Or, if you need a lot of content quickly, you can use the bulk content feature to get many articles in a short period.

Pros

  • Excellent for engaging with readers on multiple CMS platforms
  • No spinner content. Create multiple unique articles
  • Extremely quick and efficient
  • One of the cheapest options online

Cons

  • You need to pay attention to the content since itas not always on point
  • Only ideal for decent-quality articles a if youare lucky

Pricing

Whatas excellent about Article Forge is they provide a 30-day money-back guarantee. You can choose between a monthly or yearly subscription. Unfortunately, they offer a free trial and no free plan:

Basic Plan:  $27/Month

Features:

 This plan allows users to produce up to 25k words each month. This is excellent for smaller blogs or those who are just starting.

Standard Plan: $57/month)

Features:

  •  This plan allows users to produce up to 250k words each month. This is excellent for smaller blogs or those who are just starting.

Unlimited Plan: $117/month

Features:

  • If youare looking for an unlimited amount of content, this is the plan for you. You can create as many articles as you want, and thereas no word limit.

Itas important to note that Article Forge guarantees that all content generated through the platform passes Copyscape.


5. Rytr a Superb AI Content Writing Assistant



Rytr.me is a free AI content generator perfect for small businesses, bloggers, and students. The software is easy to use and can generate SEO-friendly blog posts, articles, and school papers in minutes.

Features

  • Rytr can be used for various purposes, from writing blog posts to creating school papers. You can also generate captions for social media, product descriptions, and meta descriptions.
  •  Rytr supports writing for over 30 languages, so you can easily create content in your native language.
  • The AI helps you write content in over 30 tones to find the perfect tone for your brand or project.
  • Rytr has a built-in plagiarism checker that ensures all your content is original and plagiarism free.

Pros

  • Easy to use
  • Creates unique content
  • It supports over 30 languages
  • Multi-tone writing capabilities

Cons

  • It can be slow at times
  • Grammar and flow could use improvement

Pricing

Rytr offers a free plan that comes with limited features. It covers up to 5,000 characters generated each month and has access to the built-in plagiarism checker. If you want to use all the features of the software, you can purchase one of the following plans:


Saver Plan: $9/month, $90/year 

Features:

  • Generate 100k  characters per month
  • Access 40+ use-cases
  • Write in 30+ languages
  • Access 20+ tones
  • Built-in plagiarism checker
  • Generate up to 20 images per month with AI
  • Access to premium community
  • Create your own custom use-case
  • Unlimited Plan: $29/month, $290/year

Features:

  • Generate UNLIMITED* characters per month
  • Access 40+ use-cases
  • Write in 30+ languages
  • Access 20+ tones

  • Built-in plagiarism checker
  • Generate up to 100 images per month with AI
  • Access to premium community
  • Create your own custom use-case
  • Dedicated account manager
  • Priority email & chat support


6. Writesonic a Best AI Article Writing Software with a Grammar and Plagiarism Checker



Writesonic is a free, easy-to-use AI content generator. The software is designed to help you create copy for marketing content, websites, and blogs. It's also helpful for small businesses or solopreneurs who need to produce content on a budget.

Features

  • The tone checker, is a great feature that helps you ensure that your content is consistent with your brandas voice. This is excellent for crafting cohesive and on-brand content.
  • The grammar checker is another valuable tool that helps you produce error-free content.
  • The plagiarism checker is a great way to ensure that your content is original.

Pricing

Writesonic is free with limited features. The free plan is more like a free trial, providing ten credits. After that, youad need to upgrade to a paid plan. Here are your options:

Short-form: $15/month 

Features:

  • Access to all the short-form content templates like Facebook ads, product descriptions, paragraphs, and more.

Long-Form: $19/month

Features:

  • Awesome tools to help you write short and long-form content like blog posts, ebooks, and more.


7. CopySmith a Produces Quality Content in Seconds 



CopySmith is an AI content generator that can be used to create personal and professional documents, blogs, and presentations. It offers a wide range of features including the ability to easily create documents and presentations.

 CopySmith also has several templates that you can use to get started quickly.

 Features

  • This software allows you to create product descriptions, landing pages, and more in minutes.
  •  Offers rewritten content that is both unique and plagiarism free.
  •  This feature helps you create product descriptions for your Shopify store that are SEO-friendly and attractive to customers.
  • This is an excellent tool for new content ideas.

