Abhinav's Blog

First it was Apple that decided that it wanted to name its phones as “iPhone“, a name copyrighted by Cisco. Understandable, given the former’s success with the “I” Pod earlier. But what’s it with Google now deciding to name its new phone “Nexus” One, which is a renown brand for Cisco’s datacenter switches? Is it really so important to have this particular name ? (It sounds shady sometimes, as the word is used very commonly for qualifying dubious ties between, say, criminals and politicians).

Cisco marketing should start thinking (and registering) a few more such names. Given the popularity of its brand repertoire with cell manufacturers, this could well be a good way to make some quick money !

P.S: To be fair, not that Cisco is the only company using that word. Check the wikipedia entry for more uses.

Getting older versions of eclipse on karmic seems to require a few additional steps. While 3.5.1 (Galileo) is packaged with karmic, there are some quirks in the UT interaction which makes it difficult to use. In addition, I needed 3.4.2 (Ganymede) for rssOwl – an eclipse based rss reader I was trying to figure the code out for.

Downloaded the tar.gz from the eclipse site directly, and gave it a go after unpacking. While the splash screen came up and there was some activity in loading the workbench, etc, the IDE hung with a blank dialog box. The logs under workspace/.metadata/.log complained:

!ENTRY org.eclipse.ui.workbench 4 0 2009-10-10 18:44:28.933
!MESSAGE Widget disposed too early!
!STACK 0
java.lang.RuntimeException: Widget disposed too early!
at org.eclipse.ui.internal.WorkbenchPartReference$1.
widgetDisposed(WorkbenchPartReference.java:171)
at org.eclipse.swt.widgets.TypedListener.handleEvent(TypedListener.java:117)
at org.eclipse.swt.widgets.EventTable.sendEvent(EventTable.java:84)
at org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Widget.sendEvent(Widget.java:1158)
-startup

Seems to be a bug with xulrunner. While the version that fixes the issue (xulrunner) is available on karmic, the downloaded installation does not point to it.

To get this working, just add the following to eclipse.ini on a separate line:

-Dorg.eclipse.swt.browser.XULRunnerPath=/usr/lib/xulrunner

Where /usr/lib/xulrunner is the location of version 1.9

This forum thread discusses the issue in more detail.

Saw this on one of my friends’ accounts, who happens to be married.

Despite using Ubuntu for the past 3.5 years, and fastidiously upgrading the the latest and greatest version when it came out (Ubuntu releases a new version every 6 months), I dropped the ball on linux usage a year or so ago. I still updated it on my system (Lenovo T61 dual boot with Windows XP) – I just did not use it regularly.

Finally got a chance to get back to Ubuntu (Hardy Heron, or Ubuntu 8.04 as it is known -> upgraded to Jaunty Jackalope, aka Ubuntu 9.04) – and boy, what an improvement ! Partially due to the better (than the T60 I was having) specs – more Processing power and RAM, maybe. But more importantly, I found the following things which make Ubuntu a much more powerful and serious candidate for being the OS for non-geeks too:

• Upgrade / Install Process – Very smooth, with a lot of hand-holding when required. A breeze to install !
• Run from within Windows, or as a Live CD (I found a Live USB much faster than a Live CD)
• Gnome – has improved a lot !
• Compiz – Extremely powerful graphics, with great window management capabilities. While it has been around for a while, it works pretty well out-of-the-box, starting with Hardy Heron.
• Good File sharing via dropbox, spideroak
• Nice apps for twitter (Tweetdeck, Twhirl)
• Some cool backup apps
• Picasa available via wine, and working like a charm !
• Thunderbird 3 (beta) with *much* better calendaring support (lightning nightly) – freedom from Outlook Web Exchange, and Evolution !

What’s missing :

• Google Chrome ! Firefox gets too slow sometimes due to the addons and stuff. The only thing about Windoze I miss is the ultra fast experience by chrome.
• For the large part, Openoffice is fine – but some docs at work have macros and vba code that does not work – Office is required.

Saw this at one of the premier management institutes in India :

Good to see such student/institutional initiatives, but wonder how many people avail these.

There are many web services these days for online storage and file/folder sharing. Most are free for the first few gigs of data, after which they start charging a monthly fee.

