original image courtesy: jurvetson
31 December, 2006
29 December, 2006
22 December, 2006
14 December, 2006
PageFile not getting created @ the specified location
There was no free space left on my windows installation drive [C:] . So i decided to migrate the page file from C: drive to D: drive.
I opened up the Virtual Memory settings in the My Computer properties page and changed the page file location from C: to D:, setting a minimum size of 1000MB and a maximum size of 1024MB. Then i restarted my PC. But windows popped up an error saying that there was no page file and a page file will be created temporarily. It got created on the C: drive itself. All the registry settings pointed to the new location and the size was also correct. But still the page file never got created on the D: drive.
I did eventually find the problem. The D: drive did not have permissions for SYSTEM group. Adding this group to the security list for D: drive with full permissions did the trick. On the next restart, windows created a new page file on D: drive. I deleted the old one from C: drive. It freed up 1.5GB of space.
I opened up the Virtual Memory settings in the My Computer properties page and changed the page file location from C: to D:, setting a minimum size of 1000MB and a maximum size of 1024MB. Then i restarted my PC. But windows popped up an error saying that there was no page file and a page file will be created temporarily. It got created on the C: drive itself. All the registry settings pointed to the new location and the size was also correct. But still the page file never got created on the D: drive.
I did eventually find the problem. The D: drive did not have permissions for SYSTEM group. Adding this group to the security list for D: drive with full permissions did the trick. On the next restart, windows created a new page file on D: drive. I deleted the old one from C: drive. It freed up 1.5GB of space.
13 December, 2006
The Taxi Driver Taught Me An MBA Lesson
Got this on a mailing list... a really nice one
I needed to go from Xujiahui to the airport, so I hurriedly concluded a meeting and I was looking for a taxi in front of the Meiluo building. A taxi driver saw me and very professionally came in a straight line and stopped right in front of me. Thus followed the story that astonished me greatly as if I had attended a lively MBA course. In order to faithfully preserve the intent of the taxi driver, I have tried to reproduce his original words according to my memory.
"Where do you want to go? Good, the airport. At Xujiahui, I loved to get business in front of the Meiluo building. Over here, I only work two places: Meiluo building and Junyao building. Did you know? Before I picked you up, I circled around Meiluo building twice before I saw you! People who come out of office building are definitely not going to some place nearby ..."
"Oh? You have a method!" I agreed.
"A taxi driver must also have scientific methods," he said. I was surprised and I got curious: "What scientific methods?"
"I have to know statistics. I have made detailed calculations. Let me tell you. I operate the car 17 hours a day, and my hourly cost is 34.5 RMB ..."
"How did you arrive at that?" I asked
"You calculate. I have to pay 380 RMB to the company each day for the car. The gas is about 210 RMB. I work 17 hours per day. On an hourly basis, the fixed cost is the 22 RMB that I give to the taxi company and an average of 12.5 RMB per hour in gasoline expenses. Isn't that 34.5 RMB?" I was a bit surprised. I have taken taxis for ten years, but this is the first time that a taxi driver has calculated the costs this way. Previously, the taxi drivers all tell me that the cost per kilometer was 0.3 RMB in addition to the total company fee.
"Costs should not be calculated on a per-kilometer basis. It should be calculated on an hourly basis. You see, each meter has a 'review' function through which you can see the details of the day. I have done a data analysis. The averarge time gap between customers is seven minutes. If I started counting the costs when someone gets in, it is 10 RMB for about 10 minutes. That means each 10 RMB customer takes 17 minutes of time, which costs 9.8 RMB (=34.5 x 17 / 60). This is not making money! If we say that customers who want to go to Pudong, Hangzhou or Qingpu are like meals, then a 10 RMB customer is not even a bite of food. You can only say that this is just a sprinkle of MSG."
Great! This driver did not sound like a taxi driver. He seemed more like an accountant. "So what you do then?" I was even more interested and I continued my questioning. It looked like I was going to learn something new on the way to the airport.
"You must not let the customer lead you all over the place. You decide what you want to do based upon the location, time and customer." I was very surprised, but this sounded significant. "Someone said that the taxi driving is a profession that depends on luck. I don't think so. You have to stand in the position of the customer and consider things from the customer's perspective." This sounded very professional, and very much like many business management teachers who say "put yourself in others' shoes."
