rajivnair.in

Announcing the Silpa Indic languages Dictionary client for Android

2011-03-19T03:58:00.000-07:00

Some time last week aashiks came over with an idea that we should throw an android front end on top of the brilliant Silpa language computing framework.

Even though Android inherently supports unicode, rendering of Indian languages like Malayalam etc are not supported. So when it was time to write a english->malayalam/other indian language dictionary client for android there was only one way to do it. Render whatever we wanted to display server side and pass it on as an image on the phone.

The Silpa framework had disjoint support for what we wanted i.e
1. Look up meaning for a given word in a given language
2. Render text in a given language and throw back the text as an image

Making two seperate calls to do something sounded a bit tedious. So ashik decided to wrap them both into one Silpa module that returns back the image in response to a simple HTTP GET, while I decided it was finally time to dip my feet in the Android SDK.

Impressions: Android SDK is awesome, Eclipse is a bitch

Our first running version of the client did its job but in the most fugly way possible. Being the Android n00b that I was , did'nt have enough sense to realise that HTTP calls shouldnt be made from the main activity. This resulted in the whole app freezing until the server responded with something.

After some frantic googling I came over this brilliant article in android developer blog

http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2010/07/multithreading-for-performance.html

The usecase specified there was exactly what we were looking for(with very very minor modifications). Couple of hours of copy-paste-type-type-type later, we had what we wanted.

During the course of development we also ran into some minor issues with the Silpa dictionary like no response if the word was capitalized, resulting image being cut slightly at the top etc etc. All these were fixed promptly by the Silpa overlords Vasudev Kamath and Santhosh Thottingal.

So finally a week after the idea was conceived by aashiks we have a beta quality client out. It supports meaning lookups for English->Malayalam and English->Hindi

The entire source for the app can be found at https://github.com/rajivnair/Silpa-Dictionary-Android-client

You can download the unsigned apk from https://github.com/downloads/rajivnair/Silpa-Dictionary-Android-client/Silpa%20Dictionary.apk

Feel free to fork and may the foss be with you all.

The Programmer-Non Programmer immiscibility - Part 1

2011-01-08T09:41:00.000-08:00

I happened to watch "The Social Network" recently and liked it a lot. I think its the only movie in which hacking(the way stallman puts it) is shown somewhat realistically unlike Tony Stark with his transparent phones and personal AI assistants.

Even though most people who see the movie see it as a story of "betrayal" or "fallout between friends" T see a more common pattern in both of Mark Zuckerberg's conflicts as depicted in the movie i.e Programmer-Non Programmer friction.

Both of Mark's "adversaries" in the movie were not programmers. And I think in both cases the fact that they didnt actually write any code somehow lessened the "value" of their actual contribution(if any).

I wont try to take sides in whether Mark Zuckerberg screwed over his friends or was he just smart. Being a programmer myself I'm afraid my stand would be inherently biased.

The fact that programmers and non programmers don't mix that easily is something gets highlighted to me quite frequently at work these days. At work most of the "people in charge" are non-programmers or at least people who would answer "No" to "Are you a technical person?". Quite often we are faced with situations where decisions taken by the non-technical crowd fly in the face of basic software engineering.

I've also realized that in most situations highlighting the problem and offering a sensible sounding solution fixes it , while in some cases and they are met with "I don't want it that way".

But if you dig a little deeper you'll find that the difference is not between people "likes to program" and "doesn't like to program". What usually turns off the self-professed non-technical people is a "fear-of-the-unknown". Its a powerful driving force. Very seldom do people want to try something new.

An easy analogy would be a kid refusing to learn to multiply and choosing to repeatedly add to get his answers. The sad part is that he does get his answer. But what he doesn't realize is that the time he spent repeatedly adding could have been put to better uses.

The situation further complicates when the kid who doesn't know how to multiply is put in charge of a team in which people who know how to multiple are a minority. Its a very sensitive situation in which any attempt by the "multipliers" to explain multiplication is quickly seen as either an insult on the intellect of the non-multipliers or arrogance or both. What I've learned from experience is that aggressiveness from either side worsens the situation.

The formation of a team with the above mentioned composition is unavoidable in todays IT scenario, since your average IT crowd is filled with programmers and non-programmers. Hence this situation cannot be prevented, however it is my firm belief that it can be dealt with easily.

The key to dealing with the above situation is to encourage a culture of criticism and debate. When I say a culture of criticism I mean that the following sentences should come up in team meetings frequently.

1. You are wrong and heres why

2. Actually what you are suggesting isn't right either and heres why

3. I was wrong -> Personally I rate this sentence to be the most important but the most scarcely heard sentence in today's workplace.

Ideally no decisions that impact the day to day working of a software team like new processes or new tools or new design should be implemented without them passing through a meeting room with every member present where the above mentioned three sentences are spoken.

The fundamental difference in which programmers and non-programmers approach problems pr work in general lead into interesting questions like this one - http://stackoverflow.com/questions/811246/how-to-hide-thinking-at-work-so-that-the-non-programmers-dont-suspect-slacking/

My office has a window with a pretty neat view of the KL skyline. Sometimes when im thinking about stuff I like staring out of it. Once my team lead asked whether i was free since i seem to have time to stare out of the window. Wonder whether i should start implementing some of the suggestions that people give in the above mentioned link.

I'm naming this article as part one of a series because I've been writing this one for over a week and I have a slight feeling that I'll have more to add on to this in the future.

Test more

2010-12-24T18:17:00.000-08:00

My realisation of general lack of discipline while coding has led me down the path of "Test Driven Development". I had heard the phrase before and even knew what it meant, but was too lazy to try it out. Recent events at work have forced me to take this(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Test-driven_development) up.

I'm trying out Perl's Test::More package. (http://search.cpan.org/~mschwern/Test-Simple-0.96/lib/Test/More.pm)

One sleepless night and a red bull later I'm close to finishing up a simple read-from-database-generate-file batch job the test driven way.

http://assets.en.oreilly.com/1/event/12/Practical%20Test-driven%20Development%20Presentation.pdf

^^ This is an excellent tutorial which introduces Test Driven development in Perl using Test::More

Influential people

2010-12-05T06:43:00.000-08:00

- Carl Sagan

The List

2010-07-25T10:30:00.000-07:00

Notes

This blog post is not entirely "context free". The above list was filtered from the list of software "anti-patterns" that was posted in Hacker News.

Clarity

2010-07-17T11:43:00.000-07:00

Every time I come out of one of the local air-conditioned trains my glasses get fogged. But I dont wipe them clear. I like the feeling when the fog gradually goes away and everything gets crystal clear again. In life, in code, in phones, in conversations, all I yearn for is a bit more CLARITY.

The "Born" Identity

2010-05-09T10:30:00.000-07:00

No I didnt get the spelling of "Bourne" wrong. This post has nothing to do with the fantastic Matt Damon movie, but is rather my take on various identities we are assigned when we are born. Ever since I was posted overseas and after i started interacting from people from other racial and cultural backgrounds there is this comparative study that goes on inside my head where I stack up "what it means to be indian?" against "what it means to be malaysian/chinese/singaporean/australian/whatnot?".

These internal "culture" ratings took place multiple times and most of the times I ended up concluding that "Its a good thing to feel proud about being an Indian" or "Its a good thing to be proud about being a Malayalee". I even remember Shashi Tharoor tweeting that "He was proud to be a Nair". Now, I dont know whether he was aiming the Nair votebank or whether he is genuinely proud of his heritage. But I've recently concluded that it is totally NOT OK to feel "proud" in these regards. I would phrase my stand as follows

I am NOT proud of being an Indian/Malayalee/Brown/etc. I am just HAPPY that I am these things. Now there is a big difference between being "proud" about something and being "happy" about something.

I insist that it is inappropriate on my part to be proud of the fact that I am Indian simply because i did not CHOOSE to be indian. I did not CHOOSE to be a malayalee. I did not CHOOSE to be born in a Hindu/Nair family. I have no recollection whatsoever of filling out an application form that said "Yes sir..ill take that family down in south india to be born into. Seems like a solid place". I just happened to be born into my family.

I can be proud of the fact that I run linux for eg because that is something I choose to do unlike my nationality or caste or former religion. Heck you can even be proud about winning the lottery because you atleast made a choice to invest some money and play. Dont be proud about something you had no call in. Be happy about the fact that you belong to whatever country/race/${identity} you belong to. But thats it for me, no pride, none..zip.

Running on

2009-12-20T08:54:00.000-08:00

Its been quite some time since I've updated this page. A lot has changed since the last post I made. The last entry was posted from the terrace of my lovely Chennai home. Quite a lot things have changed(quite fast) since then. I've moved a couple of timezones to the east and life is going pretty fine. I've always wanted to write detailed entries of what I'm up-to( you know....with life). But it turns out I'm a lousy(lazy too) writer. There is something that I realized during my feeble attempts to abstract my state of existence into a single blog post. There is always a song that does the job far better than I could have ever done. So here goes!!. The track is "Running on empty" by "Jackson Browne". Replace the 65 in the song with 2005 and 69 with 2009 and it fits ;)

Looking out at the road rushing under my wheels

Looking back at the years gone by like so many summer fields

In sixty-five I was seventeen and running up one-on-one

I don't know where I'm running now, I'm just running on

Running on-running on empty

Running on-running blind

Running on-running into the sun

But I'm running behind

Gotta do what you can just to keep your love alive

Trying not to confuse it with what you do to survive

In sixty-nine I was twenty-one and I called the road my own

I don't know when that road turned into the road I'm on

Running on-running on empty

Running on-running blind

Running on-running into the sun

But I'm running behind

Everyone I know, everywhere I go

People need some reason to believe

I don't know about anyone but me

If it takes all night, that'll be all right

If I can get you to smile before I leave

Looking out at the road rushing under my wheels

I don't know how to tell you all just how crazy this life feels

I look around for the friends that I used to turn to to pull me through

Looking into their eyes I see them running too

Running on-running on empty

Running on-running blind

Running on-running into the sun

But I'm running behind

Honey you really tempt me

You know the way you look so kind

I'd love to stick around but I'm running behind

You know I don't even know what I'm hoping to find

Running into the sun but I'm running behind

No ceiling

2009-07-01T08:23:00.000-07:00

Comes the morning
When I can feel
That there's nothing left to be concealed
Moving on a scene surreal
No, my heart will never
Will never be far from here

Sure as I am breathing
Sure as I'm sad
I'll keep this wisdom in my flesh
I leave here believing more than I had
And there's a reason I'll be
A reason I'll be back

~ No ceiling by Eddie Vedder from Into the Wild OST

Lost in the wild

2009-06-21T06:18:00.000-07:00

I've always had a thing for big open spaces. And since now my means to connect to the world wide web is wire free for the most part, I go online from my terrace. I'm writing this blogpost sitting in the dark, under the stars. The pic above was taken using my laptop's webcam right around sunset. I look a tad happy in that pic(that is something considering the fact that i make a consious effort of to not smile for the camera)... might be the open spaces thing. I'm home alone for half a week. When you are caught in a scenario like that you keep thinking more about yourself and there are fewer distractions to your thought process. I wonder thats why whether all these sanyasis take a hike into the wilderness alone to fulfill their spiritual journeys. Talking about spiritual matters, sitting on a terrace watching the stars is probably the only spiritual thing that I can connect to. There are no gods to pray to, no rituals to do, no stuff to eat, you are just there in that moment. I look around me and I notice one thing, Chennai is very different from trivandrum in the fact that it has a busier airspace. Theres atleast one airplane in the horizon in any minute. But I cant hear them, so they just seem to blend into the landscape. They can be a distraction though, especially when your looking out for stars its like, "Hey what is that kinda bright star near the eastern horizon...must be a planet...it must be saturn...holy shit its moving..what if its a UFO...nah its just a plane". Sometime in the future I intend to take a "Into the Wild" like trip(only I plan to return alive). There is something about going away to far off places alone. I dont know why I'm attracted to the idea, maybe its escapism. Only one way to find out though ;) I just hope I have the courage to decide to do what is necessary, since I've never been much of a "courageous person"

Talking batteries

2009-05-24T11:26:00.000-07:00

This post comes out of my necessity to preserve the battery life of my shiny new lenovo. I've heard that the key to preserving battery backup is to make sure you use your battery as much as you can and depend on AC power just to charge your battery. Since i don't run a full-fledged DE like GNOME or KDE there are no notification systems I could leverage to monitor my battery status.

