Just another blog...

Switching to wordpress

2006-03-20T02:24:00.000-08:00

I 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.

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.

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.

Let's see how this goes forward. I hope to stay there for a while.

The new URL is http://vsankarv.wordpress.com

If you are subscribing to my blog via any readers, the feed URL is http://vsankarv.wordpress.com/feed

See you over there :)

Alarm clock with a puzzle

2006-03-03T00:16:00.000-08:00

For 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.

http://us.gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/puzzle-alarm-clock-presents-mild-challenge-wakes-you-up-157999.php

Go over the comments that follows the article. Some are really funny!!!

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 :)

Source: www.digg.com

Movie Review: Dishyum

2006-02-26T21:20:00.000-08:00

In a nutshell: Definitely worth a watch!!!

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 Kalabak Kaadhalan.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Do watch it if you get a chance. You won’t regret it.

I was pleasantly surprised...

2006-02-22T23:48:00.000-08:00

...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.

Wish the media gave similar coverage to other sports too.

How they named companies

2006-02-22T23:44:00.000-08:00

Came across an interesting post in one of the blogs that lists several companies and how they were named.

Adobe- came from name of the river Adobe Creek that ran behind the houses of
founders John Warnock and Chuck Geschke .

How they named companies

Flickr Interesting Photos

2006-02-20T08:52:00.000-08:00

I am sure most of you are aware of this... but just wanted to post it anyway.
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!!!

Check it out here

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!!!

Movie Review: Kalabak Kaadalan

2006-02-20T03:29:00.000-08:00

In a single line: This is the inverse of movie "Aasai".

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.

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.

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.

Great video

2006-02-18T09:40:00.000-08:00

Came 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 look.

Time Capsule

2006-02-18T09:17:00.000-08:00

Just came across an article in www.damninteresting.com 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.

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 time capsule.

Check it out here.

listible.com

2006-02-13T03:13:00.000-08:00

I came across this site today. www.listible.com

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.

For example, there is list of sites for "Best online calendars" that lists different sites that provide that feature.
Do check it out!!!

2005 grows longer by a second

2005-12-27T08:00:00.000-08:00

Yes. 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.
The last time a leap second was added was in 1998.
Check out more about it here and here.

Top 10 picks for great pictures

2005-12-07T02:50:00.000-08:00

Kodak 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.

This is probably how most people compose the pictures. It is pretty ordinary and somewhat boring too.

The second one is definitely much better and looks great. It just gives a different dimension to the picture.

Top 10 tips for great pictures

Firefox Tweak Guide

2005-12-04T09:24:00.000-08:00

There 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.

Check it out here

Best of what's new in 2005

2005-11-15T22:50:00.000-08:00

Popular 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.
Check out the complete list here.
Thanks to peps for forwarding the link.

How to get a perfect shave...

2005-11-11T00:24:00.000-08:00

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.

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.

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.

Check out the article at MSNBC.

Universe created by a "higher" power...

2005-11-08T20:09:00.000-08:00

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.
I just couldn't stop laughing for a while after reading this article...

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

Check out the article at MSNBC

Online Virus scanning from Microsoft

2005-11-02T04:42:00.000-08:00

Microsoft launched "Windows Live Safety Center", a FREE service where the user can scan their PC for virus using an online tool.
The user can also check for threats and also improve PC's performance and remove junk using these tools.
The service is still in beta. I hope to try it over this weekend :)

Windows Live Safety Center

Microsoft launches online applications

2005-11-02T02:45:00.000-08:00

Microsoft just announced its "Windows Live" and "Office Live" software applications.

Windows Live (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.

Office Live promises integrating office functionality to support companies establish an online presence easily.

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

A beta version of Office Live is expected to be out in early 2006.

Check out Microsoft Joins Online Era of Software

Nikon surpasses the 10 megapixel mark

2005-11-01T23:48:00.000-08:00

Nokia has unveiled a digital SLR camera (D200) aimed at professional photographers that is capable of a resolution of 10.2 megapixels.
Roughly 1800 pictures can be taken in a single charge and the we can take upto 5 pictures per second in continuous shooting mode.
The camera is going to be released in December and will retail for $1,600+. Waiting to check out the reviews!!!

Check out article at betanews
Image from betanews.

