Monday, December 27, 2004
Dialouges
I read this nice blog entry by one of the ISB alums, Arun. I keep checking a few blogs of current ISB students and alums.
Pakistani time
I was seeing a certain process that was running on our AIX server. There was a process that was going on for too long a time. I typed the date command and noticed the time zone. "PAKST". Pakistan Standard Time? Yes. To my horror, it was Pak Std Time. I told this to a senior QE and he said that this is the only option we can have. There is no Indian Standard Time option that we could use. The time zones change by one hour in the options given for time zones. Horrible!
Down with IBM!!!
Down with IBM!!!
Tsunami toll rises to 4,000 in India
The only Tsunami to hit India in recorded history came as a bolt from the blue and hit the rich and the poor alike. I had heard the term and seen its vageries in documentaries on Discovery. They had a series of programs last year called Extreme Engineering. A number of planned over-the-sea structures they documented highlighted the vageries of the seas, particularly focusing on typhoons and tsunamis.
I had a friend in Chennai at that time, out there with his wife, on way for their honeymoon. He is reported to be safe there.
I had a friend in Chennai at that time, out there with his wife, on way for their honeymoon. He is reported to be safe there.
Saturday, December 25, 2004
Slashdot | 2004 Year-End Google Zeitgeist
Slashdot | 2004 Year-End Google Zeitgeist: "The number one search for all of 2004 is britney spears"
Nice (and surprised) to know that. Its good that its not any of the usual ones.
Nice (and surprised) to know that. Its good that its not any of the usual ones.
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Adobe LiveCycle Policy Server Receives the 2004 Frost & Sullivan Product Innovation Award
Adobe LiveCycle Policy Server Receives the 2004 Frost & Sullivan Product Innovation Award: "Adobe LiveCycle Policy Server Receives the 2004 Frost & Sullivan Product Innovation Award"
The product I work on has won the Frost & Sullivan award. We knew of winning this award long back, but I could not make this information public before F&S made it public. Adobe LiveCycle Policy Server has won another such award. I'll keep you posted on it.
The product I work on has won the Frost & Sullivan award. We knew of winning this award long back, but I could not make this information public before F&S made it public. Adobe LiveCycle Policy Server has won another such award. I'll keep you posted on it.
Friday, December 03, 2004
Acrobat for cartoons
I just found a new use for Acrobat to search cartoons. I have hundreds of megabytes of cartoon strips like Dilbert, Calvin n Hobbes etc. They are images that have been made into big PDF files, based on the year the cartoons were published. Like Dilbert 1989 strips are all in one PDF, C&H 1988 are in another etc.
Now the problem is of intelligently searching the most appropriate cartoon whenever someone raises some question or something is discussed in a meeting?
Solution: When the cartoons are being read, add annotations (comments) using Acrobat for the cartoons. The comments could have keywords describing the situation the cartoon is based upon. Then whenever a particular scenario appears, just run a search for the keywords in these files. Simple :)
I just found a new use for Acrobat to search cartoons. I have hundreds of megabytes of cartoon strips like Dilbert, Calvin n Hobbes etc. They are images that have been made into big PDF files, based on the year the cartoons were published. Like Dilbert 1989 strips are all in one PDF, C&H 1988 are in another etc.
Now the problem is of intelligently searching the most appropriate cartoon whenever someone raises some question or something is discussed in a meeting?
Solution: When the cartoons are being read, add annotations (comments) using Acrobat for the cartoons. The comments could have keywords describing the situation the cartoon is based upon. Then whenever a particular scenario appears, just run a search for the keywords in these files. Simple :)
Acrobat for cartoons
I just found a new use for Acrobat to search cartoons. I have hundreds of megabytes of cartoon strips like Dilbert, Calvin n Hobbes etc. They are images that have been made into big PDF files, based on the year the cartoons were published. Like Dilbert 1989 strips are all in one PDF, C&H 1988 are in another etc.
Now the problem is of intelligently searching the mosta ppropriate cartoon whenever someone raises some question or something is discussed in a meeting?
Solution: When the cartoons are being read, add annotations (comments) using Acrobat for the cartoons. The comments could have keywords describing the situation the cartoon is based upon. Then whenever a particular scenario appears, just run a search for the keywords in these files. Simple :)
I just found a new use for Acrobat to search cartoons. I have hundreds of megabytes of cartoon strips like Dilbert, Calvin n Hobbes etc. They are images that have been made into big PDF files, based on the year the cartoons were published. Like Dilbert 1989 strips are all in one PDF, C&H 1988 are in another etc.
