The Real World !

Adventures of Vmware 2.02 and Firefox > 3.6

2010-08-02T22:13:00.002+05:30

I still had some issues with VMWare and Firefox ...

1. VMWare plugin was not working

Turned out that this was due to the newer versions of Firefox. Simple workaround I read off the web was to just download and extract an older version of Firefox 3.5 to some folder and run a separate instance of firefox just for the VMWare plugin. I settled for this. This link will be useful.

2. Keyboard not working correctly in the VMWare plugin

Once the plugin started working, I got my old problem back. The keyboard was not working correctly inside Windows VMs, where in it would randomly lose focus and gain focus.

I found the solution here.

Simple steps are:

1. Export this variable in the environment right after login such that it will be set before starting Firefox: VMWARE_USE_SHIPPED_GTK=yes
2. Best option is set this variable in the /etc/profile like this:
export VMWARE_USE_SHIPPED_GTK=yes
3. For now just run:
. ./etc/profile
or Reboot the system

4. Run firefox and check.

For more troubleshooting tips, check Marcus Orfila's page VMware server 2.0.2 on Ubuntu 10.04

Use a VNC Client to Connect to VMware VMs

2010-06-28T22:00:00.001+05:30

Yes. So after hanging around for a while to fix my VM issues, I stumbled on yet another issue.

I was unable to connect to VMs using the VMWare plugin in Firefox. I'm getting a strange error "cannot access Virtual machine console. The request timed out. The attempt to acquire a valid session ticket for "abcdefVM" took longer than expected. If this problem persists, contact your system administrator. ". Before I break my head on this, I wanted to quickly check an easy way to connect to the VMs.

Somewhere, I remember that Vmware uses VNC protocol. So did a quick search and found that we can indeed connect using any VNC client to connect to VMware VMs. Check this VMware KB article.

Technology rocks!

Problems running VMware VM in Linux on a NTFS partition - Solved

2010-06-28T19:47:00.001+05:30

I have moved all my VMDK files to a NTFS partition. After this whenever I tried to run a Vmware VM, the mount.ntfs process took up 100% CPU. I upgraded my NTFS Driver as well (with the latest version of NTFS-3G) .

Finally, after some reading and searching, found a setting to resolve this. All we need to do is to add an entry in the VMX file:

“mainMem.useNamedFile=FALSE”

Found the solution here http://www.tuxera.com/community/ntfs-3g-faq/#highcpu

Have fun!

Just Maath Maathalli ....

2010-06-27T19:26:00.002+05:30

Vasanth earlier requested for the Just Maath Maathalli title song lyrics . Here it is...

Credits: Harsha BN from http://kan-lyrics.blogspot.com .. Just Maath Maathalli Lyrics..

Ellindhalo Nee Edhurige Bandhe

Nannedege Naguva Beerutha Nindhe

Thande Nee Maayaalokave..

Kshnadhalle.. Nannanne Naanu Marethe..

Preethi Madhura.. Manasu Bramara..

Kanasondhu Huttaythu.. Ninna Hesarannittaythu..

Kaddhe Nee Cheluve Nanna Manasanne..

Just Maath Maathalli.. She stole my heart away..

Just Maath Maathalli.. She took my breath away..

Naa Ninna Mechchaaythu.. Kanasella Huchchaaythu..

Idhu Eno Eko Hego Naa Kaane..

Just Maath Maathalli.. Just Maath Maathalli.. Just Maath Maathalli.. Just Maath Maathalli..

(Some English Lyrics)

Kanasondhu Huttaythu.. Ninna Hesarannittaythu..

Kaddhe Nee Cheluve Nanna Manasanne..

Just Maath Maathalli.. She stole my heart away..

Just Maath Maathalli.. She took my breath away..

Naa Ninna Mechchaaythu.. Kanasella Huchchaaythu..

Idhu Eno Eko Hego Naa Kaane..

Just Maath Maathalli.. Just Maath Maathalli.. Just Maath Maathalli.. Just Maath Maathalli.

Enjoy! :)

Success after failure... Upgrade to Ubuntu 10.04 successful ...

2010-06-22T21:03:00.002+05:30

After trying to upgrade my Ubuntu 9.10 to 10.04 Alpha and failing, I felt disappointed. I reinstalled Ubuntu 9.10, Copied over the settings painfully, reinstalled and reconfigured everything and moved on. I was waiting for 10.04 to be released so that I can try the upgrade again.

Now, it was 2 months since Ubuntu 10.04 got released. So, I gave a it one more shot. The upgrade went really smooth and fine. But after restarting, I was again disappointed.

The same blank screen and some error messages something like "udreadahead process got killed and main returned an exit code of 4".

I tried rebooting multiple different kernels, with no luck. I gave up and installed Ultimate Edition Linux (derivative of Ubuntu 10.04) on different partition hoping to get some time and troubleshoot this.

Luckily, when I reinstalled 9.10, I created a separate Home partition (learnings from previous failures) and it saved lot of my time and data. Pidgin, Mozilla, Desktop settings all were as earlier, thanks to the separate Home partition.

So, today, I had a good nice relook at the error message of my uppgraded Ubuntu 10.04. I rebooted into rescue mode (thanks to new UE Linux) and did a chroot. Updated the initramfs images as I suspected bad init image.

mkdir /media/oldroot

mount /media/sda1 /media/oldroot

mount /proc

update-initramfs -k all -u

Rebooted and expected miracle. No use. Then, I noticed the ureadahead error.. Nice clue...

mount /media/sda1 /media/oldroot

mount /proc

apt-get remove ureadahead

update-initramfs -k all -u

This time after reboot I saw a different set of errors indicating missing ureadahead and lot more.OK..Time to add back the ureadahead..I also wanted to check the post install configuration and out of sheer curiousity tried the dpkg command..

mount /media/sda1 /media/oldroot

mount /proc

apt-get install ureadahead

update-initramfs -k all -u

dpkg-reconfigure -a

I got lots of questions. Patiently, choose the right option and rebooted.

Voila! My Ubuntu 10.04 boots :)

Lots of time saved and upgrade successful as well,

Accessing Linux mdadm RAID+LVM volumes/data in Windows using a VM - Rewritten

2010-05-02T14:36:00.003+05:30

MEGA Warning (6th June 2010): I'm facing some Ext4 file system corruption (orphaned nodes; Lost files; already lost some data as well) in this configuration. Try with utmost care and BACKUP!

I wrote most of this in my previous post and lost it when I clicked publish (I think it is because i'm using IE8 and compatibity view was NOT turned ON). So continuing from the point where its left over...

The only way to do this is run Ubuntu in a Virtual Machine, but it should able to access the RAID partitions from physical disk. VirtualBox has a feature where we can a mount a physical partition or a physical disk inside a VM.

1. Create a VM using VirtualBox with 1 Virtual Hard disk

2. Install Ubuntu, mdadm, lvm2, samba, VM addons. Shutdown the VM.
3. Create VMDKs from RAW partitions

Clue:VBoxManage internalcommands createrawvmdk -filename /path/to/file.vmdk -rawdisk \\.\PhysicalDrive0
I created VMDKs for all my Physical Disks.

4. Attach them to VM as SATA drives. Power On the VM.

Warning: Do not attempt to mount the partitions, which are already mounted in the Windows Host. Potential File Corruption can occur. You have been warned. Also, before you try this, please take all Backups (which you may need to restore your PC is earlier condition). You are responsible for all the consequences and NOT me :P
You could also use your Physical Ubuntu root partition, but it might mess up your boot records and GRUB, hence we are using a new VM.

5. Mount your actual linux root partition and copy the necessary files (LVM backup folder, RAID config files mdadm.conf, SAMBA config files to your new VM root)
6. Look at your original linux rootfs fstab file and copy over the relevant entries (copy the Home partition entry as well, would be useful to get same look and feel of your physical Ubuntu Box)
7. Run mdadm -E -s to probe the RAID volumes and make sure they show up correctly.
8. Modify your samba file share entries as per need. Modify your VM IP address as per need ( I have set them same as my Physical Ubuntu box). Reboot.
9. Now all the RAID volumes should be automatically mounted (provided you had configured that in fstab) and also all the files shares should be available as earlier on the same IP address.

You could also use NFS instead of SAMBA or hey even iSCSI or AoE (more on this in future!) to directly access the volumes.

Voila! You can access all the Data on RAID (originally which was running from your Physical Ubuntu Box) though the network.

Accessing Linux mdadm RAID+LVM volumes/data in Windows using a VM

2010-05-01T00:29:00.003+05:30

Ya. So after creating the RAID volumes on Linux and feeling happy about having fault tolerance, now suddenly I wanted to use Windows 2008 R2 (to try out HyperV) and Windows 7 (Windows 7 is now free for me now that I have a MSDN subscription :P) . But, all my music, movies, ebooks all are on a Linux RAID. After searching for a mdadm solution for Windows, I realised that it doesn't exist. So, I found a quick solution.

Edit: I typed out the whole thing and when I clicked publish.. half the stuff is gone.. I'm rewriting this as a new post..

Exploring Software RAID & LVM on my Ubuntu Box.... DMRAID and MDADM conflicts

2010-03-24T19:39:00.003+05:30

I have been exploring RAID and LVM for last few days and I must say it has been good so far..

And let me say .. this is not another writeup on how to use RAID and LVM. These articles will help you kick start and understand RAID and LVM basics:

I went through those. I have around 4 HDDs (250GB IDE + 250 GB SATA +500 GB SATA +1TB SATA) and I decided to try out RAID to safeguard my data. I created a 400GB RAID5 on LVM volume. Later I added another 200 GB and increased the usable size to 600GB (without any Data loss or downtime). The RAID 5 volume underwent reshaping (and took some 4 hrs).

After doing this my excitement increased and I wanted a RAID1 volume for my Virtual Machines (as RAID5 will be slower and CPU intensive for IO intensive apps like VMs and Database). So, I added another 250GB RAID1 Volume.

I didn't stop there. I wanted even more faster write speeds and went for a 50 GB RAID0 volume (the partitions are distributed over 3 disks).

After doing all this and doing a reboot, I found that my RAID 1 and RAID0 volumes were down. When I checked in (cat/proc/mdstat) and it listed strange RAID volumes with names like md_d1 and md_d2. I was able to mount my RAID volumes by doing :

mdadm --stop /dev/md_d*
partprobe

cat /proc/mdstat #(to check the status)

(Initially I also had to assemble the RAID volumes again and resysnc due to some reasons)

I had to do this on every reboot. I did lot of searching in Google and found lot of people facing similar issues. Finally, my analysis indicated that it is caused due to another RAID utility dmraid, which was trying to auto-detect the RAID volumes and assemble them whereas mdadm the actual tool I used was also doing the same. Some suggested using a initrd file without dmraid. Some suggested removal. I was sure that I don't need dmraid and went for the removal

After removing dmraid (using apt-get remove dmraid) all my issues are solved and the RAID volumes mount automatically on boot.

I hope this helps others to troubleshoot and solve their nagging issues with RAID (when both mdadm and dmraid are installed).

Munjaane Manjalli.... from Just Maat Maatalli

2010-03-17T23:01:00.002+05:30

One more cool song I'm hooked on nowadays..

Credits: Lyrics from kannada lyrics

Munjaane manjalli.. Mussanje tilitampalli...
O Olave neenelli.. Hudukaata ninaginelli..
Nannedeyolage nee ilidu..
Janamanada mouna muridu..
Bisi usirannu nee bagedu..
Nittusirannu nee tagedu..
Nannomme aavarisu.. Ee bege nee harisu..
Manadaalada ullasa nee..
Kuntallu neene.. Nintallu neene.. Ellellu neene sakhi..
Kannallu neene.. Kanasallu neene.. Ellellu neene sakhi..
Nana nennegalu neene.. Naalegalu neene.. Endendu neene sakhi...
Aavarisu.. Maidumbi.. Just Maat Maathalli..

Nannella kanasannu.. Ninadendu nee tilididde..
Noorentu novallu.. Nee bandu jotheyidde..
Kaarmoda kavida manake.. Hosa belaku tandu suride..
Ninagaagi naanu nanna.. Badukella mudipu ende..
Eegelli nee hode.. Konegolisi nee baare...
Edegoodina usiru neene..
Baanallu neene.. Buviyallu neene.. Ellellu neene sakhi..
Novallu neene.. Nagavallu neene.. Ellellu neene sakhi..
Nana nennegalu neene.. Naalegalu neene.. Endendu neene sakhi...
Aavarisu.. Maidumbi.. Just Maat Maathalli..

Neenillaade baale baradu..
Ninagaage nanna baduke mudipu..
Neenillada baduke neeru..
Kollu nanna...
Tampallu neene.. Bisilallu neene.. Ellellu neene sakhi..
Hasirallu neene.. Usirallu neene.. Ellellu neene sakhi..
Nana nennegalu neene.. Naalegalu neene.. Endendu neene sakhi...
Aavarisu.. Maidumbi.. Just Maat Maathalli..

First day at Accenture

2010-01-18T23:30:00.001+05:30

Hey friends I joined Accenture today...

Nothing much happenned today but it is still a very memorable day for me.

Lots more to come soon.. Watch out!

Installing Ubuntu 9.10 on a old PIII (P3) 450 Mhz Desktop computer which is not bootable thru USB nor has a CD drive

2010-01-09T20:08:00.004+05:30

I'm finally writing a blog after almost 7 months.. I just left Wipro and on a small break of 10 days at home.

I was upgrading my Ubuntu 8.10 to 9.04 on my Pentium III 450 Mhz machine and a power failure rendered the OS unbootable. I wanted to fix it from quite some time. Unfortunately it does not have a CD Drive. It is also unable to boot from USB as it has quite a older motherboard and bios.

Due to the failed upgrade, it used to boot halfway and then hang or go to a (initramfs) prompt. After finding out that for older kernels, it came to a initramfs prompt. My work starts here.

