Back To 9 – 5 Routine and VITA

Posted on 10. Jan, 2010 by Zahid Lilani. 3

Maybe you have read my “About Me” page and know that I am a Tax Accountant. Every year during the tax season, I work for a tax preparation company. Last year it was Liberty Tax Service and this year it is a tax firm in San Jose. I was suppose to start work from 19th January but things got little expedited after one of the tax professionals at the firm came down with swine flu.

This year I am excited to work at a professional tax firm which is a big upgrade from Liberty. I have lost faith in the national tax preparation companies because of their business model and predatory lending practices. I am talking about RALs (Refund Anticipation Loans).

Apart from the 9-5 routine, I like to help low and middle income people during the tax season and the IRS makes it extremely easy for me to do that. There is a little known program called VITA or Volunteer Income Tax Assistance that provides free tax preparation and filing services to people who can’t afford to pay for tax preparation. 2010 will be my third year with VITA but this time instead of simply volunteering, I am going to be the site coordinator.

If that wasn’t enough, I have accumulated few of my own private clients. That means after my 9-5, I might have to put in another 2-3 hours so that I can serve my own clients.

That said, it wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t offer you my services. If you have any tax related issue or would like any sort of advice, do let me know. The best way to reach me is email, followed by Twitter.

During the tax season you can expect fewer blog posts than usual because I will also be blogging about taxes over at eZeeTAX.

Mapiz – Location Based iPhone App With Real-Time Transit Information

Posted on 04. Jan, 2010 by Zahid Lilani. 8

Mapiz is a location based iPhone app similar to Foursquare and Gowalla but different in its unique approach. Instead of letting people check-in to places of interest, it makes itself useful by providing real time public transit information and lets you communicate with people around you.

Not only can you see where your friends are, you can see everyone around you on Mapiz if they have selected to publicly broadcast their location. Apart from that, once you select one of the few available transit systems, you can see departure and arrival information in real-time.

Mapiz was founded by engineering students at U.C. Davis. I sent an email to Mapiz’s co-founder Max Guan and asked if he could answer couple questions about Mapiz. He was kind enough to send me a reply.

Zahid: When there is Foursquare and Gowalla, why Mapiz?
Max: Instead of approaching social networking or gaming directly, we want to offer something people need everyday – a real time transportation tool. Then build up the network around it. We believe in order to make majority accept the idea of location based social networking, it has to be something useful as an entry point.

Zahid: Would it be fair to say you are taking the Facebook approach? (One university then 10 then 30)
Max: We admire Facebook’s strategy. But mobile application can not run the exactly same approach. Every student can access internet but not everyone owns an iPhone. Mapiz is going to open registration to public but we added the “network” option to protect the privacy and keep our users in the same group.

Mapiz started out with very limited number of Universities but now supports 30 Universities and 16 regions. Max has assured me that with every new update, more universities and regions are being added.

I am a big fan of location based services and Mapiz is one of my favorites. In future I see transit systems providing free Wifi access to commuters and thus making it easier for them to be in constant communication with others.
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iPhone Users Love Their Email

Posted on 29. Dec, 2009 by Zahid Lilani. 4

comScore and Compete recently concluded that iPhone users read more emails than Android users. They also concluded bunch of other things but the email disparity between iPhone and Android users is the most eye catching.

I don’t have an android phone but I am sure Gmail is available. Is it Apple’s mobileMe service that is attracting more users?

Whatever the case, apart from the email usage, both iPhone and Android users are data hogs. In other words, they use apps and browse the Internet… a lot!
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I Prefer Foursquare over Gowalla

Posted on 28. Dec, 2009 by Zahid Lilani. 12

Let me start with a rant…

Mashable stole my original title for this post on December 25th, 2009. Merry Christmas to you too. I had originally planned Foursquare vs. Gowalla…

I had been working on my post for over a month now, you see… I am not reviewing a social media application, I am using it everyday to understand and then talk about it… that takes time.

Okay enough, let me now get straight to the point.

I started using both Foursquare and Gowalla couple months ago. Location based iPhone apps are HOT and seems like there is one coming out everyday. Foursquare and Gowalla are most popular by far. If you are working on the next location based surf the city game, STOP! (hint: loopt)

Foursquare	Gowalla

Both apps have pretty much the same features but I Prefer Foursquare over Gowalla, and here’s why:

GPS Capability

I am at Via Mia Pizza, and it is time time to check-in. I tap Foursquare and check-in. I tap Gowalla but it relies on a different algorithm I guess, it told me I wasn’t even on El Camino Real. I restarted the app, it said finding address… hmmm I have a Pizza to eat, sorry!

Sounds like I am generalizing but I am not, it has happened to me quite a few times.

Cheat Me Not

Gowalla ASSUMES I am going to cheat, so what it does is it asks the person who first discovered the location to create a marker. At SFSU, I think the person who created the marker was standing at the BART shuttle right on 19th Avenue. When I park my car at the other end of the campus, Gowalla doesn’t let me check-in because I am not within certain meters of SFSU. Of course I am not, the parking garage is a mile from 19th Avenue. Foursquare doesn’t care, it doesn’t ASSUME I am going to cheat.
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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

Posted on 25. Dec, 2009 by Zahid Lilani. 3

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. I know all of you are in a festive mood. I found this video via Facebook and thought you guys might find it funny. It is Jingle Bells, bhangra style.

Disclaimer: I am not Punjabi.