I am a great hindi film music fan especially of Old film music. Of all the singers I have heard my favourite is Geeta Dutt. She has the most beautiful, youthful and energy filled voice. She has sung a variety of songs from the very happy ones to the very sad ones. As one person has said, she could sing for the doll one minute and for the moll the other! That was the kind of variety she had. Not many people know that she has sung over 1200 songs in hindi films. She has also sung songs in other languages including her mother tongue Bengali, Gujrati, Bhojpuri, Nepali and Marathi.
Her voice hits you like a thunderclap. One famous critic had said once, "Singer XYZ gale se gaati hai par Geeta Dil Se Gaati Hai." When one hears the big variety of her songs one realises this very well. Be it the cabaret style Mera Naam Chin Chin Choo, the sadly lilting Waqt Ne Kiya Kya Haseen Sitam or the wonderful Ched Chaad songs like Reham Kabhi to Farmao from Society, She does them wonderfully and lending the "Geeta touch" to all of them. It is a pity that due to her bad personal life She could not reach the even greater heights she could have reached. Her voice was thandi hawa and kaali ghata rolled into one.
It would be foolish of me to even think of listing which are my favourite songs of hers. There are simply too many. Most people are familiar with a few popular ones but her range is much more than that. The more I listen to her the more enamoured I am by her voice. Maybe I'll discuss some songs in later posts if it generates interest.
Today is her 78th Birth Anniversary and in her memory I am making the post.
There are many events taking place in memory of it. The first website in her memory www.geetadutt.com has been launched today by some members from www.hamaraforums.com and it is a beautiful piece of work. Her fans would find wonderful reading it. It makes you see her much more than the illinformed opinion heard so often.
Some people say for example, that she couldn't sing classical songs. Many myths like these get blasted when one goes through the site. She was truly an artiste for all time. May god bless her soul.
www.hamaraforums.com has a very active Geeta forum on it which loves sharing her songs and information. There is even an orkut community for her. A mail ID has been created by them geetaduttfans@rediffmail.com where one can post their choice of songs. The password is freely available on the community and one can get all.
Lastly, I'll say in somebody else's words, "Her voice had the sweetness of honey and the sting of the honey bee!"
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
Want to see yourself on a magazine cover?
Have you ever wondered how you would look on a magazine cover?
I discovered some sites which let you do such that:. You can try them out just for fun or positive reinforcements to remind you what you have to achieve still. :-)
Just upload a photo of yours there, choose a magazine cover and voila, it shall appear. Its that simple.
I discovered some sites which let you do such that:. You can try them out just for fun or positive reinforcements to remind you what you have to achieve still. :-)
- http://www.magmypic.com
- http://meonmag.com
- http://www.oncoverpage.com
- http://www.bighugelabs.com
Just upload a photo of yours there, choose a magazine cover and voila, it shall appear. Its that simple.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Virtualbox: Virtual Machines on your OS
Virtualbox is an open source software for emulating one software on another which I recently discovered. To put it simply it allows you to calculate virtual machines on your system. This means that you can install one OS within another. For example you could have a virtual machine with Windows XP on your system. This is what I did. I did this on a Debian Lenny system and am telling how I did it here.
First ensure that you are updated with the debian lenny repository.
1. apt-get install virtualbox-ose virtualbox-ose-source virtualbox-ose-modules-2.6-486 module-assistant
This will install the necessary software including the 486 image. Install appropriate module as per your need and ensure you are in that kernel after reboot.
2. module-assistant prepare
This prepares your module setup ensuring that your headers package is alright because this is the one against whom all the modules are compiled.
3. module-assistant auto-install virtualbox-ose
This installs the necessary modules.
4. modprobe vboxdrv
This loads the module.
5. Open the virtualbox software and follow the gui for making machines. Put type as XP. Ensure you have allowed CDs mounting. You can add XP installation CD and install it.
The new version allows shared folders also. In virtualbox you can decide the shared folders. These can be accessed by settings in My Network places.
1. go to 'My Computer' in WinXP and click on 'My Network Places'
2. select 'Choose another network location' and click 'Next' in service providers.
3. Browse to 'My Network Places' >> 'Entire Network' >> 'VirtualBox Shared Folders'. Here you will find the folder that you shared earlier using 'Devices' menu in VirtualBox VM as '\\VBOXSVR\...' Choose that folder and then click 'OK' to exit. And 'Next' to continue
4, Give a name to it and you are in business!
you may also need to install the guest extensions for that machine.