From here, I was able to mount a 1 GB USB drive which has the ubuntu installation files. After some trial and errors, I determined that I can access the NTFS partition and I copied all the files from the USB drive to the partition. The machine had Grub 1.97 so it can boot from NTFS partitions. The NTFS partition is the first partition. So I got into GRUB and pressed Ctrl C to the grub prompt and entered below commands :

linux (hd0,1)/ubnkern
initrd (hd0,1)/ubninit file=/cdrom/preseed/ubuntu.seed boot=casper

Press Ctrl X to boot...

This time it worked and the installer started. But, the installer was still looking for the removable drive or CDROM and took the files from the 1GB Thumb drive (not the NTFS partition, maybe a FAT partition would have worked. It didn't work earlier without the thumbdrive)

Ubuntu 9.10 still runs slower on my P III. My 160 GB HDD had bad sectors so took a while to fix it. But all's well now. ;)

Hope this helps you somehow..

Microsoft’s reply to Grassley ...

2009-06-07T11:50:00.002+05:30

Original Source

Hope you have read my previous blog on Tuesday, January 27, 2009 Grassley Works to Ensure American Workers are Priority. Microsoft has formally replied on March 3, 2009

Here's the full text of Microsoft's reply to Grassley :

March 3, 2009

The Honorable Charles E Grassley
United States Senator
135 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-1501

Dear Senator Grassley,

Thank you for your letter of January 22, 2009. Steve Ballmer asked me to respond on the company’s behalf.

Your letter expressed concern about Microsoft’s recently announced layoffs and asked us to provide you with information about them. I have included that information below, but first I’d like to provide a bit of context.

Since the company’s founding in 1975, Microsoft’s consistent growth has enabled us to increase employment every year. In the last three fiscal years, for example, our employment in the United States increased by 40 per cent. Today we have more than 90,000 employees worldwide and over half of them are in the United States.

The vast majority of these US jobs are filled by American citizens. Because of our partner-based business model, our impact on employment is even larger than these numbers indicate. For every dollar that Microsoft earns in the United States, our business partners earn $6. This creates many additional jobs.

One recent study found that 4.2 million people in the United States are working in jobs that are the result of Microsoft’s business model (IDC IT Economic Impact and Microsoft Country Footprint: United States, October 2007. The figure includes individuals who work at IT companies and IT professionals who create, sell, or distribute products that run on Microsoft platforms).

 This year, in response to the economic crisis, Microsoft is reducing its employment level for the first time. This was a difficult decision and it was not one we made lightly. We are deeply committed to our employees and we place the highest value on the contributions they make to the company’s success. We understand the impact that each layoff can have on an employee and his or her family. 

 Nonetheless, we concluded that the long-term competitiveness of the company, like the country as a whole, requires prompt and decisive action to adapt to the changed economic reality. 

 We announced in January that the company would eliminate up to 5,000 jobs over 18 months. It’s important to note that we also expect to create 2,000 to 3,000 new jobs during this same timeframe, as we continue to invest in innovation. As a result, the total net impact on our employment will be a decline of about 2,000 to 3,000 jobs, not 5,000. 

 Microsoft employees whose positions are eliminated may apply for the new jobs that are being created. In addition, like any employer, we will continue to see some ongoing voluntary attrition as employees retire, accept jobs elsewhere, or for other reasons end their employment. Often, these positions are filled by current employees, but the company will also need to continue to fill these vacancies by hiring new employees, including both US workers and a smaller number of visa holders. 

 You asked about the kinds of jobs that will be eliminated and how many employees will be affected in each area. Because the job reduction decisions will be made over 18 months, we do not yet know all of the specific jobs that will be eliminated. 

 We do know, however, that the 5,000 positions that will be eliminated will include jobs in marketing, sales, finance, Legal and Corporate Affairs, HR, R&D, and IT. In addition to the 5,000 figure, our workforce in support, consulting, operations, billing, and manufacturing will continue to change in direct response to customer needs. 

 We also know that the 5,000 figure likely will include positions in a large number of countries. Given the distribution of our jobs, however, it is likely that the Puget Sound region in Washington State will see the largest number of job eliminations. Of the roughly 1,400 positions that were eliminated in January, which are part of the 5,000 total, over 800 were in Washington State.

 As we add new positions to support key investments, we will prioritise R&D investments that promote long-term innovation. That is why we plan to invest over $9 billion in research and development this year, one of the highest such figures in the world. Over two-thirds of this total will be spent in the United States. 

 You also asked in your letter how we decide which jobs to eliminate, whether employees with H-1B or other work visas are affected, and how many of the jobs being eliminated are held by Americans. 

 Because these decisions will be made over 18 months, it’s too early to know the precise answers. We do know, however, that the job reductions will impact non-Americans who hold jobs outside the United States, as well as both visa holders and US workers inside the United States. 

 The majority of Microsoft’s workforce is made up of US workers, and therefore the majority of jobs eliminated in January were held by US workers. Workers on H-1B visas and other temporary work visas make up only a small percentage of our overall workforce, but they were also among the employees impacted by the reductions announced in January. Employees outside the United States were also impacted. 

 As I’m sure you’d expect, we take care to make all employment decisions, including the termination of employment for any individual, in a manner that complies with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In addition, we do not base compensation decisions in the US on an employee’s citizenship. 

 Finally, you asked about Microsoft’s plans for retaining H-1B or other work visa programme workers after the job eliminations. 

 H1-B employees have always accounted for less than 15 per cent of Microsoft’s US workforce, the level that is used in immigration law to determine whether a company is “H-1B dependent.” 

 Nonetheless, the ability to tap into the world’s best minds has long been essential to our success. Although they are a small percentage of our workforce, H-1B workers have long made crucial contributions to Microsoft’s innovation successes and to our ability to help create jobs in this country. We are confident this will continue to be true in the future.

 We focus our recruiting for core technology jobs at US universities, which continue to be among the best in the world for computer science and engineering graduates. However, as one recent study found, in 2005 temporary residents earned more than 40 per cent of the engineering and computer science degrees at US higher education institutions. 

 For doctoral degrees, that number was even higher, as temporary residents accounted for 59 per cent of the degrees awarded in these fields that year. The substantial majority of H-1B petitions filed by Microsoft are for core technology positions, and technology and engineering positions account for about 90 per cent of Microsoft’s H-1B workforce. 

 Many of these H-1B employees have been seeking permanent resident status for many years and would no longer be dependent on their H-1B visas but for multi-year delays in the green card process. 

 With these factors taken together, we do not expect to see a significant change in the proportion of H-1B employees in our workforce following the job reductions. 

 I want to underscore that we are rigorous in our compliance with the requirements of the H-1B programme. We are familiar with published reports about abuse by some employers in the H-1B visa category. We believe that the H-1B fraud issue is important and needs to be addressed. 

 We recognise that every H-1B employer has an obligation to ensure that the programme’s rules are followed. We support H-1B reform efforts to ensure that users of the programme follow both the spirit and the letter of the law. 

 Finally, I want to convey our commitment to help broaden opportunities for all Americans. The country’s long-term competitiveness requires that the United States produce more university graduates in science, technology, engineering, and math. While government will take the lead in strengthening America’s public education system, the private sector should support these efforts.

 At Microsoft, we have a number of education-focused public initiatives. Through our Partners in Learning programme, Microsoft works closely with governments and non-governmental organizations across the country to strengthen information technology training by providing a wide variety of educational resources for teachers and schools. 

 These include training programmes and software tools that have already reached over 3 million students and roughly 200,000 teachers. Similarly, we have founded a public-private initiative in Washington State to work with educators and businesses to develop new approaches to improve middle-school math education. 

 And Microsoft Research is deeply involved with important research efforts at universities across the country. In addition, we recently announced a new programme called Elevate America, which will provide technology training to 2 million people nationwide during the next three years, working closely with state and local governments. 

 Ultimately, as a company and as a country we need to combine short-term adjustments to the economic crisis with long-term efforts to strengthen our economic competitiveness. We recognise the impact that our decisions have on employees who are affected. 

 We strive to make thoughtful employment decisions and then assist the individuals who are impacted by them. We also strive to take a long-term approach that will enable Microsoft to remain a leader in technology innovation and an important contributor to the country’s competitiveness now and in the future. 

 We hope that this information is helpful to you. We look forward to working with you and your staff if we can be of assistance in addressing these important issues. 

 Bradford L Smith
 General Counsel

Twitter Status Updater Plugin for Exaile

2009-02-02T00:25:00.004+05:30

Yesterday night, I was looking for an Exaile plug-in which updates the currently playing song on your Twitter micro-blog blog as a tweet. I did quite some searching and didn't find.

Finally, I decided that it should be easy to write a plug-in by myself and started off yesterday night (Jan 31st 2008). It took quite some and I was so engrossed that I was awake till 5:45 a.m today (Feb 1st 2009) and then I realized that I was tired and slept off.

The GTK part too some time even though it is the simplest. I have hardly done any GTK programming. Then, I was bugged by a bad password which I had supplied and was unnecessarily debugging the python code before finally realizing my blunder.

It is derived from an existing plug-in 'IM Status' v0.12.1 by Ingelrest Francios ( Athropos # G-mail) which updates the status of Instant messenger with the currently playing music track in Exaile. I have requested for an official application name (or whatever it is called).

The following points are notable:

1. It uses the existing code from 'IM Status' with appropriate changes adapted to twitterize it using APIs from http://code.google.com/p/python-twitter/

2.Programming tip first suggested/referred in Zeth's page http://commandline.org.uk/python/scripting-twitter-with-python/

3. Very useful: python-twitter documentation is here http://static.unto.net/python-twitter/0.5/doc/twitter.html

4. The Exaile plug-in page http://www.exaile.org/wiki/index.php?title=PluginDevelopment also helped me understand and write the plug-in.

Some screenshots below:

1. The Twitter Status Updater in the Main Plugin Window

2. Twitter Status Updater Configuration Window

3. Song playing in Exaile

4. Status in Twitter!

Requirements:

Linux OS
Python 2.5
python-twitter API
Exaile >= 2.12

Installation:

Make sure you have the correct version of Exaile and python.
Install python-twitter from python-twitter API
Copy the twitterstatus.py (from Downloads) to your home directory under .exaile/plugins/
Enable the plug-in from Exaile interface

Lot more changes coming soon. Some known issues:

1. The Password field is readable. Should be dots.
2. Reset button doesn't work. Need to fix it. (Should be simple)

Let me know if it works! :)

Grassley Works to Ensure American Workers are Priority

2009-01-27T14:40:00.004+05:30

Original Article: http://grassley.senate.gov/news/Article.cfm?customel_dataPageID_1502=18922

For Immediate Release
January 23, 2009

Grassley Works to Ensure American Workers are Priority

WASHINGTON – Senator Chuck Grassley today said that in a time of economic downturn, American workers must be a top priority for American companies. Grassley reiterated those words after he sent a letter to Microsoft urging the company to make efforts to retain qualified American workers during the recently announced lay-offs.

Microsoft employs thousands of people through the H-1B visa program. This temporary work visa program allows American companies and universities to employ temporary foreign guest workers who have the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor’s degree in a job category that is considered by the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services to be a "specialty occupation." The purpose of the h-1b program is to help companies hire foreign guest workers on a temporary basis when there is not a sufficient qualified American workforce to meet those needs. However, the program is not intended to replace qualified American workers.

In October 2008, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services released an internal report that found the H-1B program has more than a 20 percent violation rate. The fraud identified in the report included jobs not located where employers claimed, H-1B visa holders not being paid the prevailing wage, forged documents, fraudulent degrees, and shell businesses. In one instance the H-1B position described by the employer was “business development analyst.” However, it turned out that the H-1B visa holder would be working at a laundromat doing laundry and maintaining washing machines.

Grassley has been a leader in the effort to improve the H-1B visa program. In the 110^th Congress, he introduced a comprehensive H-1B and L visa reform bill with Senator Dick Durbin that would give priority to American workers and crack down on unscrupulous employers who deprive qualified Americans of high-skill jobs. He has also asked questions of both American and foreign based companies about their use of the H-1B visa program.

Here is a copy of the text of Grassley’s letter

January 22, 2009

Mr. Steve Ballmer

Microsoft Corporation

One Microsoft Way

Redmond , WA 98052-6399

Dear Mr. Ballmer:

I am writing to inquire about press reports that Microsoft will be cutting approximately 5,000 jobs over the next 18 months. I understand that the layoffs will affect workers in research and development, marketing, sales, finance, legal and corporate affairs, human resources, and information technology.

I am concerned that Microsoft will be retaining foreign guest workers rather than similarly qualified American employees when it implements its layoff plan. As you know, I want to make sure employers recruit qualified American workers first before hiring foreign guest workers. For example, I cosponsored legislation to overhaul the H-1B and L-1 visa programs to give priority to American workers and to crack down on unscrupulous employers who deprive qualified Americans of high-skilled jobs. Fraud and abuse is rampant in these programs, and we need more transparency to protect the integrity of our immigration system. I also support legislation that would strengthen educational opportunities for American students and workers so that Americans can compete successfully in this global economy.

Last year, Microsoft was here on Capitol Hill advocating for more H-1B visas. The purpose of the H-1B visa program is to assist companies in their employment needs where there is not a sufficient American workforce to meet their technology expertise requirements. However, H-1B and other work visa programs were never intended to replace qualified American workers. Certainly, these work visa programs were never intended to allow a company to retain foreign guest workers rather than similarly qualified American workers, when that company cuts jobs during an economic downturn.

It is imperative that in implementing its layoff plan, Microsoft ensures that American workers have priority in keeping their jobs over foreign workers on visa programs. To that effect, I would like you to respond to the following questions:

* What is the breakdown in the jobs that are being eliminated? What kind of jobs are they? How many employees in each area will be cut?

* Are any of these jobs being cut held by H-1B or other work visa program employees? If so, how many?

* How many of the jobs being eliminated are filled by Americans? Of those positions, is Microsoft retaining similar ones filled by foreign guest workers? If so, how many?

* How many H-1B or other work visa program workers will Microsoft be retaining when the planned layoff is completed?

My point is that during a layoff, companies should not be retaining H-1B or other work visa program employees over qualified American workers. Our immigration policy is not intended to harm the American workforce. I encourage Microsoft to ensure that Americans are given priority in job retention. Microsoft has a moral obligation to protect these American workers by putting them first during these difficult economic times.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Grassley

United States Senator

Recession and facing it..

