English Blog – Page 5

It’s time for FireFoxFour!

Just installed the long awaited Firefox 4. Right now I am writing this post from FF4. I am a huge fan of FF for the last few years (from FF2 more precisely). With new look-n-feel and cool features, FF4 will sure rock your browsing experience.

To download Firefox go here. Ubuntu users can install FF4 via PPA. It has not been added to the Ubuntu official repository (yet), but why keep your Ubuntu awaiting! You can install FF4 in Lucid and Maverick following the process below:

Go to Applications > Ubuntu Software Center from the top panel.
Head to Edit > Software Sources and click the ‘Other Software’ tab.
Press ‘Add’ button and then paste the following line into the relevant field to add the PPA. [code]ppa:mozillateam/firefox-stable[/code]
After adding the PPA you will be prompted to update your sources.
Once the update is done you can head to System > Administration > Update Manager to perform an upgrade.
Thus FF4 will be installed in the system.

You can do the above processes via the Terminal easily and quickly. For this:

From the top panel go to Applications > Terminal.
In the terminal just enter the following command and give your password when asked. This will add the PPA to your Ubuntu repository. [code]sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mozillateam/firefox-stable[/code]
Now run the following command in the terminal
[code]sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade[/code]

So your Ubuntu is all set with FireFoxFour! To see what’s new in Firefox 4, check out the following video:

And there is a Firefox4 Twitter party going on HERE. You can join there and celebrate the party with other Firefox users! Happy FFFing!!

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mozillateam/firefox-stable

Reaching Out to Japan

It’s been nearly a week that Japan was almost annihilated in a catastrophic tsunami. While Japan is trying to overcome damages and casualties after the heart-breaking catastrophe, the Ubuntu Community has set up a website for users to send a message of support to the Japanese Ubuntu LoCo team as well as the people of Japan. You can add your name and show your support for the Japanese at that website.

Though the sentiment and well wishes are great comforts after such a calamity, in times such as these, it will be very palpable if you can help and reach those affected people financially by bringing the most immediate benefit for them. Google has more details on how you can help financially.

Highlights of the Opening Ceremony of ICC Cricket World Cup 2011

Here is the highlights of the opening ceremony of ICC cricket World Cup 2011, that was held yesterday at Bongobondhu Stadium, Dhaka. I myself missed the live broadcast, so I’d to depend on the online videos of the ceremony.

Overall the whole ceremony was a tremendous success. I really could not remember when was the last time World Cup Cricket got such an warm welcome! The fascinating performances of the various artists from the different countries, the spectacular entrance of 14 captains riding rickshaws, the laser-cricket-play – all are marvelous. Well… to be frankly… the speeches from the political leaders seemed bit irritating to me, but that is the most negligible part… actually nothing comparing to the main events of the ceremony!

The crowd reserved its biggest cheer for Shakib Al Hasan's arrival © AFP — The crowd reserved its biggest cheer for Sakib Al Hasan's arrival © AFP

Beautiful Bangladesh – the School of Life

It is the most spectacular and fascinating short-video on Bangladesh I’ve ever seen. Within almost 3 minutes it covers almost the whole Bangladesh! It’s amazing. After watching the video (over and over) I realized (again) how beautiful my country is! Thanks to Gazi Shuvro for creating such a stunning video on Bangladesh. This video is actually created for Tourism Board of Bangladesh to promote tourism in Bangladesh. Enjoy the video.

To watch the HQ version of this video please CLICK HERE.

School of Spirit…
School of Bravery…
School of Talent…
School of Playfulness…
School of Celebration…
School of Happiness…
School of Hope…
School of Mysticism…
School of Freedom…
School of Adventure…
School of Togetherness…
School of Art…
Welcome to the School of Life… Admission going on!

Database for I02

Following is a form to create a database to store all the informations about the students of IUT-02 batch. If you are an IUTian02, then please fill up this form. For the privacy issue, the database is not shared. But if you are an IUTian02 and if you need all the data of your friends from I02, then please contact me with your Gmail ID and I’ll share the info with you. If you want to share this form with other I02s, then simply refer them the following link:

https://adnan.quaium.com/blog/1773

If you face any problem filling this form, or if you have any inquiry or suggestion, then feel free to leave me a comments below. You can also use the Facebook Share button, Twitter button, Buzz Button from the right side of this page or any social bookmarks from the bottom of this page to share or spread this form.

Help us to build a complete database of our batch. Cheers Guys!!

😎

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1)

Just watched the movie Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1) couple of hours ago in the theater! I have been waiting for this movie since I’ve heard that the last book of Harry Potter is going to be split in to two parts for the movie. To be frankly, the fast story rolling of the Goblet of Fire, the Order of Phoenix and the Half Blood Prince slightly disappointed me. Those movies did not portrait the full story of the respective books, merely they were the highlights of the story books. So when I came to know that, they are going to split the last movie to keep the flavor of the story intact, I was really thrilled. I could not wait to watch the movie!

