Big bunch of activities at the office. They were part of the Christmas/New Year celebrations - cricket, tug-of-war and a "performance" round where the team was expected to put up a performance. Cricket we missed, due to some last minute work that had to be done. Performance we didn't prepare for since we didn't have too much time on our hands... but the tug-of-war we won.
Phew.
Dec 29, 2005
Dec 25, 2005
Books
In between compiles and runs I was looking up some sites on the FSM (something that I wanted to do for months, but never had the time), and I came across this:
http://www2.ljworld.com/onthestreet/2005/aug/24/pastafarianism which I found interesting because of some comments by people who seem to be supporters of the Bible (ironic that I should be writing about it today, of all days). My problem isn't with these people, but with the fact that they accept the Bible as fact. Quote: "The Bible even says that God created man to have an intimate relationship with Him. Man was created in His own image and were made to worship Him." and "As it stands now, Bible is infallible". Then it all comes down to a "my book is better than your book" kind of contest, and neither of us know who wrote our particular books and have no way of verifying anything written in them. For example this probably existed long before the other books did, and this is supposed to be the oldest story ever told. Maybe a few thousand years hence someone will find a preserved copy of Harry Potter and deduce how humans lived in the 21st century, while assuming the book to be factual history...
http://www2.ljworld.com/onthestreet/2005/aug/24/pastafarianism which I found interesting because of some comments by people who seem to be supporters of the Bible (ironic that I should be writing about it today, of all days). My problem isn't with these people, but with the fact that they accept the Bible as fact. Quote: "The Bible even says that God created man to have an intimate relationship with Him. Man was created in His own image and were made to worship Him." and "As it stands now, Bible is infallible". Then it all comes down to a "my book is better than your book" kind of contest, and neither of us know who wrote our particular books and have no way of verifying anything written in them. For example this probably existed long before the other books did, and this is supposed to be the oldest story ever told. Maybe a few thousand years hence someone will find a preserved copy of Harry Potter and deduce how humans lived in the 21st century, while assuming the book to be factual history...
ID and evolution and other such things
I've been following with some bewilderment the story of how proponents of ID and those of evolution are slugging it out in the West. For those out of the loop, ID = the theory of intelligent design. In a nutshell, it claims that life (I think human life in particular) is too complex to have evolved on its own; in fact, it is so complex that it needs an "intelligent designer" - an entity with the knowledge and resources to create life on this planet. Apparently, to disassociate itself from "religion", ID does not make any claims about the designer other than it's existence.
One example (which I probably read on slashdot, again) is about finding a fine Swiss watch on the street somewhere. It is so complex and so beautiful that one presumes that it has been designed and created by someone and that it didn't suddenly appear in the street by itself. The existence of that watch is itself a sign of the existence of the creator of that watch.
This theory goes head to head with that of evolution; that life follows a pattern of natural selection and there is no need for a creator, except perhaps to start off the universe.
The recent hoo-ha was about teaching of ID as an alternative to evolution in schools. Opponents of teaching ID claim it's just a back door to get a particular religion into the syllabus, while proponents say that every valid scientific theory should be taught in schools.
Sigh. As if life wasn't bad enough already. What do I think about all this? Follow this link:
FSM, and the truth will set you free (just kidding). I think, if I really found an exquisite and beautiful Swiss watch and it was the most interesting thing on the planet, I wouldn't be content to just accept a random creator somewhere. Wouldn't it be fun to find out who the creator is, does he care about what happens to the watch, how did he make the watch, can he make more, and can he teach me to make them?
One example (which I probably read on slashdot, again) is about finding a fine Swiss watch on the street somewhere. It is so complex and so beautiful that one presumes that it has been designed and created by someone and that it didn't suddenly appear in the street by itself. The existence of that watch is itself a sign of the existence of the creator of that watch.
This theory goes head to head with that of evolution; that life follows a pattern of natural selection and there is no need for a creator, except perhaps to start off the universe.
The recent hoo-ha was about teaching of ID as an alternative to evolution in schools. Opponents of teaching ID claim it's just a back door to get a particular religion into the syllabus, while proponents say that every valid scientific theory should be taught in schools.
Sigh. As if life wasn't bad enough already. What do I think about all this? Follow this link:
FSM, and the truth will set you free (just kidding). I think, if I really found an exquisite and beautiful Swiss watch and it was the most interesting thing on the planet, I wouldn't be content to just accept a random creator somewhere. Wouldn't it be fun to find out who the creator is, does he care about what happens to the watch, how did he make the watch, can he make more, and can he teach me to make them?
Nothing...
... better to do.
It takes me back several years (6.5, to be precise), when I had just joined my first job. A lot of us young people would come to the office on weekends and other holidays. Because we had nothing better to do. It was a fun thing too, talking and joking with friends, perhaps going out for lunch, playing pranks, and table tennis, and having very serious discussions about life.
The end of December 2005 finds me in the same situation all over again. In the office on weekends because I have nothing better to do. Yet, this is different. The office is deserted. All the young people are doing things, going places. The only sound here is the fan in my Xeon machine running for all it's worth. Lunch? In the cafeteria, alone and in silence. The security guards are surprised to see me walk in on holidays, seems like this is simply not done out here. Browse some sites, write a little code, drink a lot of coffee, ramble on the blog and go home... for the weekly pizza. What would people a generation or two back think about this lifestyle? Would they be shocked and say "get a life"? Or would they be happy that I'm not getting into any trouble and am being a "good boy"?
It takes me back several years (6.5, to be precise), when I had just joined my first job. A lot of us young people would come to the office on weekends and other holidays. Because we had nothing better to do. It was a fun thing too, talking and joking with friends, perhaps going out for lunch, playing pranks, and table tennis, and having very serious discussions about life.
The end of December 2005 finds me in the same situation all over again. In the office on weekends because I have nothing better to do. Yet, this is different. The office is deserted. All the young people are doing things, going places. The only sound here is the fan in my Xeon machine running for all it's worth. Lunch? In the cafeteria, alone and in silence. The security guards are surprised to see me walk in on holidays, seems like this is simply not done out here. Browse some sites, write a little code, drink a lot of coffee, ramble on the blog and go home... for the weekly pizza. What would people a generation or two back think about this lifestyle? Would they be shocked and say "get a life"? Or would they be happy that I'm not getting into any trouble and am being a "good boy"?
Dec 24, 2005
"By an Anonymous Poet" and other ramblings
When things go wrong as they sometimes will
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill
When the funds are low, and the debts are high
You want to smile, but have to sigh
When care is pressing you down a bit-
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with it's twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up, though the pace seems slow--
You might succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than
it seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup.
And he learned too late, when the
night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you can never tell how close you are
It may be near when it seems so far
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit-
It's when things go wrong that you must not quit.
I don't quite remember where and when I recited this one. Was it at the school farewell party? For my class or my seniors? Or was it on Teachers' Day? Certainly wasn't in college... or anytime after I left college. I remember I used to have a notebook full of such stuff (gimme a break, I was only a kid then!) and funny quotes.
My favourite one, and maybe Chaos remembers this too, was by Andre Agassi (apparently) - You don't win silver. You lose gold.
And from the Matrix trilogy: Why, Mr. Anderson, why? Why? Why do you do it? Why? Why get up? Why keep fighting? Do you believe you're fighting for something, for more than your survival? Can you tell me what it is? Do you even know? Is it freedom, or truth, perhaps peace? Could it be for love? Illusions, Mr. Anderson, vagaries of perception, temporary constructs of a feeble human intellect trying desperately to justify an existence that is without meaning or purpose. And all of them as artificial as the Matrix itself. Although... Only a human mind can invent something as insipid as love. You must be able to see it, Mr. Anderson, you must know it by now. You can't win, it is pointless to keep fighting.
Hits
I see that Veera has got a bunch of hits by people searching for "Dinesh Gopinath I.A.S., Director of Medical & Research Div, Chennai". This refers of course, to a hoax being forwarded by all and sundry. What's surprising is that people are still searching for it, which means it's still doing the rounds; and that the searchers are reaching Veera's blog, of all places!
Of course, by including that string in this post I hope to draw some of that traffic away from Veera. One or two more hits a day would increase the hit count here by a factor of 2, I guess.
Oh well, what with woodwork going on in my home and nobody around to spend the time with, I've landed up at work today. My fuzzy logic clock tells me it's a quarter past three (Never seen a fuzzy logic clock? Try it, it's good) which means there's another three hours to go before I think of leaving for home.
Chaos wants to know what's cooking and I must admit it's mostly frying and related processes, and little else. Tadka, and phodni in his and my native tongues. The good thing is that I just need onions, mustard seeds, salt, chilli powder, turmeric powder and something to process and I'm all set! Poha/pohe (flattened puffed rice, I guess) is something I am fond of, and on the same lines I sometimes substitute the rice part with bread crumbs or even crushed chapati (phodni-chi poli in Marathi, for those who understand). We tried making an omlette when PT was here, and I tried it again after PT left too. Not too bad. I can make bread-pakodas too, though sometimes they don't really look like what they're supposed to. I can make rice, but there isn't any at home - my resources are limited. I hate noodles, but I can make them (duh). All said and done, cooking alone for a single person is not difficult, it's extremely boring. Cleaning up after the cooking is done is boring too. Going out to buy onions in the evening may not be boring per se, but it's cold.
Of course, by including that string in this post I hope to draw some of that traffic away from Veera. One or two more hits a day would increase the hit count here by a factor of 2, I guess.
Oh well, what with woodwork going on in my home and nobody around to spend the time with, I've landed up at work today. My fuzzy logic clock tells me it's a quarter past three (Never seen a fuzzy logic clock? Try it, it's good) which means there's another three hours to go before I think of leaving for home.
Chaos wants to know what's cooking and I must admit it's mostly frying and related processes, and little else. Tadka, and phodni in his and my native tongues. The good thing is that I just need onions, mustard seeds, salt, chilli powder, turmeric powder and something to process and I'm all set! Poha/pohe (flattened puffed rice, I guess) is something I am fond of, and on the same lines I sometimes substitute the rice part with bread crumbs or even crushed chapati (phodni-chi poli in Marathi, for those who understand). We tried making an omlette when PT was here, and I tried it again after PT left too. Not too bad. I can make bread-pakodas too, though sometimes they don't really look like what they're supposed to. I can make rice, but there isn't any at home - my resources are limited. I hate noodles, but I can make them (duh). All said and done, cooking alone for a single person is not difficult, it's extremely boring. Cleaning up after the cooking is done is boring too. Going out to buy onions in the evening may not be boring per se, but it's cold.
Gadgets
I was reading a thread on slashdot about how Americans are "addicted" to technology - notable being high-speed internet and devices like MP3 players, cellphones, etc. Some posters made the point that the thread is pointless, seeing as everyone is dependent on technology in some way or the other and calling it addiction is not quite correct.
Made me think about myself - high-speed internet? Hardly. 256kbps is not high-speed. But if you hear the providers here, it's the top-end package I have and I should be more than happy with it. Am I addicted to it? Perhaps. I need the daily dose of news and tech stuff, but I don't feel lost without it. MP3 player? Nope, I don't have one. At least, not a portable one. Yet. And I don't listen to music 24/7 anyway. Cell phone? Yup, I have one, but am not dependent on it in any way. I don't call anyone, nobody calls me. The phone's there just in case anyone wants to call me, or if I need to call for a pizza delivery. I don't have a so-called landline. Radio/music system? Nope, I don't have either. I do have a TV and a DVD player, but both are not in use right now.
One of the reasons for not having too many gadgets is price, I think. There are so many things to buy and only so much money!
Made me think about myself - high-speed internet? Hardly. 256kbps is not high-speed. But if you hear the providers here, it's the top-end package I have and I should be more than happy with it. Am I addicted to it? Perhaps. I need the daily dose of news and tech stuff, but I don't feel lost without it. MP3 player? Nope, I don't have one. At least, not a portable one. Yet. And I don't listen to music 24/7 anyway. Cell phone? Yup, I have one, but am not dependent on it in any way. I don't call anyone, nobody calls me. The phone's there just in case anyone wants to call me, or if I need to call for a pizza delivery. I don't have a so-called landline. Radio/music system? Nope, I don't have either. I do have a TV and a DVD player, but both are not in use right now.
One of the reasons for not having too many gadgets is price, I think. There are so many things to buy and only so much money!
Dec 23, 2005
Stardust
Slashdot reports:
"Seven years ago, the Stardust probe was sent to intercept Comet Wild 2, gather dust particles, and return to Earth. Stardust is scheduled to touch down in a Utah desert on January 15. From the article: 'Our mission is called Stardust, in part because we believe some of the particles in the comet will, in fact, be older than the sun,' said Don Brownlee of the University of Washington, the principal investigator of the mission."
Like a cosmic vacuum cleaner?
"Seven years ago, the Stardust probe was sent to intercept Comet Wild 2, gather dust particles, and return to Earth. Stardust is scheduled to touch down in a Utah desert on January 15. From the article: 'Our mission is called Stardust, in part because we believe some of the particles in the comet will, in fact, be older than the sun,' said Don Brownlee of the University of Washington, the principal investigator of the mission."
Like a cosmic vacuum cleaner?
Dec 21, 2005
Woe is me
The worst thing possible for someone who rides a motorcycle. A puncture. Caused by a HUGE nail lying on the road. What's worse is that I noticed the flat tyre while I was on my way back home last night. And being in the middle of nowhere doesn't exactly help.
Stopped at a petrol bunk on the way (yes, I was riding on the semi-deflated tyre; didn't have much choice) and a little boy there changed the valve for me. I rode back home hoping that that was all it was, but saw that it was flat again this morning, so it was most definitely a puncture. A puncture-wallah sitting at the corner near my apartment fixed it, and that's when we saw the nail stuck in the tyre.
Puncture fixed, yay! Back to 100kmph on the service road.
Sigh. You can imagine what my life would be like nowadays if this is what I'm writing about in a blog.
Stopped at a petrol bunk on the way (yes, I was riding on the semi-deflated tyre; didn't have much choice) and a little boy there changed the valve for me. I rode back home hoping that that was all it was, but saw that it was flat again this morning, so it was most definitely a puncture. A puncture-wallah sitting at the corner near my apartment fixed it, and that's when we saw the nail stuck in the tyre.
Puncture fixed, yay! Back to 100kmph on the service road.
Sigh. You can imagine what my life would be like nowadays if this is what I'm writing about in a blog.
Dec 20, 2005
Whenever you're holding all the cards ...
.. why does everyone else turn out to be playing chess?