The one that is the best, and more importantly, most intuitive for non-geeks is, by far, Dropbox. What sets it apart from the rest is :

• Cross Platform – works on Windows, Linux, Mac (?)
• Seamless – integrates into the file explorer on the OS (Windows Explorer, Nautilus) without any user configuration required. Just creates a folder called “My Dropbox”, and indicates using icons whether the particular folder/file within the dropbox is synced or not
• Version Control !! – Quietly manages revisions of the same file, so that older versions of a file are also available
• Access Control !! – Share folders with specific people by inviting them. Share folders/files with the world by putting them in a folder marked “public” – simple ! Also, create a URL using a right-click on the file/folder icon in the explorer itself – and share the link directly.
• Browse using multiple computers, or without installing the app using a browser. The UI in the browser is also very simple, intuitive and functional.
• 2 GB free, more than that requires upgrade

Some other file syncing services which came before dropbox, but which pale in comparison to Dropbox :

• SpiderOak (Yeah, Wierd Name). Good, but not good enough. One of the earlier ones
• Microsoft Live Mesh – Decent, also offers 5 GB. Does not support Linux through an app though.

Today is a relatively safe day for people to venture out on the streets of Kolkata. The CITU, a politically backed union, has supported a strike by the state’s bus and auto drivers. The reason – not speed regulators, fuel price, or fare hikes, but something more gory – the bus drivers want to retain their freedom to get bail, after injuring people and being a part of fatal accidents. The courts have ruled that drivers in fatal accidents can be now booked under the non-bailable section 304A. The existing procedure was to book them under the bailable section 304 – thus allowing them to go practically free after causing (or in rare cases, being-involved-in-for-no-fault-of-theirs) a serious accident.

Their argument – drivers are rarely responsible for fatal accidents. Road conditions, traffic, pedestrians are the other causes.

Walk on any road in Kolkata, and you will find buses running not in one lane, but between two – to block other buses, and ensure that the buses breathing down its back do not get ahead. The result : daily, a minimum of 5-6 people injured or killed, so that the bus drivers earn some more commission, and their masters earn some more money.

What encourages these people is the lackadaisical and irresponsible attitude of the government (the minister can’t even organize a felicitation for Maradona properly, let alone worry about transport), and the fact that, as is the case with these things, the decision makers and owners do not have to venture out on the streets on foot – they have drivers and convoys with security, and do not understand the common man’s plight.

At work last week, there was this new funda of awarding a “Woman of the Month” award to a woman employee. While the idea is good, and we lesser mortals have no idea of the criteria for selecting the person, it got me thinking on who all would I give this award to. At work, I guess most (if not all) of the women who manage their families, their kids, and despite that work long days and late nights (there are lot of such people I know, both here and in SJ). While I don’t have the employment numbers and genderwise breakup, I am sure it would be in thousands. At home, and in the non-work circle, I see this at even closer quarters now that I am caged married.

The situation is the same as above, just from a different view – get up in the morning, prepare breakfast/lunch (most times without any help), pack hubby/kids off to office/school, leave for office, come back, prepare dinner – and repeat most of this on weekends too. While husbands take refuge in the fact that they do not know how to cook ..or that they are tired having been in office a bit longer ..

All of the above, IMHO, are the real superwomen (and not just of any month). Titles mean nothing to most of them, and giving a title to one of them is non-consequential in the larger scheme of things. Given that such programs and initiatives in most organizations are part of promoting gender equality (a very noble cause), the target audience needs to be refined. There are other social strata (less educated, rural/semi-urban areas) where women are not given their due, and these programs should target them. Bringing such events in big programs is largely like preaching to the choir.

Footnote: I’m not sure how many people realize that women and men can never be equal (in the literal sense of the word). Why compare them all the time ? It makes sense where uneducation is rampant or the social system is still archaic – so just target that segment.

10 Weeks of classes, followed by another 10 weeks of project work (no classes). So effectively, this phase of in-class education is to end by November

Courses I have taken this quarter:

• Spreadsheet Modelling for Business Decisions (SMBD) – A good analytical course which focuses on solving problems using spreadsheets. The problems range from Finance, Marketing, Risk management. Very interesting, especially for me as I have been exposed to spreadsheets right from the DOS days of Lotus 123 – when having 512 kb of memory meant you were a millionaire (almost )
• Brand Management (BM) – A fitting climax to all the marketing courses I have done, probably. Very enthusiastic professor who keeps us on our feet with his questions and comments. A good subject with an excellent blend of theoretical frameworks and their applications – in fact, the first presentation is on Cisco v’s HP’s Brand Identity w.r.t the Telepresence offerings
• Social Entrepreneurship (SE) – This is a “bonus” course, as I am only required to do two courses to complete the credit requirements. Thought of doing this course to learn about the “other” India, which in fact is the bigger reality rather than our IT and “India Shining” tirades. The professor is one of the most active persons in crusading for social and political reforms, and was instrumental in getting the Right to Information (RTI) act to be passed.

