Sun Rising

Recently Sun Microsystems announced that it is changing its ticker symbol from SUNW to JAVA.
Today more people know Java than Sun Microsystems. Company is using the popularity of Java for it branding. This has not been received well by SUN fans and other techies. Read the comments on Jonathan's blog http://blogs.sun.com/jonathan/entry/java_is_everywhere#comments
Sun, once the darling of Wall street is trying very hard to stay profitable, after years of bleeding. Recently it announced a partnership with Google, in which they'll be distributing StarOffice for free as a part of their Google Pack.
Sun has always come out with very cool technologies, but somehow not been able to convert them to revenue. Hope these new marketing gimmicks will help SUN to be back on top as the most preferred Hardware/Software vendor.

How Men Talk to their Wives on the Phone

Easy Auto in Bangalore. So no more auto rick problems

I found out about Easy auto from a friend of mine today. I have not used their service. If someone has used this service and has had any good/bad experiences can post their comment here

How does Easy Auto Work?
Passengers have to register themselves using Passenger Registration Kits (PRK), to avail door-to-door service at a cost of Rs.75/-. Any one in the family can avail Easy Auto using the same registration. That is, using a single PRK you can register up to ten phone numbers, which will be used as identifiers by the computers.

Registered passengers can use Internet, Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) or Short Message System (SMS) to hail an Easy Auto. Others can simply hail one, at any of our Easy Auto Stands or on kerb side.

For hailing Easy Auto using SMS, you will have send in your location code to 9844-11-22-33. You will get a receipt confirmation message along with request code. If this message does reach in 5 minutes after your SMS, you may have to try again. Please remember any network congestion can affect smooth flow of SMS. After the confirmation SMS, you will get another in a few minutes along with Easy Auto number followed the auto driver's mobile number. To complete the procedure a parallel SMS will be sent to the auto driver. Please ensure to call the Easy Auto driver within 5 minutes or else he will be assigned to another passenger.

For hailing Easy Auto using IVRS, you will have dial 9844-11-22-33 and follow the instructions told to you. To complete the procedure a parallel SMS will be sent to the auto driver. Please ensure to call the Easy Auto driver within 5 minutes or else he will be assigned to another passenger.

Who can use Easy Auto?
Easy Auto can be used by anyone. A registered commuter gets door-to-door service. For registration, the user will buy a kit from any of the Spice outlets in the city at a cost of Rs.75.00. This is a one-time fee to be paid by the commuter.

Visit http://www.easyauto.in for more details

Happy birthday India

India completed 60 years of Independence on 15th Aug 2007. Here is a small video wishing the motherland a Happy birthday

Code for Freedom Contest from Sun Microsystems

Code For Freedom is a 6-month campaign in India's academic community. With a theme that ties Open Source to Freedom. Sun Microsystesms is launching this campaign during the 60th year of Indian Indpendence. The associated contest is open to any college student in India and provides laptops, iPods, equipment, and T-shirts as prizes. The goal of the contest is to catalyze academic community participation in Sun open source projects.

SUN is showcasing OpenSolaris, NetBeans, GlassFish, OpenPortal, and Apache Derby. http://in.sun.com/codeforfreedom

Accident I witnessed

Today morning, I left home early and was on the way towards Mysore road. I was at this junction where roads from 3 residential areas converge towards the Rajarajeshwari nagar main road. All of a sudden, I heard a big sound and when I turned towards the direction of the sound, I could see 2 people on scooter skidding on the road. My view was obstructed by a passing BMTC bus. I heard some commotion and some screaming. I quickly parked my car and went towards the accident zone.
I first thought the BMTC bus had hit the scooter, but no one in the scene claimed so. What I figured out was that, due to continuous rain the previous night, the road was wet and the gentleman riding the bike had applied breaks at the junction and skidded.
I saw that the man who was riding the bike was up on his feet. He was wearing a helmet and wasn't hurt. His clothes were a little dirty. The other person was still on the ground and was screaming in pain. As I approached, I noticed that he was bleeding from his leg, as his leg appeared broken. People had started gathering and discussing on what could have happened.
The victims seemed to be BHEL employees going to their workplace in the morning. Now a few more BHEL employees appeared on the scene. A lot of people had gathered but not a single person was ready to do anything. They were all mute spectators. As no one cared to bother, I thought of taking him to the hospital in my car. Then someone called for an Auto Rickshaw. I thought auto rickshaw would be a better option to take him to hospital than a car as getting in and out of the rickshaw is easier. Even after a minute the rickshaw driver did not come. Then, one of the BHEL employees said that he would get his car. I rushed forward to help this man to the car. To my surprise, I did not get any help from anyone else. One person lifted him by the shoulder and I lifted the victim by his legs and waist. We needed more help as the man's other leg was hanging. I kept asking people to come forward and help, but it all fell on deaf ears. After asking a couple of times, one gentleman came forward, but with a cigarette in his mouth. He wouldn't let go of the cigarette, but atleast he came to help. The 3 of us put the injured in to a Maruti van. I asked the owner of the car to take them to Manipal Specialty hospital which was around 2 km from there. Now a couple of other employees joined the victim in the car and they drove to the hospital. I did my little part at the spot and left for my office.
I had seen in Indian movies that when an accident occurs, people stand watch. No one comes to help. It wasn't that bad this morning, but not good either. We need a system like 9-1-1 like in the US, where one can expect help within minutes of making a call. We took more than 5 minutes to get the person in to the car before he was rushed to the hospital.
I wish that man a speedy recovery.

