Maestro Vs MasterCard. Difference Between the two Debit Cards

People often tends to confuse Maestro cards with mastercards. They are actually two different type of cards used entirely for different purposes.

In India the default card issued from almost all banks are the Maestro cards. All nationalized banks including SBI Group of banks does the same. Maestro cards are useful to use for simple debit card usage like withdrawing money from atms. paying bills etc, but their transfer of funds is severely restricted and as such Maestro cards can not be used for Online Shopping, On-site bill payment etc

MasterCard Debit Card in turn facilitates transfer of funds in very dynamic manner. It is accepted all across the globe and can be used to different purposes like On Line and Retailer shopping. A MasterCard can be used wherever a MaestroCard can be used, Hence MasterCard is much more preferable than Maestro Cards

MasterCards are only issued to customers who specifically request for it. If you are presently own a Maestro Card and wants to get a MasterCard you will have to surrender your existing card to your bank and apply specifically for a new MasterCard.
Major banks in India may charge you a little if you are applying for a MasterCard. At present it is around Rs100

Update:  As some readers have pointed out Maestro cards are being accepted by some Indian Online retailers. But MasterCards remain the  standard for international money transactions

XMLHttpRequest browser support on Chrome and Chrome Extensions

While using XMLHttpRequest method to access some data for a chrome extension i encountered trouble.
It is not possible to run XMLHttpRequest() from a chrome extension. Why? it turns out to be because of the
Same origin policy of the browsers in which in that, for security reasons, requests will only succeed if they are made to the same server that served the original web page. There are alternative ways to achieve this, but i don't know any of it

Java in Windows 8

Let's get this straight. Unlike previous versions of windows (98/Xp/Vista/7) windows 8 does not come with in built java, hence these machines are free from vulnerabilities that usually affect java. So a windows 8 user need not worry about it

In case you need to install java in your windows 8 machine you can download Java 7 from this link and install it using usual means. If you are installing java on your machine, please turn it off from your browsers so  that you will not affected by Oracle Java vulnerabilities

How to Port a Mobile number

How to Port a Mobile number
Procedure for mobile number Portability

Mobile number portability in India have been a great success with an estimated   5 million ports already taken place. Still the procedures for MNP seems to be unclear for the potential beneficiaries . MNP can be done by following these simple steps

1. Send PORT <space> MOBILE NUMBER to 1900
2. You will get an SMS reply that contains a unique porting code.
3. Get the  Special sim for MNP connections from your new operator’s store by submitting the porting code , identity proofs and other relevant documents
4. Your existing operator will check with new operator & if there are no dues then approval will be given for porting.
5. You will get an SMS on the time and date when porting will take place. Rules mandate that process be completed within 4 days of applying.
6. After porting is complete, you will receive an SMS from your new operator confirming the switch. Your phone may be dead for about 2 hours when the porting takes place.

Dream2Advance

Dream2Advance ad from Visa televised on TV Networks is an excellent example of getting people to buy your product by giving incentive to them. The whole program is nicely conceived it is one of my favorite ad going around now along with that of Intel speaking of which "Go Do Something Wonder full". 

You can share your Dream on the website and they are trying to get the dream come true. You have to register for an Visa card to get the benefits though

Visit http://dream2advance.com to know more about the campaign 

Premier league and the red flower

People regularly watching the English premier league may have wondered about the small red flower the players and managers wearing in their kits or suits. well,  It’s a Remembrance Day Poppy

The poppy is worn in remembrance of those who fought for the allied forces during World War 2 as they grew on the fields where the battles were fought. There is no connection between football and poppy whatsoever and everyone in the Britain do the same to honor the dead