Monday, June 9, 2008

From What language to What Platform ...

From What language to What Platform ...

Nowadays as the Runtime time envs like the JVM and the CLR are becoming more and more powerful and efficent the debate of what languages is best or the decision of which language to use is becoming irrelevant in the designing systems .

All the languages have there pros and cons and are relevant to the nature of the problem we are trying to solve .
Like my personal choice would be JAVA for business logic ...Ruby/JRuby for front end and for writing test programs, Haskell or SCALA for less complex business rules which are frequently changing and where BA's can also contribute in mantaining those rules .


More to come ....

A Heck of a Weekend in Sports

A Heck of a Weekend in Sports

It was a action packed weekend in sports ....save may weekend from the extreme weather we had

Euro 2008
Sweden Vs Austria*
Germany* vs Poland
Porugal* Vs Turkey
Crotia Vs
All my bets came true ..

Next the outrageously hyped triple crown fuss ....I was damn sure that it is not going to happen this time ...as several times hyped fews years now ...

The most exiting was the Formula 1 race .....It was a action packed race with many overtaking stunts .....but most imp was as they say whats goes around comes around and it came true for Kimi ...Last race he rare ended force india car and stopped force india's historic chance to score a 4th place ....this time stupid hamilton dashed his cars to Kimis and boom both of them were out ....ha ha ha ...my curse came true ...

Celtics crushed Lakers in the frist 50 mins and then a sudden and spirited comeback from lakers

just fell short ...from 22 to 2 in 7 mins .

Couldn't as for more !!!!!!

Saturday, May 24, 2008

MicroHoo: corporate penis envy? - O'Reilly Radar

MicroHoo: corporate penis envy? - O'Reilly Radar

Spot on Post .....I agree that microsoft has lost focus and is always trying to snap other people pie .Instead MS should fix Vista and pay attention to Mac which is biting into windows share . Microsoft have to loosen their stack if they have to compete .

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Please Help Burmese People Before they Die !!!

HOW CAN YOU HELP BURMA CYCLONE VICTIMS


Cyclone Nargis in Burma has killed tens of thousands of people and left up to one million homeless .Burmese state media say 22,980 people were killed by Nargis but there are fears the figure could rise to 100,000.


If we cannot physical help ,we should atleast help the people who are doing the relief efforts .On behalf of UCF I urge you to Please Donate Now to whichever organization you are comfortable with ...Please Donate any amount ..every penny counts .....


Below is the list of websites where you can donate online !


Cyclone Nargis
Worldvision.org;
Donate $25 to help children and families devasted by flooding

Help Myanmar's Victims www.FeedTheChildren.org
Provide 70, 135, 205lbs of aid or more to cyclone victims in Burma.


Burma Disaster Relief www.FoundationBurma.org


Action Against Hunger; preparing to launch an emergency intervention of water purifying tablets, water, rehabilitation/protection of water points, essential non-food items and emergency shelters, hygiene promotion, environmental clearing/clean up, food, cash and/or vouchers

ActionAid; working in Irrawaddy, identifying the key needs of the affected population along with local partners to supply funding and emergency response

Air Serv; is preparing to be a first responder, with helicopters ready to deliver crucial supplies and relief workers

American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC); mobilizing large-scale relief effort with international partners; dispatching rescue workers; sending medical supplies; assessing longer-term development needs

American Red Cross; has pledged funds and supplies in support of Myanmar Red Cross's efforts distributing drinking water, clothing, food, plastic tarpaulins and hygiene kits

American Refugee Committee; working to distribute emergency supplies; pending approval of entry visas a rapid assessment team will be deployed to the region

AmeriCares; assembling life-saving medical and other humanitarian supplies to be shipped immediately to partners on the ground in Myanmar

Ananda Marga Universal Relief Team; sending a relief team from SE Asia to Burma

Baptist World Alliance; has pledged $50,000 to assist with emergency relief efforts and is coordinating relief efforts with Baptists around the world

