Best Funny Stories: Technology

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Selasa, 05 April 2011

Convert Files Across Formats

Technology is growing at a very rapid pace.

At the heart of any technology is saving files and reading files. The techniques of saving files differ with every technology. But you can harness the powers of these technologies if you have something which acts as a bridge between them.

Did your machine (computer, laptop, PDA, cell phone) say this to you sometimes?

Or did you find yourself in such a quandary sometime?

Well, my predicament a few weeks back was something similar. I had to download videos from YouTube and play them on my computer - which could play MP3 or FLV files. And I also wanted to play them on my humble cell phone - which could play only 3GP files.

After trying out several online file converters - some of which worked, some which did not, some with very limited capabilities, some which worked for only specific file formats - I stumbled upon this very interesting website.

It was aptly titled - Convert Files.

Beautifully designed, it lets users converts files with various purposes - listed below

Documents
Drawings
Presentations
E-Books
Videos
Images
Archives
Audios
And the Eternal Others

It supports conversion over approximately 70 formats - all on a single website.

You can upload a file from your PC or give in a hyperlink, and get it converted.

Without doubt, it is the best file converter website I have come across - a one stop shop for all such requirements.

Hope it is sucessfull. Keep up the great work guys!!

Senin, 28 Maret 2011

The Loss Of A Habit

A long time back I had read about this quote.

~~ Good habits, once established are just as hard to break as are bad habits.
~~~~ Robert Puller

Well, when I read this one, I prayed to God that all the good habits that I posses stay with me, forever.

But sadly, in recent months, I have lost one very good habit which I possessed. A habit which I deeply cherished. A habit which made me many a precious friend. A habit which started countless discussions in innumerable situations.

It is the habit of Reading. It was the habit of Reading.

Sadly, I have lost the habit of reading in all its forms. Be it news papers, or magazines, or books. All of it.

There was a time when I used to start my day with reading of the newspapers. I would go through all the pages and read the most eye-catching ones first. I would also make a mental bookmark of the articles that I needed to catch up later in the day - possibly over the evening tea or while having dinner.

But off late, early morning sleep has been more precious. The only thing after getting up is to get ready and head off to work. This has made reading of the news papers a rarity.

The only solace is the fact is that I manage to catch up with the online newspapers - spending a maximum of 20-30 minutes a day on it. But it does not give the same satisfaction as that of reading a "real" news paper. What's bad is the fact that the quality of news articles that show up on the first page of the website are not upto the mark or diverse enough to give me full fledged information about the going on's in the world.

Next one is the habit of reading books. I was a voracious reader at one point of time - gulping upto three books a month in my tight schedule. Reading was the most common pastime over the weekends and holidays. I enjoyed reading about any topic under the sun - fiction, non-fiction, thrillers, comics, romance, business, biographies - the list was endless.

Back in school, during the summer vacations, I used to enroll at the local library. It used to offer a facility to take two books at a time, for sixty rupees a month.

I used to make the best use of that opportunity by reading two books a day. And most importantly, every school year - wait for the vacations to arrive.

But then came my personal computer - only to steal away the company of my humble books. Enticing Electronics took over the humble Paper.

This picture made me wonder whether it was the same me who used to read the Harry Potter books on the same day of they being released, keeping every other thing on the sun aside, only to finish the book and get to the end of the mystery. With Harry Potter, the mystery never ended.

I would also love to read before sleep. Falling asleep while reading was one of the pleasures life used to offer.

I maintained an online compilation of the books I had read and I planned to read. Shelfari was the website where I maintained this list. It took me quite a while even to recollect this website. I had to take support of my email to do so. That explains the gravity with which I have lost it all.

And then came the habit of blogging. Blogging, like Reading, is quite addictive. And for the last few months, it has been Blogging Vs Reading. Blogging has won hands down.

The advent of movie franchisees has been another factor which led to this situation. Twilight has been one of the most sucessfull novel series in the last couple of years, and I was keen to check it out - by reading. Ultimately, I ended up seeing the movies - killing any chance of reading the books.

Another thing which has contributed to this downfall is the short articles that we read on the internet. Although they are easy to grasp, they have resulted in a reduced attention span. And a reduced attention span does not make life easy for reading books.

There was a time when every alternate shopping trip with friends consisted of visiting the neighboring book store. Flipping through the books, looking for interesting stuff was a great way to pass time and connect. And If something caught you eye, by God's grace, you could buy it. And make the best utilization of the purchase by sharing it with your friends.

These days I force myself to get a few of books - every few months - just in the hope of kick starting back the habit. Or maybe read some magazines to develop the interest back.

The only book that I can remember of reading in recent times - without putting it down - was "Freakonomics". I loved the concept of the book and the answers put down to simple, real world, questions.

Books make you think, and that was the case with "Freakonomics" too. I had purchased this book while traveling for work - over the Xmas weekend. Incidentally, the travel back home was delayed due to bad weather, delayed flights and a shutdown airport (in the capital city of the biggest country on the earth).

Made me wonder - Why do we have all the travel troubles in the midst of the holiday season?? If you have read "Freakonomics", you will acknowledge that this is one question which the authors of the book would love to answer - with their excellent analysis.

This loss has been hurting me more over the last few days - since I discussed books with two people. Some one told me that she had slept only at 2.30 in the morning - because she couldn't sense the time while reading. That made me jealous. That made me recollect my old times.

And someone else told me that her favorite book was "The Kite Runner". And I professed that "To Kill A Mocking Bird" is my favorite. Incidentally, this lady was able to recollect the most significant line of this book - thanks to her sharp memory.

~~ "Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."