This gives the stability of linux underneath and an unstable XP inside. It runs really fast on my system!
Virtualbox is an open source software available for Linux, windows and Mac OS X also. But remember its an an x86 virtualization software package developed by Sun Microsystems. So will work on x86 and amd64 machines only.
First ensure that you are updated with the debian lenny repository.
1. apt-get install virtualbox-ose virtualbox-ose-source virtualbox-ose-modules-2.6-486 module-assistant
This will install the necessary software including the 486 image. Install appropriate module as per your need and ensure you are in that kernel after reboot.
2. module-assistant prepare
This prepares your module setup ensuring that your headers package is alright because this is the one against whom all the modules are compiled.
3. module-assistant auto-install virtualbox-ose
This installs the necessary modules.
4. modprobe vboxdrv
This loads the module.
5. Open the virtualbox software and follow the gui for making machines. Put type as XP. Ensure you have allowed CDs mounting. You can add XP installation CD and install it.
The new version allows shared folders also. In virtualbox you can decide the shared folders. These can be accessed by settings in My Network places.
1. go to 'My Computer' in WinXP and click on 'My Network Places'
2. select 'Choose another network location' and click 'Next' in service providers.
3. Browse to 'My Network Places' >> 'Entire Network' >> 'VirtualBox Shared Folders'. Here you will find the folder that you shared earlier using 'Devices' menu in VirtualBox VM as '\\VBOXSVR\...' Choose that folder and then click 'OK' to exit. And 'Next' to continue
4, Give a name to it and you are in business!
you may also need to install the guest extensions for that machine.
This gives the stability of linux underneath and an unstable XP inside. It runs really fast on my system!
Virtualbox is an open source software available for Linux, windows and Mac OS X also. But remember its an an x86 virtualization software package developed by Sun Microsystems. So will work on x86 and amd64 machines only.
Talk and Walk
All talk without walk is meaningless. IBM recently had a set of Ads with the tag line Doing it. In one particular one a lady, presumably a high executive is showing their innovation stations and says lots of things. In another one a lot of people are supposed to be "ideating" on the floor but haven't ideated about how they will innovate. At the end the tagline comes saying about stopping talk and start doing. IBM claims to show you how to do it. (no pun intended).
It brings up a very important point. Many people across cultures, jobs and races talk more and work less. This is detrimental to our progress as a civilisation and ultimately manking. We need to be helping each other to become better as a manking. I had read this book called "The Sigma Protocol" by Robert Ludlum (grab it. a good one). The villain makes a very valid point at one place (although i didn't like his solution's implementation!). The tragedy of mankind is that experts in each field have a great learning curve and often when they really become the experts their body is old. So they have very few years to actually give quality work. (Very true. Most nobel prizes are given to scientists for their work done at young ages in their old ages!). This is a global problem.
The only solution for this is to maximise the little time we do have and thus increase the global quality work output.
So help others. Share all that you know (US can start with sharing military and nuclear technology with India ;-) for example). This will help all of us get strong.
So stop talking and start doing.
It brings up a very important point. Many people across cultures, jobs and races talk more and work less. This is detrimental to our progress as a civilisation and ultimately manking. We need to be helping each other to become better as a manking. I had read this book called "The Sigma Protocol" by Robert Ludlum (grab it. a good one). The villain makes a very valid point at one place (although i didn't like his solution's implementation!). The tragedy of mankind is that experts in each field have a great learning curve and often when they really become the experts their body is old. So they have very few years to actually give quality work. (Very true. Most nobel prizes are given to scientists for their work done at young ages in their old ages!). This is a global problem.
The only solution for this is to maximise the little time we do have and thus increase the global quality work output.
So help others. Share all that you know (US can start with sharing military and nuclear technology with India ;-) for example). This will help all of us get strong.
So stop talking and start doing.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Rumour Mongers
There is one more tribe of people I don't like. They are the rumour mongers.
Some people love making gossip. I believe that its a myth that women make more gossip. Men make their own sort of gossip without even realising they are gossiping.
But what really gets my goat is malicious rumour mongers. They make unwarranted, absolutely false gossip which causes damage to others. Please refrain from doing this. It is a character flaw in my opinion.