At Big Bazaar

We generally visit Reliance fresh store for our vegetable shopping. They have given us a 'Reliance card'. Every time we shop at Reliance store, points get accumulated which can be redeemed later.
One day I happened to visit Big Bazaar, and was looking for some toys for my kid. One gentleman wearing a Big Bazaar uniform approached me and asked me if I needed a Big Bazaar card. I was not very keen but he kept asking. So, I asked him, how I would benefit. He told me that every time I shopped at Big Bazaar, I would be accumulating points which could be redeemed later. I was wondering how it was different from a reliance card. He told me that every month, I could just walk in to any Big Bazaar store and pick up 1 kg of sugar free. This got me interested. So, I thought, why not try it as I wouldn't be losing anything. I asked him what I had to do. He presented me with a form and asked me to sign it and give my visiting card and he would fill up the rest. I did so, without even reading the form (what a moron I was). The guy was courteous and told me that the card would be mailed to me and walked away thanking me. I totally forgot about it.
After a couple of days, I started getting cards from ICICI executives asking me if I had applied for a credit card. I answered them in negative. I got a couple of more calls regarding the same which made me think. I then realized, what could have happened. By signing for a Big Bazaar card, I had actually signed up for a ICICI credit card. The ICICI executives confirmed my thoughts.
I had made a fool of myself by not realizing that it could be a credit card and not a card like reliance card. I can't blame the Big Bazaar totally, but they sure did hide facts from me. Never did that person tell me that I was applying for a credit card. He kept repeating that it was a Big Bazaar card. A good marketing trick, as the word 'credit card' would chase many customers away. I am sure many people would have become Bakras like me.
After nearly a month, I received the credit card with Big Bazaar photo on it. During that month, I had to answer too many calls from ICICI who kept calling to confirm my date of birth and my address, Grrrr. Any ways, I am enjoying free sugar every month. Today, 1 kg of sugar costs around Rs 15/-. So, I will be benefited by Rs 150 over a year.

Funny error

Internet is fast catching up

Click on the image to enlarge

Everybody makes way for a Bullet

A few years ago, there was an Ad on Indian Television for a Bullet Electra.The Ad shows a train approaching a railway crossing which slows down. Then a man comes on a bullet and crosses the railway track. And the we see the caption 'Everybody makes way for a bullet'. Yes,that's how the
Royal En-field Bullet is treated.



These days, I posses one - a 500 CC bullet - The most powerful bike on Indian roads. For long, it was my dream to get one. I had driven a 100 CC bike for many years and it was time to graduate. I was hoping to buy a 350 CC, but to my surprise, I have landed up with something more powerful.

The best part of riding a bullet is not speed or acceleration. The feel is different. The rich humming sound is a music to ears. It is a pleasure going at a the steady speed and accelerating gradually. The body resonates to the sound of this machine. With those wide handles and a
cruiser seat, I get a royal ride. With a 22BHP, the rides are ecstatic.



When I go on the road, people give me way as I approach them. At traffic signals, from the corner of the eye, I notice people are staring at my machine with admiration. Somepeople even have a friendly chat with me and enquire about this beauty. When I stand next to a bus, I can notice that people from all the windows are watching. It feels good to be the center of attraction. I know that they are not watching or admiring me, but it still feels good as you are the owner of the
wonderful instrument.



