Start Blogging and Continue Doing It

[This is my first post in the company blog]

Its a good thing that my company introduced blogging to its employees. It was high time that this passion of a ‘netizen‘ was recognized. I see a lot of posts coming up and the enthusiasm was just simply WOW!!!. The fact is, most of the people lose their steam after the initial boost on writing. They come over enthusiastic and over time, they just don’t find what to write, some times intimidated by the way top bloggers write and the responses that they get and simply give up on blogging. “I cant do that, look how many hits (number of visitors to a blog) that person is getting.”

“So you a first time blogger… uhh????”, whats the big deal, write dude write!!! Thats what blogging initially is about. You need to write, write and write. Let that be anything about the good looking girl you found in the bus and wondering if u had her name can check her details in TedWeb, or how you burnt your break fast any damn thing goes into that. Novice bloggers – Just keep writing. You may not find any theme to write about, just write the crap that you feel like. May be no one is going to read it. So what, write.

“So you are not new to blogging…!!!”, still keep writing. As you ‘mature’ (i hate to use this word), you will find out yourself that what you want to write about them most, what you like blogging about. May be its Mallaika Sherawat or Bipasha Basu , who cares write about them. Play with words. Frame some wacky phrases like – “Bipasha threw ambers of jealousy at young damsels”, just make sure that you girlfriend doesn’t read this and i’m not responsible at any cause.

The next thing that you should focus is – ‘Give and Take‘ principle. Go visit other’s blogs, read their articles, drop a comment or two at their blogs and posts. Trust me just by mere visiting no one is going to know that you visited their site. Build a community on the web. Join groups. There is a bangalorebloggers called as the Blog’a’loreans at Google.

Last, visit the top blogs around and read how they write and what draws the crowd to them. What is so special in their writing? Who are these people. I suggest – Digital Inspirations – Amit Agarwal, he is India’s first professional blogger, Kiruba Shankar, Silkboard, Seth Godin etc. These are some of my favorite. Silkboard esp. has an uncanny way to report on the bangalore traffic . There are some Community driven blogs too like – Mutiny.in(i write here ), Sepia Mutiny too.

“So you a pro blogger.. uhhh???”, great!!!. Keep writing and help others too. Its always fun to get people into blogging. The way i did it for my roommate.

Facebook Banned !!!

This is what happens when you talk about social-networking at a cafe …

[ news courtesy : Leader News ]

DOMPlayer and the Doom.

Creativity has no limits and the fact that people can go to any extend to infect you machine with malware, let me say comes as a total relief. After people has spend dollars securing their machine with the latest spyware remover, anti-virus, pop-up blocker and all the shit that you can get you hands on, there is no stopping a curious browser who downloads some thing and authorizes it to do some operation and ends ups in a deeper shit that he was before.

We all love torrent. The countless torrent files that you looked up on the net to download your favorite movie, would have at least made you thin, what you would have done with out those torrent sites. Its the same feeling you get when you thank George Bush for the oil that he is bringing in from Iraq and Kuwait.

So when some thought of the idea of infecting your machine with the help of torrent download and get paid $3 for doing so , has to be credited with the ingenuity of the idea. Here is the whole scenario.

You download a movie (most of the reports came up with the latest movies like Hitman, Beowuf, National Treasure : Book of Secrets) or an episode of your favorite series on TV. When you try to play it it says

“This video can only be played in DomPlayer, Visit Download.Domplayer.Com“

Like any other desperate downloader you visit their site :

Pretty neat site of a movie player, compared to VLC Player and Real Player. So you go and download the player, the Download button is right in front of you. So whats the big deal. Go ahead download the file… At this point i got suspicious and thought hey i never heard any of my friends talk about such a player, instead of installing it at the home PC (Windows XP), let me try to get an installer/player for Linux. That way its safe and its my Laptop, if anything gets screwd up i can just install all over again. Big Deal!!!

Web searches got me to couple of forums here and here. They talked about another player 3wPlayer by Wildman Productions(i have no idea who the hell they are).

In fact the real deal here is as reported from Best Security Tips is DOM Player says its clean but you call them up and pay them to activate the attack on your P. If that doesnt work they ask you to download 3wPlayer. Which is another piece of shit and load the malware to the PC free of charge.

Now that is a cool idea. You get paid to get infected like the way you paid to get protected. Over that you download movie files (AVI files) which might be renamed porno movies.