"Let me give you an example. You are at the entrance to a hospital. There is someone holding some medicine and there is someone else holding a wash basin. Which person will you pick up?" I thought about it and I said that I didn't know.
"You take the one with the wash basin. If you have a minor complaint that you want to be examined and to get some medicine, you don't usually go to a faraway hospital. Anyone who is carrying a wash basin has just been discharged from the hospital. When people enter the hospital, some of them die. Today, someone on the second floor dies. Tomorrow, someone on the third floor dies. Those who make it out of the hospital usually have a feeling of having been given a second life and they recognize the meaning of life again -- health is the most important thing. So on that day, that person told me, "Go ... go to Qingpu." He did not even blink. Would you say that he wanted to take a taxi to People's Plaza to transfer to the Qingpu line subway? Absolutely not!"
I began to admire him.
"Let me give you another example. That day at People's Plaza, three people were waving at me. One was a young woman who had just finished shopping and was holding some small bags. Another was a young couple who were out for a stroll. The third one was a man who wore a silk shirt and a down jacket and holding a notebook computer bag. I spent three seconds looking at each person and I stopped in front of the man without hesitation. When the man got in, he said: 'Yannan Elevated Highway. South North Elevated Highway ...' Before even finishing, he could not help but ask, 'Why did you stop in front of me without hesitating? There were two people in front. They wanted to get on as well. I was too embarrassed to fight with them.' I replied, 'It is around noon and just a dozen or so minutes before one o'clock. That young woman must have slipped out at noon to buy something and I guess that her company must be nearby. That couple are tourists because they are not holding anything and they are not going to travel far. You are going out on business. You are holding a notebook computer bag, so I can tell that this is business. If you are going out at this time, I guess that it would not be too close.' The man said, 'You are right. I'm going to Baoshan.'"
"Are those people wearing pajamas in front of supermarkets or subway stations going to travel far? Are they going to the airport? The airport is not going to let them enter."
That makes sense! I was liking this more and more.
"Many drivers complain that business is tough and the price of gas has gone up. They are trying to pin the cause down on other people. If you keep pinning the cause on other people, you will never get any better. You must look at yourself to see where the problem is." This sounds very familiar. It seems like "If you cannot change the world, then you should change yourself" or perhaps a pirated copy of Steven Corey's "Circles of Influence and Concern." "One time, on Nandan Road, someone flagged me down and wanted to go to Tianlin. Later on, someone else flagged me down on Nandan Road and he also wanted to go to Tianlin. So I asked, 'How come all you people who come out on Nandan Road want to go to Tianlin?' He said, 'There is a public bus depot at Nandan Road. We all take the public bus from Pudong to there, and then we take the taxi to Tianlin. So I understood. For example, you look at the road that we just passed. There are no offices, no hotels, nothing. Just a public bus station. Those people who flag down taxis there are mostly people who just got off the public bus, and they look for the shortest road for a taxi. People who flag down taxis here will usually ride not more than 15 RMB."
"Therefore, I say that the attitude determines everything!" I have heard dozens of company CEO's say that, but this was the first time that I heard a taxi driver say that.
"We need to use scientific methods and statistics to conduct business. Those people who wait at the subway exits every day for business will never make money. How are you going to provide for your wife and kids at 500 RMB a month? This is murder? This is slowly murdering your whole family. You must arm yourself with knowledge. You have to learn knowledge to become a smart person. A smart person learns knowledge in order to become a very smart person. A very smart person learns knowledge in order to become a genius."
"One time, a person wanted a taxi in order to get to the train station. I asked him how he wanted to go. He told me how to get there. I said that was slow. I said to get on the elevated highway and go this other way. He said that it was a longer way. I said, 'No problem. You have experience because you go that way frequently. It costs you 50 RMB. If you go my way, I will turn off the meter when it reaches 50 RMB. You can just pay me 50 RMB. Anything more is mine. If you go your way, it will take 50 minutes. If I go my way, it will take 25 minutes.' So in the end, we went my way. We traveled an additional four kilometers but 25 minutes quicker. I accepted only 50 RMB. The customer was very delighted for saving about 10 RMB. This extra four kilometers cost me just over 1 RMB in gas. So I have swapped 1 RMB for 25 extra minutes of my time. As I just said, my hourly cost is 34.5 RMB. It was quite worthwhile for me!"
