tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-131333442024-03-07T13:21:47.236+05:30Incoherent blabberUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger94125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13133344.post-66854417944677889562011-11-25T22:10:00.002+05:302011-11-25T22:20:33.659+05:30My LaptopI got my laptop yesterday. It's a Dell XPS. It has 17" full HD display, 2nd generation i7 processor with 8 GB RAM, Nvidia graphics card with 3GB VRAM and Optimus technology, blueray player + DVDRW, 1TB hard disk. It can even output 3D content via HDMI port.<br /><br />My uncle got it from US for me. It costed about 40% cheaper than here.<br /><br />The only gripe is that I had to pay windows tax. There was no way of avoiding it.<br /><br />By the way, it has been too long a time since I posted anything at all. Need to write regularly.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13133344.post-37421296586992197662010-03-26T19:42:00.001+05:302010-03-26T19:46:32.604+05:30The very first ones<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh84vfLUIZTuhscvdF5ykdigS2X4Vs9eqv1TwAUSlK7-kh2B2jvMe3tLqQn5F-v7MT346RR4VgP8POXb4GAGVltMlgKgMx996mpZVWRPClrAt_GpkbEwrMA4yV-088ZmLzmXzyE/s1600/DSC_0002.JPG"></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXNjptTlbY1B_-_n5_nWPTyagwT6NinRTcdzdV1ZlGdSEDpNHIKE-rmV9XAmL6iEVUzJhu7Tblbbceujtal-9Vb5uzhHKzfXYpg7KrHdIP8W0NM_KPHrSxDAuy0WQrjIG2sbaa/s1600/DSC_0005.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXNjptTlbY1B_-_n5_nWPTyagwT6NinRTcdzdV1ZlGdSEDpNHIKE-rmV9XAmL6iEVUzJhu7Tblbbceujtal-9Vb5uzhHKzfXYpg7KrHdIP8W0NM_KPHrSxDAuy0WQrjIG2sbaa/s400/DSC_0005.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452945785675586978" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh84vfLUIZTuhscvdF5ykdigS2X4Vs9eqv1TwAUSlK7-kh2B2jvMe3tLqQn5F-v7MT346RR4VgP8POXb4GAGVltMlgKgMx996mpZVWRPClrAt_GpkbEwrMA4yV-088ZmLzmXzyE/s400/DSC_0002.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452945790827665042" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13133344.post-57212282250275945672010-03-21T08:21:00.004+05:302010-03-21T10:05:34.441+05:30Voice chat on 3GOver the past week or so, I have tried many IM applications on my mobile (Nokia E63). Apart from exchanging text messages, I also wanted to do audio calls over Google Talk, Skype, etc. There are many native S60 IM applications available for my Nokia E63 phone.<br /><br /><b>Skype</b><br />Skype has a mobile version of it's IM application. It is pretty huge - 5 MB download size and 3-4MB memory when application is in use. Also, it supports only skype protocol (no google talk, yahoo or anything else). So, it loses the edge when compared to its competitors here. <div>Basic text chat, voice chat, skype-out calls all work fine. But the application itself seemed to be a little slow (when compared to others).</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Fring</b></div><div>This is a small IM application that supports many protocols - Google Talk, Skype, Yahoo, MSN, Facebook, twitter, etc. You can even do voice calls on all these. I did most of my audio calls on skype. There was a wee-bit of delay. Not much, but we could make out that there was about half a second delay between when we talk and the other party hears. Sometimes, it was annoying. But it was mostly OK. And the audio quality was good. Making Skype-Out calls was also very simple. All-in-all a good application. One disadvantage is that it only supports Skype and no other SIPs (like Gizmo or others)</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Nimbuzz</b></div><div>This is one of the best applications I've used. Similar to Fring, it supports multiple protocols - Skype, Google Talk, Yahoo, MSN, Facebook, twitter, etc. It supports text chat as well as audio/video calls on all of these. Unlike Fring, there was no noticeable delay in audio calls over Skype. The audio calls all sounded great. The contact list is also well structured with icons indicating where the contact is from (GTalk or Shype or Yahoo). Nimbuzz also supports other SIPs apart from Skype. You can configure it to connect to Gizmo and other SIPs easily.</div><div>One problem I noticed was that I could not make skype out calls easily. On skype/fring, I can call toll free US numbers using skype-out. On Nimbuzz, it told me I had to buy some talktime before I could make a call.. :-(</div><div><br /></div><div>For now, I have all 3 installed. I use Nimbuzz for most purposes. But if I need to make skype-out calls, I use fring.</div><div><br /></div><div>On 3G network, the call quality of calls over voice network and the audio calls over skype (data network) are pretty much the same. It costs me 30-40 paise per minute for a skype call. That is cheaper than my local call (40 paise per min). When I talk to my uncle in US, it is way cheaper. An ISD call costs Rs.7.20 per min.</div><div>Oh yes, I can do the same skype calls using a computer (maybe for same cost 30-40 paise per min or even lesser). But being able to use my mobile phone anywhere to call via Skype/GTalk is real convenience.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13133344.post-84981397619732590852010-03-11T21:01:00.003+05:302010-03-11T21:17:17.792+05:30BSNL 3GI just enabled 3G for my number...<br />I thought I may have to change my sim. But converting from 2G to 3G was as simple as sending an SMS. Yes, one SMS, that's all. 5 minutes later, I was on 3G network!<br />I assumed that there would be some special settings to access internet from 3G network. It turns out that the same old GPRS settings work. FYI, here's the connection settings:<br />Access point name: gprssouth.cellone.in<br />Username: ppp<br />Password: ppp<br /><br />The internet connection on 3G is very fast. I could easily get speeds of over 100kbps. The cost is also about 1/10th of the gprs connection.<br /><br />In fact, I'm writing this blog post from my phone. :-)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13133344.post-78891972981967856622010-02-05T07:44:00.006+05:302010-02-11T08:29:46.907+05:30Torrent applicationsOver the past years, I have used many torrent applications. There are a number of applications for downloading/managing .torrent files. Here's a compilation of the few applications I have used and my experiences with them.<div><br /></div><div>I have a limited broadband plan and I work from home quite regularly. So, I need to make sure that my torrent downloads don't eat up my bandwidth. Hence I usually schedule my downloads during the "happy hours" when downloads are unlimited. It's from 2AM to 8AM. To utilize this "happy hours" optimally, the feature of scheduling downloads in a torrent application would be very useful, albeit not a necessary one though. If the torrent application does not have scheduling, I can use "at" daemon and cron jobs to start and stop the downloads at appropriate times.</div><div><br /></div><div>I also want my applications to be lightweight, i.e., light on resources (memory, cpu consumption, etc), small in size and with minimal dependencies. Let us see how the different torrent applications size up to my requirements.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>'BitTorrent' client</b></div><div><br /></div><div>This is a very simple client with a simple interface. It does not support many features like scheduling, upload/download limits per torrent/connection, etc. But it is pretty much light on resources and gets the job done. (It does have a few dependencies though). There are other applications that are 'lighter' and are more feature rich. So, I wouldn't recommend this.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Transmission</b></div><div><br /></div><div>This is the default bittorent client that is being shipped with ubuntu these days. This is a very light weight client with not much dependencies. It also supports all the standard features of a torrent application. There is no scheduler as such, but there is an option for temporary speed limits which gets the job done. It also has a cli mode to download via command line. The configuration options can be passed as parameters or saved in the config file. All in all, this is a great application which I would recommend to everyone. Since this is a GTK application, KDE buffs may not find it very visually appealing, though.