tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85326532024-03-06T23:56:41.819-08:00Just another blog...My own personal blog with links to tech news, general stuff and more !!!Sankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12067466974508492600noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8532653.post-1142851034147962492006-03-20T02:24:00.000-08:002006-03-20T02:37:15.273-08:00Switching to wordpressI am moving my blog onto wordpress.com (please note. it is wordpress.com and not .org). The two are from the same group. .com is free, whereas .org is not. The .org version also provides more features than the .com version and hence comes at a price.<br /><br />Wordpress.com offers some extra features as compared to blogger and categorizing the posts is one key feature that I have been looking for. I looked around for this feature in blogger, but couldn't locate it. Also, wordpress offered a nice import tool to import all my existing posts (with comments) onto wordpress. So that didn't stop me from switching over.<br /><br />One feature that I will probably miss is messing around with the template. wordpress doesn't allow tweaking around with the HTML code in the template. So I guess I have to learn to live without that.<br /><br />Let's see how this goes forward. I hope to stay there for a while.<br /><br />The new URL is <a href="http://vsankarv.wordpress.com">http://vsankarv.wordpress.com</a><br /><br />If you are subscribing to my blog via any readers, the feed URL is <a href="http://vsankarv.wordpress.com/feed" mce_href="http://vsankarv.wordpress.com/feed">http://vsankarv.wordpress.com/feed</a><br /><br />See you over there :)Sankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12067466974508492600noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8532653.post-1141374362958428632006-03-03T00:16:00.000-08:002006-03-03T02:32:51.490-08:00Alarm clock with a puzzleFor all the people out there (like me) who snoozes the alarm clock again and again before getting up, this is for you. An alarm clock that will force you to get up and solve a puzzle before it is silenced. We can still go back to bed after solving the little puzzle, but at least it will make you get out of bed :) Not sure if such a product will ever succeed. This will probably end up being just another so called gadget.<br /><br /><a href="http://us.gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/puzzle-alarm-clock-presents-mild-challenge-wakes-you-up-157999.php">http://us.gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/puzzle-alarm-clock-presents-mild-challenge-wakes-you-up-157999.php</a><br /><br />Go over the comments that follows the article. Some are really funny!!!<br /><br />Coming up: An Alarm clock that is connected to a water pipe that sprays water over the bed after which you not only have to get up, but also replace your bed :)<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Source: </span><a href="http://www.digg.com"><span style="font-size:78%;">www.digg.com</span></a>Sankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12067466974508492600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8532653.post-1141019351415776992006-02-26T21:20:00.000-08:002006-02-26T21:49:11.476-08:00Movie Review: DishyumIn a nutshell: Definitely worth a watch!!!<br /><br />The movie has been out for a while now. But I just had the chance to watch it this weekend. Wish I had watched it earlier instead of movies like Paramasivan and <a href="http://vsankarv.blogspot.com/2006/02/movie-review-kalabak-kaadalan.html">Kalabak Kaadhalan</a>.<br /><br />The movie revolves around 'Risk' Baskar (Jeeva) who is a stunt artist and Cinthya (Sandhya) an art student. Baskar is a take it easy character who is very popular in the stunt world for this daring stunts in the movies. He meets Cinthya and falls in love with her. Cinthya rejects and explains that she is just a friend. Baskar tries to be her friend, but realizes that it is something more than that and confesses his love to Cinthya. Cinthya asks him to wait to see if she also falls in love with him.<br /><br />For a change, Cinthya's parents give the go-ahead for the love marriage. While Baskar waits for Cinthya's approval, the movie takes a turn and things march towards the climax.<br /><br />The director has done a great job to give a clean entertainer. The screenplay is pretty decent and the movie does not get on your nerves at any point.<br /><br />A couple of songs are melodious and good on the ears. After a long time, the movie has a very good comedy track (not a separate comedy track) provided by Baskar's sidekick in the movie (a dwarf) and it is really refreshing after sitting though Vadivelu and Vivek for a while now. After a long time, I can literally laugh for some comedy. No double meaning jokes. Really straightforward and simple jokes. The comedy is definitely a plus for the movie.