"In a public taxi company, an ordinary driver takes three to four thousand RMB home per month. The good driver can get around five thousand. The top driver can get seven thousand RMB. Out of the 20,000 drivers, there are about two to three who can make more than 8,000 RMB a month. I am one of those two or three. Furthermore, it is very stable without too much fluctuation."
Great! By this point, I admired this taxi driver more and more.
"I often say that I am a happy driver. Some people say, 'That's because you earn a lot of money. Of course, you must be happy.' I tell them, 'You are wrong. This is because I have a happy and active mind, and that is why I make a lot of money.'"
What a wonderful way to put it!
"You have to appreciate the beauty that your work brings. Stuck in a traffic jam at People's Plaza, many drivers complain, 'Oh, there's a traffic jam again! What rotten luck!' You must not be like that. You should try to experience the beauty of the city. There are many pretty girls passing by. There are many tall modern buildings; although you cannot afford them, you can still enjoy them with an appreciative look. While driving to the airport, you can look at the greenery on both sides. In the winter, it is white. How beautiful! Look at the meter -- it is more than 100 RMB. That is even more beautiful! Each job has its own beauty. We need to learn how to experience that beauty in our work."
"Ten years ago, I was a general instructor at Johnson's. Eight years ago, I had been the department manager for three different departments. I quit because there was no point in making three or five thousand a month. I decided to become a taxi driver. I want to be a happy driver. Ha ha ha ..."
When we arrived at the airport, I gave him my business card and said, "Are you interested in coming this Friday to my office and explain to the Microsoft workers about how you operate your taxi? You can treat it as if your meter is running at 60 kilometers per hour. I will pay you for the time that you talk to us. Give me a call."
Then I began to write down his lively MBA lecture on the airplane.
I needed to go from Xujiahui to the airport, so I hurriedly concluded a meeting and I was looking for a taxi in front of the Meiluo building. A taxi driver saw me and very professionally came in a straight line and stopped right in front of me. Thus followed the story that astonished me greatly as if I had attended a lively MBA course. In order to faithfully preserve the intent of the taxi driver, I have tried to reproduce his original words according to my memory.
"Where do you want to go? Good, the airport. At Xujiahui, I loved to get business in front of the Meiluo building. Over here, I only work two places: Meiluo building and Junyao building. Did you know? Before I picked you up, I circled around Meiluo building twice before I saw you! People who come out of office building are definitely not going to some place nearby ..."
"Oh? You have a method!" I agreed.
"A taxi driver must also have scientific methods," he said. I was surprised and I got curious: "What scientific methods?"
"I have to know statistics. I have made detailed calculations. Let me tell you. I operate the car 17 hours a day, and my hourly cost is 34.5 RMB ..."
"How did you arrive at that?" I asked
"You calculate. I have to pay 380 RMB to the company each day for the car. The gas is about 210 RMB. I work 17 hours per day. On an hourly basis, the fixed cost is the 22 RMB that I give to the taxi company and an average of 12.5 RMB per hour in gasoline expenses. Isn't that 34.5 RMB?" I was a bit surprised. I have taken taxis for ten years, but this is the first time that a taxi driver has calculated the costs this way. Previously, the taxi drivers all tell me that the cost per kilometer was 0.3 RMB in addition to the total company fee.
"Costs should not be calculated on a per-kilometer basis. It should be calculated on an hourly basis. You see, each meter has a 'review' function through which you can see the details of the day. I have done a data analysis. The averarge time gap between customers is seven minutes. If I started counting the costs when someone gets in, it is 10 RMB for about 10 minutes. That means each 10 RMB customer takes 17 minutes of time, which costs 9.8 RMB (=34.5 x 17 / 60). This is not making money! If we say that customers who want to go to Pudong, Hangzhou or Qingpu are like meals, then a 10 RMB customer is not even a bite of food. You can only say that this is just a sprinkle of MSG."
Great! This driver did not sound like a taxi driver. He seemed more like an accountant. "So what you do then?" I was even more interested and I continued my questioning. It looked like I was going to learn something new on the way to the airport.
