Feroz Khan passed Monday early morning in Bangalore.
I remember him for three of his movies. During my school days he came in Safar (with Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore). He had a song there “Jo Tumko Ho Pasand Vahi Baat Kahenge”.
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The next movie where I like both the movie and the character he played was Qurbani.
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And then for a long time I did not watch any of his movies. Lately saw Welcome and reminded of him again.
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A total entertainer.
That was the movie that I saw yesterday. It is based on the story by Mannu Bhanari. "Yehi Sach Hai".
You can read the story here.
The story is very much valid today. The songs are very melodious. You should go and listen them on you tube.
Main Characters.
| Amol Palekar |  |
| Vidya Sinha |  |
| Dinesh Thakur |  |
| Rajnigandha |  |
For the un-initiated people, Rajnigandha is a flower.
To see more read here or see the movie.
Songs Lyrics are by Yogesh. More about Yogesh Later.
Kai Baar Yun hi dekha hai (Mukesh)
Rajnigandha Phool Tumhari (Lata Mangeshkar)
Music is by Salil Chaudhary, A genius.
Backups are integral for the survival of a company. There are times when backups have saved companies. But just like failed relationships are never highlighted during marriages, similarly companies never highlight that they came so close to "close", just that a good backup saved them.
But I think that the amount of data backed up and the proportion of it used actually should be fraction of 1%. So is there any other solution. Should we device technologies that can deliver the safety of a backup but avoid the capacity of storage backups.
The volumes of disks, tapes containing backups surpasses the amount of data that we generate for business operations.
Since early times effort was put to ensure transmission of data. We all know that the first successful demonstration was by Samuel Morse. He invented the telegraph, and the Morse Code. It was the first time data was transmitted using electric power. This was 1844 when Morse did the first transmission from Washington DC to Baltimore (around 60 Kms).
But all successful models are based on earlier models that were proposed but somehow were not viable. In 1753 there was a proposal printed in a Scottish Magazine. The idea was to have 26 wires (one for each alphabet) run from town to town. A prototype was built. But somehow it never proved to be economical or more clearly, a business model could not be developed.
Scotland has been the land of so many firsts. We have Scots who have had numerous achievements like
- Adam Smith, "Wealth of Nations" was a Scot.
- Sir Arthur Conan Dyle, "Sherlock Holmes"
- Robert Louis Stevenson, "Treasure Island"
and now Sir Alex Ferguson of "Manchester United" are just a few names on the top of my head.
So moral of the story is IT Data Communication is not a 30-40 year thing. The ideas have been coming since 400 years.
Yesterday the beta of windows 7 has been released. This has generated lots of interest, gossip, expectations and of course predictions. Since XP, Windows OS are moving seriously. The previous versions whether Me, 98, 95 etc have DOS Kernel based.
10 years back, the requirement of users was not that tough. Computers and OS were still evolving. Today we need everything in the OS, including a coffee maker and microwave. And so are the OS become obese.
Lets us good sense prevails and users become more matured.
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A few games that I follow.
In the English Premier League, 2008 ended with Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United (in 1-2-3) places. The league is not yet over. But still it is safe to say that the top 5 will roughly remain same, except a rearrangement in the final stages of the league.
In Reliance ICC Ratings for both test matches and one dayers, Australia, India and South Africa share the top three. Australia is on the top on both versions of the game. India is 2nd on Test matches, but South Africa is second on One Dayers. Likely chance that this year end, Australia might be replaced as the world champions. But still too early to say.
In Formula One, Ferrari and Mc Laren Mercedes share the 1-2 position.
In the Beijing Olympic Games (2008), USA led in the total medal tally, followed by China and Russian Federation. But compared to Gold Medals, China stood first, followed by US and Russian Federation.
In 2009 there are no big sporting events.
Next Olympics are in 2012 - Britain.
Next Commonwealth Games are in 2010 - India
Next FIFA world cup is in 2010 - South Africa.