Pros

  • Excellent for generating eCommerce-ready content
  • No credit card is required for the free trial
  • SEO-ready content

Cons

  • The blog content isnat the best
  • Better suited for short copy

Pricing

CopySmith offers a free trial with no credit card required. After the free trial, the paid plans are as follows:

Starter Plan: $19/month

Features:

  • Get 50 credits monthly with up to 20 plagiarism checks.
  • Professional Plan: $59/month 

Features:

  • Upgrade to 400 credits per month with up to 100 plagiarism checks.  
Enterprise a Create a custom-tailored plan by contacting the sales team.


8. Hypotenuse.ai a Best AI Writing Software for E-Commerce and Product Descriptions



Hypotenuse.ai is a free online tool that can help you create AI content. It's great for beginners because it allows you to create videos, articles, and infographics with ease. The software has a simple and easy-to-use interface that makes it perfect for new people looking for AI content generation.

Special Features

  • You can create custom-tailored copy specific to your audienceas needs. This is impressive since most free AI content generators do not offer this feature.
  • Hypotenuse takes data from social media sites, websites, and more sources to provide accurate information for your content.
  • If youare selling a product online, you can use Hypotenuse to create automated product descriptions that are of high quality and will help you sell more products.

Pros

  • Excellent research capabilities
  • Custom-tailored copy
  • Automated product descriptions

Cons

  • No free plan

Pricing

Hypotenuse doesnat offer a free plan. Instead, it offers a free trial period where you can take the software for a run before deciding whether itas the right choice for you or not. Other than that, here are its paid options:

Starter Plan: $29/month

Features:

  •  This plan comes with 100 credits/month with 25k Words with one user seat. Itas an excellent option for individuals or small businesses.

Growth Plan: $59/month

Features:

  •  This plan comes with 350 credits/month with 87.5k words and 1 user seat. Itas perfect for larger businesses or agencies.

Enterprise a pricing is custom, so donat hesitate to contact the company for more information.


9. Kafkai a Leading AI Writing Tool for SEOs and Marketers


Kafkai is an AI content generator and writing software that produces niche-specific content on a wide variety of topics. It offers a user-friendly interface, as well as a high degree of personalization.

 Features

  • Kafkai offers a host of features that make it SEO-ready, including the ability to add keywords and tags to your content.
  • Kafkai is designed explicitly for creating niche-specific content, which can be a significant advantage for businesses or bloggers looking to target a specific audience.
  •  Kafkai produces high-quality content, a significant advantage for businesses or bloggers looking to set themselves apart from the competition.
  • Kafkai offers a unique feature that allows you to seed content from other sources, which can be a significant time-saver when creating content.

Pros

  • Quick results with high efficiency
  • You can add seed content and phrases
  • It can be used to craft complete articles

Cons

  • Its long-form-content generator isnat very high quality

Pricing

Kafkai comes with a free trial to help you understand whether itas the right choice for you or not. Additionally, you can also take a look at its paid plans:

Writer Plan: $29/month Create 100 articles per month.  $0.29/article

Newsroom Plan $49/month a Generate 250 articles a month at $0.20 per article.

Printing Press Plan: $129 /month   Create up to 1000 articles a month at roughly $0.13/article.

Industrial Printer Plan: ($199 a month) a Generate 2500 articles each month for $0.08/article.


10. Peppertype.ai a Best AI Content Writing Software for Blogging



Peppertype.ai is an online AI content generator thatas easy to use and best for small business owners looking for a powerful copy and content writing tool to help them craft and generate various content for many purposes.

Features

  • You can choose from various pre-trained templates to create your content. This can save you a lot of time since you donat have to spend time designing your templates or starting entirely from scratch.
  • Peppertype offers various copywriting frameworks to help you write better content.
  • Peppertype is lightweight and easy to use. This makes it perfect for beginners who want to get started with AI content generation.
  • Peppertypeas autocorrect feature automatically corrects your grammar and spelling mistakes as you type. This ensures that your content is free of errors.
  • Peppertype tracks user engagement data to help you create content that resonates with your audience.