Make the world a more wonderful place by being nice to all. Life is short. Spend your time in making something of it rather than indulging in gossip.
Small people make gossip. Grow up.
This particularly makes me angry when it comes from people in high positions and journalists. People in high positions must live a life of dignity. Journalists should never forget what they owe to the people. In the fight to make ends meet they should not tamper with the very fundamentals of the job. Much of the breaking news on news networks these days are too broken. They create a controversy out of totally different comments made by celebrities. Anyone with average intelligence can make out their fibs. Whom are they trying to make fools of? They should behave more responsibly and give good short news. There is enough happening in the world to more than fill the 24 hours.
Some people love making gossip. I believe that its a myth that women make more gossip. Men make their own sort of gossip without even realising they are gossiping.
But what really gets my goat is malicious rumour mongers. They make unwarranted, absolutely false gossip which causes damage to others. Please refrain from doing this. It is a character flaw in my opinion.
Make the world a more wonderful place by being nice to all. Life is short. Spend your time in making something of it rather than indulging in gossip.
Small people make gossip. Grow up.
This particularly makes me angry when it comes from people in high positions and journalists. People in high positions must live a life of dignity. Journalists should never forget what they owe to the people. In the fight to make ends meet they should not tamper with the very fundamentals of the job. Much of the breaking news on news networks these days are too broken. They create a controversy out of totally different comments made by celebrities. Anyone with average intelligence can make out their fibs. Whom are they trying to make fools of? They should behave more responsibly and give good short news. There is enough happening in the world to more than fill the 24 hours.
Obstructers
The success of any nation is determined by how hardworking and cooperative the people of that nation are. I believe there are intelligent people everywhere. Not all countries are born with opportunities but any country can make opportunities for its own people. There are many countries which are great examples of what a country can become if its people are good. Israel, singapore, japan, germany are just some of the examples for this. They have gone from being in very bad state to being world leaders in various fields.
The biggest reason for this in my opinion is that the people are very hard working, visionary and support each other. Even if i cannot do something but help another who can do it I would be doing a big service to the community.
Unfortunately that is not true in many cultures and it never ceases to annoy me. People don't do things themselves also and obstruct others too. I will not do and i will not let you do also. You have a fresh idea which is very different , revolutionary and does not fit my ideas. Therefore I will obstruct you. I will not encourage you. I cannot come to your level therefore I will bring you down to my level.
This is the attitude these people have and I find it very disgusting.
May their tribe reduce.
The biggest reason for this in my opinion is that the people are very hard working, visionary and support each other. Even if i cannot do something but help another who can do it I would be doing a big service to the community.
Unfortunately that is not true in many cultures and it never ceases to annoy me. People don't do things themselves also and obstruct others too. I will not do and i will not let you do also. You have a fresh idea which is very different , revolutionary and does not fit my ideas. Therefore I will obstruct you. I will not encourage you. I cannot come to your level therefore I will bring you down to my level.
This is the attitude these people have and I find it very disgusting.
May their tribe reduce.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Indore to Delhi: What happens at an airport?
I recently travelled by a Deccan flight from Indore to Delhi. While I was at the airport I realised many first timers may not know the airport procedures. Hence, I thought I'll mention them here.
1. When you reach the airport go to the departure section.
2. Keep the ticket handy because you will need to show the guard to get entry. If somebody is accompanying you they may need to take a separate ticket. Note however that visitors are not allowed beyond a point.
3. There will be a checking machine for your main luggage. usually they will put tags on your luggage here. (Each airline or a group may have a common checking point. Its a X-ray machine basically. Put your luggage at one end and receive it at the other).
4. Then go to the airlines counter for "check-in". What basically happens here is that you give your luggage and ticket. They prepare your boarding pass and give it to you. They will also weigh your luggage here probably. If it exceeds the limits you have to pay something extra. Seat preference if any can be given here. (A window seat means you can look out of the aircraft better. Being in an aisle seat means you can walk if you want without disturbing anyone).
5. Then go to security where they check you and the hand luggage (with a similar X-ray machine).
6. Then wait in the lounge near the gate where your flight boarding shall have to be done. On being announced show your boarding pass and go to the bus which takes you to the aircraft.
7. Before entering aircraft they will see your boarding pass.
8. Sit and tie your seatbelt. Now you are ready for the flight. The airhostess may give some instructions here after welcoming you about seat belt etc.
