Permanence, impermanence (K2 #79)

Question of the Week 
How do I recover emails that were permanently deleted a few months ago?
— Samden, Chhukha

Answer
Dear Samden,

All three popular online email services - Yahoo! Mail, Hotmail (now called Outlook.com), and Google Gmail - allow you to recover recently-deleted messages. This is similar to the Recycled folder on Windows. Gmail keeps deleted messages in the Trash folder for about 30 days. After 30 days in the Trash folder, the message is deleted permanently (but keep reading). Hotmail and Yahoo have similar policies. To restore messages that were deleted recently, go to the Trash folder (or the Deleted folder), check the checkboxes of the messages you want to un-delete, and move (or drag) the messages back to the Inbox.

Sand mandala: nothing is permanent

If you are using Hotmail (or Outlook.com), you can ask Microsoft to recover even more messages. Go to the Deleted folder, and look for the “recover deleted messages” option at the bottom of the screen. Clicking the option will request the server to retrieve as many deleted messages as possible.

Even if you used Gmail, do not despair.Google has an online form to request email recovery in case your account was hacked. It might be worth a shot. The link is http://goo.gl/88ka7J

Since free email accounts these days come with tons of storage (Gmail has 15 GB, enough for tens of thousands of text emails), many people choose to keep all of their correspondence (in Gmail, you can hit the Archive button to move the message from the Inbox to the Archive). Archiving emails saves you the effort of thinking which conversations to delete as well as reduces the chance that a message you deleted will end up being important.

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Readers are encouraged to submit technology-related questions to boaz@thimphutech.com

The True Cost of Printing (#78)

Question of the Week 
I am looking for a cheap way to print at home. Which is cheaper, inkjet or laser printers?
— Mukul, Thimphu

Answer
Dear Mukul,

Need chilies? With a 3D printer, you just
hit the print button.

Trick question! Inkjet printers are, in general, cheaper than laser printers. They can also print in colour, unlike the cheap black-and-white laser printers. If you are looking for a low-cost colour printer, an inkjet printer is your only option, and you can stop reading this column and head to the shop! If black-and-white printing is all you need, read on.

Low-end inkjet printers, such as the Canon PIXMA iP2770 or the HP DeskJet 1000, are available at around Rs 2,000. In comparison, cheap laser printers start at three times that price. The price of the HP LaserJet P1108, for example, is around Rs 6,000.

When buying paper for a printer, look for the paper weight on the package (measured in gsm, or grams per square meter). Typical weight for everyday paper is around 75 gsm. For professional documents, use the heaviest paper you can find. It will have less “show-through” and a smoother finish.

The story, however, does not end here. Buying the printer is only the initial investment. In the long run, the biggest expense is the cost of the ink. Other factors are the cost of the paper, electricity, maintenance, and depreciation (printers are usually replaced every three to five years). All these need to be taken into account when calculating the total cost of ownership.

While inkjet printers are cheaper, the ink itself is very expensive. An original black ink cartridge for the Canon PIXMA printer costs a hefty Rs 1,000 and prints only about 220 pages. That’s almost Rs 5 per page. Costs for the HP DeskJet are similar. In contrast, an original toner cartridge for the HP LaserJet costs around Rs 3,000 and yields about 1500 pages, which amounts to Rs 2 per page – less than half the price than the inkjet.

The more pages you print, the more it makes sense to go with a laser printer. In fact, if you print an average of one page a day, it makes sense to use an ink printer. At two pages a day, you’re in the break-even zone. Three pages or more per day? Invest in a laser printer.

Note: prices were obtained from amazon.in and flipkart.com. Thimphu street prices may vary. It is worth comparing multiple shops.

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Readers are encouraged to submit technology-related questions to boaz@thimphutech.com

Protecting teenagers (K2 #77)

Question of the Week 
How do I make sure that my two teenage boys do not venture into inappropriate websites?
— Craig, Thimphu

Answer
Dear Craig,

The Internet is a fantastic invention. Left without supervision, however, curious children can easily venture into dangerous zones either intentionally or accidentally with a few mouse clicks. During the recently-started winter vacation, some children will spend a lot of time glued to the screen. It is therefore important for parents to protect their children especially during these times. Here are a few things that you, as a parent, can do.


First, use a free service called OpenDNS FamilyShield to filter out child-unfriendly websites. OpenDNS also filters out websites which may contain malicious software. The nice thing about this service is that it does not require any software installation. You will need, however, to make a few simple configuration changes to your Windows or Mac computer (or better yet, your home wireless router, if you have one; this will automatically protect all devices connected to the router). To start, visit goo.gl/t32kW5.

You can also install web filtering software on your Windows or Mac computer. One recommended program is K9 Web Protection, available as a free download at www.k9webprotection.com. In addition to filtering out inappropriate websites, the program allows you to block Internet access during specific times, view reports to monitor web access, and more. You will need to get a license, which is free for home users.

Using these defence mechanisms together will increase protection, but nothing is airtight. At some point - either at home or at a friend’s house or perhaps in an Internet cafe - your children will be exposed to inappropriate material. It’s a good idea to have a candid conversation with them before that happens. Cyberbullying, internet safety and adult material are some topics worth talking about.

Enjoy the winter vacation!

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Readers are encouraged to submit technology-related questions to boaz@thimphutech.com

The Hour of Code (K2 #76)

Question of the Week
I want to learn programming in C++ and do not have any previous knowledge of other programming languages. What do you suggest?
— Mukul Dixit, Thimphu

Answer
Dear Mukul,
Learning a programming language - also known as coding - is not only fun, but an important skill. More than a way to land a high-end IT job or make a living writing mobile apps, it also provides many high-level cognitive benefits. Learning to code improves mental faculties, including problem solving, planning, and abstraction skills. It’s not surprising that more and more education systems around the world now include coding as part of their core school curriculum, often starting at primary school.

