29 May, 2006

IT firms stock up on non-engineers -Economic Times

Who says IT is not for non-engineers? Move over IITians, here come the BSc and MSc grads who are developing software for the global market. Technology firms are now hiring non-engineers as well to meet their manpower requirements.

While it costs companies anywhere between Rs 80,000 and a few lakhs to train non-engineers to bring them on par with IIT and regional engineering colleges, the bonus is low attrition rates, availability of a motivated and skilled workforce and lower costs.

27 May, 2006

Top 10 Strangest Gadgets of the Future -via Slashdot









Would you like to start your day by playing games in the urinal or would you like to see the bread changing its color from off-white to golden brown while its being toasted? Gaming consoles are passe, get up and kick your enemy's ass! Checkout the top 10 strangest gadgets of the future... some of the products/concepts are a must see for those who are into interaction design and new media and the like.

Why we all sell code with bugs -Guardian

Why would a company release a product with known bugs? There are several reasons:

. We care about quality so deeply that we know how to decide which bugs are acceptable and which ones are not.
· It is better to ship a product with a known quality level than to ship a product full of surprises.
· The alternative is to fix them and risk introducing worse bugs.

All the reasons are tied up in one truth: every time you fix a bug, you risk introducing another. Every code change is a risk. If you don't recognise this you will never create a shippable product. At some point, you have to decide which bugs aren't going to be fixed.

There are four questions to ask about every bug. The first two are customer ones, and the next two are developer ones.

1) How bad is its impact? (Severity)
2) How often does it happen? (Frequency)
3) How much effort is required to fix it? (Cost)
4) What is the risk of fixing it? (Risk)

19 February, 2006

People pay for girls, gambling, games & God -Economic Times

Digital divide? What digital divide? The 4Gs of content sell the world over and there is no reason why it should not be the same in India.

There’s no future for radio or TV acting in isolation. Just like there would be no electric bulb and no photography without disruptive thinking, you need disruptive thinking for Broadcasting too. For instance there are already 10,000 podcasts happening around the world today and yet there have been no coordinated efforts by international broadcasters to be part of I-tunes or align themselves with Google and others. People don’t want to interact with radio stations; they want to interact with friends and family using the stations’ material.

While the Indian media, mobile and IT industries are already serving a huge domestic market of citizens and consumers, the 20-million strong Diaspora would play a pivotal role. A huge hunger for Indian content abroad and the rapid spread of technologies like WiMax could see India emerge at the forefront of the next generation of broadcasting. The day is not far when New Media becomes important enough for traditional broadcasters to start putting in money.

When Excite co-founder Joe Krauss talked about serving Millions of Markets of Dozens instead of Dozens of Markets of Millions, people thought he was ahead of his times. But even Krauss would have found it difficult to imagine a Market of One - today most businesses don’t sell to chunks of the market; they sell to individuals whose socio-economic profile they know very closely.

12 February, 2006

Open muliple webpage tabs on Firefox start-up -Amit Agarwal

1. From the Firefox Tools menu, choose Options
2. Click on the text box under Homepage - Location(s) group (see screenshot)
3. Type the address of the webpage that you want to load when Firefox loads. Now insert a vertical bar (pipe) | (generally located beside the backspace key on Qwerty keyboards). Next, type the web address of another webpage that you want to load. You can insert any number of pages separated by a pipe symbol.

The next time you start Firefox, each of the webpages will open in separate tabs.


Another Quick alternative for launching multiple webpage on Firefox startup

1. Open Firefox browser and load all favorite webpages in separate tabs.
2. Choose Tools - Options - Homepage - Locations. Now click "Use Current Pages"

Firefox will automatically make all the currently open tabs your home pages.

'Micro' wind turbines -News.com


Rather than build farms of towering wind turbines in rural areas, some companies are designing "micro," or small-scale, turbines that fit on top of buildings. The idea is to generate electricity from wind in urban or suburban settings.

The turbines look like large fans in square housings. They are specifically designed for placement on the top of steel-reinforced, flat-roofed commercial buildings. The turbines can be lined up next to each other to aggregate power generation, and the fans will spin even in a very slow wind of a few miles an hour.

The company has set up a few beta sites to test various factors, including its cost-effectiveness, the amount of noise it generates, and the potential impact on birds and bats.

06 February, 2006

Share your WiFi and the world shares back !