9. In Air Deccan they give a complimentary small water bottle. Reading material is also available including the day's paper and some other inflight material. Food has to be paid for during the breaks. In other airlines food maybe complimentary.
10. Keep your seat belts on till you reach. The takeoff and time before landing is the best time to see out of the window. Especially at night seeing the city below can be very humbling.
11. On reaching get off the aircraft and get onto the bus. It takes you to the terminal.
12. Find out at the terminal where your flight's luggage will come. Collect it and leave.
Thats it. your journey is through!
1. When you reach the airport go to the departure section.
2. Keep the ticket handy because you will need to show the guard to get entry. If somebody is accompanying you they may need to take a separate ticket. Note however that visitors are not allowed beyond a point.
3. There will be a checking machine for your main luggage. usually they will put tags on your luggage here. (Each airline or a group may have a common checking point. Its a X-ray machine basically. Put your luggage at one end and receive it at the other).
4. Then go to the airlines counter for "check-in". What basically happens here is that you give your luggage and ticket. They prepare your boarding pass and give it to you. They will also weigh your luggage here probably. If it exceeds the limits you have to pay something extra. Seat preference if any can be given here. (A window seat means you can look out of the aircraft better. Being in an aisle seat means you can walk if you want without disturbing anyone).
5. Then go to security where they check you and the hand luggage (with a similar X-ray machine).
6. Then wait in the lounge near the gate where your flight boarding shall have to be done. On being announced show your boarding pass and go to the bus which takes you to the aircraft.
7. Before entering aircraft they will see your boarding pass.
8. Sit and tie your seatbelt. Now you are ready for the flight. The airhostess may give some instructions here after welcoming you about seat belt etc.
9. In Air Deccan they give a complimentary small water bottle. Reading material is also available including the day's paper and some other inflight material. Food has to be paid for during the breaks. In other airlines food maybe complimentary.
10. Keep your seat belts on till you reach. The takeoff and time before landing is the best time to see out of the window. Especially at night seeing the city below can be very humbling.
11. On reaching get off the aircraft and get onto the bus. It takes you to the terminal.
12. Find out at the terminal where your flight's luggage will come. Collect it and leave.
Thats it. your journey is through!
Monday, May 19, 2008
Manual Configuration for automounting your ntfs and fat32 partitions
This is a problem I faced earlier when winduhs partitions were not automatically shown to me. I have the bad habit of keeping all songs there and wanted it automatically mounted. I didn't find a comprehensive clear solution anywhere which told me everything the way I wanted it. So I am mentioning it here to help others.
For doing this you shall need to be root.
For doing this you shall need to be root.
1. As root run a 'fdisk -l ' to recognise the partition numbers and types. Note these. The listing on my system looks like this:-
Disk /dev/sda: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 1 1274 10233373+ 12 Compaq diagnostics
/dev/sda2 * 1275 5950 37557418+ 6 FAT16
/dev/sda3 5950 10030 32768000 c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
/dev/sda4 10030 17931 63470630 f W95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/sda5 10030 14103 32721920 b W95 FAT32
/dev/sda6 14104 15378 10238976 b W95 FAT32
/dev/sda7 15379 15499 971901 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda8 15500 17931 19535008+ 83 Linux
The Device boot mentioned in first column is the partition number you want.
2. For all vfat partitions make a new entry in the /etc/fstab file as follows:-
/dev/sda3 /mnt/f vfat users,rw,auto,iocharset=utf8,umask=000 0 0
The above means that the partition /dev/sda3 should be mounted to /mnt/f. It shall be a utf8 charset and shall be accessible to all users. You must make the /mnt/f directory too after making the entry in the file.(Thats 'mkdir /mnt/f' as root in case you didn't know).
3. For the ntfs partitions which you want read write the ntfs-3g driver package must be installed (Debian etch users can get it from backports.org). Once that is done make an entry like this:-
/dev/sda2 /mnt/c/dev/sda2 /mnt/c ntfs-3g defaults 0 0
The above means that the ntfs partition /dev/sda2 shall be mounted to /mnt/c.
4. Repeat the same procedure for all the partitions that you have. Make sure that the mounting directories are created by you.