~~~~ Atticus Finch, in To Kill a Mockingbird.

All this made me wonder - maybe it is time to revive this wonderful habit. I can't make a resolution, because, they say that resolutions are meant to be broken. But an attempt can be certainly made.

If wishes were horses, and horses could fly, I would also love J.K. Rowling to start writing again. Her narration was awesome and reading her books kept me engaged for hours altogether.

A visit to the bookstore at my office could also help. They offer a generous discount of 10% on every book that you buy.

Maybe the help of the good old "Reader's Digest" can be sought. It's short articles might help to tide over the attention span problem. And once that's taken care, a good flowing book can bring back the good old days.

A few of them are already in the pipe line - an almost biography of Winston Churchill, a book by N.R. Narayana Murthy on the Indian society - A Better India, A Better World, and a book with the name - Flirting With Disaster.

Well, only time can tell whether I will be sucessfull in my endeavour. A worthwhile resolution could be to come back to this blogpost and leave a comment on completely reading the above mentioned three books. Let's see how soon it happens.

And have you lost any habit recently? Was it for the good or bad? And if it was for the bad, I certainly hope that you are taking those small steps back - to reclaim that habit which was a wonderful part of your life.

Senin, 14 Maret 2011

Against Cyber Censorship

Time and again, we have discussed about silly laws. These laws are ridiculous to such an extent - you would wonder what would have the law makers thought about while making them.

One such law has recently been proposed by the Government of India under the Information Technology Amendment Act, 2008. This draft deals with the due diligence to be observed by some entities - being referred to as "Intermediaries".

Now question 1. Who are these Intermediaries?

An intermediary is defined as any entity, which on behalf of another receives, stores or transmits any electronic record. Importantly, Telecommunication Networks, Web-hosting and Internet Service Providers, Search Engines, Blogs, Online payment and Auction sites as well as Cyber Cafes have been classified as Intermediaries.

And question 2. What are these intermediaries supposed to do?

As part of the due diligence, they are supposed to be responsible for the contents that they host.

What does this mean for the bloggers?

Well, it means that the bloggers are responsible for the contents that they host on their blog. I would say - nothing wrong with that.

But if the contents that they host would be reviewed by someone, and if some steps are taken to restrain those contents, views and opinions from being published - then it would mean that the Freedom of Expression is being curtailed.

Blogs give an opportunity to an individual to share their thoughts. And a chance to the general public to share their counter views. And if such healthy discussions are being clipped, it would not reflect nicely on a democratic country like India.

After all, we do not want to go the China way. If I see the visitors to my humble blog, I hardly find anyone from mainland China.

Once when I asked my friend in China to check out my writings, she said sadly - the site does not exist. The Chinese government had blocked my site.

Well, we don't want such a situation to exist in India. India has given her people a chance to voice their opinions and thoughts. And it should continue this way - for the development of the nation and her people.

If you are interested in reading more about Internet Freedom - how some countries have taken steps to curb it and how the people have overcome such difficulties - you should have a look at this article.

This article has classified Saudi Arabia, Burma, China, North Korea, Cuba, Iran, Uzbekistan, Syria, Turkmenistan and Vietnam as "Enemies of the Internet".

Other countries are classified as "Countries Under Surveillance". You might be surprised to find some first world countries - like Australia and France - in this list.

We should hope that better sense prevails and such laws are not passed. Only then we can ensure we have an inclusive growth - and voices of the people being heard.

And lastly, before I conclude, it will be worthwhile to note that 12th March is observed as "World Day Against Cyber Censorship".

Here is the newly compiled list of nations and the leaders of the nations who are considered as opponents of the Freedom of the Internet.

Catch more here for discussions on this topic.

Minggu, 22 Agustus 2010

Succession

Succession is a tricky subject.

For a king from the centuries gone by, it meant choosing a heir who would be be the next mogul. For a politician from yesteryears and today, it means choosing a tutelage who would carry forward his or her legacy. For a corporate entrepreneur, it means choosing a successor who would carry forward the organization's vision.