Microsoft Unveils Digital Image Suite Plus

2005-11-01T23:39:00.000-08:00

Microsoft 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.

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.

We have to wait and see whether this will be another success story for Microsoft!!!

http://www.microsoft.com/products/imaging/default.mspx

Article at betanews

New version of Mail

2005-10-26T05:41:00.000-07:00

Microsoft 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.

It provides right click options just like a traditional desktop application.

The interface also supports drag and drop features.

Thanks to Neowin for providing the images.

AMD surpasses 20% market share :)

2005-10-26T05:33:00.000-07:00

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.
AMD had a share of 20.4% and Intel had 77.5%.
I hope this upswing continues!!!

Paper like displays

2005-10-16T23:15:00.000-07:00

As a follow up to Philips' paper-like displays, Siemens came out with their version of paper like screens.

"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.

Check out more about this.

Video iPod

2005-10-13T04:21:00.000-07:00

Ending 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.
Gotta live with it. :)

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.

What's next for iPod??? Streaming movies/TV, browsing the web... the list goes on and on

Just when blogging seemed to get popular...

2005-10-13T03:38:00.000-07:00

... IIPM has filed a lawsuit against a blogger for posting some personal opinions against IIPM on the blog.
It all started here

There has been a lot of hue and cry with the manner in which IIPM has handled the issue. Kiruba made a note about it in his blog. Lazy has a post on it too. Everybody is on it.

Google Reader is here :)

2005-10-09T04:54:00.000-07:00

Google unveiled yet another tool...
Google Reader is here. I tried it out briefly. The interface is good and similar to GMail.

Somehow, I have never got myself using a syndication tool even though I read lots of blogs and other sites. I generally tend to visit the individual sites rather than using a tool. Might be because of the fact that I didn't like them very much. Maybe google reader will change me. I wish so :)

TATA Ads

2005-09-29T00:40:00.000-07:00

The latest ad from TATA for Safari DICOR (Reclaim your life) is just amazing. the ad has been nicely conceptualised and taken. The best part of the ad is the background score. It is just too great for an ad.
It's probably have to do with the ad agency that is doing the ads. They are just doing a great job. The ad of TATA Sumo Victa was also done very nicely with a nice score.

One other ad that I thought was also in the same lines was Bajaj Avenger (Feel like God). Very nice concept :)

AOE 3 has gone gold

2005-09-23T10:09:00.000-07:00

Age of Empires 3 has gone gold. Yes. It has been released to manufactuing. It will hit the shelves on October 18. I just can't wait to play the game.
I have been playing the demo for a while now and It is great.
Looking forward to playing the full version :)

Freeze Dry for Windows, Rollable Displays

2005-09-06T00:34:00.000-07:00

Microsoft unveiled Freeze Dry for Windows Vista. With this feature, the state of the OS and the applications can be maintained even after reboots. This is especially useful when patches that require a reboot get applied automatically.

Windows Vista will include a new technology known as Freeze Dry designed to maintain application states and unsaved documents even when patches are automatically applied and PCs are rebooted.

Check out article at ZDNet

On another note, Philips came out with paper-like rollable displays. Though it is in early stages of development and will take a while to come to the mainstream market, this really opens up a wide variety of gadgets and devices.

Check out http://www.polymervision.com/

Sania goes to fourth round

2005-09-02T10:23:00.000-07:00

Sania Mirza has reached the fourth round of US Open!!! That is really a great news.

She will probably play Maria Sharapova (1st seed) in the fourth round which should be pretty interesting. Though I don't expect Sania to go past Sharapova, I am sure that the match will provide her with loads of experience playing a top ranked player.

Sania, All the best!!!

Broadband speeds

2005-09-01T09:32:00.000-07:00

Just came across an article that talks about Londoners getting 24mbps (yes, 24 mbps!!!) broadband soon. I just can't imagine what will they do with so much speed... :) And the best part is it is just 20 bucks/month.
But here in India, we are still crawling with respect to so called "Broadband" speeds. The average affordable speed is 256 kbps which is nothing compared to the rest of the world.
I am just waiting for the day where we can reach high speeds without the stupid time/bandwidth limitations.

Flash Earth!!!

