Hunza in Pictures (Flickr)

Hunza Before Sunrise

Sunrise in Hunza

Apples of Hunza

Mighty Karakoram Highway near Khunjerab Top

Moon Evenings in Hunza

Read also: Gilgit baltistan pictures

The article originally appeared at Hothcpotch Post. It has been reproduced after taking permissions from Hotchpotch Post.

Continue Reading →

Eid in a Different Way

Eid (Eid ul Adha or Eid-e-Qurbani) is annual ritual performed by muslims for the world annually as based on lunar year. It is to commemorate the 4000 years old event in which Prophet Ibrahim offered his most beloved possession, his son Ismail for sacrifice upon God’s call. This event is called as qurbani in most countries, which translates as sacrifice in english.

In this ritual muslims sacrifice an animal, that is halaal, (whose meat is allowed to be eaten in Islamic teachings). Most of the time these animals include Cow/Bull, Goat, Sheep and sometimes Camel as well. This meat is divided in different ways. Most common of them is that, the meat is divided into 3 equal parts. First part is given to poor and oppressed living in vicinity, second part is distributed among relatives while third part is retained by the person who is performing this ritual.

Rituals are same in a religion but we see a different kind of Eid performed by people of Hunza, a valley in mountains of Karakoram range. I grow up reading different sort of Eid but performing a different. On the day of Eid in Hunza everybody gathers at Community centers located in their native villages after Eid’s prayer. All of the animals devoted for Qurbani are gathered as well. All of these animals are slaughtered one by one and meat is collected. This meat is not divided into 3 parts rather it is divided into number of households present in the vicinity of the community center, and is divided among them. No difference is seen between poor or rich, related or unrelated, everybody gets equal portion of the meat.

For some it may seems absurd but it is the real essence of sacrifice. Where the one sacrificing doesn’t believes in favouritism or nepotism. This is a model that every muslim needs to learn and replicate, rather than indulging in practices like show off by buying animals in prices above their worth. Islam teaches the same. It teaches us to be just and generous and  live a life in simplicity.

The article originally appeared at Hothcpotch Post. It has been reproduced after taking permissions from Hotchpotch Post.

Continue Reading →

Microsoft announces two flagship phones, Lumia 950 and Lumia 950XL

Microsoft came up with flagship Lumia 950 and Lumia 950XL after a long break of 18 months. This is third of kind, as the announcement came after Apple and Google releasing their high end phones (Apple's Iphone 6S & 6S Plus, Google's Nexus 5X & 6P). These 6 phones are to be launched soon and it would be worth noticing the competition among theses internet giants.

When talking about specs Microsoft has done a good job but its matter of choice as well. The phones are backed by powerful OS Windows 10. As reported 5.2-inch Lumia 950 and 5.7-inch Lumia 950 XL are powerful devices: OLED screens (564ppi and 518ppi); octa-core and hexa-core processors — with "tablet class liquid cooling" technology; a 20-megapixel camera with triple LED flash. Pictures taken by these phones haven't been published yet.
The phones comes with a unique feature called Continuum, which lets you use a large-screen display and with a Display Dock, you can even plug in a keyboard and mouse and run a Windows-esque environment capable of using universal Windows 10 apps. It's not quite a PC replacement, but it is something no one else is offering.
The phones support USB type C for faster charging.
Here is a comparison of the new upcoming phones by Microsoft, Apple and Google:

NETWORK	Technology	GSM / HSPA / LTE	GSM / HSPA / LTE
	2G bands	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
	3G Network	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100
	4G Network	LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700), 20(800), 28(700), 38(2600), 40(2300)	LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700), 17(700), 20(800), 28(700), 38(2600), 40(2300)
	Speed	HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE Cat6 300/50 Mbps	HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE Cat6 300/50 Mbps
	GPRS	Yes	Yes
	EDGE	Yes	Yes