"You must not let the customer lead you all over the place. You decide what you want to do based upon the location, time and customer." I was very surprised, but this sounded significant. "Someone said that the taxi driving is a profession that depends on luck. I don't think so. You have to stand in the position of the customer and consider things from the customer's perspective." This sounded very professional, and very much like many business management teachers who say "put yourself in others' shoes."
"Let me give you an example. You are at the entrance to a hospital. There is someone holding some medicine and there is someone else holding a wash basin. Which person will you pick up?" I thought about it and I said that I didn't know.
"You take the one with the wash basin. If you have a minor complaint that you want to be examined and to get some medicine, you don't usually go to a faraway hospital. Anyone who is carrying a wash basin has just been discharged from the hospital. When people enter the hospital, some of them die. Today, someone on the second floor dies. Tomorrow, someone on the third floor dies. Those who make it out of the hospital usually have a feeling of having been given a second life and they recognize the meaning of life again -- health is the most important thing. So on that day, that person told me, "Go ... go to Qingpu." He did not even blink. Would you say that he wanted to take a taxi to People's Plaza to transfer to the Qingpu line subway? Absolutely not!"
I began to admire him.
"Let me give you another example. That day at People's Plaza, three people were waving at me. One was a young woman who had just finished shopping and was holding some small bags. Another was a young couple who were out for a stroll. The third one was a man who wore a silk shirt and a down jacket and holding a notebook computer bag. I spent three seconds looking at each person and I stopped in front of the man without hesitation. When the man got in, he said: 'Yannan Elevated Highway. South North Elevated Highway ...' Before even finishing, he could not help but ask, 'Why did you stop in front of me without hesitating? There were two people in front. They wanted to get on as well. I was too embarrassed to fight with them.' I replied, 'It is around noon and just a dozen or so minutes before one o'clock. That young woman must have slipped out at noon to buy something and I guess that her company must be nearby. That couple are tourists because they are not holding anything and they are not going to travel far. You are going out on business. You are holding a notebook computer bag, so I can tell that this is business. If you are going out at this time, I guess that it would not be too close.' The man said, 'You are right. I'm going to Baoshan.'"
"Are those people wearing pajamas in front of supermarkets or subway stations going to travel far? Are they going to the airport? The airport is not going to let them enter."
That makes sense! I was liking this more and more.
"Many drivers complain that business is tough and the price of gas has gone up. They are trying to pin the cause down on other people. If you keep pinning the cause on other people, you will never get any better. You must look at yourself to see where the problem is." This sounds very familiar. It seems like "If you cannot change the world, then you should change yourself" or perhaps a pirated copy of Steven Corey's "Circles of Influence and Concern." "One time, on Nandan Road, someone flagged me down and wanted to go to Tianlin. Later on, someone else flagged me down on Nandan Road and he also wanted to go to Tianlin. So I asked, 'How come all you people who come out on Nandan Road want to go to Tianlin?' He said, 'There is a public bus depot at Nandan Road. We all take the public bus from Pudong to there, and then we take the taxi to Tianlin. So I understood. For example, you look at the road that we just passed. There are no offices, no hotels, nothing. Just a public bus station. Those people who flag down taxis there are mostly people who just got off the public bus, and they look for the shortest road for a taxi. People who flag down taxis here will usually ride not more than 15 RMB."
"Therefore, I say that the attitude determines everything!" I have heard dozens of company CEO's say that, but this was the first time that I heard a taxi driver say that.
"We need to use scientific methods and statistics to conduct business. Those people who wait at the subway exits every day for business will never make money. How are you going to provide for your wife and kids at 500 RMB a month? This is murder? This is slowly murdering your whole family. You must arm yourself with knowledge. You have to learn knowledge to become a smart person. A smart person learns knowledge in order to become a very smart person. A very smart person learns knowledge in order to become a genius."
"One time, a person wanted a taxi in order to get to the train station. I asked him how he wanted to go. He told me how to get there. I said that was slow. I said to get on the elevated highway and go this other way. He said that it was a longer way. I said, 'No problem. You have experience because you go that way frequently. It costs you 50 RMB. If you go my way, I will turn off the meter when it reaches 50 RMB. You can just pay me 50 RMB. Anything more is mine. If you go your way, it will take 50 minutes. If I go my way, it will take 25 minutes.' So in the end, we went my way. We traveled an additional four kilometers but 25 minutes quicker. I accepted only 50 RMB. The customer was very delighted for saving about 10 RMB. This extra four kilometers cost me just over 1 RMB in gas. So I have swapped 1 RMB for 25 extra minutes of my time. As I just said, my hourly cost is 34.5 RMB. It was quite worthwhile for me!"
