March 31, 2006

BarCamps Heating Up Nicely!





It's an awesome feeling to see an event that you beign take shape as nicely as this. Even better is the wonderful feeling of team spirit and coordination amongst the volunteer organizers. Whoever said that the journey is more enjoyable than the destination is so bloody right.

We've got a set of excellent folks attending the event and infact the event looks like it will get sold out atleast a week in advance. More sponsors are coming in on their own wanting to support. We've got some excellent media coverage so far and more on the cards.

And its not just Chennai that's enjoying success. The Bangalore and Hyderabad sessions are already sold out with awesome sessions lined up. It's just a matter of time before the Mumbai and Pune editions begin to catch up pace.

Catch the Chennai BarCamp Wiki at http://barcamp.org/BarCampChennai

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March 29, 2006

The Wheels-Up Party Experience

PrinceRoy's two year term as Vice Consul at the US Consulate in Madras came to an end and he threw a 'Wheels-up' party on the night of his flight. 'Wheels-up' roughly is a take on the flight's take off.

There's a tradition very unique to the Consulate in Madras, something that I heard started many years back. At the send-off party, the guests are free to take anything in the house that the officer is leaving behind. It's like 'Finders Takers' and you can pocket anything you find in the house. Interesting I thought. But not having used to stuff like this, I didn't pick any. Maybe next time for sure!

Met some interesting folks. Some of them just landing in Chennai after serving consulates in other countries and some ready to fly off to even more interesting destinations, Tokyo, Rio, Taiwan et al. There were bloggers in the crowd and we stuck an immediate rapport. In the snap below (from left to right) is me, Beth, Prince and Charles.


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March 27, 2006

Microsoft Launches Annual Awards for Indian Language Blogs

"BhashaIndia presents an award that will honour Indian Language Blogs for their excellence in content, language, creativity cross 8 cateogies and 11 Languages! Winners will be chosen on the basis of the joint opinion of our panel and the online community."

This looks very close to the IndiBloggies format but a good fit for Microsoft's regional language initiative.

(Hattip : Hitesh Mehta)

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March 26, 2006

Training Head Requirement

A global player in software services wants a Training Head for its User Experience Management division. The person will report to the group?s competency head. Ten years of experience in various aspects of training. More details here. Please spread the word around. If intersted, write to jv.rajan@gmail.com

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March 24, 2006

Chennai MetroBlog



I've been curious to know how blogging can be localized for greater effect and been spending some time researching through it. When I got a chance to be part of the Chennai Metroblog, I jumped at the chance.

Also, there is the pride factor that makes you want to get your city up on the worlwide list of cities which have metroblogs.

Check it out and if you are from Chennai (not necessarily living in Chennai) and want to participate, get in touch with chandrachoodan[@]gmail.com

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March 23, 2006

Sneak Peek at Rajini's New Film Shoot

I'm not a big fan of Rajini but can't help admire the way he bounced back from his life's biggest flop (Baba) to give his life's biggest hit (Chandramukhi). His current film Shivaji is being shot at AVM studios which is less than half kilometer from my home. Not that, I get a chance to see the shooting. I'll have to make do with a few snaps that came as an email forward.





(Via Anand)

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March 22, 2006

DNA Covers BarCamps in India

Check out the nice write-up titled 'Revenge of the geeks, now showing near you' up by Jayalakshmi Menon on BarCamps. She wrote the story but the paper made a small error by giving credit to another person.

Glad to see all the BarCamps in Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore getting mentioned. Too bad Pune got left out.

The best part I like is how the organizers in all these barcamps are collaborating together and there's truly a sense of camaraderie. We are in constant touch and learning from each other's experiences.

Hyderabad and Chennai BarCamps are happening on the same date. Instead of looking at this as a loss, we turned it around as an opportunity. We are planning for live video conference session where folks from both the cities can discuss on a topic.

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TiE Seminar on Entrepreneurship



TiE Chennai is organizing an interesting session on 'Boot Strapping Strategies for Early Stage Companies'. A great session for folks wanting to tread on the entrepreneurial route.

Mr. Ashhar Farhan Founder of Phonestack Technologies will be sharing his experiences on building extraordinary startups without loads of money.

Date: 29th March
Venue: The RainTree Hotel, R.A Puram.
Fee: Rs.250 for TiE Members, Rs.500 for non-members and Rs.200 for students.
Contact :George Samson at gs@tiechennai.org

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What's With White Cars?