Up until now I had to manually run "acpi" once in a while to check my battery status and take necessary action, and this process was a real pain in the ass especially when you are watching a movie and don't want to be disturbed. Thats why i decided to cough up a little script that would keep monitoring my battery status and "tell me"(literally) when either battery is low or battery has been fully charged.

Prerequisites

Festival text to speech system: Festival can read out text from stdout and hence is really handy. In Ubuntu/Debian-like systems you can run the following command to install festival.

sudo apt-get install festival

A small problem with the default installation of festival is that festival by default uses the outdated /dev/dsp to access your sound hardware. Hence festival cant say anything if you are using another application that has sound like mplayer for instance. To fix this you need to get festival to use ALSA. To do that run the following command from terminal.

printf ";use ALSA\n(Parameter.set 'Audio_Method 'Audio_Command)\n(Parameter.set 'Audio_Command \"aplay -q -c 1 -t raw -f s16 -r \$SR \$FILE\")\n" > ~/.festivalrc

Now download the following file and extract its content(battmon.sh) into your home directory

http://sites.google.com/site/r4jivn4ir/Home/battmon.tar.gz

Make the script executable by running

chmod +x battmon.sh

Now you need to setup this script to run during login. To accomplish that add the following line to the end of the file .xprofile which is present in your home directory. If such a file is not present create it.

./battmoh.sh &

From the next time you login, this script will keep checking your battery status and "tell you" whether you need to charge your battery or unplug your charger. Do test and let me know if it works :-)

I know it's not alright

2008-07-30T12:33:00.001-07:00

I don't want to be the one
The battles always choose
'Cause inside I realize
That I'm the one confused
I don't know what's worth fighting for
Or why I have to scream
I don't know why I instigate
And say what I don't mean
I don't know how I got this way
I know it's not alright
So I'm breaking the habit
I'm breaking the habit
Tonight

The will to will

2008-06-04T11:17:00.000-07:00

This is one of them routine backup routines where i dump data from my head into google servers ;) A couple of days back during a "hectic" combined study session at a friend's place we ended up discussing heaven and hell. His point was that during the final "judgment" we are judged on the basis of our "thoughts" and not on our actions. To put that quite simply, it doesn't matter if you are buddha to the rest of the world, a couple of dirty thoughts and your gone. I'd like to play the "unfair" card here. On that spot I didn't argue with his point. But later that day I came across a quote that spawned the thought process which resulted in this blog entry.

Man can do what he wills but he cannot will what he wills. - Arthur Schopenhauer

This quote was listed by Albert Einstein as one of the greatest inspirations in his life. I'd like to approach the whole heaven and hell thingy around this quote. I don't think we have any voluntary control over the exact nature of various thoughts that arise inside our head. What we CAN do is choose whether or not to act on a thought. For eg: If a person gets chucked out of the class for no apparent reason his immediate reaction(inside his head) would be to smack the teacher. But as long as he doesnt act on that thought I think hes the same good person he was before that particular thought spawned. Expand these examples to most of the so called "bad thoughts" and I believe a person can still be the same old good guy. Theres a concept in Zen buddhism which says that the mind is like a river. Rocks may appear in the path of the river and there is nothing the river can do to "avoid" the rock "being there". What the river can do is to acknowledge the rock and flow around it. The rock here is the "bad" thought. I think the actual reason behind the "concept" of heaven and hell now misses the point. It has made people more worried about the consequences of their actions than the act itself.

To action alone hast thou a right and never at all to its fruits; let not the fruits of action be thy motive; neither let there be in thee any attachment to inaction - Bhagavad Gita

KDE 4.0

2008-04-22T11:46:00.000-07:00

When it looked like today would be as boring as ever i decided to go ahead and give KDE 4.0 a try. Googled up and found that KDE 4.0 repos where there for Kubuntu Gutsy and that I could try it out without affecting my perfectly configured KDE 3.5 setup. It was just an 80MB download. I guess its 'coz the KDE 4 version of lots of apps is a work in progress. I logged in to be greeted by the nice and shiny KDE 4 splash screen. Ran into some minor problems when junk apps like kiba dock and avant window navigator started to run at KDE 4 startup. Uninstalling them removed the problem. I'll classify my observations into two categories :D

What I liked in KDE 4.0

Plasma and Oxygen are truly awwsum. The visual appeal is real nice. Check the above screenshot.
As someone said somewhere, turning each desktop icon into a widget/plasmoid and enabling features like rotate and all gives the desktop an "organic"/"real life" feel.
If youve used Microsoft Windows Vista, no matter how cluttered and irritating the OS was, it did sport a very polished and shiny look. KDE 4 is has lived upto that level.
KDE 4 version of dolphin is faster than its KDE 3.5 backport.
I liked the new kicker menu. Sports a more organized appearance and finaly doesnt remind me of the windows start button :D
Truly awwsum set of wallpapers :D :D

What I'm skeptical about in KDE 4.0

Turning each icon into a widget took off the useful right click contextual menu of each icon. Mayb a solution will arise for this in a subsequent version.
Most KDE 4 apps are a work in progress. I tried out Amarok2. I couldn't get it to scan my music collection. A menu option is there, but nothing happens when i click it. Thankfully amarok and every other KDE3.5 app works just fine in KDE 4.0. So nothings lost :D
KDE 3.5 used to apply Qt styles to Gtk apps(firefox for eg). That doesnt happen in KDE 4.0. Gtk apps look horribly out of sorts when compared to the new polished KDE apps.
Even though Kwin(the KDE window manager) now provides compositing support with some GUI effects it is still light years behind the likes of compiz(In terms of features, performace and customizability)

To sum it all up, KDE 4.0.3 has enough and more to keep me excited till 4.1 or 4.2 gets released. +1 for the KDE project :)

ഞാനാരാ..

2008-03-27T01:48:00.000-07:00

Controlling your Linux PC with your presence

2008-03-08T08:23:00.000-08:00

Well the title may be a "bit" misleading. Its literally true as long as you have a bluetooth enabled mobile phone with you. I got the idea of controlling the pc depending on the presence of a Bluetooth enabled phone from KBlueMon, a KDE app that locks the screen if a specified device disappears. It didnt work as well as I would have liked and i wanted the app to do a little bit more. So i decided to try my hand in writing a small no-GUI tool using the BlueZ GNU/Linux Bluetooth stack, that would pause amarok when I(my phone) left the area and would start playback again when I'm around.

Prerequisites:

A Bluetooth enabled mobile phone. Bluetooth needs to be turned on but it need'nt be discoverable once you know your phones unique bluetooth id.
Standard issue bluetooth dongle hooked up to your pc
Any recent GNU/Linux distro(2.6* kernel). I use Kubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon
bluez-utils and libbluetooth-dev installed

I tried many methods for checking whether a device with known bluetooth id is present. The standard hcitool query method was too slow for my purpose. Hence i decided to use a small function provided by the Bluez C development headers. The hci_read_remote_name function is a reverse DNS of sorts. It queries and returns the human readable name of a bluetooth device given its bluetooth address. The bluetooth address is set in the code(too lazy:D). To find out your phones bluetooth id, make it discoverable and run "hcitool scan" from terminal. Rest of the explanation is there in the code. Compile it using the option -lbluetooth

Eg: $g++ -o sense.bin sense.cpp -lbluetooth

To Do: Integrate into system tray and a GUI with many more functions maybe.

Have been running the program for some hours in my pc now. Every time i leave the area with my phone playback stops and when I'm back, playback resumes(WWE style >:) ). Do try this one out if you can and lemme know how it goes :)

Update: Bluetooth id of device to be tracked is now specified as a command line argument.

./bluesense.bin 00:17:E3:A3:59:CB

Also now it performs an extra check if device not found just to ensure the absence of the device before taking any action. This was needed as sometimes the phone takes sometime to respond to successive queries and hence may end up not responding to some queries.

Download code from http://rapidshare.com/files/98519247/bluesense0.2.cpp.html

Live for nothing, or die for something.....Your call

2008-03-04T08:15:00.000-08:00

I've been a HUGE fan of Rambo ever since school. The fourth rambo film turned me from a rambo fan to a rambo fanatic. Heres something i found when I was googling about rambo and sly stallone in general. These are supposedly sly's 10 tips for life. Ponder on.

10. Believe it! Truly, it can be done and it will.

9. Every day -- every few hours -- see your vision materializing.

8. Don't discuss your dreams. Pursue them!

7. If other people can steal your idea, most likely they will.

6. Don't be afraid of embarrassment while pursuing your goal. It's all part of being committed.

5. Being naïve in business and in understanding human nature is a recipe for disaster.

4. Study people's success stories hard. Study their failures even harder.

3. Enthusiasm is like a wonderful disease -- keep spreading it until everyone is infected.

2. Only choose a goal that -- if you had to -- you'd gladly pursue for free. In order to achieve success, you've got to follow your passion.

1. Most important: If it's not broken, break it. That's how new discoveries are made. That's why everything that changes life is called a breakthrough.

Contemplate

2008-02-10T09:44:00.000-08:00

Carl Sagan: What would you, as a Buddhist, do if a discovery in science conflicted with a Buddhist doctrine?

The Dalai Lama: Even Buddha was said to question his teachings. Buddhists rely on doctrine as "findings" rather than as "scripture." If through thorough investigation things become clear, only then is it time to accept and believe.

