Last Blog of 2007

Its 11:30pm in India and we are hardly 30 minutes away from 2008. When I look behind today, I can see that the year 2007 passed away so fast.

2007 was called as Year of Broadband. The number of broadband users increased massively and the world of Dial-up Internet is almost dead in Internet. Thanks to the various ISPs including BSNL, AirTel, Tata. Apart from Broadband Internet, this year also saw a good progress in following area's:

1) Broadband
2) DTH (and... coming soon the IPTV)
3) Retail shops (RelianceFresh, Staples...)

I leave this post with some blank spaces to fill in later in 2008... :-) Hoping to blog more in 2008 and create more usefull posts to all my Internet friends.

Wishing you all a Happy & Prosperous New Year 2008.

World AIDS Day - 01-Dec-2007

World AIDS Day, observed December 1 each year, is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. AIDS has killed more than 25 million people, with an estimated 38.6 million people living with HIV, making it one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history. Despite recent, improved access to antiretroviral treatment and care in many regions of the world, the AIDS epidemic claimed an estimated 3.1 million (between 2.8 and 3.6 million) lives in 2005, of which more than half a million (570,000) were children.

Wearing the red ribbon is a powerful symbol of your support for people living with HIV.

The theme for World AIDS Day 2007 and 2008 is “LEADERSHIP”. This theme will continue to be promoted with the campaigning slogan, “Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise.” To know more about the theme, click here.

The Yahoo! India Red Ribbon is a small effort to spread a message against AIDS. As a Yahoo! India user, all you need to do is type your name and message and be a part of the giant Yahoo! India Red Ribbon, which will be displayed at the Exhibition Grounds (Pragati Maidan, New Delhi) on December 1, World AIDS Day for everyone to see. Click here to visit the Yahoo! India Red Ribbon website.

AIDS Movies - Philadelphia, Phir Milenge, My Brother Nikhil - these are some of the movies that tackled the AIDS theme.
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS, or UNAIDS, is the main advocate for accelerated, comprehensive and coordinated global action on the HIV epidemic. UNAIDS' mission is to lead, strengthen and support an expanded response to HIV and AIDS that includes preventing transmission of HIV, providing care and support to those already living with the virus, reducing the vulnerability of individuals and communities to HIV and alleviating the impact of the epidemic. Five major components make up the role of UNAIDS:

• Leadership and advocacy for effective action on the epidemic


• Strategic information and technical support to guide efforts against AIDS worldwide


• Tracking, monitoring and evaluation of the epidemic and of responses to it


• Civil society engagement and the development of strategic partnerships


• Mobilization of resources to support an effective response

GMail introduces Group Chat and New Emoticons

The new Gmail Seattle team is happy to announce two additions to Gmail's built-in chat capabilities: group chat and enhanced emoticons.

To start a group chat, click "Group chat" from the "Options" menu when chatting. Enter the names of the people you want to add, and, bingo, you're in your very own chat room. All the familiar features such as chat archiving and taking the chat off the record still work as well.

These features only work with the latest version of Gmail, which we are still rolling out to IE6, international and Google Apps users.

I would like to see the same features to be provided to GTalk users too in near future.

Official Link

BSNL - 100 mbps DataOne Broadband in next 2.5 years

WOOOOOOW! Isn't that an amazing news. Yes, there is some fact in this story. The same was conveyed in Economic Times dt. 19-Nov-2007.

“BSNL is also working on a project to offer at least 100 mbps of broadband speed for all. Currently, it is about 2 mbps. This will be done in stages where in the first stage fibre lines to the nodes will be converted to fibre optics. In the second stage, the plan is to offer fibre to premises and this will allow 100 mbps. We hope to achieve this in the next two and half years.”

For complete news, please visit this link.

The question remains same:
1) Is this gonna really happen?
2) What will be the tarrif?
3) Will there be Unlimited Download plan with better speed (other than the current 256kbps)?
4) How frequently will BSNL upgrade their tariff? Its been more than 1 year, since I can see any change in the tariff. After the 2mbps plan, BSNL has still left the Unlimited Downloads plan to 256kbps. Will they atleast consider to increase the speed to 512kbps for Unlimited downloads?
5) The night time unlimited download plan (2am to 8am) still holds good for Night Watchmans. A common man can benefit night time unlimited downloads only by drinking lots of Tea during midnight!!!

Windows XP SP3 is on the way...

Just days after Microsoft Corp. delivered a release candidate preview for Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1), it has quietly issued a similar milestone for Windows XP SP3 to about 15,000 testers, the company said today.
The service pack, the last major update to the six-year-old operating system, is slated for release sometime in the first half of 2008. Microsoft has not been more specific than that six-month stretch, and today even took the time to remind everyone that the half-year window is not a lock. "We are targeting [the first half of] 2008 for the release of XP SP3 RTM [release to manufacturing], though our timing will always be based on customer feedback as a first priority," a company spokeswoman said today.

Windows XP Service Pack 3 is highly anticipated and according to testers from the Devil Mountain Software group, gives a 10% performance boost compared to computers running on Windows XP Service Pack 2. This is using the exact same computer configuration as well.
Windows XP Service Pack 3 is twice as fast as Windows Vista in the OfficeBench benchmark program. 15,000 testers have been given Windows XP SP3 Release Candiate. It will feature over 1,000 hot fixes and patches which have been put out over the past three years and at least four new features.

Windows XP debuted in October 2001 and was last updated as SP2 in August 2004.

Links - Windows Service Pack Road Map

Computer Power Supply - SMPS

On Friday midnight, my computer UPS started beeping. I woke up and noticed that there was no power supply in my home and there was a burning smell coming from the back side of my PC. I realized that I used my PC to max extent (almost running 24hrs) and the SMPS (Computer Power Supply unit) is blown. My computer dealer confirmed that the SMPS needs to be replaced.

The next question was - "whats the best SMPS to be purchased for a heavy PC user like me?". While discussing with the dealer, I learnt that they supply the local made SMPS to all the PC's which usually costs Rs.500 to 700. These are not heavy duty ones and you would need a better one for heavy usage. I was recommended the Cooler Master Extreme Power Duo 600W SMPS which costed about Rs.4000 (including all taxes). This SMPS includes the power supply for SATA Hard disk/DVD drives. Check their SMPS products here.

Antec is another company which provides hi-end SMPS and cabinets. I heard about the model SP-450 through my neighbour.

In the shop, I saw a cool cabinet (left pic) of Antec which costs Rs.8000, which is transparent from one end. You can see all the PC internal parts from one side and USB/Multimedia connectors are available on top side.