I was walking by a lane today and noticed a string of white ambassador cars parked at the curb. All of them were 'tourist' cars. And then a question stuck me. Why are all these 'tourist' cars white in colour? Even when its a Tata Indica or a Merc on hire, they are always white in colour. Why not other colours?

Reminds me of the white dress code that politicians across India follow.

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March 21, 2006

Google Companies These?

Was going through Google's annual shareholders' report and came across this section on subsidiaries and found some interesting names that I haven't come across earlier. Sure, I've heard of Orkut, Picassa Urchin. But these?

@Last Software Inc
Applied Semantics
dMarc Broadcasting Inc
Ignite Logic Inc
Kaltix Corporation
Liquid Acquisition Corp. 2
Neotonic Software Corporation
Upstartle, LLC
Where2 LLC
ZipDash Inc

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March 19, 2006

Someday, I Wanna Get as Crazy as this...


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March 18, 2006

Decccan Chronicle Covers BarCampChennai

Deccan Chronicle has a nice coverage of BarCampChennai. Check out page 21 of the Chennai Chronicle tabloid titled 'Conference With a Difference' authored by Nandhu Sundaram. It's an half page artice that succintly describes the tech unconference. It's the first media coverage on BarCamp and every exposure helps.

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March 17, 2006

&$@#^! these Phone Bots

I'm pissed. Just today alone, I've received five automated calls on my mobile. When I answer the call, there's a recorded voice of a lady that says 'hello' and then the call gets disconnected. Instantly, I know that I have just submitted myself to more phone spammer's list. Oh no, more of those annoying calls from credit card and home loan marketers. Grrr...

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March 15, 2006

The 'Blank Cheque' Company

Imagine this conversation between an entrepreneur and an investor.

Entrepreneur : Hi, can you invest in my company?
Investor: What does your company do?
Entrepreneur : Errr... I don't know yet.
Investor: Oh ok. No problem. Here's $150 million.

That's exactly what happend when three ex-Apple executives took their new company to IPO yesterday. The public investors pumped in $150 million even after reading the company's official filing statement saying that the founders still don't know what they will do with the new company.

Overnight, the three founders became richer by $30 million. Now, isn't that an easy way to make money?!

Read more about it.

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March 14, 2006

Vodkathon!

Some of the bloggers in Bangalore have come out with an idea of having a Vodka Blog Meet on April 1st in Bangalore. (The organizer says its NOT an april fool's joke)

There are two rules for those joining in.

1. YDYP & YPYC - You Drink You Pay and You Puke You Clean!

2. After each round, publish one blog post along with a photograph of the condition of the blogger! ( now, that's gonna be interesting!)

Interested? Get in touch with Prabhu

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March 13, 2006

Googleplex- Sneak Peak

Here are a few more photos taken by employees at Google. While you are at it, take a look at Time's photo essay as well.










(Source : http://www.junkmails.org/03082006_1.htm )

Continue seeing the entire set of photos.

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March 12, 2006

The Spirit of BarCamps

I know that hooking up with like-minded people is one of the main reasons I attend conferences. Sure, the presentations are useful, but nothing like meeting new folks and discussing ideas. And many folks have echoed the same thought.

BarCamp promotes the kind of exchange that happens at the best conferences during breaks and late into the night, plus plenty of time for fun. BarCamp is a gathering of those people, many of whom you won't have met before.

BarCamp is about passionate sharing of knowledge, camaraderie, and sheer learning of what the other guys are doing on the WEB 2.0 scene. One head is never as good as a 100 intelligent heads. If you are are into any web technologies, this is the place you want to be.

Wondering what BarCamp is? Read This. And yes, it's happening right here in Chennai. Make sure you want to be part of it. If you are, then great! Just add yourself to the page. It's a wiki. Even if you aren't attending, do help by spreading the word around to your techie friends.

Yesterday, BarCamp took place in Austin, Texas and here are some photos. It'll give you a peek into what goes into a BarCamp. (err...minus the lamborghinis !! :) And oh, don't miss some more pics by scrolling this page to a couple of posts down.



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March 11, 2006

More Hospital Visits

There's nothing worse than becoming a human vegetable. It's heart wrenching to watch an active sportsman turn limp. Opens eyes but sees through you as if you don't exist. My father-in-law has been bedridden for three straight weeks with no signs of improvements. With constant overnight vigils, practically living at the hospital and burgeoning hospital expenses, the strains on the family members are beginning to show.