Pros

  • It doesnat have a steep learning curve
  • It helps users to create entirely original content
  • The basic plan comes with access to all of their frameworks and templates
  • Built-in style editor

Cons

  • More hits than misses on content generated
  • Tons of typos and grammatical errors

Pricing

Unfortunately, Peppertype.ai isnat free. However, it does have a free trial to try out the software before deciding whether itas the right choice for you. Here are its paid plans:

personal Plan:$35/Month

Features:

  • 50,000 words included
  • 40+ content types
  • Notes and Text Editor
  • Access to templates
  • Unlimited projects
  • Active customer support

Team Plan: $199/month

Features:

  • Everything included in the Personal
  • Collaborate & share results
  • Access control
  • Export results
  • Request custom content types

Enterprise a pricing is custom, so please contact the company for more information.

Final thoughts:

It is no longer a secret that humans are getting overwhelmed with the daily task of creating content. Our lives are busy, and the process of writing blog posts, video scripts, or other types of content is not our day job. In comparison, AI writers are not only cheaper to hire, but also perform tasks at a high level of excellence. This article explores 10 writing tools that used AI to create better content choose the one which meets your requirements and budget but in my opinion Jasper ai is one of the best tools to use to make high-quality content. 

If you have any questions ask in the comments section

Note: Don't post links in your comments

Note: This article contains affiliate links which means we make a small commission if you buy any premium plan from our link.



Beginner Guide to CJ Affiliate (Commission Junction) in 2022

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In this CJ Affiliate guide, I will share with you everything you need to get started on the platform, I will give you an in-depth look at the network and how it works.

You will learn how to earn money with the platform. If you're not interested, I'll share some of the best CJ affiliate programs and alternatives. By the end of this post, I will also answer some of the FAQs on the platform and give my quick CJ review. 

Sounds Good So letas start

What is CJ Affiliate?

Commission Junction is an online advertising company that offers affiliate programs for various retailers. Since 1998, it has been known as one of the oldest and most popular affiliate networks. 

 Commission Junction has consistently ranked among the top 10 affiliate networks 

With in-depth data analysis and an unmatched understanding of clients needs, CJ has established itself as a leader in performance marketing.

For Advertiser:

CJ provides advertisers with a variety of tracking, management, and payment options. As an affiliate network, CJ can help you launch multiple affiliate programs from a centralized network. 
 CJ's experienced team of account managers is available to help at every stepafrom program set-up to optimization.

For Publishers: 

CJ offers a  variety of well-paying affiliate programs. You can find affiliate programs in almost every niche at CJ. With CJ, you can also find promotional tools such as banners and product feeds, which help you promote your website. 

 The reporting tools are unparalleled and provide granular data that can assist you in fine-tuning your campaigns for maximum results.

Requirements 


First things first, CJ is free to join! If you are new to the world of affiliate marketing, don't worryayou'll be able to join right away. 

The requirements for joining CJ are almost similar to other networks. For example, you must have a blog or social media follower.

Isn't it obvious? Let's explore the details.

  • High-quality, unique content.
  • Non-gated content, of course.
  • Site privacy policy.
  • No software, coupon/deal, or incentive models
  • Your traffic must be from US and Canada. 
  • The main traffic source must not be paid
  • 10K+ monthly trafic on your website.

How Does CJ Affiliate Work?


Between advertisers and publishers, CJ Affiliate acts as a middleman.. Advertisers sign up on CJ to promote their products or services, while publishers sign up on CJ to find and join affiliate programs to make money. CJ then tracks the sales or leads generated by the publisher and pays them a commission according to the terms of the affiliate program.

CJ provides a win-win situation for both sides: advertisers get more sales and publishers make money. 

In order to free up both parties to concentrate on their job, CJ also handles payments and other technical issues. Now that you know how CJ works, let's learn more about how to sign up and start making money with it.

How to Start Making Money Online Using CJ Affiliate


To get started using CJ's affiliate network, you'll need to register for an account. To do this, you must have a website or social media profile with relevant content and an audience from the US or Canada.  

Create a CJ account, complete the application process, and then wait for approval. You shouldn't worry CJ is not strict as other network in approving applications.