Change your operator, not your mobile number

In a major bonanza to over 37.5 million mobile customers, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) announced the introduction of “number portability” in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.

Under this system, subscribers do not have to change their mobile phone number if they shift from one operator to another. This means that if you are unhappy with your service provider but have been unable to shift to another because it would mean changing your phone number, you will now be able to switch while retaining the same number.

The facility will be available to mobile customers by the fourth quarter of 2008.

Market surveys have shown that up to 50% of all mobile users in India are unhappy with their operator, and are willing to switch to another service provider if allowed to retain their number. Number portability has so far been introduced in Australia, Korea, Japan, Canada, the US, the UK, most of Europe and Pakistan, among other countries.

Complete News Links:
- Economic Times
- Times of India 13/Nov/2007

Happy Diwali 2007

Wish you all a Happy Diwali 2007

Google Begins 'Gmail 2.0' Rollout

The new look has been made available to about 1% of all Gmail users and is being rolled out to the rest on an ongoing basis. Google on Tuesday confirmed it is giving Gmail a new look. Two prominent blogs that cover Google -- Google Blogscoped and Google Operating System -- have posted screenshots of a new Gmail interface that has been made available to a limited number of users. They're calling it "Gmail 2.0," even if Google isn't.

-Complete Article

More Links:

- Google Unofficial Blog

Gmail has a new architecture that improves the performance and the usability. Now you can use the back button in your browser and bookmark URLs from different Gmail views because the URLs change when you go to a different section. The messages are prefetched when Gmail loads so you don't have to wait too much until a message is displayed.The new contact manager has inline search, better options to delete contacts or add them to a group, the address is now structured and you can enter usernames for different IM networks. You can also export the contacts in vCard format, export the contacts from a group and print your address book so you can use it offline... More with Pics

The story of a Donkey!

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!



MORAL :
Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a steppingstone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.




Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred - Forgive.
2. Free your mind from worries - Most never happen.
3. Live simply and appreciate what you have.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less

WinAmp 5.5 - 10th Anniversary Edition

Today at 10:00 AM EST, Nullsoft and AOL released the latest version of Winamp. The timing of the 5.5 release was deliberately chosen (10/10, 10:00) to commemorate the software's tenth year as a leading media player.

Packed with new features, the latest edition of Winamp is available now. Download Winamp 5.5: The 10th Anniversary Edition and take the all new leading multimedia player for a ride.Here's a sampling of some of the great Winamp features:

• A completely redesigned interface, including Album Art


• Multiple device support, including Apple iPods


• Access and Share your Music and Videos with Winamp Remote


• Play and Playlist the Best Music on the Web with Media Monitor


• Enjoy Dynamic Song Recommendations


• Experience MP3 Surround Sound Support


• Access to Thousands of Online Radio Stations, Videos and More!


• 50 Free MP3 Music downloads compliments of eMusic's 2-week Trial


• Auto-Tagger provides automatic updates to file information


• Control Winamp from your browser with a the Winamp Toolbar

WinAmp is one of the most popular and freely available MP3 player. I have been using WinAmp since the day I started listening to MP3 music since 1999. The MP3 file format has almost replaced the existing Audio Tapes/CD's. All the home audio-video gadgets now come with MP3 support. The Winamp music player was once a simple, compact application. Now it has grown into a full-featured media player with more features, configuration options and music acquisition methods than those offered by iTunes or Windows Media Player.

Sonu Nigam's mimicry - Too Good

One of the best Sonu Nigam's mimicry, where he imitated all other singers:

Show: Johny Aaala Re on Zee TV

Happy Birthday to The Father of Nation

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (October 2, 1869 – January 30, 1948) was a major political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian independence movement. He was the pioneer of Satyagraha—the resistance of tyranny through mass civil disobedience, firmly founded upon ahimsa or total non-violence—which led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. Gandhi is commonly known in India and across the world as Mahatma Gandhi and as Bapu. In India, he is officially accorded the honour of Father of the Nation and October 2nd, his birthday, is commemorated each year as Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday. A picture of Gandhi'ji on the Indian Currency (1000 Rupees):

Gandhi's principles of life:

• Truth
• Nonviolence
• Vegetarianism
• Brahmacharya
• Simplicity Faith

I salute this leader and we all miss him.

More Info at Wiki

Google's 9th Birthday

Google turns 9th on 27-Sep-2007. Google opened its doors in September 1998. The exact date when we celebrate our birthday has moved around over the years, depending on when people feel like having cake.

Its strange that Google has not provided any official news link on its Birthday. The 9th birthday image put on Google.com also does not contain any links. Usually, the logo contains link to query for the event on web.

Links:

Google Official Web Search Help

Using GTalk as FM Radio

You can listen FM is on your GTalk now ( Teen Taal 110... only hindi songs). For this you need to follow these steps:
1) add this id in ur GTalk: service@gtalk2voip.com
2) then add: 110@radio.gtalk2voip.com

After completion of these 2 steps, make a GTalk call to 110@radio.gtalk2voip.com, then you will be directly connected to teen taal FM radio station.

Emoticon (Smiley) turns 25

Today signifies the birthdays of many celebrities, Jimmy Fallon, Joan Lunden, and Adam West to name a few, but today each of these stars will share the limelight of 19 September with :-) for its Silver Anniversary.

On this day, 25 years ago, a Carnegie Mellon Univesity computer science professor named Scott E. Fahlman posted a smiley face on an electronic message board, with the accompanying note: "I propose the following character sequence for joke markers."

Unknowingly, with a few simple keystrokes, Fahlman opened up a can of worms in the way we communicate. In 1982, when the posting was made, there was no such thing as e-mail or text messaging, now the primary forms of communication for many people.

A colon for the eyes, a hyphen for the nose and a right parenthesis for the smile; from these grinning beginnings, the emoticon has smiled its way into everyday communication.

Not just content to remain a frozen smirk, it has learned to wink ;-) and stick out its tongue :-p. Sometimes it gets sad :-( or confused :-S, and sometimes it's scared =:-0 but most of the time it's cheerful :-D.

As it grew older, it had its first kiss :-* and smoked its first cigarette :-Q and even grew its hair out &:-). It's shown its fashion sense, too, sporting sunglasses B-) and baseball caps d:-) and even the occasional bow tie :-)8. The emoticon has changed over the years; it's common to see an equal sign replace the semi-colon for the eyes, and much of the time we're too lazy to even give it a nose :).

But tonight, as it reaches the quarter century mark, it simply puts on a birthday hat <:-).