LAUNCH	Announced	2015, October	2015, October
	Status	Coming soon. Exp. release 2015, November	Coming soon. Exp. release 2015, November

BODY	Dimensions	151.9 x 78.4 x 8.1 mm (5.98 x 3.09 x 0.32 in)	145 x 73.2 x 8.2 mm (5.71 x 2.88 x 0.32 in)
	Weight	165 g (5.82 oz)	150 g (5.29 oz)
	SIM	Nano-SIM	Nano-SIM

DISPLAY	Type	AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors	AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	5.7 inches (~74.3% screen-to-body ratio)	5.2 inches (~70.5% screen-to-body ratio)
	Resolution	1440 x 2560 pixels (~518 ppi pixel density)	1440 x 2560 pixels (~564 ppi pixel density)
	Multitouch	Yes	Yes
	Protection	Corning Gorilla Glass 4	Corning Gorilla Glass 3
		- ClearBlack display	- ClearBlack display

PLATFORM	OS	Microsoft Windows 10	Microsoft Windows 10
	Chipset	Qualcomm MSM8994 Snapdragon 810	Qualcomm MSM8992 Snapdragon 808
	CPU	Quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 & Quad-core 2 GHz Cortex-A57	Dual-core 1.82 GHz Cortex-A57 & quad-core 1.44 GHz Cortex-A53
	GPU	Adreno 430	Adreno 418

MEMORY	Card slot	microSD, up to 200 GB	microSD, up to 200 GB
	Internal	32 GB, 3 GB RAM	32 GB, 3 GB RAM

CAMERA	Primary	20 MP, 4992 х 3744 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, optical image stabilization, autofocus, triple-LED RGB flash	20 MP, 4992 х 3744 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, optical image stabilization, autofocus, triple-LED RGB flash
	Features	1/2.4'' sensor size, 1.12 µm pixel size, PureView technology, dual capture, geo-tagging, face detection, panorama, HDR	1/2.4'' sensor size, 1.12 µm pixel size, PureView technology, dual capture, geo-tagging, face detection, panorama, HDR
	Video	2160p@30fps, optical stabilization, stereo sound rec.	2160p@30fps, optical stabilization, stereo sound rec.
	Secondary	5 MP, 1080p	5 MP, 1080p

SOUND	Alert types	Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones	Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
	Loudspeaker	Yes	Yes
	3.5mm jack	Yes	Yes

COMMS	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, hotspot	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, hotspot
	Bluetooth	v4.1, A2DP	v4.1, A2DP
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, Beidou	Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, Beidou
	NFC	Yes	Yes
	Infrared port	No	No
	Radio	FM radio	FM radio
	USB	Type-C 1.0 reversible connector	Type-C 1.0 reversible connector

FEATURES	Sensors	Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, sensor core	Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, sensor core
	Messaging	SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM	SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM
	Browser	HTML5	HTML5
	Java	No	No
		- Wireless charging (Qi-enabled) - market dependent - Fast charging - Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic - MP3/WAV/eAAC+ player - MP4/H.265 player - OneDrive (15 GB cloud storage) - Document viewer - Video/photo editor	- Wireless charging (Qi-enabled) - market dependent - Fast charging - Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic - MP3/WAV/eAAC+ player - MP4/H.265 player - OneDrive (15 GB cloud storage) - Document viewer - Video/photo editor

BATTERY		Li-Ion 3340 mAh battery	Li-Ion 3000 mAh battery
	Stand-by	Up to 288 h (2G) / Up to 288 h (3G)	Up to 288 h (2G) / Up to 288 h (3G)
	Talk time	Up to 25 h (2G) / Up to 19 h (3G)	Up to 23 h (2G) / Up to 18 h (3G)
	Music play	Up to 75 h	Up to 67 h

MISC
	Colors	Black, White	Black, White
	Price group	9/10	8/10

The article originally appeared at Hothcpotch Post. It has been reproduced after taking permissions from Hotchpotch Post.

Continue Reading →