FON is a Global Community of people who share WiFi. Just share your connection and the rest of the Community shares back with you. Join FON and enjoy connecting from anywhere within the WiFi World. Ofcourse at a small cost.

21 January, 2006

Smart Clothing -Catii.com

Wearables aren't just geeky fantasies, they are serious business, and there are several commercial projects already up and running. Nike has started a tech lab aiming to integrate digital equipment like MP3 players into sports clothes.

Philips’ and Levi Strauss’ ICD+ jackets are equipped with a personal area network, or PAN: an electronic circuit woven into the jacket that serves as the backbone for various devices. Several devices can be clipped on to a PAN, and they can be centrally controlled by a remote control with a small display that alerts users to every incoming phone call, e-mail, or the title of a song playing on an MP3 player.

British Telecom is working with the military forces of several countries to develop clothes which can change their thickness and therefore thermal properties according to the outside temperature. Another design splashes medicines onto a wound when a soldier is hit by a bullet. They are also seeing the use of optical fiber woven into the clothes. When a soldier is injured, the fibers are broken and information about the wound location can be relayed to field medics, who can use the information to prioritize casualties.

Millions of micro-capsules can also be built into clothing and allow camouflage to adapt dynamically to the surroundings, changing the colors and patterns of the clothes.

Communications between the various devices could use fibers built into clothes, with their data coverage increased to as much as 35 feet using the new Bluetooth technologies. Another technique uses the body itself to transmit signals at surprisingly high data rates.

07 January, 2006

Motorola adds Google to mobiles -BBC News

Motorola said it would introduce Google's software technology to many of its new handsets. Google chief executive Eric Schmidt said he believed most people would in the future access the internet using their mobile phones. "People are going to spend all their time on it eventually," he said.

28 December, 2005

Blog Plagiarism -OmMalik

This had to happen. Some people simply lift articles from other blogs, make slight changes and post it as their own writing. These blogs ONLY exist because they can make money from Google AdSense. The issue is important enough for Google to step in, and do something.

Even I do it, but I post only excerpts, give full credits and link to the original site, and ya there ain't any google ads on my site.

25 December, 2005

Same Language Subtitling - Google's Philanthropic Efforts

PlanetRead, an organization seeking to improve literacy in India is using an extremely simple concept: same-language subtitling. By adding subtitles to Bollywood films and popular TV shows, people who have low literacy skills are able to get regular reading practice based on songs and shows they know by associating the words on the screen with their meanings. Results have been very positive, and the program will expand across 10 states in India, potentially reaching hundreds of millions of people.

21 December, 2005

Sell CPU Cycles to CPU Share -Om Malik

CPUShare has been founded with the goal of connecting together the computers of the Internet in order to create a general purpose Low Cost and World Wide Supercomputer available to everybody to use in a matter of minutes, controlled by a market for the CPU resources that chooses the price of the CPU resources using the supply and demand law in real time.

The likely buyers of these CPU cycles can quickly build their own grids for a few million dollars. During the 1990s bubble many grid/distributed computing companies raised hundreds of millions of dollars in an attempt to build a processing marketplace. Almost all failed.

The problem here is CPUShare works on linux and there aren't too many Linux desktops out there. And another big big factor is electricity - the cost of power exceeds the cost of the hardware!

10 December, 2005

2005: Year of the Balance of Power -Emergic

This year has been a year that has underscored several...balance of power developments.

In Politics and in Economics, the US dominance has been partially normalized by China and India, both emerging superpowers.

Close to home, in high tech, Google�s absurd rise has stopped Microsoft in its track, posing an alternate power block that challenges many existing assumptions.

In Silicon Valley, Google and Yahoo have even started challenging the power that Venture Capitalists have commanded thus far against entrepreneurs, and by encouraging entrepreneurs to bootstrap their startups, followed by exiting into one of the two (or into one of their competitors).

And one last balance of power example : the dominance of mainstream media has been shredded by the emerging democratic new media publishing trends and their supporting infrastructure that has rapidly matured this year (Blogs, Podcasts, Video-on-Demand, Microcontent, Micropayment, acceptable DRM standards, viable ad-supported business models, etc.).
Now Phirangs can’t Work in Desi BPOs -Economic Times

In a written reply to a query raised in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, minister of state for information technology, Shakeel Ahmed, said requests from foreign nationals for employment visa for jobs, for which a large number of qualified Indians is available, will not be considered.