Performance Testing Guidance for Web Applications

The Microsoft Patterns & Practices has recently released a PDF on "Performance Testing Guidance for Web Applications". This guide shows you an end-to-end approach for implementing performance testing. Whether you are new to performance testing, or looking for ways to improve your current performance testing approach, you will find insights that you can tailor for your specific scenarios.

Parts of this Guide includes:

Part 1, Introduction to Performance Testing

Part II, Exemplar Performance Testing Approaches

Part III, Identify the Test Environment

Part IV, Identify Performance Acceptance Criteria

Part V, Plan and Design Tests

Part VI, Execute Tests

Part VII, Analyze Results and Report

Part VIII, Performance Testing Techniques

Download the Guide from this link.

Orkut - now in Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu!

Recently Orkut changed its User Interface and introduced Indian language support. Viewing the orkut site in Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Tamil or Telugu (or any one of our other 12 languages) is easy.

• Click the settings button under your profile photo (or click the blue settings link at the top of any page).


• On the general tab, choose your preferred display language from the drop-down menu at the top of the page.


• Click save changes.

Some of the translations are really funny... :-)


Click here for the Official News Link

ICICI Bank - Phishing Mail (BEWARE!!!)

Today, I received a live phishing mail from an anonymous ICICI Bank sender into my Yahoo Mail Box. Here's the summary of its contents:

From: ICICI BANK" customercare@icicibank.com

Subject: Alert!!! Verify Your Internet Banking Account Immediately Otherwise Your Account Get Blocked!!!

The contents of the mail had information on "Security Updates on Online users", along with the phishing URL's seperate for Individual and Corporate Account holders. These URL's are replica of the actual ICICI online website. Below, is the screenshot of the mail.

And here's the website, when I visited using Internet Explorer 6.0:

This issue was well caught by Internet Explorer 7.0 - refer the screenshot of IE7.

IE7 helps in discovering such phishing, I would like to recommend you to upgrade to IE7 immediately.

Yahoo! Photos is closing in 30 days

If you are using Yahoo! Photos service, then you better move/backup your photo collection before 20-Sep-2007, because Yahoo Photo service is closing soon. You will be given choice to move the photos to other free online services like flickr/photobucket or download them. Here's what the official website says:

http://photos.yahoo.com/

Relief for Tata Sky Customers :-)

Tata Sky customers didn't get Sun TV Channels so far. The case was being heard before the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT). Tata Sky had taken Sun TV network to TDSAT for not providing access to its popular regional channels, though these were being provided to rival DTH company Dish TV. According to the DTH guidelines, broadcasters have to make their channels available to all DTH service providers without any discrimination.

After nearly a year of litigation in the Supreme Court and Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), Direct-to-Home (DTH) operator TataSky and broadcaster Sun TV have settled their dispute on channel sharing and pricing.

Some of the major channels which will now be available on TataSky’s platform are Sun Tv, K Tv Sun Music, Sun News, Gemini, Teja, Gemini Music, Gemini News, Udaya Tv, Udaya News and Chutti TV.

Consumers (including me) are now waiting for Tata Sky to package the channel (not sure if it will be charged extra) and make them available on thier TV Sets.

60 Years of Independence to India

Wishing all the readers of my blog - A Happy Independence Day 2007.

India's Independence Day (Hindi: स्वतंत्रता दिवस) is celebrated on August 15 to commemorate its independence from British rule and its birth as a sovereign nation on that day in 1947. The day is a national holiday in India. It is celebrated all over the country through flag-hoisting ceremony and distribution of sweets. The main celebration takes place in New Delhi, where the Prime Minister raises the national flag at the Red Fort and delivers a nationally televised speech from its ramparts. In his speech, he highlights the achievements of the government during the past year, raises important issues and gives a call for further development. The prime minister also pays tribute to leaders of the freedom struggle. More on Wiki.

Nokia BL-5C battery problem

I recently read about this in Times Of India and found the same on Nokia BL-5C battery Product Advisory site. Please check this website to identify if your Nokia Phone battery is the victim of this!

After filling the necessary details, I found that my battery is affected due to this problem. :-(

As per the instructions on the same website, I filled my personal information and submitted the to Nokia Support. During these steps, I was acknowledged with the following message:

We will send you a replacement battery with instructions on how to return your old battery. To ensure proper disposal, all recipients of a replacement battery hereby agree to return the old battery in the envelope provided.

Hoping that I will get the right battery from Nokia.

Just a Note

The most selfish 1-letter word is "I", Avoid it.
The most satisfying 2-letter word "WE", Use it.
The most poisonous 3-letter word "EGO", Kill it.
The most used 4-letter word "LOVE", Value it.
The most pleasing 5-letter word "SMILE", Keep it.
The fastest spreading 6-letter word "RUMOUR", Ignore it.
The hardest working 7-letter word "SUCCESS", Achieve it.
The most enviable 8-letter word "JEALOUSY", Distance it.
The most powerful 9-letter word "KNOWLEDGE", Acquire it.T
he most essential 10-letter word "CONFIDENCE", Trust It

Success Journey!

The top ten ways to be Positive in the Workplace of Life:

There is a growing volume of research that shows’ staying positive is better for your health; you can cope better with stress. It’s better for relationships; you keep from judging people and getting the bad habit of gossiping. It takes much more energy to be negative, always worrying, thinking of the “ what if’s”, the “should’s”. Being positive, living in the present will lighten your life and the mood of others around you.