There always comes a time when the king, or the politician, or the corporate leader, must pass on the baton.

There are two critical points in this activity.

To whom?

And how?

The answer to the first question is - The Successor.

Who is a successor?

Well, he is a person who is deemed fit to receive the baton. He is the person who is chosen, or elected, or selected, to hold the reins and drive the carriage forward.

But is choosing an successor an easy task?

No. The answer is a strong No.

Choosing a successor is an activity which is fraught with risk.

A bad king can spoil all the good work done by his forerunner. A poor politician can undo all the benefits created by his predecessor. And an incapable corporate leader can spoil the reputation of the organization.

Choosing a successor is one of the most critical activities which is carried out by a leader.

The next thirty months would be one of the most followed ones for India Inc.

Two of India's most cherished organizations - Infosys and Tata Group - are looking for successors.

Infosys is a company with a focus on Business Consulting, Information Technology(IT) Services and Outsourcing. It's an organization with revenues of approximately 5 Billion USD, employing more than a 100 thousand people.

Tata Group is India's largest private sector corporate group. It has a wide range of business' in its stable - Steel, Cars, IT and Consultancy, Hotels among others. With revenues of more than 78 Billion USD and employing more than 300 thousand people, it is one of the most respected organizations in India and around the world.

Infosys is a company founded in 1981 with just 250 USD. Under it's visionary leader - N. R. Narayana Murthy - fondly known as NRN - the companies revenues have grown to over 5 Billion USD.

NRN was the CEO of the company for 21 long years. Since then he has been the Chairman. There hasn't been a day in the life of Infosys without NRN.

But all of that will change on 20th Aug 2011 when Mr. Murthy will retire as the non-executive chairman at the age of 65.

For an organization who will be without it's founder for the first time in 30 years, choosing a successor for the post of a Chairman will be a important task - to say the least.

The company will look for someone who can carry forward the vision of the organization. Someone who can be a guiding light for the CEO.

Someone who can help Infy strengthen its position as a IT bellwether. Someone who will help steer the organization into the league of IBM and Accenture, if not better.

Someone who can be that leading light who will uphold NRN's vision in difficult times. Someone who can be a face of the organization over the world.

The task of choosing the successor would have been simpler if Nandan Nilekeni, another co-founder and it's CEO for 5 years, had not left Infosys to join the Government of India in implementing its Unique Identification Program.

Read this blog post to understand the risks which were visualized in the transition at Infosys.

But Infosys is a company which thrives of challenges. And we strongly hope that a leader is chosen who would take forward the company to greater heights.

Tata Group is an organization with a history of more than 142 years. It was founded in the era when the Britisher's ruled India. It has been led by visionary leaders in its years of existence.

Ratan Tata is it's current leader. He worked in the Tata Group of Companies for 29 long years (from 1962 to 1991) before taking over as the Chairman of the Tata Group.

Tata has been a visionary and the organization has flourished under him. Managing more than 12 leading companies is not an easy task. But Ratan Tata has made it seem simple.

He recently awed the world by producing a car that costs only 2200 USD. Tata Group has gone for strong foreign acquisitions under his guidance - right from Jaguar Land Rover to the Corus Group of England.

And he is set to retire in December 2012 at the age of 75.

For an organization who has seen a single leader, a charismatic leader for 20 long years - choosing a successor will not be simple.

Ratan Tata has a vision of transforming the group from a patriarchal concern to an institutional enterprise.

Making things difficult is that fact that in its 142 year old history, only one non-Tata person has been the chairman of the Tata Group. Another critical point is that a Parsi has always headed the Tata Group. This makes the task of choosing a person from outside Tata Group as the Chairman a bit difficult.

Same is the case with Infosys - with many people favoring someone from within the Company to be it's next Chairman.

But then India Inc has changed its face in the recent years. Investors from across the globe have put in their money counting on the success of these organizations.

And they would want the best people to succeed these icons. And take these organizations to more glorious heights.

To a higher pedestal of success - so that they can become the beacons for other corporate organizations in modern India.

And someone out there will be the successor who will lead these organizations to further pinnacles.

Minggu, 18 Oktober 2009

Finland - Broadband Internet a Legal Right

Internet - since its inception in the 1960's - has made a substantial progress in terms of penetration.

Approx 1.6 billion people across the world have access to the net. In absolute terms, this is a huge number. But in relative terms, only 24% of the world population has access to the internet.

Catch the stats here

In Finland - a country in northern Europe with a population of 5.3 million - around 96% of its people have access to the internet.

With such a good start, Finland has gone a step ahead and has made Broadband Internet a Legal Right. It is the first nation to enact such a law!!

The law mandates telecommunications companies will be obliged to provide all Finnish residents with broadband lines that can run at speeds of at least 1 megabit per second!!

Hope that broadband access to the internet becomes a reality for people across most of the countries!!