Now the problem is of intelligently searching the mosta ppropriate cartoon whenever someone raises some question or something is discussed in a meeting?
Solution: When the cartoons are being read, add annotations (comments) using Acrobat for the cartoons. The comments could have keywords describing the situation the cartoon is based upon. Then whenever a particular scenario appears, just run a search for the keywords in these files. Simple :)
Thursday, December 02, 2004
Find/Replace in multiple files
My colleauge Saurabh wanted a solution for this problem he wanted to solve, "... use Find/Replace in a batch of 20 files, in one go...". I told him about looking one solution up on Google and he got this solution. Pretty neat, isn't it?
We also looked up for a free XML diff solution. We got one on IBM AlphaWorks, but its not a great tool. I have installed two others, one from MSFT, but still haven't tried them.
My colleauge Saurabh wanted a solution for this problem he wanted to solve, "... use Find/Replace in a batch of 20 files, in one go...". I told him about looking one solution up on Google and he got this solution. Pretty neat, isn't it?
We also looked up for a free XML diff solution. We got one on IBM AlphaWorks, but its not a great tool. I have installed two others, one from MSFT, but still haven't tried them.
Find/Replace in multiple files
My colleauge Saurabh wanted a solution for this problem he wanted to solve, "... use Find/Replace in a batch of 20 files, in one go...". I told him about looking one solution up on Google and he got this solution. Pretty neat, isn't it?
We also looked up for a free XML diff solution. We got one on IBM AlphaWorks, but its not a great tool. I have installed two others, one from MSFT, but still haven't tried them.
My colleauge Saurabh wanted a solution for this problem he wanted to solve, "... use Find/Replace in a batch of 20 files, in one go...". I told him about looking one solution up on Google and he got this solution. Pretty neat, isn't it?
We also looked up for a free XML diff solution. We got one on IBM AlphaWorks, but its not a great tool. I have installed two others, one from MSFT, but still haven't tried them.
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Michigan Ambassadors program
When I went to the Meet Michigan Reception in New Delhi, the lady there told me about the Ambassadors program where I could chat with some current students. This was in direct response to my question because I could not find it on the website myselves. She was also not sure how to get to that link.
Today I tried to reach to that page, but not before I wrote to the Admissions Committee about it. I later used Google and found my way to the correct link. Then I read the reply from Admissions Committee. The response was quick, but not upto the mark. The person there copy-pasted a typical write-up on visiting Michigan, arranging for a tour and talking to the current students. It mentioned the Ambassador program, but no links for it. It did give me the link to the page that helps you plan a tour, and perhaps that page has the link to the Ambassadors program, but they did not give me the thing I specifically asked for: the link to the ambassadors program.
Anyways, I have short-listed two Indians to chat with. One is an IITB alum himself.
PS: Sometimes, when I see the profiles of these guys, I wonder if I would fit among these guys n gals...
When I went to the Meet Michigan Reception in New Delhi, the lady there told me about the Ambassadors program where I could chat with some current students. This was in direct response to my question because I could not find it on the website myselves. She was also not sure how to get to that link.
Today I tried to reach to that page, but not before I wrote to the Admissions Committee about it. I later used Google and found my way to the correct link. Then I read the reply from Admissions Committee. The response was quick, but not upto the mark. The person there copy-pasted a typical write-up on visiting Michigan, arranging for a tour and talking to the current students. It mentioned the Ambassador program, but no links for it. It did give me the link to the page that helps you plan a tour, and perhaps that page has the link to the Ambassadors program, but they did not give me the thing I specifically asked for: the link to the ambassadors program.
Anyways, I have short-listed two Indians to chat with. One is an IITB alum himself.
PS: Sometimes, when I see the profiles of these guys, I wonder if I would fit among these guys n gals...
Monday, November 29, 2004
Visited the World MBA Tour
It was great visiting the World MBA Tour. But it had its share of disappointments.