Anyway, it's getting more and more foggy out here as the days go by. There's fog at 10 o'clock in the morning, when I race down the service road to go to work. And I can't seem to be able to wake up early enough to get to work earlier than this - it's too cold.
I've started a bit of cooking too, small stuff mostly, can't go for the intricate dishes since I don't have the required paraphernalia.
Oh well, that's it for today.
Anyway, it's getting more and more foggy out here as the days go by. There's fog at 10 o'clock in the morning, when I race down the service road to go to work. And I can't seem to be able to wake up early enough to get to work earlier than this - it's too cold.
I've started a bit of cooking too, small stuff mostly, can't go for the intricate dishes since I don't have the required paraphernalia.
Oh well, that's it for today.
Dec 19, 2005
Dec 17, 2005
AOE3
Completed the first part of the AOE3 single player campaign. Moderate difficulty, most of the video settings on high. Must say that my system held up pretty well, maybe because low FPS doesn't really make such a game unplayable. There were some places with intense fighting where I could feel the video stuttering, and also some complex cutscenes that looked like a slideshow; but overall the feel was good.
There's no way I'm going to play this game on lower video settings, I'd rather see my buildings fall in a slideshow than have them vanish without crumbling in real time! And for the Fountain of Youth, protect that big gun at all costs and make plenty of ships.
And before I forget - I really liked the opening video, especially the manner in which the music gives way to the "classic" AOE theme!
There's no way I'm going to play this game on lower video settings, I'd rather see my buildings fall in a slideshow than have them vanish without crumbling in real time! And for the Fountain of Youth, protect that big gun at all costs and make plenty of ships.
And before I forget - I really liked the opening video, especially the manner in which the music gives way to the "classic" AOE theme!
Literacy?
"More Americans are getting college degrees than they were about a decade ago, but skills in reading and analyzing data among the well-educated have dropped significantly, according to a national report on literacy released Thursday.
When adults with higher-education degrees were asked to compare the viewpoints in two newspaper editorials, for example, or interpret a table about blood pressure, less than half could do it successfully."
Great. Should give the people harping about the US being a wonderful place, something to think about.
Of course, I hope I would do better at reading comprehension than an above-mentioned illiterate - but you never know.
When adults with higher-education degrees were asked to compare the viewpoints in two newspaper editorials, for example, or interpret a table about blood pressure, less than half could do it successfully."
Great. Should give the people harping about the US being a wonderful place, something to think about.
Of course, I hope I would do better at reading comprehension than an above-mentioned illiterate - but you never know.
Dec 15, 2005
Age of Empires!
Finally got the CDs that I had ordered online - Age of Empires 3 and Need for Speed : Most Wanted! Mmmmm... you can bet there won't be any long posts here for a while.
The sad part of this story is that I finally find my PC specs out of date. Are people willing to donate towards a new 7800GTX 512 for me? :P
The sad part of this story is that I finally find my PC specs out of date. Are people willing to donate towards a new 7800GTX 512 for me? :P
Dec 13, 2005
Visitors
Yup, the ones who come to my blog. I track them thru that little picture down at the bottom of the page. And I always find the statistics fascinating.
For one, not many of my own friends and relatives know of this blog. So most of the hits I get are from the one guy who knows about it and from random surfers and more importantly, redirects from search engines. Now, if there is one thing that this blog lacks it's a theme (that is why the term "Rambling" appears in the title, duh). So there is absolutely nothing here that would actually interest a person who is searching for something specific. Unless he is searching for me.
Some of the searches are reasonable, people looking for information and reviews about the M6805, or searching for games and widescreen er.. screens.
But then there was this guy who's looking for "measures to reduce job hopping". Dude, if you're going through blogs looking for how to stop your employees from leaving, you have bigger problems than job hoppers. One solution always works, pay them more :)
Another person is looking for "optical zoom on cellphones". Nope, there isn't. Actually, I did see one cellphone a long time ago that had an optical zoom lens, but that was a prototype. Optical zoom would probably eat up a lot of power, make the phone bulky and also costlier. So there.
To the guy looking for "Philips India DVD 3007", it's a good model, but there's isn't much to choose from between brands. Get the cheapest one you can find that has all the features that you are likely to use.
"Bangalore traffic"? The less said about it, the better. Why were you searching for it in the first place?
And then Chaos has put up a rant about the name change. From Bangalore to Benga-loo-roo. I wholeheartedly support it since I don't live there any more. It might prompt more people to leave and maybe, just maybe, some, ahem, interesting people might migrate up north.
For one, not many of my own friends and relatives know of this blog. So most of the hits I get are from the one guy who knows about it and from random surfers and more importantly, redirects from search engines. Now, if there is one thing that this blog lacks it's a theme (that is why the term "Rambling" appears in the title, duh). So there is absolutely nothing here that would actually interest a person who is searching for something specific. Unless he is searching for me.
Some of the searches are reasonable, people looking for information and reviews about the M6805, or searching for games and widescreen er.. screens.
But then there was this guy who's looking for "measures to reduce job hopping". Dude, if you're going through blogs looking for how to stop your employees from leaving, you have bigger problems than job hoppers. One solution always works, pay them more :)
Another person is looking for "optical zoom on cellphones". Nope, there isn't. Actually, I did see one cellphone a long time ago that had an optical zoom lens, but that was a prototype. Optical zoom would probably eat up a lot of power, make the phone bulky and also costlier. So there.
To the guy looking for "Philips India DVD 3007", it's a good model, but there's isn't much to choose from between brands. Get the cheapest one you can find that has all the features that you are likely to use.
"Bangalore traffic"? The less said about it, the better. Why were you searching for it in the first place?
And then Chaos has put up a rant about the name change. From Bangalore to Benga-loo-roo. I wholeheartedly support it since I don't live there any more. It might prompt more people to leave and maybe, just maybe, some, ahem, interesting people might migrate up north.
Dec 8, 2005
Dec 7, 2005
Rats!
"The 'brain', grown from 25,000 neural cells extracted from a single rat embryo, has been taught to fly an F-22 jet simulator by scientists at the University of Florida."
Enough said!
Enough said!
Dec 6, 2005
Traffic woes
Yup. Traffic woes. Those who have heard me raving about the traffic conditions out here as compared to good ol' Bangalore would be surprised. But of course woes are relative.
After months of more or less empty roads, I faced my first big traffic jam today morning. Had to spend about 30 minutes in one place, then managed to get out and cut across a sandy road and then vrooooom :) Not too bad, was it?
The other crib I have is about people not respecting traffic signals. How much intelligence does it take to stop if you see a red light and traffic coming from the opposite direction?
After months of more or less empty roads, I faced my first big traffic jam today morning. Had to spend about 30 minutes in one place, then managed to get out and cut across a sandy road and then vrooooom :) Not too bad, was it?
The other crib I have is about people not respecting traffic signals. How much intelligence does it take to stop if you see a red light and traffic coming from the opposite direction?
Dec 5, 2005
amBX
Interesting, it IS the next logical step. I won't comment on how effective something like this can be till I have experienced it for myself.
Dec 2, 2005
Nivida said...
... something or the other. This appeared in a newspaper article mentioning opinions of young people on something.
If you're like me, you read that as Nvidia said... :(
Yes, I need to get a life.
If you're like me, you read that as Nvidia said... :(
Yes, I need to get a life.
Survive Outsourcing again?
Steve Larrison actually responded to some flames I threw his way in my blog. To me, at least, it indicates that he is serious about his site and what he writes there.
>This guy makes the same assumption that many others do; but all that '3 jobs in 6 months' means is that this person was at one company for 6 months.
If you read the article I linked to, it is clear that the writer is talking about the benefits of serial job hopping.
The writer is speculating on how much is enough. One oft-talked-about problem in the Indian IT industry is the rising wage bill, like you mention, but it is also due to salary hikes every year, not only because people job-hop. The reason behind this could very well be that after all the wage hikes, it is still economical to get the work done in India or Indian workers are good enough to warrant such wages. What you choose to believe is up to you. But that still does not address the point that the writer in question may not be a chronic job hopper.
> "Regardless of what rate someone like the above author works at, an experienced person in the western world who isn't a serial job hopper is going to be a better value for any employer."
>>I could say the same after replacing western with Indian. What he is trying to do is to paint all non-western persons as non-serial-job-hoppers, stable employees, who are not out to jump ship at every opportunity they get.
I am doing nothing of the sort. I am just recognizing reality. Though Japanese people are not westerners, their culture promotes loyalty to a company, and company loyalty to employees.
No? The reality is what I wrote in response to your statement. The word "western" is unwarranted in what you said. Any person (western or otherwise) who does not switch jobs is probably better value for a company. There was absolutely no need for you to bring "the west vs. the rest" in that comment.
Try as you might, you can't deny the facts. And the facts are that Indian IT companies experience 30%+ annual turnover. Call centers experience 100%+ annual turnover.
Some jobs are hurt more by high turnover than others.
Agreed. I'm not denying the facts. But consider, if you will, the fact that the Indian culture of employment was similar to what you wrote about the Japanese (without going to the extremes that the Japanese are rumoured to). The word "attrition" did not exist till the IT industry came in (that's right, the "western" companies). If a company is willing to ignore my job-hopping past and also give me a substantial hike in salary while providing me with similar work and environment, is there any reason for me to not switch jobs? Companies actively send out recruiters to head-hunt, and most places are desperate to get people with some work experience. We have executives from "western" MNCs flying down to conduct interviews and accepting people with the job-hopping record that you put so nicely in numbers. Given such a tremendous opportunity, would you blame people for falling for it? And yet, I know good people who have worked in the same company for 10 years and more, out of sheer loyalty or maybe inertia.
Call centers are a different kettle of fish. I don't work in one (should I add, thank God?), but I do know that they employ a lot of young people who are in it only for the money. The ads for call center vacancies blatantly indicate how much a new recruit will earn. Possibly a lot of them leave to pursue higher studies, or a job higher up the value chain.
Applications developers bring more than just knowledge of a programming language to the table. If you have ever worked at a company for several years, you would know that the knowledge of a system gained overtime is invaluable. Productivity goes up once you understand a system and no longer have to do research to determine where a problem lies, or how to make an enhancement.
Yes, and that is the reason why domain specialists are so much in demand. If all you know is a programming language you wouldn't last too long in the industry, would you? But you cannot argue that a person requires complete knowledge of the system that he is working on to be productive. I still maintain that a few weeks or a couple of months should be enough for anyone who is half-way good in his domain to start working productively. (And for the hecklers, his = his/her everywhere in this blog.)
>And trying to portray Indians as job hopping opportunists.
The turnover numbers speak for themself.
I wouldn't say so. Only the bad numbers make news. Let's look at some other numbers: Nasscom in a report said the outsourcing industry was expected to face a shortage of 262,000 professionals by 2012. In such an environment, companies are going to do whatever they can to attract employees. And employees are going to be less tolerant of mistakes that their employers make. Here's more: Call centre professionals in India are well taken care of by the employers, compared to the United States, where the workers were treated like a 'commodity,' said an official of Communication Workers of America, the largest workers' union in the US. ... The delegation from the US, which visited call centres and IT firms in cities such as Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad, said the system in India was much better. "We are very impressed by the welfare measures for the workers here," she said. Interesting? And, apparently, the attrition rate in the US call centre industry is in the range of 18-25%, and may even be as high as 40% according to some estimates. Perhaps Steve has the correct numbers, I couldn't find them summarized on the web.
>"and the simple fact that even though Americans cost 4 times as much as Indians, we typically produce more work per person."
>>I take offense at that statement, Mr. Steve Larrison. There are lazy people and good people in all industries, in all cultures. Making such sweeping generalizations will only start a flame war - "Indians are typically more hard working, sincere and talented than Americans. And we are much less violent too."
There is no reason to be offended. Again, the numbers speak for themselves. Though the typical Indian software developer in India works for about 1/4 the rate of what someone in the United States charges, well run projects come in about 20% to 30% less than what you would pay to have the same project developed onshore.
But then a Gartner report says that outsourcing could even be more expensive than doing work in-house (from the "customer service industry" perspective). Oh well...
Tell me this, if all developers in a project being done in the "western" world were to take a salary cut of 50% would the project cost drop by exactly 50%? There are fixed costs, and even more importantly top management salaries to account for as well, I think. However, all this number crunching is totally beside the point, what counts most for a given company is whether the costs are reducing, and if they reduce by 20% to 30% there is no justification for not oursourcing. How much the Indian IT worker makes is a moot point, and perhaps it's up to the local industry to sort that issue out.
There are a variety of reasons for this. But the fact is that Americans produce more work per worker than people from any other nation. That's just part of the reason our GDP is the largest of any country in the world, and larger than the next 5 countries combined.
Indeed? More work in what terms? Dollars paid for doing that work? That just means Americans are, gasp, overpaid! Or did you mean to say that if I can write two thousand lines of quality code in a month, an average American in the same job would write ten thousand? Or that he could get the work done in 400 lines? Or in less than a week? With less coffee consumption? Or all of the above?
Larger than the next 5 countried combined? This sounded pretty intriguing to me...
Wow! Certainly larger than China and India combined. No mean feat, this, but larger than the next 5 countries combined?
Disclaimer: Numbers are from a simple google search, I have no proof of their accuracy and it seems they are from 2001. Hopefully things haven't changed so drastically since then :(
>This guy makes the same assumption that many others do; but all that '3 jobs in 6 months' means is that this person was at one company for 6 months.
If you read the article I linked to, it is clear that the writer is talking about the benefits of serial job hopping.
The writer is speculating on how much is enough. One oft-talked-about problem in the Indian IT industry is the rising wage bill, like you mention, but it is also due to salary hikes every year, not only because people job-hop. The reason behind this could very well be that after all the wage hikes, it is still economical to get the work done in India or Indian workers are good enough to warrant such wages. What you choose to believe is up to you. But that still does not address the point that the writer in question may not be a chronic job hopper.
> "Regardless of what rate someone like the above author works at, an experienced person in the western world who isn't a serial job hopper is going to be a better value for any employer."
>>I could say the same after replacing western with Indian. What he is trying to do is to paint all non-western persons as non-serial-job-hoppers, stable employees, who are not out to jump ship at every opportunity they get.
I am doing nothing of the sort. I am just recognizing reality. Though Japanese people are not westerners, their culture promotes loyalty to a company, and company loyalty to employees.
No? The reality is what I wrote in response to your statement. The word "western" is unwarranted in what you said. Any person (western or otherwise) who does not switch jobs is probably better value for a company. There was absolutely no need for you to bring "the west vs. the rest" in that comment.
