All about new tax proposals
No new taxes, no changes in the income tax laws, etc. etc. But what's this? "Services tax net to be increased which include ATM operations.."
WTF? Now I have to pay tax to use the ATM to withdraw my own money? When my bank charges me to come to the branch, how am I supposed to do any transactions at all? Where do they get hare brained ideas like this one? Or have I got the proposal wrong?
Increasing the service tax net is fine, but I would really like to see a reduction in the personal income tax rates. Tax on purchases is OK since that way everyone has to pay it, but personal income tax is only paid by the salaried class who have no choice in the matter. Get rid of all the idiotic exemptions and have a flat rate of tax on all purchases.
Feb 28, 2006
Feb 15, 2006
Microsoft driver bug saps Core Duo power | TG Daily
Microsoft driver bug saps Core Duo power | TG Daily
In a nutshell, a bug in the ACPI driver supplied by Microsoft causes power to be drained if devices are left connected to a USB port. This happens for the Napa platform with Core Duo processors.
Quoting from the article:
"While the Sonoma notebook only lost 17 minutes of battery running time (2:51 total) with the drive connected, the Core Duo notebook's running time decreased by a stunning 76 minutes (3:08 total). In short, the power drain from the device attached to the Napa system reduced running time by 347% (76 minutes / 17 minutes) of the power drain for the same device attached to the Sonoma system. With a USB device connected, the Napa notebook with the USB device connected ran only 8% longer than the Sonoma rig."
Subtle...
In a nutshell, a bug in the ACPI driver supplied by Microsoft causes power to be drained if devices are left connected to a USB port. This happens for the Napa platform with Core Duo processors.
Quoting from the article:
"While the Sonoma notebook only lost 17 minutes of battery running time (2:51 total) with the drive connected, the Core Duo notebook's running time decreased by a stunning 76 minutes (3:08 total). In short, the power drain from the device attached to the Napa system reduced running time by 347% (76 minutes / 17 minutes) of the power drain for the same device attached to the Sonoma system. With a USB device connected, the Napa notebook with the USB device connected ran only 8% longer than the Sonoma rig."
Subtle...
Should govt curb courier cos?
Should govt curb courier cos?
Great move. Now I'll have to start sending bricks along with my letters, just so that I can use a courier?
Great move. Now I'll have to start sending bricks along with my letters, just so that I can use a courier?
Feb 7, 2006
Feb 5, 2006
MBAs
I share, to a great extent, the feelings expressed in that post. I think that's because I've never really come across an MBA who said something that made me go "Hmmmm.... that's interesting, I never thought of it that way." Most often, it goes something like "OK, same old, same old. You could have said that in a one line email."
It is indeed fortunate that my industry is too technical to allow non-techies to be technical managers (DUH!).
Maybe it's because we've never encountered these species in their own domain. I daresay they're good enough in finance or HR or whatever, places where techies would probably feel lost.
It is indeed fortunate that my industry is too technical to allow non-techies to be technical managers (DUH!).
Maybe it's because we've never encountered these species in their own domain. I daresay they're good enough in finance or HR or whatever, places where techies would probably feel lost.
Making life easier...
... for students. That's the latest trend that's caught my attention. Lowering the load, both physically as well as in a mental sense. Making subjects optional, especially Mathematics. Removing the marking system and replacing it with grading. Ensuring that nobody fails. Lessening the importance of the Board exams.
When all this started, I kept on thinking that it's a good idea. I mean, I would certainly have loved to have less homework, not do Math and have no schoolbag to carry.
But then I began to wonder (yes, I seem to do that a lot).
Would I have studied anything at all if it was optional? If everyone was made to pass exams, why would anyone take the trouble to learn? Why are we so hell-bent on making things easier for the kids when the world is getting tougher to live in by the day? The result of all this coddling would probably be young folk who whine at all the unfariness of the real world, who think they deserve everything without working for it because that's the way it was in school.
When all this started, I kept on thinking that it's a good idea. I mean, I would certainly have loved to have less homework, not do Math and have no schoolbag to carry.
But then I began to wonder (yes, I seem to do that a lot).
Would I have studied anything at all if it was optional? If everyone was made to pass exams, why would anyone take the trouble to learn? Why are we so hell-bent on making things easier for the kids when the world is getting tougher to live in by the day? The result of all this coddling would probably be young folk who whine at all the unfariness of the real world, who think they deserve everything without working for it because that's the way it was in school.