War.... War never changes

2008-01-19T05:31:00.000-08:00

That line in the title is the opening dialog of one of the greatest games I've ever played, Fallout(and its sequel Fallout 2). I played that game in my old pc, a Pentium 133MHz CPU with about 16 megabytes of main memory. So i need not elaborate about the graphical quality of the game as compared to current standards. But the game was simply an overwhelming experience. It was based on a post-apocalyptic world after a nuclear war had seemingly destroyed everything.I used to be the kind of person who believed in the early to bed principle while i was at school. And the first time i broke the 10'o clock barrier willingly was for this game. That wasnt the only new thing that game held for me. It made me fall in love with this incredible genre of post-apocalyptic fiction.
Ever since the eerie experience that Fallout was, I've loved every piece of post-apo fiction ive come across. There are 2 things that attract me to the concept of an apocalypse. First and foremost its awesome. In the sense its like someone hit a reset button on the entire 'system'. Everything you know about takes a whole different course of existence. Second its the idea of being on your own, no one to dictate you, no one to give advices,.. NO ONE.
The line in the title is very relevant to our present lives. It has come to some never ending relentless war. A never ending war against evaluation systems designed to test how good you are compared to your peers. Be it exams, jobs, training etc etc. This is why i crave for an apocalypse. Because then you are left with just one goal....to survive. Thats why I've pondered on the idea of a personal apocalypse. An apocalypse for the personality that is YOU or ME. An self triggered event which involves re-evaluating everything you have or you thought you had. If this post sounds nihilistic to you, I don't care :)

The obsession

2008-01-05T11:10:00.001-08:00

Is something that resembles the human consciousness in a very superficial and maybe primitive way, worth dedicating a lifetime? When i keep hitting the F5 button 10 times within 20 mins on one single page, is it plain addiction or is it the dire desperation to just listen to what someone has to say one some topic under the sun? The malayalam phrase "akkare pacha" has a whole new meaning to me. When I'm talking to someone, i just wanna storm out and be alone. When I'm alone its back to the key F5. To quote Mr. Bing "One of life's greeeaat unanswerable questions!!"

Inspire

2008-01-04T10:23:00.000-08:00

Day 7671

2008-01-02T08:23:00.000-08:00

My name is Rajiv Nair. I'm a survivor living in what was once called 'God's own country'. I'm broadcasting on all blogger frequencies. Everyday I'll be at my keyboard thinking about typing out stuff like this. I can provide you with my twisted insights on everythings thats going around me. If there's anybody out there..............anybody......... please. You are not alone.

Last post of this year

2007-12-30T11:12:00.000-08:00

Listening to: Stan Bush - On my own
State of mind: Solitude, general desperation coupled with frustration

Venjaramood suraj rox. Haven't laughed that hard in ages.
I only own my mind. But why on earth am I not in control of the only thing thats truly mine?
Psychology is something thats meant to drive you psycho ;)
Goodbye 2007. You shall rest as a bits and pieces of hypertext in these pages.

Memory snapshot

2007-12-25T11:16:00.000-08:00

Listening to: Tiamat - Brighter than the sun
General mood: Reflective
No. of current conversations : 1
Comments

The internet brought people close to each other, but in some level it took people farther away from themselves.(this is just my opinion)
December nights are damn cold.

High hopes......

2007-12-23T08:06:00.000-08:00

Encumbered forever by desire and ambition
There's a hunger still unsatisfied
Our weary eyes still stray to the horizon
Though down this road we've been so many times

The grass was greener
The light was brighter
The taste was sweeter
The nights of wonder
With friends surrounded
The dawn mist glowing
The water flowing
The endless river

Forever and ever..............................

2k7 log file

2007-12-21T06:51:00.000-08:00

Went through a certain period of time in which i successfully wrote and passed 4 university exams in 3 days, a period i affectionately labeled 'Black week'. I still consider this to be one of my greatest academic achievements after joining engineering.

Won the first(and possibly the last) ever programming contest i attended. All i had to do was write a c++ program to crack a Caesar Cipher. Put in the money i won into procuring my first mobile, a Motorola W220.
Went for my second Ragam and thankfully we managed to procure a 3rd for eastern orchestra. But rahul dude, surely missed ur amazing vox :D
Watched most of my friends getting placed. It wasnt much fun sitting at home for about 4 months and regretting about those supplies as each job goes whizzing past your ear.
Attended my first interview successfully and finally got placed. A BIG thank you to lotsa ppl. Ain't mentioning names, coz they'll know anyway.
Wandered trivandrum city for about 2-3 weeks trying to get sponsorship money for western orchestra in crossroads. Finally met target after loooots of marikkals.
I'd also like to thank the entity which was responsible for the beautiful rain that happened while western orchestra was going on from the bottom of my heart.
Went to lotsa places this year. Bonacaud, peppara, chowara, meenmutty and all. Was nice.
Got through my seminar kinda successfully. Feedback tells me i was good at confusing than convincing..anyways :D
The "main project" happened and i consider this among the most 'educating' times of my life.
It made me realize how hard it is for certain people to accept their mistakes.
I was also introduced to a certain race of people who are well versed in the art form where they accept their mistakes ONLY to you and then quite successfully manage to turn tables onto you in front of others behind your back. FYI that hurts more than good old fashioned classic backstabbing.
The no. of faces i have to smile at also took a hit during this year due to above mentioned instances.
First impressions aren't always true.(this statement holds both ways)
Managed to revive my long lost hobby of stargazing.
Bought a new mobile for "project purposes". With that my dream of owning an mp3 player was also realized.
Flipped in and out of many belief systems(religiously i.e).
The good side of the above point was that i got to read a lot(online i.e) about various aspects of religion,god blah blah.
Discovered a new passion in photography.
Supplies again :D
Two ubuntu releases in this year and it just keeps getting better and better. Managed to convert many people to linux.
Yanni is simply awwsum!
Cut up vegetables for the first time in my life. Thanx to kenny's mom :D
Got hooked to the old tv series Cosmos.
I worship Carl Sagan.
Attended the engagement of a classmate.

Core dump

2007-12-17T08:15:00.000-08:00

"You better lose yourself in the music, the moment
You own it, you better never let it go"

"Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar", every "supreme leader", every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there — on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam."

"Sing with me
Sing for the year
Sing for the laughter
sing for the tear
Sing it with me
Just for today
Maybe tomorrow,The good Lord will take you away..."

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah ~x(

American Pie: beta house is just porn with comedy. But who the hell cares anyway. Who on earth reads this? Why on earth am i still typing. Just stop!. I said STOOOOOPP

Rant

2007-12-12T21:37:00.000-08:00

I hate the so called "communication gaps" . How hard is it to pick up a cell phone and call someone to convey a message or whatever. I fucking hate it when i'm kept waiting for nothing.

~x(

2007-12-03T11:29:00.000-08:00

Random sector seek

2007-11-18T08:42:00.000-08:00

jason bourne,motorola,john powell,running,forrest gump,vietnam,rambo,arnold,eraser,rail gun,quake 3,unreal tournament,biosbhai,gta san andreas,felix,anand,mafia,cj,k-dst,classic rock,toto,mp3 player,motorola,jason bourne

Sigh

Segmentation fault - core dumped

2007-11-05T10:21:00.000-08:00

People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people. - V
Life is a sine wave...........cosine for some, its just a matter of a phase shift of 90degrees - Me
When a new feature is introduced in a driver, you WAIT for the next version DAAMIT
Complacency is worse than procrastination.
When i got my first supply, i felt as if a train hit me..........I am a master of many train wrecks now - Anonymous
When ur on top of your life, beware of the cliff ahead - Me
It takes dramatic examples to shake people out of apathy - Bruce Wayne
Motorox!!
I'm not afraid of a fighter who knows 10,000 kicks but I'm afraid of one who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.... - Bruce Lee
Others inspire us, information feeds us, practice improves our performance, but we need quite time to figure things out, to emerge with new discoveries, to unearth original answers. - Dr. Ester Buchholz

This "flies" straight from my "soul"

2007-10-28T11:52:00.000-07:00

Seldom do u find lyrics to match whats going on through your head at that moment. :|

Every time I think about how you act
You got no life you got no respect
Yeah every time I think about how you act
You got nothing nothing left

Leeches and hypocrites
They even steal the air we breathe
Pretending and faking it
To be something they cannot be

You come around when you know you need something
Stick around and try to get anything
But I know whos really down with me
Back tha fuck up you bumbklaatt enemy

Boom
Watchugot
Watchuwatchugot
Watchugot
Boom

Happiness is to give back
Love one another have respect
Give more to receive less
Give life soul and fire

Using people like they are tools
Treating them like theyre just fools
Always quiet but I know what you do
God knows and you will too

Fuck you you fuckin disgrace
And then you act like everythings the same
I dont dig it I dont play mind games
Dont fuck with me and my friends

Give more to receive more
Give life soul and fire

Random Segmentation Fault

2007-10-15T10:31:00.000-07:00

Its always better to be confused than convinced the wrong way(i actually came up with that).
Multiple Personality Disorder is a very "common" "disorder".
NEVER judge people based on first impressions. Sit back and allow others to prove themselves to you.
It IS possible to make group study work.
Linux is boring, because the system can manage itself quite well on its own ;)
There exists lots of parallels between a human being and a personal computer.
Always expect the worst and hope for the best.
Never attempt to convince people who really intend to waste money. This is the age of consumerism, resistance is futile.
Its always better to say stuff to a person's face than take the typical 21st century online route(scraps, offlines, IM's whatever).
Seminars aren't about how much YOU know, but about how much the audience DOESN'T know.
"Isn't it amazing how quickly everyone can turn against you??" - President of the United States of America in Independence day(the movie)
Preach only what you practice.
"Its better to be an outspoken atheist than a hypocrite" - Swami Vivekananda
Belief is THE LAST STEP in ANYTHING. Never 'believe' first without sufficient personal proof.
God is best left alone.
Helping others should never imply not helping yourself.
I am because we are :)

Roadtrip - a photoblog

2007-07-28T11:30:00.000-07:00

Wing rider(s). Disclaimer: The riding depicted in the above pic has been performed by untrained amateurs. Please do try and imitate them on the roads. Always wear your helmet(so that you are are not recognizable)

paarapurathe thavalakuttikalude jeevithathilekku oru ethinottam

ASB - Oru chalikkunna kurishu

Motion Blur

Enroute to the watch tower

Finally there!!

Vishakkunnello vishakkunnello..bhakshanam thaayo, bhakshanam thaayoo!!

Sreedish thinking whether he should personally verify the laws of gravity

Simply AWWSUMM!

Kaadum kaattaruvikalum

The long lost sacred art of climbing up a stream

Apocalypto

Full body cast'il aavathe thirichethiyathinte aashwaasam

"Innekku durgashtami!! Unne njaan konnu unn rakhthathe kudichiduve!!"

Sreejith, 2 seconds after someone mentioned the word "aana"

Remnants of an old empire

The "mean" machines

And miles to go before we sleep..........................