He said that only such foreigners who are skilled and qualified professionals and are being engaged or appointed by a company or an industry will be eligible to get an employment visa in the first place. Nearly 2,000 foreigners are working in the domestic ITES sector.

I think this is absurd and a totally irrational decision. Just to garner a couple of votes, these babus are putting entire BPO industry at stake.

23 November, 2005

Stain Free Colored Bubbles -PopSci



Chemical burns, ruined clothes, 11 years, half a million dollars—it's not easy to improve the world's most popular toy. Yet the success of one inventor's quest to dye a simple soap bubble may change the way the world uses color.

Unlike the soap bubble, it is a single colored bubble which doesn't even leave stains if it bursts on clothes !

15 November, 2005

Learn to Disconnect -Deepak Chopra

In order to acquire anything in the physical universe, you have to relinquish your attachment to it. This doesn’t mean you give up the intention to create your desire. You don’t give up the intention and you don’t give up the desire. You give up your attachment to the result.

This is a very powerful thing to do. The moment you relinquish your attachment to the result, combining intention with detachment at the same time, you will have that which you desire. Anything you want can be acquired through detachment, because detachment is based on the unquestioning belief in the power of your true Self.
Parikrama Rock Band

Checkout the song 'But It Rained' by Parikrama. Thousands are reported missing each year... the song is about those who are left behind. This is what they have to say about the song..


"Amid reports of illness, injury and threats of death, was the uncertainty of not knowing what to believe ... she did not even get to say goodbye" said the wife of one of the hostages. More appeals have been made some even by other militant organisations, but the message is ..."

This is an excerpt from a magazine report published more than 5 years ago. It hit us in the face then, it still tingles in the spine each time. We wrote this song then, in an effort to feel the uncertainty, the futility, ourselves. To share the yet shimmering hope of those who are left waiting for a loved one. At times forever. It's worse still, not having even said a goodbye, or caught the last eye. As funerals are. Ceremonial farewells, perhaps?

Five long years, not a word, nor a trace. Some of them have still not given up, as we read in the papers recently. They wait, even today ... we can hear the strain ...


Just read the lyrics, they pierce thorough the heart...

Wrapped in a polythene tucked away safe in my mind
A little goodbye maybe or just a passing smile

The birds fly away to the southern sky searching a home
A bunch of paper flowers or a little boy left all alone
Can somebody hear me I'm screaming from so far away
Morning who will calm you now, the evening is eclipsed again

Well does life get any better
More yesterday than today
How I thought the sun would shine tomorrow
But it rained . . .

They justified the cause for which Daddy might give up his life
It's been so long, so long a time, still I miss Daddy at night
The ache is long gone but the never keeps staring along
The waters in the seas are high
and all the sand castles have drowned

Well does life get any better
More yesterday than today
How I thought the sun would shine tomorrow
But it rained . . .




Make sure you read the story behind the song first and then download it for free from their website.
From Warren Buffet's Speech...

When the scientist Max Planck was touring Europe giving speeches about his theories, he gave the same lecture so many times that eventually his chauffer memorized the speech. For fun one day Max and his driver swapped clothes, and the driver delivered the speech flawlessly while Max looked on from the side of the stage in a chauffer's uniform.

To open the Q&A the driver received an extremely complicated technical question from an audience member, shook his head, and said replied in an exasperated tone: 'that is such a simple question I'm going to let my chauffer answer it.'

On that note, please ask me anything you want, simple or complicated, anything except for what I'm investing in.

The Pillars of Self-Mastery -Robin Sharma

The Pillars of Self-Mastery -Robin Sharma

Few tips from a mail that had some inputs from Robin Sharma's book.. Robin Sharma is the author of the best-seller 'The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari'

  • Sleep less: This is one of the best investment you can make to make your life more productive and rewarding.


  • Laugh for five minutes in the mirror each morning. Laughter activates many beneficial chemicals within the body that place us into a very joyous state. Laughter also returns the body to a state of balance. A 4 year old laughs 500 times a day while the average adult is lucky to laugh 15 times a day.


  • To enhance your concentration and power of focus, count your steps when you walk. This is a particularly strong technique. So many people allow their minds to be filled with mental chatter. All peak performers appreciate the power of a quiet clear mind which will concentrate steadily on all important tasks.