2005-08-24T01:09:00.000-07:00

I am sure everyone would have heard about Google Earth and MSN Virtual Earth by now.
Check out this site http://www.neave.com/lab/flash_earth/
This is flash based and is powered by Google Earth and MSN Virtual Earth. The user can choose which service to use to view the images. The site uses Flash to provide the same functionality provided by Google and MSN. Pretty neat considering the fact that this was not done by some software giant!!!

Google Talk is online

2005-08-24T00:48:00.000-07:00

Google just launched yet another product line... Google Talk is an IM application just like MSN, Yahoo etc. It also supports VOIP like Skype.
Should be pretty interesting to see how well it is received by the community.

Go AMD Go !!!

2005-07-14T01:02:00.000-07:00

Well... I am an AMD fan and couple of articles caught my eye and I was very happy :)

AMD turns a profit - yeah.. that's right. AMD turned in a profit of $11 million for this quarter. Even though it is peanuts compared to Intel, I am happy that something is better than nothing.

Dual-Core Duel: AMD Beats Intel - a review on PCWorld that compares the dual core offerings from AMD and Intel. AMD beat Intel on the benchmarks, but not sure what kind of benchmarking was done. It is not exhaustive, but just has the numbers. A review from tomshardware or anandtech would have been more credible. Anyway, just wanted to list it out here.

I just hope this momentum continues for AMD and I wish I am wrong in what I wrote in Is AMD complacent??? way back in September '04.

12 minutes to PC infection

2005-07-06T09:32:00.000-07:00

Yes. That's all it takes for your PC to get infected if it is not properly secured according to a major security company as per this article.
Almost 8000 new viruses have been detected in the first half of 2005 which is a 59 percent increase over the same span last year.
I can clearly notice that myself. Lately I have been getting a lot of inbound attacks on my PC. Thanks to Zone Alarm, my PC is still up and running. touchwood :)

12 minutes to PC infection

Sania goes down....

2005-06-22T21:29:00.000-07:00

Sania Mirza goes down but not without a fight.
She lost in the second round of Wimbledon to the 5th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova (the current US Open chanpion). She played very good tennis. She came back strongly to win the 2nd set and put in a good fight in the 3rd set too. She almost won the match!!!

Couple of my friends predicted that she will be sharing frames with Telugu stars in movies in a year's time. I just hope it DOESN'T come true :) She is a great hope for Indian tennis in singles which otherwise doesn't exist right now.

2005 US Grand Prix or was it???

2005-06-20T04:32:00.000-07:00

I am sure that everyone will agree with me. Yesterday’s US Grand Prix was @$@%@. It was total crap. Off the 10 teams, only 3 started the race.

The other teams withdrew as per recommendation from Michelin due to safety reasons. Ralf crashed during Friday practice because the Michelin tires were not holding up and were failing for some reason that could not be determined.

The so called race had just Ferrari, Jordan and Minardi (all three running Bridgestone). With only Ferrari being a big team on the track, we just cannot call it a race. Even though Ferrari and Schumi won, I really don’t want them to win races this way.

It was a huge disappointment for me and should have been the same for the millions of fans across the world especially with more than 100,000+ people spending $100+ average on tickets. It was a real pity.

Things that could have been done:

Michelin should have done a better job: Ralf crashed at the same corner last year because of tire problem and if I remember correctly, it was Michelin. I just can’t believe that Michelin didn’t do anything to fix that issue. I won’t buy into the argument that because of the change in rules this year, the tires had to last the entire race length and therefore, this hasn’t been tested yet. But even this year, Ralf crashed during the Friday practice and I think that the tires would have been fresh at least at that time. Therefore, I think Michelin messed up big time.

Ferrari could have relented a bit: There was a proposal at the last minute from all the teams to introduce a chicane just before the last corner to slow the cars down. All the teams agreed but Ferrari on account of introducing risks by changing the track just before the race. Therefore, even this proposal couldn’t get through.
Update: I am not sure whether the issue about Ferrari and the chicane is true or not. Different sites are having a different view on this issue. On second thoughts after reading a couple of articles around, even if Ferrari didn't agree on it, I really don't think it is an issue. Just because Michelin couldn't make the right tires, the teams cannot demand a change in the circuit. This is not correct. Of course, the fans were at a loss. Maybe they should all target Michelin and NOT target FIA or Ferrari.