2009-01-27T14:29:00.003+05:30

We certainly know how recession is badly affecting the work force in the US seeing the number of job cuts . I came across this article in which the senator Chuck Grassley said that in a time of economic downturn, American workers must be a top priority for American companies.

He is right and we all support it. I'm sure we all Indians have very high value to ethics and morality and no indian would like to lay his hands on a job which an american was denied.

Personally, I'm not dying to work in US to earn big money at the cost of an american citizen's livelihood. I hope and understand that all the organizations also act accordingly (and they dont force us Indians into all this due to various reasons like low cost and cheap labor).

Also, it is true that the US lacks specialised skilled professional and in this scenario, they US govt. should do more to strengthen the foundation to build more talent instead of depending non-immigrant technology professionals.

First time in 3 months ..

2009-01-27T13:33:00.002+05:30

This is the first time in 3 months I'm least interested in going back to Hyderabad from Bangalore. Yesterday, when I started back and no mood and nothing to get inspired to move back to Hyderabad. Recession is setting quite a touch atmosphere for professionals creating various kinds of challenges. The first of challenges in 2009 is here right in my face.

Guzarish

2008-12-10T22:09:00.001+05:30

One of the fascinating songs I'm hearing nowadays.

Very cool lyrics and melodious music from A.R.Rahman.

Listen to it here and enjoy !

Hmmmmm Mm…
Tu Meri Adhuri Pyas Pyas, Tu Agayi Mann Ko Ras Ras, Aab Tho...
Tu Meri Adhuri Pyas Pyas, Tu Agayi Mann Ko Ras Ras
Aab Tho Thu Aaja Pass Pa..., Hain Guzaaarish
Hain Haal To Dil Ka Tang Tang, Thu Rang Ja Mere Rang Rang
Bas Chalna Mere Sang Sang, Hain Guzaaarish
Kehde Thu Han Tho Zindagi, Chainon Se Chhutke Hasegi
Moti Hunge Moti Rahon Meinnn, Yeh Yeh Yeh
Tu Meri Adhuri Pyas Pyas, Tu Agayi Mann Ko Ras Ras
Aab Tho Thu Aaja Pass Pas..., Hain Guzaaarish

Sheeshe Ke Khwaab Lekke, Raaton Mein Chal Raha Hon
Takrana Jao Kahin...
Aasha Ki Lon Hain Roshan, Phir Bhi Toffan Ka Dhar Hain
Lon Bhuj Na Jaye Kahin...
Bas Eak Haan Ki Guzaarish, Phir Hogi Khusiyon Ki Baarish
Tu Meri Adhuri Pyas Pyas, Tu Agayi Mann Ko Ras Ras
Aab Tho Thu Aaja Pass Pas..., Hain Guzaaarish
Hmmm Mmm Mm Mmm Mmm Mm Mmm Hmmmmm Mm…
Oho Ohhhhhhhhhh Oho Ohhhhhhhhh..

Chanda Hain Aasman Hain, Aur Badal Bhee Gane Hain
Yeh Chandaaa Chup Jaye Na...
Tanhayi Das Rahin Hain, Aur Dhadkan Bad Rahi Hain
Eak Pal Bhi Chain Aaye Na...
Kaisi Aajab Dastaan Hain, Bheechainiyan Baas Yahan Hain Oh
Tu Meri Adhuri Pyas Pyas, Tu Agayi Mann Ko Ras Ras
Aab Tho Thu Aaja Pass Passsssss, Hain Guzaaarish
Hain Haal Tho Dil Ka Thang Thang, Thu Rang Ja Mere Rang Rang
Bas Chalna Mere Sang Sang, Hain Guzaaarish
Tu Meri Adhuri Pyas Pyas,
Hmm M M M Hmmm

Source & Credits : http://www.allthelyrics.com/forum/lyrics-translation/54857-lyrics-of-guzarish-in-movie-ghajini.html

India (Mumbai) Terrorist attack: Pakistan did it!

2008-12-08T23:00:00.001+05:30

After the 26/11/2008 attack on India sovereignty (which most people call a Terrorist attack) and all the post mortems, finally Pakistan is taking some (so called) action. Most of the media report that the Lakshar E Toiba (LET) was responsible and it has taken intelligence help from the ISI. But as per my opinion, the ISI has been shadowed and most of ISI intelligence comes from LET. Officially, Pakistan may proudly call LET as their intelligence agency instead of ISI as I feel that the flow of information is from LeT to ISI (and not ISI from LET as media suggest). ISI is just a puppet in LETs hands. I'm also sure that the a huge part of Pakistani Army is already working as LeT.

Violence may not be the reply for violence. But, this is case of cancer endangering the whole body. I think the diseased part needs to be separated and quarantined to save the two countries. Even if the part is Pakistan's hand, India will not hesitate to destroy. If the other hand of Pakistan tries to stop, then beware Pakistan may cease to exist.

Microsoft and Linux: How can both win!

2008-12-07T19:33:00.005+05:30

Microsoft Windows is most used Operating system in the world. But the latest buzz is Windows is losing it stronghold. As per this news, Windows market share dives below 90% for first time. But who are the gainers? The statistics show that MAC and Linux are growing.

So what will happen if 50% percent of users switch over to MAC or Linux ? Yes, I agree it is not going to happen overnight but I can foresee it happening. More than moving to MAC, most of them will consider moving to Linux pretty soon. So, gone are the days when Microsoft was not worried about Linux. Yes they are worried and this result of this were some notable deals (Linspire , Novell, Xandros ..) Of course some may not be still active, but the truth is Microsoft sees the potential. Some more news also suggests that Microsoft is increasing focus on Windows and Linux interoperability.

Why can't Microsoft offer a free Open Source OS (which can be Linux) to users are not too interested in paying money? Rather, why can't Microsoft Launch its own open source Microsoft Linux Distribution? MS has the money. MS has the talent and resources. Moreover, Microsoft engineers can contribute to the Open Source Linux (of course, let them not do any development on Windows OS, let them not have any access to Windows source code). Moreover, Windows can still get something out of open source Linux and MS can still continue to improve their Windows OS.

Yes. I agree that they do business and they are here to make money and can't be doing free service. Hence, it may not sound logical for Microsoft to make Linux OS & applications for now. But it is very small investment for Microsoft at this point of time and after 10 or 15 years, the benefits will be huge.

The Windows OS with 90% shares, can only increase to 100% . That's a 10 % change but incase of Linux OS with .8 % share (that too with multiple distributions) can also grow to 100%, which is upto 99 %. Which has more potential? If it grows, it will eat up only Microsoft's share.

At least, the tremendous confidence of 90% windows users will still be with Microsoft and if some them want they can switch over to Microsoft Linux. I'm sure if the product is good the user is ready to pay it (particularly if he is loyal Microsoft Customer). After 20 years, we might see another type of competition, Microsoft Linux Vs. Red Hat Linux. How does that sound?

But I know for sure Ubuntu will be the winner! :)

What is this website by the way!!!!!

Life is a long journey!

2008-12-06T16:00:00.001+05:30

And it looks like the journey has just begun.

I'm staying away from home for quite some time now. It's almost 1.5 months in Hyderabad now. Days are just quickly passing. My VISA is not far and it will be another long stay even farther. Lots of thoughts coming into my mind at this point but they can't be expressed in words right now.

Life is sort of changed completely. Suddenly you have people around you and suddenly there is no one. Well, getting used it. Every now and then in life we need to unlearn so many things and learn so many new things. Every now and then, there is a need to re-establish yourself. You need to prove yourself time and again to be accepted. You need to reinvent yourself. You need to rediscover yourself. These are the challenges in life which you need to win. Situations arise and make the challenges even more tougher. You need be strong and stronger. The need is stay focused on the goal. There is a need to set aside all the negative influences and distractions, including negative people, their talks, their thoughts and opinions. Before you say that I'm selfish, yes, we need to be little selfish. Its 6 years since I started working and I still feel that I started working just yesterday. 28 years of life have passed and there is very little to talk about what I have achieved so far. So its time to talk less and more action is the need of hour. Its time and need to make new roads. Looking back at the Goals I had set some years back I don't see myself progressed well. Of course, there have lots of positives which come close to achievements but still nothing concrete to praise self. So what's next?

Lots more to come. Life has just begun. Watch out for this space!

Deepawali Wishes!

2008-10-27T07:16:00.002+05:30

Wish you all a very happy Deepawali, the festival of lights! and I'm in Bangalore for the festival. It is almost a week since I have moved to Hyderabad. I will be working from there for around 2 months. Life is a long journey and everyday it teaches you more. Lets see how well it goes. I hope I will be writing more frequently from now on.

Music @ Dhingana.com

2008-08-20T22:05:00.001+05:30

I'm hooked on the music on Dhingana.com

Spending lot of time listening to various playlists and also creating playlists. Check out my profile and playlists on Dhingana.com

Yeh Ganpat...

2008-08-20T22:02:00.002+05:30

Another song I like nowadays .. "Yeh ganpat" from Shoot out at Lokhandwala. There hardly some few songs in hindi based on Rap. Check out this song and lyrics

Welcome to Wadwani’s constructions…
Yourself name pls..
Mayaaaaaaa
Breaking news main…aaj maya Dolas gang ne wadwani builder to agva kar liya..
Maine meeta mattu mumbai se..(Diya mirza..heheee..wat a name!!)

Phone ringing..

Hello Bua..Main phattu..
Bhai bola tapkane ka nahi..
yeee.. Bhai ko bol sankai khopdi ko samjhane ka nahi..sala

Phone ringing..yeh number waist hain…thodi der baad dial kare..
Ringing ..Hello Tupling ..main chikna..yeh RC kidar hai re..
aree uski maa ki sala
“Daru zidar RC udhar”..”Daru zidar RC udhar..”
Phone ringing..
hey maya dolas hai nam hain na tera..main saudh ,kya chata hai re?
Mumbaiiiiii….

In the Mumbaii, all over Indiahaa,
we are the bhaiiis, we are the bhaiiiis

In the Mumbaii, all over Indiahaa,
we are the bhaiiis, we are the bhaiiiis

Aye ganpat chal daroo laa,
aye ganpat chal daroo laa
Ice chala soda kam thoda pani mila,
ice chala soda kam thoda pani mila
Thoda table wable saaf karrr de na yaar,
thoda table wable saaf karrr de na yaar
Aye ganpatt, ganpat, Aye ganpatt ganpat, woooo

tring tring..

Hello Maya bhai main saudh bol raha hoon bhai..
salam alekum saudh bhai , kaise phone kiya?
Salam..Bhai..yeh chota sajan ke log muje bahut dhoond rahe hain..
main bahut paresan ho gayela bhai..mereko dhundte rehte hai bhai..bhai kuch karoo..bhai..kuch
Saudh bhai aap phone karo..main abhi chota sajan se baaat karta hoon ..apna chota bhai hai
aap jaisa bolenge waise ho jaega..khuda hafiz..
ringing again….

Hello chota Sajan , bhai main maya bol raha hoon, Namaskar..
are maya ji namaskar namsakar..kaise yaaad kiya?
Bas bhai aapse chota sa kaam tha..abhi phone aaya tha saudh bhai ka, pakistan se..

Dekho muje koi lafda nahi chaiye tum dono ganga ka india main..
jo bhi karna hain plsss desh ke bahar karo..
thik hain maya jo tu kehta hain waise he hoga..
NAMASKARRRR..

Bhai hoon mein, bhai, tu fikar na kar,
uski maa ki, uski bhen ki, jo dekhe idhar
apun ko bata de kabhi howe fantar,
sabki fattti apne naamse apun jaye jidhar
thoda coke shok to apun ke dost ko de na yaar,
thoda coke shok to apun ke dost ko de na yaar
Aye ganpatt, ganpat, aye ganpat CHAL, daroo laa..

ringing..
heeyey(Sharukh ’s Tuttering voice) maya bhai main farrook bol raha hooon farrook..
Ha bol farook bhai bol kya baat hain..(But its actually Vivek’s Stroy)

yeeehhh Kaish(Aishwarya) apne aap ko samajti kya hain?
shooting main muje Balwan(Salman Khan) ke phone aate hai..muje dukhi karta rehta hain..
Maya bhai ..pls thik karo usko..
Are farook..tu phone rakh yaar..Kaish apni muuuuaaahh bacchi hain..tu phone rakh main baat karta hoon..

ringing…again..

Helloji main Kaishwaryaji se baat kar sakta hoon?
who’s on the line?
Maya bol raha hoon..Maya ? who maya?(Karan Johar hehehe)
ayyee Pandu bhutiye..
Kaishwarya jiii Kaishwarya jiii apke liye kisi maya ji ka phone hain..
abhi aaya na sala line pe..salaaa nimbo…huhhelloo

Hellohuhhelloo maya..Hello kaish…this is the baap of hindi pop..
hiii mayaaa..how r u?
yayayaya baby yeh tera farook ke saath main kya lafda hain?nahi maya..
thik hain na baby..uski phati padti hai..yeyeyeyyeeee..sambhal na usko..
sambhal na usko..sambhal na apne bacche ko…i knw maya i knw..
Bye baby..love u..
bye maya love u…

Bipasha Mallika Priyanka ya ho Kaishvarya rai,
Jaye saali jaa ke jahan marzi maraye
yash chopra, subash ghai apni picture banaye
apun ko kya lena jaise taise paise kamaye
apun ko to chahiye din mein special chai
shaam ko daroo, raat ko ladki aurrr neend aa jaye.
Aye ganpatt, aye ganpat CHAL

ringing..

Maya !!dimag pe zyada zor mat dal..main DCP khan ..
bahut ho gaya tera game shame chal abhi band kar dukaan..
Do minute baat kiya to yeh mat samajna ki chod dunga main..
meri ganag main aaja khan full support dunga main..
Saale Bhadve ..2- 4 ko tapkake amitabh bacchan banta hain , chupppp
meri ek ek goli pe tera naam likha hain..

Tereko photo bheju apni …Chalega?
yehi nazar aaega last time tu jab marega..