  • Enhance your will-power. You must first exercise it and then push before it gets stronger. When you are hungry, wait another hour before your meal. When you are labouring over a difficult task and your mind is prompting you to pick up the latest magazine for a break , curb the impulse. Soon you will be able to sit for hours in a precisely concentrated state. Newton had a remarkable ability to sit quietly and think without interruption for a very long period of time. If he can develop this so can you.


  • A contented mind is a continual feast. Greed and material desires must be curbed to achieve lasting happiness and serenity. Be happy with what you have.


  • Every day, get away from the noise, the crowds and the rush and spend a few hours alone in peaceful introspection, deep reading or simple relaxation.


  • Empty your cup. A full cup cannot accept anything more. Similarly, a person who believes that he cannot learn anything else will stagnate quickly and not move to higher levels. Even the teachers have teachers.


  • Always remember the key principle that the quality of your life is the quality of your communication. This means the way you Communicate with others and more importantly with yourself. What you focus on is what you get.


  • Never argue with the person you work for – you will lose more than just the argument.


  • Keep well-informed about current events, the latest books and popular trends. Many peak performers read five or six papers a day. You don’t have to read every story of every paper. Know what to focus on & the more you know, the less you fear.


  • When you cannot make up your mind which of two evenly balanced courses of action you should take-choose the bolder,said WJ.Slim. Take chances, take smart risks and you will meet with success beyond your dreams.


  • The essence of a person is his character- make yours unique, unblemished and strong. Do not say you will do anything unless you will indeed do it. Speak the truth and measure your words wisely. Be humble, straight forward and peaceful.


  • Remember and use people’s names when you talk to them. A person’s name is a uniquely sweet sound to them.


  • All individuals who have attained the highest of levels generally have cultivated the essential mental habit of optimism. Without optimism, life loses its lustre and hardships appear at every step.


  • As we can take nothing with us when we leave, when you wake up early in the morning, repeat the mantra:
    * I will serve others today
    * I will care for others today
    * I will be kind today
    This kind of living will bring you huge returns if you stay on the purpose of aiding others rather than on the outcome of personal gain.


  • Be known as someone with a cool head, warm heart and great character. Your presence on this earth will long be remembered.


  • Recognize the power of mantras and the repetition of positive, powerful words. Indian yogis have employed this technique for over 4000 years to live tranquil, productive and focused lives.


  • Build a mystique around yourself.

14 November, 2005

The Human Genome & the Theory of Karma -Dharanidhar Sahu (TOI)

Time for some spiritual stuff. This is the first non-technical article on the blog, and I will be putting up more soon..

Scientists decoding the human genome may persuade us to re-examine our belief in fate, predestination, free will and the law of karma. Some genes, we are told, determine our mood swings, some predispose us to diseases, some determine how faithful we are to our companions, while others the intensity of our religiosity. If genes predetermine our behaviour, if karmic destiny is encoded in our genes, do we have a choice?

By exercising our free will, we could change the nature or quality of our genes. Through our effort dormant genes could get activated. For example, the creativity gene can lie dormant till a person is past her middle age. At a later stage, she might have found time and suitable circumstances to activate her dormant creati-vity gene. Similarly, the spirituality gene (VMAT2 or God Gene) gets activated when a person feels an inner need for God and devotes herself wholeheartedly to spiritual pursuits.

Krishna assures Arjuna in the Gita that the deeds of a person are never annulled even when they are disconti-nued; that in his next birth the negligent seeker of excellence recollects his unfinished project and resumes where he had left off; that he is born again in such house-holds that are congenial to his inclinations.

Our free will and dedicated efforts could be guided by what is encoded in our genes, what the religious call as "latencies". The karma theory only attempts to make sense of the mysterious; to systematise the randomness of happenings and to give a sense of purpose to life.

Our ideas of heaven and hell will make sense if we situate them not in an imaginary elsewhere but here on earth. We see people living in conditions that surpass our idea of a hell; likewise, we find people living in conditions that surpass our idea of heaven.

It is not poverty or wealth, disease or good health, old age or youth and external circumstances alone which give people hell or heaven, but our proneness to envy and anger, propensity for evil, pleasure, power, money and fame, and our desire to possess what rightfully belongs to others by neglecting what we possess, give us hell sooner or later.