Here's how you can signup for Cj 

  1. Visit cj.com to register as a publisher. 
  2. Fill in information such as your nationality, email, password, and more.
  3. Verify your email address now.
  4. You will be transferred right away to your CJ Account Manager, which contains crucial data including network statistics and performance summaries.
  5. Now from the Account menu, head to Network Profile. And to sign up for any affiliate programme offered on CJ, complete this profile separately.

When applying for CJ, you need to share these two pieces of information 
  1. Description of the website (include statistics for your site and more)
  2. Promotion methods (Traffic sources)

The process of setting up a CJ Affiliate account is a way for you to prove to CJ and the merchants that you're a serious affiliate marketer. Your CJ account is complete once you've added or edited your payment information; now you need to add or edit your tax certificates if required. You are now prepared to start making money on CJ Affiliate program apply for product when approved start promting and earn commissions on every sale.

Click on "Advertisers" and then select a category to go to  your niche advertiser area. You can apply for it by clicking the 'Join the Program' button and analysing three months' earnings per click and overall earnings! After you're approved, you'll get links from all over the Internet.

After you've completed the steps above, you can share your affiliate links in your blog post. You can view performance reports for your affiliate links by visiting the CJ account dashboard. Click "Clients" to see details about clicks, sales, and commissions earned by each client.

With CJ, you can make money promoting great products and services in any niche imaginable! So start joining CJ programs now and watch your business grow.

Best CJ Affiliate Programs in 2022


On CJ, you can find thousands of affiliate programs in almost any niche. Some of the top affiliate programs enlisted on CJ include:

  • Contabo VPS 
  • Fiverr 
  • Hostinger 
  • Godaddy 
  • Namecheap 

You'll find a lot of programs to join at CJ, depending on your niche. Just enter your keywords in the search bar, and CJ will show you all the relevant programs that match your criteria. You can further filter the results by commission type, category, or country.

A Quick CJ Affiliate Review: Is It Good Enough?


CJ Affiliate is one of the oldest and most well-known affiliate networks. The platform has been around for over 20 years and has a massive network of advertisers and publishers. The features on CJ Affiliate are easy to use, and it offers advertisers a wide range of tracking, management, and payment options. 

CJ offers some great features for publishers tooapromotional tools like banners, links, and social media are available to help boost your site's visibility. The only downside is that CJ has a bit of a learning curve, and the approval process can be strict. But overall, CJ Affiliate is an excellent platform for advertisers and publishers.

 

Top Alternatives and Competitors


CJ Affiliate is a great place to earn an income from affiliate marketing. It offers a wide range of features and options for advertisers and publishers. But if CJ doesn't work for you, plenty of other options are available. Here are some of the top competitors and alternatives in the market today:

  • ShareASale
  • AWIN
  • Impact 
  • Rakuten Marketing
  • PartnerStack 
  • Partnerize 
  • ClickBank 

Here are some of the best CJ Affiliate alternatives that you can try. Each platform has its own set of features, so make sure to choose one that best suits your needs. Regardless of which CJ alternative you choose, remember that quality content is key to success as a publisher, so ensure to focus on providing high-value, engaging content to your readers.

Frequently Asked Questions About Cj Affiliate Marketplace 


Is the Cj AffilIs late Network legit?

CJ Affiliate is a legitimate affiliate platform that has earned the trust of many marketers because of its vast network of advertisers and publishers.

How much do CJ affiliates make?

It's not just about CJ; it's about how much effort you put into making money. It is possible to earn a few dollars to a few thousand dollars 

How much does it cost to join Cj?

Joining CJ is free of charge. There are no monthly or annual fees. You only pay when you make a sale, and CJ takes a commission of 5-10%.

What are the payment methods accepted by Cj?

You can receive payment via direct deposit or check, as well as through Payoneer. CJ pays out within 20 days of the end of the month if your account has at least $50 worth of deposits ($100 for those outside America).

How to get approved for CJ affiliate?

CJ is friendly to both beginners and advanced affiliates. You need a website or social media profile with a solid organic traffic source and make yourself known using your profile description. Be honest, and you'll get approved for CJ's affiliate network. 

How to find programs on CJ affiliates?

CJ affiliate offers a straightforward and user-friendly interface. All you need is to log in to your CJ account and click on aAdvertisers' from the menu. Depending on your niche, you can then search for any affiliate program on CJ 

What are the Pros of CJ Affiliate for advertisers?