Check out this article at www.f1racing.net

We had a detailed written confirmation from Michelin that the tires were unsafe to run unless there was a chicane put in to slow the speed into this (Turn 13) corner," said Ron Dennis, team principal for West McLaren Mercedes, during the race. "We've been trying with other teams to convince FIA to put a chicane in the circuit, and they refused."

Dennis empathized with the fans while remaining steadfast that safety concerns were the final straw in the decision not to race. "Our primary responsibility is to the safety of my drivers, and I fully understand the consequences for Formula One are severe, and certainly enjoyment for the spectators here," he said. "The teams had no alternative. We were for this to be a non-championship race; we were prepared to race later; we were prepared to do virtually anything other than to race through that corner at high speed. And that's an unacceptable risk."

I am not sure how Dennis can argue to have this race as a non-championship race... I really think he is crazy. Maybe Minardi could ask for the entire season to be scrapped since their car is not up to the mark :)

FIA could have relented a bit: Michelin flew in some other tire compounds for the race, but FIA did not allow the teams to change the tires as per rules 

On a humorous note... All the 7 teams could have driven the race length a little slowly in order to help Michelin gather some testing data so that they can improve the tires at least next year.

Updated: 6/21/2005 - 2:00 PM

Turn Win XP to media center

2005-06-16T23:21:00.000-07:00

There is a remote control from SoundGraph that enables you to control Win XP using a remote effectively turning your Win XP to a media center.

"...The solutions from SoundGraph let you control any PC or notebook with an IR remote, as long as you have a free USB port for the infrared receiver. All standard video, audio and image data can be listed and managed, and played with the included multi-media software..."

Tomshardware.com is probably one of the very best review sites that I have been following for a few years now. This product has been certified as "Must Have" which assures that the product must be really good. The external version of this product is pretty easy to install. As it says in the review, all you need is a free USB port for the receiver.

For people like me who have gigs and gigs of songs, photos, videos and movies on the PC, this product is definitely a boon. It is definitely on my wish list when I build my home theater along with a PC media server.

Check out the review at Tomshardware.com

Please enlighten me if there is a equivalent or better product or is there any other means to achieve the same functionality.

Lucas vs. Spielberg

2005-06-16T00:45:00.000-07:00

A nice long article about two of the best directors of Hollywood. Check it out.

"... Spielberg—it was revealed—had lent a helping hand to the climactic light-saber duels in Sith. "George gets stuck sometimes," said producer Rick McCallum, as if the Star Wars saga were a particularly stubborn patch of lawn. "He never asks for help, but you can feel it when he needs it. With Steven he got encouragement from a directing peer..."

On a sidenote, there is another artcle debating whether Lucas and Spielberg ruined the movies. Check that out too.

Apple's transition to Intel

2005-06-13T00:51:00.000-07:00

With Apple's transition to Intel confirmed, here is a comic that illustrates the different stages of the transition - Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression & Acceptance.

From Kiruba

Personalized Google homepage

2005-06-10T00:30:00.000-07:00

I am not sure how many people are aware of this. Google offers a personalized homepage just like MyYahoo etc. The google homepage can be customized with options to view GMail, stock quotes, weather, Google News and of course Google search.

Visit http://www.google.com/ig

Download your brain onto a computer

2005-05-24T04:33:00.000-07:00

Read this article at the inquirer. A prediction 50 years down the line that people will be able to dump their brain data onto a computer :)

Download your brain onto a computer

€ 283,000 notebook

2005-05-16T04:50:00.000-07:00

AMDBoard.com has information on a € 283,000 Tulip E-Go Diamond notebook based on AMD Turion 64 processor. The notebook comes with thousands of diamonds set with white gold plates.

There is also a version that is affordable... :) The notebook comes with Changeable decorative covers which looks very cool!!!

Check out the specs at AMDBoard - Tulip E-Go

On this day in History...

2005-05-04T02:58:00.000-07:00

I have just put in a script in my template that will link to events that happened in history on that day. You can find the links under the date in every post. I got the script from New Links .

AMD and Intel PR battle

2005-05-03T00:07:00.000-07:00

There is nice article at The Inquirer about the PR battle between AMD and Intel.