Graphics.h in GNU/Linux

2007-07-27T10:38:00.000-07:00

Ive read and pondered upon lots of blogs and posts regarding the topics "20xx is the year of the linux desktop" , "linux is not yet ready for the desktop" etc etc.I guess the answer to all such questions is personal in nature. I mean id say "try and find out". I started using a GNU/Linux distribution about 8 months ago. Since then my aim was to do whatever stuff i was doing on XP, on GNU/Linux and maybe find stuff i couldnt do on XP. Thats how i approached/read about GNU/Linux though i later found out that, that approach isn't exactly right, as i was merely "reducing" GNU/Linux to a windows replacement, while its actually a whole another approach to computing.
Anyways, since i joined engineering if there was one thing i didnt like at all, then it was the "Blue Screen Of Death" or the Turbo C interface. Since s3 i never used Turbo C at home. I've always preferred Visual Studio or Dev C++ over Turbo C. I just didnt like the interface. This dislike of turbo C didnt however hamper my coding functionalities in other IDE's as they always had what i wanted. After moving to GNU/Linux i was able to do the same programs and compile them using G++. But s7 is were the problem starts. Now i gotta "computer graphics" lab which makes extensive use of the "graphics.h" library. I had heard rumours earlier that it wasnt available in all IDE's and to my dismay i found out that it wasnt there in GNU/Linux either. Another problem was that since the functions it included involved direct access to the hardware merely copying the graphics.h header to the library folders wouldnt help. As always google helped. Stumbled upon the blog of a person who was in the same situation as I am and he had found a solution. The answer to my problem was a set of libraries called libgraph which wraps around the SDL API.
His blog did contain steps to install in debian but it didnt work for me coz of minor hiccups. SO i spent sometime and finally succeeded in getting it to work on my ubuntu feisty install. I just thought i'd post it here so that google drops this in front of another seeker :)

Step 1: Installing dependencies

run sudo apt-get install build-essential to make sure you have installed all necessary compiler tools

Now comes the real achy part. Open synaptic and install the following packages

libsdl-image1.2
libsdl-image1.2-dev
guile-1.8
guile-1.8-dev
libsdl1.2debian-arts
libartsc0-dev
libaudiofile-dev
libesd0-dev
libdirectfb-dev
libdirectfb-extra
libfreetype6-dev
libxext-dev
x11proto-xext-dev
libfreetype6(upgrade)
libaa1
libaa1-dev
libslang2-dev
libasound2
libasound-dev

You can install them in a single go by adding all the above package names(separated by a black space) to the end of sudo apt-get install Even if it asks you to uninstall some already installed stuff, tell it to proceed. After all this is over. Download this file onto your home folder: libgraph-1.0.1

Right click on the file u just downloaded and click "Extract here"

open terminal and navigate into the folder u just extracted the file contents into by running cd libgraph-1.0.1

Now run the following commands one after the another. Proceed to the next command only if the preceding command executes without any errors.
./configure
sudo make
make install

If you get any errors during the "sudo make" step, paste it in the comments section of this post.

Now technically install is over. Try writing a simple program including graphics.h. Declare the values of gd and gm and call initgraph as follows

int gd,gm=VGAMAX; gd=DETECT; initgraph(&gd,&amp;amp;amp;gm,NULL);

and when compiling using g++ add an extra paramter -lgraph

i.e if you are compiling a program dda.cpp in the terminal u type in

g++ dda.cpp -o dda.o -lgraph

And execute the program by runnung ./dda.o

If on compile it gives u an error that says "could not load shared libraries" or something like that just run the following command and it should fix it

sudo cp /usr/local/lib/libgraph.* /usr/lib

I also read somewhere that graphics.h dosen't have ANY practical use in today's world and that its only "use" now is to help students learn to apply different algorithm's they have to study in a paper called "Computer Graphics"

May the source be with you :)

The Great Ubuntu Blog

2006-12-02T08:57:00.000-08:00

Feels good to be back here. This blog of mine has been lying unused for quite a long time now. Main reason was i was waitin for certain things to fall in place for the next blog entry and they have......

It was about a month ago when i visited my friend Arun, i found him runnin ubuntu dapper in his pc(he was the last person in the world i xpected to install linux:D) that day the first thing i did after reaching home is boot up my pc from the ubuntu dapper live CD(i had it shipped the previous month...was too lazy to install)...Had some trouble with partitioning. I scooped off 5GB from my downloads drive allocated 4Gb for the linux root and 1Gb as linux swap(always swap=2xRAM). Ubuntu installation is pretty hassle free apart from the partitioning and is VERY fast compared to XP. The whole OS installs in a max of 10 mins compared to 20+ mins for XP. It had correctly detected the presence of XP in the HDD and had configured the GRUB bootloader accordingly. I spend that whole day getting the "feel" of ubuntu. There were lots of things i was new to. Thankfully the people at ubuntuforums.org are very helpful. Then a few days into it i lost intrest and was back on XP again. 3 weeks later kickassman discovers a video on youtube. The vid was showin off a 3d accelerated ubuntu desktop with lots of jaw dropping visual fx and amazin eye candy. Kickassman did the initial research got it runnin on his pc and tld me to try it out. I decided to give it a shot. Mainly coz XP dosent have a 3d accelerated desktop. That feature comes only with Vista , named as Aero. To run aero smoothly i need to buy atleast 10k worth of new hardware. First i had to install drivers for my ATI Xpress 200 onboard video. thnkfully kickassman found a wiki detailin the process and it was kinda easy. Another thing i learned after installin drivers for my ATI card, Never buy an ATI if ya ever plan to install linux on ur pc, coz ATI linux drivers suck. The first driver i installed wld crash during shutdown. Had to do download the source for a newer version, compile and install it. Hard work for a linux n00b like me.

The 3d accelerated desktop system is named XGL. more info about XGL can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XGL XGL uses a window manager named BERYL and a window decorator named EMERALD to draw around windows. THe 4 default workspaces in the linux environment are drawn around a cube rendered using OpenGL. Switchin workspaces involves rotating this cube which looks awwsumm.

Installing XGL and beryl was kinda easy thnks to ubuntu's package managing software. Upon firing up beryl i was greeted by a cool 3d splash screen and the effect was noticeable. I downloaded themes to make my desktop look just like vista:D

Salient features of beryl include motion blur assisted application switchin, pixel shader demo screen savers,Translucent title bars, Translucent incative windows and loots more. It aint describable with words, U hvta see for yourself to appreciate it.

A simple google search for "XGL vs Aero" will tell u that XGL blasts aero into oblivion, providing much better and customizable eye candy but requiring very less resources compared to aero.

Minimum requirments for vista-aero include 1Gb RAM and a Direct X 9 card with atleast 128MB of dedicated video memory

Xgl runs fine even on a 2 yr old Geforce 4 onboard and provides better visual fx than aero(Xcpt for the fact that some features like pixel shader demos will be absent due to absence of hardware) . The screenshot of my desktop posted below shows a gud view of the desktop "cube" of XGL, and various other features like the translucent title bars etc.

The screenshot doesnt even show 10% of the beauty of beryl. As i said earlier, u hvta c it for urself.

The screenshot posted below shows video playing in the alt+tab switchin screen with motion blur on(well screenshot of "motion" blur is meaningless....but still thought id keep it on)

For help with installing ubuntu browse thru http://ubuntuforums.org

For help with installing XGL check out
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/CompositeManager/Xgl

linux IS user friendly...just that it aint ignorant friendly and idiot friendly ;-)

Cool 'n Quiet-->not until yesterday!!

2006-08-11T20:15:00.000-07:00

well well..........the irony.... all morning in class i was tlkin to asb abt AMD's Cool 'n' Quiet and how it was saving me power while I left my pc on for downloading during night and all. I happened to read biosbhai's blog about how he helped codenamegp underclock his Athlon 64 using a utility named RMClock to save power. i askd biosbhai about it and with his guidance started to attempt to underclock. I could lower the VID ratings only till 1.1V and not till 0.9V which was da value he suggested. That was when i noticed something wierd. The Clock & Throttle graph in RMClock kept showing 1800 MHz even when my CPU usage was 0% which was weird as both my proc and mobo supported c'n'q but its effects were clearly not showing which came as bit of a shock to me. I checked and upgraded the CPU drivers....but no use, checkd an option in the BIOS that set "AMD Cool'n'Quiet" to auto which was the choice before. Then biosbhai tld me to set the power scheme in win xp to "max battery" which was a necessity for c'n'q to function. Tough luck:( consulted my mobo manual. It said o enable stable functioning of c'nq id have to plug in a RAM module to slot 1. I had my current modules pluggd into slots 3 & 4. i opened up my case and changed even that. Still no use. Thats when biosbhai found dat true cool'n'quiet functionality was introduced in BIOS verison 3.8 which was released a cpl of months after i bought my pc and told me to flash my bios:-s Was always "afraid" of doing that as even slight mistakes cld render my comp useless for some time before i revoked the mobo's warranty. And i didnt hv a spare floppy so dat i cld backup my xisting bios in case something went wrng. Took biosbhai's advice to take the risk and flashd my BIOS. Just tuk about half a minute:). Rebooted and saw some new additions like able to ramp up the memory shared for the onboard grfx all the way upto 256MB(not much use...but still:D). Now cool'n quiet wrks perfectly. Wheneven CPU idles proc underclocks to 995MHz with a FID of 5.0x at 1.1V but still cldnt lower it to 0.9. Anyway im satisfied now. and to think of all the electricity i wasted the past year[sigh!]. Heres a screenshot of Cool'nQuiet in action with a cpu usage of 31% while the pc's runnin utorrent, winamp and yahoo msngr. Note the clock&throttle graph(CPU runs at 995MHz).

long time no c.......

2006-08-10T10:09:00.000-07:00

its been a while since ive bloggd......think this has been da longest absence "ever";) well now that im back thought ill just post wat i was up to these days.....hmmmmmm...lemme think to strt with.oh yeah..my data structures lab exam since it invlvd sittin in front of the comp..was out of the lamp before half time(no i wasnt kickd out if thats wat ur thinkin :p)....and everythin seems to be in order for the "Industrial Visit" scheduled to take place next month thnx to some very effecive runnin arnd by dish and others........and da most major activity(wont call it timepass) durin da past cpl of weeks......UT....earlier i had a its-just-for-fun kinda attitude towards gamin in general.....but those lengthy "trainin sessions" with sp^wn after he [ahem!!] "beat" me,made me realize dat it aint just aimin and shootin:D Always admire the patience with which he tried to "Teach" me stuff. ^:)^ cld only find a sentence to put in here and i got that sentence from the orkut profile of lord goopan himself....."Being a gamer is like being a virtual gladiator. Your digital avatar lives to fight, survive and entertain those who come to spectate the mayhem.".....yeah...its abt runnin..... hidin...firin in desperation...gettin pwnd.....and da "occasional"(for ultran00bs like me) wild satisfaction when u finally hear lead hittin flesh>:)......aspire to frag, i will......UT rulzz

addicted to technology

2006-07-21T09:53:00.001-07:00

after a lab xam dat was pushd right in2 my face outta da blue things are quietely settling bak in2 place. Not that it would hv made a difference if i knew the lab dates earlier, but i had 2 run a bit to get my records certified(lessons supposedly learned--always get rcrds outta da way as fast as u can). Guys from our class decided to get together at the pooapura ground for a football game. I fully discovered why they say spending 12+ hrs in front of a computer aint gud for health. Was almost dead abt 15 mins into play. To be honest i was a "liability" to poor asb's team. He was screamin desperately for a pass each time the ball got near me. But i was too busy dodgin kenny(who strtd to scream while runnin towards me) to notice da ball:D. Decided that mayb i should step outta my glass walled abode once in a while. The lab exam question was kinda simple and got the needed output in abt half hour. But viva went kinda bad. Id rather focus on the gud part here and let the viva go2 hell(repeats to myself.."i got da output"). Been readin a loot lately on conroe and AMD's reply and similair topics. Think im tkin a likin 2 hardware:D(reverently chants......om biosbhai namaha!)....recent activities on the comp..... scrapped norton internet security for the second time.....now using netlimiter pro and its firewall with NOD 32 as AV. really liked Netlimiter pro..shws everythin u wannw knw about programs accessin the net from ur comp....along with very nifty features like a built in whois query tool..its more than what i need:D.....then wat else......oh yeah..switchd to da new yahoo mail beta..........interface luks really gud....really likd da one-click preview feature and strangeky.it loads faster for me than the old yahoo mail.....
Heres a snapshot of the new yahoo mail beta. Notice the one click preview pane at the bottom. Got dspm lab xams comin up. As usual...need 2 get the records certified:D....catch ya all later

half way thru..........