Maya bhai zindabad..maya bhai zindabad..(chorus)

Congress samta party ya fir howe BJP
sabko sport(support) hoti only tere bhai kee
Koi sala faltoo bole to tapka dalta mein
maar maar ke, maar maar ke, faaad dalata mein
Thoda murga-shurga murga-shurga de na yaar,
thoda murga-shurga murga-shurga de na yaar
Aye ganpatt, CHAL daroo laa,
aye ganpat, huh, challl darooo laa.

Comon comon and everybody,
comon comon and move your body,
comon comon and shake your body,
In the Mumbaii, all over Indiahaa,
we are the bhaiiis, we are the bhaiiiis

Comon comon and everybody,
comon comon and move your body,
comon comon and shake your body, yeahhh

In the Mumbaii, all over Indiahaa,
we are the bhaiiis, we are the bhaiiiis

Aye ganpatt, …. aye ganpat,….. aye ganpat
pannn ye ganpatt kaun hein…

Using a Bluetooth headset on Ubuntu Linux...

2008-08-18T23:21:00.004+05:30

Finally, I'm able to configure and use my DELL Bluetooth headset on my Ubuntu Hardy Heron. WOW..What a day!!

My Pulse Audio server was not working and this link helped me fix it.

Then, I went on to configure it using this HowTo: Use a Bluetooth headset with Ubuntu Hardy

I think it was difficult configuring and using it on Windows when I tried earlier and configured for my brother on his DELL Windows XP laptop. So, Ubuntu users, please give it a shot.

Any cheap bluetooth dongle along with any bluetooth headset should work fine.

Moving towards a wirefree world!!!

Use your Twitter account as your Pidgin status message

2008-08-11T21:05:00.002+05:30

Twitter is happening. This is my attempt to twitterize the world .

You also know I use Pidgin. So, here we have a pidgin plugin to fetch latest twitter post and update it as our pidgin status.

http://code.google.com/p/pidgin-twitterstatus/

Really cooool!!

Twitter is coool ...

2008-08-10T21:03:00.004+05:30

I was thinking about twitter from quite some days. After having heard a lot, just joined the twitterzzzz.. Its cool and belongs to KISS concept. Keep It Simple Stupid.

Twitter has been hugely popular now. Easier to use for one liners and status updates and keep others posted on what you are upto.its for everyone. I guess even an KG kid can use it.

Check out my Twitter here.

Free 'Powered by Ubuntu' Stickers ...

2008-08-10T13:44:00.004+05:30

Hey friends..

Show off your Ubuntu pride on your Desktops and laptops.
Get a FREE strip of four 'Powered by Ubuntu' stickers. Send a self addressed stamped envelope to nearest location:

United States
System76, Inc. (Free Sticker)
1582 S. Parker Rd. Ste. 310
Denver, Colorado 80231

Argentina
Ubuntu Sticker Offer
Av. Maipu 2259 PB C
ZIP: 1636
Buenos Aires
Argentina
Thanks to the Ubuntu Argentina Team!

Australia
Sticker Offer
P.O Box 1412
Lavington, NSW 2641
Thanks to the Ubuntu Australia Team!

Belgium
Powered by Ubuntu - stickers
p/a Baliestraat 84 / 3
8000 Brugge
Belgium
Thanks to the Ubuntu Belgium Team!

Bolivia
Rolando Espinoza La Fuente
Calle 16 de Julio #424 / Zona Central
Cochabamba, Cochabamba
Bolivia
Thanks to the Bolivian Ubuntu LoCo Team!

Brazil
Comunidade UbuntuBR
A/C Etiquetas Ubuntu
Av. Rui Barbosa, 2095 cj63
Santana - Sao Jose dos Campos/SP
CEP: 12211-000
Thanks to the Ubuntu Brazil Team!

Canada
Ubuntu Sticker Offer
2448 Cadboro Bay Rd.
Victoria BC
V8S 4C1
Canada
Thanks to the Ubuntu Canada Team!

Chile
Stickers Ubuntu Chile
Arlegui #573 E-11
ViÃ±a del Mar
CHILE
Thanks to the Ubuntu Chile Team!

Colombia
Sergio Restrepo
Calle 37 # 63b 68
Medellin, ANTIOQUIA
COLOMBIA
Thanks to the Colombian Ubuntu Team!

France
Ubuntu-Sticker
105, rue de l'Ourcq
75019 Paris
France
http://www.ubuntu-fr.org/contact
Thanks to the French Ubuntu Team!

Germany
Dirk Sohler
Ubuntu-Sticker
Haldesdorfer StraÃŸe 153c
22179 Hamburg
Thanks to the German Ubuntu Team!

Hungary
Ubuntu Hungarian LoCo Team
ORY Mate
H-1163 Budapest
Gordonka u. 32.
Hungary
Thanks to the Hungarian Ubuntu Team!

India
Baishampayan Ghose
214/4, Sher-e-Punjab Society
Andheri (E), Mumbai --- 93
India
Thanks to the Ubuntu Indian LoCo Team!

Italy
Palma Salvatore
Via Magna Grecia, 14
87029 Scalea (CS)
Italy
Thanks to the Italian Ubuntu LoCo Team!

Mexico
Stickers Ubuntu
Avenida Adolfo Lopez Mateos Condominio 1 Casa 41
Fraccionamiento Rancho San Lucas
Metepec, Mexico
CP: 52172
Thanks to the Mexican Ubuntu LoCo Team!

Netherlands
Ubuntu Stickers
Hyacintstraat 13
4587 AV Kloosterzande
The Netherlands
Thanks to the Dutch Ubuntu Team!

New Zealand
Ian Beardslee c/o C/- Catalyst IT
PO Box 11053
Manners St
Wellington New Zealand
Thanks to the New Zealand Ubuntu Team!

Norway
Ubuntu Stickers Scandinavia
c/o Sement&Betong
Waldemar Thranesgt. 75
0175 OSLO
Thanks to the Norwegian Ubuntu Team!

Peru
Gonzalo L. Campos Medina
Av. Peru K-134 / Urb. Garibaldi
ILO, ILO
PERU
Thanks to the Peruvian Ubuntu Team!

Serbia
Ivan Jelic
Bore Stefanovica 2/1
36000 Kraljevo
Serbia
Thanks to the Serbian Ubuntu Team!

Switzerland
Pro-OpenSource
Stichwort: Ubuntu-Stickers
c/o Ruben Richiger
Dietlistrasse 2
9000 St. Gallen
Thanks to the Swiss Ubuntu Team!

Turkey
Atila Sendil
TUPRAS Gn.Md.
Bilgi Sistemleri Md.
Korfez / Kocaeli
Thanks to the Turkish Ubuntu Team!

United Kingdom
The Linux Emporium
Bridge House
17a Maybrook Road
Sutton Coldfield
Birmingham
B76 1AL UK
Thanks to the United Kingdom Ubuntu Team!

Venezuela
Efrain Valles
Calles 72 ave 9b y 10
Edificio Tavel
Apto 7A
Maracaibo, Venezuela
Thanks to the Venezuelan Ubuntu Team!

Source

Kernel 2.6.26.x and VMWare 1.06

2008-08-10T00:15:00.001+05:30

Today, I successfully configured vmware 1.06 under 2.6.26-15 kernel.

All credits to Lenrek. Check the link here.

Broadband is up..

2008-08-07T21:33:00.001+05:30

As mentioned, the same day, an engineer came and replaced the power adapter which was faulty. Airtel is still prompt in their service, as far as broadband is concerned.

Airtel modem dead...

2008-08-06T08:26:00.000+05:30

Yesterday my airtel broadband died suddenly after power failure even though it was on UPS. I suspect a surge in telephone line. My mistake that i didn't plug the line in surge protection socket. I have logged a call and an engineer should arrive today to fix it.

Meanwhile, I hope can survive on my P1i GPRS, from which I'm blogging right now. Ofcourse I unable to use fring or chat in this 100rs GPRS.

I installed opera on my P1i and it rocks. This blog is a proof. More coming up on my P1i. Watch out this space.

Breakfast time again...

2008-08-06T08:20:00.000+05:30

As usual having khara bath and mousambi juice at kamath. I must admit that So far, the best khara bath i have ever had is at jayanthi sagar koramangala 4 years back.

Mundane life...

2008-08-05T09:12:00.001+05:30

Life is getting real mundane and mechanical. Everyday running for the office bus, coming to office, no much work. Then coming back home, sleeping getting up. Same story everyday. Somewhere something has changed.

Right now in cafeteria. Just finished breakfast.

Super song - Khuda Jaane from Bachna Ae Haseeno

2008-08-04T23:08:00.002+05:30

Another song I'm hooked to nowadays is Khuda Jane. Song is melodious. Lyrics are below:

Aaa aa….

(Male)
Sajde mein yun hi jhukta hoon
Tum pe hi aa ke rukta hoon
Kya yeh sab ko hota hai

(Female)
Hum ko kya lena hai sab se
Tum se hi sab batein ab se
Ban gaye ho tum meri dua

(Male)
Sajde mein yun hi jhukta hoon
Tum pe hi aa ke rukta hoon
Kya yeh sab ko hota hai

(Female)
Hum ko kya lena hai sab se
Tum se hi sab batein ab se
Ban gaye ho tum meri dua

Khuda Jaane ke mein fida hun
Khuda Jaane mein mit gaya
Khuda jaane yeh kyun huwa hai
Ke ban gaye ho tum mere khuda

Tu kahe to tere hi kadam ke
main nishanon pe
Chalun rukun ishaare pe
Tu kahe tho khwabon ka bana ke
Main bahana sa
Mila karu sirhaane pe

Ohhh
Tum se dil ki baatein seekhi
Tum se hi yeh raahe seekhi
Tum pe marr ke mein tho
Jjee gaya

Khuda Jaane ke mein fida hun
Khuda Jaane mein mit gaya
Khuda jaane yeh kyun huwa hai
Ke ban gaye ho tum mere khuda

Dil kahe ke aaj tho, chupa lo tum
panahon mein
Ke darr hai tum ko kho doonga
Dil kahe ki sambhal zara khushi ko
Na nazar laga
Ke darr hai mein tho ro dunga

Hooo
Karthi hoon sao vaade tum se
Bandhe dil ke dhaage tum se
Yeh tumhe na jane kya hua

Khuda Jaane ke mein fida hun
Khuda Jaane mein mit gaya
Khuda jaane yeh kyun huwa hai
Ke ban gaye ho tum mere khuda

(Male)
Sajde mein yun hi jhukta hoon
Tum pe hi aa ke rukta hoon
Kya yeh sab ko hota hai

(Female)
Hum ko kya lena hai sab se
Tum se hi sab batein ab se
Ban gaye ho tum meri dua

Khuda Jaane ke mein fida hun
Khuda Jaane mein mit gaya
Khuda jaane yeh kyun huwa hai
Ke ban gaye ho tum mere khuda

Ke ban gaye ho tum mere khuda

Source here..

Understanding.. Misunderstanding!

2008-08-04T23:04:00.003+05:30

Since last few days I'm finding myself in midst of various various misunderstandings. Whether I'm unable to understand others or whether others are misunderstanding is not clear.

I think my tongue is wagging too much unconsciously. In some cases, it is also due to my tongue not wagging.

But all said, looks like talking less is good for me and others at this point of time.

Me back to active blogging..

2008-08-04T23:03:00.001+05:30

Long time since I wrote. But I think I will be back to active blogging from now on. Lets see.

Kannada Songs - Baa Maleye Baa

2008-07-02T23:37:00.004+05:30

Nowadays, I have liking for Kannada songs. The Song Baa Maleye Baa from movie Accident (sung by Sonu Nigam) is melodious. Also, the club mix is too good.
Listen to it here

Lyrics are as below:

Baa maleye baa
Baa maleye baa
Ashtu birusaagi baaradiru
Nanna nalle baralaagadante…

Avalilli bandodane
bidade birusaagi suri
Hintirugi hogadante
Hintirugi Hogadante
Bidade birusaagi suri…

Baa maleye baa
Baa Maleye baa

Odu kaalave odu
Bega kaviyali irulu
Odu kaalave odu
Bega kaviyali irulu
Kaadihalu Abhisaarike
Avalilli Bandodane
Nillu kaalave nillu
Nommatake Sadilaagadante
Baa Maleye Baa
Ashtu birusaagi baaradiru
Nanna nalle baralaagadante…

Beeru Deepave Beeru
Ninna hombelakalli
Beeru Deepave Beeru
Ninna hombelakalli
Noduvenu nalle roopa
aaru begane aaru
Shrungaara chayeyalli
Naachi neeragadintu..

Baa maleye baa
baa maleye baa
ashtu birusaagi baaradiru
nanna nalle baralaagadante

Avalilli bandodane
bidade birusaagi suri
Hintirugi hogadante
Hintirugi Hogadante
Bidade birusaagi suri…

Credits

Long time no blog!

2008-05-12T00:39:00.002+05:30

I'm surprised with myself. No post from 3 months. 3 months have passed away list like few days.

Its time to start blogging. in next 1.5 years you will have lots to read here ;)

Virtualization migration: From Microsoft Virtual Server /Windows Server 2008 HyperV to VMWare Server on Ubuntu Linux

2008-03-16T20:45:00.003+05:30

Continuing the yesterday's work, I finally found a Shareware software WinImage 8.1 which can convert Images from VHDs to VMDKs or vice versa. It can be tried for free form 30 Days after which you need to purchase it. You can download WinImage from here: http://www.winimage.com/download.htm

So, I booted into Windows XP and converted most of the Images in VMWare's VMDK. Then, I went back to Ubuntu and created news VMs in VMWare server. All the Virtual Machines are rebuilt and running successfully. I also tried VMWare's Convertor but it did'nt work for Non-Windows VMs.

After that I found one amazing thing. WinImage runs flawlessly in Wine under Ubuntu Linux and I converted some more leftover Images without booting into windows. You can see it running in below screenshot.

So, lot more needs to be explored in Wine now ;)

R&D Weekend..

2008-03-15T23:06:00.001+05:30

Today is happening day and a yet another weekend. After trying out the various virtualization options, I'm back to VMWare server.

