Awoken by a song and much more…

I was almost on my way to bed when a beautiful song came on and lightened the air…

I sat swaying to the song and i felt no longer like sleeping. I decided not to waste a beautiful night like this and sat down to do something when i noticed some notifications for comments on the BLoG. So what did i do? Replied to the comment and started another blogpost!

The past week as i sat and wondered why i had written the previous post about orkut i realized i had done that thing more out of compulsion than out of will. I had smelt a controversial article on orkut’s money making strategies, So i sat and pondered for a long time but couldn’t figure out any! Then i did what every other person would do, Google it! But then at the end of reading numerous articles and blogs i came to the conclusion that orkut wasn’t built with making money in mind. So guess i did a pretty bad write up, but then i know you’ll forgive me for that.

One blogpost, rather comment that that enforced this thought in my mind was this post by Scobleizer and the comment on that post left by a Mr. Anonymous who made a good argument against Scobleizer’s rants about Google’s products which have no money making plans. I’d recommend you read the person’s comment on the post (the first comment on the post). Where he makes a effective case about how companies should try and put people first rather than money…

Talking about Google, Don’t forget the Google Code Jam coming up on the 21st! Registrations close 20th march, so you better hurry! Also there are issues with the UI, I’ve had problem with the GLX drivers, hopefully i’ll be able to fix that within the competition. Also try the sample problems, just to have some practice with the compiler (Learn from others experiences, Mine! The GNU Compiler plays differently than the Turbo Compiler and you are going to have a hard time on the competition day if you are stuck not knowing what to do!). Wishing you the Best for the Competition…

Also one more exciting event is on the horizon, Barcamp Chennai is around the corner (NO! One does NOT sit there and drink all night!). It’s a place where technology enthusiasts get together and discuss the latest advances in the web and next-gen technologies. Everybody in the barcamp has to present on something on technologies of their interest. Barcamps like this are popular around the world. Kiruba’s Blog has some photos from barcamps around the world. Check out the cool pics of barcamps from around the world here and here…

Don’t know if i will be taking part in the barcamp though! I’ve haven’t quite figured out what topic to handle. Speaking of Kiruba’s BLoG check out the pics of the Google interiors on his blog. Coincidentially Orkut is in one of the pictures. Check them out here. Also check out the original flickr photos link here (This one for Rahul who was talking about workculture at Google and policies)…

Hey i forgot to add the link to Orkut Büyükkökten‘s personal home page in the previous post. I did add it a bit later though! If you missed it check it out here.

NJoY the Week Ahead !

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Poetry No More!

Posted Originally on LApstrEz BLoG – http://www.Journalhome.com/lapstre
Poetry No More!

Aha! the New year is here! bringing with it a sense of freedom!(our xams are finally over!) What a rebreather… I feel light and free, ah what a feeling! Two months of tension and sleepless nights(as if i sleep otherwise) all coming to an end. Guess i can be free(atleast till the next exams come up). There are a lot of stuff i wanted to write about, but couldn’t because of the exams, hope to do all that now. I still dont know why i dragged along all these years in college, but then education is the only way people recognize the potential in you. I wanted to drop out of engineering long time ago, because i thought engineering didn’t equip me enough for a professional career(I still am of the same opinion). But then , born in a middle class orthodox family, i had no choice but to follow the advice of my mom, relatives and neighbours. You might be wondering why i launched into this rigmorale, but the Rediff Special Feature on college dropouts who followed their heart and made it big gave me a quick recollection of all my old memoirs… Check out the Rediff’s Special Feature on Billionare Dropouts Here(Part I) and the Second part of the feature here(Part II) (both are a definite must see!). Reading the article i remembered one of my friends who is all set to join the list with his pet project Roast Turkey (name changed to protect privacy). Wishing him the best with his project.

