Nilesh's Blog

eClerx IPO

2007-11-23T23:50:00.000+05:30

eClerx, most likely the first KPO to come out with an IPO of 100 cr Rs has fixed its price band in the range of 270 to 315 Rs through a book building process. The IPO will open for subsciption on Dec 4 and close on Dec 7

Discovering Ubuntu

2007-08-09T10:07:00.001+05:30

Recently someone in the office asked, "Hey, how does one install Ubuntu?". I was like Ubuntu, nah never used it. Then later I went on to check the Ubuntu website (www.Ubuntu.com) and noticed that they have 3 other versions of the base operating system which is based on Linux namely -

Ubuntu - "Ubuntu is a community developed, Linux-based operating system that is perfect for laptops, desktops and servers. It contains all the applications you need - a web browser, presentation, document and spreadsheet software, instant messaging and much more."
Kubuntu - "Kubuntu is a user friendly operating system based on KDE, the K Desktop Environment."
Edubuntu - "The Edubuntu Linux distribution brings the spirit of Ubuntu to schools, through its customized school environment. The current version of Edubuntu is aimed at classroom use, and future versions of Edubuntu will expand to other educational usage, such as university use."
Xubuntu - "Xubuntu is a complete GNU/Linux based operating system with an Ubuntu base."

I went through the site and was really excited to use Ubuntu and wanted to find out the difference in using different Linux based operating systems. The only other linux based OS that I had used was Red Hat Linux. I was really happy to find that they are shipping CDs of the Ubuntu OS absolutely free of charge. I ordered Ubuntu 7.04, for my 64-bit machine. I was not really sure if these guys would send the CD all the way to India. But to my surprise I did get the CD after 4-5 weeks at my doorstep all the way from Netherlands.

I loaded the disk in the system and the coolest feature that I found was the Live CD. Live CD means you can run the Operating System without installing it on your hard drive. All one needs to do is load the CD in the CD ROM and it will ask you if you want to "Start" or "Install" the operating system. Select "Start" and you are logged on to the new OS. There are several advantages if you can run an OS as a Live CD. There can be situations when you will need your favorite software to perform those daily tasks. You can just carry this CD and you don't need to worry whether the PC that you will be working on has a office application, graphics application, etc. because they are al loaded in the Ubuntu CD.

Once I logged on I thought it would be really difficult to get the broadband internet working on the OS. Rest assured that my internet service provider wouldn't have any idea how to configure the internet on Ubuntu I did not even try to ask him. But it was not very difficult getting the connection up and running within 5 minutes. I just followed the detailed steps mentioned on the Ubuntu help website, where configuring different types of connections have been given.

Ubuntu is now like a new born baby on my machine who has the company of Windows. Hope they both don't fight with each other ;)

What does freedom mean to you?

2007-08-04T19:49:00.000+05:30

15th August is not too far .. Independence from British rule. Does that mean we have the freedom of speech, freedom to express, freedom to live our life the way we want it? Well my thoughts differ on this. Though our constitution does allow us to enjoy the freedom are we really free? To me freedom means -

ability to work in the field I have always desired
ability to see places which I always wanted to see
ability to pursue my dreams

But the truth is I cannot pursue each and every thing I desire. Not because of any personal limitation but to some extent I would say that there is always an X factor dominating your life. Imagine you wanted to go on a holiday 1000s of miles away, but still you will have to persuade your parents to allow you to go. You will have to convince them that you really really want to go. Imagine you do not want to get married early but still time after time you will have to reply to those questions about marriage. There are 1000 people to answer too when you are living in an Indian society. Your neighbor also would be keeping their ears open on what you are doing, let alone your parents.

So the next time you think we all are free, think twice, are you really free?

Your search for music ends here... Google as a P2P tool.

2007-06-03T16:03:00.000+05:30

Do you use P2P software’s to download music, movies, e-books etc? Do you know Google can be as effective as P2P software? Are you worried that you might download some virus onto your computer when you are downloading your favorite music from P2P like Limewire. Then read on for some cool search tricks that you can perform in Google for finding that music which suits your ear.

With Google you can find different types of file format be it MP3, MP4, AVI, WMV etc. Generally people search entering common keywords like “download englsh songs” or “ free mp3 songs”. However the search ends up in frustration with the results either being spam or asking the user to pay some amount or even register before downloading. I am going to tell you how to bypass all this.

