Windows 10 ugrade

OK, so this post is not strictly related to the premise of this blog, but everyone on campus is talking about it, everyone in my friend circle is talking about it, even my roommates won't shut up about it! So I decided to do two things: first, upgrade to Windows 10; second, well, write this post.

So here's my experience with the new OS so far:

• The user interface is certainly smoother and more fluid
• The amount of personalisation has certainly reduced. In Windows 8, I could personalise everything right down to the tab color in all windows, not so in 10
• The system tray icons like Wi-Fi and battery are more minimalistic. They manage to convey signal strength, remaining charge etc. and still manage to look good
• I'm not a big fan of the new taskbar they've designed. The search bar takes up too much space, reducing the size and allowed number of pins on the taskbar. Plus, since you can search by pressing the Windows key anyway, the one in the taskbar is redundant in my opinion
• My roommate says it's a big relief not to see all the big floating tiles when you press the Windows key. I never had too much of a problem with that feature, so to each his own I guess
• The restart and boot is a bit slower than its predecessor. While this may not be too much of a problem, it certainly takes quite a bit of time if you're restarting in the middle of running multiple processes
• The play store has apps priced at ridiculous amounts which are free elsewhere. Even though this is not a Windows 10 exclusive feature, it's one of those general complaints I've had about Windows
• Microsoft Edge is just a beautified Internet Explorer, so I'm sticking to Chrome
• Cortana is fairly effective. The voice recognition isn't too shabby either
• I love the fact that the Start is customizable; you can choose between floating tiles and the new one

All in all, I'm quite happy with the upgrade. On a side note, Microsoft allows you to revert to Windows 8 if you're unhappy with 10. But this feature is only available for a month after you upgrade. So if you're wondering whether you should go for it, I would say certainly. Try it for a month and if you don't like it, just switch out.

That's all he said today!

Fixing an error in the I-94

As you might know, I-94 is a document generated by Customs and Immigration upon your landing in the states. You must've been given a form to fill out on the plane. They use this info to generate the I-94. This document is important in several places; most importantly, while renting an apartment and getting a Social Security number.

Generating the I-94
To generate the I-94, go to https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/request.html
Alternatively, just Google I-94 and click on the first link that appears. They ask for a bunch of information. Standard stuff; passport number, date of birth, full name etc. Then click on "Get most recent I-94". Et voila, you get it on your screen. Just print it out and you're good to go.

Errors in the I-94
I had a typo in my I-94. My middle name (dad's name in my case) was misspelt. So I looked for a bunch of options trying to fix it. I even sent an email to DHS's (Department of Homeland Security) help section. But yesterday it became evident that I could not get a campus job without it (due to the Social Security problem I mentioned). So I hopped on the first bus to the nearest airport and walked straight into the Immigration office. Note: Customs and Immigration are two different offices. You need the Immigration office. Over there, I went to the window and told the officer my problem. He took a copy of my I-94 and my passport with him. I had also taken my I-20 just in case. He went in and came out about 5 minutes later saying the problem should be fixed within a week. So that was that.

That's all for today folks!

Introduction

Hi guys! I landed in the states to pursue an MS degree in Computer Science on August the 5th. I got admitted to University of Maryland, Baltimore County, which is where I am right now. Over the next (at least) the next two years, I will document each day so that it will serve as a guide to people to work out the small things about life here, like activating the Wi-Fi. I will write a brief summary about what happened over the last 17 days. And from there on, it will read like a journal.

Landing in the states

The first thing that happened upon landing was that we were given immigration forms, asking the monetary total of all the things that I had brought. For future reference, nothing needs to be filled there. As we waited in the queue for immigration, almost all students and all of us pretty jittery, we were ushered to different slots by the officer standing there. The immigration interview actually went quite well. Most of the officers are quite polite, even jolly. Once that was done we walked out and booked a super shuttle. It took us nearly an hour to get to our place.

Dispersing to different locations

On reaching the street address, we all dispersed to where we were temping. 'Temping' means staying temporarily at a senior's place. That term is used very commonly here. We hauled our bags to different street addresses and started temping. Most of us slept that day due to jetlag, which was a very bad idea, since we woke up in the middle of the night, extremely sleepless and extremely hungry. Once that cycle is spoiled it takes more time than usual to adjust to the new time zone.

Familiarizing yourself with the university

The very next day, we hopped on the university shuttle and went to the campus (Most universities will have a pretty sophisticated shuttle service, find out about yours). It was breathtaking, as most of them are. We actually got quite a lot done that day, which was uncharacteristic considering how sleepy we all were. Here's a gist of what we did:

• We went and registered with the campus coordinator and told them we had arrived
• Got the student ID cards. It is normally a 5 minute process. They check your passport, take a photo and print the card right there
• Opened a bank account in the university's local bank, which is PNC for us. Yours might be different. Again, a 5 minute process. Although, the debit card arrives a week later

Setting up the housing 

Every locality where you will live or want to live will have a regional office where you need to register to get an apartment. Usually registration happens a month before you fly to the states. Anyway, we did ours and made sure we got the house on time. Once we moved in, It was a hailstorm of chores: unpacking, shopping for essentials, deciding accommodation ground rules, etc. One important thing: we take a lot of objects for granted but they are absolutely necessary. A dustbin for example. Other than that the apartments generally come equipped with gas, electricity, A/C, and a telephone line.

Setting up the Wi-Fi

This is probably the most important thing that needs to be done. Please note that the telephone line does not mean an active Wi-Fi connection. It is only a wire. Literally. We purchased a modem and a router in Walmart. There are also models that have both, so you don't need to buy them separately. The plan has to be activated either over the Internet or the phone. So we called the Comcast office (because the default telephone line was Comcast) and set up a neat plan ($65 per month; unlimited data; 75 MBPS speed). Then we came home and connected the router and the modem, and we were good to go. We had a slight hitch, however. The guy on the phone said he couldn't activate till our TV connection also became active. So we told him to generate an account number for us and went ahead and activated it online anyway.

This is it for today folks! Stay tuned for future posts.