Yes, it is not open source but its free :)

The great thing about VMWare Server is I can run MAC OS X (10.4.x) on it ;)

I want to check out Leopard as well but so far no luck. Just tried Vista Ultimate and it runs very smoothly as well.

So, I'm planning to move full time to Ubuntu. Now, I need to migrate all the MS Virtual Server VHDs to VMWare VMDKs.

So, my whole Saturday went on R&D on Ubuntu in:

1. Installing Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5) on VMWare Server - No luck -WIP

2. Compliling and Installing latest version of Wine - Success

3. Installing Internet Explorer on Ubuntu -Success

4. Install .NET 2.0 on Ubuntu Wine - Failure - Dropped

5. Converting Virtual Server HD VHDs to VMWare HD VMDKs - WIP - Hopefully a success

Now, I'm busy with #5 converting my FreeBSD, Solaris, Ubuntu, Mint, Windows Images to VMWare VMDKs....

Where do you want to go today?

Yes, an unforgettable one though its from Microsoft!

Blogging after a month...

2008-03-09T11:13:00.001+05:30

Yeah. You need some kind of inspiration and a proper mood to write . Finally, today I felt like writing something. Let see what else happens in by the end of the day. So far its a nice weekend :)

Ubuntu on MegaMonster!

2008-03-09T11:10:00.001+05:30

Finally, I installed GNU/Linux Ubuntu 7.10 on my MegaMonster and it rocks. I enabled all the eye candy (compiz) and it beats Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 in all Eye candy. Installed lots of applications of which most are Open source and free (including a nice mario like game as well called SuperTux). More on that later.

For the games and eye candy, I was eyeing the 8800GT 1 GB 3D graphics card, but after seeing the display quality of the onboard Intel G33 GMA3100 , I have decided to wait for some more time.

The most important thing is performance. It feels and runs lot faster and efficiently compared to Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008. Memory usage is low and hardly uses a few MBs of the 4 GB RAM. Time to start using Virtualization on the MegaMonster. So, I started working on the virtualization part. Installed Qemu it looked real fast. I tried installing MacOSX. Failed. Guess some more research is needed. Also, installed XEN Virtualization, but it is totally different than traditional virtualization tools. So, will need time in getting used to it. There are still other options to evaluate inclusing VMWare player and Parallels Workstation.

Guest chat feature in Google Talk

2008-03-09T10:36:00.001+05:30

Yesterday I found a new feature introduced by Google to enable Guests on your website or blog to chat with you.

New! Chatback

Let visitors to your site chat with you

I think its really cool. The guests won't know your Googletalk or your Gmail ID but they can still ping you if you are online.

You can also customize the title and toggle the display of online status message. When they ping you you will get a guest chat window in Gtalk. If you are using Pidgin, you will get a link for a chat window.

So, now you can chat with me any time ;)

Just click the link below :)

‘Tech overload’ can ruin relationships

2008-01-25T22:13:00.001+05:30

Found this interesting article in today's newspaper.

Source: Article TECH TALK from The Times of India- Bangalore edition, dated January 25th 2008

New York: Technology might be just as addictive as alcohol and drugs and could also wreak havoc with personal and work relationships, a leading expert said.
   John O’Neill, the director of addictions services at the Menninger Clinic in Houston, Texas refers to it as “technology overload” when he sees addiction-like behavior in his patients using cell phones or emails.
   “I think they share some of the same components as people who become addicted to alcohol and drugs in that we start to see that someone cannot really put it down and cannot stop the use of it even when there are some consequences,” he said. “We can become overloaded by technology and suffer consequences in our relationships,” he added.
   O’Neill’s observations are backed up by psychologists who have classified technology addiction as an impulse disorder that can be as socially damaging as alcoholism, gambling and drug addiction. The Internet/Computer Addiction Services in Redmond, Washington, which runs treatment programs and provides therapy, estimate that 6 to 10% of the approximately 189 million internet users in the US have a dependency on technology.
   O’Neill said it’s all about teaching people how to manage their behavior in a healthy way. “How do you learn to set limits, develop boundaries, how do you make some sense out of what does it mean to healthily use the technology, or to healthily enter into a relationship with someone,” O’Neill said.
   He added that warning signs that someone may be sliding into an unhealthy relationship with technology include using text messages, email and voice mail when face-to-face interaction would be more appropriate, or limiting time with friends and family to tend to your email, return phone calls or to surf the internet.

The Question is : Should I be worried?

I don't think so ;)

Monster to a Mega Monster..

2008-01-20T13:35:00.001+05:30

Yes. Thats right! Yesterday, I upgraded my monster and fed it with some more RAM. Now, it is a Intel Core2Duo E6750 2.66 @ 3.2 Ghz 4GB RAM.

The Bad news is XP doesn't like more RAM. I'm running Windows XP pro 32-bit and it cannot effectively utilize more than 2 GB RAM. As you can see, it only detects 3.23 GB of RAM.

I read some Microsoft KB Documents and realised that nothing much can be done as it is limitation of all 32-bit Windows including Windows Vista.

But, the good news is, there is no such issue with 64-bit OS like Windows XP x64 Edition or Windows Server 2008 64-bit with Hyper-V. Recently, I have installed Windows Server 2008 64-bit with Hyper-V and the Virtualization looks good so far. I will be migrating all the Microsoft Virtual server HDDs to Hyper-V on Windows server 2008. Also, looking to switchover to Ubuntu full time but yet to test out KQemu or other virtualization technologies.

Overclock Update

2008-01-10T21:05:00.001+05:30

Just an cool update for my previous post How to Overclock your Processor/PC using a Software.

Today I was trying help out an Overclocking mate John and found that, that the PLL CV174CPAG doesnt work for him even though he has a DG33TL. So, I searched again for a newer verson of setFSB. And yes, it is available here http://www13.plala.or.jp/setfsb/ Version 2.0.b.19a(beta) . I was suprised with the new version. But when I read the Readme and didnt find any support for DG33TL got a bit dissapointed. As usual started trial and erro . Tried 2 or 3 PLLs until I hit, the PLL cv183apag It works amazingly...Everything ..all the clocks match as shown in the screen. I had tried this one earlier, but didnt work. Guess its due to the new version of SETFSB

Please try out n let me know..whether it works for you too.. :)

the last day of 2007

2007-12-31T22:47:00.001+05:30

Yes.. December 31st 2007.

Somehow I got up, pulled up myself and went to office.. Unlike last few days, the morning was too cold and caught the bus just in time.

The day started with the important work, and ended with it. Had a simple lunch and an ice cream and left office at 3 pm.

Reached home pretty early and spent the evening reading newspaper and little browsing. After dinner, listening to music and plan to sleep pretty early.

Need to get up early on the first day of the year ... ;)

Ofcourse, tomorrow is a holiday. Plan to do some electronic shopping.

Let's see whats in store in the new year 2008.

Last Sunday of 2007..

2007-12-31T00:22:00.001+05:30

It was typical Sunday, lazy and fun filled. Some friends had come home. We watched Namastey London and one more round of Jab We Met and had lunch together. Over that, we did lots of talking and had a nice time being at home ;) They left in the evening, so was alone again. Finally, thought of the pending work which I had . I need to submit some bills at office, and tomorrow being the last date, ended up cleaning up my wallet in search of old bills. Good news is , I found them. Bad news is I still have to go to office tommorrow.

I have not prepared for an exam (SMS 70-089) which I planned to take up tommorrow. So, its postponed I guess. Let me not delay it too much.

Still thinking whether to go to office by bike, so that I can come back early. If I have to go by bus, I need to get up early :(.

I can still take leave ... but why. I never take any unnecessary leaves. I will go as I have so much personal work pending at Office.

Lots of my friends are asking me about my new year day plans. Plan is simple. Stay at home.

I don't know why, but I'm really not interested in going out and partying (tommorrow nite being 31st December 2007). That does'nt mean you should not.

Plan the party , then enjoy and have a great time.

Sleepless in Bangalore..

2007-12-30T03:13:00.001+05:30

After a long time, I'm not getting sleep though its 3 A.M. Why this Sleeplessness? I dont know.

Maybe I'm thinking too much. Maybe coz of the movie Jab We Met I was watching till 1..

Hmmm..

So, I thought let me try reading something, browse the web, send a mail, scrap someone.

Then, why not write something.

The end of the year is just round the corner. Thinking ..what did I acheive this year?

What could I have done better? What is did I lose and what did I gain?

I don't know why but I have a feeling that I have lost something imporrant and rather gained something even better...

Tum se hi...

2007-12-30T01:18:00.001+05:30

One more good song from Jab We Met is Tum Se Hi :

Khona hai ye paana
Na Khona hi hai
Tera Na hona jaane
Kyun hona hi hai

Tum se hi din hota hai
tum se hi shaam aati hai
Surmaiye shaam aati
Tumse hi tumse hi

Har ghadi saans aati hai
Zindagi kehlati hai
Tumse hi tumse hi

khona hai ye paana
Na Khona hi hai
Tera Na hona jaane
Kyun hona hi hai

Aankhon mein ankhen teri
Bahoon mein baahein teri
Mera na mujhe mein kuch raha….
hua kya

Baaton mein baatein teri
Raatein saugatein teri
Kyun tera sab yeh ho gaya….
hua kya

Mein kahin bhi jaata hoon
Tumse hi mil jaata hoon
Tumse hi tumse hi

Shoor mein khamoshi hai
Thodi se Behoshi hai
Tum se hi tum se hi

Aadha sa wada kabhi
Aadhe se jyada kabhi
Jee chahe karlu is trah…
wafaa ka

Chode na chote kabhi
Tode na tute kabhi
Jo dhaaga tumse jud gaya…
wafa ka

Mein Tera sarmayan hoon
Jo bhi mein ban paya hoon
Tumse hi tumse hi

Raste miljate hai
Manzile miljati hai
Tumse hi tumse hi

khona hai ye paana
Na Khona hi hai
Tera Na hona jaane
Kyun hona hi hai

Which sounds something like below:

Nothing is gained. Nothing is lost.
Your absence is like your presence.
The day starts with you.
The dusky evening approaches. From you.
From you.
Every moment, every breath
And the life that I have is from you. From you.
Nothing is gained. Nothing is lost.
Your absence is like your presence.
My eyes stare into your eyes.
My arms are in your arms.
I have nothing of me in me.
What happened?
My talks are filled with your talks.
The nights are filled with your stories.
Why has all this become yours?
What happened?
Wherever I go, I'm never far from you. From you.
There is a silence in the bustle.
There is a little delirium. From you. From you.
Somewhere a half done promise.
Somewhere more than a half.
I feel like making to you, of loyalty.
Can't leave it even if I want to.
Can't break it even if I want to.
The way I am connected to you with loyalty.
I am what you made me.
Whatever I have become is. From you. From you.
Roads meet.
Destinations are found. From you. From you.
Nothing is gained. Nothing is lost.
Your absence is like your presence.

Jab We Met..

2007-12-30T00:35:00.001+05:30

Just few months back we all friends went and saw the movie "Jab We Met". Its a really good one and some songs are amazing.

One of the songs are "Hum Jo Chalne Lage" written and sung very beautifully...

[Hum Jo Chalne Lage
Chalne Lage Hai Yeh Raste
Haaan Haaan
Manzil Se Behtar Lagne Lage Hai Yeh Raste ] X2

Aao Kho Jaye Hum
Ho Jaye Hum Yun Lapata
Aaao Milo Chale
Jana Kahan Na Ho Pata
Hum Jo Chalne Lage
Chalne Lage Hai Yeh Raste
Haaan Haaan
Manzil Se Behtar Lagne Lage Hai Yeh Raste

[Baithe Baithe Eshe Kaise Koi
Rasta Naya Sa Mile
Tu Bhi Chale Mein Bhi Chalu
Honge Kam Yeh Tabhi Fasle] X2

Aao Tera Mera Na Ho Kisi Se Vasta
Aaao Milo Chale
Jana Kahan Na Ho Pata
Hum Jo Chalne Lage
Chalne Lage Hai Yeh Raste
Haaan Haaan
Manzil Se Behtar Lagne Lage Hai Yeh Raste

[Aankhen Khole Neendein Bole Jane
Kasie Jagi Bekhudi
Yahan Wahan Dekho Kahan
Leke Jaane Lagi Bekhudi] X2

Aao Mil Jaye Na Ho Jahan Pe Rasta
Aaao Milo Chale
Jana Kahan Na Ho Pata
Hum Jo Chalne Lage
Chalne Lage Hai Yeh Raste
Haaan Haaan
Manzil Se Behtar Lagne Lage Hai Yeh Raste

Some literal translation which I found..

When we started walking.
The paths too started moving.
These paths seem lovelier than the destination.
Come. Let's get lost.
Let's get lost somewhere.
Come.. Let's walk for miles.
Where to go? It should be unknown.
When we started walking.
The paths too started moving.
These paths seem lovelier than the destination.
Sitting like this, how will we discover a new path.
You too walk. And I too will walk.
Only then will these distances bridge someday.
Sitting like this, we discover a new path.
Come..We both should have no bond with anybody.
Come.. Let's walk for miles.
Where to go? It should be unknown.
When we started walking.
The paths too started moving.
These paths seem lovelier than the destination.
I don't like it without you.
I don't like it without you.
On opening the eyes, slumber says.
What fervour is this?
Here and there. God knows where.
This fervour is taking me.
Come. We will find a way in this world.
Let's walk for miles.
Where to go? It should be unknown.
When we started walking.
The paths too started moving.
These paths seem lovelier than the destination.

Enjoying face book ...

2007-12-17T23:38:00.001+05:30

After being on Orkut for quite sometime, was curious about Facebook. So, joined few days back and started exploring.

I should say it is really cool and is highly flexible. Lots of interesting applications are available.

Some of which I liked are:

Call Me on Skype

Calvin & Hobbes Quotes

Desi Music

Graffiti

LeapTag

Magazine Rack

Movies

Music

My Gadgets

myTracker

Nicknames

Superlatives

Video Game Rack

Visual Bookshelf

Feel free to check them out.. Ofcourse, you need to for Facebook. :P

Read more on Facebook in Wikipedia and the Facebook blog.