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>'rtorrent', 'ctorrent' and 'aria2'</b></div><div><br /></div><div>These are all command line applications, which are very light weight and feature rich. Rtorrent has ncurses based UI. (It takes a while to get used to the key combinations). Ctorrent and aria2 are purely command line tools. They support all the common features. You can either set the options (like download/upload limits) in the config files or pass them as parameters. None of these have built in schedulers. Just use the 'at' command or cron jobs to start/stop them.</div><div>Of these, aria2 is my personal favourite as it supports http/ftp downloads (segmented downloading with resume support) as well as bittorrent and metalink protocols. I would recommend all of these cli tools. The only downside to these cli tools are that they don't display a whole lot of information about the torrent being downloaded (like the GUI apps). For e.g., the no. of connected peers, current and average download speeds, tracker info, percentage of completion of individual files in the torrent, etc, such information may not be displayed in these cli tools.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>KTorrent</b></div><div><br /></div><div>This is the default torrent application for KDE. This used to be my default torrent application for a long time. I was using this even on Gnome desktop. I wouldn't call it lightweight as it depends on a lot of KDE libs. So, if you are using any other Desktop Environment like Gnome, LXDE, XFCE, etc, you may want to download one of the other torrent applications.</div><div>KTorrent is feature rich and supports plugins too.. I used to like the scheduler plugin and used it a lot. But recently when I installed KTorrent, the same scheduler plugin did not work reliably. I had scheduled the download to start at 2:30AM and stop at 8AM. But somehow, the download started prematurely at around 12:30AM or so (which I found out from my usage logs). This caused about 250MB to be billed on my name! Also, a few days later, I saw that the scheduler did not stop at 8AM too. It kept downloading past the 8AM. So, maybe there is a bug. Use the scheduler at your own risk. You can still use cron/at to schedule your downloads. </div><div>Overall, KTorrent is a good torrent application for KDE. Beware of the scheduler plugin. People using Gnome/LXDE/XFCE, can use something lighter.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Deluge</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Deluge is a pretty lightweight python+GTK application. The GUI and the daemon are 2 different processes. Apparently you can manage your downloads from a web interface too. I haven't tried it out though. The GUI is simple, unintrusive and is feature rich. Deluge also supports plugins. But there is no scheduling available, either in the application or via plugins. I used to use the cron/at jobs to start/stop deluge. One major problem I have experienced is that often deluge hangs on startup. The GUI would just hang and you have no option but to kill and start again. Most often, kill once and restart would always start it correctly. Sometimes, it would hang everytime the GUI is started. To get it working again, i would kill/restart the 'deluged' daemon and then start the deluge GUI client. That would almost always work and get the application up and running. But as you can see this is quite a problem. I would have an 'at' job to start deluge at 2AM. When I wake up the next morning at 7AM, I see that it has hung on startup and no downloads have begun! This has happened to me innumerable number of times. So, I have given up and started using other applications. [I did search for this problem on google. I could not find others who had the same problem. So, maybe it was just me, maybe something wrong in my environment. Another thing to note is that I have tried deluge for over 4-6 months. Since I kept my archlinux system and all applications upto date, I have used several versions, with no change in behaviour).</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Vuze (Azureus)</b></div><div><br /></div><div>When I started using this, it was called Azureus. Now it has been given a new name - Vuze. This is one of the heavyweights as it is based on Java. Also, the new interface of Vuze is bloated with lots of unwanted "features" like browsing for "popular" video clips from within Vuze. The new UI of Vuze is quite complicated and overwhelming. The older UI, which was when it was called Azureus was simpler and presented all the information very well. I would prefer the older Azureus to the newer Vuze any day.</div><div>In terms of features, it is a very feature rich application. It is an excellent application for downloading torrents. I have always regarded Azureus as very "reliable" and works well out of the box. Prioritisation (of individual torrents as well as files within torrents), scheduling and all other features work well. Overall, it is a very good application that I would recommend, if you are wiling to overlook all the bloat.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>µT</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>orrent</b></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">This is one of the lightest torrent applications with almost no dependencies whatsoever. It is less that 250KB and is feature rich, very easy to use. I would highly recommend this for it's features, lightweight, simple UI and excellent performance. So, what's the downside? It is a windows application and has no native Linux port! Well, disappointing as it is, the good news is that it just works great with wine. It supports prioritisation, scheduling and other features</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>Conclusion</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">There is no one application that is for everybody. Try out all of them and use what you like. If you don't mind running it in wine, <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">µtorrent would be the simple, robust and excellent lightweight torrent application that I recommend.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "> KDE folks can stay with KTorrent. For a lightweight torrent application, use one of the cli apps - aria2, rtorrent, ctorrent, transmission-cli. If you want a lightweight GUI application, use transmission/deluge.</span></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13133344.post-13818197648557391362010-01-16T08:00:00.000+05:302010-01-16T08:05:03.346+05:30Where's my money?<div><div>A simple exercise: Calculate how much you have earned till date (including your salary, gifts, return on investments and all types of income). Just an approximate amount would do. Find out how much money you have in your savings (SB accounts, any other investments like stocks, Mutual Funds, etc). How do you find your savings with respect to your earnings? Are they substantial or very meager?</div><div><br /></div><div>To drill down, calculate how much you have spent till date. Start with all your major expenses (like education or buying a vehicle/house/site). Find out how much you approximately spend monthly on other things like fuel, snacks, dining, clothes, telephone bills, etc. Put all of these together and get an approximate amount of how much you have spent so far (after you started earning). </div><div><br /></div><div>Then do the math, "Calculated Balance" = Earnings - Expenditure. Are your actual savings same as the "Calculated Balance"?</div><div>If yes, congratulations! In most cases there will be a noticable big difference between the two. If so, where did your money go? Hard to explain!</div><div><br /></div><div>I was in the same situation about 3 years ago. I had worked for over 2 years and I had a relatively small balance in my bank account (equivalant to about 2 months of my salary). My father helped me realise this. I started wondering where all my money went. I calculated all my major expenses and did the same exercise I explained above. I could account for about 60-65% of my expenses. Where did I spend the rest? I had no idea!</div><div><br /></div><div>In order to prevent such accounting anamolies, I started keeping tabs on all my transactions, income and expenses. I started using a personal finance manager and found it very helpful in managind my money and accounting for it. In the past 3 years that I have been using <a href="http://www.gnucash.org/">GnuCash</a> and <a href="kmymoney2.sourceforge.net">KmyMoney</a> I have been able to account 98-99% of my money.