First, I got a little late in reaching the venue, and had to park at a great distance away. Then once at the venue, we had to stand in the queue for atleast 10 min. before we were asked to pay up 100 bucks to enter the fair. Disappointing, because even though this is not a great amount of money, it was not mentioned on the website. Since I had read about it in the ad of the fair in the print media, I was not much surprised.
Then when I went in, I was a little surprised with the looks of it. Of course, it had to have small stalls for the so many schools that were represented there. I had to talk to two people and spend 5 min before I could get the map that told me where each school was.
Then I headed for my No 1 school, CMU (later in the night it slipped to below 3). I was very dissatisfied with the way their stall was managed. Only one adcom member. No current student or alumni available. The lady was not able to answer my questions. (I had found their website very useful. It let me write to many current students who answered my queries and who all encouraged me to apply to CMU. Compared with that, theirs was a no-show at the fair).
The stalls that I really like were those of Tuck and MIT. Tuck had one adcom, one alumni, and one admitted student (who had talked a one year defer). The MIT stall had one alum representing the adcom. But this guy was able to answer all the queries put to him by the crowd and was able to sell the school to them. I went to MIT stall because I had overheard two guys admiring his vocal skills and confidence. I found some new information about funding your MBA using what I would call a 'half guaranteed loan'. It basically lets you borrow one year's student budget (tuition living and other expenses) over a two year period without needing a US co-signor. Although MIT does not guarantee this type of loan, but Raoul said that no one seems to have been denied this loan by CitiAssist. Darden guarantees this type of loan, (Yale said in its brochure that it guarantees, but the website says otherwise), and its called the GATE Loan (by Bank of America).
I then had the costliest soup I ever had, in the coffee bar of the hotel. But it was not only very necessary (I had to go for the Meet Michigan reception later in the day) but also very tasty and refreshing. And the croutons server were great too. The tab was taken by a friend of mine. I would have to treat him someday.
I'll write about the Meet Michigan recepter after lunch. I'm feeling hungry :)
It was great visiting the World MBA Tour. But it had its share of disappointments.
First, I got a little late in reaching the venue, and had to park at a great distance away. Then once at the venue, we had to stand in the queue for atleast 10 min. before we were asked to pay up 100 bucks to enter the fair. Disappointing, because even though this is not a great amount of money, it was not mentioned on the website. Since I had read about it in the ad of the fair in the print media, I was not much surprised.
Then when I went in, I was a little surprised with the looks of it. Of course, it had to have small stalls for the so many schools that were represented there. I had to talk to two people and spend 5 min before I could get the map that told me where each school was.
Then I headed for my No 1 school, CMU (later in the night it slipped to below 3). I was very dissatisfied with the way their stall was managed. Only one adcom member. No current student or alumni available. The lady was not able to answer my questions. (I had found their website very useful. It let me write to many current students who answered my queries and who all encouraged me to apply to CMU. Compared with that, theirs was a no-show at the fair).
The stalls that I really like were those of Tuck and MIT. Tuck had one adcom, one alumni, and one admitted student (who had talked a one year defer). The MIT stall had one alum representing the adcom. But this guy was able to answer all the queries put to him by the crowd and was able to sell the school to them. I went to MIT stall because I had overheard two guys admiring his vocal skills and confidence. I found some new information about funding your MBA using what I would call a 'half guaranteed loan'. It basically lets you borrow one year's student budget (tuition living and other expenses) over a two year period without needing a US co-signor. Although MIT does not guarantee this type of loan, but Raoul said that no one seems to have been denied this loan by CitiAssist. Darden guarantees this type of loan, (Yale said in its brochure that it guarantees, but the website says otherwise), and its called the GATE Loan (by Bank of America).
I then had the costliest soup I ever had, in the coffee bar of the hotel. But it was not only very necessary (I had to go for the Meet Michigan reception later in the day) but also very tasty and refreshing. And the croutons server were great too. The tab was taken by a friend of mine. I would have to treat him someday.
I'll write about the Meet Michigan recepter after lunch. I'm feeling hungry :)
Thursday, November 25, 2004
Immortalized
Today I came to know that for whatever work I have done for Acrobat 7, my name would be coming in the credits list in Adobe Acrobat 7. This version shall be launched sometime before Christmas this year. Its so great to have your name in the Credits list of a product so many people use worldwide.