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March 09, 2006

Announcing BarCamp Chennai


Ever since I heard about the original BarCamp that happened in Palo Alto and later in New York City, I've been yearning for such an event since last November. I've been thinking of putting together an unconference for quite some time. The turning point came after seeing the success of Delhi BarCamp. I decided to scratch the itch. I put together initial plans and it quickly gathered momentum. It's definitely the most exciting event I'm planning up along with some uber cool folks.

Check out this Wiki on BarCampChennai for full information.

BarCamp is an ad-hoc unconference born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. It is an intense event with discussions, demos and interaction. The two day BarCampChennai focusses on Web 2.0 and Next Generation Internet. It takes place on April 8th and 9th (Saturday and Sunday)

It's an open, welcoming, once-a-year event for geeks to camp out for a couple days with wifi and smash their brains together.

The event will be free or very close to free. But there's a catch! Every participant *MUST* participate actively. "Active participation" might mean giving a presentation, helping with a presentation, helping in organizing, blogging or podcasting the event, or whatever other creative ways to contribute people can come up with.

There is no audience. Only participants! This is unlike any conference you have been to before. It's new, it's different. Anyone with something to contribute or with the desire to learn is welcome and invited to join. Visit the Wiki, and just add in your name and your presentation title. We are actively seeking volunteers. There are lots of ways one can contribute. Just take it up and let's colloborate together.

There's already lots of interest brewing. There are participants coming in from as far as Delhi and Mumbai. If you are technology aficionado interested in Web 2.0 and the next generation of Internet, don't miss this. Join in and let'd do this together. Visit the BarCampChennai Wiki and add yourself.

Here are a few snapshots from BarCamps around the world.



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March 08, 2006

MyToday, a New Launch by Rajesh Jain's Team

The original IndiaWorld guys are at it again. After stupendous success with Samachar.com many years ago, they are again out with a real nice news aggregation system.

I visited NetCore's office in Mumbai and got to meet VeerChand, an important person in Rajesh Jain's team. I could sense a lot of action happening and amongst many new ventures in incubation, MyToday has hatched first. Nice domain name, BTW.

In the beginning, MyToday may seem like Google News but it differs slightly. Instead of concentrating on the stories, they have concentrated on the source of the stories. This way, the stories that come out are meticulously edited by the individual owners of the websites. Neat idea, I thought.

In addition to News, they also have the latest from the Indian Blogosphere. Neat.

Give it a spin.

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WiMax May Come Faster to India

This white paper on WiMax tells of the growing importance being to WiMax by TRAI, the Government and the Tech community. What's more, Intel is sponsoring the initiative in a big way. Intel has chosen India and Spain for the WiMax initiative. WiMAX (short for WorldwideInteroperability of Microwave Access) provides metropolitan area network (MAN) connectivity at speeds of up to 75 Mbps per base station, with typical reach of 2 to 10 kilometers.
(Via Wizard of Washington)

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3D Rooms

Gosh! What ideas some interior designers come up with! What looks like arbit designs comes alive when you look at it from a particular angle! Check it out.









(via Prakash)

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March 07, 2006

A Better Wiki

I've been on the lookout for a better Wiki and something that easier to use. Just as luck would have it, I stumbled upon WetPaint via Ajaxian.

WetPaint.com is a new take on the wiki site style, providing the user with some more Web 2.0 kinds of interaction with the site. The allow for the normal wiki community growth and contributions, but adding/editing information in the pages is nothing more than a click away.

Their effort is to try to make a better wiki system - it make sharing information on topics simple through the use of advanced Javascript interfaces and Ajax transfers. Editing the contents of the page is a simple, on-click action, and several foratting options are already built into the interface. Tagging the pages makes it simpler to find the right content.

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Ten Twelve reasons why YouTube is better than Google Video

I'm a big fan of YouTube. I'd like to call it the Flickr for videos. Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba have listed out the ten reasons why YouTube kicks Google Video's arse. I'm adding two more reasons.

11. I can't video Google video in India. That sucks big time. No such problem with YouTube.

12. YouTube makes it ultra-easy to embed videos onto your blogs. As for Google video, well, I can't see them, damn it.

Now, go read the ten reasons.

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March 06, 2006

Podcast User Magazine

This monthly magazine on Podcasting is a pretty neat one. If you are a podcaster or interested in being one, you'd definitely find this useful. What's more? It's free!