</div><div><br /></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13133344.post-31733854303857184452010-01-11T07:52:00.003+05:302010-01-16T08:11:42.411+05:30Distro HoppingI'm somebody who gets bored pretty soon. This is very true with the different Linux distros atleast. I keep on hopping distros every now and then. I take a lot of pain to install a distro, then tweak and install the programs I want and everything. But once I feel everything is installed and the desktop is good enough for my daily uses, I get bored and want to try out some other distribution. Maybe I just like trying out new distros, installing and configuring them. Or maybe I'm searching for that perfect distribution for me.<div><br /></div><div>For the moment, I have puppy linux and 2 different installations of arch linux (on different hard disks) on my desktop. I have Ubuntu and Debian on my laptop. My previous (very recent) distributions on my desktop are - Gentoo, Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Debian, LightHouse Pup, Sabayon, etc. </div><div>I don't even remember all the distributions I've tried (installed and used) in the past 9 years. There are just so many. Red Hat, Suse, Mandrake (these 3 have now changed to Fedora, OpenSuse, and Mandriva), Caldera, ELX Linux, Slax, Elive, DSL, Vector, Slackware to name a few. And I have a huge collection of CD/DVDs of most of these Linux distributions over the past 9 years. Linux has truly come a long way since then.</div><div><br /></div><div>Out of so many distributions, I keep coming back to 3 of them - Arch Linux, Puppy Linux and Ubuntu.</div><div><br /></div><div>Arch Linux does everything right. They follow the KISS principle and an arch system is really very simple and elegant. It is the perfect distro for anybody who knows a little about linux, is not afraid to use the command line and has heard of config files. It allows you to build a very minimal system with no bloat whatsoever. You can (and will) build YOUR perfect system using arch. The package manager is great. And their wiki is excellent. It is one of the best I've seen.</div><div><br /></div><div>Puppy Linux is something I would recommend to everyone, not just newbies to Linux. It is just about the perfect system which has everything but the kitchen sink. It's minimal footprint, ability to run in RAM, support for everything (browsers, IM, multimedia, doc/image viewers, and just about anything you can name), excellent community, make it a perfect choice for everybody. It has applications for just about everything. The CD/DVD recording/burning software is the best I've ever used. The downside to puppy is it's package management (something that Barry is already working on. Check out puppy 5.0 / dpup).</div><div><br /></div><div>Ubuntu is the community's favourite distribution. I keep coming back to it because of the apt package manager. It is THE best out there. But I always feel Ubuntu is very bloated.</div><div><br /></div><div>For now, it's Arch and puppy for me. Who knows, next week, I could try out some other distro. :-)</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13133344.post-47162869362124040642009-04-14T14:05:00.005+05:302009-04-14T14:20:45.120+05:30One line reviews of different distrosI was reading this "<a href="http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?t=27965&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0">Debian vs Arch</a>" thread that was posted on both Arch Linux forums as well as Debian forums. The following comment by "<a href="http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?p=218011#218011">julian67</a>" in the Debian forums was the most hilarious:<br /><br /><span class="postbody"> <blockquote style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102); font-family: arial; font-style: italic;font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" >I run Debian stable and know it's the best. Slackware is for Luddites, Arch is for bug eyed Ubuntu kids with misplaced aspirations to kewlness, Gentoo is for maniacs, Ubuntu is for people who drool but are happy with that, Fedora is strictly for Americans with an entire LUG to help fix it, OpenSuse is for Germans with proprietary fetishes, special accessories and a paying controller, Puppy is for people with 2.4 GB hard drives, Zenwalk is for people who are not quite sure what multimedia might be.... </span><br /></blockquote></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13133344.post-3152860903111407622009-04-06T20:18:00.005+05:302009-04-06T22:48:22.599+05:30The gender debateWell, the gender debate is going on for a looong time now. Let me not talk about things like "who's better than who?" or "are women equal to men?". Instead, let me focus on some facts that I have been observing for a few years now.<br /><br />I'm sure you have all read headlines like "<a href="http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Jun282008/state2008062775781.asp">Girls outshine boys in SSLC exam</a>" and "<a href="http://www.thehindu.com/2008/05/31/stories/2008053156850300.htm">Girls fare better than boys</a>", <a href="http://www.hindu.com/2004/07/09/stories/2004070911650300.htm">etc</a>. These headlines appear in all the newspapers every single year, without fail. I haven't seen one single year where the pass percentage of boys was greater than girls in 7th or SSLC or PUC exams (in Karnataka, atleast). Does this mean boys are all dim-witted? Do these figures indicate that girls are overall more intelligent than guys?<br /><br />Well, before you answer those questions, just take a look at a few other facts. Have you ever analyzed the CET results? Have you seen the gender ratio for the top 10 ranks in engineering or medical? You'll see that there are hardly one or two girls in the top 10 or even top 20 ranks in both engineering or medical streams. And this is not just one year, you can verify this every year. What do you think is the number of girls in top 100 ranks in engineering or medical. It's mostly single digit (<a href="http://news.education4india.com/699/boys-outshine-girls-in-cet/">very rarely touching double digits</a>). What about top 1000 ranks? How many girls do you think are there in top 1000? Again they are a <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1128543.cms">whopping minority</a>!<br /><br />[<span style="font-style: italic;font-size:78%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Offtopic:</span> Why don't you hear about these (CET) numbers and facts in the media? Well, that deserves a blog post on it's own, but to summarize, did you ever notice that if a hindu criticises a muslim (or his religion), the media people will have a field day with it, blow it out of proportion, call it communal and somehow link it with BJP. But if a muslim or a christian criticises a hindu (or his religion), it becomes protection of minority. The press will write all good things about that or at the least ignore it. It is the same case with the gender debate. If there is any news that portrays ladies or girls as good, the media are all there to put it in headlines and publicise it. But when they fail, it goes ignored. :-)</span>]<br /><br />So, what do you think happened? All those girls who outshine boys in SSLC and PUC, why do they fare so badly in CET? It's not just the CET, take any entrance examination, or for that matter any examination where you have to apply your knowledge, overall, boys will outshine girls. But in any exam (like the SSLC or the PUC), where you need to mug up text books and spit it out in the exam hall, girls will fare much better overall as compared to guys. It's not just the pass percentage, I'm sure the girls will do better in the average marks obtained (in a mugging exam).<br />This theory has been proven time and again. Just compare PUC results with CET results or the Engineering average marks (percentage) with the average pay. Have a look at the CAT results or the IIT-JEE results. You'll find this pattern everywhere. Girls are much better at mugging up, where as guys are much better at applying knowledge. The guys have better analytical aptitude and reasoning.