" ... AMD had their CEO playing guitar in a competent fashion, so they get 7 more. Intel had the good sense not to put their CEO up on stage attempting to play guitar, so they get 6 ... "

Intel, AMD have battle over F1 cars, Gibson guitars

Adobe buys Macromedia

2005-04-20T01:04:00.000-07:00

I just came across this news... really shocking. Macromedia was rocking with its web dev suite of apps that includes Dreamweaver, Fireworks and Flash. I was a huge fan of Dreamweaver and Fireworks. They were awesome!!! I have never used another application that was that easy to use and yet powerful.

I am stunned that they would give in to the sale (it is not a merger...) The sale has been valued at approximately $3.4 billion according to Adobe's press release. Even though Adobe was the market leader in imaging, it was not even close in competing with Macromedia in related apps.

Adobe has emerged the clear winner in the sale. With its imaging products and Macromedia's web dev suite of apps, and with no other major players in these areas, I guess Adobe has everything to rise even further.

Adobe's Press Release

Random Text(Image) generator !!!

2005-04-13T02:16:00.000-07:00

Generated using flickr API from http://metaatem.net/words

Google Maps

2005-02-09T04:25:00.000-08:00

Google has once again proved that it is capable of delivering applications that appeal to everyone. It has released a beta version of Google Maps. On the outset, it is just like Yahoo Maps and Expedia Maps. But it has lot more!!!

Draggable Maps: The map section can be clicked and dragged to reveal the adjacent portions of the map and it is instantaneous. In other sites, you have to click and wait for the page to reload. Also, the movement is analogous and NOT discrete. This is definitely a better presentation.
Keyboard shortcuts: Alternately, you can also use the arrow keys to navigate the map.
Integration with local search: Google Maps is tightly integrated with Google's local search. So for example, you can search for "Pizza in [name of a place] " and it will point to all pizza joints in the location with the address and phone number of each joint. Just click on a joint and get driving directions to/from it. Pretty cool!!!

Do check it out when you have time. You can also have a look at the tour and FAQ.

Mac Mini... Is it a Revolution???

2005-02-08T03:13:00.000-08:00

I came across an nice article at The Inquirer debating whether the introduction of Mac Mini is a revolution (some claim so...) or is it a product that will just head nowhere...
Check out
Mac Mini: Revolution or flash in the pan?

Narain to drive for Jordan F1 in 2005

2005-02-03T23:56:00.000-08:00

It's official!!! Jordan F1 confirmed that Narain Karthikeyan from India will drive for Jordan in 2005 F1 season. It is a great feeling.... to have an Indian drive in F1. With the likes of Ferrari, Mclaren and Williams around, Jordan and Narain are definitely not the favorites in the season, but I am sure that there will be millions of hearts out here in India who will be cheering for him, who has been working hard for several years to get into the circuit.

My best wishes for Narain to have a great season!!!

New Microsoft Security Tools

2005-01-16T03:20:00.000-08:00

Microsoft has introduced new tools for better securing PCs.

Microsoft AntiSpyware - A spyware detection/removal tool just like Ad-Aware and Spybot. I can definitely say that no one spyware removal tool is good enough. I have been using Ad-Aware and spybot. I will also start using Microsoft tool from now on. It is good and it did detect a couple of spyware that were not detected by Ad-Aware. It also features online updates just like the rest.

The tool is still in beta, but very stable. I have been using it for about 3-4 days and I haven't had any issues with it. You can download it directly from Microsoft AntiSpyware

Windows® Malicious Software Removal Tool - Another small tool from Microsoft that can be used to detect and remove Malicious Software like Blaster, Sasser, Mydoom and a few more. I think Microsoft has planned to release a version of the tool every month. Check it out at Malicious Software Removal Tool. The PC can be scanned either by downloading the tool (very small in size) or through an online scan.

Mac Mini

2005-01-16T03:06:00.000-08:00

Mac Mini
Originally uploaded by vsankarv.

Apple has introdued a mini version of Mac called Mac mini. It truly is a mini version. It is just 2" tall and 6.5" square.

But it still houses 1.4GHz processor, 40/80GB HDD, slot loading CD-R/DVD-ROM Drive and an ATI Radeon 9200 graphics chip. It also has all the necessary inputs including Ethernet, Modem, USB and Firewire. Pretty impressive considering the size. It also weights just 2.9 lbs.