2006-07-10T05:28:00.000-07:00

holidays over.............back to my favorite past time of sleepin thru lectures:D Beginning of s5 marks half time in the illustrious journey thry B.Tech. And my frquency of bloggin went down durin the holidays(thinking).

The 1 month dat passed was borin to a gr8 xtent. Anythin worth recallin...ummmmm(thinkin .....there was the party at moush's house, indu's b'day, me and asb visitin biosbhai's house(finally got to meet the lord of the bios^:)^ ), frag matches with auster and dj(^:)^@kickasso, try harder@dj:P..just kiddin dude).

And oh yeah.me xperimentin with USB boot resultin in 40gigs of clean NTFS secondary memory:-< . It all strtd on a peaceful afternoon with my new pack of ubuntu cd's arrivin by mail. I was like.......hmmmmmm 64-bit editionof ubuntu(thinkin) mayb ill install dat...(1337 3go t4k!n 0v3r) and b the proud owner of the only 64-bit OS in class(high hopes!!)...the version was the latest(code named "Dapper drake").. i knew that theres nothin 4 me 2 gain from instllin a 64-bit OS .but still ...Without further hesitation i pop in the cd .....a decent lukin menu arrives...i chose to boot....cpl of lines show up and then suddenly "Wat da hell!!".screen shws attempt to kill init...init sync fail....and da screen freezes...back 2 gud old xp and i googled for the prob.got some vague ideas that it might b related 2 acpi and some guy was hvin the same prob with Athlon 64. I boot usin the cd instd of bootin normally added an xtra option acpi=off..and hurray!!..it boots from the cd....another strange thing..watever resolution i choose while bootin the OS still loads in 640x480 which was a prob since the install program window was too big for the screen.but that was solved when i pluggd in my USD HDD..now default resolution was 1280x720.....dont ask how:-??.......Now i run the install program..after passin thru whole load of crap like "regional settings" i finally come to the partitioning section and.WTF.it refuses to acknowledge the existence of my SATA drive.but my USB drive does show up..phrases like "USB boot" race through my mind...i weigh my options.hmmmmm.......i got 10gigs of free space in dat drive........mayb ill partition 6gigs and install ubuntu on that.and i instruct it 2 do so...then it shws some error and program closes.i giv up...back to gud old xp..after abt an hr...i pull up my computer and notice somethin strange. my USB drive is pluggd in.but it aint there.it did show up in windows disk managment.and partition magic said file system was bad.....dammit!!...along with vaporizin my 64-bit dreams ubuntu had also f***ed up my USB drive....33 movies, knight rider, my entire star wars collection...all gone...finally fox tld me 2 delete the partition and reformat it, thnx 2 him i got the drive back in working condition..... anyways xp rulzz for the moment.

College reopened 2day...some of the subjects do look intrestin. and theres the mini proj. Need to come up with somethin really gud 4 dat. teamed up with dj and asb.mayb ill letem do most of the wrk:D Then theres the IV comin up. lukin forward to a gud sem:D catch ya all later--th3_d4r3d3vi1

Happy B'day pc

2006-06-25T05:30:00.000-07:00

[Forgive the image quality. That pic was taken usin a webcam at night:P]

My pc's a year old now. "Old" isnt a term you would like to associate with a computer. They are supposed to be prime and mean all time long with obsolete hardware being replaced by the latest and greatest . First of all, i wouldnt call my hardware obsolete:D and second of all my upgrade frequency is really low compared to the likes of asb.

My old pc was/is a technological "marvel" . Its still running:D. An absolute beast of a machine Style, power, u name it;-) Dad bought that pc when i was in sixth standard. I would spend hours talkin to my seniors on my school bus about the MSDOS commands i was to punch in to play a game. My first surprise came when a screen labelled "Windows 95" popped up while i was expecting to c "Starting MS-DOS".. Then came the first huge challenge, Mastering the mouse:D. Tuk some time to get used to it. I furiosuly searched for(and found) the MS-DOS shell and started punching in commands like "cd games" "prince megahit" and all. It tuk some time for my brain to register the fact that u never play a game unless it is installed(read as exists) on ur comp. The comp contained 16 megabytes of EDO RAM(the only specimen ive ever seen), a 1.2 GB samsung harddiskdrive(partioned into 4 regions by the way). The video card was a real killer named Sis 6215 which was a PCI card with 1 megabyte of videomemory. Just in case ur guessin 16MB of RAM??.win 95 requires only 8MB of RAM to run. Other pieces of hardware that were added on later included a Creative 8x CD-ROM drive and a Creative Soundblaster 16 soundcard which pluggd into an ISA port. The 8x drive blew its lens in future and was replaced by a standard 52x samsung drive which was the last upgrade my old PC saw till the new pc came in a year ago. Dj and i once tried running Everest 2005 on my old pc. It detected the motherboard as "Tomato motherboard"=)) It was 7 years of win 95/98 , fifa 98 and nfs 2.

One thing really different about he first years of my old and new pc's is that the new pc never broke down(unless i count the time when dust got in to the RAM slots and sys crashd resulting in me frantically diallin biosbhai's no.) This last year has been very different where the comp became an inseperable part of ME. Durin the last year holidays mnt 16 hrs in front of the comp unless there is a power failure, which was a feat unattainable with my old comp as it wld simply shutdown after 12 hrs of use:D

So its 1 yr and runnin, hope it stays so:D

Xplosive performance!!!!

2006-06-22T08:38:00.000-07:00

Im damn sure u dont want this to happen on ur lap. Saw this Xplosive news on the inquirer. The laptop apparently identified as manufactured by DELL just went "bang" as reported by a person who attended the above conference. The guy advices people to "run run run!!" and never turn back in case such an event occurs in front of anyone. Nothin has been told of what actually caused it to just go up in flames like that.

Tip of the day--always keep ur laptop outta ur lap:D

Read the full story here

what computer am i??

2006-06-14T06:17:00.000-07:00

got this blogtest from biosbhai's blog

1337 Case Mod
You scored 190 skilled, 80 artistic, 165 gamer, and 25 conformity!

You got the skills! You built your computer from scratch, and thought long and hard about all the components, balancing them for optimum performance. You didn't spend a fortune on your computer, but you spent what you needed to. You'll probably spend a fair bit of dough to upgrade it in six months, when the lastest video card comes out. You
play lots of games, but you probably dual boot to Linux. You probably design webpages or program things.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 66% on skilled

You scored higher than 58% on artistic

You scored higher than 79% on gamer

You scored higher than 12% on conformity

Link: The Which Computer are You Test written by mridlen

windows 95 on a sony psp

2006-06-07T20:27:00.000-07:00

THE ULTIMATE PORT.........was hard to believe at first but luks authentic. It seems this guy actually succeeded in running win 95 on a sony psp. He apparently used an open source X86 emulator named Bochs to accomplish the feat.

Loading time is abt 10 mins. But its said to be pretty usable afterwards. The mouse is reported to have a certain inertia of motion, i.e u need to push ur joystick in the opposite dir to stop the cursor from continuing to move.

Games like minesweeper and solitaire are said to b very playable.

MINESWEEPER ON SONY PSP

SOLITAIRE ON SONY PSP

The psp in question runs at a full CPU speed of 333Mhz, and the unit reportedly heats up considerably. The author has made it clear that he aint responsible if "ur psp bursts into flames". If you wld like to read the full article do so here.

You can get the source files and a walkthrough on how to do this at the site(if u hv a sony psp 2 burn i.e:D)

signin off--th3_d4r3d3vi1

29 useless windows xp sp2 services

2006-06-06T06:57:00.000-07:00

Is your win xp-sp2 pc driving u crazy because of its "warp-speeds"??. Then this little piece of info is for u. I actually came across this in a techtree.com
article. It was durin my "norton days" .My pc was just a few weeks old and after insllin NAV general sys speed had gone down a bit. I wldnt hv minded a speed drop of that amount NOW. But when uve just bought a new pc even a sliiight performance drop can make u wonder whether u bought the right PC. This article actually gave me back my speed. The difference was noticable for me. Hope it works for u.

To enable or disable services, go to Start -> Run -> and type "services.msc" and hit Enter.

Computer Browser
"Maintains an updated list of computers on the network and supplies this list to computers designated as browsers."
Contrary to what it may sound like, disabling this service still allows you to browse a network in your office. And of course, you don't need this at home. Disable it.

Distributed Link Tracking Client
"Maintains links between NTFS files within a computer or across computers in a network domain."
This one sounds useful, but only if you often create files on one computer, shortcuts to those files on another computer, and then move the original files around the network. Not many people do so. In fact, not many people even have NTFS on their Windows for some orthodox reason. Not required on FAT32, at home or even at work if your scenario doesn't match with the description. Disable it.

Error Reporting Service
"Allows error reporting for services and applictions running in non-standard environments."
I.e. "Send system information to Microsoft." No thanks. Disable it.

Help and Support
"Enables Help and Support Center to run on this computer."
This is okay to leave as-is if you hit F1 a lot, but if you almost never need to use the built-in help features (as opposed to just Googling for the problem - always a better option), then disabling this service would be a good idea. Now the problem is that the service automatically gets turned back on when required even if its disabled, so keeping it disabled is actually a better option to keeping it on automatic.

Indexing Service
"Indexes contents and properties of files on local and remote computers; provides rapid access to files through flexible querying language."
Use AvaFind (link to review) and/or Google Desktop Search instead. Just disable it - no questions asked.

Net Logon
"Supports pass-through authentication of account logon events for computers in a domain."
Useless for single machines or even most networks out here that don't actually have a domain. Disable.

NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing
"Enables an authorized user to access this computer remotely by using NetMeeting over a corporate intranet."
As a general rule of thumb, avoid any combination of "remote" and "internet/intranet". If you don't want people to use NetMeeting to connect to your computer and see your desktop over the Internet/Intranet, disable this please.

Network Location Awareness (NLA)
"Collects and stores network configuration and location information, and notifies applications when this information changes."
And how is that going to help you? Disable it.