Catholic Relief Services; supporting the emergency relief and response efforts of the Caritas Internationalis network

Christian Reformed World Relief Committee; is appealing for funds and planning immediate intervention that includes shelter, water, and kitchen and medical supplies

Church World Service; coordinating relief operations with a comprehensive assessment on-going

Direct Relief International; partnering in Thailand and other neighboring countries to offer assistance to medical relief efforts for people affected by the storm

Doctors Without Borders; distributing food, plastic sheeting, jerry cans and fuel for water pumps, and treating water; planning a mosquito-net distribution in the coming days to prevent malaria and and dengue fever

Global Giving; providing emergency medical care, shelter, water and food and other immediate needs

Habitat for Humanity; assembling a technical team to partner with other organizations in support of long-term shelter reconstruction efforts

International Committee of the Red Cross; distributing preliminary and essential relief items - mosquito nets, tarpaulins, water and purification tablets

International Medical Corps; securing emergency supplies including medical supplies, blankets, water purification tablets, sanitation items and hygiene kits

International Rescue Committee; deploying operations, logistics, water and sanitation experts and hopes to bring in medical staff soon for an operation that would provide clean water, sanitation services, shelter materials, other urgent supplies and health care

Latter-day Saint Charities; have a field team in-country and cooperating with other international agencies in disaster response

Lutheran World Relief; assessing the situation and planning a response on behalf of the Action by Churches Together (ACT) network

MAP International; working with partner organizations on the ground in Myanmar and other international agencies in order to assess the situation and respond

Mercy Corps; helping partners on the ground bring relief to affected families

Operation USA; responding with shelter, water purification and health care supplies after an assessment is completed by staff currently in the area

Oxfam; sending aid through partner organizations with a mixture of cash funding, technical expertise and equipment where required

Save the Children; distributing food, plastic sheeting, water purification tablets and other non food items

The Salvation Army; dispensing rice, clean water and other relief

UNICEF; providing child protection, water, sanitation, hygiene, nutrition and education

United Methodist Committee on Relief; continues to monitor the situation and expects to respond to help the people of Myanmar recover as opportunities become available

World Concern; pending a needs-assessment, expecting that to follow-up with food, water, and other basic needs

World Food Programme; distributing food in cyclone-damaged areas of Yangon

World Vision; providing assistance in the form of zinc sheets, tents, tarpaulins, and medicine