I hope no one up there spoils the party at a later date
I'll keep you update on this once the launch is over
Today I came to know that for whatever work I have done for Acrobat 7, my name would be coming in the credits list in Adobe Acrobat 7. This version shall be launched sometime before Christmas this year. Its so great to have your name in the Credits list of a product so many people use worldwide.
I hope no one up there spoils the party at a later date
I'll keep you update on this once the launch is over
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Techbook
Saw this great thing today, while surfing ISB's website for their first B-School fet, Poseidon. It works, as of now.
Techbook: "Heh, just open http://www.microsoft.com/india/default.aspx, let the flash thingy load and try to click on any of the three links. And you get a 'No Such Link' page each time!"
Techbook: "Heh, just open http://www.microsoft.com/india/default.aspx, let the flash thingy load and try to click on any of the three links. And you get a 'No Such Link' page each time!"
Monday, November 22, 2004
If
I was watching "India's Child Genius", a quiz show, hosted by Siddharth Basu, that is looking for genius children in India. The game's first elimination round started and ended by reciting a line from Rudyard Kipling's poem 'If'. I read it and found very inspiring. I am reproducing the same here.
'If', by Rudyard Kipling
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on';
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!"
'If', by Rudyard Kipling
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on';
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!"
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
SMS Language in Examinations?
I was browsing the IndiaTimes website, when I saw this article on the extensive user of SMS language in examinations by college students. I read these articles on IndiaTimes with a pinch of salt, but I still think that a few of those who type out anyting between 20 and 50 messages in the most cryptic version of English might forget to write proper english when taking their exams. Its like mixing Hindi words while conversing in English, giving birth to Hinglish.
Wednesday, June 23, 2004
Some musical show
This site http://winnoise.sytes.org/ has a great musical composition
for you using the standard Windows .wav files. give it a try!
for you using the standard Windows .wav files. give it a try!
Tabbed browsing
I love Mozilla Firefox, for two major reasons. The minor one first;
build-in popup buster. But the major reason is what I am discussing in
this post.
As you would have guessed by now, its tabbed browsing. I can open just
one Firefox window and have many tabs open inside it. It not onlw
leasve my windows tasbar uncluttered, but also saves memory.
But I still keep going back to IE for certain websites, like
blogger.com. When it comes to republishing the blog, Firefox is unable
to do so. Perhaps, some websites are designed keeping M$IE in mind.
Two things can be done for this.
1. Upgrade Firefox to tackle this. I am using v 0.8 while v0.9 is out.
My friend tried to upgrade and lost all his persolization in the
process. Damn those upgrades!
2. M$IE starts supporting tabbed browsing. Tabbed browsing has been
here fos so long now and still IE does not support it. PLEASE PLEASE
support tabbed browsing in IE. Any MSFT employee reading this blog,
please bring it to the notice of the IE team.
./abisurd
build-in popup buster. But the major reason is what I am discussing in
this post.
As you would have guessed by now, its tabbed browsing. I can open just
one Firefox window and have many tabs open inside it. It not onlw
leasve my windows tasbar uncluttered, but also saves memory.
But I still keep going back to IE for certain websites, like
blogger.com. When it comes to republishing the blog, Firefox is unable
to do so. Perhaps, some websites are designed keeping M$IE in mind.
Two things can be done for this.
1. Upgrade Firefox to tackle this. I am using v 0.8 while v0.9 is out.
My friend tried to upgrade and lost all his persolization in the
process. Damn those upgrades!
2. M$IE starts supporting tabbed browsing. Tabbed browsing has been
here fos so long now and still IE does not support it. PLEASE PLEASE
support tabbed browsing in IE. Any MSFT employee reading this blog,
please bring it to the notice of the IE team.
./abisurd
Google Instant Messenger
I was just chatting with my friend Jig over Yahoo IM. He suggested
that Google should launch an IM. That time I joked that if they do so,
they ould put in Google Links (Ads) based on what we type in the
messnger window. Think of that. How many Ads they can put in.
I'll google out anything I can find on this topic (Google IM) and see
if its a new idea or someone has already dreamt of it :(
./abisurd
that Google should launch an IM. That time I joked that if they do so,
they ould put in Google Links (Ads) based on what we type in the
messnger window. Think of that. How many Ads they can put in.