"In a public taxi company, an ordinary driver takes three to four thousand RMB home per month. The good driver can get around five thousand. The top driver can get seven thousand RMB. Out of the 20,000 drivers, there are about two to three who can make more than 8,000 RMB a month. I am one of those two or three. Furthermore, it is very stable without too much fluctuation."
Great! By this point, I admired this taxi driver more and more.
"I often say that I am a happy driver. Some people say, 'That's because you earn a lot of money. Of course, you must be happy.' I tell them, 'You are wrong. This is because I have a happy and active mind, and that is why I make a lot of money.'"
What a wonderful way to put it!
"You have to appreciate the beauty that your work brings. Stuck in a traffic jam at People's Plaza, many drivers complain, 'Oh, there's a traffic jam again! What rotten luck!' You must not be like that. You should try to experience the beauty of the city. There are many pretty girls passing by. There are many tall modern buildings; although you cannot afford them, you can still enjoy them with an appreciative look. While driving to the airport, you can look at the greenery on both sides. In the winter, it is white. How beautiful! Look at the meter -- it is more than 100 RMB. That is even more beautiful! Each job has its own beauty. We need to learn how to experience that beauty in our work."
"Ten years ago, I was a general instructor at Johnson's. Eight years ago, I had been the department manager for three different departments. I quit because there was no point in making three or five thousand a month. I decided to become a taxi driver. I want to be a happy driver. Ha ha ha ..."
When we arrived at the airport, I gave him my business card and said, "Are you interested in coming this Friday to my office and explain to the Microsoft workers about how you operate your taxi? You can treat it as if your meter is running at 60 kilometers per hour. I will pay you for the time that you talk to us. Give me a call."
Then I began to write down his lively MBA lecture on the airplane.
Today's fortune in Orkut
"You are next in line for promotion in your firm" - Don't see anything coming till _that_ day.
09 December, 2006
Record videos directly to YouTube
A new service from YouTube allows people to directly record videos to their site using webcams. This makes use of the Adobe Flash Player APIs to access the webcams connected to the computers.
more at Ars Technica
more at Ars Technica
13 October, 2006
04 October, 2006
2006 Shanghai F1 videos
[Update] The videos have been deleted from YouTube
Schumacher passing Alonso
Schumacher overtakes Fisichella
Massa's incident with Coulthard
Schumacher passing Alonso
Schumacher overtakes Fisichella
Massa's incident with Coulthard
28 September, 2006
The ultimate cat n mouse game...
Kudoos to Viodentia :) A patch this fast.. you are a genius...
If you didn't know, microsoft updated its PlayForSure IBX component on 23rd September after Viodentia released ver 1.2 of FairUse4WM [a program used to remove DRM from media files protected with microsoft WMDRM 10 or 11] to circumvent the microsoft patch.
After just 5 days, Viodentia has updated his program FairUse4WM to ver 1.3, that thrashes the microsoft's protection scheme yet again. All this inspite of the lawsuit launched by microsoft for copyright infringement against him.
26 September, 2006
21 September, 2006
The power of Innovation
This is what people with great ideas come out with... Folks at Moixa Energy have rolled out USBCELLs, AA batteries which can be recharged through any USB port. No need to buy a separate charger as a majority of people now have a computer/laptop with USB ports either at the office or at home.
Just flip the cap of the battery and plug it in to your laptop or desktop to start charging. These 1300mAH NiMH batteries take around 5 hours to charge to 90%+ of their capacity. A pair of these batteries will cost you £12.99 in the UK. USBCELLs can be used in a wide range of devices just like normal cells.
20 September, 2006
Google maps in orkut
orkut has introduced a new feature by which you can see your friends on a map. It is available only to some users now [probably in beta]. But the maps page can be accessed through this URL
http://www.orkut.com/Map.aspx
Read on at this link.
http://www.orkut.com/Map.aspx
Read on at this link.