Try as you might, you can't deny the facts. And the facts are that Indian IT companies experience 30%+ annual turnover. Call centers experience 100%+ annual turnover.
Some jobs are hurt more by high turnover than others.
Agreed. I'm not denying the facts. But consider, if you will, the fact that the Indian culture of employment was similar to what you wrote about the Japanese (without going to the extremes that the Japanese are rumoured to). The word "attrition" did not exist till the IT industry came in (that's right, the "western" companies). If a company is willing to ignore my job-hopping past and also give me a substantial hike in salary while providing me with similar work and environment, is there any reason for me to not switch jobs? Companies actively send out recruiters to head-hunt, and most places are desperate to get people with some work experience. We have executives from "western" MNCs flying down to conduct interviews and accepting people with the job-hopping record that you put so nicely in numbers. Given such a tremendous opportunity, would you blame people for falling for it? And yet, I know good people who have worked in the same company for 10 years and more, out of sheer loyalty or maybe inertia.
Call centers are a different kettle of fish. I don't work in one (should I add, thank God?), but I do know that they employ a lot of young people who are in it only for the money. The ads for call center vacancies blatantly indicate how much a new recruit will earn. Possibly a lot of them leave to pursue higher studies, or a job higher up the value chain.
Applications developers bring more than just knowledge of a programming language to the table. If you have ever worked at a company for several years, you would know that the knowledge of a system gained overtime is invaluable. Productivity goes up once you understand a system and no longer have to do research to determine where a problem lies, or how to make an enhancement.
Yes, and that is the reason why domain specialists are so much in demand. If all you know is a programming language you wouldn't last too long in the industry, would you? But you cannot argue that a person requires complete knowledge of the system that he is working on to be productive. I still maintain that a few weeks or a couple of months should be enough for anyone who is half-way good in his domain to start working productively. (And for the hecklers, his = his/her everywhere in this blog.)
>And trying to portray Indians as job hopping opportunists.
The turnover numbers speak for themself.
I wouldn't say so. Only the bad numbers make news. Let's look at some other numbers: Nasscom in a report said the outsourcing industry was expected to face a shortage of 262,000 professionals by 2012. In such an environment, companies are going to do whatever they can to attract employees. And employees are going to be less tolerant of mistakes that their employers make. Here's more: Call centre professionals in India are well taken care of by the employers, compared to the United States, where the workers were treated like a 'commodity,' said an official of Communication Workers of America, the largest workers' union in the US. ... The delegation from the US, which visited call centres and IT firms in cities such as Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad, said the system in India was much better. "We are very impressed by the welfare measures for the workers here," she said. Interesting? And, apparently, the attrition rate in the US call centre industry is in the range of 18-25%, and may even be as high as 40% according to some estimates. Perhaps Steve has the correct numbers, I couldn't find them summarized on the web.
>"and the simple fact that even though Americans cost 4 times as much as Indians, we typically produce more work per person."
>>I take offense at that statement, Mr. Steve Larrison. There are lazy people and good people in all industries, in all cultures. Making such sweeping generalizations will only start a flame war - "Indians are typically more hard working, sincere and talented than Americans. And we are much less violent too."
There is no reason to be offended. Again, the numbers speak for themselves. Though the typical Indian software developer in India works for about 1/4 the rate of what someone in the United States charges, well run projects come in about 20% to 30% less than what you would pay to have the same project developed onshore.
But then a Gartner report says that outsourcing could even be more expensive than doing work in-house (from the "customer service industry" perspective). Oh well...
Tell me this, if all developers in a project being done in the "western" world were to take a salary cut of 50% would the project cost drop by exactly 50%? There are fixed costs, and even more importantly top management salaries to account for as well, I think. However, all this number crunching is totally beside the point, what counts most for a given company is whether the costs are reducing, and if they reduce by 20% to 30% there is no justification for not oursourcing. How much the Indian IT worker makes is a moot point, and perhaps it's up to the local industry to sort that issue out.
There are a variety of reasons for this. But the fact is that Americans produce more work per worker than people from any other nation. That's just part of the reason our GDP is the largest of any country in the world, and larger than the next 5 countries combined.
Indeed? More work in what terms? Dollars paid for doing that work? That just means Americans are, gasp, overpaid! Or did you mean to say that if I can write two thousand lines of quality code in a month, an average American in the same job would write ten thousand? Or that he could get the work done in 400 lines? Or in less than a week? With less coffee consumption? Or all of the above?
Larger than the next 5 countried combined? This sounded pretty intriguing to me...
Numbers are fun, right?
United States $ 11,750,000,000,000
India $ 3,319,000,000,000
China $ 7,262,000,000,000
Wow! Certainly larger than China and India combined. No mean feat, this, but larger than the next 5 countries combined?
Disclaimer: Numbers are from a simple google search, I have no proof of their accuracy and it seems they are from 2001. Hopefully things haven't changed so drastically since then :(
Nov 30, 2005
Popular science articles?
Rediff has another "article", this time on AMD, even though the title indicates something about a sub-10,000 rupees PC.
Quote: "For the uninitiated, most PCs are loaded with 32-bit chips, which means they can process 32 bits of data every second. AMD's 64 bit offering is not only four times faster, it offers more Random Access Memory (RAM), the instant memory that is needed to perform various tasks while the computer is on."
32 bits of data every second? 64 bit offering is 4 times faster? Offers more RAM?
That makes me wonder on how misleading the other articles in the media could be. On personal finance, for example. Or on health, or how to get a job in a call center.
"For the customer willing to listen to a story of finer algebraic detail, AMD has its "dual core technology" to talk about. This offers virtually two processors in one, which, working in conjunction, delivers more than twice the performance."
Right. Virtually two processors, more than twice the performance. Where do they find these writers?
Quote: "For the uninitiated, most PCs are loaded with 32-bit chips, which means they can process 32 bits of data every second. AMD's 64 bit offering is not only four times faster, it offers more Random Access Memory (RAM), the instant memory that is needed to perform various tasks while the computer is on."
32 bits of data every second? 64 bit offering is 4 times faster? Offers more RAM?
That makes me wonder on how misleading the other articles in the media could be. On personal finance, for example. Or on health, or how to get a job in a call center.
"For the customer willing to listen to a story of finer algebraic detail, AMD has its "dual core technology" to talk about. This offers virtually two processors in one, which, working in conjunction, delivers more than twice the performance."
Right. Virtually two processors, more than twice the performance. Where do they find these writers?
Nov 23, 2005
"Survive Outsourcing" Blog?
Came across a blog entry titled: "If you are convinced that the US can't compete with India" where the author shows an example of someone (an Indian IT worker) who's changed 3 jobs in 6 months, and then says "If someone is on their 3rd job in 6 months, then it is impossible to believe that they have contributed anything of value for any of the organizations that they worked for."
This guy makes the same assumption that many others do; but all that '3 jobs in 6 months' means is that this person was at one company for 6 months. It doesn't say anything about how long the employee was with the 1st company! Nor does it say anything about why this person left the second company after 6 months. It could have been a family emergency or a medical emergency or a problem with the company not treating employees well or a company shutdown or a layoff.
The author of the "Survive Outsourcing" blog also says: "Having worked in this industry for 22 years, I realize that the learning curve has a major impact on productivity in this field." 'Bzzzzzt. Wrong!' as the Americans say. There are many people with job experiences of much less than 22 years who have the ability to hit the ground running and contribute to the project almost as soon as they join. It might take a week or two to get oriented and comfortable with the new company, but that's about it. Of course, the company would want new employees to stay for longer than 6 months but it's unfair to say that someone doesn't contribute to a company unless he stays in it for donkey's years, give or take a few.
Then he says "Regardless of what rate someone like the above author works at, an experienced person in the western world who isn't a serial job hopper is going to be a better value for any employer." I could say the same after replacing western with Indian. What he is trying to do is to paint all non-western persons as non-serial-job-hoppers, stable employees, who are not out to jump ship at every opportunity they get. And trying to portray Indians as job hopping opportunists.
But what really pisses me off is his comment in another post on his blog: "and the simple fact that even though Americans cost 4 times as much as Indians, we typically produce more work per person." I take offense at that statement, Mr. Steve Larrison. There are lazy people and good people in all industries, in all cultures. Making such sweeping generalizations will only start a flame war - "Indians are typically more hard working, sincere and talented than Americans. And we are much less violent too."
This guy makes the same assumption that many others do; but all that '3 jobs in 6 months' means is that this person was at one company for 6 months. It doesn't say anything about how long the employee was with the 1st company! Nor does it say anything about why this person left the second company after 6 months. It could have been a family emergency or a medical emergency or a problem with the company not treating employees well or a company shutdown or a layoff.
The author of the "Survive Outsourcing" blog also says: "Having worked in this industry for 22 years, I realize that the learning curve has a major impact on productivity in this field." 'Bzzzzzt. Wrong!' as the Americans say. There are many people with job experiences of much less than 22 years who have the ability to hit the ground running and contribute to the project almost as soon as they join. It might take a week or two to get oriented and comfortable with the new company, but that's about it. Of course, the company would want new employees to stay for longer than 6 months but it's unfair to say that someone doesn't contribute to a company unless he stays in it for donkey's years, give or take a few.
Then he says "Regardless of what rate someone like the above author works at, an experienced person in the western world who isn't a serial job hopper is going to be a better value for any employer." I could say the same after replacing western with Indian. What he is trying to do is to paint all non-western persons as non-serial-job-hoppers, stable employees, who are not out to jump ship at every opportunity they get. And trying to portray Indians as job hopping opportunists.
But what really pisses me off is his comment in another post on his blog: "and the simple fact that even though Americans cost 4 times as much as Indians, we typically produce more work per person." I take offense at that statement, Mr. Steve Larrison. There are lazy people and good people in all industries, in all cultures. Making such sweeping generalizations will only start a flame war - "Indians are typically more hard working, sincere and talented than Americans. And we are much less violent too."
Nov 20, 2005
Rafting in the Ganga - Day 1
I've been meaning to write about my trip for the past several days. But one thing led to another, and I just couldn't bring up the enthu to type. Sunday afternoon is as good a time as any, I guess.
For the click-happy amongst my millions of readers - http://www.travelmasti.com/5elements-camp.html
The route we took is as mentioned in the website: Delhi - Meerut - Roorkee - Hardwar - Rishikesh - Shivpuri - Byasi - Sinthali - Kaudiyala, the name of the rafting camp is '5 elements'.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. We were to travel in two vehicles, my boss's Scorpio (neat vehicle, that) and an Indica. The cab was supposed to pick me up from my home at the ungodly hour of 5:30 in the morning. I thought for a while that it might be easier to simply not sleep that night so as to be awake in time, but gave that up since we would probably have some activities planned for later in the day. Managed to wake up at 4 o'clock and was showered and dressed and packed (yes, I always pack at the last minute) and waiting outside my apartment block at 5:29. Hadn't factored in that the cab driver would have to wake up and go through all this too. He didn't turn up till well after 6, which threw our plans out of whack a bit. Went around and picked up the other folks and finally we were all heading out of Noida.
The journey itself was pretty uneventful, we stopped at a place called the Cheetal Grand for breakfast and had some narrow escapes on the highway (not according to the drivers though). The road was interesting enough, as all highways are, and was pretty well used. It was cold in the morning when we started off, but became pleasant as the day progressed. After some debate and enquiries on exactly where we were supposed to go, and some hard driving up the hilly roads, we reached the rafting camp. Or rather, we reached that point on the road where we could no longer ride in a vehicle and had to get off and haul ourselves down a hillside, over a bridge (which I call the Bridge of Fate, UT2004 players will remember that one) and down another hillside to actually reach the camp.
It was afternoon by then, and there was some confusion among the camp people about whether we were supposed to have lunch or not. Some of us tried to play volleyball while lunch was being prepared.
The camp itself is situated at a wonderful place, on the bank of the Ganga, on a white sanded beach, with hills all around, and the Bridge of Fate hanging above (yes, it's a suspension bridge, and we saw quite a few of them). There is a row of tents, which are assigned to the visiting rafters, and not much else. There was a bunch of what seemed to be techies from some company, having what seemed to be a seminar, being presided over by what seemed to be a professor from some ancient university. In any case, they left quickly enough, presumably having finished all their "team building" activities. We, on the other hand, were left to fend for ourselves and fell upon a pretty good lunch.
A few people tried their hand at kayaking, which wasn't fun enough because the kayak was tethered to the shore and they wouldn't let it go into the main stream, and also because nobody actually fell into the water. There was a small inlet into the beach where the water was calm and that's where the kayaking took place. We wandered off to look at the other visitors in the camp, and tried to play volleyball again. The afternoon passed quickly enough, and it started getting dark as soon as the sun went out of sight over some hills. The air grew chilly with the sun's passing and soon we were all clamouring for a bonfire. It was duly lit by the camp people and we spent some time sitting around it, toasting our feet and listening to the silence. Broken every now and then by a vehicle passing high up on the road above us, headlights glowing eerily and briefly. Also broken continuously by the rush of the water nearby, bubbling over the rocks on the riverbed.
Dinner was served and consumed and it was off to the tents to sleep.
For the click-happy amongst my millions of readers - http://www.travelmasti.com/5elements-camp.html
The route we took is as mentioned in the website: Delhi - Meerut - Roorkee - Hardwar - Rishikesh - Shivpuri - Byasi - Sinthali - Kaudiyala, the name of the rafting camp is '5 elements'.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. We were to travel in two vehicles, my boss's Scorpio (neat vehicle, that) and an Indica. The cab was supposed to pick me up from my home at the ungodly hour of 5:30 in the morning. I thought for a while that it might be easier to simply not sleep that night so as to be awake in time, but gave that up since we would probably have some activities planned for later in the day. Managed to wake up at 4 o'clock and was showered and dressed and packed (yes, I always pack at the last minute) and waiting outside my apartment block at 5:29. Hadn't factored in that the cab driver would have to wake up and go through all this too. He didn't turn up till well after 6, which threw our plans out of whack a bit. Went around and picked up the other folks and finally we were all heading out of Noida.
The journey itself was pretty uneventful, we stopped at a place called the Cheetal Grand for breakfast and had some narrow escapes on the highway (not according to the drivers though). The road was interesting enough, as all highways are, and was pretty well used. It was cold in the morning when we started off, but became pleasant as the day progressed. After some debate and enquiries on exactly where we were supposed to go, and some hard driving up the hilly roads, we reached the rafting camp. Or rather, we reached that point on the road where we could no longer ride in a vehicle and had to get off and haul ourselves down a hillside, over a bridge (which I call the Bridge of Fate, UT2004 players will remember that one) and down another hillside to actually reach the camp.