Network Provisioning Service
"Manages XML configuration files on a domain basis for automatic network provisioning."
Not necessary for home and/or simple networks. Disable.

Performance Logs and Alerts
"Collects performance data from local or remote computers based on preconfigured schedule parameters, then writes the data to a log or triggers an alert."
There are other, more efficient ways of tracking performance of your machine(s) than using this service, if at all you need to do so. Most home users will never need it. Disable it.

Portable Media Serial Number Service
"Retrieves the serial number of any portable media player connected to this computer."
Unless you use some 100% Windows Media based/compatible ("PlaysForSure") portable audio/video device and Windows Media Player, this service is useless. iPod and regular flash based MP3 player users don't need it. Disable it.

QoS RSVP
"Provides network signaling and local traffic control setup functionality for QoS-aware programs and control applets."
This is an interesting concept to give more bandwidth to applications that request it, unfortunately, not many actually do this QoS thing, so it doesn't make sense to enable it. You can use cFos Speed for better bandwidth prioritization that actually works.

Remote Desktop Help Session Manager
"Manages and controls Remote Assistance."
Remote Assistance should be avoided. Disable this service.

Remote Registry
"Enables remote users to modify registry settings on this computer."
We'll let you guess this one out...

Secondary Logon
"Enables starting processes under alternate credentials."
This offers the "Run As" option to limited user accounts to be able to temporarily run some applications as an administrator (after entering the password, of course). Standalone machines usually have just one account with administrator access and other accounts, if any, are also usually administrators. You should keep this service only if your limited users often need to run applications with admin access, otherwise disable it.

Security Center
"Monitors system security settings and configurations."
That thing that pops up and tells you when your firewall is down, your anti-virus is out of date, or automatic updates are turned off. Personally, I like the alerts because then I know my anti-virus was unable to download its updates. I don't really bother with the firewall and my automatic updates are always on. If you've never needed or received any alerts on these events, this service can be disabled. The feature doesn't offer any protection by itself - it is only a monitor. Not really required.

Server
"Supports file, print, and named-pipe sharing over the network for this computer."
Only if you share files on a network would this be required. If you disable the Server service, you may still be able to access other shares, so you won't be entirely unconnected. Decide and disable if not required.

Smart Card
"Manages access to smart cards read by this computer."
How many of you actually use smart cards with your computer? Disable this.

SSDP Discovery Service
"Enables discovery of UPnP devices on your home network."
Most people don't have any UPnP devices on the network, so this service is useless. Do not confuse this with standard PnP (Plug-n-Play), which remains unaffected if this service is disabled.

System Restore Service
"Performs system restore functions."
I prefer trying to manually troubleshoot and fix, or reinstalling Windows in case of a fatal problem. I've never felt comfortable with using System Restore to "restore old versions of files" and all that, so I keep it disabled. It frees up memory and a good amount of disk space as well.

TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
"Enables support for NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NetBT) service and NetBIOS name resolution."
Nobody uses NetBIOS anymore. Get over it. Disable this.

Themes
"Provides user experience theme management."
For performance reasons (or if you're just bored of all Blue), you may want to use the classic Windows 2000-style interface. You can switch to it from the Desktop Properties dialog, but there's no reason to have the service running if you're not using Luna / Default Blue, so disable it. Remember: if you're using the Luna / Default Blue interface, this service is necessary.

Uninterruptible Power Supply
"Manages an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) connected to the computer."
If you don't have a UPS, you don't need this service. If you have a UPS that you use independent of the computer (i.e. without automatic turn off etc.), you don't need this service. Even if you do have a UPS that requires installing its own software for power management, this service is not required. Use it only if your UPS connects to your PC via a COM port and automatically gets Windows to work with it (not many).

Universal Plug and Play Device Host
"Provides support to host Universal Plug and Play devices."
Works along with the SSDP service that we doubt you require. Don't know what UPnP is? Disable this.

WebClient
"Enables Windows-based programs to create, access, and modify Internet-based files."
Not a very popular feature. Disable it. If some features in Internet Explorer don't work for you, then you may need it. But then, why are you using IE, again? Huh?

Windows Time
"Maintains date and time synchronization on all clients and servers in the network."
I've kept this on. In fact, I'm so particular about having the correct time on my system, I've actually increased the update frequency from weekly to daily. If you don't share the same enthusiasm as me, you can disable this service. You can use a freeware, third party, on-demand time sync utility that will not need this service to be running, saving you memory.

Wireless Zero Configuration
"Provides automatic configuration for the 802.11 adapters"
I don't have any WiFi devices or networks to get on to, so I've disabled it. If you don't have any WiFi, do the same.

WMI Performance Adapter
"Provides performance library information from WMI HiPerf providers."
Nobody is really sure what to do with this thing. I've never needed it, and it's unlikely that you ever will. Off with it.

Workstation
"Creates and maintains client network connections to remote servers."
If your're sharing files and folders over a network, leave this on. If not, disable it. This is not needed or even utilized in a standalone PC. This doesn't affect Internet connectivity.

A short intro about port scanning

2006-06-02T09:49:00.001-07:00

im back...my loong term(1 week) absence from the net was due to xtreme conditions arising(read as way over the data limit). Anyways i changed my plan to a low speed but unlimited one. Thought id write what all i know about port scanners.

Many people believe a port scanner is the ultimate "tool" in a hackers toolkit and it throws up ur friends password lists in a jiffy as soon as u give his ip. Wrong!!. A port scanner is just a tool for "checking" wether a particular system is "vulnerable". Also, port scanning is illegal in many parts of the world and it is NOT a good idea to try them on a public server(just in case)....

To understand different types of port scans a brief knowledge on how a TCP/IP connection is established is necessary. To put it in simple terms a TCP/IP connection is establishd as follows

Connect request
Sender ---------------------> Receiver

Connect Confirm
Sender <---------------------- Receiver

Connect acknowledge
Sender ---------------------> Receiver

This 3-way "handshake" establishes a TCP/IP connection between the "sender" and the "receiver". The most conventional type of port scan is the connect scan
The connect scan simply attempts a full fledged TCP/IP connection to every single port on the victims machine. If a connection is created succesfully with a port(consider a port as a "data-pipeline" which is managed by a particular program) the program marks that particular port as open. The chances of this scan working is really low these days. the most negative part is that this scan shows up prominently in the connection logs of the victims machine.

Another widely popular scan method is the SYN scan.
This is also known as a "half-open" port scan. This is because technically it opens "half a port". It sends the initial connection request, but as soon as the victim responds the scanner sends a connection terminate packet and closes the connection(it marks the port as open). This scan provides a lil bit higher element of stealth compared to the connect scan. It does show up in the logs but with lesser prominence. SYN scan provides somewhat accurate results with a certain degree of stealth.

Next is the FIN scan
This is the most "silent" of all port scans. It employs a packet known as the FIN packet(which means no more data from sender). An open port ignores a FIN packet while a closed port responds with an RST(connection reset) packet. The scanner thus marks out open ports. This method is kinda unreliable in the sense that accuracy is low. It aint "undetectable" but its pretty hard to detect.

There are other methods of scans like XMAS scan, NULL scan etc. which im not that familiar with and havent used.

This is the most basic functionality of a port scanner. Well known port scanners also pack in xtra features like ip-spoofing, banner grabbing and OS detection.

Banner grabbing is the mechanism by which the "welcome" banner of certain programs "manning" a paricular port is captured by the port scanner thus letting us know which service runs on which port.

OS detection is quite a nifty feature. As they say the first step in "breaking in" to a machine is to know which OS it runs. OS detection isnt guarenteed o work at all times. It uses a technique called TCP/IP fingerprinting. Each OS handles a TCP/IP packet in its own unique way. The port scanner compares a "fingerprint" from a packet to its own "fingerprint" database to detect the OS.

Another useful feature is the ARP ping scan which uses ARP packets to determine the MAC-ID of the victims ethernet adapter and its manufacturer. this scan is not blocked by conventional firewalls with ip-blocking.

One of the best port scanners around is undoubtledly Nmap.
Its a command line port scanner which packs in a lot of useful features. A typical Nmap scan result luks like this.....

Initiating ARP Ping Scan against 202.83.39.129 [1 port] at 23:06
The ARP Ping Scan took 0.11s to scan 1 total hosts.
Initiating SYN Stealth Scan against 202.83.39.129 [1670 ports] at 23:06
Increasing send delay for 202.83.39.129 from 0 to 5 due to 17 out of 55 dropped
probes since last increase.
Increasing send delay for 202.83.39.129 from 5 to 10 due to max_successful_tryno
increase to 4
Increasing send delay for 202.83.39.129 from 10 to 20 due to 12 out of 39 droppe
d probes since last increase.
Increasing send delay for 202.83.39.129 from 20 to 40 due to 19 out of 63 droppe
d probes since last increase.
Increasing send delay for 202.83.39.129 from 40 to 80 due to 11 out of 35 droppe
d probes since last increase.
SYN Stealth Scan Timing: About 19.72% done; ETC: 23:09 (0:02:02 remaining)
Discovered open port 5000/tcp on 202.83.39.129
Discovered open port 5101/tcp on 202.83.39.129
SYN Stealth Scan Timing: About 77.96% done; ETC: 23:10 (0:00:43 remaining)
The SYN Stealth Scan took 216.70s to scan 1670 total ports.
Initiating service scan against 2 services on 202.83.39.129 at 23:10
The service scan took 14.13s to scan 2 services on 1 host.
For OSScan assuming port 5000 is open, 1 is closed, and neither are firewalled
Host 202.83.39.129 appears to be up ... good.
Interesting ports on 202.83.39.129:
(The 1646 ports scanned but not shown below are in state: closed)
PORT STATE SERVICE VERSION
20/tcp filtered ftp-data
21/tcp filtered ftp
25/tcp filtered smtp
80/tcp filtered http
135/tcp filtered msrpc
136/tcp filtered profile
137/tcp filtered netbios-ns
138/tcp filtered netbios-dgm
139/tcp filtered netbios-ssn
445/tcp filtered microsoft-ds
593/tcp filtered http-rpc-epmap
623/tcp filtered unknown
664/tcp filtered unknown
1080/tcp filtered socks
1353/tcp filtered relief
1433/tcp filtered ms-sql-s
3128/tcp filtered squid-http
4444/tcp filtered krb524
4480/tcp filtered proxy-plus
5000/tcp open upnp Microsoft Windows UPnP
5101/tcp open tcpwrapped
6588/tcp filtered analogx
9090/tcp filtered zeus-admin
12345/tcp filtered NetBus
MAC Address: 00:11:2F:04:04:C6 (Asustek Computer)
Device type: general purpose
Running: Microsoft Windows NT/2K/XP
OS details: Microsoft Windows XP Pro RC1+ through final release
TCP Sequence Prediction: Class=random positive increments
Difficulty=14917 (Worthy challenge)
IPID Sequence Generation: Incremental
Service Info: OS: Windows

Note that the victims MAC is revealed in the scan. Since the MAC is unique 2 a pc this can be effectively used in identifying a pc. So next time u doubt whether the girl u hv been chattin 2 for the past cpl of hrs is ur neighbour, u knw wat 2 do;-) Note that ARP ping scan works only in some ISP's and it does not work for people on dial-up.