01 September, 2006
The funda of partial payment in IPOs
This comes straight from my experience... I applied for the IPO of GMR Infrastructure in the first week of August through an icicidirect.com demat account.
The IPO section in the account page listed GMR Infrastructure Limited. I clicked the Go button against the company and it took me to another page to enter the quantity and price that i wanted. These details were entered. There were two options for the payment, Partial Payment and Full Payment. This was my first venture into the share market. I was also not familiar with the options available in icicidirect.com account. I selected the Partial Payment option assuming that the rest of the amount for the order would be automatically debited from my account when the allocation is done. I don't know what i was thinking at that time, i did not even bother to call their customer service to verify the implications of the Partial Payment option. I submitted the request and my order book showed that my request was in the Ordered status.
I checked a few days later and found that my order status was now Executed. Now came the date when the shares were being allocated. I was allocated the full amount of shares that i had requested for. But icicidirect.com wouldn't let me move them to my trading account so that i can sell them on the day of listing[that was my plan]. I was worried. So i called up their customer care and they told me that since i had not paid the full amount for my purchase, i would not be able to trade these shares until i pay the rest of the amount. They also informed that the company would contact me directly with instructions on how to pay the rest of the amount.
The day of the listing came. Still i didn't get any letter. Days went by and i was sure that my first investment would end up in loss[experts were of the opinion that GMR was a good holding only in the long term. that meant atleast 4-6 years]. Finally on the fifth day after the listing i got the letter. It stated that i had to take an 'Account payee' Demand Draft against a company account specified in the letter and submit it along with the letter to a particular bank branch, also listed in the letter. I took the DD today. Now i have to submit it tomorrow.
The letter also has this,
"Partly paid-up Equity Shares will not be traded until the Balance Amount Payable is received and corporate action for crediting Fully paid-up Equity Shares in your demat account is completed and trading approval in respect thereof is received from the Stock Exchanges. The process of corporate action may take about 2 weeks from the Due Date for Payment of Balance Amount or receipt of payment, whichever is later. During this period, these Partly paid-up Equity Shares cannot be traded." too bad.. :-( i can only sell my shares after a whole month from the date of listing... hope i won't end up in loss.
This all happened because i assumed something and that went wrong. So its always better to clarify things if the stakes are high.
The Partial Payment option is good for an IPO which is expected to be oversubscribed[that too by a good amount] and you are not sure of getting all the shares that you have requested. Always pay the full amount if you are not sure.
Better safe than sorry !!!
PS: The standard disclaimer applies
The IPO section in the account page listed GMR Infrastructure Limited. I clicked the Go button against the company and it took me to another page to enter the quantity and price that i wanted. These details were entered. There were two options for the payment, Partial Payment and Full Payment. This was my first venture into the share market. I was also not familiar with the options available in icicidirect.com account. I selected the Partial Payment option assuming that the rest of the amount for the order would be automatically debited from my account when the allocation is done. I don't know what i was thinking at that time, i did not even bother to call their customer service to verify the implications of the Partial Payment option. I submitted the request and my order book showed that my request was in the Ordered status.
I checked a few days later and found that my order status was now Executed. Now came the date when the shares were being allocated. I was allocated the full amount of shares that i had requested for. But icicidirect.com wouldn't let me move them to my trading account so that i can sell them on the day of listing[that was my plan]. I was worried. So i called up their customer care and they told me that since i had not paid the full amount for my purchase, i would not be able to trade these shares until i pay the rest of the amount. They also informed that the company would contact me directly with instructions on how to pay the rest of the amount.
The day of the listing came. Still i didn't get any letter. Days went by and i was sure that my first investment would end up in loss[experts were of the opinion that GMR was a good holding only in the long term. that meant atleast 4-6 years]. Finally on the fifth day after the listing i got the letter. It stated that i had to take an 'Account payee' Demand Draft against a company account specified in the letter and submit it along with the letter to a particular bank branch, also listed in the letter. I took the DD today. Now i have to submit it tomorrow.