There was a time in Bangalore, when bullets were used by all police officers. So, whenever a bullet sound was heard, people gathering in the dark corners of the street would disappear. So, even whencommon man rode a bullet, he got the same respect. Today, the Bullet has become more common with the introduction of user friendly Thunderbirds and Electras which have eliminated a lot of problems that a classic bullet had.

In many ways, I can compare a bullet to girl friend or wife
- People on the road give you an envious look.
- High maintenance.
- You have to be very gentle while starting. If you are rough, she will backfire and hurt you.
- You will enjoy her company and want to be with her more often.
- Weighs a lot.
- Not easy to handle. You need to master the art.
- Loud :)

When I speak to my friends, I get some interesting thoughts

- Bullets are like (old) buses, you have to roll/rock in gear a bit for the gear teeth to get
the idea of shifting anywhere.
- Talking about fixing things is fine, actually doing it will be trouble.
- Tyre pressure 20 Front 25 Back
Anything more it is assrured that superb shocks in bullet will take you
directly to HOSMAT !
- Are you not able to change gears ?
If you can .... ignore it.... its like software... more closer you
look more money you will spend with diminishing returns and at the risk
of introducing new defects to a previously working piece :-)

Power of makeup

Click on the image to enlarge

Before



After

The beast did a 150

After doing a 140 KPH on my Baleno (read: 140 kph and going), I had tried to cross the barrier on a few occasions, but some how it had not happened. Yesterday, on an emergency, I had to go to Mysore district. I started at 5.00 am from Bangalore in a light drizzle. I cruised smoothly at around 80 as I didn't want to take a chance in the dark, that too when it was raining. After 5.30 am, the lighting condidtions improved and I hit the accelerator. Within an hour I was at Mandya (90 kms from Bangalore). We took a small 10 min coffee break. The light was good now and traffic was low. As, I started towards, Mysore, I was already back in 140s again. I crossedSrirangapattana in less than 10 min and then the BEAST Baleno crossed 150+ kph. Reached Mysore in around 1.5 hours, which is the quickest I have done

Virtual barber shop

Hear the audio, make sure you use a headphone (not speaker)
For the uninitiated, its about a new sound technology, a very
realistic audio experience without fancy h/w



The technology behind this is Binaural recording

Tips on medical insurance

Medical Insurance is very neglected in India. When I talk to many seniors I know, they say that they are strong and healthy and don't need an insurance. But they just don't realize that when lightning strikes, they will be left pleading for mercy. In many cases, when don't people plan their medical insurance, land up being a burden on their dependents. In my opinion in today's scenario, one should at least target an insurance for a 3 lakhs sum assured. If a higher premium can be managed by the individual, then he/she should target for at least a sum of Rs 5 lakhs.


-> Take a medical insurance when you are healthy.Once you fall sick, no insurance company will give you an insurance. Even if they cover that ailment, they do it at a very high premium
-> Take medical insurance before you are 40yrs. After 40, people generally develop diabetes, BP and other heart ailments. Also, insurance companies won't give you insurance before they subject you to some medical tests
-> Make sure that you take family medical insurance. Covering your spouse through your insurance is very important, because when you are not there, getting an individual insurance for the surviving spouse is not very easy. Insurance companies prefer giving group insurance over individual insurance.
-> Getting insurance for aged parents is very difficult. So if your company provides parental insurance, then please take it. While changing jobs, make sure that your new employer provides this option.
-> Insurance premiums can become a burden when you pay them annually as the premiums will run in to thousands of Rupees. Make an RD (recurring deposit) in banks or post offices and continue saving every month. You can withdraw the sum once a year when you have to pay the premium. This way you won't feel the pinch of paying the premiums. You can start saving from Rs 200/- Rs 500/- per month to get a decent insurance coverage (depending on your age). It is easier to save Rs 200/- a month than raising 3lakhs one shot during an emergency.

I found a good article on medical insurance on rediff.
It is a good read for anyone who doesn't have an insurance and also a
good read for people who have insurance and going for a claim. The
article gives some tips on getting medical insurance.
http://www.rediff.com/money/2007/jul/10mediclaim.htm

Some of the leading insurance companies in India are
The new India Assurance co. Ltd
United India Insurance Company
The oriental Insurance company Ltd
ICICI Lombard
Bajaj Allianz General Insurance

DO NOT ignore Medical Insurance.