It retails for $499, but does not include keyboard/mouse/monitor. A great deal for those mac fans who are looking for a upgrade.

Check out the Apple site

iPod shuffle

2005-01-14T18:46:00.000-08:00

iPod_20Shuffle
Originally uploaded by vsankarv.

Apple has come out with a new mp3 player called iPod shuffle. This is a USB/flash based player about the size of regular USB based flash drives.

The drive sports the signature iPod navigation wheel and comes with headphones. It has a built-in rechargable battery that charges itself when plugged onto the USB drive of your comp.

There are two versions of the drive (512MB and 1GB) and the prices start from $99. Let's wait and see if this is as successfull as the iPod.

Google helps with tsunami relief

2005-01-13T23:57:00.000-08:00

It's a great feeling to see Google having a link on its homepage related to Tsunami relief. They have also put up a separate page that lists ways to help and contribute towards the relief efforts.

Check out Tsunami Relief

Better driving tips

2005-01-08T00:14:00.000-08:00

Shiva has posted an excellent write up on tips to make you a better driver. Do check it out.

Drive better...

IT Predictions for 2005

2005-01-05T04:17:00.000-08:00

I came across a funny article at The Inquirer about IT predictions for 2005. It predicts catastrophic IT events for 2005. Don't take it seriously. Rather, its a funny take on the IT industry.

Ryan's IT predictions for 2005

Age of Empires 3...

2005-01-04T23:28:00.000-08:00

The next game in the Age series (Age of Empires 3) has just been officially announced. For those who are not aware, the Age series of games is one of the most succesfull series of RTS (Real Time Strategy) games. I am a huge fan of Age series of games and the last one Age of Mythology was truly amazing.

I have started another blog exclusive for posting information about this game. The game is scheduled to release sometime in the second half of 2005. Visit http://ageofempires3.blogspot.com for latest information about the game as they surface.

Rescue and relief operations

2004-12-25T23:41:00.000-08:00

Pic 1
Originally uploaded by vsankarv.

Several people are feared dead and missing after the tidal waves hit the coastal parts of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa.
Rescue operations were going on at Marina beach, Chennai. I saw 2 bodies recovered during the time I was there at the beach.

A really really tragic event!!! Just another reminder reaffirming Nature's power and strength over us humans.

More earthquake photos

2004-12-25T22:49:00.001-08:00

The pics speak for themselves. You can also see a boat that has been posted very close to the road.

While I was there, small waves crept into the sand. I was in the middle of a stampede when people started running away from the sea after the water started coming onto the sand. But with the wave being small, the panic soon died away.

Earthquake Experience...

2004-12-25T22:17:00.000-08:00

Today morning, Chennai experienced shocks of an earthquake centered somewhere in Indonesia. My wife woke me up saying she could feel some movements... but I first dismissed her saying she was imagining things... But just a moment later, I felt my bed literally shaking (just for a few seconds). It was a wierd experience. I went out to the balcony and look out at neighbouring flats and roads. Everything seemed to be so quiet :)

A couple of hours later, I learnt that a huge tidal wave has swept the shores on the east coast. I went to the beach to witness the aftermath. The water from the sea has come in to the roads crossing the beach (the 2nd largest in the world). I heard that the waves were about 5-6 feet in height. Just a few photos for you to see...

Search your desktop with 'Google Desktop'

2004-10-19T04:33:00.000-07:00

Google has released Google Desktop, a small application that can be used to search within the desktop. It is very fast (just like Google) and can search Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Text documents, Outlook/Outlook Express messages and IE History.

The application indexes all the documents in the desktop after installation. This process is done when the PC is not being used. Hence it won't interfere/slow down the system. Pretty cool :)

Google Desktop

GMail Tools

2004-10-12T01:12:00.000-07:00

A couple of gmail tools that I am sure everyone will want/like.

GMail Notifier – The name says it all. A small windows application that notifies when you receive an email in your gmail account. This application is directly from Google.

Check here

GMail Drive Shell Extension - An application to create a virtual filesystem around your GMail account. This will enable to use your gmail account as an online storage medium. This application is NOT from Google. I haven't had a chance to test it though, but check it out here.

An interesting article...