Hearing loss
Apple's being sued for causing hearing loss. No, not really. It's being sued for not putting warnings about the fact that listening to extremely loud sounds can cause hearing loss and that its iPod is capable of outputting such sounds.
I find it very strange that people have this idea of pinning their own defects on someone else. If you cannot tell that very loud sounds are not a good idea, YOU are defective. Apple's not forcing you to listen to anything, leave alone loud sounds. I can understand that it's Apple's fault if their devices randomly throw out very loud sounds, or if their earbuds explode for no reason at all, or if touching the click wheel causes cancer. If this trend goes on, I can imagine that the bulk of the cost of any device would be the stickers on it about warning idiots how not to operate it. There probably wouldn't be enough space for all the stickers, so they'll probably come with encyclopedias of warnings next... and some idiot will sue the company because the warnings book was too heavy and it could have hurt his back and that it should come with a sticker saying that lifting warning manuals could be dangerous.
Hmm... maybe I can try running my iPod under water. I'll bet there's no warning about not using iPods underwater, or under zero-G or in a vacuum. Maybe I could make a lot of money suing every company in the US. :) Or maybe not. Some idiot probably already has a patent on doing that.
I find it very strange that people have this idea of pinning their own defects on someone else. If you cannot tell that very loud sounds are not a good idea, YOU are defective. Apple's not forcing you to listen to anything, leave alone loud sounds. I can understand that it's Apple's fault if their devices randomly throw out very loud sounds, or if their earbuds explode for no reason at all, or if touching the click wheel causes cancer. If this trend goes on, I can imagine that the bulk of the cost of any device would be the stickers on it about warning idiots how not to operate it. There probably wouldn't be enough space for all the stickers, so they'll probably come with encyclopedias of warnings next... and some idiot will sue the company because the warnings book was too heavy and it could have hurt his back and that it should come with a sticker saying that lifting warning manuals could be dangerous.
Hmm... maybe I can try running my iPod under water. I'll bet there's no warning about not using iPods underwater, or under zero-G or in a vacuum. Maybe I could make a lot of money suing every company in the US. :) Or maybe not. Some idiot probably already has a patent on doing that.
Feb 4, 2006
Creative people?
Yeah, this refers to the recent demolition of some buildings in Delhi. They happened to contain "showrooms" and "studios" of "fashion" "designers". (Too many quotes? Each word in quotes should be prefixed with 'so-called'.)
I don't care about the legality of those buildings and whether the authorities were correct when they gave the all-clear for the building initially and then demolished it some time later.
What I was struck by was the fact that all the affected folk went around screaming about this "attack" on "creative" people and that "creativity" in the country was under threat. Hello? Even assuming that there is some truth to their claims of being creative, they are not the only creative people in the city, leave alone the country. Looks like people are co-opting adjectives to refer to their own groups to get sympathy. Attack on the creative people sounds so much worse than simply demolition of shops of fashion designers, no?
Let's see... from now on, EDA software people are "the most intelligent life forms on the planet". Sounds good? :D
I don't care about the legality of those buildings and whether the authorities were correct when they gave the all-clear for the building initially and then demolished it some time later.
What I was struck by was the fact that all the affected folk went around screaming about this "attack" on "creative" people and that "creativity" in the country was under threat. Hello? Even assuming that there is some truth to their claims of being creative, they are not the only creative people in the city, leave alone the country. Looks like people are co-opting adjectives to refer to their own groups to get sympathy. Attack on the creative people sounds so much worse than simply demolition of shops of fashion designers, no?
Let's see... from now on, EDA software people are "the most intelligent life forms on the planet". Sounds good? :D
Worm?
I'm sort of disappointed. Nobody sent me the worm that's making the rounds these days.
But I did get a nice laugh out of the news reports on TV channels. ALL computers are at grave risk. Especially those in people's homes. Because even though BPO companies have a lot of computers, they also have a SPECIAL team called the IT team whose job it is to run antivirus software and keep it updated. But people home PCs don't have this special software! The only way to prevent all your data from being wiped off is to buy LICENSED antivirus software. Most important, this latest 'virus' can cause damage to your keyboard and mouse.
That last one stumped me for some while. Then I heard the quote from the so-called virus expert who was merely saying that the worm can lock up the mouse and keyboard apart from going around deleting files and mailing itself to everyone in your address book.