CJ Affiliate is one of the most advanced affiliate programs available, providing advertisers with a range of features and options including advanced tracking, management, and payment options. 

 The platform is also easy to use and provides promotional tools like coupons, banners, and widgets that can help increase our sales.

Final Saying 


Choosing Commission Junction as your affiliate program isn't easy. CJ is a big company and they have a wide range of affiliates, big and small. They offer everything from banner ads to text links and so much more. The sheer amount of choices can seem intimidating at first, especially to new Affiliates, which is why we've put together this simple guide for people looking for a successful CJ affiliate program to join. If you have any questions feel free to ask in the comments.



TOP 11 AI MARKETING TOOLS YOU SHOULD USE (Updated 2022)

  

 The marketing industry is turning to artificial intelligence (AI) as a way to save time and execute smarter, more personalized campaigns. 61% of marketers say AI software is the most important aspect of their data strategy.

  If youare late to the AI party, donat worry. Itas easier than you think to start leveraging artificial intelligence tools in your marketing strategy. Here are 11 AI marketing tools every marketer should start using today.

1. Jasper Ai(Formerly known as Jarvis)


Jasper is a content writing and content generation tool that uses artificial intelligence to identify the best words and sentences for your writing style and medium in the most efficient, quick, and accessible way.

Key Features

  •  It's trusted by 50,000+ marketers for creating engaging marketing campaigns, ad copy, blog posts, and articles within minutes which would traditionally take hours or days. Special Features:
  • Blog posts have been optimized for search engines and rank high on Google and other search engines. This is a huge plus for online businesses that want to generate traffic to their website through content marketing.
  • 99.9% Original Content and guarantees that all content it generates will be original, so businesses can focus on their online reputation rather than worrying about penalties from Google for duplicate content.
  • Long-Form Article Writing a Jasper.ai is also useful for long-form writing, allowing users to create articles of up to 10,000 words without any difficulty. This is ideal for businesses that want to produce in-depth content that will capture their audienceas attention.
Wait! I've got a pretty sweet deal for you. Sign up through the link below, and you'll get (10k Free Credits)


2. Personalize

 Personalize is an AI-powered technology that helps you identify and produce highly targeted sales and marketing campaigns by tracking the products and services your contacts are most interested in at any given time. The platform uses an algorithm to identify each contactas top three interests, which are updated in real-time based on recent site activity.

Key Features

3. Seventh Sense

  Seventh Sense provides behavioral analytics that helps you win attention in your customersa overcrowded email inboxes. Choosing the best day and time to send an email is always a gamble. And while some days of the week generally get higher open rates than others, youall never be able to nail down a time thatas best for every customer. Seventh Sense eases your stress of having to figure out the perfect send-time and day for your email campaigns. The AI-based platform figures out the best timing and email frequency for each contact based on when theyare opening emails. The tool is primarily geared toward HubSpot and Marketo customers 

Key Features 

4. Phrasee

  Phrasee uses artificial intelligence to help you write more effective subject lines. With its AI-based Natural Language Generation system, Phrasee uses data-driven insights to generate millions of natural-sounding copy variants that match your brand voice. The model is end-to-end, meaning when you feed the results back to Phrasee, the prediction model rebuilds so it can continuously learn from your audience.

Key Features 

5. Hubspot Seo

  HubSpot Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an integral tool for the Human Content team. It uses machine learning to determine how search engines understand and categorize your content. HubSpot SEO helps you improve your search engine rankings and outrank your competitors. Search engines reward websites that organize their content around core subjects, or topic clusters. HubSpot SEO helps you discover and rank for the topics that matter to your business and customers.

Key Features 

 6. Evolve AI

  When youare limited to testing two variables against each other at a time, it can take months to get the results youare looking for. Evolv AI lets you test all your ideas at once. It uses advanced algorithms to identify the top-performing concepts, combine them with each other, and repeat the process to achieve the best site experience.