<br /><br />So, just because you see this pattern, does that make all guys smart? Or does that mean all girls are muggers? Definitely not. I know girls who are smart, have good analytical skills and who have really good knowledge and know how to apply them. I also know guys who are lazy, have bad analytical and reasoning skills, have really bad knowledge in their domain and are even bad at mugging up. But they are only exceptions to the rule.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Disclaimer:</span> This is just a collection of facts and my reasoning for these facts. If you are offended by this post, well, I apologise.</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13133344.post-42051714295625030662009-04-06T19:58:00.006+05:302009-04-06T20:17:54.218+05:30Unpacking my neoIt's been about 2 weeks since I got my <a href="http://www.openmoko.org/">Neo Freerunner</a>. I've been busy playing with it. Here are some pics of unpaking my neo.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiryn9-BkahOXjbYDtEU1xD3jClsFqUuFWfaUBByYx6l9ShbIMIEVU1kE-lBaIVfe8bQXeqUm8CVjJIUm9zzB4gHHla4ONHkotntMdQAaVartaFbMqQIc2vJeIWOzWNCjEiB97l/s1600-h/myneo0001.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiryn9-BkahOXjbYDtEU1xD3jClsFqUuFWfaUBByYx6l9ShbIMIEVU1kE-lBaIVfe8bQXeqUm8CVjJIUm9zzB4gHHla4ONHkotntMdQAaVartaFbMqQIc2vJeIWOzWNCjEiB97l/s400/myneo0001.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321586250676634882" border="0" /></a>This is the package I received. The cloth pouch and the 2.5mm headphones were a bonus. I wasn't informed that the package included them.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY-xLAsTw4eApGw7vgZOmvShTbAFoqy3eGBmUxytesdaozFKGlgSwv-9i3wwQhK24YXgyeNKWkAtWcv4lK1sMSvmw38Zhrh7FiTSDZuX0uj8DAjKg5yvL9RJn5oLIEROJdLQVO/s1600-h/myneo0002.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY-xLAsTw4eApGw7vgZOmvShTbAFoqy3eGBmUxytesdaozFKGlgSwv-9i3wwQhK24YXgyeNKWkAtWcv4lK1sMSvmw38Zhrh7FiTSDZuX0uj8DAjKg5yvL9RJn5oLIEROJdLQVO/s400/myneo0002.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321587485565899250" border="0" /></a>Nice quote from LaoTse.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyp23ZNBFygxFXEVTFziEDkPOAreRbIT1cRDOkb0cbUalHYyqQukaLl7gj0eC909d7npM1yfPprK7Z0hEZTzxT2H5-yHj7O0DVYLNx3qmR_JoOiDKgU2EROBDOox5QMOBk4Hcj/s1600-h/myneo0005.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyp23ZNBFygxFXEVTFziEDkPOAreRbIT1cRDOkb0cbUalHYyqQukaLl7gj0eC909d7npM1yfPprK7Z0hEZTzxT2H5-yHj7O0DVYLNx3qmR_JoOiDKgU2EROBDOox5QMOBk4Hcj/s400/myneo0005.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321588296481817938" border="0" /></a>These are the package contents. The freerunner phone, wall charger (with 3 different kind of plug attachments; the round 2 pin one works in India), USB to miniUSB cable (to connect to computer), a stylus, 512MB microSD card (with SD adapter) and couple of batteries (I ordered an extra battery, just in case).Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13133344.post-86088178557199501572009-03-17T16:36:00.003+05:302009-03-17T17:14:25.469+05:30Neo FreerunnerI have been tracking the Neo Freerunner ever since it's launch in July last year. It is a great device with lots of features. I was waiting for the power management to be fixed so that the device is usable.<br /><br />Recent results show that atleast one person has extracted a battery life of 70 hours, completely on standby. That should translate to roughly a day's use for minimal usage. Now, with the (slight) improvement in power management, I was unable to resist it. So, I have ordered the device. It costed Rs.24,500 all in all, with an additional (spare) battery.<br /><br />If you are wondering what this Neo Freerunner is, then take a tour of <a href="http://www.openmoko.com">www.openmoko.com</a> and <a href="http://wiki.openmoko.org">wiki.openmoko.org</a>.<br />Basically, it is a computing device with a complete opensource stack. All of it's hardware have free, open source drivers available. The CAD files used in the design of the device are also made available online (open source). As for the software, OpenMoko has a Linux distro running on this. It is called OM <version> (OM 2008.12 is the latest). Then, you have a wide choice of linux distributions to run on this phone - Debian, Gentoo, SHAR, FSO, FDOM, Qt Extended (Qtopia), Fyp, Andriod and a long list of others.<br />Debian has ported it's entire repository to support the ARM architecture. What this means is that you get the entire Debian repository on this mobile device!<br /><br />This device has a 400MHz Samsung ARM processor with 128 MB SD RAM and 256 MB flash memory. It supports micro SD card. It has GPS, WiFi, bluetooth, all built in. It has a touch screen interface and can also function as a mobile phone.<br /><br />I'm eagerly waiting for my Neo. Hopefully, it should arrive in another 2-3 days. That means, I'll be busy the whole weekend playing with it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13133344.post-31171561831922455042009-03-11T12:36:00.003+05:302009-03-11T13:46:01.671+05:30Looking back...<div style="text-align: justify;">As mentioned in my previous post, it's been over 2 years since I posted anything on this blog. I was just thinking back about the things that happened over this time. Here's a concise list that I can remember now:<br /><br />- My knee ligament tore up again and I had to undergo a surgery (April 2008). As a result of this, I was confined to my bed for more than a couple of months. As it is, I was over-weight. Now, I've put on even more weight. The good news is that my knee seems to be pretty much back to normal. I can run, walk and even play.<br /><br />- I completed my M.S degree (in Software Systems) from BITS, Pilani.<br /><br />- I failed in a subject (in my 3rd semester, MS) for the first time in my life. Not just that, but because of this failure, I had to re-take a whole semester again. It cost me atleast 6 months.<br /><br />- I got a chance to visit Bangkok for a couple of weeks to help out a customer (April 2007). This was my first international visit (and the only one till date) and also the first time I flew on a aeroplane.<br /><br />- I had many trips and visited many places:<br /></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Hogenikal falls with <a href="http://karthiksr.blogspot.com/">Karthik</a>, Kiran and Pavan (Feb 2007)</li><li>Bangkok (April 2007)</li><li>Nonabur (May 2007) with parents and many other relatives.</li><li>Manchanabelle Dam with <a href="http://blog.srinivas.co.in/">Srini</a> and <a href="http://pointlesseverything.com/">PK</a> (Dec 2007)</li><li>Belur and Halebidu with <a href="http://blog.srinivas.co.in/">Srini</a>, <a href="http://narendrabs.blogspot.com/">Naren</a> and Chandru (Dec 2007)</li><li>Delhi, Pilani and Jaipur trip with parents and brother (Nov 2008)</li><li>Yerkad with CoolBlueGang friends (Dec 2008)</li><li>South Indian coastal trip to Alleppey, Thiruvananthapuram, Kanyakumari and Pondicherry with <a href="http://blog.srinivas.co.in/">Srini</a>, <a href="http://narendrabs.blogspot.com/">Naren</a>, Girish and Murali (Feb-March 2009)</li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />- Lot's of things happened in my friends' lives too<br /></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Giri went to US to pursue his higher studies (MS) in Aug 2007</li><li><a href="http://pointlesseverything.com/">PK</a> and Smitha got married to each other.</li><li>Nidhi, Sachin, and Chandru also got married.</li><li><a href="http://pointlesseverything.com/">PK</a> cleared the ISB interview and is all set to pursue his MBA.</li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Well, that's all I can remember now. It has been an exciting time, looking back at the memories. Lots of ups and downs. Hopefully, the future will be exciting too. Only time will tell.<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13133344.post-18810679851898548572009-03-09T12:19:00.002+05:302009-03-09T12:22:30.842+05:302+ years!It's been more than 2 years since I posted anything here... I didn't really think it was that long! Anyway, hopefully, I will write something more frequently from now on.<br /><br />ವಿನಯUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13133344.post-78500494318196716992007-01-29T13:35:00.000+05:302007-01-29T15:24:33.974+05:30"Drive" to mysoreYesterday, we friends (CoolBlueGang) drove to Mysore. I'm referring to this as a "drive" & not a "trip". There is a reason for that & you'll just find that out.