Isn't it strange then, that I was running a Windows machine without SP2, without any antivirus (licensed or otherwise) and just the Windows firewall on, for 12 hours each night for the past month and my keyboard and mouse are still undamaged? I had a nice game of Unreal Tournament 2004 (licensed) today morning.
But I did get a nice laugh out of the news reports on TV channels. ALL computers are at grave risk. Especially those in people's homes. Because even though BPO companies have a lot of computers, they also have a SPECIAL team called the IT team whose job it is to run antivirus software and keep it updated. But people home PCs don't have this special software! The only way to prevent all your data from being wiped off is to buy LICENSED antivirus software. Most important, this latest 'virus' can cause damage to your keyboard and mouse.
That last one stumped me for some while. Then I heard the quote from the so-called virus expert who was merely saying that the worm can lock up the mouse and keyboard apart from going around deleting files and mailing itself to everyone in your address book.
Isn't it strange then, that I was running a Windows machine without SP2, without any antivirus (licensed or otherwise) and just the Windows firewall on, for 12 hours each night for the past month and my keyboard and mouse are still undamaged? I had a nice game of Unreal Tournament 2004 (licensed) today morning.
Feb 1, 2006
Windmills of Your Mind
"Round, like a circle in a spiral
Like a wheel within a wheel.
Never ending or beginning,
On an ever spinning wheel
Like a snowball down a mountain
Or a carnival balloon
Like a carousel that's turning
Running rings around the moon
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping
Past the minutes on it's face
And the world is like an apple
Whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind
Like a tunnel that you follow
To a tunnel of it's own
Down a hollow to a cavern
Where the sun has never shone
Like a door that keeps revolving
In a half forgotten dream
Or the ripples from a pebble
Someone tosses in a stream.
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping
Past the minutes on it's face
And the world is like an apple
Whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind
Keys that jingle in your pocket
Words that jangle your head
Why did summer go so quickly
Was it something that I said
Lovers walking along the shore,
Leave their footprints in the sand
Was the sound of distant drumming
Just the fingers of your hand
Pictures hanging in a hallway
And a fragment of this song
Half remembered names and faces
But to whom do they belong
When you knew that it was over
Were you suddenly aware
That the autumn leaves were turning
To the color of her hair
Like a circle in a spiral
Like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning,
On an ever spinning wheel
As the images unwind
Like the circle that you find
In the windmills of your mind
Pictures hanging in a hallway
And the fragment of this song
Half remembered names and faces
But to whom do they belong
When you knew that it was over
Were you suddenly aware
That the autumn leaves were turning
To the color of her hair
Like a circle in a spiral
Like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning,
On an ever spinning wheel
As the images unwind
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind"
Lyrics from "The Thomas Crown Affair" Soundtrack... Good....?
Like a wheel within a wheel.
Never ending or beginning,
On an ever spinning wheel
Like a snowball down a mountain
Or a carnival balloon
Like a carousel that's turning
Running rings around the moon
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping
Past the minutes on it's face
And the world is like an apple
Whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind
Like a tunnel that you follow
To a tunnel of it's own
Down a hollow to a cavern
Where the sun has never shone
Like a door that keeps revolving
In a half forgotten dream
Or the ripples from a pebble
Someone tosses in a stream.
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping
Past the minutes on it's face
And the world is like an apple
Whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind
Keys that jingle in your pocket
Words that jangle your head
Why did summer go so quickly
Was it something that I said
Lovers walking along the shore,
Leave their footprints in the sand
Was the sound of distant drumming
Just the fingers of your hand
Pictures hanging in a hallway
And a fragment of this song
Half remembered names and faces
But to whom do they belong
When you knew that it was over
Were you suddenly aware
That the autumn leaves were turning
To the color of her hair
Like a circle in a spiral
Like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning,
On an ever spinning wheel
As the images unwind
Like the circle that you find
In the windmills of your mind
Pictures hanging in a hallway
And the fragment of this song
Half remembered names and faces
But to whom do they belong
When you knew that it was over
Were you suddenly aware
That the autumn leaves were turning
To the color of her hair
Like a circle in a spiral
Like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning,
On an ever spinning wheel
As the images unwind
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind"
Lyrics from "The Thomas Crown Affair" Soundtrack... Good....?
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