1. Go to www.google.com
2. In the search box type the following
3. intitle:”index.of”(mp3) JLo -htm -html -asp
4. Hit Enter

So how does this work. Let’s look at the code
(“index.of) – Searches for directories/folders on the server where the file resides. It bypasses the normal web pages to find directories on the web server.

(mp3) – Specifies the file you are searching for. You can search for multiple file formats at once by seperating them using the piped symbol on the keyboard which stands for OR. (mp3 OR mp4 OR avi file) Use the symbol instead of OR.

JLo – This is the search term you would want to search. If you wanted to search for another artist you would put “Bryan Adams” however instead of that type Bryan.Adams. The period basically tells the search engine that if there are these two words in the file return the search result. So if on some site the file name is Bryan_Adams it will return the result in your search. So always instead of using spaces use period.

-htm -html -asp - This line of code tells the search engine to exclude all the WebPages having those extensions. This field is optional.

Now you might ask, will I have to enter that long string of code into the search engine. I can't remember that! There is a better way to store it in FireFox which I will include it here later on.

Uproar in Uganda

2007-04-15T11:26:00.001+05:30

"ONE TREE CUT 5 INDIANS DEAD"

This was the message by the Uganda people when an Indian company in Uganda talked about expanding its company by destructing rain forests. The Indian company has received permission to expand its operation from the govt, however it has not gone well with the general public. A 20 yr old man was killed by pelting stones. He was a resident of Ahmadabad. This reminded me of Uganda when Idi Amin ruled the country. It makes me think, is hooliganism back in Uganda?
To control the protest the Uganda polices fired tear gas towards the protesters. A protester was also shot dead in the capital of Uganda.

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER SAYING: "Don't they see that Ugandans are crying? Don't they see that Ugandans are concerned? Don't they see that Ugandans don't want their policy?That is why am wearing this banner which says 'Mehta, do you want another Amin?' We don't want Amin to come back and chase them but if need be another Amin will emerge in Uganda."

The controversy began last year when President Yoweri Museveni ordered study into whether to axe 7,000 hectares (17,000 acres) or nearly a third of Mabira Forest. Mabira -- which has been a nature reserve since 1932 -- is one of Uganda's last remaining patches of natural forest.

Indian businesses are increasingly finding it difficult to be back on track after various Indian establishments were targeted. The foreign minister however says that things are in control in Kampala.

The Big Chill in Goa

2007-04-08T19:52:00.000+05:30

It's possible that you might have heard of the festival "The Big Chill". So what's this festival all about? It is a place where traditional music, art, and relaxation come together on the shores. This is the first time when the Big Chill is being held in India (Goa) on 14Th and 15Th of April 2007. It is being held at Aswem in Goa. If you are a working professional and looking to beat the heat this might just be the Right place to get away.

In case you are having your holidays it might be a good idea to spend a week long vacation in Goa.

Given that it is not the time of the year when the whole world flocks to Goa this is one festival you would like to be there for. The Big Chill festival is held in various parts of the world like UK, Australia , Egypt, Greece... The photo shows where the stage for the big chill India fest is going to be held this weekend. You can also would like to have your body pampered at the Body&Soul during the festival. More details on the same and tickets can be found at http://www.bigchillindia.in/

The Power of Hoodoo : Part I

2007-04-07T16:34:00.000+05:30

I decided to irritate a few people by asking them "You remind me of a man". Generally people will ask you back "what man" and thats when you keep talking and they start getting irritated. Check one of the chats thats I had with a frnd..

jonty: yo
me: you remind me of a man
jonty: wassup
jonty: what man
me: the man with power
jonty: ha ha
jonty: what power
me: you do
jonty: as in
me: the power of a man
jonty: kya paka raha hai
me: the power of hoo doo
me: Who Do?
me: you remind me of hoo doo
jonty: what power you got athuority to use power
me: the powe of hoodoo
jonty: u r the meeningless
me: You have the power of hoodoo
me: i m serious
jonty: hoodoo?
me: yes Who do = hoo doo
jonty: means
jonty: i dont understand
me: the power of man hoo doo
jonty: dont't make hell of my mind
jonty: got to hell
me: u will lose the power of hoodoo in hell
me: it is only for man
me: hoodoo is the power of man
me: you dont know ?
me: You do?
jonty: what the hell

LOL. Have fun

Funny leave applications

2007-04-06T11:29:00.000+05:30

Here are a few funny Leave applications as published by Khuswant Singh in HT.