1. Attitude is everything. It is the lens that you look through to experience your reality. Take a look at your attitude. Are you negative? Do you color everything with fear or need? How will your life change if you change your attitude?
2. Treat people with kindness and respect. Everyone that you encounter should be valued, treated with courtesy. Acknowledge that they have feelings and their own perspective on life, they may be different than yours but they are also valid.
3. Avoid comparison- whether you are looking down at the people who have not mastered special strengths or up at people who may be more experienced or accomplished. Constantly comparing yourself keeps the focus on the other person instead of what you can do, want to do, and are good at doing. Look inside and improve from there.
4. Take responsibility for your work, actions, and life… Don’t pass the buck. Don’t make excuses. Take responsibility; acknowledge a mistake fix it and learn from it. Don’t beat yourself up about the mistake, or hang onto past mistakes. Resolve them, own them and move forward. Today.
5. That doesn’t work for me. Keep this in mind when someone offers a put down. When they cross your boundaries. Your worth comes from you; your being, your true self. They cannot change your intrinsic value unless you let them. Make it clear that what they are doing doesn’t work for you, keep your boundaries and move forward.
6. Respect other people’s time and boundaries. If you are having a bad day, feeling stuck, or you are just enjoying procrastinating. Make sure you don’t use that as an excuse to waste other people’s time or cross their boundaries. Time is the most valuable thing we have. If you feel like wasting your time that’s your decision but don’t waste other people’s time.
7. Make a “what I have accomplished list”. Too often people make huge to-do lists and then beat themselves up when they have only accomplished a few things on the list. Keep your master list of what you want to accomplish so you don’t forget things that are important to you, but keep a second list you update daily. Each day keep a specific list of all the things you did and how much time you spent on each thing. You’ll know where the day went, can feel good about what you did accomplish and see where you need to focus, to get what’s most important to you, done.
8. Take notice of the people around you; co-workers, customers, clients, vendors, and other people you come in contact with each day. Acknowledge what they are contributing and don’t take them for granted. Thank them for buying from you, for their help, their value to the relationship, and for a job well done.
9. Enjoy the little things that happen in your day. The compliment someone gave you on the insight you shared at the staff meeting. The big smile the customer gave you when they picked up their order. By recognizing your accomplishments even if they seem small or routine, you are acknowledging a job well done.
10. Coming from a positive attitude and perspective you will feel more in control. Consider each job and interaction as your best performance, rather than just running them together as part of your day. You will see the impact you have and the value you offer. People will be attracted to this. They will notice how well you do things and they will truly value you.

Success is a journey...not a destination !!! Success to you !!!

Microsoft 2008 Products are here...

February 2008 is shaping up to be Microsoft's largest launch month - ever - with RTMs of Visual Studio 2008, Windows Server 2008, and SQL Server 2008 all on tap.

Windows Server 2008 will make another history by producing Windows Server 2008, which will be the "Last 32-Bit Operating System". The Windows Server 2008 Beta 3 is already with a huge Tester's community. A similar change (16-bit to 32-bit OS) took place earlier when Microsoft released Windows 95 and slowly phased-out its 16-bit Windows 3.x.

This may be a big threat to Consumers (like me) who are already using Win XP/2003 64 bit and finding it difficult to get a 64-bit Windows Certified Drivers and Applications.

Related Links:

Bill Laing (General Manager - Windows Server Division) on What’s to Come for Windows Server 2008

Visual Studio 2008 (formerly known as Visual Studio code name "Orcas") delivers on Microsoft's vision of enabling developers and development teams to rapidly create connected applications with compelling user experiences for Windows Vista, the 2007 Microsoft Office system, mobile devices and the Web. Visit Visual Studio 2008 Home Page.

SQL Server 2008, the next release of Microsoft SQL Server, provides a comprehensive data platform that is more secure, reliable, manageable and scalable for your mission critical applications, while enabling developers to create new applications that can store and consume any type of data on any device, and enabling all your users to make informed decisions with relevant insights. Visit SQL 2008 Home Page.

Blackle - Black Google saves energy

How is Blackle saving energy?

Blackle saves energy because the screen is predominantly black. "Image displayed is primarily a function of the user's color settings and desktop graphics, as well as the color and size of open application windows; a given monitor requires more power to display a white (or light) screen than a black (or dark) screen.

In January 2007 a blog post titled Black Google Would Save 750 Megawatt-hours a Year proposed the theory that a black version of the Google search engine would save a fair bit of energy due to the popularity of the search engine. Since then there has been skepticism about the significance of the energy savings that can be achieved and the cost in terms of readability of black web pages.

We believe that there is value in the concept because even if the energy savings are small, they all add up. Secondly we feel that seeing Blackle every time we load our web browser reminds us that we need to keep taking small steps to save energy.

Office Website: http://www.blackle.com/

More Details: http://www.blackle.com/about/

Hi Honey!

Last weekend, we had sweet time in our Apartment, because of Honey Bee-Hive. Once a year I find the Honey Bee constructing their nest in my apartment area. Usually they like the 3rd floor very much. They love the balcony area of some of the flats in 3rd floor. This time, we had tough time finding a person who can remove the hive. Finally we got hold of the person through a chain of contacts.

My aim was to shoot (smile pls) the Queen Bee, but I could not do so. The Queen Bee was captured in a container and it could not be opened due to security reasons :) Somehow, I managed to get these snaps for my post. Due to huge size, I have uploaded them here. I am posting the details of the person who is professional in removing the Honey and cleaning up the hive.

Name: Ashok (stays near Bannergatta)

Contact: 92427-71877

Yahoo Mailbox size goes Unlimited!

Yipppieeeee! for those users who are fan of Yahoo Mail! Once upon a time, Yahoo was my primary mailbox. These days, I am using GMail more than Yahoo.

Yahoo has made a tempting offer for me to go back to my old primary mailbox. Although Yahoo launched this a month ago, I noticed this today in my mailbox. The RHS mail box usage showed the above animated GIF.

Now, AOL is the next in this initiative. They also started offering unlimited disk space.

A very good comparision chart of all Free Web Based Mail Providers can be found here.

Bangalore Midnight Marathon - 'First of its kind'

What a wonderfull idea! The world's first Midnight Marathon will be held in Bangalore this year. This event will take place near WhiteField/ITPL area on Saturday 19-May-2007 Midnight. The event is expected to end on early hours of Sunday :) So get ready to leave out your sleep on this weekend.

Office Website of this Event for complete info/registeration details: http://www.coindia.com/

Spidy 3 releases Today

Finally, one of my most awaited Spiderman 3 movie releasing today in India and some other countries.

His Quality Policy remains same - "With great power comes great responsibility" :) But, this our Hero, Peter Parker, gets 3 new villains - New Goblin, Sandman and Venom.

This movie is already released in some parts of world a month back (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0413300/releaseinfo). Hoping to get Movie Tickets to watch this movie soon.

Windows Live Hotmail Launched

Recently Hotmail launched its New Windows Live Hotmail Interface to everyone. The same was being offerred to limited users for Beta testing.

When I logged into Hotmail, I was suprised to receive the above "Thanks" mail.