It was afternoon by then, and there was some confusion among the camp people about whether we were supposed to have lunch or not. Some of us tried to play volleyball while lunch was being prepared.
The camp itself is situated at a wonderful place, on the bank of the Ganga, on a white sanded beach, with hills all around, and the Bridge of Fate hanging above (yes, it's a suspension bridge, and we saw quite a few of them). There is a row of tents, which are assigned to the visiting rafters, and not much else. There was a bunch of what seemed to be techies from some company, having what seemed to be a seminar, being presided over by what seemed to be a professor from some ancient university. In any case, they left quickly enough, presumably having finished all their "team building" activities. We, on the other hand, were left to fend for ourselves and fell upon a pretty good lunch.
A few people tried their hand at kayaking, which wasn't fun enough because the kayak was tethered to the shore and they wouldn't let it go into the main stream, and also because nobody actually fell into the water. There was a small inlet into the beach where the water was calm and that's where the kayaking took place. We wandered off to look at the other visitors in the camp, and tried to play volleyball again. The afternoon passed quickly enough, and it started getting dark as soon as the sun went out of sight over some hills. The air grew chilly with the sun's passing and soon we were all clamouring for a bonfire. It was duly lit by the camp people and we spent some time sitting around it, toasting our feet and listening to the silence. Broken every now and then by a vehicle passing high up on the road above us, headlights glowing eerily and briefly. Also broken continuously by the rush of the water nearby, bubbling over the rocks on the riverbed.
Dinner was served and consumed and it was off to the tents to sleep.
Nov 9, 2005
River rafting
That's what I'll be doing this weekend (and Monday).
"The Adventure Links rafting camp is situated in the foothills of the Garhwal Himalayas on the left bank of the holy river Ganga. It is situated in one of the most beautiful and the biggest beach of the river. The camp is equipped with luxury tents, which are furnished with double camp cots and attached bath area. The toilets in the camp are dry toilets with wooden western seats. Apart from river rafting there are many beach games and jungle walks. There are provisions for rock climbing, meditation and yoga on request (extra payment). There is no electricity – lanterns are used for light." etc. etc.
"The Adventure Links rafting camp is situated in the foothills of the Garhwal Himalayas on the left bank of the holy river Ganga. It is situated in one of the most beautiful and the biggest beach of the river. The camp is equipped with luxury tents, which are furnished with double camp cots and attached bath area. The toilets in the camp are dry toilets with wooden western seats. Apart from river rafting there are many beach games and jungle walks. There are provisions for rock climbing, meditation and yoga on request (extra payment). There is no electricity – lanterns are used for light." etc. etc.
Bloggers' meet?
There was a Delhi bloggers' meet sometime ago, it seems. The TOI claims there were only 4 people who turned up, including the organizer.
Question is, who organizes these 'meets'? Where do they put up the information that something like this is going to happen? I could be thought of as belonging to Delhi, and I had no clue that these people exist, leave alone that they are organizing a bloggers' meet. Not that I could have made it even if I knew about it.
But then, I'm not a REAL blogger, am I? Real bloggers have massive readerships and have 'popular' blogs (means the same thing, no?). Real bloggers take on the MSM (main stream media, it seems) and write passionately about issues that affect the lives of everyone. Real blogging is an alternative to the MSM! Real blogging should maintain standards of ethical journalism.
I think I should shut shop and crawl into a hole somewhere (some might say that's where I belong anyway, but we'll let that pass). When did my personal log on the web get hijacked by journalism? When did the fact that I put some content on the web force me to join a 'community' of bloggers? A blogosphere? Gimme a break. Dedicated readership? Gimme another break! Where do these people find the time to go around reading so many blogs and commenting and discussing about them?
And now people have started complaining that bloggers are mostly IT professionals and that blogging has not reached down to the common man! Excuse me, but since when does the common man have the time, money and inclination to purchase a computer, leave alone getting on the web by paying through his nose and then figuring out how to put up a blog?
Oh, before I forget, let's organize a Noida bloggers' meet...
Question is, who organizes these 'meets'? Where do they put up the information that something like this is going to happen? I could be thought of as belonging to Delhi, and I had no clue that these people exist, leave alone that they are organizing a bloggers' meet. Not that I could have made it even if I knew about it.
But then, I'm not a REAL blogger, am I? Real bloggers have massive readerships and have 'popular' blogs (means the same thing, no?). Real bloggers take on the MSM (main stream media, it seems) and write passionately about issues that affect the lives of everyone. Real blogging is an alternative to the MSM! Real blogging should maintain standards of ethical journalism.
I think I should shut shop and crawl into a hole somewhere (some might say that's where I belong anyway, but we'll let that pass). When did my personal log on the web get hijacked by journalism? When did the fact that I put some content on the web force me to join a 'community' of bloggers? A blogosphere? Gimme a break. Dedicated readership? Gimme another break! Where do these people find the time to go around reading so many blogs and commenting and discussing about them?
And now people have started complaining that bloggers are mostly IT professionals and that blogging has not reached down to the common man! Excuse me, but since when does the common man have the time, money and inclination to purchase a computer, leave alone getting on the web by paying through his nose and then figuring out how to put up a blog?
Oh, before I forget, let's organize a Noida bloggers' meet...
Nov 4, 2005
Debt
Was reading this article on rediff about what to do with an unexpected windfall. Not that I have a windfall coming my way, I just wanted to see what the author had in mind. One point caught my fancy:
4. Look at settling your debt
You could also spend your windfall clearing your debt. Servicing a personal loan or credit card debt is very, very expensive. The rates of interest are in the 18% to 30% category. It would be better to clear the loans so that you don't spend any more of your money in paying off this massive interest.
Interesting how the writer assumes that everyone would have a debt. Nowhere does he/she mention 'debt (if you have one)'. Am I the only person out here who doesn't have a debt or a loan? Why is it mentioned so casually in this article? If I did have a loan on which I was paying 18-30% interest, wouldn't paying it off be the first thing on my mind if I get an extraordinary amount of money? Are there really people who wouldn't pay it off?
4. Look at settling your debt
You could also spend your windfall clearing your debt. Servicing a personal loan or credit card debt is very, very expensive. The rates of interest are in the 18% to 30% category. It would be better to clear the loans so that you don't spend any more of your money in paying off this massive interest.
Interesting how the writer assumes that everyone would have a debt. Nowhere does he/she mention 'debt (if you have one)'. Am I the only person out here who doesn't have a debt or a loan? Why is it mentioned so casually in this article? If I did have a loan on which I was paying 18-30% interest, wouldn't paying it off be the first thing on my mind if I get an extraordinary amount of money? Are there really people who wouldn't pay it off?
Uh...
“The IT companies represent only one face of the city. They should also look at the other face (slums). There is immoral, unethical and illegal prosperity on the one side and poverty-stricken people who are moral and ethical on the other. Ms Sonia and Mr Singh should visit the slums in Bangalore to know the gap between the living conditions of these two classes.”
Apparently, so said a politician in November 2004. Does he try to imply that the IT companies are somehow responsible for the condition of the hapless people in the slums? The bit about 'man is a thinking animal' starts to get dimmer every time I hear these folks.
Apparently, so said a politician in November 2004. Does he try to imply that the IT companies are somehow responsible for the condition of the hapless people in the slums? The bit about 'man is a thinking animal' starts to get dimmer every time I hear these folks.
Assembling a computer
I read an "article" in a Times of India supplement today morning giving "tips" on this topic. I can't remember all of it now, but a couple of things that got my goat - a scanner and a TV tuner are both output devices and may conflict with one another; and Windows 98 is better for games than Windows XP.
I have only seen a couple of shady games that absolutely refused to run under XP, I guess all the games released after XP was released would run just fine. And I don't know whether Doom 3 will agree to run on 98.
Another recommedation was to avoid serial ports and go for as many USB ports as one can - honestly, I have NOT seen any motherboard commercially sold in the past several years that didn't have a USB port. Something along the lines of 'avoid USB 1.1, get USB 2.0, look for FireWire' would make much more sense. Serial port? I think I'll keep one, thanks, to plug my old external modem into.
There was another statement along the lines of 'multimedia is optional, buy speakers only if you need them, sound is overrated, just for effect, etc.'. (I, for one, never bought into this 'multimedia enabled' marketing gobbledegook. What does it mean? That there is a sound card and a couple of cheap speakers? It may have made sense when there was no integrated sound on the motherboard and getting a sound card was a big deal. Why don't they just say 'sound enabled'? What other media does a multimedia computer support anyway?) Sound is mostly integrated nowadays and speakers cost starting from 500 bucks. What's the idea behind advising people to not go for it?
The point behind this post is to wonder who the people are who write such 'tips'? Do they know what they are talking about and seriously dumb down the article to cater to the layman? Or are they just filling out space? Why don't they recommend specific configurations instead of making statements like 'Windows 98 is better for games'? Why don't they explain the Megahertz (now Gigahertz, I guess) myth? Why don't they tell us all about FSB, HT, HTT, IDE, SATA, AGP, PCIe, GB, GHz, kbps and so many other terms that a normal buyer would choke upon?
I feel so strongly on this topic because I have been approached by many folks asking for a recommendation on a configuration. They plan to buy the very latest ('I NEED a 3.2GHz CPU', 'I NEED Intel', 'I want the 800MHz FSB', 'I will get a webcam and 5.1 speakers') when all they know they will do is surf the web and read email and play their MP3's. Articles in the media only seem to contribute to the confusion. And a scanner is not an output device, neither is a TV tuner.
I have only seen a couple of shady games that absolutely refused to run under XP, I guess all the games released after XP was released would run just fine. And I don't know whether Doom 3 will agree to run on 98.
Another recommedation was to avoid serial ports and go for as many USB ports as one can - honestly, I have NOT seen any motherboard commercially sold in the past several years that didn't have a USB port. Something along the lines of 'avoid USB 1.1, get USB 2.0, look for FireWire' would make much more sense. Serial port? I think I'll keep one, thanks, to plug my old external modem into.
There was another statement along the lines of 'multimedia is optional, buy speakers only if you need them, sound is overrated, just for effect, etc.'. (I, for one, never bought into this 'multimedia enabled' marketing gobbledegook. What does it mean? That there is a sound card and a couple of cheap speakers? It may have made sense when there was no integrated sound on the motherboard and getting a sound card was a big deal. Why don't they just say 'sound enabled'? What other media does a multimedia computer support anyway?) Sound is mostly integrated nowadays and speakers cost starting from 500 bucks. What's the idea behind advising people to not go for it?
The point behind this post is to wonder who the people are who write such 'tips'? Do they know what they are talking about and seriously dumb down the article to cater to the layman? Or are they just filling out space? Why don't they recommend specific configurations instead of making statements like 'Windows 98 is better for games'? Why don't they explain the Megahertz (now Gigahertz, I guess) myth? Why don't they tell us all about FSB, HT, HTT, IDE, SATA, AGP, PCIe, GB, GHz, kbps and so many other terms that a normal buyer would choke upon?
I feel so strongly on this topic because I have been approached by many folks asking for a recommendation on a configuration. They plan to buy the very latest ('I NEED a 3.2GHz CPU', 'I NEED Intel', 'I want the 800MHz FSB', 'I will get a webcam and 5.1 speakers') when all they know they will do is surf the web and read email and play their MP3's. Articles in the media only seem to contribute to the confusion. And a scanner is not an output device, neither is a TV tuner.
Nov 2, 2005
Trade Unions...
Was reading some articles on the Left call for trade unions in the IT industry. Most IT folks have taken exception to this idea, but I, for one, think it might actually work.
Conditions apply, of course. No political interference. No 'affiliations' to other organizations or an umbrella union. No strike calls by anyone outside the industry.
The reason I think it might work is that IT workers, by far, are much more sensible than the workers in other industries. I can hardly imagine my friends and colleagues protesting on the road and holding up traffic. I cannot imagine them striking work asking for better pay, or protesting against privatization or takeovers. In fact, I cannot think of any of us doing anything for which the unions have earned themselves a bad name!
On the other hand, a union might give us a platform for support when one of us is in trouble. Case in point is the poor management guy who was beaten up on Bangalore railway station. The authorities claim he was drunk and that he has withdrawn his complaint, but his blog tells a different story. Without going into the merits of his particular case, if such a thing were to happen to me or to any of my friends, it would be so much easier if we had a union with clout behind us. Think about it.
So my vision of an IT industry union is the very definition of the word. A coming together of people, with no agenda to pursue other than the wellbeing of its members. Of course, the 'usual' unions were probably formed with the same goal, but they have been traditionally confrontationalist. With a 'we-against-the management' attitude. I'm banking on the premise that IT workers are in a better league. What we need is really just a platform, not a union in the sense that we see it in other industries.
I don't think issues like overtime, working conditions, etc are really anything to discuss about in this context. Overtime makes sense in a call center perhaps, but certainly not in a software development or in a R&D house. This industry is inherently different in that we don't have fixed actions to perform which will generate fixed products which are then sold. I don't have a fixed output of say, lines of code every day. My employment is task or project based and overtime makes no sense. This is captured in my contract which states that I am an 'exempt' employee. The problem with the leaders calling for a union is that they simply don't understand the nature of the beast. Calling for overtime to be paid to software engineers is only going to get them laughed at.
Conditions apply, of course. No political interference. No 'affiliations' to other organizations or an umbrella union. No strike calls by anyone outside the industry.
The reason I think it might work is that IT workers, by far, are much more sensible than the workers in other industries. I can hardly imagine my friends and colleagues protesting on the road and holding up traffic. I cannot imagine them striking work asking for better pay, or protesting against privatization or takeovers. In fact, I cannot think of any of us doing anything for which the unions have earned themselves a bad name!
On the other hand, a union might give us a platform for support when one of us is in trouble. Case in point is the poor management guy who was beaten up on Bangalore railway station. The authorities claim he was drunk and that he has withdrawn his complaint, but his blog tells a different story. Without going into the merits of his particular case, if such a thing were to happen to me or to any of my friends, it would be so much easier if we had a union with clout behind us. Think about it.
So my vision of an IT industry union is the very definition of the word. A coming together of people, with no agenda to pursue other than the wellbeing of its members. Of course, the 'usual' unions were probably formed with the same goal, but they have been traditionally confrontationalist. With a 'we-against-the management' attitude. I'm banking on the premise that IT workers are in a better league. What we need is really just a platform, not a union in the sense that we see it in other industries.