ADRA International
Myanmar Cyclone Fund
12501 Old Columbia Pike
Silver Spring, MD 20904
(800) 424-ADRA ext. 2372
http://www.adra.org
  • Action Against Hunger
    247 W. 37th St., 10th Floor
    New York, NY 10018
    (877) 777-1420
    http://support.actionagainsthunger.org/donate
  • American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
    JDC: Myanmar Cyclone Relief
    P.O. Box 530
    132 East 43rd St.
    New York, NY 10017
    (212) 687-6200
    http://www.jdc.org
  • American Jewish World Service
    45 W. 36th St., 11th Floor
    New York, NY 10016
    (800) 889-7146
    http://www.ajws.org
  • American Red Cross
    International Response Fund
    P.O. Box 37243
    Washington, DC 20013
    (800) HELP-NOW
    http://www.redcross.org
  • American Refugee Committee
    430 Oak Grove St., Suite 204
    Minneapolis, MN 55403
    (612) 872-7602}
    http://www.arcrelief.org
  • AmeriCares
    88 Hamilton Ave.
    Stamford, CT 06902
    (800) 486-4357
    http://www.americares.org
  • Ananda Marga Universal Relief Team
    6810 Tilden Lane
    Rockville, MD 20852
    (301) 984-0217
    http://www.amurt.net
  • Baptist World Aid
    Myanmar (or Burma) Relief
    405 North Washington St.
    Falls Church, VA 22046
    (703) 790-8980
    http://www.bwanet.org
  • CARE
    151 Ellis Street N.E.
    Atlanta, GA 30303
    (800) 521-2273
    http://www.care.org
  • CHF International
    8601 Georgia Ave., 800
    Silver Spring, MD 20910
    (866) 779-2CHF
    http://www.chfinternational.org
  • Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC)
    2850 Kalamazoo Ave., S.E.
    Grand Rapids, MI 49560-0600
    (800) 55-CRWRC
    http://www.crwrc.org
  • Church World Service
    28606 Phillips St., P.O. Box 968
    Elkhart, IN 46515
    (800) 297-1516
    http://www.churchworldservice.org
  • Concern Worldwide U.S.
    104 East 40th St., Suite 903
    New York, NY 10016
    (212) 557-8000
    http://www.concernusa.org
  • Direct Relief International
    27 South La Patera Lane
    Santa Barbara, CA 93117
    (805) 964-4767
    http://www.directrelief.org
  • Episcopal Relief and Development
    815 Second Ave., 7th Floor
    New York, NY 10017
    (800) 334-7626
    http://www.er-d.org
  • Food for the Hungry
    1224 East Washington St.
    Phoenix, AZ 85034
    (800) 248-6437
    http://www.fh.org
  • Habitat for Humanity International
    Cyclone Nargis
    121 Habitat St.
    Americus, GA 31709-3498
    (800) HABITAT
    http://www.habitat.org
  • International Medical Corps
    1919 Santa Monica Blvd.
    Suite 400
    Santa Monica, CA 90404
    (800) 481-4462
    http://www.imcworldwide.org
  • International Relief Teams
    Attn: Myanmar Cyclone
    4560 Alvarado Canyon Road, Suite 2G
    San Diego, CA 92120
    (619) 284-7979
    http://www.irteams.org
  • International Rescue Committee
    (Note on checks: Myanmar)
    P.O. Box 96651
    Washington, DC 20090-6651
    (877) REFUGEE
    http://www.theIRC.org
  • Latter-day Saint Charities
    50 East North Temple, 7th Floor
    Salt Lake City, UT 84150
    (800) 453-3860, ext. 23544
    http://www.lds.org
  • Lutheran World Relief
    P.O. Box 17061
    Baltimore, MD 21298-9832
    (800) 597-5972
    http://www.lwr.org
  • MAP International Donor Member Services
    Myanmar Assistance
    P.O. Box 7020
    Albert Lea, MN 56007-9931
    (800) 225-8550
    http://www.map.org
  • Mercy Corps
    Myanmar Cyclone Fund
    P.O. Box 2669
    Portland, OR 97208
    1-800-852-2100
    http://www.mercycorps.org
  • Operation USA
    Memo "Myanmar Cyclone"
    3617 Hayden Ave., Suite A
    Culver City, CA 90232
    (800) 678-7255
    http://www.opusa.org
  • Project HOPE
    255 Carter Hall Lane
    Millwood, VA 22646
    (800) 544-4673
    http://www.projecthope.org
  • Relief International
    1575 Westwood Blvd., Suite 200
    Los Angeles, CA 90024
    (310) 478-1200
    http://www.ri.org
  • Save the Children USA
    54 Wilton Road
    Westport, CT 06880
    (800) 728-3843
    http://www.savethechildren.org
  • United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR)
    3019674 Myanmar Emergency
    P.O. Box 9068
    New York, NY 10087
    (800) 554-8583
    http://www.umcor.org
  • Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
    UUSC-UUA Burma Cyclone Relief Fund
    P.O. Box 845259
    Boston, MA 02284-5259
    (800) 388-3920
    http://www.uusc.org
  • U.S. Fund for UNICEF
    125 Maiden Lane, 11th Floor
    New York, NY 10038
    (800) 4UNICEF
    http://www.unicefusa.org
  • World Concern
    19303 Fremont Ave. N.
    Seattle, WA 98133
    (800) 755-5022, ext.7706
    http://www.worldconcern.org
  • World Emergency Relief
    P.O. Box 131570
    Carlsbad, CA 92013
    (888) 484-4543
    http://www.worldemergencyrelief.org
  • World Vision
    P.O. Box 9716
    Federal Way, WA 98063
    (888) 56-CHILD
    http://www.worldvision.org
  • Tuesday, May 6, 2008

    Drag and Drop Revolution ...