Training week..

2007-12-13T23:12:00.001+05:30

This week is a training week for me. Its a really cool week. Moreover, its at M.G.Road and luckily, I accompany my bro who drops and picks me up. Occasionaly, I took the BMTC bus while coming back from Shivaji Nagar and I should say it is is'nt as bad as I expected. I got a Mini Bus (300) to Banaswadi today which is faster for people (who are travelling) during peak hours an also for the narrow and congested roads. After having the luxury of Bikes n cars we tend to forget about people who dont have such luxuries. We should travel often by public transport to know how good/bad it is and experience how a common man/woman commute.

The training will continue in next week as well.

So, its time to chillout! ;)

Good times at Bengalooru Habba!

2007-12-13T22:49:00.001+05:30

This article by SHARADHA SRINIDHI appeared on today's Times of India - Bangalore Edition.

It was a grand finale to the ten-day long Bengalooru Habba. Kingfisher rocked the evening which opened with a magnificent jugalbandi by saxophone player Kadri Gopalnath and flautist Ronu Majumdar. The jugalbandi was followed by a Bollywood Night, a sizzling performance by singer Sukhwinder Singh. True to the spirit of Kingfisher, he came in style and set the stage on fire with one hit number after another, for nearly one and half hours.
He started off with the current popular track Dard-E-Disco from the movie Om Shanti Om. The crowd went berserk to another foot tapping number Beedi Jalaile from Omkara for which he was joined by singer Shraddha Pundit. Kids sang along with Sukhwinder to the track Chak De India. Everybody danced to numbers like Woh Sharabi Kya Sharabi, Khambhakt Ishq, Oh Saaki Saaki Re and Kisna as well. And how did Sukhwinder like it in Bangalore? “I’ve performed here three years ago and find that Bangalore is a sexy place. It’s great that Kingfisher has supported the Bengalooru Habba,” said the voice of Bollywood. The sensitive singer who has won hearts both in India and in many countries abroad, stood amidst the audience and continued to entertain them until 11 pm! And music lovers went home humming the tune of Chaiya Chaiya. All thanks to Kingfisher and Bengalooru Habba, organised expertly by Nandini Alva and Padmini Ravi.

DK Shivakumar MELODIOUS: Ronu Majumdar and Kadri Gopalnath;

CULTURAL CZARINAS: Nandini Alva and Padmini Ravi

Shraddha Pandit

Sukhwinder Singh

Soundarya

Happening Sunday..

2007-12-10T23:43:00.001+05:30

Yesterday was a really happenning sunday. Some of my great friends had come home, but also with a surprise. A Belated birthday cake. Though I didnt want to celebrate my birthday this year [now, dont ask me why], somehow it ended in a cake cutting celebration and I felt really happy. Another friend of mine also had her birthday recently, so we cut a combined cake after blowing all the magic candles. The chocolate cake was too good (even for my skin ;) and some nice moments were captured on camera. We all had some great and memorable time at my home. I wonder when we all are going to meet up like this again. Wish and pray that we keep meeting like this frequently.

After the nice evening, we all dispersed as may of them want to get back home just n time. Meanwhile, few of us planned to go to Bangalore/bengaluru Habba. We mainly wanted to join the Bollywood Extravaganza night with Sukhwinder Singh live concert. So we reached around 8 p.m. at palace grounds. Some of our friends missed it coz of various reasons.

We had a general pass [courtesy: one of our friends ;)] The music party started with Shraddha Pandit singing lots of songs ( Mahi ve, Its the time to disco, Yeh Mera Dil). I should say she has an excellent voice and she is an very good performer. Finally, Sukhwinder Singh arrived and as expected started with Dard E Disco. We were near the stage now. Don't ask me how we reached there :p. Amazing performer and a great singer. You should not misse his next public performance, if you get a chance to see. We heard and danced away to some great hit songs including DardeDisco, Chak De, Chaiyya Chaiyya, Omkara, Bidi Jalaile, Nach Nach, Ban Dhan Chali, Nasha , Kambakt Ishq, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Bunty aur Babli, etc.. [Check out this list to listen to some of them]. We had lots of fun jumping, dancing, singing, screaming..

[Expect to see some photos here in near future]

It was 11.15 p.m. when it ended. Then, one of the friends car failed to start. [This also reminded me of the previous year's car-key-lost incident during Dussehra at Mysore Palace :p] After some R&D we found that battery was down. With help of some Autowallahs and Nokia 1100 torch, we somehow swapped the battery and started the engine, disconnected the battery, put back the original battery and my friends finally reached home safely. Me too reached finally at around 1 a.m. Ofcourse, after taking help from a friend and my Bro.

So, overall it was an excellent day.

Unforgettable.

Portrait of a Friend

2007-12-02T11:26:00.000+05:30

I got the below message from one of my friend..

I can't give solutions to all of life's problems, doubts,
or fears. But I can listen to you, and together we will
search for answers.

I can't change your past with all it's heartache and pain,
nor the future with its untold stories.
But I can be there now when you need me to care.

I can't keep your feet from stumbling.
I can only offer my hand that you may grasp it and not fall.

Your joys, triumphs, successes, and happiness are not mine;
Yet I can share in your laughter.

Your decisions in life are not mine to make, nor to judge;
I can only support you, encourage you,
and help you when you ask.

I can't prevent you from falling away from friendship,
from your values, from me.
I can only pray for you, talk to you and wait for you.

I can't give you boundaries which I have determined for you,
But I can give you the room to change, room to grow,
room to be yourself.

I can't keep your heart from breaking and hurting,
But I can cry with you and help you pick up the pieces
and put them back in place.

I can't tell you who you are.
I can only love you and be your friend.

--Unknown

Best gift

2007-12-02T01:42:00.001+05:30

oh dear friend!

friend for life

nice to hear the sweet voice

even better to hear your wishes & prayers for me

which are not enough

waiting for them eagerly

year after year

as I need them until I die

don't know how to thank you

for the most precious wishes

as they are invaluable &

unexplainable in mere words

for the best gift I've got

the birthday wishes

Life and Death..

2007-12-02T00:20:00.001+05:30

What is this life? Why are we born and living ?

Was reading excerpts from Beyond Birth and Death by His Divine Grace A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

During our lifetime we have to practice the method of approaching that perfection so that at the time of death, when we have to give up this material body, that perfection can be realized.

prayäëa-käle manasäcalena
bhaktyä yukto yoga-balena caiva
bhruvor madhye präëam äveçya samyak
sa taà paraà puruñam upaiti divyam

"One who, at the time of death, fixes his life air between the eyebrows
and in full devotion engages himself in remembering the Supreme Lord,
will certainly attain to the Supreme Personality of Godhead." (Bg. 8.10)

Just as a student studies a subject for four or five years and then takes his examination and receives a degree, similarly, with the subject of life, if we practice during our lives for the examination at the time of death, and if we pass the examination, we are transferred to the spiritual world. Our whole life is examined at the time of death.

Lots more to practice, learn & do but the time is decreasing for the exam...

How to connect to a remote Linux box by running an X server on your local Windows PC using Xming

2007-12-01T20:21:00.001+05:30

Continuing my strategy to use my old Home desktop for file server like purposes, I wanted to remotely manage the Home server without using a keyboard, mouse and monitor.

I installed Mint Linux (based on Ubuntu) and enabled the remote desktop option (basically vnc server). However, I noticed that using vnc on my home server was taking up too much CPU (Its a slow 450 mhz and don't want to tax the cpu just to veiw the desktop). So, I started looking for alternatives like connecting thru X Display Manager Control Protocol (XDMCP) after looking at ReflectionX (to connect to a solaris box) at workplace. Since ReflextionX is a paid software, I was searching for free one and re-discovered Xming (I had tried using this some years back).

So, I installed Xming and tried various methods to connect to my home server using XDMCP but didn't work. After some more exploration, I was able to run a local Xserver and start an xterm window. So, I understood that we can run a window manager locally and start a gnome session on it. I tried and it works :)

So here are the steps if you want to connect and access your Linux PC remotely:

1. Install openssh on your Linux server.

2. Download and install Xming.

3. You will need to download and install Xming-6-9-0-31-setup.exe , Xming-fonts-7-3-0-6-setup.exe , and Xming-portable-PuTTY-7-3-0-7-setup.exe . You can also try Xming-mesa-6-9-0-31-setup.exe instead of Xming-6.9

4. Start Portable putty (Start -> Programs -> Portable putty -> Putty) and make sure you are able to login yo your linux box.

5. Start Xlaunch (Start -> Programs -> Xming -> Xlaunch)

6. Select Full screen and set Display number as 1.

7. Click Next.

8. Select start a program.

9. Type the program name as gnome-session (If you want gnome session. If you just want a terminal, type xterm)

10. Select option Using PuTTY and type the computer name, user name and password. Optionally, check With Compression. Click next.

11. Click next again

12. Optionally, check Include Putty password as insecure clear text for convenience. However, this can be a security risk.

13. Click save configuration and type a filename which you can use to launch the local Xserver.

14. Click finish.

15. Launch the file to start the Xserver and wait patiently for the window manager to load.

Hope it is of some use. Enjoy!! !

Hindi Movies..

2007-11-30T11:27:00.000+05:30

Its a friday again and another weekend begins. I don't know why, but my interest in Hindi movies seems to be increasing.

Yesterday I watched Heyy Babyy and liked it. Now, watching Hum Tum. One of my great friend told me around 3 years back that this movie is good. So, it will be good.

;)

Some of the Best Things in Life...

2007-11-29T00:11:00.001+05:30

Some of the best things in life ( as per my findings on the Web) are..

1. Falling in love.

2. Laughing so hard your face hurts.

3. A hot shower.

4. No lines at the Super Wal-Mart.

5. A special glance.

6. Getting mail.

7. Taking a drive on a pretty road.

8. Hearing your favorite song on the radio.

9. Lying in bed listening to the rain outside.

10. Hot towels out of the dryer.

11. Finding the sweater you want is on sale for half price.

12. Chocolate milkshake.

13. A long distance phone call.

14. A bubble bath.

15. Giggling.

16. A good conversation.

17. The beach.

18. Finding a $20 bill in your coat from last winter.

19. Laughing at yourself.

20. Midnight phone calls that last for hours.

21. Running through sprinklers.

22. Laughing for absolutely no reason at all.

23. Having someone tell you that you're beautiful.

24. Laughing at an inside joke.

25. Friends.

26. Falling in love for the first time.

27. Accidentally overhearing someone say something nice about you.

28. Waking up and realizing you still have a few hours left to sleep.

29. Your first kiss.

30. Making new friends or spending time with old ones.

31. Playing with a new puppy.

32. Late night talks with your roommate that keep you from sleeping.

33. Having someone play with your hair.

34. Sweet dreams.

35. Hot chocolate.

36. Road trips with friends.

37. Swinging on swings.

38. Watching a good movie cuddled up on a couch with someone you love.

39. Wrapping presents under the Christmas tree while eating cookies and drinking eggnog.

40. Song lyrics printed inside your new CD so you can sing along without feeling stupid.

41. Going to a really good concert.

42. Getting butterflies in your stomach every time you see that one person.

43. Making eye contact with a cute stranger.

44. Winning a really competitive game.

45. Making chocolate chip cookies!

46. Having your friends send you homemade cookies!

47. Spending time with close friends!

48. Seeing smiles and hearing laughter from your friends.

49. Holding hands with someone you care about.

50. Running into an old friend and realizing that some things (good or bad) never change.

51. Discovering that love is unconditional and stronger than time.

52. Riding the best roller coasters over and over.

53. Hugging the person you love.

54. Watching the expression someone's face as they open a much-desired present from you.

55. Watching the sunrise.

56. Getting out of bed every morning and thanking God for another beautiful day.

57. Having friends you know you can cry on or talk to about your deepest problems

How many have you encountered?

Good night...

Time for silence...

2007-11-27T22:14:00.001+05:30

Sometimes being a friend means mastering the art of timing. There is a time for silence. A time to let go and allow people to hurl themselves into their own destiny. And a time to prepare to pick up the pieces when it's all over.

Sundays are for ...

2007-11-25T19:07:00.001+05:30

Sundays are for being lazy ;)

Yeah, a typical Sunday and I was at home whole day. Started off lazily but currently in full action.

As per my plan, I nuked my Windows Home server and installed Mint Linux on it.

Parallely, researching on OpenMosix and thinking how to setup a cluster at home so that I can speedup my home desktop ( An Intel P3 640Mb RAM) by using CPU resources on my monster ( Intel Core2Duo E6750 2GB RAM).

Also, experimenting with CHAOS.

Lets see whether I succeed.

OSO ..once more..

2007-11-24T23:31:00.001+05:30

Today, I watched OSO once more at Urvashi Theater (Yes they have online website now http://www.urvashicinema.com/).

I know you're saying wht da fish?? but the movie is good to be watched more than twice.

When are you going?

Happiness and the Art of Being...

2007-11-23T22:41:00.001+05:30

Since yesterday, we have book fair at our Electronic city campus. I was looking for interesting books since yesterday and today I finally found one.

Happiness and the Art of Being written by Michael James on spiritual teachings of Sri Ramana Maharishi. It covers the following

What is Happiness?

Who am I?

The Nature of Our Mind

The Nature of Reality

What is True Knowledge?

True Knowledge and False Knowledge

The Illusion of Time and Space

The Science of Consciousness

Self-Investigation and Self-Surrender

The Practice of the Art of Being

I'm sure it is a good one and I got it. It should answer lots of questions.

Make sure you read it. Here is the link for e-book edition of Happiness and the Art of Being.

Last few days ...

2007-11-22T22:32:00.001+05:30

Last few days of Windows Home Server RC on my home desktop as, I'm running an an evaluation version.

Looking to nuke it and get back to my favorite Ubuntu.

So, this is the plan for weekend.. Also, thinking of installing Freevo on it.

Any other ideas?

Missing a friend...

2007-11-21T21:46:00.001+05:30

A good one from Dana Hanon...