I don't think issues like overtime, working conditions, etc are really anything to discuss about in this context. Overtime makes sense in a call center perhaps, but certainly not in a software development or in a R&D house. This industry is inherently different in that we don't have fixed actions to perform which will generate fixed products which are then sold. I don't have a fixed output of say, lines of code every day. My employment is task or project based and overtime makes no sense. This is captured in my contract which states that I am an 'exempt' employee. The problem with the leaders calling for a union is that they simply don't understand the nature of the beast. Calling for overtime to be paid to software engineers is only going to get them laughed at.
Bangalore and the IT industry
I managed to see an NDTV programme on this topic. And I found it funny. All these politicians and CEOs and theatre personalities and historians going on about how IT is not the only industry in the city and that the common man has not benefited by the boom and how culture is being neglected and how it was the previous government's fault and so on and on and on.
For me the point is very simple. Is the road in front of my house full of potholes? Yes (in fact it hasn't been relaid for 3 years I would guess, ever since I moved in there). Is Airport Road congested? Yes. Is the flyover still unfinished? Yes. Is the international airport still in the works? Yes. Is public transport still woeful? Yes.
Where does IT come into the picture here?
If the local guv'mint thinks that there are too many people coming into the city and that there is a strain on the infrastructure, they should stop that influx; and not allow more companies to set up shop, and not allow expansion of existing companies. Tell Wipro and Infy to go away. Problem solved.
Why does the presence or otherwise of any particular industry prevent the guv'mint from building roads that don't vanish in the first rains? Or from cleaning up the drains? Or providing good public transport?
Another comment: *some* politicians should really learn to speak with a bit less arrogance. Or perhaps that is the difference between 'successful' leaders and the rest of us - they think the world revolves around them while we know it doesn't.
For me the point is very simple. Is the road in front of my house full of potholes? Yes (in fact it hasn't been relaid for 3 years I would guess, ever since I moved in there). Is Airport Road congested? Yes. Is the flyover still unfinished? Yes. Is the international airport still in the works? Yes. Is public transport still woeful? Yes.
Where does IT come into the picture here?
If the local guv'mint thinks that there are too many people coming into the city and that there is a strain on the infrastructure, they should stop that influx; and not allow more companies to set up shop, and not allow expansion of existing companies. Tell Wipro and Infy to go away. Problem solved.
Why does the presence or otherwise of any particular industry prevent the guv'mint from building roads that don't vanish in the first rains? Or from cleaning up the drains? Or providing good public transport?
Another comment: *some* politicians should really learn to speak with a bit less arrogance. Or perhaps that is the difference between 'successful' leaders and the rest of us - they think the world revolves around them while we know it doesn't.
DVD player
Back from a quick trip to Bangalore. Got a DVD player too, one of the cheapest I could find. It looks like Bangalore was flooded with these, every shop had a big stack. Philips 3005 for Rs. 2999 only. Of course, by a strange quirk of fate, I ended up with the 3007. I'm even supposed to get a 5% cash back on my credit card for this.
I also helped in shopping for a washing machine for my friend. That's something that is a must for us guys living alone, but I didn't find any model that's geared towards a single person's washing. Most seem to be big enough for families.
I was in the market for an ipod too, but the prices in rupees were atrocious. Someone even quoted me 35K for a 40GB ipod. Considering a 60GB video ipod is $399 on the Apple store, I've decided to give up for now. We were planning to go check out the Apple store (a physical Apple store) but didn't get time. Why is stuff so costly in India?
Got myself a Logitech MOMO racing wheel too. Had a great time fitting it into my suitcase, of course I had to leave the nice box behind.
I also helped in shopping for a washing machine for my friend. That's something that is a must for us guys living alone, but I didn't find any model that's geared towards a single person's washing. Most seem to be big enough for families.
I was in the market for an ipod too, but the prices in rupees were atrocious. Someone even quoted me 35K for a 40GB ipod. Considering a 60GB video ipod is $399 on the Apple store, I've decided to give up for now. We were planning to go check out the Apple store (a physical Apple store) but didn't get time. Why is stuff so costly in India?
Got myself a Logitech MOMO racing wheel too. Had a great time fitting it into my suitcase, of course I had to leave the nice box behind.
Oct 28, 2005
"Compensation: How much is enough?"
L has put up a blog post with this title. And I wouldn't have responded in kind had I not seen a number there. Two numbers actually - 15L and 4 years. Pardon my language, but I can't help it - WTF?!
I always thought EDA was one of the more lucrative fields in the industry in India, specially because one can't just jump into the field from any other - you need knowledge about more things than the standard C/C++/Unix and the number of experienced people is limited. And here are Java and .Net people talking about 15L in 4 years?! As I said before, WTF!
This can mean either of two things - that kids nowadays are very greedy or that I need to move to a Java based field. The funny thing is that none of the people whom I know (and whose compensation I know as well) get anything close to that number.
Right, now that I have that out of my system, let me go back and see what else L has to say. Ho hum, how much is enough? Ideally, zero work and infinite pay. Next question.
How much time should one spend in a job? That really depends. Job satisfaction and the way you are treated in the company matter a lot. But only at the start of your career, I think. Because that's the time when almost everyone you know have more or less the same pay. But once the years pass, you see people who get paid a lot more just because they happened to land in the right place. Or because they jumped ship 7 times in 7 years. Or because they are in a company that believes in sending you abroad for years together. And once you see the changing lifestyles, the reckless display of wealth, the buying of apartments and cars, the exotic vacations, then it hurts because all I have is certificates and a bunch of gift coupons.
I wouldn't want to judge the quality or worth of the work that all these folks do. But it hurts because I know these were the same people who learnt Fortran programs by heart in the first semester because they didn't understand what was going on. If society values their work much more than mine - then somewhere, somehow, I have slipped and I have failed. How does one rectify that? By getting paid more. Which is possible only if you move.
The sad fact is that you do get a good hike if you move. I've never got the 60-100% that L mentions, but 20-30% is a good number. I lay the blame squarely on management for this one. The way it works in many places is that you get a good hike when you move into the company. During the yearly appraisal, you miss out on the hike because you're too new there. You might even fall behind others in the same role. To keep up, what do you do? You move. Again, and again. There are always other companies willing to take you on board for a 30% hike.
L is probably wrong about us losing out on the cost advantage. As long as I am not paid 80 to 120K dollars, I am a cost advantage to the company, because that is what it will cost them to get someone to do the same work elsewhere (maybe 60K, but the point still stands). And even with all the salary hikes, I am still MUCH below that number. Cost matters a lot to those companies where skill and experience do not matter as much as the head count. Call centers come to mind. I may be wrong, flame me if you will.
Back to the management. Create a job profile vs. compensation matrix, and, damn it, stick to it! Turn the candidate away if he's asking for more. "But what if the candidate is exceptionally qualified/experienced?" whine the MBAs. Then he doesn't belong to that job profile, does he? DON'T base your offer on what the candidate is earning now. One large company that shall go nameless, seems to be making offers directly related to what the candidate earns in the current company. So the numbers I get to hear about fluctuate wildly for the same position.
What I would really like to see is standardized salaries. Yes. Everyone in a given company (or department) at a particular designation or experience level or with the same job responsibilities should have the same compensation. If someone has done exceptionally well, then reward him with a performance bonus, or more stock options or whatever. But I should know when I join a new place that I am not being shortchanged just because I didn't negotiate, and that everyone else is also being paid the same, with point variations depending on performance. It should also reduce favouritism a bit, because you will have to justify any performance bonus you give to an employee.
We come next to the fact that moving often looks bad on the resume'. I don't know. I've seen both kinds of cases, people who have done really well because they moved once a year and ended up as big shot managers, and people who cannot get hired anywhere because they moved once a year. It depends on the people doing the hiring and the reasons that you come up with for moving. Like so many things in life, chance rears its ugly head again.
People say that all this moving around is bad and that soon the market will stagnate because nobody will have the resources to offer you yet another hike. I believe they say this to convince people not to move around so much. From my point of view, if it is inevitable that the market stagnates, then I better move around as much as I can before that happens! (Just kidding, I'm not moving again for some time.)
Why do companies and recruiters hire you even after looking at your history of leaving in a year in all previous companies? I don't know either, but possibly it has to do with you convincing them that you won't. You might even be sincere when you tell them that all the previous ones were a mere coincidence and that you are applying at this place to be able to make a career here. Maybe the people doing the hiring feel that their company will provide a better environment and compensation and that you will finally remain for more than a year. Maybe they just want to complete their headcount.
Finally, uh, is someone actually GETTING that 15L in 4 years? If yes, please, please, please, let me know which company it it, and how one goes about getting a job there.
I always thought EDA was one of the more lucrative fields in the industry in India, specially because one can't just jump into the field from any other - you need knowledge about more things than the standard C/C++/Unix and the number of experienced people is limited. And here are Java and .Net people talking about 15L in 4 years?! As I said before, WTF!
This can mean either of two things - that kids nowadays are very greedy or that I need to move to a Java based field. The funny thing is that none of the people whom I know (and whose compensation I know as well) get anything close to that number.
Right, now that I have that out of my system, let me go back and see what else L has to say. Ho hum, how much is enough? Ideally, zero work and infinite pay. Next question.
How much time should one spend in a job? That really depends. Job satisfaction and the way you are treated in the company matter a lot. But only at the start of your career, I think. Because that's the time when almost everyone you know have more or less the same pay. But once the years pass, you see people who get paid a lot more just because they happened to land in the right place. Or because they jumped ship 7 times in 7 years. Or because they are in a company that believes in sending you abroad for years together. And once you see the changing lifestyles, the reckless display of wealth, the buying of apartments and cars, the exotic vacations, then it hurts because all I have is certificates and a bunch of gift coupons.
I wouldn't want to judge the quality or worth of the work that all these folks do. But it hurts because I know these were the same people who learnt Fortran programs by heart in the first semester because they didn't understand what was going on. If society values their work much more than mine - then somewhere, somehow, I have slipped and I have failed. How does one rectify that? By getting paid more. Which is possible only if you move.
The sad fact is that you do get a good hike if you move. I've never got the 60-100% that L mentions, but 20-30% is a good number. I lay the blame squarely on management for this one. The way it works in many places is that you get a good hike when you move into the company. During the yearly appraisal, you miss out on the hike because you're too new there. You might even fall behind others in the same role. To keep up, what do you do? You move. Again, and again. There are always other companies willing to take you on board for a 30% hike.
L is probably wrong about us losing out on the cost advantage. As long as I am not paid 80 to 120K dollars, I am a cost advantage to the company, because that is what it will cost them to get someone to do the same work elsewhere (maybe 60K, but the point still stands). And even with all the salary hikes, I am still MUCH below that number. Cost matters a lot to those companies where skill and experience do not matter as much as the head count. Call centers come to mind. I may be wrong, flame me if you will.
Back to the management. Create a job profile vs. compensation matrix, and, damn it, stick to it! Turn the candidate away if he's asking for more. "But what if the candidate is exceptionally qualified/experienced?" whine the MBAs. Then he doesn't belong to that job profile, does he? DON'T base your offer on what the candidate is earning now. One large company that shall go nameless, seems to be making offers directly related to what the candidate earns in the current company. So the numbers I get to hear about fluctuate wildly for the same position.
What I would really like to see is standardized salaries. Yes. Everyone in a given company (or department) at a particular designation or experience level or with the same job responsibilities should have the same compensation. If someone has done exceptionally well, then reward him with a performance bonus, or more stock options or whatever. But I should know when I join a new place that I am not being shortchanged just because I didn't negotiate, and that everyone else is also being paid the same, with point variations depending on performance. It should also reduce favouritism a bit, because you will have to justify any performance bonus you give to an employee.
We come next to the fact that moving often looks bad on the resume'. I don't know. I've seen both kinds of cases, people who have done really well because they moved once a year and ended up as big shot managers, and people who cannot get hired anywhere because they moved once a year. It depends on the people doing the hiring and the reasons that you come up with for moving. Like so many things in life, chance rears its ugly head again.
People say that all this moving around is bad and that soon the market will stagnate because nobody will have the resources to offer you yet another hike. I believe they say this to convince people not to move around so much. From my point of view, if it is inevitable that the market stagnates, then I better move around as much as I can before that happens! (Just kidding, I'm not moving again for some time.)
Why do companies and recruiters hire you even after looking at your history of leaving in a year in all previous companies? I don't know either, but possibly it has to do with you convincing them that you won't. You might even be sincere when you tell them that all the previous ones were a mere coincidence and that you are applying at this place to be able to make a career here. Maybe the people doing the hiring feel that their company will provide a better environment and compensation and that you will finally remain for more than a year. Maybe they just want to complete their headcount.
Finally, uh, is someone actually GETTING that 15L in 4 years? If yes, please, please, please, let me know which company it it, and how one goes about getting a job there.
Oct 20, 2005
Grrr...
Don't you just hate it when articles supposed to "educate" the aam janata are wrong?
In an article on "GREAT" laptops, rediff says that a particular Dothan based laptop is faster than a P4. Why? Because it supports a 533MHz FSB!
It goes on to say that another model has a builtin VGA webcam and expands VGA to "very good appliance, a standard for electronic goods"!
The whole text reads like a concatenation of the advertising material of the various players in the market. I'm sticking to Anandtech for my daily tech dose.
In an article on "GREAT" laptops, rediff says that a particular Dothan based laptop is faster than a P4. Why? Because it supports a 533MHz FSB!
It goes on to say that another model has a builtin VGA webcam and expands VGA to "very good appliance, a standard for electronic goods"!
The whole text reads like a concatenation of the advertising material of the various players in the market. I'm sticking to Anandtech for my daily tech dose.
Well done Bangalore!
Or should I say, the people who "run" Bangalore. Guys, it's time to leave. If someone of his stature is treated like this, I don't even want to think of the common folks...
http://in.rediff.com/money/2005/oct/20murthy.htm
http://in.rediff.com/money/2005/oct/20murthy.htm
Oct 15, 2005
Uhhhhh....
Techtree.com sends me a newsletter every day. The one I see today has this:
Bi-directional printing: Printing in which not only does your PC send data to the printer, but the printer sends data to the PC, like information on the current printer status (for example, out of paper).
Maybe I'm mistaken here but I thought that bi-di printing was back in the good old days of dot matrix printing where the printer head would actually print one line in one direction and the other in the reverse direction, to save the time required for the carriage return. Those good old days!