Settling marital (or non-marital) tiffs just got hi-tech. Rather than limiting the people you consult/crib-to  about your spouse/partner to your friends/family/colleagues, you can now wash your dirty linen in the cyber-world. Online site sidetaker allows both partners to post their respective sides of the tiff, and allow the members of the site to vote and provide comments. Topics range from the inane to the humourous to the scandalous, as can be expected when a couple fight

Not sure how useful or different it will be though – we all know who wins in the end in such quarrels

I am one of the cynics who belive that going to the gym is a waste of effort (no pun intended) – you keep walking on the treadmill or cycling, and you do not go anywhere

While I still stand by the statement, given that my company is providing a great gym facility – and my work hours are such that I can manage getting an hour out in office much more easily than out-of-office – I decided long back to work out there.

After numerous logistical and planetary interruptions which prevented my gracing the gym, finally made it today. Was very tiring (which I hope is good )

Target weight loss – 6 kgs in 6 weeks. Is it do-able ?

Some of the marketing courses I did required a lot of searching for advertisements of various products in the print media. I typically used to search on google images, and try to find these ads. However, this was very inefficient and ineffective – lot of missing ads, multiple searches required, and difficulty in getting the relevant ads of a particular company/product.

However, I recently chanced upon an excellent way to search for print ads. The Times of India has an ePaper website, which allows full text search of all articles – and more importantly – ads ! So, when I wanted to search for the various ads on Sony Bravia LCD TVs over the past couple of years, I just keyed in “Bravia” with the appropriate date range, and was able to search the Bangalore Edition of Times of India, including supplements, over the past few years, and get all ads printed ! These can then be saved, converted to PDF, etc – very handy for research required for courses like AdMan, ProdMan, and ConB.

Wish I had known this earlier …

.. And the penultimate one where I needed to attend classes, at that. Had a couple of good finance subjects, which had topics related to bank management and the overall banking industry (Commercial Bank Management) and Financial Statement Analysis (FSA). Both were intense courses, which require a lot of practice and hard work to master. As usual, I scraped by

Other courses were Product Management (PM) – a decent course in terms of workload, but not as insightful as the others (probably because I have done enough marketing courses already). Still, was a good refresher of the Marketing 101 concepts.

No course, though, can beat the best course I did – Leadership and Organizational Change (LoC). While I generally stay away from hardcore HR/OB courses, this was one exception and definitely worth the effort. The classes were very interactive and discussion oriented, with a lot of CP (class participation) gurus being present. Our personality review paper and presentation (on Dr. Verghese Kurien) was very well researched by us.

One more Q down, with only two courses required – Spreadsheet Modelling and Brand Management. Can take up a third, if I find it interesting. That will leave me with only a project to do in the 3rd Quarter, after which everything will be over

Still .. given the less involvement required from this Q onwards – am already considering the course to be done – and planning to get back to life

This movie, “The World’s Fastest Indian“, was being aired on Zee Studio today. It is a story inspired by the life of Burt Munro, a Kiwi who holds numerous speed records till date on sub-1000 cc bikes.

This is one of the movies which highlight human perseverance and the will to succeed, despite all odds. Burt toils over his motorcycle for 25 years, before traveling to Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah all the way from New Zealand, on a shoestring budget, to participate in the “Speed Week“, the World Cup of motorcycle racing. His adventures on his trip, and the help he receives from strangers on this journey, is heartening.

He battles a weak heart, regulations (he misses the registration deadline for participating, and then his motorcycle -  a relic of the past – fails safety tests),  but finally gets to achieve his dream of racing at the Mecca of Motorcycling.  The buildup of suspense, and the subsequent climax, are very effective in keeping one on the edge.

Overall, a great movie.

Trivia : The Salt Flats are also the location of other movies, including Indpendence Day and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.

The 62nd Indian Independence Day is the same as the 100th day of me losing my independence.  Co-incidence ?