“Everybody in this country should learn how to program a computer because it teaches you how to think.” — Steve Jobs

Now, C++ is probably not the first language you want to pick up as it’s more difficult to master. My suggestion is to start with a friendlier language that’s easier to learn. Once you are fluent in that and understand basic programming concepts, move on to C++. There are many good resources on the Internet; check the website code.org for good starting links. Two of the languages, Scratch and Python, would serve as gentler introductions to coding. Scratch is very easy to learn and a lot of fun. It uses visual programming - you simply drag-and-drop blocks to create simple animations, games and other programs. You can download the software at scratch.mit.edu. It is designed mainly for children, but there’s no reason why it cannot be used by adults as well. Scratch is best suited for educational purposes and not for real-world programming. Python, however, is a powerful, high-level language. It is one of the most popular languages in use these days, and Python programmers are much in demand. See the official website python.org for more information; there’s a tutorial under the Documentation tab.

Coincidently, next week (December 9-15, 2013) is “Computer Science Education Week”, organized by Code.org. Thousands of events in more than 160 countries are organized to teach people how to code, all under the theme “The Hour of Code 2013”. You can find more information about this huge event at csedweek.org.

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Readers are encouraged to submit technology-related questions to boaz@thimphutech.com

Bhutan's 3G band: the saga continues

I have written before on the questionable selection of the 850 MHz for use with 3G in Bhutan, instead of the more consumer-friendly 900 MHz which is used in India and other SE Asian countries. Recently, Kuensel reporter Gyaltshen K. Dorji ran a comprehensive story on this topic, An iffy 3G-frequency choice?, in which I was quoted.

100 Free Units (K2 #75)

Question of the Week 
The government is giving 100 free electricity units to domestic consumers in rural areas. How many appliances can I use for free?
— Tshomo, Dagana

Answer
Dear Tshomo,

I think you are right. No one explained what these energy units are and what they can be used for. Let’s take a look at how these units are computed. The story starts with watts. Each electrical appliance has a power rating in watts (named after the famous Scottish inventor James Watt). These ratings are printed on the appliance, often at the back. Watts are often abbreviated simply as W. You can find this number on any item that uses electricity, from light bulbs (ranging from around 20W to 100W) to boilers, water heaters and radiators, which are serious power hogs and can consume up to 3000W.

The amount of energy that an appliance consumes depends on its power ratings and also on how long it’s been turned on. If a 40W power bulb is switched on for two hours, it consumes double the amount of energy compared to a 40W bulb switched on for one hour. To calculate the energy used, you simply multiply the power ratings (in watts) by the time the appliance is working (in hours). The resulting number is the amount of energy units, called - how surprising it that? - watt-hours. For example, say you have a 40W light bulb switched on for a total of 10 hours. It consumed 40W x 10 hours of energy, or 400 watt-hours. Often kilowatt-hours are used instead of watt-hours; one kilowatt-hour is 1000 watt-hours.

Back to electricity units. Each month, domestic users in rural areas will receive 100 units of energy for free. Now here is the trick: Each unit is simply 1 kilowatt-hour (1000 watt-hours). For non-rural domestic users, by the way, the first 100 units are about Nu 1 each (and the next two hundred units are about Nu 2 each for both rural and non-rural consumers). Here are a few examples of typical usage. Let’s start with the ubiquitous mobile phone charger, which uses about 3W. If you charge your phone for two hours, it will use about six watt-hours, which are 0.006 units. If charged daily, this amounts to a total of 0.18 units of energy in a month. Another popular appliance is a rice cooker: A 600W rice cooker working for 20 minutes (⅓ of an hour) will consume 200 watt-hours, or 0.2 units per use. In contrast, a 1000W spiral heater working for 5 hours per day will use 5 units a day, or 150 units a month. To figure out the total units consumed by multiple appliances (mobile charging, rice cooker usage, etc.) simply add up the units.

Appliance	Watts	Time per use	Units per use
Mobile charger	3W	2 hours	0.006
Rice cooker	600W	⅓ hour	0.2
Light bulb	40W	10 hours	0.4
Spiral heater	1000W	5 hours	5

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Readers are encouraged to submit technology-related questions to boaz@thimphutech.com

Broadband use in schools detrimental for grades

Internet is a powerful tool. It has to be managed carefully, especially when it comes to children. It is the opinion of this blog's authors that simply throwing technology at school students - whether it is tablets, OLPCs, or a fast Internet connection - is often not helpful. Even worse, it can have a negative effect on learning and socializing. A recently published paper by three Carnegie-Mellon University researchers examined the relationship between broadband use in Portugal's schools, and student performance. The results are loud and clear:

high levels of broadband use in schools were detrimental for grades on the ninth-grade national exams in Portugal. For the average broadband use in schools, grades reduced 0.78 of a standard deviation from 2005 to 2009. We also show that broadband has a negative impact on exam scores regardless of gender, subject, or school quality and that the way schools allow students to use the Internet affects their performance. In particular, students in schools that block access to websites such as YouTube perform relatively better.

The paper was published in Management Science, a top research journal. It can be downloaded here for a fee. Alternatively, you can download the free working paper.

What about broadband for schools in Bhutan? Follow the discussion or leave a comment on the Sherig Collection thread (registration required).