Infosys, Banglore:
"Since I have to go to my village to sell my land along with my wife, please sanction me one-week leave."

Oracle, Banglore[asking leave for his son's thread ceremony]:
" As I want to shave my son's head please leave me for 2 days."

Asking for leave for a daughter's wedding:
"As I am marrying my daughter, please grant a week's leave"

LOL

Is this the right way?

2007-04-05T01:03:00.000+05:30

Hey All !

Today, just to find out how people give matrimonial ads in newspaper I decided to check out HT Matrimony. I was going through the ads and one very common thing which I found is along with all the details about persons height, age, caste, family background etc. a numerical figure income" appeared in all the ads. I was kind off disappointed on why would people like to "select" the partner on the basis of money they earn. But may be the world works that way. Not me. Is it really important to give how much you earn when u r wanting to marry? Are they looking for a business partner or a life partner? I understand that financial stabilty is a good thing to keep your family happy but earning 1 million PA won't give someone happiness in the relationship. I dont know why so many people get married. I believe that one should not get married rather than having a bad marriage. After all is it so importnt to be with the 'right' person. Agree?

On a monday

2006-09-11T22:11:00.000+05:30

Hey!

It's a Monday morning of 9/11 when people are remembering the loved ones lost and I am thinking what I am going to wear for office. Ha ha kiddin. My dad as usual was telling me rather asking me where am I heading. He always says that earning upto 50k in Mumbai you can't even have a good life. He says that "just because you have ready made house, your dad pays all the bill, does all the shopping for household stuff and other exepenses you think you are earning enough." I must say I agree but I am getting there.

Secondly, about my friend. Yesterday (Sunday) I gave a call to one of my friend asking him for a movie. And also, there is this Bandra Fair which started. I have never been there so was really excited to go there and have some fun. Called him up in the morning and fixed the plans. He agreed and we decided to meet at 4. At 3:30 I shaved and ironed my clothes. Just before changing I called him up to ask if he has left. Duh he was having his lunch. Man I said get your ass moving. He said he would call me in some time and then we would leave. After half an hour he gave me a call and was like hey man I am tired to go. Let's go next time. I said ok thats fine and hung up.The moody was like chuck it!

Wondering what I did next? Went to bed and got up at 10 in the night. Yeah slept for like 6 hrs. Why I slept so much? Am I on drugs? No!! I work Nights :)

2005-11-28T02:25:00.000+05:30

Hey !!
I completed an year just a couple of days back. Am still on my first job where I work as a web developer. Am really happy about it because it also got me promoted :D which means more money, more work, more responsibilities, mentoring, building business, knowledge management etc etc. Its great that being in India, I am celebrating all US holidays. So I took an off on friday and enjoyed a long weekend. And I havent been doing asp.net with c# for quite some time now. I got some time to read about it and its really interesting. I also showed the site to a few people and they said it looks good. Why do I feel that it doesnt look good? I have to go back to work today and am excited about it.

But life is really complicated man. Sometimes you feel low sometimes top of da world. Some times you have mixed emotions and the other time you are just happy to be alive ! its great to know different people from different cultures, how they live life , how they influence others life and what you can learn from them to bring smile in other peoples life. e.g. When I think of the children around me while I go to college, they sit along the side road begging. Playing at signals, selling something or the other to get their bread and butter. I wonder that am so lucky to have gone to school and get a degree and stll not able to help those kids on street. Is it something I lack or has the love for humanity died in my heart?

Solar Eclipse

2005-10-04T01:20:00.000+05:30

When most of the people are returning home I am about to leave for office. It was solar eclipse today and after the eclipse gets over poor people walk on street and ask for any thing which you might not be using. I just gave them two t-shirts. Hope that will be useful to them. Its a bad thing that so many people live below the poverty line after almost 60 years of independence. On the other hand a country like China has progressed so well despite its population being higher then of ours. I read a signature of a person which said the purpose of life is not being happy but being responsible, contributing towards the betterment of society and the nation and to make your surroundings a better place to live in. So true.