We were close friends
I believed you were sent from above
I knew I could count on you
For anything I needed
And when I needed you most
you were always there
till the day you found love
And had to move away
But I knew you still cared
For we still can be friends
Only from a distance
Through phones lines we'd talk
Did not make the difference
We were still friends
Even though long distance
I do miss our sleepovers
And the pranks you'd pull
And our long talks and
Our laughs we used to share
And how you made me feel better
Just by being there
I miss you my friend
And I know you still care
We are friends forever
You and I
Friends till the end
The day I die ....

:((((

sorries..

2007-11-21T19:48:00.001+05:30

I understand I'm being stupid and disturbing...

Sorry!!!! :((

Sad song from OSO

2007-11-20T23:01:00.001+05:30

The sad song from OSO is a good one and touches your heart.

Chan Se jo tute koi sapna
JAg suna suna lage
Jag suna suna lage

Koi rahe na jab apna
JAg suna suna lage
Jag suna suna lage
Jag suna suna

Hai to yeh kyun hota hai
Jab yeh dil rota hai
Roye sisak sisak ki hawayein
Jag suna lage

...

Roothi rothi sari raatein
Fikhe fikhe sare din
Virani si Virani hai
Tanhai si tanhai hai
Aur ek hum hai pyaar ke bin
Har Palchin

....

Patharon ki is nagari mein
Pathar chehre Pathar dil
Phirta hai mara mara
Kyun rahon mein tu awara
Yahan na hoga Kuch hasil mere dil

Loosely translates to..

When a dream shatters like a glass
The world suddenly is an empty place
When the loved one is no more
The world suddenly is an empty place
Why does this happen?
When the heart cries..
The wind cries as well, the world suddenly is an empty place
Nights are cold and unforgiving
The days are colorless
There's only loneliness and desolation
And here I am, every moment without my love
When a dream shatters in a flash
The world suddenly is an empty place
When the loved one is no more
The world suddenly is an empty place
In this concrete lifeless place
Are careless faces and stone hearted people
Why are you wandering around aimlessly?
My heart, You're not going to find anything more....

Not in a mood to write..

2007-11-20T22:42:00.001+05:30

But nevertheless, just wanted to share a feedback on the latest movie Om Shanti Om.

We went to watch Om Shanti Om at Cauvery in a 2nd show.I had not seen any trailers of this movie neither seen any songs videos. I had bought the Audio CD and liked the music. After watching the movie, all I can say is simple. Amazing. The movie is brilliant and makes you forget your own self for 3 complete hours. Please do watch it in theater (not even a multiplex) to enjoy the technical brilliance and cinematic details.

The songs are too good:

1. Ajab Si : K.K , Lyrics: Vishal Dadlani :Excellent picturization and sung well.

2. Dard-E-Disco : Sukhwinder Singh, Marianne, Nisha & Caralisa : Superbly sung by Sukhwinder. Item song featuring Shahrukh Khan in 6-pack ;)

3. Deewangi Deewangi:Shaan, Udit Narayan, Shreya Goshal, Sunidhi Chauhan & Rahul Saxena : Watch whole of Bollywood particularly...

Rani Mukerji ji	Dino Morea	Dharmendra	Rekha
Zayed Khan	Amrita Arora	Shabana Azmi	Ritesh Deshmukh
Vidya Balan	Aftab Shivdasani	Urmila Matondkar	Salman Khan
Jeetendra	Juhi Chawla	Karisma Kapoor	Saif Ali Khan
Tusshar Kapoor	Mithun Chakraborty	Arbaaz Khan	Sanjay Dutt
Harfan Maula	Kajol	Malaika Arora	Lara Dutta
Priyanka Chopra	Bobby Deol	Tabu	Suniel Shetty
Shilpa Shetty	Preity Zinta

4. Main Agar Kahoon : Sonu Nigam & Shreya Goshal : Superb voices and excellent visuals

5. Jag Soona Soona Lage: Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Richa Sharma Punjabi Lyrics: Kumaar : The sad song

6. Dhoom Taana: Abhijeet, Shreya Goshal : Amazing 70s style remixed song with Rajesh Khanna, Jitendra in the video.

7. Daastaan-E-Om Shanti Om : Shaan : The title song with the movie theme.

Don't miss it!!

Long weekend ends..

2007-11-11T23:45:00.001+05:30

Today, somehow went out and came back home by 7 p.m. in the evening.

Back to work tomorrow morning. Need to sleep early and get up early.

Good night.

3 days..

2007-11-10T23:47:00.001+05:30

The last 3 days have passed off just like that. Didn't do anything useful. Didn't do many needful things. I'm unable to focus on so many important things as my mind is pre-occupied.

One day left and so many things to do..

Silence...

2007-11-10T00:36:00.001+05:30

........can kill!

Running multiple Operating Systems in Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1

2007-11-09T20:58:00.001+05:30

Ever seen running 5 Operating Systems inside running in Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1?

Check it out!!

I need more RAM now to run MAC OS X in Vmware. Currently, have only 2 GB.

Gmail version 2.0

2007-11-09T14:15:00.001+05:30

Yippee... My Gmail is upgraded to the latest version.

In fact, yesterday was wondering why it hasn't changed and was wondering how to get the new version.

Read this to know what's new in the new version.

Yet another long weekend..

2007-11-08T23:54:00.001+05:30

The day started as usual. No festival for me this year as well, due to obvious reasons. So, no celebrations will take place. A long weekend (4 days) ahead and lets see how it goes. The day went in watching some TV , the India vs pakistan 2nd One Day International match (which they India lost), and adding some eye candy to my PC.

The last week has been pretty topsy turvy . Particularly, the last two days. Sometimes we don't understand what's happening with our lives. We keep doing this reality check and keep realizing that life is complex. Still we don't know the reason. All those questions keep coming back.

What's life all about?

Happy Deepawali..

2007-11-08T23:26:00.000+05:30

Wish you all a very happy Deepawali, the festival of Lights.

Watch some of the spectacular photos to know what Diwali is all about.

Enjoy the festival.

My MAC OS X like Windows Desktop - Eye Candy!

2007-11-08T21:03:00.001+05:30

Check out my Desktop after installing Desktop Sidebar and FlyAKiteOSX 3.5.

Doesn't it look like a MAC??

Install and have fun ;)

????????????

2007-11-05T22:14:00.001+05:30

????????????????????

Superb weekend ..

2007-11-03T22:16:00.001+05:30

After enjoying Thursday's off and a great Friday at work, we have a nice weekend here. After continuing with the R&D started on Friday evening, I was able to successfully install MAC OS X on VMWare. It works amazingly well including the animations. Imagine running on actual PC. It will surely be awesome. So, I will be continuing my research on how to make MAC OS X work on real x86 Hardware. You can also start from here.

Other than the MAC, I also discovered how to overclock my (already) Monster PC to make it a MegaMonster :)

One more Sunday is left. So, You should watch out this space for exciting stuff !

How to Overclock your Processor/PC using a Software

2007-11-03T12:44:00.000+05:30

Please note that Overclocking may damage your processor. So, try it at your own risk.

As you are aware, recently I got a new PC based on the Intel DG33TL motherboard. I was looking for an ASUS P35 Motherboard (for its overclocking potential, power user features) but could not get. So I settled for the Intel Motherboard.

If you are a real techie, who is into all this PC/Motherboards, you will know that Intel Motherboards, will not provide you an option to overclock your processor in the BIOS,

So I did some searching for Software overclocking tools as I know they exists ( I was using a tool called SoftFSb, for my old PIII Desktop). I found Systool, clockgen and setfsb.

After a lot of R&D and lots of reboots and crashed, I discovered that SetFSB works for Intel DG33TL !!!!!!

The results : an easy 33 % overclock on Conroe Intel Core2Duo 2.66 Ghz to 3.33 Ghz by increasing the FSB speed. (I use a Transcend DDR 800 Mhz RAM)

How to run Mac OS X 10.4.9 in VMWare Server (with detailed steps and screenshots)

2007-11-03T11:07:00.000+05:30

This is just for experimental purposes and please note that it is illegal to run MAC OSX on a non -MAC Hardware.

After a long wait, finally I was able to run MAC OS X 10.4.9. in VMWare server. Time to write a nice guide.

Some History on why I was not able to run it earlier as for many people (who are already tired of all troubleshooting) it is more important to know why MAC OS X is not working.

1. Incorrect and compatible MAC OS X DVD Image:
I tried 10.4.8, 10.4.9 and both did'nt work. Uphuck's 10.4.10 DVD Image did the trick. You can search this on google and please dont ask me where can you find it.
2. Incorrect BIOS settings (yes ofcourse, in your Physical computer):
This dependent on the motherboard and I discovered that I as getting a kernel crash with my BIOS settings. All I did was Turn off Intel SpeedStep technology (EIST), Lower Power Suspend states to compatible (similiar to older PCs, like turning of advanced Suspend modes)
3. Old version of VMWare:
I tried many times unsuccessfully with VMware 5.5. Then realized that I need to get a latest one. Preferably VMWare Player 6 or VMWare server. Please note that we can tun MAC OSX on MS Virtual Server, MS Virtual PC.
4. Incorrect Settings in VMWare:
Many times when you change the virtual settings, some settings get reset and you will need to manually updated them using notepad. In specific, some of the settings should be :

scsi0.present = "FALSE"
paevm="true"
guestOS = "darwin" # this is optional
5. Other than these, you will need a powerful hardware. My Hardware Motherboard Intel DG33TL with 2.66 Ghz E6750 , 2GB RAM is good enough .

There are lot of Guides available on the Web and i have read a lot of them. So far, you can refer this one as it covers almost everything. However, here are my steps, which I followed:

1. Download 10.4.9 Uphuck 1.4i DVD ISO Image.
2. Download and install Daemon Tools (needed to mount the DVD image in Virtual DVD drive). Mount the DVD.
3. Install VMWare server .

4. Launch it and select Local Host as console.
5. Create a new Virtual Machine with following settings:

Guest Operating System Type: FreeBSD
RAM: 512MB
Ethernet: Bridged
Audio: You can choose default or skip Audio
Processors: 1 (This is imporatant)
CD ROM: Drive Letter of Daemon tools.
Harddisk. Create a Virtual HDD of atleast 6 GB. You can choose more as well. I'm using my Physical HDD (using Phy HDD is dangerous, careful while choosing)

The Screenshots for the same are below.

Create a new Custom Virtual machine.

6. Click on Next.

7. Type the machine name as MacOSX and click on next.

8. Click Next.

9. Click User that powers on the Virtual Machine and click Next

10. Important: Select One and click on next.

11. Select atleast 256 or 512 Mb of RAM. Click on Next.

12. User bridged networking to allow the MAC to directly connected to internet.

13. Select Bus Logic and click on Next

14. Important: Create a new IDE Virtual Disk.

14. Make sure you select IDE.

15. Allocate all the space now. Choose Split disk into 2 Gb files if you are using a FAT32. If NTFS, you can leave it unchecked.

16. Choose the drive where you have sufficient space.

17. Open and Edit the Vmware file in Notepad to look similiar to this. (File names and path may vary)

config.version = "8"
virtualHW.version = "4"
scsi0.present = "FALSE"
memsize = "512"
ide0:0.present = "TRUE"
ide0:0.fileName = "G:\Virtual\Mac\MAC3.vmdk"
ide1:0.present = "TRUE"
ide1:0.fileName = "F:"
ide1:0.deviceType = "cdrom-raw"
floppy0.present = "FALSE"
Ethernet0.present = "TRUE"
displayName = "MacOSX"
guestOS = "darwin"
priority.grabbed = "normal"
priority.ungrabbed = "normal"
paevm="TRUE"

ide0:0.redo = ""
ethernet0.addressType = "generated"
uuid.location = "56 4d c0 f2 b3 eb 76 d6-37 a5 49 97 b0 f1 f6 91"
uuid.bios = "56 4d c0 f2 b3 eb 76 d6-37 a5 49 97 b0 f1 f6 91"
ethernet0.generatedAddress = "00:0c:29:f1:f6:91"
ethernet0.generatedAddressOffset = "0"

18. Save it and close it.

19. Turn on the Virtual Machine.

20. Disable All Floppy drives inside the MAC OS X Virtual Machine (MACVM)

21. Disable all Serial and Parallel Ports and the Floppy Disk controller as well.

22. Save and Exit.

23. Once you see the below screen, Press F8.

24. Make sure the DVD shows up as below.

25. Type -v for verbose. and press enter.

26. There will be a pause as shown above for 2 or 3 minutes. Wait patiently. If you dont see any messages after ACPI Button driver prevent system startup , Power off the MACVM (Not restart, you should Power OFF). Then, turn it on again and check.

27. You will see some more messages.

28. If you have reached here, Congrats. Select English and click on the arrow.

29. Please wait. Depending on your CPU/RAM this will take some time.

30. You will se the Welcome screen.

31. Start Disk Utility as shown above.

32. Click on the 8 GB Virtual HDD and click on partition.

33. Select Single Partition.

34. Type a descriptive name for the partition. This similiar to Label in DOS/Windows.

35. Important: Click on options and select Master Boot record. If you skip this, you wont be able to boot from the Virtual HDD after installation.

36. Click on Partition to update.

37. Confirm by clicking on Partition.

38. Quit the Disk Utility to go back to the installer

39. Important: Read the page properly as it has vital info on the installation and info on specific hardware

40. Click the chosen Partition.Click Continue.

41. Select the main system. Under patches select verbose. Depending on your Display adapter, if needed chose the matching ones under VGA, else skip it.

42. Select USB Driver. If you have once board Intel Audio, select Azalia. Select an appropriate Network adapter. Click Install.

43. The installer will check your DVD. As it is a image, you can skip it. If you doubt whether the download is fine or not, let it check.

44. Wait for 5 to 10 mins. This may take more time depending on your HW config.

45. The setup will do some optimizations. I have no idea on this. :p

46. If you are impatient, click on restart ;)

47. If you a get a MAC Welcome screen like this, then congratulations. Else, go to next step.

48. Type -v -f -s as shown below to start in single user mode. (You might have to change the Boot order to DVD first)

49. type fdisk -e /dev/rdisk1 to start fdisk. Basically we want to mark the partition as active.