<br /><br />First of all, people have become so busy that we friends (CBG) hardly meet on weekends. So, we (Srini & me) decided that we have to plan for a one-day trip. Srini's suggestion was that the backup plan would be to go to Mysore. That is, if we couldn't decide on any other place, then we would go to Mysore.. We started off the planning almost 2 weeks ago. But the actual planning didn't happen till last week. I shot off an email asking suggestions for places. No one replied. I suggested Hogenikal falls. Somebody shot it down saying it's a dirty place. Srini suggested that we can go to Mysore itself & we could visit Melkote on the way. I suggested Chunchanakatte falls (which is at a little distance from Mysore).<br /><br />Narendra was not free on Friday & Saturday. So, we postponed the trip for Sunday. Srinivas came to my place on Friday to finalise the plans. We planned leave early at 6AM in the morning, go to Mysore for breakfast. We planned to visit Chamundi hills, zoo, palace & then visit Chunchanakatte falls (instead of KRS as KRS would be crowded on a weekend). We had even communicated this plan to everyone by Saturday. We planned to take 2 cars - Srini's Getz & my Santro. The planning was all done well. So, I thought the trip would be good too..<br /><br />On Sunday morning, I woke up at 5AM & I was ready by 6AM. We were in Chandru's house by 6:30 or 6:45. Naren was supposed to come there. We didn't have to wait long. He came in his car & suggested that he'll get his car & I can leave behind my car at Chandru's place. I agreed to do so. And we started from Chandru's place at 7 AM. The start time was quite good, even though it was a little be late than planned. We could have reached Mysore by 9 or 9:30. That would have meant a little late breakfast. So, instead, we stopped on the way at Kamat Hotel at around 8:15 or so. We had a heavy breakfast there. On the way to Mysore, I heard comments like "What are we going to do at zoo? Why are we going there?", etc. I decided to ignore them.<br /><br />By the time we reached Mysore it was about 9:45. We decided to go to Chamundi hills first. We were on the top at 10. We enjoyed the view there for a few minutes & spent some time there. Although we went to the top of the hill, we didn't go to the temple as none of us were interested. Some people said that they didn't want to go to zoo. We had seen a glimpse of a lake on the way to Chamundi hills. We decided to go to that place next.<br /><br />The lake was called "Karanji Kere" (kere means lake in kannada). There was also a park next to the lake called "Karanji Kere Park". We strolled around in the park for a few minutes. Then we went boating in the lake. The boating was for a short duration only. We peddled our boats for half an hour & returned back to the park. The park had a good spacious aviary. There were lots of different kinds of birds there - peacocks, swans, and many others whose names I do not know. Visiting the aviary was the only good thing (or the only thing) that we did in Mysore. It was 11:30 by the time we came out of the aviary. There was a butterfly park further down. But nobody seemed interested to visit that. I would have liked to go to the butterfly park. But many people said they were hungry & wanted to find a good restaurant for lunch.<br /><br />When it comes to lunch, my friends think that I'm THE reserved guy. Actually one thing I haven't understood so far is that why so many of my friends, who are all pure vegetarians, prefer to go to non-vegetarian hotels for lunch. It's not that there are not many decent vegetarian restaurants around. It's just they prefer to go to expensive non-vegetarian hotels only. My policy is that as far as possible I'm not going to eat anything at a non-vegetarian hotel. One thing my friends always ask me is how I'm going to survive when I go out of country. I would like to tell them straight on their face that it may be tough when I go out of country, but it's quite bad here, when I go out with my friends itself. I mean, right here in my own country, when I'm with my friends, when we have so many choices of vegetarian restaurants, I have had to skip lunches with my friends because they fancy non-veg restaurants (& detest vegetarian places). Sigh.. I don't want them to feel bad, so I haven't told this on their face yet.<br /><br />Anyway, coming back to our "trip", these guys wanted to go to a "good" hotel for lunch. I called up my cousin & found out the names of a couple of hotels that were good. I didn't get the directions to those hotels. We could have asked our way around. But my friends, as I told you earlier, somehow detest eating at a vegetarian only hotel. After a drive through the city, Narendra saw an advertisement of some star hotel. Everybody else agreed to go there. I didn't protest. I'm very sure they all knew it was going to be a non-veg hotel. And everybody knows quite well, that I wouldn't eat anything in such places. Still, everybody wanted to go to that place. So, there was no point in protesting.<br /><br />These guys asked directions for that hotel & managed to find the hotel. (Although if we had asked for directions to the vegetarian hotel suggested by my cousin, we could have gone there. But how could these guys go to a veg restaurant? It would be below their dignity!). I plainly told them I'm not going to eat anything at that hotel. But these guys carried on & had lunch at that hotel while I was just sitting next to them, idle. It took more than an hour to finish their lunch there. (Now that I think of it, I feel that I should never even have gone inside that hotel). After their lunch, I walked around & found a vegetarian hotel quite closeby & had my lunch there. (It was not an expensive hotel. It wasn't even a hotel with an AC room. But it was an ordinary vegetarian hotel & the food was good).<br /><br />So, by the time we finished our 2 batches of lunch, it was 3PM. We then went to Mysore Palace. Since it was a holiday (Sunday), there were a lot of people. My friends didn't want to go where there is crowd. So, we just got to the palace gates & turned back. They didn't want to go to zoo too. KRS would have been crowded either. So, we decided to check out Chunchanakatte falls. The only directions we had was that it was on the Mysore-Hassan route. Somebody also informed that it is on the way to KRS. We decided to go on the way to KRS & ask for directions to Chunchanakatte. We hadn't gone very far, when we asked for directions. We were told to take the ring road as that would lead to the falls. The ring road turned out to be the Bangalore-Mysore road. And although we did ask directions at a few places, no one had heard of Chunchanakatte. Then I realised that at some distance from Mysore, (when coming towards B'lore), a road to the left goes towards Shravanabelagola & Hassan. I suggested we take that route & ask people there if they knew about Chunchanakatte. We finally decided to take that route & go to a max of 20 kms & if we didn't find the route, we head back.<br /><br />When we took the deviation, we asked around & found out that we were on the right track. Chunchanakatte was on the way to K.R Pete. K.R Pete was about 35 kms from there & Chunchanakatte was about 7-8 kms from K.R Pete. It was already 4:15PM by then. If we had decided to go to Chunchanakatte, it would have been very late in the night to come back. So, Srini suggested we skip the place & return to Bangalore instead. On the way back, we stopped only at Coffee day & we were back at Chandru's place by 8PM. I was back home by 8:30 PM.<br /><br />In short, we went to Mysore. There we visited Chamundi hills, but we did not bother to go to the temple there. We skipped the zoo completely. We did not go to the Palace either, we just saw it from outside. We did not go to KRS either. We went half the way towards Chunchanakatte falls & returned back. The only place we went was boating & the aviary at the Karanji Kere Park. We didn't even have a look at the whole park. We missed places like butterfly park.<br /><br />So, we just had a "drive" to mysore & not a trip as we didn't visit anything at all. It was as though we had gone there just for lunch. And for me it was as though I went just to sit at that non-veg restaurant when my friends were having lunch.