    Isn't semantic web all about taking drag and drop to the next level . Currently web 2.0 is all about dragging and dropping things that know each other on the web like dragging and dropping a item in a shopping cart , dragging and dropping google maps , dragging and dropping photos in web albums , stocks in online portfolio... blah blah ...

    But there are significant limitations to current drag and drop functionality ...which is you cannot drag and drop between two unknown entities . You cannot drag and drop your bank account information onto your calendar to see your expense history or graph .....i think next wave of webapps will have this significant capabilities will really make the existing information scattered around the web relative . That will be a real powerful information presented in a highly customizable form.

    Are big enterprises exploiting Open source ?

    Are big enterprises exploiting Open source ?

    With the growing adoption of open source softwares in enterprises how much have enterprises are giving back to open source community .Open source software is a big boon for big enterprises . With its adoption the IT expenditure is coming down considerably . But I rarely hear news like big firms like Bank of America contributed some major upgrade or effort to a open source community . Are the big firms just exploiting open source community and all the efforts put by all the developers . open source communities have proven to be excellent supports systems for all the firms that used these software . I have worked in many firms but apart from the Software and Technology Firms i have never seen management encouraging contributions back to the open source communities .

    Thursday, April 3, 2008

    WHY I POD

    WHY I POD

    The "I" theory Ipod..Iphone..Itouch - Whats different in ipod ? How can a product revive an entire company ? How can a small product become a generation icon and culture .What there in IPod and not in any other MP3 player ...its just a user friendly small music playing gadget .

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    is it the "I" factor ...concept of personalization of music ?? but the sony walkman did the same
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    ability to purchase one song instead of a complete album ******
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    itunes ...no way it the worst music playing piece of crap
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Marketing ....I don't think we see as many ads of ipod and they were not ground breaking .Although i liked the ad completely made by fans .
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    timing of the launch ...during the 2001 bubble burst ..may be people wanted some thing to look forward or positive...but should be same as any other good product launched that time ....are their any

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    the hardware design of the product itself ??? but except from the wheel i dont see anything ground breaking in the design

    and infact all apple design are copied/inspired from Dieter Rams work ..

    Read this post
    http://gizmodo.com/343641/1960s-braun-products-hold-the-secrets-to-apples-future

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    the software part ...but its just another music playing with general features ...although the touchscreen is revolutionary ...
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Steve job factor.....naa I don't think people where really admired steve before ipod
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    was it a beginning of a new generation ...the true digital age ....the transition from analog to digital cultures ...
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    or the brand image of apple that did it ....but apple was in trash before ipod happened

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    or it is a due to peer to peer marketing phenomenon

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    is it the secrecy of apple about its products and updates
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    macworld ??
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Macs made Ipod or Ipod made Macs
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



    does apple produces what consumer wants or make consumer wants they produce

    I have no idea what made ipod where it is today ...these are just random thoughts that hit me ......what do ya think?

    Who says the new generation is getting isolated from the real world

    Who says the new generation is getting isolated from the real world because for internet .......I believe they may be physically getting isolated but they are no less connected to the world .More Connected to the real world means that they know more of what going around the world and around them . Consider the life in past without internet and email ...people used to stay in touch with letters and phone calls and how often may be once a month may be never ....now with the internet and web 2.0 websites like twitter ,myspace blah blah .coms you are in touch with all of your friends each and every day ...and with twitter like applications you can know what exactly your friend is doing every moment .

    Best things that you can discover your very very old friends that you lost track of and you had no idea where they were and what they were doing ...isn't that great ...i have meet friends from my school days whom i never thought will meet again in my life .