Can anyone tell me if I am correct? (Of course I am, I just want to see if there are any other people left over from the good old days.)
Bi-directional printing: Printing in which not only does your PC send data to the printer, but the printer sends data to the PC, like information on the current printer status (for example, out of paper).
Maybe I'm mistaken here but I thought that bi-di printing was back in the good old days of dot matrix printing where the printer head would actually print one line in one direction and the other in the reverse direction, to save the time required for the carriage return. Those good old days!
Can anyone tell me if I am correct? (Of course I am, I just want to see if there are any other people left over from the good old days.)
The Book
Ah, Kaddu. Happily married man. I doubt if he would be interested in collaborating on something so mundane as a book.
That was us in college - roll numbers 1, 2 and 3. Three very different people, who landed up in very different places too. Wonder if all those years studying were worth it.
That was us in college - roll numbers 1, 2 and 3. Three very different people, who landed up in very different places too. Wonder if all those years studying were worth it.
Rant...
Let's see. What can I rant about today?
How about the fact that the flats in the building next to the one in which I live are going for a minimum of 80 lakhs? No doubt they're made by a famous builder and have nice landscaping, but 80 lakhs?! I think I could live forever in my rented apartment for 80 lakhs, and it too is nothing to sneeze at.
Finally got cable TV, got my TV running, got my TV tuner running... and there's nothing to see on TV!
The weekend looms large, and nothing to do except sleep the hours away.
Sigh. Such is life.
How about the fact that the flats in the building next to the one in which I live are going for a minimum of 80 lakhs? No doubt they're made by a famous builder and have nice landscaping, but 80 lakhs?! I think I could live forever in my rented apartment for 80 lakhs, and it too is nothing to sneeze at.
Finally got cable TV, got my TV running, got my TV tuner running... and there's nothing to see on TV!
The weekend looms large, and nothing to do except sleep the hours away.
Sigh. Such is life.
Oct 13, 2005
The book and the DVD player.
Nope, we won't rewrite Five Point Something, we will write "Seventy and Counting" (seventy being the percentage that would mark you as an excellent student in my class). Of course, this book will be about us elite people and the adventures we had in the middle of nowhere. In fact, I invite Chaos to contribute chapters to this book (profits, if any, will be shared in proportion to the number of pages contributed to the book*). Any other RECTian who's not already in a lucrative line of work can contribute too. Especially those with lurid details which we are woefully short of.
I was actually looking at a Panasonic model on the web (For the context-switching-impaired readers - we're talking about DVD players now). This one is for my folks in Bangalore, I aleady have two DVD readers (one each on the desktop and laptop). The point is that the older generation does not wish to be at the mercy of us young folk to turn on the PC and start the software for playing DVDs/VCDs. DVD players are easier to use. And they are pretty cheap nowadays too. Things I thought of that a player should ideally have:
- multi-format support
- photo cd support + functions like browse
- play slow motion / fast / single frame advance
- zoom / pan
- good remote control features (i.e. easy to use)
- THX sound
- dts/dolby built-in decoders
- multi disc / cd changer
- continue on power cycle
- 10 bit video DAC (also saw a model with 4 bit DAC!)
- progressive scan (I don't need this right now, but the future is uncertain)
- virtual surround sound
- 24 bit audio DAC
- optical & coax audio out
From what I see on the web, pretty much all players have most of these features (except maybe the CD changer and continue-on-power-cycle). Considering it's Diwali time and everyone seems to be putting out discounts and offers, it might be a good time to buy something like this.
* Conditions apply. Acceptance of chapters at the sole discretion of this author. Contents may be edited for clarity. Font size and line spacing will be consistent across pages of the published book. Pictures/photos will not be considered for sharing of profits. Void where prohibited. No warranty, express or implied, is made for fitness of purpose. All rights reserved. May require some assembly. Batteries not included. Results may vary.
I was actually looking at a Panasonic model on the web (For the context-switching-impaired readers - we're talking about DVD players now). This one is for my folks in Bangalore, I aleady have two DVD readers (one each on the desktop and laptop). The point is that the older generation does not wish to be at the mercy of us young folk to turn on the PC and start the software for playing DVDs/VCDs. DVD players are easier to use. And they are pretty cheap nowadays too. Things I thought of that a player should ideally have:
- multi-format support
- photo cd support + functions like browse
- play slow motion / fast / single frame advance
- zoom / pan
- good remote control features (i.e. easy to use)
- THX sound
- dts/dolby built-in decoders
- multi disc / cd changer
- continue on power cycle
- 10 bit video DAC (also saw a model with 4 bit DAC!)
- progressive scan (I don't need this right now, but the future is uncertain)
- virtual surround sound
- 24 bit audio DAC
- optical & coax audio out
From what I see on the web, pretty much all players have most of these features (except maybe the CD changer and continue-on-power-cycle). Considering it's Diwali time and everyone seems to be putting out discounts and offers, it might be a good time to buy something like this.
* Conditions apply. Acceptance of chapters at the sole discretion of this author. Contents may be edited for clarity. Font size and line spacing will be consistent across pages of the published book. Pictures/photos will not be considered for sharing of profits. Void where prohibited. No warranty, express or implied, is made for fitness of purpose. All rights reserved. May require some assembly. Batteries not included. Results may vary.
Oct 12, 2005
Me? Cosmopolitan?
The word brings back memories... Ahem. This tagging business is getting out of hand (did I already say this when I was tagged the last time?). Especially since I know that nobody actually reads these blog entries.
The latest tag is about the cities one has lived in. And it comes at a time when I am looking for the perfect DVD player. Not that the two are related, but if anyone has a recommendation, please do drop a line.
Now let's see. Pune, Indore, Nadiad, Indore, Nashik, Trichy, Hyderabad, Bangalore, (Chennai,) Noida. Yeah, Indore appears twice. Actually the chronology is confusing at best, because my family did a bit of moving around; when I was in studying in a godforsaken land, for example. Chennai is in brackets because I never lived there myself, but my sister was there and I had shifted my mom and granny there to live with her, so it's sort of a pseudo-home.
I won't write any more right now. It's close to midnight and you know what happens to me at midnight, right? Yes, I fall asleep.
Suffice to say that I studied with Chaos in the same college and, to my everlasting misfortune, in the same class too. He has written a few words about the city and none about the college itself - we could probably write a book to rival Five Point Someone (without the lurid parts, sigh).
The latest tag is about the cities one has lived in. And it comes at a time when I am looking for the perfect DVD player. Not that the two are related, but if anyone has a recommendation, please do drop a line.
Now let's see. Pune, Indore, Nadiad, Indore, Nashik, Trichy, Hyderabad, Bangalore, (Chennai,) Noida. Yeah, Indore appears twice. Actually the chronology is confusing at best, because my family did a bit of moving around; when I was in studying in a godforsaken land, for example. Chennai is in brackets because I never lived there myself, but my sister was there and I had shifted my mom and granny there to live with her, so it's sort of a pseudo-home.
I won't write any more right now. It's close to midnight and you know what happens to me at midnight, right? Yes, I fall asleep.
Suffice to say that I studied with Chaos in the same college and, to my everlasting misfortune, in the same class too. He has written a few words about the city and none about the college itself - we could probably write a book to rival Five Point Someone (without the lurid parts, sigh).
Sep 24, 2005
Half Life 2
Half Life 2. 99%. Will it run this time?
Like the lazy bum that I am, I refused to reinstall HL2 from my CDs when I reinstalled the OS. I’m trying to make do with the installation I had earlier and a Steam update. The problem is that there is some graphics issue and HL2 says it won’t run on pre-DirectX 7 hardware. Which is rather strange because I have a perfectly fine 5900.
Don’t worry if you don’t understand a word of this, it probably only means that you have a life.
Like the lazy bum that I am, I refused to reinstall HL2 from my CDs when I reinstalled the OS. I’m trying to make do with the installation I had earlier and a Steam update. The problem is that there is some graphics issue and HL2 says it won’t run on pre-DirectX 7 hardware. Which is rather strange because I have a perfectly fine 5900.
Don’t worry if you don’t understand a word of this, it probably only means that you have a life.
Blogicide!
Veera is threatening blogicide! No great loss, one would say; but still… it’s not a very pleasant thing, is it?
His chief complaint, as is mine, is that nobody seems to read the blog. Is it because our blogs are simply not interesting? Not quite true, I’ve seen much worse blogs getting a lot of hits and comments. But come to think about it, there simply isn’t anything in either of our blogs that would cause people to come back the next day or next week to check up on. For that matter there are very few blogs that I go back to read, the few that I do read regularly are of people I know personally.
Perhaps more regular updates would help, something like Windows patches?
His chief complaint, as is mine, is that nobody seems to read the blog. Is it because our blogs are simply not interesting? Not quite true, I’ve seen much worse blogs getting a lot of hits and comments. But come to think about it, there simply isn’t anything in either of our blogs that would cause people to come back the next day or next week to check up on. For that matter there are very few blogs that I go back to read, the few that I do read regularly are of people I know personally.
Perhaps more regular updates would help, something like Windows patches?
Boulevard Of Broken Dreams
"Boulevard Of Broken Dreams"
(American Idiot, Green Day Lyrics)
I walk a lonely road
The only one that I have ever known
Don't know where it goes
But it's home to me and I walk alone
I walk this empty street
On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Where the city sleeps
and I'm the only one and I walk alone
My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
'Til then I walk alone
.
.
.
(American Idiot, Green Day Lyrics)
I walk a lonely road
The only one that I have ever known
Don't know where it goes
But it's home to me and I walk alone
I walk this empty street
On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Where the city sleeps
and I'm the only one and I walk alone
My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
'Til then I walk alone
.
.
.
Sep 23, 2005
Sep 20, 2005
Grrrr.
Why, oh why, must people try to make money out of EVERYthing? I refer to the comment spam phenomenon, of course.
On a related note, my forehead advertising space is free again. Interested people can leave a comment and quote their offer. Conditions apply. Void where prohibited by law.
On a related note, my forehead advertising space is free again. Interested people can leave a comment and quote their offer. Conditions apply. Void where prohibited by law.
Sep 19, 2005
Even more on camera phones
This article says that there is software in the works that will allow camera phones to be used as scanners, and along with basic OCR functions will allow text capture. "3 to 5 seconds" to capture an A4 sized page.
The world is changing faster than ever before...
The world is changing faster than ever before...
Sep 18, 2005
My first attempt at the download failed, the file was corrupted. This is where the unlimited part of the connection that I've been so keen about helped - I simply downloaded the file once more.
I have a fairly decent computer to run this on, but it looks like it's getting old now. High resolution, high quality and high frames rates - it's starting to get difficult to get all of these together. AOE3 runs just fine at the lower settings but obviously doesn't look as good as it is capable of.
I have a fairly decent computer to run this on, but it looks like it's getting old now. High resolution, high quality and high frames rates - it's starting to get difficult to get all of these together. AOE3 runs just fine at the lower settings but obviously doesn't look as good as it is capable of.
Sep 7, 2005
Broadband woes over?
Ditched DSL altogether.
That's right, I decided to go with hotwire (http://hotwireindia.com/) since a friend of mine in the same complex that I live in gave me good feedback about it. I've gone in for the nighttime unlimited pack, so my cribs about data transfer limits have been addressed. They do have alltime unlimited packs too, but since I'm not at home during working hours I won't really use the connection.
Installation was quick and painless. They run an ethernet cable to your home so no modem required. Everything was done in about half an hour. Haven't managed to test it out, since it's a nighttime pack and I got it installed in the morning. So it will only be tonight after 9p.m. that I really get to see how this thing works. It's a prepaid account and I have to call the provider up every month to pay for the next month. That's actually better than my earlier experiences of having to post a cheque to the provider which would be delayed and cause a lot of headache. Even better, I can change the pack from month to month without the hassle of filling out forms! In fact, I didn't have to fill out any papers for this connection; which is strange now that I think about it. I did get a receipt though, and all the filling out was online. Good! I liked it.
Now to get all my computers up to speed with the latest updates and antivirus signatures...
That's right, I decided to go with hotwire (http://hotwireindia.com/) since a friend of mine in the same complex that I live in gave me good feedback about it. I've gone in for the nighttime unlimited pack, so my cribs about data transfer limits have been addressed. They do have alltime unlimited packs too, but since I'm not at home during working hours I won't really use the connection.
Installation was quick and painless. They run an ethernet cable to your home so no modem required. Everything was done in about half an hour. Haven't managed to test it out, since it's a nighttime pack and I got it installed in the morning. So it will only be tonight after 9p.m. that I really get to see how this thing works. It's a prepaid account and I have to call the provider up every month to pay for the next month. That's actually better than my earlier experiences of having to post a cheque to the provider which would be delayed and cause a lot of headache. Even better, I can change the pack from month to month without the hassle of filling out forms! In fact, I didn't have to fill out any papers for this connection; which is strange now that I think about it. I did get a receipt though, and all the filling out was online. Good! I liked it.
Now to get all my computers up to speed with the latest updates and antivirus signatures...
Sep 1, 2005
Camera phones, part 2
I went back to the rediff article on banning camera phones to see what people had written (there were exactly 0 comments when I first saw it). It was a big eye opener because there were people in support of the ban , even though their reasons were not quite clear.
But it was pretty obvious that a lot of the people responding were thinking in terms of the various video clips that have been floating around, apparently being forwarded via MMS. On a side node, I think the MMS service is too expensive. If I had a picture or a video clip that I wanted to share I'd do it through email.
Coming back to the comments on the article, I felt that these people were, in fact, in favour of banning cameras in phones altogether! Someone actually said camera phones are a threat to national security. He didn't elaborate though.
Perhaps it's not so much about the fact that a cellphone has an integrated camera, it's more about the camera being disguised. When you go around with a handycam, everyone knows that you're taking video shots. Soon everyone will know that if you go around with a cellphone with a lens, you're taking pictures or video.
All righty then, enough of ranting over cellphones. And Veera, the bike is black, as usual.
But it was pretty obvious that a lot of the people responding were thinking in terms of the various video clips that have been floating around, apparently being forwarded via MMS. On a side node, I think the MMS service is too expensive. If I had a picture or a video clip that I wanted to share I'd do it through email.
Coming back to the comments on the article, I felt that these people were, in fact, in favour of banning cameras in phones altogether! Someone actually said camera phones are a threat to national security. He didn't elaborate though.