Unbelievable Internet Speed Record

A group of researchers led by the University of Tokyo has broken Internet speed records - twice in two days.
Operators of the high-speed Internet2 network announced Tuesday that the researchers on Dec. 30 sent data at 7.67 gigabits per second, using standard communications protocols. The next day, using modified protocols, the team broke the record again by sending data over the same 20,000-mile path at 9.08 Gbps.
That likely represents the current network's final record because rules require a 10 percent improvement for recognition, a percentage that would bring the next record right at the Internet2's current theoretical limit of 10 Gbps.
However, the Internet2 consortium is planning to build a new network with a capacity of 100 Gbps. With the 10-fold increase, a high-quality version of the movie "The Matrix" could be sent in a few seconds rather than half a minute over the current Internet2 and two days over a typical home broadband line.
Researchers used the newer Internet addressing system, called IPv6, to break the records in December. Data started in Tokyo and went to Chicago, Amsterdam and Seattle before returning to Tokyo. The previous high of 6.96 Gbps was set in November 2005.
Speed records under the older addressing system, IPv4, are in a separate category and stand at 8.8 Gbps, set in February 2006.
The Internet2 is run by a consortium of more than 200 U.S. university. It is currently working to merge with another ultrahigh-speed, next-generation network, National LambdaRail.
The announcement of the new record was made at the Internet2 consortium's spring meeting, which ends Wednesday in Arlington, Va.

Source: MyWay.com

Speedup your Windows XP computer in Minutes!

Found this wonderfull article which contains the tips to speed up the Windows XP computer without upgrading your hardware. To summarize, the following are the points discussed in this site:

1. Disable extra startup programs
2. Disable Extra Services
3. Adjust Display Settings
4. Remove Widgets and Background
5. Folder Browsing
6. Indexing Service
7. Size of Page File
8. Enable Direct Memory Access (DMA)

For complete details, please visit: Mobile-Pedia.com

GMail Error Code 008 while attaching files (Solved for me)

From past few days, whenever I used to attach images in GMail (using http://gmail.google.com/) and click on "Send" button, I used to get Error Code 008. Here's the screenshot of this error:

This error is popping up on my Windows XP 64 bit OS with IE 7 Browser. I even tried with FireFox 1.5.0.11, which takes very long time (almost in Hanging state) to attach a file of size 400kb.

There is a Help provided by GMail Help Center to resolve this error at this location. The solution which helped me to resolve this error is to use the GMail Secured URL - https://gmail.google.com/.

The HTTPS method helped me to solve my problem and hope the same helps others.

LPG Gas Cylinder's Expiry Date

Do you know that the LPG cylinder's have expiry date? Here is how we can check the expiry of LPG cylinders:

On one of three side stems of the cylinder, the expiry date is coded alpha-numerically as follows:

A/B/C/D and two digit number.

Example: C06

The alphabets stand for quarters -
A for March (First Quarter),
B for June (Second Quarter),
C for September (Third Quarter),
D for December (Fourth Quarter).
The digits stand for the year till it is valid.

In the above example, C06 would mean September Quarter of 2006.

Puzzles on my SMS :-)

Its been while, since I did some New Posts in my blog. I have a very simple excuse to the whole world - "I was busy" :)

In this post, I will post some of the interesting Puzzles that I received as SMS. These are really a great timepass and learning... Here, the list goes...

1) I am a 10 letter word. My 1234 has 'power to rule'. You eat my 5678. My 89&10 means 'of a lady'. I can fly. What am I?

2)I am a word of 5 letters, people eat me. If you remove my 1st letter, I will be form of energy. If you remove my 1st 2 letters I will be needed for living. If u remove my 1st 3 letters I will be near u. If u remove my 1st 4 letters I will be a drink 4 u... Who am I?

3) I am 7 letters long - 1234567. My 123 is a vehicle. My 2345 was a pop group. My 456 is a piece of luggage. My 567 changes every year. What am I?

4) It's a 9 letter word. 123456789. If it fails u will die. If u have 234, u can 1234. 56 is a type of disease. 89 indicates exact location & time. Whats the answer?

5)I will give you 5 zeroes 0,0,0,0,0 Use any mathematical operation but the answer should be equal to 120. Whats the answer?

6) I am a 5 letter word. If my 1st letter is removed I am a country. If my 1st 2 letters r removed, I am the opposite of 5 letter word. Who am I?

7) I am a 7 letter word. It is above God, it is impossible to God. If you eat this, you will die. Who am I?

Thanks to the SMS Senders :)

Gmail doesn't recognize dots (.)

Do you know that in GMail, the First.Last@gmail.com and FirstLast@gmail.com both are same?

Yes, thats true. Gmail doesn't recognize dots (.) as characters within a username. This way, you can add and remove dots to your username for desired address variations. messages sent to your.username@gmail.com and y.o.u.r.u.s.e.r.n.a.m.e@gmail.com are delivered to the same inbox, since the characters in the username are the same.

Keep in mind that hyphens (-) and underscores (_) can't be used in a Gmail address. Also, usernames are case insensitive, so it doesn't matter if you enter upper case or lower case letters.

I came to know about the above recently when I saw some mails in my Spam Folder, which didn't had the dot (.) in my eMail address.

This is what Google has to say about it.

BMTC Volvo introduces SMS service

Technology has come right down to the streets with the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) introducing SMS alert service on the exact location of its buses.

The service, appropriately called "Yelli Iddira," entails a message "Where are you," eliciting the answer in the likes of "I am near Corporation bus stop now."
Initially, the service will be available on two Volvo routes — V356C between Kempe Gowda Bus Station and Electronic City and V335E between KBS and Kadugudi via ITPL. To avail oneself of the facility, one has to send an SMS from the mobile phone in the following manner — YI {lt}Volvo Route Number{gt} {lt}U or D{gt} to 9945634666.
For instance, to know the location of Route No. V356E, send an SMS reading YI V356E U, where YI stands for Yelli Iddira? V356 stands for the Volvo route number and U stands for `up' direction. Buses heading out of the starting station are designated as `up' and in reverse direction as `down.'

The Hindu sent two SMS for the two services at 7 p.m. on Saturday to test the same. For V356C, the reply was "At Kempe Gowda Bus Stand, near Kempe Gowda Bus Stand" and for V335E, it was "At 1.07 km southwest of Ulsoor bus stand." The idea was conceptualised by Muralidhar Rao, co-chairman, BMTC Commuter Comfort Task Force and the service was designed by Sujit Kumar of CL InfoTech Pvt., Ltd., Bangalore, a BMTC release said. Apparently, the service is being offered with the help of Global Positioning System (GPS) and Geographical Information System (GIS) that are integrated through GPRS.

Service Provided by CL Infotech Pvt Ltd. For details on its services, please click here.

GMail - No more waiting for someone to invite!

Yes! Its true, you no more require a GMail Invite to open Google Account. The Search Engine Leader - Google.com, officially opened its GMail to public for Free Online Accounts on Valentines day (14-Feb-2007). There's no reason you should struggle to reach the ones you love, and Gmail helps you communicate fast and easily. Gmail is available in over 40 interface languages.