A letter to Reliance Industries

I posted this comment on Reliance website. If you agree with this, or have anything to add to this, please leave a comment on this blog. May be someone in Reliance will realize the importance of preserving our environment and act soon.

__________
Hi
This comment is regarding the Reliance Fresh stores. First of all, Congratulations on the big success of Reliance Fresh stores.
I stay in Rajarajeshwarinagar in Bangalore and go to Reliance Fresh store in my locality regularly. What I have noticed is that, at your store there is a lot of usage of Polythene bags. There are big rolls of Plastic covers kept for the convenience of customers, which is being used thoughtlessly. I have noticed that hundreds of customers visit the stores during evenings and on an average every customer buys more than half a dozen variety of vegetables and fruits. As polythene bags are freely available, people segregate their vegetables and fruits separate plastic bag. At the billing section, all these items are added to 2 or 3 more plastic bags. As the customer leaves the store, he/she is walking with nearly 10 plastic bags. This is definitely not environmental friendly. We all know that plastic is non degradable. I would request the big organizations like Reliance to think about our environment and not promote the use of plastic at this scale.
Lets preserve our environment for our future generation.

Some Recommendations from my end:
1. Use Paper bags instead of Plastic.
2. Give polythene bags to customers only on demand.
3, Spread awareness amongst people and ask them to get their own shopping bags.
4. At reasonable cost (less than Rs 5/-), sell good paper or cloth bags which can be reused for shopping, You can have reliance Ads on these bags which will even help you promote your store.

Regards,
Nagendra HK

_____

Idli Vada

Idli and Vada are one of the most favourite South Indian breakfasts. Crispy Vadas, soft Idlis , with a Chutney and
Sambar make a deadly combination for breakfast.
Yesterday, I had been to Malleshwaram
in Bangalore to see my friend's new born baby. When we were about to leave, my friend and his mom asked me if I was going to stop at 'Veena Stores'. I told them that I had not heard that name earlier. They gave me a strange look and told me that it is the store next to the
hospital. I told them that I had noticed it while stepping in to the hospital and thought it was just a tea stall. My friend told me that it is a very old shop which is very famous forIdli and Vada . People flock at this place for a bite
whenever they pass by that street. It has been running for decades. This made me curious and wanted to check it out before I left. It is a very small shop, but a very busy one. I could seeat least 2 dozen people on the foot path either munching something or waiting for their turn to get food tokens. I too had to put up a struggle to get my token. Though it took me a while to get my token, the service was very fast. Because there is acontinuous demand for the snacks, the kitchen is busy continuously and hence there is a steady supply. And yes, I was not disappointed. Though Idli and Vada is a very simple snack, the chutney that is given with it makes it tastes good. The crispy Vada was really mouth watering.

I have decided that from now on whenever I go towards Malleshwaram, I will make it a point to go to Veena stores and eat Idli and Vada and also check out other snacks that he makes.
This place is also known for Shavige Bath, Uppit (Upma), Kesari Bath etc
Location: Near Malleshwaram 15th cross, Next to Lakshmi Maternity Home, Margosa Road.

Ayurvedic chikitsa

click on the image to enalrge

Traffic Gaadegalu

Click on the image to enlarge it.

Open High Availability Cluster

The product I worked on for 2 years in SUN, is now available for the open source community.

Solaris Cluster made first contribution of source-code to the OpenSolaris community.