The letter also has this,
"Partly paid-up Equity Shares will not be traded until the Balance Amount Payable is received and corporate action for crediting Fully paid-up Equity Shares in your demat account is completed and trading approval in respect thereof is received from the Stock Exchanges. The process of corporate action may take about 2 weeks from the Due Date for Payment of Balance Amount or receipt of payment, whichever is later. During this period, these Partly paid-up Equity Shares cannot be traded." too bad.. :-( i can only sell my shares after a whole month from the date of listing... hope i won't end up in loss.
This all happened because i assumed something and that went wrong. So its always better to clarify things if the stakes are high.
The Partial Payment option is good for an IPO which is expected to be oversubscribed[that too by a good amount] and you are not sure of getting all the shares that you have requested. Always pay the full amount if you are not sure.
Better safe than sorry !!!
PS: The standard disclaimer applies
29 August, 2006
Be careful with that IPOD... on a plane !!!
Read this real incident about a guy on a plane with an ipod. I'm sure you'll be laughing your hearts out after reading this.. i feel sorry for this guy...
I played WoW, I became a terrorist (story!)
I played WoW, I became a terrorist (story!)
07 July, 2006
H00ray... I'm goin home...
Hope to enjoy a few days away from the stagnant life@hyderabad.
have to meet some old friends.. hopefully go on a long loooong drive lest all the worries of life...
n choose among the two roads that diverge in the distance...[yup.. u got it right.. i'm a big fan of Robert Frost]
have to meet some old friends.. hopefully go on a long loooong drive lest all the worries of life...
n choose among the two roads that diverge in the distance...[yup.. u got it right.. i'm a big fan of Robert Frost]
28 May, 2006
Bon Echo Alpha 3 now availale
Bon Echo Alpha 3, the last alpha milestone of Mozilla Firefox 2.0 was released yesterday. The new features include
- anti-phishing support
- client-side session and persistent storage
- search history along with search suggestions for Google and Yahoo! searches in the SearchBar
21 May, 2006
Quit
Not my creation... taken from a fwd...
One day I decided to quit...I quit my job, my relationship, my
Spirituality... I wanted to quit my life.
One day I decided to quit...I quit my job, my relationship, my
Spirituality... I wanted to quit my life.
I went to the woods to have one last talk with God. "God", I said.. "Can you give me one good reason not to quit?" His answer surprised me...
"Look around", He said. "Do you see the fern and the bamboo?"
"Yes", I replied.
"When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. In the second year the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo." He said.
"In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I
would not quit. In year four, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. I would not quit." He said.
"Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant...
But just 6 months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle." He
said to me.
"Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling,
you have actually been growing roots?"
"I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you."
"Don't compare yourself to others." He said. "The bamboo had a
different purpose than the fern. Yet they both make the forest beautiful."
"Your time will come", God said to me. "You will rise high"
"How high should I rise?" I asked.
"How high will the bamboo rise?" He asked in return.
"As high as it can?" I questioned
"Yes." He said, "Give me glory by rising as high as you can."
I left the forest and bring back this story. I hope these words can
help you see that God will never give up on you.
He will never give up on you!
Just Be Positive All the Time
15 May, 2006
Vim (Vi IMproved) version 7.0
The version 7.0 of the popular editor is out. Some of the new features that have been added are:
Linux.com has explanations for some of the new features
- Spell checking support for about 50 languages
- Intelligent completion for C, HTML, Ruby, Python, PHP, etc.
- Tab pages, each containing multiple windows
- Undo branches: never accidentally lose text again
- Vim script supports Lists and Dictionaries (similar to Python)
- Vim script profiling
- Improved Unicode support
- Highlighting of cursor line, cursor column and matching braces
- Translated manual pages support.
- Internal grep; works on all platforms, searches compressed files
- Browsing remote directories, zip and tar archives
- Printing multi-byte text
Linux.com has explanations for some of the new features
14 May, 2006
Bon Echo Alpha 2 released today
Bon Echo Alpha 2, the second development milestone of Mozilla Firefox 2 aimed at developers and testers, is now available. Changes include inline spell checking in text boxes, automatic session restore after a crash and changes to the default tab behavior.
Get more info @ Bon Echo Alpha 2 Milestone Page
++ Bon Echo Alpha 2 review can be found here.
Get more info @ Bon Echo Alpha 2 Milestone Page
++ Bon Echo Alpha 2 review can be found here.
12 May, 2006
My Google Talk looks like this
This is my themed version of Google Talk ver 1.0.0.92. If any one wants this theme, feel free to contact me.