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March 05, 2006

Voicing Out Against Eve Teasing



Tomorrow is the Blank Noise Project Blogathon. An initiative for you to voice your thoughts against Street Harrasment and Eve Teasing through your blog.

Yesterday, I saw North Country, the Oscar nominated movie that talks about one woman's fight against harrasment at workplace and that couldn't have happened at a better time.

Check out http://blanknoiseproject.blogspot.com for more information. Join in. It's an opportunity for all of us to pitch in for the initiative.

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Climbing High!

Gautam Patil is the founding director of Silicon Valley Product Management Association Inc. But that's not what makes him unique. He aims to be the first Indian to climb the tallest mountains in each of the seven continents.

He has already created the record by climbing five of the seven summits - Denali (North America), Aconcagua (South America), Kilimanjaro (Africa), Vinson Massif (Antarctica) and Elbrus (Europe). He now plans on climbing atop the final two - Kosciusko(Oceania) in March, and Everest (Asia) by May 2006.

To support Gautam's amazing quest, the i-Summit campaign is developing partnerships with a select number of corporate sponsors and individuals for the final and most dramatic part of Gautam?s quest. If you know any company who would like to help, please let Gautam know. It's always great to support a good cause.

Gautam, a Hindu climber, along with a Jewish climber from Israel, a Palestinian Muslim, a black male Christian from Africa, and a white female Christian from the USA will unite in the name of peace and triumph as one. Together the climbers hope to send a message of solidarity to the world. They will put their cultural differences aside and focus on their commonality in order to conquer the harsh conditions of Mt. Everest. The project will be filmed and the film will be released internationally. Learn more at isummitworld.com

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March 04, 2006

Ofcourse, Girls are Perfect!




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March 03, 2006

Pakistan Blocks Blogs Before George Bush's Visit

First, a bit of disclaimer. I have nothing against Pakistan or its people. Infact, I have realised long back that they are pretty nice folks.

Ok, with that out of the way, here's a report from Neha at Global Voices Online that the Pakistan government has blocked Blogger. This means that no one in Pakistan will be able to view a blog hosted on Blogspot.

Here's a reaction from Abysmal, a Pakistani blogger.

"It has come to my attention that all ISPs in Pakistan are blocking all blogger blogsites. Previously some sites deemed inapropraite were blocked, but this is utter nonsense, why do a blanket blocking of blogger, are you so scared of people power that you feel a blogsite can be so harmful to you and your power."

As usual, there are folks who have found out an alternative way to view the blocked blogs in Pakistan!!

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March 02, 2006

The Beauty of Madras Christian College

I shot a few pictures of the picturesque MCC campus during my visit there to deliver a lecture on Social Media - Blogging, Podcasting and Videocasting tothe students from the Department of Communication.

I'm a regular on the lecture circuit at this college and always enjoyed the experience. A lot of credit should go to the Ms.Susan Sridar, the ebulient and energietic HoD of the Communications Department who gives a lot of freedom and flexibilty to her students. I have known her during her earlier stints as the head at MoP Vaishnav and Womens Christian College, where I have lectuerd too and only have good things to hear from her students.

I totally love the campus. The greenishness of the campus easily beats that of IIT Madras. Check out the video below which gives you a 360 degree view of the entrance of the campus.




For a gigantic 350 acre campus, the entrance doesn't do justice. it's way too modest.


The sun kissed trees offered a spectacular view. The campus is definitely much better looking and far more greener that last year.


The unique buildings that dot the campus.


More greenery.


I saw this awesome hall where some of the lectures and plays are held. It doesn't have windows. Instead, it's completely open on both sides. You have to see it to appreciate the beauty of it.


There was this cute 'stand' near the St.Martins hall. The college had lost power yesterday afternoon and we were supposed to hold the lecture under the trees that do the football stadium. That would have been awesome. Unfortunately, the power came up a few minutes before my lecture was support to start.

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March 01, 2006

Disgrace in the Name of Religion

Mr. Joseph Tukwa watched helplessly as six of his children were burnt into ashes in Nigeria. They made him watch his children die screaming in agony. Why? Because his name is Joseph.

Someone publishes a cartoon in the distant Denmark, and guess who pays the price? The same folks who have lived with you for years. Your fellow countrymen.

My blood boiled as I read through the father's plight. It hurts to even imagine what he must have been though.

Memories of our own disgraceful Gurarat riots flash by my mind. Wonder when we'll all learn that human lives are more important than mere religion.

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