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 1

Story:

For not to spoil the viewers experience, I am not going to reveal the actual story, rather I am giving an overall idea of the story. This is the First part of the Seventh book of Harry Potter series. As the continuation of the last movie (Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince), Dumbledore is dead and Harry Potter is still the Chosen One, upon whom the followers of Dumbledore still keep the faith. He leaves the Privet Drive. He decided to search the remaining Horcruxes and destroyed them. Along with Harry, his two best friends Ron and Hermione have decided not to go back to Hogwarts this year. Instead they involved in a secret mission of destroying the Horcruxes. But that secret mission became the journey of a lifetime, where they found their goal of life, re-discovered themselves as well as their friendship, lost some of their dearest friends, overcome their innermost fears, and unrevealed mysteries of pasts.

The Review:

As I mentioned earlier, to keep the original flavor of the book this movie is split into two parts. And they did not disappoint me. David Yates really did an amazing job. Not only him but also Daniel, Rupert and Emma delivered quite a good acting. The first thing about this is, it’s not a children movie anymore. Harry, Ron and Hermione were no more that kid wizard. They have grown up. They are more matured now. The maturity is clear. Almost the whole movie is about these three bosom friends, other characters do not have that much significant appearance. But that really does not matter, because one can hardly feel the absence of other characters. Moreover, this time, the director tried really hard not to speed up the story, rather he took it slowly and steadily. Which in fact, was a good move. Also there are some minor changes from the main story. The action sequence was really good, especially the ambush scene when Hagrid flew Harry away to the Burrow from the Private Drive. Also the part of depicting the Tale of the Deathly Hallows with a nice animation is really a superb touch.

But still there are some shortages (or flaws perhaps). Such as Hogwarts’ takeover or Harry missing and thinking about Ginny have been totally ignored, though there is a small scene of Hogwarts Express and a glimpse on Neville was there. Also the part of Ollivander and Gregorovitch are hard to understand for someone who hasn’t read the book. There is one intense sensual moment, which I do not think as a necessary elements. And while the Tale of the Deathly Hallows have been told, the fact that Harry owns the invisible cloak was ignored somehow! The whole movie is gloomy and dark, has scene of more blood comparing to the previous parts and little bit horror too. (It is rated PG-13 for some sequences of intense action violence, frightening images and brief sensuality.)

Apart from that, the director portrayed love, friendship, jealousy, loyalty, loneliness wonderfully. The first part of the Finale of Harry Potter is an stunning adventurous story with lots of clues to solve. To be precisely, it is the introduction of the Finale. And it can be easily assumed that a lot of things are coming in the next part. But the main feature of this movie is, one can not be bored while watching the film. At the end, this movie makes the viewers to wait eagerly for the next part, whether he/she knows the story or not.

In Conclusion, the movie Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows has put away the childish things of the previous movies and become a not-a-kid-movie-anymore. But that does not disappoint me. This movie is for them, who passed their childhood reading the Harry Potter books and grew old with Harry, Ron and Hermione. It’s really wonderful to find out that the kid wizards are no longer kids, they have grown up just like the readers. This movie leaves me excitedly to anticipate the final installment. And to be frankly, this is a great movie for not only Potter fans, but all movie addicts as well. Overall, it is a worth watching movie (of course!).

Munir Hasan, Sayem and The Dustbins

Sayem is my friend. I know him from my IUT life, that’s quite a long time. We studied in the same department and in the same year. Even our rooms in the dorm were in the same floor. He is a Lecturer & Assistant Proctor of Stamford University Bangladesh. He is a soft spoken nice guy. He is so gentle that he tolerates trouble for others and never complains anything unless it is unbearable (I’ve seen that earlier). Now, ‘that’ Sayem, my friend Sayem is facing troubles for almost 6 months and which is now seemed to be tremendously unbearable for him and his family.

In Sayem’s neighborhood, there are some uncovered dustbins which his neighbor-apartment-folks use in a daily basis (to dump their wastes). And those fetidly dustbins can alone ruins anyone’s life, in this case they are ruining Sayem and his family. Moreover those dustbins are put by his neighbor-apartment-folks just beside his bedroom. Just imagine how tough life beside fetidly dustbins can be!

Well … after living beside a hell (almost), Sayem and his wife complained several times to the apartment folks as well as the ‘Secretary’ of that apartment building. When Sayem and his family found out that the secretary of that building is Mr. Munir Hasan, they hoped for the betterments. Why did they hope so? Because Mr. Munir Hasan is a renowned personality of Bangladesh, as he is involved with BDOSN and General Secretary of Math Olympiad in Bangladesh (if I am not wrong he is affiliated with the most popular Bangladeshi daily newspaper Prothom Alo too). That’s why when Sayem and his wife complained to him, they thought their nightmare was going to be ended. It was six months ago. But nothing happened after that. Sayem and his wife kept complaining for the past six months but Mr. Munir Hasan did not take any steps. It seems that, he does not take their complains seriously.

Sayem's House View — Uncovered dustbins just beside Sayem's bedroom

So as an alternative steps Sayem is trying to let other people know about his miserable condition because of Mr. Munir Hasan. He wrote a note (with the picture) and shared it via Facebook. So that other people can also request Mr. Munir Hasan to take Sayem’s complains seriously into his account. I am quoting Sayem’s complete note as it is:

Dear friends,

Assalamualaikum. Hope u all are passing a very good time on the occasion of holy Eid-ul-Azha. But may be I will not. Let me explain the matter that will help you to understand. I need some suggestion from all of you regarding the issue.