A port scan is not an attack by itself. But it is phase 1 of an attack. So the next time ur frnd threatens that hes gonna "break in" to ur pc using his new "port scanner" ask him 2 buzz off..:D

U can c "trinity" using Nmap before breaking into the power station's server in the movie "Matrix Reloaded"(thnx to anand for the info..)

signin off--th3_d4r3d3vi1

interview with HRD Minister.......

2006-05-22T07:58:00.000-07:00

hey guys...found this interview by India's best known television commentator and interviewer Karan Thapar with the Minister for Human Resource Development, Arjun Singh. Its quite lengthy, but a gud read if ya have the time. Feel free 2 comment...........

Karan Thapar: Hello and welcome to the Devil's Advocate. As the debate over the reservations for the OBCs divides the country, we ask - What are the government's real intentions? That is the critical questions that I shall put today in an exclusive interview to the Minister for Human Resource Development Arjun Singh.
Most of the people would accept that steps are necessary to help the OBCs gain greater access to higher education. The real question is - Why do you believe that reservations is the best way of doing this?

Arjun Singh: I wouldn't like to say much more on this because these are decisions that are taken not by individuals alone. And in this case, the entire Parliament of this country - almost with rare anonymity - has decided to take this decision.

Karan Thapar: Except that Parliament is not infallible. In the Emergency, when it amended the Constitution, it was clearly wrong, it had to reverse its own amendments. So, the question arises - Why does Parliament believe that the reservation is the right way of helping the OBCs?

Arjun Singh: Nobody is infallible. But Parliament is Supreme and atleast I, as a Member of Parliament, cannot but accept the supremacy of Parliament.

Karan Thapar: No doubt Parliament is supreme, but the constitutional amendment that gives you your authorities actually unenabling amendment, it is not a compulsory requirement. Secondly, the language of the amendment does not talk about reservations, the language talks about any provision by law for advancement of socially and educationally backward classes. So, you could have chosen anything other than reservations, why reservations?

Arjun Singh: Because as I said, that was the 'will and desire of the Parliament'.

Karan Thapar: Do you personally also, as Minister of Human Resource Development , believe that reservations is the right and proper way to help the OBCs?

Arjun Singh: Certainly, that is one of the most important ways to do it.

Karan Thapar: The right way?
Arjun Singh: Also the right way.
Karan Thapar: In which case, lets ask a few basic questions; we are talking about the reservations for the OBCs in particular. Do you know what percentage of the Indian population is OBC? Mandal puts it at 52 per cent, the National Sample Survey Organisation at 32 per cent, the National Family and Health Survey at 29.8 per cent, which is the correct figure?

Arjun Singh: I think that should be decided by people who are more knowledgeable. But the point is that the OBCs form a fairly sizeable percentage of our population.

Karan Thapar: No doubt, but the reason why it is important to know 'what percentage' they form is that if you are going to have reservations for them, then you must know what percentage of the population they are, otherwise you don't know whether they are already adequately catered in higher educational institutions or not.

Arjun Singh: That is obvious - they are not.

Karan Thapar: Why is it obvious?

Arjun Singh: Obvious because it is something which we all see.

Karan Thapar: Except for the fact that the NSSO, which is a government appointed body, has actually in its research in 1999 - which is the most latest research shown - that 23.5 per cent of all university seats are already with the OBCs. And that is just 8.5 per cent less than what the NSSO believes is the OBC share of the population. So, for a difference of 8 per cent, would reservations be the right way of making up the difference?

Arjun Singh: I wouldn't like to go behind all this because, as I said, Parliament has taken a view and it has taken a decision, I am a servant of Parliament and I will only implement.

Karan Thapar: Absolutely, Parliament has taken a view, I grant it. But what people question is the simple fact - Is there a need for reservations? If you don't know what percentage of the country is OBC, and if furthermore, the NSSO is correct in pointing out that already 23.5 per cent of the college seats are with the OBC, then you don't have a case in terms of need.

Arjun Singh: College seats, I don't know.

Karan Thapar: According to the NSSO - which is a government appointed body - 23.5 per cent of the college seats are already with the OBCs.

Arjun Singh: What do you mean by college seats?

Karan Thapar: University seats, seats of higher education.

Arjun Singh: Well, I don't know I have not come across that far.

Karan Thapar: So, when critics say to you that you don't have a case for reservation in terms of need, what do you say to them?

Arjun Singh: I have said what I had to say and the point is that that is not an issue for us to now debate.

Karan Thapar: You mean the chapter is now closed?

Arjun Singh: The decision has been taken.

Karan Thapar: Regardless of whether there is a need or not, the decision is taken and it is a closed chapter.

Arjun Singh: So far as I can see, it is a closed chapter and that is why I have to implement what all Parliament has said.

Karan Thapar: Minister, it is not just in terms of 'need' that your critics question the decision to have reservation for OBCs in higher education. More importantly, they question whether reservations themselves are efficacious and can work.
For example, a study done by the IITs themselves shows that 50 per cent of the IIT seats for the SCs and STs remain vacant and for the remaining 50 per cent, 25 per cent are the candidates, who even after six years fail to get their degrees. So, clearly, in their case, reservations are not working.

Arjun Singh: I would only say that on this issue, it would not be correct to go by all these figures that have been paraded.

Karan Thapar: You mean the IIT figures themselves could be dubious?

Arjun Singh: Not dubious, but I think that is not the last word.

Karan Thapar: All right, maybe the IIT may not be the last word, let me then quote to you the report of the Parliamentary Committee on the welfare for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes - that is a Parliamentary body.
It says that looking at the Delhi University, between 1995 and 2000, just half the seats for under-graduates at the Scheduled Castes level and just one-third of the seats for under-graduates at the Scheduled Tribes level were filled. All the others went empty, unfilled. So, again, even in Delhi University, reservations are not working.

Arjun Singh: If they are not working, it does not mean that for that reason we don't need them. There must be some other reason why they are not working and that can be certainly probed and examined. But to say that for this reason, 'no reservations need to be done' is not correct.

Karan Thapar: Fifty years after the reservations were made, statistics show, according to The Hindustan Times, that overall in India, only 16 per cent of the places in higher education are occupied by SCs and STs. The quota is 22.5 per cent, which means that only two-thirds of the quota is occupied. One third is going waste, it is being denied to other people.

Arjun Singh: As I said, the kind of figures that have been brought out, in my perception, do not reflect the realities. Realities are something much more and of course, there is an element of prejudice also.

Karan Thapar: But these are figures that come from a Parliamentary Committee. It can't be prejudiced; they are your own colleagues.

Arjun Singh: Parliamentary Committee has given the figures, but as to why this has not happened, that is a different matter.

Karan Thapar: I put it to you that you don't have a case for reservations in terms of need, you don't have a case for reservations in terms of their efficacy, why then, are you insisting on extending them to the OBCs?

Arjun Singh: I don't want to use that word, but I think that your argument is basically fallicious.

Karan Thapar: But it is based on all the facts available in the public domain.

Arjun Singh: Those are facts that need to be gone into with more care. What lies behind those facts, why this has not happened, that is also a fact.

Karan Thapar: Let's approach the issue of reservations differently in that case. Reservations mean that a lesser-qualified candidate gets preference over a more qualified candidate, solely because in this case, he or she happens to be an OBC. In other words, the upper castes are being penalised for being upper caste.

Arjun Singh: Nobody is being penalised and that is a factor that we are trying to address. I think that the prime Minister will be talking to all the political parties and will be putting forward a formula, which will see that nobody is being penalised.

Karan Thapar: I want very much to talk about that formula, but before we come to talk about how you are going to address concerns, let me point one other corollary - Reservations also gives preference and favour to caste over merit. Is that acceptable in a modern society?

Arjun Singh: I don't think the perceptions of modern society fit India entirely.

Karan Thapar: You mean India is not a modern society and therefore can't claim to be treated as one?

Arjun Singh: It is emerging as a modern society, but the parameters of a modern society do not apply to large sections of the people in this country.

Karan Thapar: Let me quote to you Jawaharlal Nehru, a man whom you personally admire enormously. On the 27th of June 1961 wrote to the Chief Ministers of the day as follows: I dislike any kind of reservations. If we go in for any kind of reservations on communal and caste basis, we will swamp the bright and able people and remain second rate or third rate. The moment we encourage the second rate, we are lost. And then he adds pointedly: This way lies not only folly, but also disaster. What do you say to Jawaharlal Nehru today?

Arjun Singh: Jawaharlal Nehru was a great man in his own right and not only me, but everyone in India accept his view.

Karan Thapar: But you are just about to ignore his advice.

Arjun Singh: No. Are you aware that it was Jawaharlal Nehru who introduced the first ammendment regarding OBCs?

Karan Thapar: Yes, and I am talking about Jawaharlal Nehru in 1961, when clearly he had changed his position, he said - I dislike any kind of reservations.

Arjun Singh: I don't think one could take Panditji's position at any point of time and then overlook what he had himself initiated.

Karan Thapar: Am I then to understand that regardless of the case that is made against reservations in terms of need, regardless of the case that has been made against reservations in terms of efficacy, regardless of the case that has been made against reservations in terms of Jawaharlal Nehru, you remain committed to extending reservations to the OBCs.

Arjun Singh: I said because that is the will of Parliament. And I think that common decisions that are taken by Parliament have to be honoured.

Karan Thapar: Let me ask you a few basic questions - If reservations are going to happen for the OBCs in higher education, what percentage of reservations are we talking about?

Arjun Singh: No, that I can't say because that has yet to be decided.

Karan Thapar: Could it be less than 27 per cent?

Arjun Singh: I can't say anything on that, I have told you in the very beginning that at this point of time it is not possible for me to.

Karan Thapar: Quite right. If you can't say, then that also means that the figure has not been decided.

Arjun Singh: The figure will be decided, it has not been decided yet.
Karan Thapar: The figure has not been decided. So, therefore the figure could be 27, but it could be less than 27 too?

Arjun Singh: I don't want to speculate on that because as I said, that is decision, which will be taken by Parliament.

Karan Thapar: Whatever the figure, one thing is certain that when the reservations for OBCs happen, the total quantum of reservations will go up in percentage terms. Will you compensate by increasing the total number of seats in colleges, universities, IITs and IIMs, so that the other students don't feel deprived.

Arjun Singh: That is one of the suggestions that has been made and is being seriously considered.

Karan Thapar: Does it find favour with you as a Minister for Human Resource Development?

Arjun Singh: Whatever suggestion comes, we are committed to examine it.
Karan Thapar: You may be committed to examine it, but do you as minister believe that that is the right way forward?

Arjun Singh: That could be one of the ways, but not the only way.

Karan Thapar: What are the other ways?

Arjun Singh: I don't know. That is for the Prime Minister and the other ministers to decide.

Karan Thapar: One way forward would be to increase the total number of seats.

Arjun Singh: Yes, definitely.