Light's Most Exotic Trick Yet: So Fast it Goes ... Backwards?
"Slowing down light used to be considered a neat trick for physics wonks. But researchers in New York now say they've pushed light into reverse. And as if to defy common sense, the backward-moving light travels faster than light."
Read on here
Courtesy slashdot.org
Read on here
Courtesy slashdot.org
29 March, 2006
Careless Whisper[Ladies And Gentleman] - George Michael
One song that will always be close to my heart...
Time can never mend the careless whispers of a good friend
To the heart and mind, ignorance is kind
there's no comfort in the truth
pain is all you'll find
Should've known better
I feel so unsure
as I take your hand and lead you to the dance floor
as the music dies, something in your eyes
calls to mind the silver screen
and all its sad good-byes
I'm never gonna dance again
guilty feet have got no rhythm
though it's easy to pretend
I know you're not a fool
Should've known better than to cheat a friend
and waste the chance that I've been given
so I'm never gonna dance again
the way I danced with you
Time can never mend
the careless whispers of a good friend
to the heart and mind
ignorance is kind
there's no comfort in the truth
pain is all you'll find
I'm never gonna dance again
guilty feet have got no rhythm
though it's easy to pretend
I know you're not a fool
Should've known better than to cheat a friend
and waste this chance that I've been given
so I'm never gonna dance again
the way I danced with you
Never without your love
Tonight the music seems so loud
I wish that we could lose this crowd
Maybe it's better this way
We'd hurt each other with the things we'd want to say
We could have been so good together
We could have lived this dance forever
But noone's gonna dance with me
Please stay
And I'm never gonna dance again
guilty feet have got no rhythm
though it's easy to pretend
I know you're not a fool
Should've known better than to cheat a friend
and waste the chance that I've been given
so I'm never gonna dance again
the way I danced with you
(Now that you're gone) Now that you're gone
(Now that you're gone) What I did's so wrong
that you had to leave me alone
Time can never mend the careless whispers of a good friend
To the heart and mind, ignorance is kind
there's no comfort in the truth
pain is all you'll find
Should've known better
I feel so unsure
as I take your hand and lead you to the dance floor
as the music dies, something in your eyes
calls to mind the silver screen
and all its sad good-byes
I'm never gonna dance again
guilty feet have got no rhythm
though it's easy to pretend
I know you're not a fool
Should've known better than to cheat a friend
and waste the chance that I've been given
so I'm never gonna dance again
the way I danced with you
Time can never mend
the careless whispers of a good friend
to the heart and mind
ignorance is kind
there's no comfort in the truth
pain is all you'll find
I'm never gonna dance again
guilty feet have got no rhythm
though it's easy to pretend
I know you're not a fool
Should've known better than to cheat a friend
and waste this chance that I've been given
so I'm never gonna dance again
the way I danced with you
Never without your love
Tonight the music seems so loud
I wish that we could lose this crowd
Maybe it's better this way
We'd hurt each other with the things we'd want to say
We could have been so good together
We could have lived this dance forever
But noone's gonna dance with me
Please stay
And I'm never gonna dance again
guilty feet have got no rhythm
though it's easy to pretend
I know you're not a fool
Should've known better than to cheat a friend
and waste the chance that I've been given
so I'm never gonna dance again
the way I danced with you
(Now that you're gone) Now that you're gone
(Now that you're gone) What I did's so wrong
that you had to leave me alone
13 February, 2006
Foxit Reader - u can use it on the fly
"Foxit Reader is a free reader for PDF (Portable Document Format) documents. You can view and print PDF documents with it.
Foxit Reader is small (the download is 1.2MB), so it downloads quickly. It doesn't need any installation, so you can start to run it as soon as you've downloaded it.
And It starts up immediately, so you don't need to wait for an annoying "Welcome" screen to disappear."
Foxit Reader is small (the download is 1.2MB), so it downloads quickly. It doesn't need any installation, so you can start to run it as soon as you've downloaded it.
And It starts up immediately, so you don't need to wait for an annoying "Welcome" screen to disappear."
-- an amazing piece of software. It's fast, requires no installation and has an interface similar to Adobe Acrobat Reader.
You can download it @ http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php
14 January, 2006
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