The pictures attached with this message is taken from my bedroom. It shows a dustbin and this is just beside my bedroom. And this dustbin belongs to the Sheltech Apartments that is just beside my home. It consists of 66 flats. So, you can imagine how much waste material is produced there every day. Every moment we have to suffer a lot due to this. It is very difficult for us to stay in our bedroom even in our home.

The most astonishing part is that, the Secretary of this big building is Mr. Munir Hasan, General Secretary of Math Olympiad. He is a very renowned person and I think many of you know him. He was a teacher of BUET and also an ex-buetian. We often see him in newspapers for his good activities and contribution to the nation. He is very much close to Dr. Zafar Iqbal Sir. My wife and I knocked him several times from last 6 months for this problem. But, yet he hasn’t solved the issue. After knocking several times, he just managed a polythene temporarily to cover the wastage and promised us to solve the issue permanently. But where is that solution? We gave him an example of Prince Tower (just opposite to Sheltech Tower) about their waste management. We tried several times to contact him but he refused.

Now, my question is how can we get relief from it? Is it a sign of civilization from a renowned person like Mr. Munir Hasan? Holy Eid-ul-Azha is knocking at the door. We are very anxious about the wastage in this occasion. It is tough enough for us to bear the smell every day. Can you imagine what will be during Eid-ul-Azha?

We tried a lot to solve the problem but failed due to lack of cooperation from Mr. Munir Hasan. For that reason we need some help from you. Please suggest us what we can do in a peaceful way.

Thanks to all.
Sayem

It is really sad to find out that the remarkable persons (at least whom we thought as remarkable) are not that much remarkable in their day to day life. I hope that, Mr. Munir Hasan will be sympathetic enough to take care Sayem’s complain and treat his neighbor as a ‘true neighbor’ as well.

If you read this post and if you want to help Sayem, then please share this post with others. And if you have a personal relationship or friendship with Mr. Munir Hasan, then please request him to take care Sayem’s complain seriously. Also you can email Mr. Munir Hasan requesting him to consider Sayem’s complain as soon as possible.

Nerd is the new Cool!

Have you ever heard of Dr. Sheldon Cooper? Or Maurice Moss? If you know them, then probably you’re like one of them. And if you have not, well … then, never mind! What do they have in common? They both are over intellectual. They both have a ‘life’ which is, in fact, a little different from the ‘normal life’. And they both are Nerds!

Big bang theory & IT crowd

Who is Dr. Sheldon Cooper? He is a theoretical physicist, who has also an overtly intellectual personality, he exhibits a strict adherence to routine, a lack of understanding of irony, sarcasm and humor, a habit of constantly expressing admiration for his superior intellect. Who’s humor is very difficult to understand, that’s why he occasionally uses his signature catchphrase ‘Bazinga’ to notify others that he has done a joke! He is purely logical and has an IQ of 187 with an overly extensive general knowledge.

On the other hand, Maurice Moss aka “Moss” is a stereotypical computer nerd. He works in the IT department of the Reynholm Industries in central London. He is famous for his socially ignorant comments and his intricate and detailed knowledge of specialized technical subjects, including chemistry and electronic engineering.

These two nerds are the two fictional characters from the two popular tv series The Big Bang Theory and The IT Crowd respectively. The first one is an American sitcom, where as the later one is British. But both of them have enough laughing stalks to knock anyone out (both nerds and non-nerds). Sheldon and Moss are the two significant characters of those two tv shows. They have their own mannerism, their own styles of living, even they have their own fashion sense! More importantly people like them. People really like them very much! They become the icon.

It has been a long time since I found any character to like after McGyver. I was a huge fan of McGyver (and still I am), and now I am a big fan of Sheldon and Moss. I liked them a lot. The fun fact is that, I actually understand all of their ‘nerdy talks’ and I guess, that makes me a nerd as well. I hope I don’t offend any of my readers, but if you like those TV shows and understand each and every facts of super-science they are talking about, then you were probably a ‘nerdy kid’ like me when I was growing up. Way back then, the word ‘nerd’ was not found in anyone’s dictionary. But by the time I was in my high school, the word ‘cool’ has already entered a teen’s dictionary, and I obviously did not have that word in my dictionary! So may be that’s the reason, why I like Sheldon and Moss (though I was/am not a ‘super nerd’ like them). By the way, they both use UBUNTU! (Like me!)

Another popular TV show is Chuck, where Chuck – the main character is a nerd and a spy – at the same time! Pretty cool right! And recently in How I met your mother, the main character, Ted Mosby, an architectural professor, finds is interest in various architectural creation and loves to tell people the history or story behind that creation. Nerdy symptoms? I think so.

What ever it is, it seems that nerds are everywhere. The time is for the nerds. They are the new icons for the recent cult. Being a super nerd is super cool. So if you are not one of them, then at least try to be one. Nerd is the new Cool, man!