Karan Thapar: But the problem is that as the Times of India points out, we are talking of an increase of perhaps as much as 53 per cent. Given the constraints you have in terms of faculty and infrastructure, won't that order of increase dilute the quality of education?

Arjun Singh: I would only make one humble request, don't go by The Times of India and The Hindustan Times about faculty and infrastructure, because they are trying to focus on an argument which they have made.

Karan Thapar: All right, I will not go by The Times of India, let me instead go by Sukhdev Thorat, the Chairman of the UGC. He points out that today, at higher education levels - that is all universities, IITs and IIMs - there is already a 1.2 lakh vacancy number. 40 per cent of these are in teaching staff, which the IIT faculty themselves point out that they have shortages of up to 30 per cent. Given those two constraint, can you increase the number of seats?

Arjun Singh: That can be addressed and that shortage can be taken care of.

Karan Thapar: But it can't be taken care of in one swoop, it will take several years to do it.

Arjun Singh: I don't know whether it can be taken care of straightway or in stages, that is a subject to be decided.

Karan Thapar: Let me ask you bluntly, if you were to agree to compensate for reservations for OBCs by increasing the number of seats, would that increase happen at one go, or would it be staggered over a period of two-three or four year old process.

Arjun Singh: As I told you, it is an issue that I cannot comment upon at this moment because that is under examination.

Karan Thapar: So, it may happen in one go and it may happen in a series of several years.

Arjun Singh: I can't speculate on that because that is not something on which I am free to speak on today.

Karan Thapar: Will the reservation for OBCs, whatever figure your Committee decides on, will it happen in one go, or will it slowly be introduced in stages?

Arjun Singh: That also I cannot say because as I told you, all these issues are under consideration.

Karan Thapar: Which means that everything that is of germane interest to the people concerned is at the moment 'under consideration' and the government is not able to give any satisfaction to the students who are deeply concerned.

Arjun Singh: That is not the point. The government knows what to do and it will do what is
needed.

Karan Thapar: But if the government knows what to do, why won't you tell me what the government wants to do?

Arjun Singh: Because unless the decision is taken, I cannot tell you.

Karan Thapar: But you can share with me as the Minister what you are thinking.
Arjun Singh: No.

Karan Thapar: So, in other words, we are manitaining a veil of secrecy and the very people who are concerned...

Arjun Singh: I am not maintaining a veil of secrecy. I am only telling you what propriety allows me to tell you.

Karan Thapar: Propriety does not allow you to share with the people who are protesting on the streets what you are thinking?

Arjun Singh: I don't think that that can happen all the time.

Karan Thapar: But there are people who feel that their lives and their futures are at stake and they are undertaking fasts until death.

Arjun Singh: It is being hyped up, I don't want to go into that.

Karan Thapar: Do you have no sympathy for them?

Arjun Singh: I have every sympathy.

Karan Thapar: But you say it is being hyped up.

Arjun Singh: Yes, it is hyped up.

Karan Thapar: So, then, what sympathy are you showing?

Arjun Singh: I am showing sympathy to them and not to those who are hyping it up.

Karan Thapar: The CPM says that if the reservations for the OBCs are to happen, then what is called the creamy layer should be excluded. How do you react to that?

Arjun Singh: The creamy layer issue has already been taken care of by the Supreme Court.

Karan Thapar: That was vis -a-vis jobs in employment, what about at the university level, should they be excluded there as well because you are suggesting that the answer is yes?

Arjun Singh: That could be possible.

Karan Thapar: It could be possible that the creamy layer is excluded from reservations for OBCs in higher education?

Arjun Singh: It could be, but I don't know whether it would happen actually.

Karan Thapar: Many people say that if reservations for OBCs in higher education happen, then the children of beneficiaries should not be entitled to claim the same benefit.

Arjun Singh: Why?

Karan Thapar: So that there is always a shrinking base and the rate doesn't proliferate.

Arjun Singh: I don't think that that is a very logical way of looking at it.

Karan Thapar: Is that not acceptable to you?

Arjun Singh: No, it is not the logical way of looking at it.

Karan Thapar: So, with the possible exception of the creamy layer exclusion, reservation for OBCs in higher education will be almost identical to the existing reservations for SC/STs?

Arjun Singh: Except for the percentage.

Karan Thapar: Except for the percentage.

Arjun Singh: Yes.

Karan Thapar: So, in every other way, they will be identical.

Arjun Singh: Yes, in every other way.

Karan Thapar: Mr Arjun Singh, on the 5th of April when you first indicated that the Government was considering reservation for OBCs in higher education, was the Prime Minister in agreement that this was the right thing to do?

Arjun Singh: I think, there is a very motivated propaganda is on this issue. Providing reservation to OBCs was in the public domain right from December 2005, when Parliament passed the enabling resolution.

Karan Thapar: Quite true. But had the Prime Minister specifically agreed on or before 5th of April to the idea?

Arjun Singh: Well, I am telling you it was already there. A whole Act was made, the Constitution was amended and the Prime Minister was fully aware of what this is going to mean. Actually, he had a meeting in which OBC leaders were called to convince them that this would give them the desired advantage. And they should, therefore, support this resolution. And at that meeting, he himself talked to them. Now, how do you say that he was unaware?

Karan Thapar: But were you at all aware that the Prime Minister might be in agreement with what was about to happen but might not wish it disclosed publicly at that point of time? Were you aware of that?

Arjun Singh: It was already there in public domain, that's what I am trying to tell you.

Karan Thapar: Then answer this to me. Why are members of the PMO telling journalists that Prime Minister was not consulted and that you jumped the gun?

Arjun Singh: Well, I don't know which member of the PMO you are talking about unless you name him.

Karan Thapar: Is there a conspiracy to make you the fall guy?

Arjun Singh: Well, I don't know whether there is one or there is not. But fall guys are not made in this way. And I am only doing what was manifestly clear to every one, was cleared by the party and the Prime Minister. There is no question of any personal agenda.
Karan Thapar: They say that, in fact, you brought up this issue to embarrass the Prime Minister.

Arjun Singh: Why should I embarrass the Prime Minister? I am with him. I am part of his team.

Karan Thapar: They say that you have a lingering, forgive the word, jealousy because Sonia Gandhi chose Manmohan Singh and not you as Prime Minister.

Arjun Singh: Well, that is canard which is below contempt. Only that person can say this who doesn't know what kind of respect and regard I hold for Sonia Gandhi. She is the leader. Whatever she decides is acceptable to me.

Karan Thapar: They also say that you brought this issue up because you felt that the Prime Minister had been eating into your portfolio. Part of it had gone to Renuka Chaudhury and, in fact, your new deputy minister Purandar Sridevi had taken over certain parts. This was your way of getting back.

Arjun Singh: No one was taking over any part. This is a decision which the Prime Minister makes as to who has to have what portfolio. And he asked Mrs Renuka Devi to take it and he cleared it with me first.

Karan Thapar: So there is no animus on your part?

Arjun Singh: Absolutely not.

Karan Thapar: They say that you did this because you resented the Prime Minister's popular image in the country, that this was your way of embroiling him in a dispute that will make him look not like a modern reformer but like an old-fashioned, family-hold politician instead.

Arjun Singh: Well, the Tammany Hall political stage is over> He is our Prime Minister and every decision he has taken is in the full consent with his Cabinet and I don't think there can be any blame on him.

Karan Thapar: One, then, last quick question. Do you think this is an issue, which is a sensitive issue, where everyone knew there would have been passions and emotions that would have aroused has been handled as effectively as it should have been?

Arjun Singh: Well, I have not done anything on it. I have not sort of what you call jumped the gun. If this is an issue, which is sensitive, everyone has to treat it that way.

Karan Thapar: But your conscience as HRD Minister is clear?

Arjun Singh: Absolutely clear.

Karan Thapar: There is nothing that you could have done to make it easier for the young students?

Arjun Singh: Well, I am prepared to do anything that can be done. And it is being attempted.

Karan Thapar: For seven weeks, they have been protesting in the hot sun. No minister has gone there to appease them, to alley their concerns, to express sympathy for them. Have politicians let the young people of India down?

Arjun Singh: Well, I myself called them. They all came in this very room.

Karan Thapar: But you are the only one.

Arjun Singh: You are accusing me only. No one else is being accused.

Karan Thapar: What about the Government of India? Has the Government of India failed to respond adequately?

Arjun Singh: From the Government of India also, the Defence Minister met them.

Karan Thapar: Only recently.

Arjun Singh: That is something because everyone was busy with the elections.

Karan Thapar: For seven weeks no one met them.

Arjun Singh: No, but we are very concerned. Certainly, all of us resent the kind of force that was used. I condemned it the very first day it happened.

Karan Thapar: All right, Mr Arjun Singh. We have reached the end of this interview. Thank you very much for speaking on the subject.

NOD32 Antivirus system

2006-05-18T09:31:00.000-07:00

I came 2 know about this particular AV from dj. I was a Norton worshipper back then. I firmly believed that if a system can take it Norton is the best bet. I happened 2 read a review of NOD32 which told me that this is the AV solution used in the Microsoft testin labs. Assumin that the people there aint stupid i decided 2 get rid of norton and all its updates. I wasnt usin the standalone Norton AV but the complete package labelled as Norton Internet Security which had a firewall with the AV(the NIS firewall is one of the best in the buisness).
The first noticable difference is obviously the system speed. Ull see a major boost when u switch to NOD32 as the 2 of its processes hogs up just abt 10 MB compared to 16+ processes of Norton. A unique feature inherent to NOD32 is a file system monitor which consistently keeps scannin the files in ur HDD one at a time hoggin a memeory of less than 1meg. The full system scan is lightning fast compared to that of norton, and i dont think it missed anthing. I tried throwin a few things onto its way( a couple of keyloggers, the old parsed JPEG exploit file, the new parsed WMF exploit file), it caught all. Plus it has all the usual stuff like the document scanner and all and scans inside archives. I even tried downloadin the win32.blackmal mass mailing worm(was a huge risk:D) which disabled many leadin AV's like Norton and McAfee. NOD32 cleaned it up with ease.
Heres a screenshot of the NOD32 interface
This is defenitely one of the plus points of NOD32. The interface is lightning fast compared to the sluggish interface of Norton. I didnt mention McAfee here for two reasons 1) I havent used it:D 2) The fiasco with their update was enough to keep me away from it(for the less informed, a cpl of months back an official McAfee update flaggd the associated files of many programs which included softwares from Adobe and even Microsoft Office and deleted them rendering many a pc useless). In the end a very satisfying switch:-) --th3_d4r3d3vi1

relocated...............

2006-05-17T08:10:00.000-07:00

Well people..i did put in a loot of thought before i decided to "adandon" my 360 blog. Of course i dont have any bad impressions about yahoo 360 which gv me my first blog. But i felt that the image limitation was kinda choking sometimes. Also 360 is a much more complex social networking setup and i felt the blog was taking a backseat with the feeds with the top page ruling. I feel blogspot is much "simpler" in a sense that u "just blog". Plus its just an experience of tryin out a widely used service. So as from this day th3_d4r3d3vi1 occupies his new home at sector-zero:-).......signin of--th3_d4r3d3vi1