Visit www.gmail.com, and click on the Sign-up link to create a New Google Account. Also checkout the Video at YouTube.

Source: Official Google Blog

Daylight Saving Time (DST) changes in 2007

Whats DST?
Daylight Saving Time (DST) is a system of handling the changing amounts of daylight throughout the year. The goal of DST is to maximize the daylight hours available during typical waking hours. By adjusting clocks ahead a standard amount, usually an hour, people can have more daylight available during their typical work day. For example, suppose you wake daily at 7:00 AM. In the spring, the sun rises earlier each day. Instead of waking up at 6:00 AM to take advantage of the daylight, DST observers move their clocks ahead an hour. The effect is that they can continue to wake at 7:00 AM according to the clock and enjoy more daylight. In the fall, people set their clocks back an hour as sunrise happens later each day.

Whats the problem with DST in 2007?
Because of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the start date and the end date for daylight saving time (DST) in the United States will change in 2007. DST in the United States will start three weeks earlier and will end one week later than in previous years. DST will start at 2:00 A.M. on the second Sunday in March and will end at 2:00 A.M. on the first Sunday in November.

Due to this, many software applications require patches to be installed. I have collected the Patch/Update information related to various software/tools:

1) Microsoft Visual Sourcesafe
2) Microsoft Visual Studio
3) Windows Mobile Update
4) Sun Java
5) Oracle
6) IBM Lotus Notes and Domino
7) Cognos position statement regarding DST readiness

Also found this link, which covers the DST information in detail.

Spice - DO NOT SMS Offer

SCOOOBY DOOOBY DOOO0OO... My Mobile Service Provider introduced one of the Best Offer for Prepaid Customers like me. I am ready to celebrate Dry Days. Check out the Offer Details below :

In order to enhance customer service and ensure customers get undisrupted service while messaging, we would like to inform all concerned that w.e.f 12-Feb-2007 (00:00 hours), no Free or Discounted SMS would be available to Spice Prepaid customers on the following days between 00:00 and 24:00 hours, i.e., New years's day (1-Jan), Pongal (15-Jan), Valentine's Day (14-Feb), Holi(4-Mar), Ugadi(19-Mar), Eid Milad(1-Apr), Friendship Day(5-May), Independence Day(15-Aug), Raksha Bandhan(28-Aug), Ganesh Chaturthi(15-Sep), Dussera(21-Oct), One day prior to Diwali(8-Nov), Diwali Day(9-Nov), Christmas Day(25-Dec), New Year Eve(31-Dec).

On these days normal SMS charges will apply for all Spice Prepaid customers. All concerned may please note.

Sd/-
Spice Telecom

Source: Spice Telecom

Thank you Spice for not including my favorite Baapu's day in your above list. I am hoping that other Service Providers are sweet and have not implemented the same.

For those customers, who are on the same boat as me, here are some tips:
1) Send SMS one day in advance or a belated SMS after 1 day. You can keep reminders for above mentioned dates on your Mobile Phone Calendar.
2) As per my experiences with Delivery Reports, I noticed that the Spice SMS Server Date usually runs behind. So do not take any change - please send the SMS 15 minutes before/after the above said Dry Days.
3) If your plan permits low rate calls, use Phone Calls instead of SMS on these Dry Days.

Air Show 2007 - Bangalore

The Air Show of 2007 is back in Bangalore. I am hoping to see it again this year. My first visit to Air show was two years back with my friend Ganesh. Unfortunately, we were not Blogging that time :)


This year, Chairman of the Tata Group Ratan Tata (right in picture) flew the F-16 fighter aircraft at the Aero India show in Bangalore on Thursday 08-Feb-2007. He termed the experience "exhilarating."

Latest Update >>> I visited Air Show on Sunday and will put the update soon...

New phishing technique discovered

A new ‘undetectable’ phishing tactic has been hijacking the web pages of a major UK bank, according to security vendor Envisional.

Until now customers have been able to check a link in an email by moving the mouse over it, thus revealing a fraudulent URL addresses. But this new method shows the legitimate web address of the bank in question.

'This is a completely new and very dangerous threat,' said Envisional’s chief executive officer, Michael Wheatley. 'Even wary, sophisticated online banking customers will be caught out by this latest form of attack.'

The new approach exploits a vulnerability in the web site of the bank, allowing a link to look like it directs the user to the legitimate site. Actually the link sends the user to a framed mock-up of the bank's page that is really part of the phisher’s web site.

Source: Computing UK

Troubleshooting Performance Problems in SQL Server 2005

Found this informative article which provides step-by-step guidelines for diagnosing and troubleshooting common performance problems by using publicly available tools such as SQL Server Profiler, System Monitor, and the new Dynamic Management Views in SQL Server 2005.

Source: Microsoft Technet Website
Click Here for Direct Link to 108 pages of Word Document

The Wow starts Now

Microsoft launched Windows Vista on 30-Jan-2007 and tells us “The ‘Wow’ starts Now”. The world's largest software company spent some 6 billion dollars and 5 years to develop the programme, and is offering a smorgasbord of different versions designed to fit everyone from the web-surfing granny who needs just basic functionality to the media and gaming- obsessed geek.

Vista users can actually expect several thousand new functions, Microsoft claims. Most of them are hidden underneath the hood, so to speak. One eye-catching element is the new graphical interface, dubbed Aero. It is remarkable first for its semi- transparent windows. Open several windows at once, and you can still see which other folders and documents are open beneath them. This is not exactly trailblazing in the world of operating systems, though. Transparent windows are also available in Apple's Mac OS X and with various Linux versions.

Read complete article at Playfuls.com

Also checkout the Vista Launch post at VJ's Blog.

Google Earth agrees to blur pix of key Indian sites

President APJ Abdul Kalam's concerns over Google Earth providing detailed and unhindered view of ‘sensitive' Indian establishments have been addressed, courtesy a formula which allows users uninterrupted access to the ‘eye in the sky' while camouflaging key installations.

At a recent meeting between ministry of science and technology officials and Google Earth representatives, it was decided that installations identified by government would be carefully camouflaged. This, it was felt, was better than an outright blackout. Apart from well-known sites like BARC, there are many less prominent ones, and blacking them out would only attract attention to their locations.

Images of these locations will not be of more than 25-50 metre resolution, more like the older generation pictures provided by Indian Remote Sensing satellites. Official sources said Google Earth would distort building plans by adding structures where none existed or masking certain aspects of a facility. This could be done without attracting attention to such establishments, which range from laboratories, mines, military sites, space and atomic centres and residences of high-profile VVIPs.