I'll google out anything I can find on this topic (Google IM) and see
if its a new idea or someone has already dreamt of it :(
./abisurd
Tuesday, June 22, 2004
Posting via email
Posting via email
Recently configured my blogs to be posted via email. Though the
option of formatting the post is not available, but its an easy way if
you do not wosh to login or launch your fav blogging tool (mine is
bloggar http://wbloggar.com) or, best of all, when you are in a cybre
cafe checking your mails and are short on time.
Will take me some time to check if I can include some HTML Tags, like
bold, underline,
Ciao
Recently configured my blogs to be posted via email. Though the
option of formatting the post is not available, but its an easy way if
you do not wosh to login or launch your fav blogging tool (mine is
bloggar http://wbloggar.com) or, best of all, when you are in a cybre
cafe checking your mails and are short on time.
Will take me some time to check if I can include some HTML Tags, like
bold, underline,
Ciao
Friday, May 28, 2004
More Google
There is this new tool called More Google. It is NOT affiliated to Google, but is an application you download to your Windows desktop and use to search the Net through Google. The known plusses of More Google are
- See page preview thumbnails
- Get accurate site access statistics
- Retrieve older versions of a site
You can downlaod a copy of this tool from www.moregoogle.com
- See page preview thumbnails
- Get accurate site access statistics
- Retrieve older versions of a site
You can downlaod a copy of this tool from www.moregoogle.com
Got hold of Five Point Someone
I just got hold of the book. I had registered with the book's website www.fivepointsomeone.com but I missed it because iitbombay.org had redirected the mail to some long-forgotten mailbox. I tried with the local bookstore (the best in NOIDA), but he had exhausted his five copies and then did not get any more.Yesterday I saw it on indiatimes store, but it was the second edition and was priced three times more than the first edition.
Today we had a book exhibition in my company. I was casually looking over the titles on display and my eyes caught this book there. I was delighted to see that it was a copy form the first editiona nd I was getting a good discount over that also. I got the book for 80 bucks! Now I am dying to read the book, but have some work also to be completed before I can spend time on myself.
My review of the book is due next week...
Today we had a book exhibition in my company. I was casually looking over the titles on display and my eyes caught this book there. I was delighted to see that it was a copy form the first editiona nd I was getting a good discount over that also. I got the book for 80 bucks! Now I am dying to read the book, but have some work also to be completed before I can spend time on myself.
My review of the book is due next week...
Tuesday, May 25, 2004
TinyURL
Many a times we need to send URLs to people in emails when referring to some article. Many a times these URLs are pretty long. Not only they look awful in the emails, but sometimes only a part of them remains a clickable URL and teh rest is discarded. This forces your recipients to copy-paste parts of the URL to construct the complete URL.
This is where TinyURL comes to your rescue. Go to this website and enter the really long URL you might have and it returns a really tiny URL to you. For example, if you give this URL
http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?ovi=1&mqmap.x=300&mqmap.y=75&mapdata=%252bKZmeiIh6N%252bIgpXRP3bylMaN0O4z8OOUkZWYe7NRH6ldDN96YFTIUmSH3Q6OzE5XVqcuc5zb%252fY5wy1MZwTnT2pu%252bNMjOjsHjvNlygTRMzqazPStrN%252f1YzA0oWEWLwkHdhVHeG9sG6cMrfXNJKHY6fML4o6Nb0SeQm75ET9jAjKelrmqBCNta%252bsKC9n8jslz%252fo188N4g3BvAJYuzx8J8r%252f1fPFWkPYg%252bT9Su5KoQ9YpNSj%252bmo0h0aEK%252bofj3f6vCP
to this website, it shall return to you this tiny URL
http://tinyurl.com/6
This is where TinyURL comes to your rescue. Go to this website and enter the really long URL you might have and it returns a really tiny URL to you. For example, if you give this URL
http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?ovi=1&mqmap.x=300&mqmap.y=75&mapdata=%252bKZmeiIh6N%252bIgpXRP3bylMaN0O4z8OOUkZWYe7NRH6ldDN96YFTIUmSH3Q6OzE5XVqcuc5zb%252fY5wy1MZwTnT2pu%252bNMjOjsHjvNlygTRMzqazPStrN%252f1YzA0oWEWLwkHdhVHeG9sG6cMrfXNJKHY6fML4o6Nb0SeQm75ET9jAjKelrmqBCNta%252bsKC9n8jslz%252fo188N4g3BvAJYuzx8J8r%252f1fPFWkPYg%252bT9Su5KoQ9YpNSj%252bmo0h0aEK%252bofj3f6vCP
to this website, it shall return to you this tiny URL
http://tinyurl.com/6
Monday, May 17, 2004
SVG is the in thing
SVG is an XML-based open standard mark-up language originally created by Adobe Systems and now sponsored by W3c (W3C) that can be used to create pictures and animations with text commands. By inserting SVG commands imaginatively one can create spectacular graphics effects quite easily.