Security of an IT Company and YOU…

Security is still a big issue in India. Since there are terrorists ready to blow up anything here, we must be aware of the fact that we are vulnerable and take all means in avoiding it. Of lately when the security measures in my company was stepped up, many employees expressed dissatisfaction and where highly irritated. Sadly they dont realize the threat. They all complained that the Security at the main gates and buildings scrutinized their belongings and treated them equally like terrorists. To a mail sent by my colleague to the Security in charge, part of the reply went like this

… We (the security and the company) are not bothered about what the employee takes unauthorized from the company(hardware and documents). But more worried about the a much more grave situation… The attack at IISc Bangalore was first planned against IT companies as they (Terrorists) realize that a well planned strike at the heart of the Silicon Valley of India, will send India’s market crashing and the country will be in a chaos in no time. Sadly our company was also in their list. They were outside our gates, looking at every move and they found the security tight even for a normal employee. Thus we were spared. Else the AKs would have gone in any of the leading IT company…

A normal Techie, works from 8-to-8 and is completely oblivious to much of the things shaping up in the outside world, spare may be Bipasha’s curves or SRK’s Abs. He doesnt realize that the Bad Guys have really turned ugly and they are recruiting Graduates and Post Grads, like most IT companies, to do the dirty job (both ways its true for the Terror Organization and IT Company). I was surprised one Monday morning when i was asked to stop at the gates and the security guy checked my ID to verify its me. After 2 years, that day i entered the campus a bit happy, coz i found the Security doing their job properly.

Sadly, the fact is, the Security at majority of the IT Companies are a bit inadequate. They in most of the cases doesn’t realize the force they are up against. Everyday i see the security at all the companies on my way to office and i bet i can breach their physical security. I dont know why i do that. But i like doing it. Every time i face a security at a gate, i think of a way of beating him without raising the slightest suspicion.

Leave alone the physical security, its the Cyber age and are we prepared against an attack via the net. No!!! Network security, if you look at most of the intranets, is getting internally compromised by the employees. Simply coz a fair number of people will click the “You won a million dollars“, flashing ad on a web page. In most of the case, that will lead to a pornographic site, at times they open up the pandora’s box for the network of the company. E-mails in particular can bring a network down. A well placed attachment asking the user to open it is more than required. Remember “I love you” or you dont coz you remember it as what your lover told you.

I have had friends approach me saying “I think my damn system is affected with virus. I have the latest in anti-virus updated everyday, the latest pop-up blocker (how did that ever block a virus), a bazooka and an entire army guarding my system… but still. Damn windows … its all because of Windows.” Let me tell you there is nothing wrong with Windows (may be not entirely and probably this will be the only time i’ll be talking for Windows and Microsoft), what is wrong is YOU. Couldn’t resist visiting the site that flashed “Sexy savvy teens… going dirty…”, or couldnt resist opening the attachment that told you how to increase what ever you have or may be had. Think before what you click on or open. They are out there to make money and they will make it any way possible.

Knowing all this what can you do … if u cant make that out by your self, then how lame are you???

“How lame are you???”, the words that lead the world’s biggest Hacker Kevin Mitnik to his fall.

Muziboo – Me, Myself and My Music

Lets Get an Audience !!!

When was the last time that Bob Dylan made a difference in the way Indians shared, listened and enjoyed music? Or when was the last time that singing ‘Knockin’ on heaven’s door’ to your girlfriend, made a difference to other music lovers? Thats the story of Muziboo. The indian music sharing site.

Yes!!! I know!!! Its INDIAN … . Something by browns for browns.

I know there is Tempostand, and whats so great about Muziboo. Both host and share music, its like the north and south indian sambar! Hell No!!!.

Tempostand is for pure podcasts. Its the best music sharing site. So one can expect a kind of quality that is inherent and not my late night gags. Its the un-crowned indian professional podcasting world. Nothing against Temostand. After all it has two of my friends involved – Woke who did the design and Ujj who did the coding.

Muziboo on the other had, as their punch line says – “Get an Audience” – is more of a community driven music sharing portal. The first of its kind in India. You can make a recording with just about anything (incl. your comb .. if that records) and upload it there. No editing no mixing nothing. Its the basement music that you get. You don’t have to be a professional singer, people are there to enjoy and appreciate your effort. It could be even your version of the hit song too. May be it could be a dedication to your girlfriend. Who knows you might find one at Muziboo???

Besides, you can form your own music community, your fans join in and you create an identity for yourself. And that doesn’t even stop there, you can start your own band and post previews of your upcoming albums too. As the next level in the features, you can expect music tutorials, create a play list of your favorite songs, share the play list and even a widget for you blog/site. Now how cool is that.