The government list of such sites would be accepted by Google Earth. The controversy over Google Earth's images had gained momentum after Kalam, in October last year, expressed concern that unrestricted pictures on the web could have worrisome security implications.

India's 58th Republic Day

Although India obtained its independence on August 15, 1947, the Constitution of India came into effect only on January 26, 1950. During the transition period from 1947 to 1950, King George VI was the head of state. Lord Mountbatten and C. Rajagopalachari served as the Governors-General of India during this period. Following January 26, 1950, Rajendra Prasad was elected as the first president of India.

To mark the importance of this occasion, every year a grand parade is held in the capital, New Delhi, from the Raisina Hill near the Rashtrapati Bhavan (President's Palace), along the Rajpath, past India Gate and on to the historic Red Fort. The different regiments of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force march past in all their finery and official decorations. The President of India who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Armed Forces, takes the salute. The parade also includes vibrant displays and floats and traditionally ends with a flypast by Indian Air Force jets.

Wishing all the readers of my Blog, a Happy Republic Day. The Live Republic Day Celebrations is available here online on 26-Jan-2007 9:25 AM IST.

Check the Live photo captured by me - Republic Day Celebration at a small school behind my Apartment.

SQL Server 2005 and the Upgrade Path from MCDBA

Got chance to attend this Live Meeting today online, but unfortunately I could not listen to the audio because I was busy on Phone Line :) Anyways! I am sharing the Q&A that was available at the end of the session. Here I go:

Question: Have you started?
Answer: Yes - you should be hearing the presenter - Try going to the Audio menu and select – “Listen to Internet Audio Broadcast” or you can also call in - If you are unable to connect to the audio through the Internet Audio Broadcast, you can dial in to the audio over a traditional telephony line: US/Canada: (800) 995-0025, International: (503) 295-8000 PIN: 7674
Question: Is there any way i can copy the text from the meeting?
Answer: You can print to PDF and any time - go to the file menu and select print to pdf.
Question: Print to PDF appears greyed out. Remotely enabled?
Answer: It should work now.
Question: How can I subscribe to the MCP newsletter?
Answer: http://www.microsoft.com/learning/newsletters/default.mspx
Question: Are 70-445 and 70-446 exams live yet?, if not when is the beta period?
Answer: Both 445 and 446 have completed their beta cycle. Both will go live on 3/2/07.
Question: What is the cost of each exam?
Answer: All Microsoft Certification Exams are $125 USD. The prices vary from country to country depending on exchange rates.
Question: Will the MCDBA cert still be offered moving forward?
Answer: No. The MCDBA cert title will not be used for SQL 2005 or any future SQL releases. It will remain the current cert for SQL 2000.
Question: I don´t have MCDBA certification, can I make 70-447 exam ?
Answer: No. If you do not have a MCDBA and take 447 you will receive no cert credit. It will remain on your transcript and if/when you pass 431 and earn your MCDBA, you will then receive the MCITP-Database Administrator credential.
Question: Is the MCDBA upgrade path for 7.0 MCDBAs and 2000 MCDBAs?
Answer: Only MCDBAs on SQL 2000.
Question: when will we have the resuts of the 70-446 beta exams
Answer: Beta results for 445 and 446 will be made public in early February 2007.
Question: Are there any official records on how many MCITP Database Developer/Admiistrators exist so far?
Answer: About 1500 MCITP: DBA and about 500 MCITP: Database Developers. Not many!
Question: MCITPDBA - what a mouth full
Answer: Agreed. The new logo builder tool allows you to present the logo in a number of more meaningful ways.
Question: Since Database Developer is an 'offshoot' of the original MCDBA, will there eventually be an upgrade path for an MCDBA?
Answer: Probably not - at this point we are not planning any additional upgrade options.
Question: When will 70-445 and 70-446 be available?
Answer: Both go live 3/2/07.
Question: I'm not interested in being a MCDBA, but I would like to know if I take SQL will it count as an option to MCSA
Answer: Yes...the SQL TS Exams 431 and 445 count as electives for MCSA and MCSE.
Question: Will we see sims in the 70-444 exam this year?
Answer: Not this year but likely next year.
Question: if i take 70-229 will I still achive MCDBA and then be able to upgrade or should i just start over with 2005 exams
Answer: The MCDBA track requires 4 exams - 2 SQL 2000 exams, a Window Server 2003 exam, and an elective exam. If you don't plan on completing the MCDBA track, I would recommend that you simply start with the SQL 2005 exams.
Question: I have passed all except one exam for MCDBA - the server exam. Since I have all the SQL exams taken, can I do the upgrade path, or must I have the MCDBA cert first?
Answer: You need the completed MCDBA credential to use the upgrade path.
Question: I missed it... how many people are currently a MCDBA 2000?
Answer: Over 150,000 folks are MCDBA on SQL 2000.
Question: how long will the MCDBA exams for 2000 continue to be offered
Answer: For at least another 2-3 years.
Question: Will 70-431 have simulations?
Answer: Yes...431 just re-released in English with simulations. The localized versions will start appearing around the world in MArch/April.
Question: Will the Database admin Cert expire?
Answer: not MCDBA; MCITP: DBA will need recertification exam every 3 years or so.
Question: What About Upgrading your Certification from MCDBA 2000 to 2005 ?
Answer: Two exams: 431 and 447; both are required to upgrade.
Question: In Market all talk about SAP and Sibel ....wondering Business Intelligence Developing provide ERP solution
Answer: did that help?
Question: Any set date to expire the MCDBA exams?
Answer: http://www.microsoft.com/learning/newsletters/default.mspx
Question: For the 70-431 exam, the Microsoft web site recommends courses/collections 2778, 2779, and 2780. Is there a recommended order? The first/lowest numbered 2778 ("Writing Queries Using Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Transact-SQL (18-hour series)") doesn't seem like introductory material.
Answer: Yes. The numbers are 'in order'. 2778 is similar to the core SQL 2000 course. But, no, it is not an "introductory course" you're right!
Question: how about cost of courses and training materials for these new courses?
Answer: about 300 per day (US) for a course... depends on subject/provider/length, etc. E-learning can range from $150 to $300 US.
Question: Are there any Modl providers in UK?
Answer: There will be, I'm sure. To see if there are now, please visit blogs.msdn.com/trika to see the list of providers again!
Question: How can I test myself using MeasureUp? Does it test using real questions from TS/MCP exam? Do I pay for one MeasureUp test or is the fee for a specific period access? How much does MeasureUp will cost me ?
Answer: Hi - on this page you'll find a link to the practice test provider offer... http://blogs.msdn.com/trika/archive/2007/01/23/e-learning-practice-test-offers-to-help-mcdbas-earn-sql-server-2005-certifications.aspx
Question: are there going to be exam simulations in MeasureUp and SelfTest?
Answer: I'm not sure - pls check with the providers. THey are partners so I dont have all the info! Here is the link to the link to the Measure up offer... http://blogs.msdn.com/trika/archive/2007/01/23/e-learning-practice-test-offers-to-help-mcdbas-earn-sql-server-2005-certifications.aspx
Question: trika, can you post this Q&A in your blog, please?
Answer: i will... but it will take me a few days to get it organized. Sound OK?
Question: Does Microsoft plan to give vouchers for exam 431 or 441-444?
Answer: no!
Question: yes; do you have a directory where or which partners provide the courses and which are available for e-learning; I would assume your website?
Answer: www.microsoftelearning.com
Question: will there be any discounts for MCDBA 2005 if I have MCSE
Answer: no, there is no connection between MCSE and the new certifications for SQL 2005 as far as upgrade paths.
Question: Thanks for the explanation of the ordering. I'm interested in e-Learning or maybe even MODL. 2778 is an e-learning collection. Is there a 2779 and 2780 collection, instead of just classroom training?
Answer: can you send your question to me trikah@microsoft.com and i'll get an answer? Thanks!
Question: do you have any idea for prevention passing exams by testking or somthing like this?
Answer: wow, that's a hard one! one thing we do is to make it clear to customers (and we rely on certified customers to help us with this...) that testking or others are NOT acceptable ways to prepare. Also, we are in the middle of a lawsuit with Test King right now; we hope to go to trial within a year to stop this type of thing. But it is a difficult issue. we'd love to hear ideas.
Question: How much additional preparation is needed after taking a MOC course or going through a MS Press Study guide before being able to take any of the SQL exams?
Answer: did you get an answer you needed?
Question: Is 70-431 for 2005 the equivalent of what 70-228 was for 2000? Does is cover a similar amount of material with a similar level of difficulty?
Answer: can you send your question to me trikah@microsoft.com and i'll get rob to answer? Thanks!
Question: average of pay of the market for certificates? average of pay of the market for certificates?
Answer: Hmmm. We do have some information like that -- I think MCPMag does a survey each year, but Microsoft itself does not have data on this. I'd recommend trying www.mcpmag.com and look up their SALARY SURVEY. Does that help?
Question: Very goog, thank you...
Answer: youre welcome!!!