Here is the article link
NetSpeak (The Hindu) Viewing SVG Files
Here is the article link
NetSpeak (The Hindu) Viewing SVG Files
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
My job's gone, shuold I become a male hooker?
Working in a call centre have you ever faced a boorish overseas client who often refuses to talk to an Indian rep and asks for someone of their skin colour?
Undoubtedly racist. But what is it that is turning the confident American into a vociferous bigot who is ready to proclaim America first?
Think of the man you are replacing. He is most likely an all-American man with a college degree. He has already taken about $30,000 in student loans and are yet to pay it off. He joins a big IT company where he is working 13 hours every day to keep on top of the latest developments in his field. One day he goes to work as usual and one chilly morning is told by his supervisor that he is not required any more. The company has outsourced his as well as his colleague's work to Bangalore in India, where the Indian techie will do his stuff at one-tenth the salary.
Full article at..
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/490647.cms
Undoubtedly racist. But what is it that is turning the confident American into a vociferous bigot who is ready to proclaim America first?
Think of the man you are replacing. He is most likely an all-American man with a college degree. He has already taken about $30,000 in student loans and are yet to pay it off. He joins a big IT company where he is working 13 hours every day to keep on top of the latest developments in his field. One day he goes to work as usual and one chilly morning is told by his supervisor that he is not required any more. The company has outsourced his as well as his colleague's work to Bangalore in India, where the Indian techie will do his stuff at one-tenth the salary.
Full article at..
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/490647.cms
Tuesday, February 10, 2004
Now NASDAQ Live from Bangalore
WASHINGTON: Reporting on the outsourcing issue may never be the same again. The news agency Reuters has announced that it will be hiring six reporters in Bangalore. No news here – except the reporters sitting in Bangalore will be covering American companies and financial markets.
The announcement has caused a stir in the news world. It's one thing to have India answer Britrail phone calls and troubleshoot for Dell, but what happens when journalists who report on the subject feel their own jobs are threatened?
Complete Story here...
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/486354.cms
The announcement has caused a stir in the news world. It's one thing to have India answer Britrail phone calls and troubleshoot for Dell, but what happens when journalists who report on the subject feel their own jobs are threatened?
Complete Story here...
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/486354.cms
Met a friend this weekend...
I have a freind who was with me in school. He was with me in Bangalore for quite some time before he was transferred to Kerala. He keeps coming back to Bangalore over the weekends about once a month.
That bugger always does this thing. He'll call me (and a few others who are not on his priority list) only when one of the following events happen
1) He is in town on sat and sun and its sun 8:30 PM
2) He is in town and its 6 PM and he is to enter a movie theatre in the next 10 minutes
3) He is in town is about to board a bus back to Kerala
This time I cought him in time and met up with him in time to spend the evening with him and have dinner also.
I have a freind who was with me in school. He was with me in Bangalore for quite some time before he was transferred to Kerala. He keeps coming back to Bangalore over the weekends about once a month.
That bugger always does this thing. He'll call me (and a few others who are not on his priority list) only when one of the following events happen
1) He is in town on sat and sun and its sun 8:30 PM
2) He is in town and its 6 PM and he is to enter a movie theatre in the next 10 minutes
3) He is in town is about to board a bus back to Kerala
This time I cought him in time and met up with him in time to spend the evening with him and have dinner also.
Monday, February 09, 2004
How much have we worked?
In Microsoft Excel, my friend was doing an analysis of turn around time of the team on certain user-reported issues. He wanted to find out how many 'woring' days it took him the team to get back on individual issues reported by the customer, given that he has the starting and ending dte of all issues.