    Nowadays people are more inform about the whats going on in the world due to internet news feeds rather relying on TV news which is very biased and where britney spears latest screw up is more importantly then ..whats happening in dafur and zimbabwe .More importantly TV news are only one way communication which is very passive wherein on internet news websites are two way communications channels where you can express your views freely about any topics by posting comments for the news ..

    Friday, March 28, 2008

    Jim Cramer's Bummer....

    I couldn't resist to post this ....as I am a critic of the TV's so called "financial analyst" and there senseless predictions and analysis about the financial markets .....I believe that no one can precisely predict the market


    Mr. Screamer Few Days Before Bear Stearns Collapse ..







    and after saving his ass ....a complete idiot ..hahaha









    These videos I found on youtube .

    Wednesday, March 19, 2008

    So what is semantic web anyway ??

    So what is semantic web anyway ??

    So semantic web is catching momentum with standards , formats and applications being developed around it . I was checking out the semantic web applications called twine which was launched for public recently by Radar systems which sweet funding this month from a VC . Twine is basically a semantic web data aggregator where you can create and share data in the "semantic web form" So its kind of social networking for semantic web .

    So what is semantic web anyway

    What I heard and understand in bullets ....

    • Hypertext to Hyperdata
    • Web as a Platform
    • HTML pages as a database
    • Web as a Database
    • Unknown websites talking to each other
    • data with metadata
    • Drag and Drop to next level . Drag anything and Drop on anything

    Sounds exciting but whats its implementations will it be able to use the existing unsemantic data that is already present in the web even at this early stage there are too many formats that are evolving ...will there be too many different standards to follow ..


    whats my vision about semantic web .....

    • reuse of existing data ..pls dont ask me to create another profile ,calendar,to do list etc etc .
    • my calendar/organizer should be seamlessly to talk to any of my phone ,bank accounts ,blogs,email,contacts, photos etc and vice versa . so that I have one calendar to maintain.
    • I should be able to have my universal profile which talks to all the social networks out there .
    • I should be able to view my data in any form I want and arrange ,view and present as i want no restrictions .
    • I should be able to time travel :)


    So I wonder isn't yahoo pipes and google mashups kind of semantic web applications ?

    But the challenge would be to convert the existing data on the web to a be understandable by semantic web applications.

    So as per the vision the existing data should be converted to standard formats such as RDF ..thats a humongous task ...seems very difficult ...or my understanding is incorrect ...


    Challenges for Semantic Web ....
    Current Web data is unimaginably huge
    Too many formats already in existence .


    Lets see how it shapes ...........

    The Best Semantic Web Examples
    http://simile.mit.edu/


    Some Resources ..
    http://www.w3.org/DesignIssues/Semantic.html
    http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/10_semantic_apps_to_watch.php

    Friday, March 14, 2008

    Get Set Go For F1 2008 !!!!!!!

    =============================
    Get Set Go For F1 2008 !!!!!!!
    =============================

    With the most exicting F1 season ever last year we are once again ready to get set go for 2008 .Can you believe it ....it felt like a decade to me ...
    After extensive winter testing all the teams are ready with there new cars and driver line up and Australia is all set to start 08 F1 calendar tomorrow .

    Some highlights and changes for 08 .

    • Fernando Alonso has left McLaren to race for Renault
    • Heikki Kovalainen is now racing for McLaren,
    • the Spyker team is now Force India F1.
    • Traction Control has been banned .So get ready to see more wheel spin or sliding of the cars .
    • Standardized Electronic Control Unit, it will police the cars' electronics to guarantee that they do not use newly banned drivers' aids, such as traction control, engine braking and race-launch equipment.
    • There are two new street-track venues, one in Spain and the other in Singapore featuring the sport's first-ever night race.

    The Alonso Hamilton bitter nasty rivilary continues Hope this season we will not see the off track drama that we saw in 07 .

    I am sure 08 will be more exciting and intense season and will see some great real racing ahead .

    I would be backing off course Force India and Alonso this year !!!!!


    Go Force India !!!!!

    Tuesday, March 11, 2008

    Offline browsing !! ...Dont have a wifi spot in your commute !! ...Just use firefox ..Simple!! .