Are you ready to get in?

Microsoft is busy marketing its New Vista OS in different ways. Here's one of them. Are you ready to board into this?

100 Best Companies to work for 2007

A very interesting list compiled by Fortune Magazine.

Click Here for complete info...

Heights of SMS - True Story

All the characters in this story are reel ;-) I heard this from an authentic source....

There's a programmer who is a GURU (not Mani Ratnam's) in Mobile SMSes. His fingers used to type SMS in seconds. Finally, one day, one of his Program (means Code) failed and it created a havoc in the office. Lots of people started debugging the code. One full day was spent to fix the problem. Lots of eyes reviewed the code, but nobody was able to fix the problem.

The other day, a new dashing programmer joined the office. He hated Mobiles and never had a Mobile Phone yet in his life (OOPS! Is that Mr.Babu!!! Noooo please). This guy started looking at the problematic code and he was the MAN to identify the cause of problem.

The cause was a very simple one which nobody was able to recognize. He found the following line of code:
gblnDoValidation = "s"

Which, was supposed to be:
gblnDoValidation = "Yes"

Thanks to the Mobile World, which made people use the SMS Language everywhere :-)

Lesson Learnt : Don't use Mobile Lingo at your work place. Write the code as per the Coding Standards & Guidelines.

GMail Storage Counter - Stopped and now Fixed

During the beginning of New Year, the GMail Storage count (appears on the Login Page of GMail), was stopped due to some interesting problem. Some people say it was a bug in the Counter program which stopped working due to change in Year :)

Read on the complete info here.

LIC of India - Performance Highlights (01-Apr-2005 to 31-Mar-2006)

Individual Business

Number of Policies - 315.73 Lakhs

First Premium Income - Rs.18,085.49 Crore

Sum Assured - Rs.287,530.24 Crore

Pension & Group Business

Number of New Schemes - 11,845

Number of Lives - 51.27 Lakhs

Premium Income - Rs.3,919.00 Crore

Social Security Schemes

Number of New Schemes - 6315
Number of Lives - 63.41 Lakhs
Premium Income - Rs.22.78 Crore

Business In Force as on 31-Mar-2006

Individual Assurances

Policies - 18.64 Crore

Sum Assured - Rs.16,00,683 Crore

Group Insurance

Lives - 3.15 Crore

Sum Assured - Rs.2,01,616 Crore

LIC's Strenght as on 31-Mar-2006

Total Income (F.Y - 2005-06) - Rs.1,32,146 Crore

Total Assets - Rs.5,52,447 Crore

Life Fund - Rs.4,63,147 Crore

Total Investments (Book Value) - Rs.5,24,017 Crore

LIC Website

Also, visit my Buddy's Blog for Insurance related posts.

Mickey Mouse - 13th January

Did you know that Mickey made his first comic strip appearance on 13-Jan-1930.

He was created in 1928 by Walt Disney, who also played Mickey's voice. The Walt Disney Company celebrates his birth as November 18, 1928 upon the release of Steamboat Willie.[2] The mouse has evolved from being simply a character in animated cartoons and comic strips to become one of the most recognizable symbols in the world.

Walt Disney voiced Mickey Mouse from 1928 until 1946, when sound effects man James G. MacDonald took over the role. Mickey is currently voiced by Wayne Allwine.

Bangalore FM Radio

A quick list of Bangalore's FM Radio Channels along with its Frequency (in MHz).

91.1 - Radio City
91.9 - Radio Indigo
92.7 - Big FM
93.5 - S FM
94.3 - Radio One
98.3 - Radio Mirchi
101.3 - FM Rainbow
102.9 - Vivdh Bharati
104 - Fever FM - Powered by Virgin
107.3 - Gyaan Vaani

Thanks to VJ for his inputs.

How to get a Nice Wife

Yo Bachelor's - Please read on. Very helpful advice in this document.

Wish I could have got this before marriage :)

Click Here to read.