I searched the Microsoft Excel help (excellent help provided by M$, that's why it is M$) and found the formula NETWORKINGDAYS(). It acceps the starting and the ending days, and automatically removes th saturdays and sundays in the period between them. If you have a list of other holidays (not falling on saturdays or sundays, of course), you can supply those dates (or the range of cells containing these holidays) as the third parameter.
The only thing to note is that the Analysis Tool Pack needs to be activated. This tool pack provides functions and interfaces for financial and scientific data analysis. Go to Tools->Add ins... and select Analysis Tool Pack.
Tuesday, February 03, 2004
Tall Europeans...
My theory is that the evolution trend followed in Europe was very different than that happened elsewhere, especially in India. I had seen this in a series on National Geographic. Homo Sapiens started evolving in Africa, and then a few of them started walking. One branch went to Europe and there were other branches that went elsewhere (middle-east, russia, americas, etc etc).
I don't remember exactly why, but there were reasons why they grew taller than the others in central Asia. Onece I get the URL of that program, I'll update this post with it.
Ok, here is the URL
http://www.nationalgeographic.co.in/jom/jom.asp
My theory is that the evolution trend followed in Europe was very different than that happened elsewhere, especially in India. I had seen this in a series on National Geographic. Homo Sapiens started evolving in Africa, and then a few of them started walking. One branch went to Europe and there were other branches that went elsewhere (middle-east, russia, americas, etc etc).
I don't remember exactly why, but there were reasons why they grew taller than the others in central Asia. Onece I get the URL of that program, I'll update this post with it.
Ok, here is the URL
http://www.nationalgeographic.co.in/jom/jom.asp
Wednesday, January 28, 2004
Mera Desh Mahaan..
Full story at http://in.rediff.com/news/2004/jan/28sc.htm
Supreme Court Chief Justice V N Khare was on Wednesday stunned when he was told that a metropolitan magistrate in Ahmedabad has issued bailable warrants against him, the President and others without any case against them.
The warrants were the outcome of a sting operation by a television journalist to expose alleged corruption in the lower judiciary in Gujarat. The journalist claims to have obtained the warrants against President A P J Abdul Kalam, Chief Justice Khare, Justice B P Singh of the apex court and former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association R K Jain after bribing the magistrate through local lawyers.
Full story at http://in.rediff.com/news/2004/jan/28sc.htm
Supreme Court Chief Justice V N Khare was on Wednesday stunned when he was told that a metropolitan magistrate in Ahmedabad has issued bailable warrants against him, the President and others without any case against them.
The warrants were the outcome of a sting operation by a television journalist to expose alleged corruption in the lower judiciary in Gujarat. The journalist claims to have obtained the warrants against President A P J Abdul Kalam, Chief Justice Khare, Justice B P Singh of the apex court and former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association R K Jain after bribing the magistrate through local lawyers.
Hutch Bangalore has new cell tower names
Hutch, one of the providers of mobile telephone in India has one unique thing I have not seen with other major players till date. They transmit the name of the cell tower your cell phone is associated with at the moment. I used to get names like 'Airport' and 'Airport Rd' when in my house, 'MurgeshPalya' when in my locality and also in my office, and other names like 'Brigate Rd', 'MG Rd', 'Sarjapur Rd' etc. Also, when in my house, the phone used to switch between 'Airport' and 'airport Rd' towers almot ever minute.
But to day when I woke up, I saw 'Murgesh' on my cell phone. And then, in no time, it switched to 'Airport Area'. I believe they have either just renamed their towers, or made some shifts in them also. Now, that I am in my office, I do not get any name on my phone. Perhaps, the tower servicing this area is not broadcasting its name....
Hutch, one of the providers of mobile telephone in India has one unique thing I have not seen with other major players till date. They transmit the name of the cell tower your cell phone is associated with at the moment. I used to get names like 'Airport' and 'Airport Rd' when in my house, 'MurgeshPalya' when in my locality and also in my office, and other names like 'Brigate Rd', 'MG Rd', 'Sarjapur Rd' etc. Also, when in my house, the phone used to switch between 'Airport' and 'airport Rd' towers almot ever minute.
But to day when I woke up, I saw 'Murgesh' on my cell phone. And then, in no time, it switched to 'Airport Area'. I believe they have either just renamed their towers, or made some shifts in them also. Now, that I am in my office, I do not get any name on my phone. Perhaps, the tower servicing this area is not broadcasting its name....
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