Perhaps it's not so much about the fact that a cellphone has an integrated camera, it's more about the camera being disguised. When you go around with a handycam, everyone knows that you're taking video shots. Soon everyone will know that if you go around with a cellphone with a lens, you're taking pictures or video.
All righty then, enough of ranting over cellphones. And Veera, the bike is black, as usual.
Electricity.
There's been something going on in this part of the universe that many of you might have missed. After all, it's local news.
What happened some weeks ago is that the local electricity companies in Delhi got the rates hiked by 10 percent. Which is something that seems to happen all the time, all over the place, in all industries. What is different is that this time the locals decided not to accept it. There was a big "grassroots" level movement and many RWAs (that's residents welfare associations) protested and decided to deduct 10% from their monthly bills before paying them.
Seeing the issue snowballing, the powers-that-be decided to roll the hike back. And they did this how? By issuing a subsidy to the power companies! So the taxpayer gets to pay for the electricity hike that the electricity user doesn't have to pay for.
I always thought that privatization was a good thing. That it would make companies more accountable to their customers and that they couldn't depend on the government to bail them out of problems caused due to their sheer lack of motivation. That's because I mistakenly assumed privatization = dismantling of monopoly. Clearly this is not the case. Competetion is good (for the consumer), regardless of who actually owns the company, as long as the same rules apply to all players.
When you are the only company that people can pay to provide them with electricity, why would you care that a big chunk of what you produce is lost to "transmission losses"?
Now, if only someone would look at the cable TV monopoly...
What happened some weeks ago is that the local electricity companies in Delhi got the rates hiked by 10 percent. Which is something that seems to happen all the time, all over the place, in all industries. What is different is that this time the locals decided not to accept it. There was a big "grassroots" level movement and many RWAs (that's residents welfare associations) protested and decided to deduct 10% from their monthly bills before paying them.
Seeing the issue snowballing, the powers-that-be decided to roll the hike back. And they did this how? By issuing a subsidy to the power companies! So the taxpayer gets to pay for the electricity hike that the electricity user doesn't have to pay for.
I always thought that privatization was a good thing. That it would make companies more accountable to their customers and that they couldn't depend on the government to bail them out of problems caused due to their sheer lack of motivation. That's because I mistakenly assumed privatization = dismantling of monopoly. Clearly this is not the case. Competetion is good (for the consumer), regardless of who actually owns the company, as long as the same rules apply to all players.
When you are the only company that people can pay to provide them with electricity, why would you care that a big chunk of what you produce is lost to "transmission losses"?
Now, if only someone would look at the cable TV monopoly...
Aug 30, 2005
Ban on camera phones?
rediff.com has this message board article on how some Telugu Desam party member in the Rajya Sabha moved a private member bill in the House... "She demanded a ban on camera phones in public places arguing that these phones are increasingly being used to pry into private lives of people. She also wanted the legislation to regulate the use of such phones by children."
(I don't like rediff insisting on having a rediff id to be able to post comments, but I can certainly post my comments on my own blog!)
Being the proud owner of just such a phone, this does affect me personally. But more than that, I am filled with a sense of disbelief. Hello! Lady! Doesn't something not make sense here? "Private lives" of people and ban on camera phones in "public places"? Does she want to ban non-cellphone cameras in public places too? Do I have to wear blinkers in case I have a freaking photographic memory? Will I be allowed to sit on the roadside and paint what I see, or will that offend your sense of privacy too?
I can understand that if someone puts a camera into your house without your knowledge and permission, then it can be categorized under invasion of privacy. But then why target cellphones? Any old camera would suffice.
rediff's questions:
(I don't like rediff insisting on having a rediff id to be able to post comments, but I can certainly post my comments on my own blog!)
Being the proud owner of just such a phone, this does affect me personally. But more than that, I am filled with a sense of disbelief. Hello! Lady! Doesn't something not make sense here? "Private lives" of people and ban on camera phones in "public places"? Does she want to ban non-cellphone cameras in public places too? Do I have to wear blinkers in case I have a freaking photographic memory? Will I be allowed to sit on the roadside and paint what I see, or will that offend your sense of privacy too?
I can understand that if someone puts a camera into your house without your knowledge and permission, then it can be categorized under invasion of privacy. But then why target cellphones? Any old camera would suffice.
rediff's questions:
Now, does Geetha have a point here?
Of course she does. But it's not what she thinks it is.
Do you think the use of these latest gizmos in public places is a threat to your privacy?
I don't have any reasonable expectation of privacy in a public place. So, no, nothing is a threat to my privacy in a public place.
Or are these merely fun tools as their manufacturers would want us to believe?
Fun tools? I don't know. I rarely use the phone camera, it's quality is simply not good enough to take pictures that I want to keep. I do use it for casual photos, if I see something interesting or unusual on the road or if I make an unplanned trip and don't have a proper camera with me. That said, I have seen models becoming more powerful by the day and have read about one that actually has an optical zoom lens in the cellphone. Go figure. But all said and done, all cameras are fun tools for all of us who are not professional photographers, whether they are inside a cellphone or not.
And, also, should they come with the statutory warning, "Keep out of reach of children"?
I don't really have any opinion on that. I would certainly think twice before I gave anything that costly into a child's hands, but of course my concerns are probably not the same as those of the author of the article. I would have LOVED to have something like that when I was a kid. But then, I didn't have any opportunities to invade anyone's privacy, so such a phone would have not been of much use to cause offence. I do think however, that children could perhaps be taught about such gadgets and the possible ways that phones can be used and abused.
Come to think about it, some adults in the Rajya Sabha might possibly benefit from such instruction too..
Aug 26, 2005
The DSL adventures continue
I decided to check out Airtel first, since I know people who have had experience with them and it seems to me that these folks are easy to deal with. I've heard stories of how things can go wrong with Airtel, but it all points to the fact that if they can provide a connection they will do it with minimum fuss, if they cannot there's nothing they can do about it.
Unfortunately the person at their customer care helpline said they don't have service in the area in which I live. He did take down my name and address but that's probably just to populate their database, I don't see any indications of them coming to my area in the near future.
Then I thought of the wireless telephone providers, Reliance and Tata Indicom. Problem with these folks is that the internet access speed is limited, and I have heard horror stories of billing problems - even though people now say that all those have been sorted out. Decided to keep these as my final option.
Then I turned towards BSNL. People have good things to say about their access speeds and uptime, and the cost is also reasonable, i.e. in line with other providers. I'm not too keen on their red tape though. Besides someone from my area expressed his doubts as to whether they have DSL service in my area, though they do have an exchange there. I filled out the online form at BSNL's site in any case, and I got a call from them a few days later - saying that I could go to a specific exchange for my connection or to any other exchange near me. That was on a Saturday. I decided I would go on Monday or Tuesday and as usual I didn't. On Tuesday I actually got a follow up call asking whether I was still interested and if yes I could go to the exchange and fill out the form.
In my opinion, this is the big difference between BSNL and the private players, even though BSNL is being proactive in pursuing a potential customer. Airtel would have sent a person over with the forms and the authority to collect a cheque.
I did rustle up enough enthusiasm to make a trip to the ATM (since I have had previous bad expriences with BSNL where they accept only a draft or cash and no cheques), and landed up at the exchange the next day. I walked up the stairs and spent some time wandering around trying to figure out where to go! There were no proper signs that would have helped a first timer, though I daresay there were some faded pieces of paper on various doors that might have had something written on them. I even wandered into a central excise office once. The counter where people are supposed to pay their bills was shutting down even though it was just around 3 in the afternoon. Finally after asking a few people (who in the traditional manner sent me to difference places) I finally found the right room. Asked another young guy sitting at a computer and listening to music, and got redirected to another person who sitting at a desk and being angry at some other customer. Another customer had some billing problem which was solved by sending him to someone else and it was finally my turn. I asked for a broadband form, I didn't think he would care about the fact that I had filled out the same form online earlier. He decided to get angry at me too, and said I should pay the amount first before I came to him. I said I wanted a form, and I had no idea how much I was to pay, so he grudgingly took out a form from his desk and told me the cash counter was closed and that I "should have come before 2:30". I took my form and escaped and am still wondering whether I should actually go back to submit it.
So here's the other big difference. The BSNL website says that they have customer help desks manned from 8 in the morning to 8 in the evening without any breaks. I don't know whether the person I met in that dark dingy room was such a customer service guy, but what's the use of having an 8 to 8 desk if I can't pay my initial fees after 2:30? What's with the afternoon deadline? Can't they have a drop box or something like Airtel does? Can't they have service people who are not gruff as soon as they see a customer? I was prepared to sit there, fill out the form(s), pay my money and come back hoping to get a telephone and a broadband connection in a few days.
That's another point I'm sure I will have a confrontation over. Do I need to fill out separate forms for the telephone and the broadband connection? The broadband form says that I should have a phone before I can apply for broadband. Fair enough. But then the form also has a column asking whether I am an existing BSNL customer. The online form that I filled initially also had a box for whether I want a new connection. I am printing out a telephone connection form and taking it along just in case, but I fully expect to be chewed out by the customer service guy for not having the common sense to apply for a telephone before I asked for broadband.
I only hope they accept printed forms (their website says they will). I've had an experience with HDFC bank when they refused to accept a printed form that I had downloaded from their own website.
More after my next visit to the exchange... phew.
Unfortunately the person at their customer care helpline said they don't have service in the area in which I live. He did take down my name and address but that's probably just to populate their database, I don't see any indications of them coming to my area in the near future.
Then I thought of the wireless telephone providers, Reliance and Tata Indicom. Problem with these folks is that the internet access speed is limited, and I have heard horror stories of billing problems - even though people now say that all those have been sorted out. Decided to keep these as my final option.
Then I turned towards BSNL. People have good things to say about their access speeds and uptime, and the cost is also reasonable, i.e. in line with other providers. I'm not too keen on their red tape though. Besides someone from my area expressed his doubts as to whether they have DSL service in my area, though they do have an exchange there. I filled out the online form at BSNL's site in any case, and I got a call from them a few days later - saying that I could go to a specific exchange for my connection or to any other exchange near me. That was on a Saturday. I decided I would go on Monday or Tuesday and as usual I didn't. On Tuesday I actually got a follow up call asking whether I was still interested and if yes I could go to the exchange and fill out the form.
In my opinion, this is the big difference between BSNL and the private players, even though BSNL is being proactive in pursuing a potential customer. Airtel would have sent a person over with the forms and the authority to collect a cheque.
I did rustle up enough enthusiasm to make a trip to the ATM (since I have had previous bad expriences with BSNL where they accept only a draft or cash and no cheques), and landed up at the exchange the next day. I walked up the stairs and spent some time wandering around trying to figure out where to go! There were no proper signs that would have helped a first timer, though I daresay there were some faded pieces of paper on various doors that might have had something written on them. I even wandered into a central excise office once. The counter where people are supposed to pay their bills was shutting down even though it was just around 3 in the afternoon. Finally after asking a few people (who in the traditional manner sent me to difference places) I finally found the right room. Asked another young guy sitting at a computer and listening to music, and got redirected to another person who sitting at a desk and being angry at some other customer. Another customer had some billing problem which was solved by sending him to someone else and it was finally my turn. I asked for a broadband form, I didn't think he would care about the fact that I had filled out the same form online earlier. He decided to get angry at me too, and said I should pay the amount first before I came to him. I said I wanted a form, and I had no idea how much I was to pay, so he grudgingly took out a form from his desk and told me the cash counter was closed and that I "should have come before 2:30". I took my form and escaped and am still wondering whether I should actually go back to submit it.
So here's the other big difference. The BSNL website says that they have customer help desks manned from 8 in the morning to 8 in the evening without any breaks. I don't know whether the person I met in that dark dingy room was such a customer service guy, but what's the use of having an 8 to 8 desk if I can't pay my initial fees after 2:30? What's with the afternoon deadline? Can't they have a drop box or something like Airtel does? Can't they have service people who are not gruff as soon as they see a customer? I was prepared to sit there, fill out the form(s), pay my money and come back hoping to get a telephone and a broadband connection in a few days.
That's another point I'm sure I will have a confrontation over. Do I need to fill out separate forms for the telephone and the broadband connection? The broadband form says that I should have a phone before I can apply for broadband. Fair enough. But then the form also has a column asking whether I am an existing BSNL customer. The online form that I filled initially also had a box for whether I want a new connection. I am printing out a telephone connection form and taking it along just in case, but I fully expect to be chewed out by the customer service guy for not having the common sense to apply for a telephone before I asked for broadband.
I only hope they accept printed forms (their website says they will). I've had an experience with HDFC bank when they refused to accept a printed form that I had downloaded from their own website.
More after my next visit to the exchange... phew.
Aug 19, 2005
New bike
Got me a new bike - a Bajaj Pulsar 180 DTSi ES. Running fine, as expected. But the run-in is too much, for the first 1000 kilometers I'm restricted to 65kmph.
Jul 21, 2005
Life goes on...
It's been some time and I still haven't managed to find a place to live. It's not that there is a severe lack of housing this side of the universe. However, at this point in life I think I can afford to be a bit picky about where I live. One estate agent showed me a place that was dank and dark and seemed very dirty besides. Uneven flooring, small cupboards, dirty kitchen. And he quoted the normal rates for a posh flat.
So all said and done, I'm looking at the outskirts of the city, where there are decent apartments to be found, with electricity backup via a generator, RO water (that's reverse osmosis water treatment plant, for those back home), lawns in the front; all the works.
The broadband connection comes much later, though it does seem that there are some smaller operators out here, some who even offer WiFi connections (though I don't even want to think about the price for that one). As for Veera's comment - it's not the lack of operators that is the problem. It's the cost/benefit ratio that I'm concerned about. I just don't think it's affordable to pay a thousand bucks for a limited connection. I don't want to think twice before letting my OS updates go through or before downloading a demo for the game I want to buy. A 400-500MB limit just doesn't cut it.
So all said and done, I'm looking at the outskirts of the city, where there are decent apartments to be found, with electricity backup via a generator, RO water (that's reverse osmosis water treatment plant, for those back home), lawns in the front; all the works.
The broadband connection comes much later, though it does seem that there are some smaller operators out here, some who even offer WiFi connections (though I don't even want to think about the price for that one). As for Veera's comment - it's not the lack of operators that is the problem. It's the cost/benefit ratio that I'm concerned about. I just don't think it's affordable to pay a thousand bucks for a limited connection. I don't want to think twice before letting my OS updates go through or before downloading a demo for the game I want to buy. A 400-500MB limit just doesn't cut it.