Next Winter Olympics are in 2010 - Canada
Next World Cup Field Hockey will be in 2010 - India
So 2009 will be an year where all countries and teams will be in the full preparation mode. India will be hosting Hockey and Commonwealth Games in 2010.
2009 is welcome. Wishing all of you a happy new year.
And a new year with Tom and Jerry. Let us be Jerry this year.
On the Indian TV there are a lot of TV shows that linked with SMS and voting. There used to be one or two shows earlier, but now there are plenty. But somehow the Indian Audience, the TV industry etc is totally confused about the pattern.
There are two aspects of such shows. An actor or a couple performs. The Judges give some marks and comments. The public votes. Both don't match. Somehow based on the votes the candidate gets eliminated who gets less votes. So how to get back people who are eliminated. The magic wand is "wild card".
Earlier days there used to be number of votes declared. Now a days that too is not there. So you really don't know whether number of votes were in hundreds, thousands or millions.
Overall something does not look correct in this format. First of all, if you are a judge in these shows, what are you judging? You see the same comments repeating. So why not have 5-6 points and show the marking. Secondly is assume there are 5-6 dances or songs on each episode. And a show runs for 20 weeks, 3 times a week, you are seeing 300 performances. Is there a learning coming out of this?
If you are a participant, it becomes do some dance and start the vote asking. Dial this number, or sms this number etc. What happened to the old winners. Were they able to launch their careers?
As audience it the most difficult part. You see one episode, miss a couple, see something here and there, and once in a while vote. Is it honest to the performer.
So then who votes? During the first Indian Idol, I voted a couple of times. After that never.
So this is total confusion. But then our TV shows rather than showing something meaningful, keep the audience involved in such shows. Will we get an Indian Playhouse disney, Cartoon network, Discover, History channel etc. Does not look like till my grand children become grand fathers.
Sometimes we have to lose focus to see things. In the 3d image below, you will have to lose focus. Don't focus your eyes but keep seeing the photo, and you will see a funnel. You may have to save this picture on your desktop and then see it.
हमारी यह कोशिश रही बडे दिनो से कि कोइ ऐसा तरीका निकाले जिससे हिन्दी मै लिखा जाये. आखिर तरीका मिल ही गया.
सुरेश कुमार
We had the keyboard discussed now let us see the mouse. Mouse can be classified based on a few ways.
Connectivity.
Mouse can be connected to a PC using either COM (Serial), PS2, USB, Bluetooth, Infrared, Wireless. The famous ones are USB, as they are cheap and affordable. For me anything that is equivalent to a lunch cost is affordable. I have seen some Mouse which are priced $50 and above. Sheer waste of money, unless your application genuinely needs that dpi.
Keys.
Mouse can have anything from 1 key to 10 keys. One to four mouse wheels. But to be useful to 90% of the productive community worldwide the two button + one wheel is good enough, unless you are of the Apple type.
Size and Color.
Mouse use to come roughly the size of a squeezed tennis ball. With white as the only color. But today I have seen mouse the size of a small lemon to the large ones as big as a PDA. In fact they look more like a cat than a mouse. There are all colors and designs. It is a fashion statement.
Technology.
Mouse can be wheel type or laser type. The wheel type were prevalent a lot during older days (a decade back). During my teaching days that time, a regular topic discussed in the meeting was how to save the mouse balls. :) The laser mouse is simple, efficient, accurate, and solved our meeting problem.
But then mouse was invented in 1968 by Douglas Engelbart at the Stanford Research Institute
So are you old or is the mouse older. For me I was born after the mouse was invented.
BEHOLD her, single in the field,
Yon solitary Highland Lass!
Reaping and singing by herself;
Stop here, or gently pass!
Alone she cuts and binds the grain,
And sings a melancholy strain;
O listen! for the Vale profound
Is overflowing with the sound.
No Nightingale did ever chaunt
More welcome notes to weary bands
Of travellers in some shady haunt,
Among Arabian sands:
A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard
In spring-time from the Cuckoo-bird,
Breaking the silence of the seas
Among the farthest Hebrides.
Will no one tell me what she sings?
Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow
For old, unhappy, far-off things,
And battles long ago:
Or is it some more humble lay,
Familiar matter of to-day?
Some natural sorrow, loss, or pain,
That has been, and may be again?
Whate'er the theme, the Maiden sang
As if her song could have no ending;
I saw her singing at her work,
And o'er the sickle bending;—
I listen'd, motionless and still;
And, as I mounted up the hill,
The music in my heart I bore,
Long after it was heard no more.
While lots has changed in the PC's and are still changing, the keyboard and its layout have remained the same for more than 100 years (and we hear that technology changes).
There are three keyboard layouts that are accepted universally, ofcourse the first being on almost all PC's
1. QWERTY layout.
2. DVORAK layout
3. MALT keyboard.
QWERTY layout was invented by Christopher Latham Sholes in 1873. DVORAK layout was invented by August Dvorak in the 1930, whereas MALT keyboard was devised by Lillian Malt.
Switching from QWERTY to DVORAK is a matter of going to control panel->keyboard->changing layout, for MALT keyboards you will need additional hardware. It is more "ergonomical".
![[figuring.jpg]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbxLAUsEbB6r8i5azzLUaDkIVV9PyAvmtf6801a8hjMVRwHSqSxN21rt-q_yU2QRjE-k-iK7D8LMsmvVfZQOtoi_qZ89H7mGj7wrIMSAH7MjvSeNR9sc27e9I66KdubWy8SJJUWg/s1600/figuring.jpg)
This is one of her books I read many many years ago. She is a Mathematical Genius. Then for many years I did not hear anything from her. I thought she has migrated to some other country or is busy in some other projects. She was in Singapore some days back and had a seminar. My daughter told me that she had visited her school. Old memories flashed. I had bought her book from Higginbothams. The stall was on Vijayawada Railway Station.
Some of her photos of past and present. She looks just the same.
Then
Now
Relates Sites.
In my school days there were very few of the students who used to wear watches. My dad had gone to US in those days and he had got one electronic watch. I was one of the firsts to wear an electronic watch in the school. I was searching of the important things that happened in the history of watches.
1500s=The first pocket watch was invented in Germany
1884=GMT recognized as the basis of time zones in England.
1956=Rolex has the first day-date display in the watch.
1962=First Quartz watch (Swiss made). Battery Operated.
1972=LCD. Liquid Crystal Display (Electronic) Watches.
Since then we have variation in the models. Essentially there are mechanical watches, automatic watches, quartz watches, Kinetic and electronic watches (battery operated and solar). Some extra features like FM/AM Radio, Temperature, GPS, Bluetooth, MP3 Player, Remote control, USB connected watches have been launched. I have yet to see any watches with integrated mobile phone. Watches in Phone are so prevalent, but phone in watches not yet. Or is it that I don't know?
How can we discuss watches without talking about HMT and Titan. My father is still a HMT fan and wears an HMT, I on the other hand wear a Titan.
In many email chain letters and many presentations, I have seen these two pictures/
How many people you see, How much time you took to find out, where are they etc etc.
Do you see an old woman or a young woman and what did you see first, and seeing front or seeing back etc etc. I think thousands of presentations had the speaker impressing the crowd with these photos.
Basically all this means that the presenter itself had been disillusioned with these images. And he or she used these images to understand more. Next time you see these images in emails or presentations, ask the sender/presenter. What did these images bring a change to their lives? And you will be surprised on listening to their stories. I use this a gauge to judge presenters.
Decided to write some technical history today.
Computer memory can be broadly classified into 3 categories
a. Based on Vacuum tubes.
b. Based on Ferrite Ring (called as Core memory). This was invented by Jay Forester.
c. Today's, semiconductor based LSI (Large Scale Integration) chips.
The revolution in memory technology came from Jay Forester. For a period of time, the core memory was used in 90% of the computers. No wonder we have the "core dumped" , the famous message we see during compiling C programs.
So what about SDRAM, EDORAM, DDR, DDR2. Will clear this mystery in the next post.
Suresh
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