Here are the Muziboo finders :

Prateek Dayal who sang Guncha koi and Knocking on heaven’s door which lead to Nithya Dayal who has sung Yellow Submarine-Beatles , Jambalaya and Time of your life

And its the combined interest of music in them that gave birth to Muziboo. (Sounds like a Bollywood movie )

2s, Jo and me are already there – Sandil Srinivasan , Joseph Thomas and Jerry

All the music junkies out here listen to this – Barry – WonderBrawl shared by Bharat Krishna

Like it???

What are you guys waiting for? Come lets play Muziboo …

An innovation that ‘Kicks Balls…’

Innovation that doesn’t serve the purpose is like and over sized underwear; You have no other go but to wear it and you know you are comfortable without it.

Thats all that i have to say about the automated kiosks that have been installed by the city authorities of bangalore. Yes! its the Silicon Valley of India, where police check traffic violations using PDAs and common people no longer burns ordinary BMTC buses, but target Volvo buses. Apparently thats how they fight globalization.

Last night i went to the kiosk near my home to pay the water bill. Well if it was long queue in front of a ‘human operated pigeon hole kiosk’, i would have reached home earlier. It took me 10 min to make it accept each of the ten 100 bills that i had. Apparently it has an aversion towards money and even if its kind enough to accept the money, it would rather prefer an old bill than a new one.

If u may argue that the human factor is avoided and automation lets it run 24hrs. Hold on, i say! Apparently the then Hutch now Vodafone, introduced the same for billing systems. People were strugling to get the money in. So guess what they did? They posted a guy at that location, 2 guys in fact one for the morning and one for the night shift. At the end of the day, they end up paying 2 guys instead of one.

The only good thing about it is that if you want to make payment by cheque or with a credit card its faster. That means if u dont have a credit card, stay in the line for hours just to pay.

The fact is true that you can pay any time of the day, 7 days a week. But they just forgot the usability factor in that. Another loose underwear!!! The technology was supposed to kick ass, but it now kicks you balls and it hurts real bad.

Damn you senseless prick…

Whats wrong with people? Well nothing. They are just as lovable as anyone else until they start driving. I still dont get it, with the vast majority of Bangaloreans being techies, who create marvels in the tech sphere, with all the brain and talent pool concentration than any where else, we surprisingly act so dumb on road.

The police is bent on even taking 10rs as bribe and wont issue a ticket. The bikes go on the foot paths, cars wont let you overtake through the right side, and buses that only go through the middle of the road with no concern for others… i’m just about had enough with the whole mess.

I’m now determined, even if i get beaten up, i will smash the next b***h or the next son of a b***h who tires to mes with me on the road. Having picked up the first fight against a car driver who wanted to take a U-turn a jammed junction.

What is the point in complaining? When a person who held one of the highest position in India along with is son, puts power in the front line than the welfare of the people, chaos is there to reign.

No wonder why they have their flag as red and yellow. Yellow to slow down development and red to arrest any growth. A f**king whore could do better. Right now i’m totally pissed with the completely impotent nature of this rich and vibrant place.

2 Years in …

2 years back – on the 7th of Nov – i still vividly remember getting and auto to go to the Wipro Campus at Sarjapur to join in as an employee of Wipro Technologies.

2 Years – 24 Months – 365+365=730days – 17520 hrs – 1051200 minutes – 63072000 sec (quite a time)

I’m still and employee. Happy? Oh its just a relative term. The juice was worth the squeeze indeed.

2 heartbreaks, endless number of new friends, getting to know the roads of Bangalore like my own backyard and 60kmpl cruise on Hosur Road everyday – yes life is not even a single bit less interesting.

What next? – Get Out!!!

Techie 106, Not Out!!!

Wondering how far the IT (Information Tech. not Income Tax ) sector in India has grown? If You felt, it left a deep impression on the Indian society, doubt not, you’re right .

Meet Rosakutty from Kerala.

No idea which tabloid/news-paper reported this, so cant back on the authenticity of the news, but its interesting enough.

Hail India !!!

The Lost Soul… and an Apt Title

For the first time i see a meaning in the title on my blog. Right now i’m on the thin red line. Bereft of all things sane, feeling like a bacchanalian, i find some thing in the title that is making sense now.

What a fix? I left my previous project, joined the current one thinking it will be good. Not that its bad, i’m now to give an 18 months commitment. That means, quitting the job and joining studies by August wont work out and i have to wait till Jan ‘09.

Of all the times i plan for something, this had to be the time when i had to forget to plan for an ‘IF NOT… THEN’.

The only relief that i see is that, after 2 years of doing what i didnt like, still giving it the best that was required and getting frustrated. I’m finally doing something that i’m gonna love.  So i’ll stick with it.

Great, next time i will not forget to subject my decisions on to an IF loop, and make sure that there is an ELSE part too.