<br /><br />Do watch it if you get a chance. You won’t regret it.Sankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12067466974508492600noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8532653.post-1140681428570361332006-02-22T23:48:00.000-08:002006-02-22T23:57:08.570-08:00I was pleasantly surprised......when I saw the latest issue of "Sportstar".. The very first page of the issue carried an article on India's U-19 Cricket team and its performance in the recently concluded U-19 worldcup. It is good to see that even the U-19 team is getting some coverage in spite of India's recent sweep of the one-day series against Pakistan. <br /><br />Wish the media gave similar coverage to other sports too.Sankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12067466974508492600noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8532653.post-1140680896662264562006-02-22T23:44:00.000-08:002006-02-22T23:48:16.673-08:00How they named companiesCame across an interesting post in one of the blogs that lists several companies and how they were named.<br /><blockquote>Adobe- came from name of the river Adobe Creek that ran behind the houses of<br />founders John Warnock and Chuck Geschke .</blockquote><br /><a href="http://deliberately-different.blogspot.com/2006/02/how-they-named-companies.html">How they named companies</a>Sankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12067466974508492600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8532653.post-1140454875632691242006-02-20T08:52:00.000-08:002006-02-20T09:01:15.706-08:00Flickr Interesting PhotosI am sure most of you are aware of this... but just wanted to post it anyway.<br />There is a page at Flickr that lists the best photos uploaded over the past 7 days. Believe me, if you are like me who are very much interested in photographs, you will end up spending a few hours in the site. The photographs are just awesome!!!<br /><br />Check it out <a href="http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/">here</a><br /><br />And don't forget to hit the reload button (not the browser refresh) on top of the page to get another set of best photographs!!!Sankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12067466974508492600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8532653.post-1140436085221826722006-02-20T03:29:00.000-08:002006-02-20T08:39:32.520-08:00Movie Review: Kalabak KaadalanIn a single line: This is the inverse of movie "Aasai".<br /><br />Two people (Arya and Renuka Menon) get married and start living happily. The wife's sister (some new face… I believe) falls in love with the brother-in-law. How the bro-in-law handles the situation and what happens in the end forms the rest of the movie.<br /><br />The photography and the movie all together looks rich, but the +'s end there. The songs are all mediocre. Nothing great about the background score either. The movie could have been handled slightly better and the end could have been much better. The movie just had an abrupt ending. And the whole concept of having the entire movie in a flashback is just getting old these days.<br /><br />But one thing that I should really appreciate is that the director did not give in to the usual element of having a separate comedy track. It could have been really awkward for such a movie. And almost 60 - 70 % of the movie is just between the three characters and in a single apartment.Sankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12067466974508492600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8532653.post-1140284602591293372006-02-18T09:40:00.000-08:002006-02-18T09:43:22.603-08:00Great videoCame across this great video in Shiva's blog. The manner in which the person has played with the lights is pretty cool!!! Definitely worth a <a href="http://thirdeye4eva.blogspot.com/2006/01/thats-creativity.html">look</a>.Sankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12067466974508492600noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8532653.post-1140283304158883162006-02-18T09:17:00.000-08:002006-02-18T09:21:44.386-08:00Time CapsuleJust came across an article in <a href="www.damninteresting.com">www.damninteresting.com</a> regarding a time capsule that is maintained in University of Georgia that was setup in 1936 and is not meant to be opened until 8133 A.D. Pretty interesting.<br /><br /><blockquote>In the basement of Phoebe Hearst Hall at Oglethorpe University in Georgia, there is a stainless steel vault door which was welded shut over sixty five years ago. Behind this door lies a 20' x 10' waterproofed room containing a menagerie of once-modern artifacts and microfilm records, placed there by men and women in the years between 1937 and 1940. If their goal is realized, the contents of this vault will remain unseen and undisturbed for the next 6,107 years. This ambitious project, which began in the dawn of the Second World War, is known as the Crypt of Civilization; it represents the first concerted effort to collect and preserve a snapshot of human civilization and technology. Though the term had not yet been coined at its inception, it was the first modern <i>time capsule</i>.