Key Features 

  • Figures out which content provides the best performance
  • Lets you test multiple ideas in a single experiment instead of having to perform many individual tests over a long period
  • Lets you try all your ideas across multiple pages for full-funnel optimization
  • Offers visual and code editors

7. Acrolinx

  Acrolinx is a content alignment platform that helps brands scale and improves the quality of their content. Itas geared toward enterprises a its major customers include big brands like Google, Adobe, and Amazon - to help them scale their writing efforts. Instead of spending time chasing down and fixing typos in multiple places throughout an article or blog post, you can use Acrolinx to do it all right there in one place. You start by setting your preferences for style, grammar, tone of voice, and company-specific word usage. Then, Acrolinx checks and scores your existing content to find whatas working and suggest areas for improvement. The platform provides real-time guidance and suggestions to make writing better and strengthen weak pages.

Key features

  • Reviews and scores existing content to ensure it meets your brand guidelines
  • Finds opportunities to improve your content and use automation to shorten your editorial process.
  • Integrates with more than 50 tools and platforms, including Google Docs, Microsoft Word, WordPress, and most web browsers.

8. MarketMuse 

MarketMuse uses an algorithm to help marketers build content strategies. The tool shows you where to target keywords to rank in specific topic categories, and recommends keywords you should go after if you want to own particular topics. It also identifies gaps and opportunities for new content and prioritizes them by their probable impact on your rankings. The algorithm compares your content with thousands of articles related to the same topic to uncover whatas missing from your site.

Key features:

  • The built-in editor shows how in-depth your topic is covered and what needs improvement
  • Finds gaps and opportunities for new content creation, prioritized by their probable impact and your chance of ranking

9. Copilot

Copilot is a suite of tools that help eCommerce businesses maintain real-time communication with customers around the clock at every stage of the funnel. Promote products, recover shopping carts and send updates or reminders directly through Messenger.

Key features: 

  • Integrate Facebook Messenger directly with your website, including chat history and recent interactions for a fluid customer service experience 
  • Run drip messenger campaigns to keep customers engaged with your brand
  • Send abandoned carts, out-of-stock, restock, preorder, order status, and shipment notifications to contacts 
  • Send branded images, promotional content, or coupon codes to those who opt in
  • Collect post-purchase feedback, reviews, and customer insight
  • Demonstrate social proof on your website with a widget, or push automatic Facebook posts sharing recent purchases
  • Display a promotional banner on your website to capture contacts instantly
Also Read: Top 10 AI Content Generator & Writer Tools in 2022

10. Yotpo

Yotpoas deep learning technology evaluates your customersa product reviews to help you make better business decisions. It identifies key topics that customers mention related to your productsaand their feelings toward them. The AI engine extracts relevant reviews from past buyers and presents them in smart displays to convert new shoppers. Yotpo also saves you time moderating reviews. The AI-powered moderation tool automatically assigns a score to each review and flags reviews with negative sentiment so you can focus on quality control instead of manually reviewing every post.

Key features:

  • Makes it easy for shoppers to filter reviews and find the exact information theyare looking for
  • Analyzes customer feedback and sentiments to help you improve your products
  • Integrates with most leading eCommerce platforms, including BigCommerce, Magento, and Shopify.

11. Albert AI

  Albert is a self-learning software that automates the creation of marketing campaigns for your brand. It analyzes vast amounts of data to run optimized campaigns autonomously, allowing you to feed in your own creative content and target markets, and then use data from its database to determine key characteristics of a serious buyer. Albert identifies potential customers that match those traits, and runs trial campaigns on a small group of customersawith results refined by Albert himselfabefore launching it on a larger scale.

  Albert plugs into your existing marketing technology stack, so you still have access to your accounts, ads, search, social media, and more. Albert maps tracking and attribution to your source of truth so you can determine which channels are driving your business.

Key features:

  • Breaks down large amounts of data to help you customize campaigns
  • Plugs into your marketing technology stack and can be used across diverse media outlets, including email, content, paid media, and mobile

Final Saying

There are many tools and companies out there that offer AI tools, but this is a small list of resources that we have found to be helpful. If you have any other suggestions, feel free to share them in the comments below this article. As marketing evolves at such a rapid pace, new marketing strategies will be invented that we haven't even dreamed of yet. But for now, this list should give you a good starting point on your way to implementing AI into your marketing mix.

Note: This article contains affiliate links, meaning we make a small commission if you buy any premium plan from our link.



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