Simplicity seems to be word that describes the recent sites I’ve put up here, and this one is no different.

The site is called dodgeit and just as the title says, it offers free disposable e-mail IDs. Probably most would know the need for a disposable or temporary e-mail ID. For the ignorant however, these e-mail IDs can be used for a one-time reception of mails from some place.

For example, you need to register at a site to simply check it out and they obviously ask for your e-mail ID. Giving your real permanent ID may result in you, receiving a lot of spam if the source is not trusted.

So, when the registration mail is sent to a temporary e-mail ID, you can just confirm the registration mail and forget about spam.

That is exactly what dodgeit is all about. On their site, all you do is simply enter a name in the textbox provided [@dodgeit.com], and voila, you get a mailbox at yourname@dodgeit.com .

Just give out this e-mail ID while registering and the e-mail is received at this address upon sending.

The fact is that multiple people can actually login to the same mailbox. This could compromise your login ID or any other details received through mail.

The fact is that the ID and the mailbox will be deleted once every seven days. And another fact is that you can not delete the mails received or the already existing ones. They are cleared only during the weekly clean up. So make it a point that you dont receive any personal or classified e-mails on this.

However, there is one way to bypass this. You could make a small donation [2$ is just fine] to password protect the inbox and also this gives you the ability to delete messages you receive. The mailbox and the account name is never deleted until you want it to.

This, of course spoils the entire point of a disposable ID. Heck, you could just go to yahoo and sign up there for free. Great thinking there, geniuses.

The advantage here is that you could probably get the e-mail ID of your choice [like John etc] which may not be available at Yahoo!. Of course, you could get that e-mail ID if you had any domain name. My opinion would be to donate to them, for the service, but most certainly not for the mailbox, site design or features on the site.

In Brief:

Site: DodgeIt

Pros:

• Good service
• Simple interface [I am using that word too frequently]
• Easy to understand and use
• Free

Cons:

• No password protection
• Easily compromisable security [none, actually]
• Not possible to delete even mails you receive
• Multiple people can view your received messages at the same time
• Donation for password protection is totally worthless

Recite your experiences with this if you have used it.

Until next time,

Cheers

Wish anybody and everybody, with or without a Valentine [that means me ]

A Happy Valentine’s Day

I recently came across this handy and easy-to-use online file conversion utility called Zamzar. Before going into the details about its features, a little something about the origin of this queer name.

The name Zamzar was derived from Gregor Samsa, a character in Franz Kafka’s book Metamorphosis because of its association with change, which the site is all about.

This service is absolutely free of cost, and that is what makes it all the more amazing. There are a few google ads, though. But they don’t interfere with the interface or the navigation.

Their four step conversion process is pretty effective as well. Upon selecting the file to convert (from your hard drive, of course), the nearby drop-down box automatically changed to show only the possible formats to which the file can be converted.

For example if you select a .jpg file, the file can be converted to formats like bmp, gif, ico, pcx, tiff etc. This saves time and prevents whackos from trying to convert files to unrelated formats.

It is also essential to give your email address (any one ID would do). This is to ensure that the converted file remains private. An e-mail would then be sent to you shortly containing a link to the converted file.

Also, one must remember that the converted file would only remain on their servers for one day. So, remember to check your mail soon after submission to the site, lest you forget later. And remember, the 24 hours is from the time of receiving the mail and not the uploading of the file.

My Test:

File Uploaded: Video

File Type: .avi

File converted to: .rm

File Size: ~30 Mib

Time taken to receive link to converted file: 15 mins

The one thing I found was that the size had not reduced by much even when converting to rm format, though I could play it on my mobile phone.

A list of conversion types currently available at Zamzar can be found here.

Summary:

Site: Zamzar

Merits:

• Simple, smooth interface
• Easy to access and use
• Wide variety of formats available
• Free to use without restrictions
• Quick to convert most files
• No extra software or plugins needed

Drawbacks:

• File stored only for 1 day after conversion
• Video conversion does not affect filesize much
• Maximum of 100MB of data split between up to 5 different files

Thats about all I could come up with. Post your experiences about the site if you’ve used it already.

Till next time,

Cheers

Since I’ve finally decided to kick-start [or at the least, start] this blog, I’d just like to pop in with a hello.

This site is basically my medium to express anything I want to [since I am the owner, that is].

I am simply planning on putting here, what I feel would be interesting and useful, to, of all people, me and also, if possible, to the world at large.

Simply, you could call it just another blog, but well, I wouldn’t very comfortable with that [no real blogger would, for that matter]. I also did make a great deal of fuss about the theme and I found at last that the first theme was, indeed, the best. So I decided to stick with that.

So without further ado, I’ll just welcome everyone to this blog. And so here I go, sailing into the blogging seas.

Wish me luck

Hoping to see more of all of ye

Cheers,