</blockquote><br />Check it out <a href="http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=414#more-414">here</a>.Sankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12067466974508492600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8532653.post-1139829489698840142006-02-13T03:13:00.000-08:002006-02-13T03:20:26.786-08:00listible.comI came across this site today. <a href="http://www.listible.com">www.listible.com</a><br /><br />The site lists various other sites under specific categories. Very interesting collection and definitely a good pointer to various resources on the web. We can still google and get to most of these sites, but being categorized into common lists, it is really useful and very fast.<br /><br />For example, there is list of sites for "<a href="http://www.listible.com/list/best-online-calendars">Best online calendars</a>" that lists different sites that provide that feature.<br />Do check it out!!!Sankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12067466974508492600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8532653.post-1135699680887464482005-12-27T08:00:00.000-08:002005-12-27T08:08:00.896-08:002005 grows longer by a secondYes. 2005 will be extended by one second. It is called the leap second. The leap seconds are inserted to sync the atomic clocks with the rotation of the Earth.<br />The last time a leap second was added was in 1998.<br />Check out more about it <a href="http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8476418/">here</a> and <a href="http://www.livescience.com/technology/050705_leap_second.html">here</a>.Sankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12067466974508492600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8532653.post-1133953059094271102005-12-07T02:50:00.000-08:002005-12-07T02:59:08.496-08:00Top 10 picks for great picturesKodak has top 10 picks for great pictures - "Be a picture director" is one of them... It just says to think differently when composing the pictures. Check out a sample set of pictures from the Kodak site.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.kodak.com/eknec/documents/f1/0900688a800981f1/lea_000020_en_US.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.kodak.com/eknec/documents/f1/0900688a800981f1/lea_000020_en_US.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.kodak.com/eknec/documents/f2/0900688a800981f2/lea_000021_en_US.jpg"></a>This is probably how most people compose the pictures. It is pretty ordinary and somewhat boring too.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.kodak.com/eknec/documents/f2/0900688a800981f2/lea_000021_en_US.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.kodak.com/eknec/documents/f2/0900688a800981f2/lea_000021_en_US.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />The second one is definitely much better and looks great. It just gives a different dimension to the picture.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-locale=en_US&pq-path=317">Top 10 tips for great pictures</a>Sankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12067466974508492600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8532653.post-1133717343683758862005-12-04T09:24:00.000-08:002005-12-04T09:29:03.696-08:00Firefox Tweak GuideThere is a very good tweaking guide for Firefox at TweakGuides. If you are someone like me who uses Firefox to a great extent, then this is definitely for you.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.tweakguides.com/Firefox_1.html">Check it out here</a>Sankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12067466974508492600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8532653.post-1132124326157159802005-11-15T22:50:00.000-08:002005-11-15T22:58:46.176-08:00Best of what's new in 2005Popular Science has compiled a list of the "Best of what's new in 2005". It ranges from Gadgets to Computing to Automobile technology. Things like Sony PSP, XBox 360, Airbus A380 have been selected as the grand winners.<br />Check out the complete list <a href="http://www.popsci.com/popsci/bown2005/grandawardwinners/index.html">here</a>.<br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Thanks to peps for forwarding the link. </span>Sankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12067466974508492600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8532653.post-1131697795145133422005-11-11T00:24:00.000-08:002005-11-11T00:29:55.866-08:00How to get a perfect shave...That's the title of an article that I came across in MSNBC. Was a little surprised to see that there is so much to shaving than most of us think of. Check out an excerpt below.<br /><br /><blockquote>The perfect shave has three ingredients: a good razor, a good brush, and glycerin-based shaving cream. But the biggest difference between wetshaving and the way most guys shave today is the use of a shaving brush. A good badger-hair shaving brush is the single most important ingredient in getting the perfect shave -- if you change no part of your shaving routine except to add a good shaving brush to the mix, you’ll be astounded at how much better and more enjoyable your shaves become.</blockquote><br />I never knew that a brush would be so important. In fact, I am one of those "...most guys..." referred in the section above. I have never used a brush.