Jul 8, 2005
Broadband
I'm out searching for a good broadband provider. So was one of my friends, he finally decided upon AirTel. It's been some days since he applied, but they are tardy, dare I say as usual. One would think they didn't want his business. From the reviews I have read, I've come to believe that MTNL and BSNL, the state players, might be the better options after all. Does it mean that private players entering the market is good? It does seem to have had a bettering effect on the government players who have to compete with the new folks.
My own hunting around indicates that the tariff plans that all these companies have are expensive. So far my company used to reimburse me for the broadband access, so I didn't worry about it so much. But now, having to pay almost a thousand bucks per month... I wouldn't mind it so much if the speed and quality of service was good and if there were no caps on the data transfer. I would pay, I think, a thousand bucks for 512kbps (not UP TO 512kbps, which is a term that all these companies are fond of using), uncapped, or capped to a high number like 75GB.
My own hunting around indicates that the tariff plans that all these companies have are expensive. So far my company used to reimburse me for the broadband access, so I didn't worry about it so much. But now, having to pay almost a thousand bucks per month... I wouldn't mind it so much if the speed and quality of service was good and if there were no caps on the data transfer. I would pay, I think, a thousand bucks for 512kbps (not UP TO 512kbps, which is a term that all these companies are fond of using), uncapped, or capped to a high number like 75GB.
Jun 16, 2005
Gaming PC
PCQuest (the magazine) has an article on what they claim to be India's fastest gaming machine. It has some awesome specs. I don't remember them all right now but it was something like Athlon FX (2.4 or 2.6 GHz?), 2GB DDR2 RAM, dual 6800 Ultras with either 256MB or 512MB RAM each running in SLI, one funky looking case, I think a 19" monitor, and oddly enough as far as I remember a 40GB 7200rpm disk.
Hmm... how does that stack up against my desktop system? AthlonXP 2600+ (the 333MHz FSB one, no less), 1GB DDR RAM (one stick of 333MHz, the other of 400MHz, so effectively running at 333MHz), 5900 SE with 128MB RAM, 19" Samsung monitor and 60GB + 40GB internal HDDs + 250GB external HDD. Not too bad considering that the monster PC is close to 245,000 Indian rupees (with free shipping, that gets my goat - free shipping, indeed).
Now where can I get a two hundred thousand odd rupees? Any generous readers? Um... any readers at all?
Hmm... how does that stack up against my desktop system? AthlonXP 2600+ (the 333MHz FSB one, no less), 1GB DDR RAM (one stick of 333MHz, the other of 400MHz, so effectively running at 333MHz), 5900 SE with 128MB RAM, 19" Samsung monitor and 60GB + 40GB internal HDDs + 250GB external HDD. Not too bad considering that the monster PC is close to 245,000 Indian rupees (with free shipping, that gets my goat - free shipping, indeed).
Now where can I get a two hundred thousand odd rupees? Any generous readers? Um... any readers at all?
Links
Some links from my browser bookmarks.
- Gamespot
- Quotations Page
- Straight Dope
- The onion
- Metric Prefixes
- Whitespace
- Useless
- WHOIS
- AbcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzAbcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzAbcdefghijk.com
- The World's Longest Alphabetical Email Address - Theme Songs
- FilePlanet
- GrAwL Gamerips
- Blame India Watch
- Micro Java board games for wireless devices - Network Mobile Chess - Downloads
- APNIC
- Refactoring Home
- WINSHELL
- WinXPcentral - WinXP Post SP2 TCP-IP Connection Speed Tweak
- MP3
- audiosrch
- BOOKS
- TCL
- DX
- C&CMOD
- VEERA
- ROMS
- All About
Symbian Forums - Nokia 3650, 3660, and 3620 - Gutenberg
- Salon.com
Virtual IT Online Shopping - Computer Ware House Price List in bangalore, Krnataka
- BOOKS
- Game Downloads - Game Revolution
- Toms Hardware
- Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
- /.
- kbps explan
- rediff
- GUIdebook Longhorn 4015
- Under the Hood, MSJ February 1998
- The Scalability Problem - How does one design today's games for high-end and low-end PCs at the same time?
- Microsoft Interview Questions
- eml
- Y!brifcase
- ring
- AGE
- [H]ardForum - Valve sucks
- Microsoft reinvents its own wheel
- networks
- MP3RAID
- Arima
- GLOSSARY
- Notebook Forums - Gateway/ Emachines Support (peer to peer)
- http://www.tmk.com/ftp/humor/computer-error-messages.txt
- chaotic moments
- Humour
- CHAPTER 1 GDSII format
- AOE3
- Microsoft Interview Questions!
- Reflections on Relativity
- Torpedo
- X-RayPc Spyware Remover Process Analyzer from Xblock Systems
- Desktop Processor Quick Reference Guide
ebook
Reader Veera brings up the interesting issue of what exactly is an "ebook".
A definition I found, and which I think sounds correct is: An electronic version of a traditional print book that can be read by using a personal computer and/or an eBook reader. An eBook reader may be a software program used on a personal computer or a portable reading device.
So yes, it is indeed a "softcopy", in the same sense that "email" is a softcopy version of real mail. For those not in the loop, look at this site: http://www.gutenberg.org/ "Project Gutenberg is the first and largest single collection of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today."
This should tell you why someone would find ebooks interesting - they can sometimes be obtained for free. Especially those older books whose copyright has run out and which are in the so-called public domain. If you want a print version of the book, you still have to pay for it; while the ebook can be free. The problem with ebooks is the device that you use to read them on, it does get a bit irritating to keep scrolling on a notebook or on a PC. That said, I think there are ebook readers available that can do the scrolling automatically for you and will also format the contents to your liking. Adobe has an ebook reader, though I haven't used it. Then there are software that can actually read (vocalize) the book for you, but personally I think it sounds creepy.
A definition I found, and which I think sounds correct is: An electronic version of a traditional print book that can be read by using a personal computer and/or an eBook reader. An eBook reader may be a software program used on a personal computer or a portable reading device.
So yes, it is indeed a "softcopy", in the same sense that "email" is a softcopy version of real mail. For those not in the loop, look at this site: http://www.gutenberg.org/ "Project Gutenberg is the first and largest single collection of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today."
This should tell you why someone would find ebooks interesting - they can sometimes be obtained for free. Especially those older books whose copyright has run out and which are in the so-called public domain. If you want a print version of the book, you still have to pay for it; while the ebook can be free. The problem with ebooks is the device that you use to read them on, it does get a bit irritating to keep scrolling on a notebook or on a PC. That said, I think there are ebook readers available that can do the scrolling automatically for you and will also format the contents to your liking. Adobe has an ebook reader, though I haven't used it. Then there are software that can actually read (vocalize) the book for you, but personally I think it sounds creepy.
Jun 15, 2005
M6805
eMachines has released a BIOS update that apparently solves some problems with the M6805 and Windows XP SP2. Not that I have seen any problems with SP2 myself. My main gripe with the BIOS is that it doesn't have many settings to change. And I haven't found any way around that.
Jun 14, 2005
Virus
What's with virus attacks and dumb users? Not dumb in the normal sense of the word, they are intelligent, perhaps even clever folk. But why must they open an attachment that has virus-worm written all over it? I can understand it if it's a sneak attack using a vulnerability of the system that lets the virus/worm in. Sigh, I've been deleting warning emails all day.
Will it?
Or won't it? Happen, that is. I hope it will. But it may not. Which would be bad. I think. Or not.
Is it the unknowns of life that make it worth living? I don't know. Right now I feel I'd love to know what's in store.
Is it the unknowns of life that make it worth living? I don't know. Right now I feel I'd love to know what's in store.
Book bug?
What's the web coming too? We've got people writing about their reading habits for everyone to see! And then they expect other people to do the same thing! Book bug, indeed.
Now, let's see... this is a series of questions to which I don't really know the answers. However, I can pretend to be a great book lover and just google to get a list of impressive sounding book names. Maybe I can earn some brownie points.
Number of books I own? Huh, I don't know, I never counted 'em. Lots, certainly. As Veera pointed out, there are lots of types of books lying around in my house, some are read often, others are packed up in large cardboard boxes waiting for the next move. So, how many? Hundreds certainly (leaving the magazines and newspapers out, Veera!).
Recently bought books... I'll pass. The only book I remember buying in the recent past is The Da Vinci Code; I'm not the reader I used to be.
Last book I read? Groan. Thinking in C++ is a book that qualifies, right? Just borrowed Men are from Mars etc. from a friend, skimmed through it but I don't think it applies to me.
Books that mean a lot to me. Who comes up with these "bugs" anyway? Calvin and Hobbes means a lot to me. Sherlock Holmes means a lot to me. Catch 22 means a lot to me. The Mahabharata means a lot to me, though I don't remember where I put it the last time I read my copy. More interesting are books that don't mean anything to me. All management books. All self-help books. All home improvement books. All books that come with a moral. All books that tell me to do things that I don't do. All books that claim that my life would be much better off if I just did what they want me to do. So there!
Spread it to 5 other people? Makes me feel like I'm contagious! No thanks, I don't think I'll do that. The bug stops here.
Talking of books, I'm rather surprised that nobody has talked about ebooks (in the bug reports that I saw on other people's blogs). I've a bunch of P.G.W. ebooks that I'm trying to complete. All the works of Shakspeare too, maybe I'll start on that someday. Maybe someday I can afford a tablet PC, and then I will read all those ebooks I have collected but find difficult to read off a monitor.
Now, let's see... this is a series of questions to which I don't really know the answers. However, I can pretend to be a great book lover and just google to get a list of impressive sounding book names. Maybe I can earn some brownie points.
Number of books I own? Huh, I don't know, I never counted 'em. Lots, certainly. As Veera pointed out, there are lots of types of books lying around in my house, some are read often, others are packed up in large cardboard boxes waiting for the next move. So, how many? Hundreds certainly (leaving the magazines and newspapers out, Veera!).
Recently bought books... I'll pass. The only book I remember buying in the recent past is The Da Vinci Code; I'm not the reader I used to be.
Last book I read? Groan. Thinking in C++ is a book that qualifies, right? Just borrowed Men are from Mars etc. from a friend, skimmed through it but I don't think it applies to me.
Books that mean a lot to me. Who comes up with these "bugs" anyway? Calvin and Hobbes means a lot to me. Sherlock Holmes means a lot to me. Catch 22 means a lot to me. The Mahabharata means a lot to me, though I don't remember where I put it the last time I read my copy. More interesting are books that don't mean anything to me. All management books. All self-help books. All home improvement books. All books that come with a moral. All books that tell me to do things that I don't do. All books that claim that my life would be much better off if I just did what they want me to do. So there!
Spread it to 5 other people? Makes me feel like I'm contagious! No thanks, I don't think I'll do that. The bug stops here.
Talking of books, I'm rather surprised that nobody has talked about ebooks (in the bug reports that I saw on other people's blogs). I've a bunch of P.G.W. ebooks that I'm trying to complete. All the works of Shakspeare too, maybe I'll start on that someday. Maybe someday I can afford a tablet PC, and then I will read all those ebooks I have collected but find difficult to read off a monitor.
Jun 13, 2005
Revenge...
... of the Sith. Saw it this weekend. I was looking forward to ... hold your breath for this one... General Grievous. And he did not disappoint.
Here's a link: http://www.starwars.com/databank/character/generalgrievous/
It was a good enough movie overall, for someone who's not a fanatical fan of the series. It was a pain in the neck to watch it from the front row though. And as usual, there were a bunch of idiots who refused to turn their cellphone ringers off, and also answered calls in the middle of the movie.
Also helped a friend to move to his new place in Bangalore (he's recently returned from Mumbai). Only to find out that another single software pro in the same building was robbed blind by some guy who climbed up to the first floor, opened the windows, stuck his hand in and opened the door, and cleaned out the house while this guy was fast asleep. Took everything he could lay his hands on, including the toothbrush.
Here's a link: http://www.starwars.com/databank/character/generalgrievous/
It was a good enough movie overall, for someone who's not a fanatical fan of the series. It was a pain in the neck to watch it from the front row though. And as usual, there were a bunch of idiots who refused to turn their cellphone ringers off, and also answered calls in the middle of the movie.
Also helped a friend to move to his new place in Bangalore (he's recently returned from Mumbai). Only to find out that another single software pro in the same building was robbed blind by some guy who climbed up to the first floor, opened the windows, stuck his hand in and opened the door, and cleaned out the house while this guy was fast asleep. Took everything he could lay his hands on, including the toothbrush.
Jun 10, 2005
School
This is the website of my old school in Indore. I studied here from the 7th to the 12th standard, long long ago.
http://sathyasaiindore.com/sathyasai/default.asp
No doubt a lot of things have changed there since the time I last saw it.
http://sathyasaiindore.com/sathyasai/default.asp
No doubt a lot of things have changed there since the time I last saw it.
Jun 6, 2005
Strange...
... people. I read this in a news report about the flyover protests:
"BDA officials are upset. They point out that there are other pending projects —Rajajinagar underpass and the National College flyover. “Why have they chosen the flyover for the protest,’’ they ask."
Made me think... "I am upset. There are other pending projects - the old module I never got down to writing code for, the bugs lined up in my queue. Why have you chosen my last project for blasting me about?" Naah... it'll never work on my boss.
"BDA officials are upset. They point out that there are other pending projects —Rajajinagar underpass and the National College flyover. “Why have they chosen the flyover for the protest,’’ they ask."
Made me think... "I am upset. There are other pending projects - the old module I never got down to writing code for, the bugs lined up in my queue. Why have you chosen my last project for blasting me about?" Naah... it'll never work on my boss.
Airport Road flyover
It looks like Bangaloreans are protesting about the delay in the completion of the Airport Road flyover. I suppose it's wrong to say "are protesting" since everyone I know has been shouting themselves hoarse about it for months. The difference this time, is that the protests might be heard because they are in the form of a silent gathering on Airport Road itself.
http://www.pacindia.org/bangaloredemandaction
http://www.pacindia.org/bangaloredemandaction
Jun 3, 2005
Jun 2, 2005
Electric car, anyone?
This link has info about a new electric motor. Hardly any noise, no air pollution. So, what's new?
A car with such motors could run as fast as a Ferrari.
Quoting from the article:
"...the motor provides enough torque at one revolution per minute to put a vehicle into motion..."
"Theoretically an electric racing car driven by four of the motors - one for each wheel - could hold its own in Formula One."
"If he finds the right automotive partner, a prototype electric car that would put a smile on Michael Schumacher's face could be ready within two years."
Hooray for technology!
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