<br /><br />Anyway, here are the few photos that I clicked. I just wanted to post these photos, but ended up writing so much.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center; width: 194px; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 83%;"><div style="background: transparent url(http://picasaweb.google.com/f/img/transparent_album_background.gif) no-repeat scroll left center; height: 194px; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/Vinay.V.Rao/MysoreDrive"><img src="http://lh5.google.com/image/Vinay.V.Rao/Rb17rVYv88E/AAAAAAAAAEQ/za-xS1oQaBU/s160-c/MysoreDrive.jpg" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0px; margin-top: 16px;" height="160" width="160" /></a></div><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/Vinay.V.Rao/MysoreDrive"><div style="color: rgb(77, 77, 77); font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Mysore drive</div></a><div style="color: rgb(128, 128, 128);"></div><br /><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13133344.post-67546660170697841372007-01-24T13:03:00.000+05:302007-01-24T13:09:06.199+05:3011561 reasons to use Firefox<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrCTE42tw_emIIvK8k647I9YoSuwasB8XKt2zlMp2WR6KKQYhmi77JVYVa1MMuzsroK7gxDJYU409UBZLboG2lf_zEK7kiuRoErJt1HVs2pbFfh2qOyY-XMegIPykaYMcVTWnT/s1600-h/popups-Firefox.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrCTE42tw_emIIvK8k647I9YoSuwasB8XKt2zlMp2WR6KKQYhmi77JVYVa1MMuzsroK7gxDJYU409UBZLboG2lf_zEK7kiuRoErJt1HVs2pbFfh2qOyY-XMegIPykaYMcVTWnT/s400/popups-Firefox.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5023498058423333810" border="0" /></a><br /><img src="file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/vinayv/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.jpg" alt="" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13133344.post-85255799461764401642006-10-06T08:36:00.000+05:302006-10-06T10:04:30.267+05:30ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ trafficಇಂದು ಮುಂಜಾನೆ office ಗೆ ಬೇಗನೆ ಹೋರಟಿದ್ದೆ. ಪ್ರತಿ ದಿನ 8:30, 8:45 ಹೊತ್ತಿಗೆ ಹೊರಡಿತ್ತಿದ್ದ ನಾನು, ಇಂದು ಏಳು ಕಾಲಿಗೇ (7:15) ಮನೆಯಿಂದ ಹೊರಟೆ. ಅಷ್ಟು ಹೊತ್ತಿಗೆ, ರಸ್ತೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ವಾಹನ ಸಂಖ್ಯೆ ಕಡಿಮೆ ಇರುವುದೆಂದು ಭಾವಿಸಿದ್ದೆ. ಆದರೆ, traffic ತುಂಬಾ ಕಡಿಮೆ ಏನೂ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ.<br /><br />ನಾನು ಪ್ರತಿ ದಿನ ಗಾಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಓಡಾಡುವಾಗ, ಬನಶಂಕರಿಯ ಬಸ್ ನಿಲ್ದಾಣದೆಡೆಗೆ ಹೋಗದಿರಲು ಪ್ರಯತ್ನಿಸುತ್ತೇನೆ. ಆದರೆ ಈ ದಿನ, ನನ್ನ ತಮ್ಮನನ್ನು ಶಾಲೆಗೆ ಬಿಡಬೇಕಿತ್ತು. ಹಾಗಾಗಿ, ಬನಶಂಕರಿ ಬಸ್ ನಿಲ್ದಾಣದ ದಾರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹೋದೆ. ಅಲ್ಲಿನ ದುಃಸ್ಥಿತಿ ಏನೆಂದರೆ, ಹತ್ತು ಹೆಜ್ಜೆಗಳ ಅಂತರದಲ್ಲಿ ಎರಡು signalಗಳು ಇವೆ. ಬೆಳಗ್ಗಿನ ಈ ಹೊತ್ತಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಪೋಲಿಸಿನವರು ಇರುವುದಿಲ್ಲವೆಂದು ಜನರು, traffic ನಿಯಮಗಳನ್ನು ಗಾಳಿಗೆ ತೂರಿ, ತಮಗೆ ಮನ ಬಂದಂತೆ ಗಾಡಿಗಳನ್ನು ಓಡಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು. ಮೊದಲನೆಯ signalನಲ್ಲಿ ಬಲ ತಿರುಗುವಂತಿಲ್ಲ. ಆದರೂ ಒಂದು ಕಾರು ಬಲ ತಿರುಗುವ indicator ಹಾಕಿ, ಆರಾಮಾಗಿ ಬಲಕ್ಕೆ ತಿರುಗಿತು. ನನಗೆ ಕಾನೂನು ಉಲ್ಲಂಘಿಸುವವರನ್ನು ಕಂಡರೆ ಕೆಂಡದಂಥ ಕೋಪ ಬರುತ್ತದೆ. ಆದರೆ ಅಲ್ಲಿ ನಾನು ಏನೂ ಮಾಡುವಂತಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಆ signal ಹಸಿರು ಇದ್ದುದ್ದರಿಂದ, ಮುಂದೆ ಹೋದೆ. ಬಸ್ ನಿಲ್ದಾಣದ ಎದುರು ಎರಡನೆಯ signal ಸಿಕ್ಕಿತು. ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆಂಪು ದೀಪ ಉರಿಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಕಾರಣ, ನಾನು ನನ್ನ ಗಾಡಿಯನ್ನು ನಿಲ್ಲಿಸಿದೆ. ನನ್ನ ಪಕ್ಕದಲ್ಲಿ 2-3 ಆಟೊಗಳು, 2-3 ಬಸ್ ಗಳು signalಅನ್ನು ಕಡೆಗಾಣಿಸಿ ವೇಗವಾಗಿ ಮುಂದೆ ಹೋಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು. ಆಗ, ನನ್ನ ಹಿಂದೆ ಒಂದು ಬಸ್ ಬಂದು ಜೋರಾಗಿ horn ಮಾಡಲು ಶುರುಮಾಡಿತು. ನಾನು ತಿರುಗಿ ನೋಡಿದಾಗ, ಅದರ ಚಾಲಕನು, ನಾನೂ ಸಹ traffic ನಿಯಮ ಉಲ್ಲಂಘಿಸಿ ಮುಂದೆ ಹೋಗಿ, ಅವನಿಗೂ ಮುಂದೆ ಹೋಗಲು ದಾರಿ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಡಬೇಕೆಂದು ಸನ್ನೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದ. ನಾನು ಅವನಿಗೆ signalನಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆಂಪು ದೀಪ ಇರುವುದನ್ನು ಕೈ ಸನ್ನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ತೋರಿಸಿದೆ. ಆದರೆ, ಅವನಿಗೆ ತಾಳ್ಮ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಅವನು ಜೋರಾಗಿ horn ಮಾಡುತ್ತಲೇ ಇದ್ದನು. ಆದರೆ ನಾನು ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಕಿವಿ ಕೊಡಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಹಸಿರು ದೀಪ ಬಂದೊಡನೆಯೆ, ನಾನು ಬಲ ತಿರುಗಲು ಹೊರಟೆ. ಆದರೆ ಎದುರುಗಡೆಯಿಂದ ಒಂದು ಆಟೋ ಮತ್ತು ಒಂದು ಬಸ್, ಅವರಿಗಿದ್ದ ಕೆಂಪು ದೀಪವನ್ನು ಕಡೆಗಾಣಿಸಿ ಮುಂದೆ ಬರುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು. ಆ ಆಟೋದವನೆಂತೂ ನನಗೆ ಇನ್ನೇನು ಹೊಡೆಯಬೇಕು ಅನ್ನೊಷ್ಟು ಹತ್ತಿರ ಬಂದು ನಿಲ್ಲಿಸಿದ. ನನಗೂ ರೇಗಿ ಹೋಯಿತು. "red light ಇರೋದು ಕಾಣ್ಸೋಲ್ವಾ sir?" ಎಂದೆ. ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಅವನು ನಾನೆ ಎನೋ ತಪ್ಪು ಮಾಡಿದ ಹಾಗೆ ನನಗೇ ಜೋರು ಮಾಡಿದ. ಅಲ್ಲೆ ರಸ್ತೆ ಮಧ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ನಿಂತು ಅವನೊಡನೆ ಜಗಳ ಮಾಡುವಷ್ಟು ಸಮಯವಾಗಲಿ, ತಾಳ್ಮೆಯಾಗಲಿ ನನಗಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಅವನನ್ನು ಮನದಲ್ಲಿಯೆ ಬೈದುಕೊಂಡು ಮುಂದೆ ಸಾಗಿದೆ.<br /><br />ಬನಶಂಕರಿಯ ನಂತರ, ರಸ್ತೆಗಳೆಲ್ಲ ಖಾಲಿಯಾಗೇ ಇತ್ತು. ಮನೆಯಿಂದ officeಗೆ ಬರಲು ಇಂದು 35-40 ನಿಮಿಷ ಹಿಡಿಯಿತು. ಎಂಟು ಗಂಟೆಯ ನಂತರ ಹೋರಟಿದ್ದರೆ, ಒಂದು ಕಾಲು ಗಂಟೆಯಾದರೂ ಹಿಡಿಯುತ್ತಿತ್ತು. ಬೆಳಗ್ಗೆ ಎಷ್ಟು ಬೇಗ ಹೊರಡುತ್ತೀನೊ, ಅಷ್ಟು ಪ್ರಯಾಣದ ಸಮಯ ಕಡಿಮೆ ಮಾಡಬಹುದು.<br /><br />ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು, ಅದರಲ್ಲೂ ಇಲ್ಲಿನ traffic ಸ್ಥಿತಿ, ಎಷ್ಟು ಹದಗೆಟ್ಟಿದೆ. 4-5 ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಕೆಳಗೆ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ಸ್ಥಿತಿ ಹೀಗಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಇನ್ನು 2-3 ವರ್ಷಗಳ ನಂತರದ ಸ್ಥಿತಿಯ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಯೋಚಿಸಿದರೆ ವ್ಯಥೆಯಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13133344.post-69364531425529270792006-09-17T13:03:00.000+05:302006-09-17T13:20:42.319+05:30"Free" software?I've been an avid linux fan from my first year in Engineering. I've installed & worked with over 50 different linux distributions. In short, I love linux. I bought my PC in 2000. It came pre-loaded with windows.<br /><br /> I didn't have much knowledge about PCs or operating systems then. I remember, one of my friends (Srini) had told me that I should get a bootable windows CD along with the PC. When I asked the guy who assembled my PC, he said "what CD? We don't give any CD". He gave me a bootable floppy instead! I realized that I got a pirated version of windows atleast a few months later.<br /><br /> When I started using Linux later, I realized it's much better than Windows in almost every possible way. Slowly, I was so much awed by Linux, that I've been working mostly on Linux only (at home) ever since.. But I still had windows for a few reasons.<br />One, I had a win-modem which came with the assembled system, which meant I wasn't able to get it working in Linux for a long time.<br />Two, I had some data in windows partition. Three, I used to play a lot of games. And if you wanted any good 3d games, there were very few available for Linux.<br />Also, my dad sometimes used to use the PC, mostly to browse the internet. And he wanted only windows.<br /><br /> My hard disk crashed a few months ago. After some of my futile attempts at getting it fixed, I bought a new one. I installed linux on my system & things were going well.. A new 80 GB hard disk meant that I could have one or two permanent linux partition (with any of my favourite distros installed in them) & also I would still have disk space to install & try out new (or new versions of existing) distros.<br /><br /> After about a couple of weeks of getting the new hard disk, my dad asked me if I had "repaired" the PC. I had then installed Vector Linux & PCBSD. I told him that I had created an account for him in PCBSD & he could start browsing internet in that. The following conversation (or you can say a heated argument) ensued:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dad: </span>"What? Have you not installed windows? You always keep installing this linux & other stuff.."<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Me: </span>"No.. As I have told you many times, you can do everything that you do on windows in Linux (or FreeBSD). Just try it.. If you find **any** problem at all in using Linux/FreeBSD, let me know. I assure you you won't have any problems"<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dad (<span style="font-style: italic;">angrily</span>): </span>"I don't want to learn something new.. Windows is what I know & what I work with in office too.. Why should I learn linux? I can't learn new things at my age.. I don't want to learn.."