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6886845/">Check out the article</a> at MSNBC.Sankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12067466974508492600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8532653.post-1131509656172024112005-11-08T20:09:00.000-08:002005-11-08T20:14:16.183-08:00Universe created by a "higher" power...Well... that's what the education board at Kansas, US have accepted and approved. Apparently, the "Kansas Board of Education" just approved the new science standards in which it has been accepted that the universe being so complex can only be created by some "higher" power.... It totally stays away from the theory of evolution.<br />I just couldn't stop laughing for a while after reading this article...<br /><br /><blockquote>Risking the kind of nationwide ridicule it faced six years ago, the Kansas Board of Education approved new public-school science standards Tuesday that cast doubt on the theory of evolution</blockquote>Check out the <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9967813/">article</a> at MSNBCSankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12067466974508492600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8532653.post-1130935564929314022005-11-02T04:42:00.000-08:002005-11-02T04:46:04.930-08:00Online Virus scanning from MicrosoftMicrosoft launched "Windows Live Safety Center", a FREE service where the user can scan their PC for virus using an online tool.<br />The user can also check for threats and also improve PC's performance and remove junk using these tools.<br />The service is still in beta. I hope to try it over this weekend :)<br /><br /><a href="http://safety.live.com/Template/home.aspx?NRMODE=Published&NRORIGINALURL=%2fsite%2fen-US%2fdefault.htm&NRNODEGUID=%7bC0902729-5DC9-4154-8C03-ABA23DD4421E%7d&NRCACHEHINT=Guest">Windows Live Safety Center</a>Sankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12067466974508492600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8532653.post-1130935290399923522005-11-02T02:45:00.000-08:002005-11-02T04:41:30.440-08:00Microsoft launches online applicationsMicrosoft just announced its "Windows Live" and "Office Live" software applications.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.live.com/">Windows Live</a> (www.live.com) is more like start.com from MSN in which the user can customize the start page by choosing different modules (or gadgets) and putting it all together in a single page. This is still in beta and I am not sure how this will be integrated with Windows in the future. Currently, the gadgets in live.com can also be used in Windows Vista Sidebar. We will have to wait and see what else is coming up.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.microsoft.com/office/officelive/default.mspx">Office Live</a> promises integrating office functionality to support companies establish an online presence easily.<br /><blockquote>It will help companies establish online presences through a suite of services that will give users a Web site with 30MB of space and a domain name at no cost, as long as they agree to host Microsoft advertising on their pages</blockquote>A beta version of Office Live is expected to be out in early 2006.<br /><br />Check out <a href="http://www.betanews.com/article/Microsoft_Joins_Online_Era_of_Software/1130879338">Microsoft Joins Online Era of Software</a>Sankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12067466974508492600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8532653.post-1130921813014748282005-11-01T23:48:00.000-08:002005-11-02T01:01:47.043-08:00Nikon surpasses the 10 megapixel markNokia has unveiled a digital SLR camera (D200) aimed at professional photographers that is capable of a resolution of 10.2 megapixels.<br />Roughly 1800 pictures can be taken in a single charge and the we can take upto 5 pictures per second in continuous shooting mode.<br />The camera is going to be released in December and will retail for $1,600+. Waiting to check out the reviews!!!<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26394227@N00/58907313/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/33/58907313_99098b5ad7_m.jpg" alt="D200" height="215" width="240" /></a><br />Check out article at <a href="http://www.betanews.com/article/Nikon_D200_Passes_10Megapixel_Mark/1130863023">betanews</a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Image from betanews.</span>Sankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12067466974508492600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8532653.post-1130917620604179642005-11-01T23:39:00.000-08:002005-11-01T23:48:25.113-08:00Microsoft Unveils Digital Image Suite PlusMicrosoft unveiled its "Digital Image Suite Plus" that bundles image editing and organization features. The suite also bundles Pinnacle Studio for creating/editing movies. This is Microsoft's equivalent to Apple's iPhoto.<br /><br />But is it really the answer? This suite retails for $130 now... Google's Picasa offers the basic image editing and organization capabilities and it is free. I have been using Picasa for a while now and I find it pretty convenient and easy to use.