http://www.opensolaris.org/os/community/ha-clusters/


check out these cool videos on Solaris cluster

Customer satisfaction and Indian Banks

As there was never any competition, Nationalized banks in India never cared about customer satisfaction. But today, the Indian customer is more demanding. He has a wide range of banks to chose from. The Nationalized banks have to gear up for the competition.
I have a bank account which I have been operating from my childhood. As I grew up and started working, I started banking with private banks in India. The banking experience is so different now. The biggest advantage that the privatized banks have over the Nationalized banks today is phone banking and Internet banking. Nationalized banks are catching up but have a long way to go. I am really happy monitoring my account status, transferring funds, paying my utility bills, credit cards, etc., sitting in one place. I don't have to go to the bank. Now most of the Nationalized banks have core banking installed. I can transfer funds from my accounts with private banks to these, but I am still afraid to do so. The reason - no customer support (call center). Today, if I transfer funds between two privatized banks, I have a transaction number, through which I can always track the status by phone and Internet. But with nationalized banks, I have to run to the bank which is located in the other part of the city and when I land there, I have to go through a big Que, figure out whom to talk to and go past other hazels, only to realize that no one in the bank has a clue on whats happening. I have sometimes come across bank managers in Nationalized banks ( I really don't want to name the bank, but it is one of the biggest banks in India) who don't know how ECS works. For the same reason,I have to go to the bank every month to deposit cheques to repay my loan.
I do most of my personal work on the weekends including my bank work. But, when I land in these Nationalized banks on a Saturday with queries, the bank employees and managers (including chief manager, housing loan manager, and other managers) rudely ask me to come back on a weekday, because they have a lot of customers to cater to on the weekends. Is it my problem that the bank has more customers on weekends and they cannot handle them. Is it my problem when bank employees take vacation during other long weekends and summers. I always thought that I (customer) was the king. But, while dealing with these banks, one has to forget it. It was a surprising that when I went to the bank manager for a personal loan, he ignored me. Upon insisting, he asked me to come after a month and he would think over it ( couldn't expect that from a manager). I had to go to a privatized bank. They even sent a person over to my office. He made at least 4 visits to my office, to give the application form and collect it. He even filled up the form for me. Now who's the loser. And yes, I do repay my loan through ECS. Today a big chunk of the corporate world goes to private banks for housing loans, due to convenience, even thought the rate of interest is a little higher. People are ready to spend a few extra rupees for more services.
When I speak to some of these bank employees about why they treat their customers like this, they say that most of their staff is old and won't change their way of work for today's demanding customer. One classic defence they have is, 'we cater from pensioners to farmers. Does your MNC bank cater to them. Because we have a huge customer base, we can't scale up to those levels of MNC banks. MNC banks only cater to corporates'. Well that's your business decision to support farmers and pensioners. You have now a bigger reason to change. You have a huge customer base, don't lose them.
As a final note to these banks - Wake up and act fast. Customer is the KING. Treat him well, else he will chose some one else.

Mungaru Male review

Yes, over all a watchable movie. A movie that can be watched with your family.
My personal rating - Average
Actor Ganesh and director Yogaraj Bhat have tried to replicate the Sharukhan-Karan Johar combination. Ganesh has desperately tried to imitate Shahrukh khan, putting up that sympathetic look/smile in every scene. He reminds me SRK when he tries to spread his arms wide open and the camera revolving around him. He has done it atleast a 2 dozen times.

There are lots of reviews on the web which are full of praises for this movie. This had set a very high expectation, though I had been asked to watch the movie without too much expectation.
The movie sequences were quite predictable. By interval I was under the opinion that the movie was crap. I even messaged some of my friends who had recommended this movie to me about how I felt. Some messaged back that I should watch the movie till the end before I passed my judgement, and some said, that I don't deserve to watch a good movie like this and should get out of the movie hall.

What created the above impressions are the following scenes.

- When a man falls in to manhole, does he think about cleaning himself or does he think about the girl.
- Hero sees the girl only once and that too for a short while and later makes heroic attempts (thats his job) putting his life in to danger, to recover a hand kerchief, when his mother is waiting alone for him in a deserted street. We see such stupid scenes in many Indian movies.
- When the hero feels very deeply for a rabbit just within 2 days of meeting and makes that desperate attempt to save its life by running on a railway track (even if you and I don't, the heroin is definitely impressed by this).
- when you see a train which is less than 50 mts of stopping not to slow down.
- I don't know any temple in karnataka where people carry their loved ones till the top of a hill. All the men were carrying women so effortlessly (my wife was giving me those nasty looks)
- When people speak to him, Ananth Nag replies as though he heard everything even though he is deaf.
- A scene is created where both hero and heroin get wet and the heroin has to change her clothes and look hot (an old movie trick used in many Indian movies. How can one forget Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore in Aradhana)

People generally tell me that I pass above comments because it is a kannada movie. I wouldn't have done that if it was a bollywood movie (they say). But thats wrong. Anything that is not up to the mark and take the movie goer for a ride will be critisized.

What pissed me off most about the movie was the death of the rabbit. Why did the director have to kill an innocent creature which really didn't have any significant role.

The Jog falls scene has been well shot. Songs are excellent. It is a good attempt from the director, but has to work on these small issues. The movie goer cannot be taken for a ride. I am happy that a kannada movie is breaking all box office records. This movie has pulled not only kannadigas but also non-kannada speaking crowds to the theathers which is remarkable. The movie industry should go ahead and make a lot more good movies.
Feel free to put your comments on the post, but please read the first line of this post before that.