<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Me: </span>"But dad, you don't have to learn anything at all.. Just boot up the PC, log on to Linux (FreeBSD actually) using your name only (no password required too, I had disabled password for his account). Then you can just start using it right away.. You'll have a start menu similar to windows. Select web browser & start browsing.. It's just like the way you do it on windows. You don't have to learn any new thing"<br />(I had configured his user account with password-less login on PCBSD. The default desktop was KDE"<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dad (<span style="font-style: italic;">angrily & not wanting to listen to anything I say</span>): </span>"I just don't want to do it.. You always keep installing Linux.. What is your problem in installing windows?"<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Me: </span>"Well, you'll have to pay about Rs.3000 or so for Windows XP. You know, windows is not free"<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dad (<span style="font-style: italic;">even more angrily</span>): </span>"Does everybody else pay? Don't they get it installed when they get the PC? Can you not get the CD from one of your friends & install windows? (If not just call the computer shop guy & he'll install it for you if you don't want to do it yourself)"<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Me: </span>"But dad, that's pirated versions of windows. You know, piracy is illegal. You are not supposed to install software from pirated copies. It's wrong"<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dad (<span style="font-style: italic;">much more angrier now</span>): </span>"Everybody does it.. What's your problem. If everybody else can use pirated versions why can't you?"<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Me: </span>"Because it's illegal. I can get arrested for installing pirated copy of softwares, even windows"<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dad: </span>"How many people have been arrested so far? Doesn't **everybody else** do it? What is your problem in installing windows.. I know, it's just that you do not want me to use the computer. That's why you install linux & other things. That's why you don't want to install windows. I won't touch your computer from today. You do whatever you want"<br /><br /> Anything I said after that, was useless. My dad didn't want to listen to me. I even challenged him to use it once & show me **any** problems in using Linux to browse the internet. But he didn't want to listen.<br /><br /> As you can see in the above situation, the problem is not windows or linux or even the reluctance to learn/adapt new things. The problem is piracy. Call it ignorance towards piracy or call it the lack of knowledge/information about piracy. The truth is that piracy has infiltrated our lives much deeper than anyone can think of. (And mind you, software piracy is just one small part of it). If there were no piracy, maybe my dad would have known that it costs a bomb for windows, office, etc. Maybe then he would try out other low cost alternatives. The problem is, as he says, since everybody is embracing piracy, why not us? This reflects the general thinking of the majority of the population. In a way, piracy is like corruption. We all know corruption is bad & must be eliminated. But when it comes to getting your work done, you are ready to pay a small (or some) amount of bribe to get it done faster & smoother. Piracy works similarly.. If you can get something that costs a lot for dirt cheap, would you not buy it? Even if it's illegal? Especially if everyone's doing it & nobody is being penalised legally or facing any problems? Would you not do it?<br />Atleast, I wouldn't do it. Simply because it's illegal.<br /><br /> Let's have a look at software piracy. Most new PCs are shipped with windows. Branded ones ensure they provide only licensed copy. But more than 90% of home PC users buy assembled PCs (because of the mere price difference b/w assembled & branded ones). And I'm sure 99% of the computer shops that assemble PCs have pirated copies of most popular software (& not just windows.. To name a few - ms office, visual studio, macromedia flash, adobe photoshop, acrobat, antivirus softwares, etc). Many people assume that all these softwares come for free along with the PC.. Just ask the computer shop guy to install what ever software you want & he'll do it for free. The irony is that a few computer shop vendors themselves are not educated about piracy. Others who are well aware of piracy, convenietly don't mention about that to customers. Many customers may also not be aware of piracy. But even a majority of people who are aware, do nothing to stop it. I mean I'm not saying you need to take pro-active actions. You can atleast not buy/use pirated things.<br /><br /> Piracy is not limited to softwares.. It's much more rampant in the music industry, movie industry & even the computer games industry. Recently, I saw a person in Domlur who was selling lots of pirated CD on the roadside. He had CDs - both audio & video of most recent movies in most languages! Go to National Market on any day & every shop there has pirated stuff. The innumerable no. of raids there seems to be futile.<br /><br /> So, who benefits from piracy? People who create software/music/movies, are the ones that have lot to lose.. They put their hard work & money to create something. But piracy robs them of the money they are supposed to get for their hard work. At first it might seem that the end users stand to gain from it. You get costly commodities for cheap prices, right? But you'll soon realise that this is not the case. If all popular products (non-tangible products like software/music/movies that can be pirated) do get pirated, then most people would buy pirated ones instead of costly original ones. This means the people who create these products lose money & they may not create products in the future. The quality of products in that industry goes on decreasing and the end-users stand to lose. For eg. if piracy becomes very rampant in the music industry, prople producing music will soon realise that they are losing money because of piracy. So, they stop producing music (atleast the quality of music produced will go down as there will be no proper ROI). So, in the long run, people will not get good music.<br /><br /> Let us all atleast try to stop piracy. Let's not buy/use any pirated stuff, be it software, music, movies or anything else. Unless we, the end users don't do something about it, we can't bring down this evil.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13133344.post-68367912309613891352006-09-15T18:06:00.000+05:302006-09-15T18:11:13.354+05:30ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ blogging??ಈಗ ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲೂ blog ಮಾಡಬಹುದು! ಕನ್ನಡ ಗಣಕ ಪರಿಷತ್ತು ನಿರ್ಮಿಸಿರುವ "ನುಡಿ" ತಂತ್ರಾಂಶ (software) ಬಳಸಿ, ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಬರೆಯುವುದು ಬಹಳ ಸುಲಭವಾಗಿದೆ.<br />ಅಕ್ಷರಗಳು "unicode" ನಲ್ಲಿ ತೋರುವುದರಿಂದ, ಯಾವುದೇ ಗಣಕ ಯಂತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ (computer), ಬರೆದಿರುವ ಕನ್ನಡ ಅಕ್ಷರಗಳು ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ ತೋರುತ್ತವೆ.<br /><br />ಜೈ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ.. ಜೈ ಕನ್ನಡ..Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13133344.post-1148968625359978852006-05-30T11:23:00.000+05:302006-05-30T11:29:37.690+05:30Java interviewAlthough I do not have much experience in Java, hopefully, I'll do better than this guy in a Java interview..<br /><br /><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" ><span style="">Q. What is the difference between an Abstract class and Interface?<br />A. Terms are different ... nothing more<br /><br />Q. What is JFC ?<br />A. Jilebi, Fanta & Coffee<br /><br />Q. Explain 2 tier and 3 -tier Architecture ?<br />A. Two wheelers like scooters will have 2 tyres and autorickshaws will have 3 tyres. </span></span><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;" ><span style=""> </span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span> <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;"> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><br />Q. I want to store more than 10 objects in a remote server ? Which methodology will follow ?