2004-10-12T00:57:00.000-07:00

It’s been more than a week since the last update. I was a bit busy with other stuff (as if anyone cares… just kidding)

Several things have happened over the last few days.

I came across this controversial/interesting article by John Dvorak (in PC Magazine) blaming Intel/Microsoft for anything and everything that is happening in the IT industry.

Bad News? Blame Intel and Microsoft

Java 2 Platform Standard Edition 5.0

2004-10-04T08:28:00.000-07:00

Sun has released Java 2 Platform SE 5.0 last week. I am excited as I work in Java. I do hope to check it out soon whenever I get time. Key features include:

New language updates: Metadata, Generics, Enumerated types, Autoboxing of primitive types
New JVM Monitoring and Management API
Improved out-of-box performance
New (but compatible) default Java look and feel

Java 2 SE 5.0

Java 2 SE 5.0 in a Nutshell

Is there a gbrowser on the cards?

2004-10-01T04:02:00.000-07:00

Originally uploaded by vsankarv.

Another blog from the browser front.

Is Google coming out with a browser? That's the question on everyone's mind in the tech community today. Some say "Yes". Nothing has been announced officially, but someone started the speculation a week or so back and since then, the entire web is flooding with articles/blogs regarding this. So I thought I will join the bandwagon with a blog here!!!

Google has already registered gbrowser.com Check out whois. Google has also hired some big names from the browser industry. All these have led everyone to believe that gbrowser is going to be a reality soon. I do hope so. It could be an all-in-all application, with browsing, gmail, blogging, rss reader, enhanced search features and more.

Maybe, the gbrowser (if it comes) could make me move away from Firefox :) I also wish that Microsoft begins to take things seriously and does something with IE.

Rumours surround Google browser

Firefox 1.0 PR is out

2004-09-30T09:18:00.000-07:00

Firefox 1.0 PR (Preview Release) is out !!! This is a great browser. I once thought that IE was great and would never have to move to another browser. I was WRONG. Firefox is amazing and much better than IE. I am not saying this just because of the security vulnerabilities in IE. Firefox too had a security issue couple of weeks back (this has been fixed in 1.0 PR version).

I have been using Firefox for some months now and I am really finding it very useful. The main reason is the tons and tons of features it offers. With built-in popup blocking, tabbed browsing, smarter search, live bookmarks and much more, Firefox beats IE all the way. Another cool feature is the concept of extensions (just like Macromedia suite of products). You can download free extensions from the site to extend the functionality of Firefox.

One argument is that there is no google toolbar for Firefox to google quickly. But Firefox comes with a built-in search box that can be used to search any search engine including google as well as other sites like amazon etc. More search sites can be added too.

Try it and you will definitely like it. Best of all, it is free. The download size is just around 4.5 MB.

Visit Firefox website

Is AMD Complacent???

2004-09-30T01:28:00.000-07:00

I am a fan of AMD processors... Though my first computer had a Intel 486 (I didn't know much about computers then), I moved to an AMD K6 and currently I have two comps with Athlon XP. These processors definitely beat their Intel counterparts in most of the areas. My Athlon XP coupled with nVidia’s nForce 2 chipset really rocks!!! My next computer will definitely be an Athlon 64.

It’s really great that with the 64-bit line of processors, AMD is seeing some big numbers coming their way. Though it (AMD) is a distant second in the market share next to Intel, AMD seems to have the best desktop processor in the market currently. But I am worried now…

I am not sure if it is complacency or something else. AMD has to improvise on the lead they have now and has to come out with faster and better processors. Things have been pretty quiet in the AMD Arena. AMD cannot afford to be complacent especially with a big firm like Intel chasing it with all they have got. I got this concern especially after reading an article at The Inquirer. It is a great article, but a little long (by web standards), but do check it out if you have time.

AMD setting itself up for a fall

The Opening Ceremony !!!

2004-09-29T22:42:00.000-07:00

Hello,
Though I call myself a techie(?), I haven't had a chance to mess around with "Blogs/Blogging". I do visit some blogs regularly, but never got myself together to create one myself. I hope to keep this alive!!! I will post some general stuff then and there, but the main content will be towards the technical side (computers, gadgets and more). I read a lot of articles online (some from far corners of the web). If I find something interesting, I will post a link here.

That’s it for now. Gotta get back to work :)