My attempt at writing poetry took a bad beating due to the exams, the intial inspiration vanished and i have deicided to drop the attempt at murdering poetry(Sorry to disappoint eager fans). Time has started flying by at blinding speeds again. The software company which offered me a job has started it’s training early, and i get to juggle my project, college, and my training all at the same time. The training is interesting, with me getting to strengthen some of the concepts and learn a lot more. Just can’t help feeling good, because i’m doing what i like to do best(and for that unfortunately, i have to be thankful to engineering).

A lot of my friends we’re intrigued about the avatars I was sporting on my messenger, blogs and everywhere else i go. Instead of replying to each and every soul individually(i’ve had hell a number of queries) i decided to put it up here. The software is a simple image viewing software called Irfan View, I just used it to apply some image filters. I’m pretty sure the stuff can be done in other image editors, but heres how it gets done in Irfan View, Open the image(Obviously!), Click Image->Effects and select your effect. The one effect i’ve used for the picture on this BLoG is an Edge Detection Filter, and the other on orkut is an Emboss Effect. With a combination of effects and effort you can whip up a cool lookin image with Irfan View. To download Irfan View click Here (2mb).

I come across lot of interesting stuff everyday, but some touch the heart. I came across this blogpost by a vey good friend of mine. Twas about his work when the tsunami struck(I remember sitting in front of the TV and feeling sorry for the people, but he actually went out ot help them). Hats Off! Proud to be a friend of yours. Check the article out Here.

My schedule has become more tight now(Thanx to the training). And I dont think i can write more frequently as planned before. But however I’ve invited some special friends to blog with me here! Think it’ll increase the frequency and also give u the variety from my largely monotonous blog (I had some suggestions NOT to restrict myself to technology and geek talk). But I will remain in control of the editor’s post(editor’s post??? ), but (Attention! bad news for those who just heaved a sigh of relief!) I’ll blog quite frequently too.

I’m still at figuring out the mystery of the missing comments. I seem to get a decent hit rate on my BLoG, with some rave reviews from friends, loadsa suggestions(Thanx for those) and lots more. At first I figured the task of posting it on the blog was too tedious and made available a few shortcuts(The shoutbox), but then still people either passed messages on the messenger and a few mailed … So i’ve decided to kick the quick comment box(It’s only taking up space and increasing load time). Some of the suggestions i’ve implemented, and some i can’t, but then ur suggestions are always welcome! and hey, Check out the archives, some are dumb and some are good. Have Fun! Njoy the New Year!

Beware

Posted Originally on LApstrEz BLoG – http://www.Journalhome.com/lapstre

I just got this mail in my Inbox, It claimed to be from yahoo,

Dear customer, There has been a critical error in Yahoo servercontaining account details.We have lost the securitybackup copy of your account details including yourpassword security lock.You will still be able to logininto your account,access your inbox and send mail.Butdue a recovery procedure,users registered on.nl(Netherland),.au(Australia),ru(Russia) servers canlogin to your account with a FALSE or NO password. so we kindlyrequest you to do the following:

First Name:Middle Name:Last Name:Password:Re-enter Password:alt-mail ID:

Please mail these details to :- pass_error_india@yahoo.com You will recieve a email of confirmation after 3 daysafter verification.This is for all the users from india.

All I wanted to say is DON’T FALL FOR IT!, yahoo never uses any of these kind of mechanisms to get information from customers…

It’s not that i think you people are that gullible, but the fact is as far as the internet is concerned, most people are that gullible! I can quote numerous instances, the no of forwards i’ve received, most of em with absolutely absurd claims! The pleas to help a leukaemia child, BillyG (that’s Bill gates for those who didnt know) sharing his wealth, the claims that yahoo is going to close the accounts of people who dont forward a mail, i can go on and on (but i gotta study for my exams, so i shall keep it short) …Only a couple o days ago did i come across this blogpost via technorati, on the same subject of mail forwards, it’s actually pretty comprehensive and its also humorous. Check it out HERE.

The next time you forward a mail, or reply with your personal details, just stop for a moment and Think!

and hey ENJOY THE NEW YEAR!