<br />A. Send it through courier.<br /><br />Q. Can I modify an object in CORBA ?<br />A. As you wish , I do not have any objections.<br /><br />Q. How to communicate 2 threads each other ?<br />A. Non living things can't communicate.<br /><br />Q. What is meant by flickering ?<br />A. Closing and opening of eyes at girls.<br /><br />Q. Explain RMI Architecture?<br />A. I am a computer professional not an architect student.<br /><br />Q. What is the use of Servlets ?<br />A. In hotels, they can replace servers.<br /><br />Q. What is the difference between Process and Threads ?<br />A. Threads are small ropes. Make a rope from threads is an example for process.<br /><br />Q. When is update method called ?<br />A. Who is update method?<br /><br />Q. What is JAR file ?<br />A. File that can be kept inside a jar.<br /><br />Q. What is JNI ?<br />A. You mean JINI? It's a ghost which was Aladdin's friend.<br /><br />Q. How will you call an Applet from a Java Script?<br />A. I will give invitation.<br /><br />Q. How you can know about drivers and database information ?<br />A. I will go and enquire in the bus dep ot.<br /><br />Q. What is serialization ?<br />A. Arranging one after the other from left to right.<br /><br />Q. What is bean ? Where it can be used ?<br />A. A kind of vegetable. In kitchens for cooking they can be used.<br /><br />Q. Write down how will you create a binary Tree ?<br />A. When we sow a binary seed , a binary tree will grow.<br /><br />Q. What is the exact diffe rence between Unicast and Multicast object ?<br />A. If in a society, if there is only one caste, then it is Unicast, else it is multicast.</span></span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13133344.post-1142790679579638422006-03-19T23:21:00.000+05:302006-03-19T23:39:16.143+05:30Holi<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/214/5948/640/IBM-Holi-20060027.jpg"><img class="phostImg" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/214/5948/320/IBM-Holi-20060027.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />My Team mates <a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" alt="Posted by Picasa" style="border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" align="absmiddle" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13133344.post-1142790630232842212006-03-19T23:20:00.001+05:302006-03-19T23:20:30.240+05:30<a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/214/5948/640/IBM-Holi-20060026.jpg'><img border='0' class='phostImg' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/214/5948/320/IBM-Holi-20060026.jpg'></a><br />Some of my team mates <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' border='0' style='border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;' align='absmiddle'></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13133344.post-1142790601932004302006-03-19T23:20:00.000+05:302006-03-19T23:38:24.720+05:30<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/214/5948/640/IBM-Holi-20060022.jpg"><img class="phostImg" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/214/5948/320/IBM-Holi-20060022.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Playing Holi, in the evening <a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" alt="Posted by Picasa" style="border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" align="absmiddle" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13133344.post-1142790535823530062006-03-19T23:18:00.000+05:302006-03-19T23:37:43.746+05:30<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/214/5948/640/IBM-Holi-20060030.jpg"><img class="phostImg" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/214/5948/320/IBM-Holi-20060030.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Me & my team mates celebrating Holi <a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" alt="Posted by Picasa" style="border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" align="absmiddle" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13133344.post-1142790471074631662006-03-19T23:17:00.000+05:302006-03-19T23:41:27.646+05:30<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/214/5948/640/Image%28745%29.jpg"><img class="phostImg" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/214/5948/320/Image%28745%29.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Myself, on Holi day <a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" alt="Posted by Picasa" style="border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" align="absmiddle" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Everybody in our office played holi on Wednesday. It was fun.. We couldn't work the whole day.<br />Although we were informed the previous day, I didn't bother to wear proper wear to celebrate holi with colours. Well, to be frank, I never let anybody apply colour on me all these years. I mean I never played holi at all.. :-) I know that sounds weird. My colleages were surprised to hear this too.<br />When I entered the office, I noticed that some people were already 'coulourful'. I didn't want to spoil my clothes & thought I would resist people who try to put colour on me.. But believe me, no one, not even one person was spared in our office. Everybody did multiple rounds to all the desks & made sure they put colours on all our faces, hair & even clothes.<br />In the evening, there were some snacks arranged on the occassion of Holi. But people who went to get snacks were greeted with more colours. I washed my face & hair almost 4 times that day (thinking that the colour smearing ceremony was over). But everytime, they put more colours on me. Luckily my clothes weren't much coloured.. All in all, a different experience for me.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13133344.post-1141198745334635382006-03-01T13:09:00.000+05:302006-03-01T13:09:05.376+05:30Flexible Computer KeyboardHave a look at this:<br /><a href="http://www.opamerica.com/product_info.php/products_id/782">Flexible Computer Keyboard</a><br /><br /><span class="text">The "Super Kool Keyboard", as they call it, seems to be very flexible. They even claim that it is virtually indestructible. Supposedly, you can wash the keyboard & roll it up. It is also supposed to be durable & soft..<br /><br />I remember my keyboard at home. It's over 5 years since my dad bought me that computer. I stopped cleaning the keyboard over 4 years ago. The once white keyboard is now brown with dust. But still, all the keys are working properly & the keyboard is in good condition. I've used my computer to play a lot of games, which means I have put my keyboard into a lot of stress test. But yet, my old keyboard is still strong. They keys are still soft & responsive. And in over 5 years, I have never spilt anything on my keyboard.<br /><br />The USP of "Super Kool Keyboard" is that you can spill anything on your keyboard & wash it up. But as I have already told, in the past 5 years, I haven't spilt anything on my keyboard. So, spilling something is a rare occurance. Next point is cleaning the keyboard. Well, cleanliness is a matter of personal discretion. One of my friends, never bothered to clean his bike. There used to be 2-3 inches of dirt/mud on his bike most of the time.<br /><br />The ability of rolling up the keyboard could be quite useful. In the future, such keyboards could be supplied along with PDAs or even mobile phones, so that you can spread out a large full size keyboard & connect it to your device. You can roll it up & carry it in your pocket in other times.<br /><br />Coming to the price, it costs $40, which is just less than about Rs.2000. This is more than 2 times the cost of an ordinary keyboard. (Infact, you can get a good keyboard for less than Rs.500). So, unless the price comes down a bit, I don't see a lot of people buying it.<br /><br />My verdict: Just another one of "interesting" gadgets. Not very useful though. If you are very cleanliness-concious & would like to wash your keyboard often, this is for you. Or if you work in environment where dust or water/moisture is inevitable, this will be useful. One good thing is that you can roll it up & carry where ever you go.<br /><br />Personally, I think its a total waste of money. I don't know why I'm wasting time writing about this. Maybe just to fill up the blog with something..<br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2