<br /><br />We have to wait and see whether this will be another success story for Microsoft!!!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.microsoft.com/products/imaging/default.mspx">http://www.microsoft.com/products/imaging/default.mspx</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.betanews.com/article/Microsoft_Unveils_Photo_Video_Suite/1130861216">Article at betanews<br /></a>Sankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12067466974508492600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8532653.post-1130330847891709752005-10-26T05:41:00.000-07:002005-10-26T05:50:17.756-07:00New version of MailMicrosoft has been working on revamping Hotmail for quite some time now. It has been titled "Mail". The interface has been changed completely to an Microsoft Outlook style format with a list of messages on the left and a reading pane on the right. Microsoft is also planning to increase the storage to 2gigs to keep up with GMail. "Mail" is still in beta and has been released to testers now.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26394227@N00/56236096/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/24/56236096_bae7f6f14d_m.jpg" width="240" height="119" alt="mail" /></a><br /><br />It provides right click options just like a traditional desktop application.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26394227@N00/56236097/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/25/56236097_d18ff9ff43_o.jpg" alt="mail1" height="290" width="266" /></a><br /><br />The interface also supports drag and drop features.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26394227@N00/56236098/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/25/56236098_a98e18c6d8_o.jpg" alt="mail2" height="269" width="272" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Thanks to Neowin for providing the images.</span>Sankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12067466974508492600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8532653.post-1130330442876478612005-10-26T05:33:00.000-07:002005-10-26T05:40:42.930-07:00AMD surpasses 20% market share :)AMD has surpassed 20% market share for the first time since 2001. The numbers were for the third quarter of this year. Even though this is nothing compared to the share of Intel, I am just glad to hear the news.<br />AMD had a share of 20.4% and Intel had 77.5%.<br />I hope this upswing continues!!!Sankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12067466974508492600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8532653.post-1129529942059575502005-10-16T23:15:00.000-07:002005-10-16T23:19:02.063-07:00Paper like displaysAs a follow up to <a href="http://vsankarv.blogspot.com/2005/09/freeze-dry-for-windows-rollable.html">Philips' paper-like</a> displays, Siemens came out with their version of paper like screens.<br /><br /><blockquote>"The images are in color, and can broadcast anything that can be shown on a regular flat screen monitor or TV, although with a slightly lower quality. These could be short film clips or flash animations like those found on the Internet," the spokesman said.</blockquote><a href="http://news.com.com/2061-11199_3-5895420.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=news">Check out</a> more about this.Sankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12067466974508492600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8532653.post-1129203241479672612005-10-13T04:21:00.000-07:002005-10-13T04:34:01.483-07:00Video iPodEnding weeks (probably months) of speculation, Apple launched the video iPod's. Priced somewhat attractively at $299 and $399 respectively for the 30gb and 60gb version. Definitely an attractive price compared to $370 I paid for a 40gb photo iPod just 6 months back. But, that's the way it is.<br />Gotta live with it. :)<br /><br />But recently with iPod nano, there were lot of issues with the screen getting scratched easily. I hope this problem hasn't crept onto these new models.<br /><br />What's next for iPod??? Streaming movies/TV, browsing the web... the list goes on and onSankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12067466974508492600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8532653.post-1129202453016472652005-10-13T03:38:00.000-07:002005-10-13T04:20:53.050-07:00Just when blogging seemed to get popular...... IIPM has filed a lawsuit against a blogger for posting some personal opinions against IIPM on the blog.<br />It all started <a href="http://gauravsabnis.blogspot.com/2005/10/im-disconnecting-my-cable-connection.html">here</a><br /><br />There has been a lot of hue and cry with the manner in which IIPM has handled the issue. Kiruba made a <a href="http://www.kiruba.com/2005/10/im-frickin-pissed.html">note </a>about it in his blog. <a href="http://www.lazygeek.net/archives/2005/10/indian_blogger_currys_vantage_point.html">Lazy</a> has a post on it too. Everybody is on it.Sankarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12067466974508492600noreply@blogger.com0