50. type

flag 1

write

quit

as shown below.

51. Restart the MAC VM manually . Eject the DVD from Daemon tools.

53. You should see the MAC welcome screen now. If you are unable to boot, you may want to review step 35.

54. Select the correct country and proceed.

55. Time to register.

56. Select Do not transfer and continue.

57. Click on Continue, unless you want to choose a different keyboard layout.

58. Select Local network and click on continue.

59. Selecy DHCP and click on continue.

60. If you get an error click Ok and continue.

61. Click on continue as we wont need/have any apple ID.

62. Type some registration information.

63. Some more..

64. Change you name, user name if needed. Type password and password hint.

65. Select a correct Time zone

66. Make sure you set the date and time correctly.

67. Click on Done.

68. Congratulations. You can explore the MAC.

69. Checkout some hardware info ;)

I will update this article frequently, if any changes are needed.

Please feel free to post your comments, if you have any difficulties. Your feedback is welcome.

Enjoy!!!!!

Gmail has IMAP now!

2007-11-01T12:05:00.000+05:30

Just got a newsletter from Google mentioning that we can use IMAP for Gmail.

The Gmail team is thrilled to announce the launch of IMAP support for Gmail, which lets you use your Google Apps email at work, in your car, or just about anywhere, on any device, while keeping information synced across all devices so that whatever you do in one place shows up everywhere else you might access your email. Instead of using POP, which isn't able to sync changes made made on other devices with your online email, now you can configure IMAP for your account and enjoy the improved experience.

This is great news since, you will not tied to the web interface and you can use Outlook Express, Outlook, Thunderbird or any email client for that matter to access Gmail from your Desktop using IMAP.

Read on to know whats new on Gmail:
http://mail.google.com/mail/help/about_whatsnew.html

MS Virtual Server R2 SP1

2007-11-01T11:17:00.001+05:30

Yesterday, I was reading an article on various types of Virtualization and how VMWare server and MS Virtual Server R2 SP1 (MSVS) are different. I'm yet to use VMWare server. However, MSVS is too good.

I have already Solaris 10, Ubuntu 7.10 and Windows 2008 Enterprise Server running simultaneously and effortlessly on my Intel Core2 Duo E6750 2.66 Ghz, 2GB RAM Box.

I have been trying to get Mac OS X 10.4.9 running, but I'm unsuccessfull. Even with VMWare, i'm unable to run Mac OS X 10.4.9. More R&D over next 2 weeks to get it up and running.

Running Solaris 10 on MS Virtual Server R2 SP1

2007-11-01T11:09:00.000+05:30

I have Solaris 10 working great on MS Virtual Server R2 SP1. For those who have issues with graphics and X configuration, please use the vesa driver, which works perfect.

You can start the X configuration after booting from the CD by running:
/usr/X11/bin/xorgcfg

Also after enabling the NIC, you can install all the updates (atleast the recommended) using update manager. Then, you can install Gnome 2.16 using blastwave's pkg-get. Visit http://www.blastwave.org/howto.html to know how. Lot more comunity software can be easily installed using pkg-get.

Have fun!

What a Week..

2007-11-01T11:04:00.000+05:30

Today is a holiday here at Bangalore for Kannada Rajyotsava. Time to relax a bit.

It was a quick great week. Most of the time, I spent in getting the basics (Transport, Support contacts, Facilities) for settling down at work. Its a great place to work. My travel time has increased by another hour, but thats fine.

In terms of work we have a lot to learn in a short period. We will be in Enterprise Server Management segment supporting special tools based on Microsoft Technology. More on that later.

My first day @ Wipro Technologies..

2007-10-22T22:46:00.000+05:30

Today was a great day. Even in my dreams, I never imagined that I'm going for work at Wipro Technologies.

I left home and started early, but didn't find any Auto for koramangala. After wasting time for 20 mins, I decided to come back home and go by my bike. Was getting frustrated. There was no other option. I was still tired since yeasterday, but somehow drove and reached Wipro (by following the wipro buses from ecity). The security gave me runaround for the parking. Then, again a run around as there was a change in the venue of induction. Somehow, reached in time.

The induction began and went on smoothly. Also, got the ID card. During lunch time, just wandered a bit. The campus is like a college with all Shooping malls around. Surpised? Yes. Its true. Lots of shops around. Even an Citibank ATM. The cafeteria was huge. The food was from kamat Yatri nivas and all type of food were available. We could choose from North Indian, South India and other options. It was crowded a bit ( The Admin guy told us 1 seat in cafe for every 6 employees).

The campus itself looks like a resort with lots of greenery and the water bodies and I have just seen a part of it. I will write more soon. Currently, tired and in no mood to write a long one. Will let you know more after exploring.

There were some more sessions and got the ID card in the evening. Thats pretty fast

Evening was horrible due to heavy rains and the drainage filled hosur roads. Somehow escaped driving in the rain, but could not escape the dirty water and traffic . 2 hrs to drive. Aaaargghhh!

But no other option. I'l take my bike tomorrow as well. Lets see.

That was a great day indeed and a nice monday to begin the week. Good nite for now..

Hard work on a Sunday

2007-10-21T23:41:00.000+05:30

After being tired of lazyness and boredom, I started to cleanup all the mess in my room. I also had to make place for my new Monster. Operation cleanup lasted whole day. Armed with the Vacuum cleaner, the cloth and ingenious brain, I rearranged various parts of my room to accomodate the new member. Full tired after all the work, I'm satisfied for not being lazy.

Over that, preparations for tommorrows joining. Need to get up early and reach koramangala office by 7:40 am. Still not sure on how to approach. Whether to take the new joinee bus to go by bike. Bus is better.

For the new Monster, I'm planning to install MAC OS on it. I have started the research. Lets see in few days, whether it is a dream or a reality.

Too tired to write more. Gonna sleep. Hope I good sleep in cleaner, lesser dusty room. Good night.

Monster is in..

2007-10-21T00:13:00.000+05:30

The Monster is in. If you are wondering who/what is this monster, then let me tell you. I could'nt join Wipro on Wednesday (which is postponed to monday). So, I was thinking about what other pending things I can accomplish.

Ofcourse, there is hell lot of work to be done. When I told one of my friends that I dont know what to do, she gave me huge list of things. Also, a peice of advice for all the men folks, who don't do any work at home and spend their time lazying around when their mom and sisters are doing every bit of work. She is correct and we should do something about it.

Before, I could look at this list, I had a major PC upgrade on top of my list. So, I went to SP Road on Thursday evening to get a new Monster Desktop (for a good money ofcourse). For you techies, here are the specs:

Intel Core2 Duo 2.66 Ghz E6750
2 GB RAM, 250 GB SATA HDD,
19" Samsung TFT Display
500 W SMPS,
Zebrionic Antibiotic Cabinet

So, from past 3 days I'm drowned in this. This is real Monster as I'm running Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Edition and Ubuntu Linux simultaneously inside Microsoft Virtual Server. The CPU is still free not even at 50% utilization. 1 GB of RAM is still free for me to run more OSes.

So, time to try out new stuff and more gaming. You should see some happenning technical stuff here very soon.

:)

Happenings.

2007-10-17T13:40:00.000+05:30

Monday and Tuesday went to preparations for Joining, which was supposed to be today.

Finally, on monday, I got a official farewell dinner at Tandoor. Tuesday I finished some work related to NSR. Met some friends and reachec home at around 10. Got a missed call which turned out to be the Wipro HR's. Apparently, I dont have sufficient documentation regarding my relieving and she informed me I'm unable to join Wipro today without the documents.

All Hell broke loose. Inspite of repeated requests over the whole of past week, I did not get any help from my HR Department. Yesterday, I escalated it my director, shooting a mail. Promptly, I got a call in the morning that my documents will be provided tommorrow. Let me wait and see.

So, I have 5 more days off and I can join Wipro only on next Monday. Sad :(

Weekend's running out quickly..

2007-10-14T18:21:00.000+05:30

The Weekend is running out pretty quickly. Yesterday, I went for a yet another interview for a leading Insurance company. You might wonder whether this was needed. But, I felt, it better to look for all oppurtunities and evaluate the best so that you dont regret later.

Sunday is pretty cool. Laziness personified, thats me ;)

Another 2 days, I should finish some of my pending work and relax as well to gear up for a huge challenge. The next big thing is just round the corner.

Offlate, I've been write mudane stuff here. But, soon you should expect interesting things.

:)

One Journey ends..

2007-10-13T19:08:00.000+05:30

My journey at Givaudan finally ends. The last 2 days at Givaudan were hectic but nevertheless unforgettable. Yesterday, I finally handed over all the office assets including the laptop and the cell phone. So, I'm back to my Desktop.

On Wednesday October 17th 2007, I will be joining Wipro Technologies. Lets see how adventurous is the new journey.

Party time..

2007-10-11T00:35:00.001+05:30

The week was a great party time. After enjoying a break at Nandi hills, yesterday it was time for a dinner get together. We all friends joined up at TGIF at Airport road and had some great fun till 10 p.m. Before that, I visited Axis Books and picked up The World is Flat authored by Thomas L. Friedman. This should give you some clues on the countdown puzzle.

Today, was my last day at my Plant in Jigani. Another 2 days in my corporate office and the journey is comes to and end. Next week, a new journey begins.

My cold is still worsening. Took a sinarest. Rushing to sleep now. Good nite.

4 more days ...

2007-10-08T22:27:00.001+05:30

4 more days of working...

Did you try guessing?

Good nite..

Real hectic monday..

2007-10-08T20:36:00.001+05:30

It was a real hectic Monday. Not in terms of actual work but because of the technology transfer and handing over of my current job responsibilities to one of my friend, who will take care after I'm relieved.

My cold has still not come down. Over that, my right eye is showing symptoms of Conjunctivitis from quite a few number of days. Hope it is not as bad as I think.

From the technology end, I just finished downloading Windows Server 2008 RC0 and just burnt a DVD. Waiting to check it out. I hope I get my new Monster PC soon, but lit looks more like dream as of now.

Weekend ends...

2007-10-07T20:30:00.001+05:30

The Saturday was slow start to a nice and lazy weekend.

Time to complete some pending stuff. Went for a medical checkup at Indiranagar as a prerequisite for Joining the Top 3 IT biggie. Went to Sapna's at Indiranagar and looked around for some new stuff. Ended buying the usual stuff . Digit October 2007.

Was feeling drained out (maybe due to the hectic previous days and also the trek). Had a great sleep in the afternoon and evening was time to catch up to friends. We went to a friend's place and we went to Ramana's on Cunningham road for a vegetarian dinner. It was a nice dinner not to mention about the Pudina Lime Soda which I liked very much.

Sunday was a typical day filled with laziness and I like it ;)

Some more rest and sleep as I was at home whole day. Spoke to a friend in Australia for a long time. Spent some time reading all the Graphic card reviews and ended up deciding to buy ASUS EN8600GT - 256 MB GF 8600 GT DDR3 for my future desktop monster. Another task added.

Send off party from Van..

2007-10-05T22:04:00.001+05:30

After hectic day, we all went to Adigas in the evening. A nice farewell for me. This is the first ever farewell I have received. Some photos will soon follow. Thank you all your love and affection. The cute jockey on the horse is really inspiring.

It was a memorable friday and great beginning of a weekend. Only 5 working days left, after which I will be joining a leading IT company, which is one of the Top 3 IT companies in India.

Still thinking? ;)

gr8 day...

2007-10-04T23:45:00.001+05:30

Today was another hectic day in our M.G.Road office. The Day is really a significant one as lot of my handover work has got some right direction. Yes. Only 6 days left.

We got the Nandi Hills trip photos and they are simply awesome. Ping me if you are interested in checking them out. ;)

Thank god tomorrow is Friday .. Need to get up early and go to Jigani. Good nite and sweet dreams.

Mahatma Gandhi's birthday..

2007-10-03T23:19:00.001+05:30

Oct 2nd is a historic day indeed. Of course, we didn't celebrate it in a patriotic sense.

But we all friends had a small get together with all due respects to Mahatma. Many of us could not join due to bad health. Even i was struggling with cold, but somehow made it.

We all hung around for lunch and went to nandi hills, just to have nice time with nature. It will be a memorable day indeed. It was late by the time we reached back home. We were tired but the nice time we had was worth it. Lot more needs to be written but I'm tired now.

Today, we are back to our work as usual. I worked at my M.G. Road office and will be there tomorrow as well. Hitting the bed now. Good night ;)

Weekends and beginnings..

2007-10-01T23:40:00.001+05:30

Sunday was the only day in the weekend. I roamed all over bangalore..We went to SP Road to get a quotation of a planned PC purchase. Had a nice and good lunch outside. The evening was at commercial street and then spent some time with friends and relatives. It was tiring but a good sunday :)

Today was good as well. After a nice day at office and reaching home early, read the October edition of PC world.

Tomorrow is an Holiday in India as it is Mahatma Gandhi's birthday. So, this should be a pretty fast week and the coutdown is at 8 days now.

Going to sleep now. Good night.

Last working Saturday..

2007-09-29T21:23:00.001+05:30

Today was a working Saturday. My last working Saturday in my current company. The count down is currently at 9 days.

As usual we went to Adigas on bannerghatta road for a nice breakfast. The breakfast was great (Chow Chow Bath and Masala Dosa). I had a coffee after a long time and it was good. We had a great time. Some nice photos for you :)

As we started after the breakfast, we found that bannerghatta road is jammed. We took a deviation and reached office. I'm note sure when am I going to travel again on this road. Earlier, it was a bad and pathetic, but now the road is good. Filled with greenery, traveling to Jigani on bannerghatta road gives you a feeling of going to a picnic ;)

I'm really going to miss everything.

Other than that, my whole day went with my manager as he had come in. Time just flew and I'm back home early in the evening to watch the India Vs Australia match played here in Bangalore. Just watched the few runs and a wicket and started pouring heavily.

Rain has halted play and I'm not too sure about the resuming. Maybe we'll have to play a 20 overs match with a huge target of 200 due to DnL..

Lets see..