    I always lamented over that during my train commute i cannot access internet thats how much I am addicted to the web . Browsing on the IPHONE sucks big time over edge .

    But Yesterday after work I didn't close my Firefox browser instances and on my way back I opened my laptop in the train and was reading a PDF and just happen to tab to the browser . I saw a blog I was reading during lunch and just started reading it . When I went back in the browser I was able to get all the sites that i have visited from the history and all the blogs articles images etc . That was cool . Off course you cant submit anything or get any new pages but can browser whatever you have in your browser history. I used to create a PDF of the blogs and articles I have to read in my commute . Now I just open the stuff that I might read and just "don't close the browser" and bang I have all of them available offline . As simple as that . I know I might not the first one to figure this out ...but still its cool .

    A black day in Indian sports !!

    A black day in indian sports

    It is astonishing that with a sports like hockey ,when Indian team who were 8 time Olympic gold medalists failed to even qualify for Olympics first time in 78 years and
    nobody is concerns and media is relatively quite about it . It is very unfortunate for a country of1.5 billion not to even qualify for a sport that they invented . Country is so blinded with the freaking cricket euphoria that nobody cares . India is true a country of huge divides .One hand players are being flooded by money and on the other hand players and Olympic aspirants not even receive a basic training funding . How disturbing is that ..

    Who is to blame to ?

    • Slumpy System
    • Bureaucracy
    • People managing sports authorities and boards .
    • Common People/Spectators
    • Poor Sporting infrastructure


    Things we can do improve this condition


    • Promote other sports at school level
    • Media coverage of local sports events
    • Encourage local community sports events
    • one central board for all the sports so that money can be shared between sports
    • Tax those freaking filthy rich cricketers .
    • Add a Tax component in income tax for sports .
    • Professional Marketing for other Sports at district,state and national levels.
    • Extensive Media coverage to different leagues at all the levels .


    What you can do at personal level to help

    • Start a campaign to convince the media like the channels to cover more sports
    • Start forums,blogs,social networking about discussions
    • Start a funding campaign for your favorite sports
    • Sponsor a child good in sports for in carrier in sports.
    • .....
    • ........
    • ...........


    I just can think of these things .. Do you have any better ideas !!

    Friday, March 7, 2008

    No Iphone SDK for Linix/Windows developers ...It Sucks !!

    With all the fuzz going around IPhone SDK . When I tried to download the SDK . It always gave me "Please try again" .I thought it was due to heavy trafic on apple website . The error message is also misleading .



    Then I learnt that the SDK is only for MAC developer and you need a Leopard for using the SDK .

    * Free sign up as a Registered iPhone Developer required to download the iPhone SDK.
    Technical Requirement: Intel processor-based Mac running Mac OS X Leopard ""



    Its completely sucks .At least the should have given a support to Linux environment .

    Hmm now either i need to buy a MAC or wait for them to release one for Linux . Or I have wait for other developers to host the apps in June .

    Its Sucks big time !!!!! :(



    Vishal

    Thursday, March 6, 2008

    IPhone SDK Available for Download --Dev Center - iPhone Developer Program

    Apple Developer Connection - iPhone Dev Center - iPhone Developer Program

    Finally The Iphone SDK is available for Download on apple site
    http://developer.apple.com/iphone/program/

    http://developer.apple.com/iphone/sdk1/

    The SDK is free but the have 2 different programs for applications

    Standard Program $99
    The Standard Program is for developers who are creating free and commercial applications for iPhone and iPod touch.
    Enterprise Program $299

    The Enterprise Program is for developers who are creating proprietary, in-house applications for iPhone and iPod touch.


    When I tried to access the site it was partially loaded . I think I was the frist one to hit the website :)

    You need to have a apple id and if you odnt you can create one .

    They will send you a link in email .

    here is my link that I got in a email . I would suggest you to use your own


    Its working intermittently .

    Will explore more .


    Vishal