5. After next reboot all ntfs and vfat shall be mounted in r-w for all users! (Ignore the warning about utf8 you get in bootup for vfat. Thats the only charset that works).
6. Incase you have a multiboot with many linux distros where you want another distro's ext3 partition also mounted make a similar entry:-
/dev/sda8 /mnt/g ext3 users,rw,auto,umask=000 0 0
7. Last but not the least if you want to use linux partitions in Winduhs please use the ext2(works for ext3 also) driver from www.fs-driver.org
Hope this helps someone. If you have problems, please comment.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Some small poems
I like writing occasionally. Till few years back I used to write small poems when in the mood. I don't claim them to be great but they were definitely a creative outlet for me in times of stress. I am posting some recent tit bits here. 1. Journey
poem writing is a journeythought searching the tourney
poem writing is a journeythought searching the tourney
clarity leads to money
hillarity makes it funny
work you need to continue
things end some time or other,
they complete and meet another
2. Start to End Start is what you need to begin,
thoughts you need to search within,work you need to continue
and then only you can end the milieu
things end some time or other,
they complete and meet another
they change with the weather
they keep moving hither and thither
birds of a feather flock together
those of different ones block together
good friends clock together
good enemies track each other
what is one without the other
just a child without a mother.
3. WOW what makes your heart go wow,
what makes your senses go wow,
the search for the holy cow,
3. WOW what makes your heart go wow,
what makes your senses go wow,
the search for the holy cow,
the struggle to complete your vow
the fight to earn your chow
the ecstacy of meeting what you wanted to show,
every thing you like and the heart goes wow
4. OK are things in life just ok,
all the work and just ok,
why do small things seem ok,
i struggled to make them ok,
4. OK are things in life just ok,
all the work and just ok,
why do small things seem ok,
i struggled to make them ok,
please dont say just ok
they are more than just ok
5. Come into my Garden i beg your pardon
5. Come into my Garden i beg your pardon
come into my garden
there are some lovely posies
and a thousand roses
you say you are great
but only your eyes are great
what i write are just words
when you read they become more than words
all this is mere word play,
life is a much bigger playwhere all just have rules to play
life is a much bigger playwhere all just have rules to play
and these get broken every day
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Why I like Debian?
Debian is my favourite GNU/Linux Distro for the following reasons:-
1. It has the best packaging system (APT) in the world.
2. It is run by a community and not influenced by any company.
3. It has one of the largest number of packages and supports the most number of architectures. Due to this I can work on any architecture without changing the basics. i have seen debian working even on a small arm board.
4. It is flexible. It is easy to customise and this is the reason why so many distributions have been spawned by it including Ubuntu, Knoppix, Damn Small Linux, Mepis and many more.
5. They have the best quality control I have seen in any distribution.
6. You have the option between installing source packages and binary packages.
7. Everything I use is free. If it is not I am made aware of it. They fight for freedom. (A special set of people debian-legal take care of such issues).
8. They are one of the oldest distributions (since 1993) and know their job well.
9. I have the option to choose between stable and new packages.
10. Using debian is fun.
11. There are many sites like debianhelp.org which help you if you get stuck.
12. Many people complain that their releases are slow. But I find the testing version good enough for use. So I am not worried about that.
13. backports.org and debian-multimedia.org often gives packages which are not available so I am not really at a loss too.
14. Due to large number of packages and libraries even when I download the sources I usually get the libraries easily from the repos.
15. I have a lot of options for customisation.
16. Many useful tools are available.
The list could go on and on. Due to all these reasons I recommend Debian GNU/Linux to all.
1. It has the best packaging system (APT) in the world.
2. It is run by a community and not influenced by any company.
3. It has one of the largest number of packages and supports the most number of architectures. Due to this I can work on any architecture without changing the basics. i have seen debian working even on a small arm board.
4. It is flexible. It is easy to customise and this is the reason why so many distributions have been spawned by it including Ubuntu, Knoppix, Damn Small Linux, Mepis and many more.
5. They have the best quality control I have seen in any distribution.
6. You have the option between installing source packages and binary packages.
7. Everything I use is free. If it is not I am made aware of it. They fight for freedom. (A special set of people debian-legal take care of such issues).
8. They are one of the oldest distributions (since 1993) and know their job well.
9. I have the option to choose between stable and new packages.
10. Using debian is fun.
11. There are many sites like debianhelp.org which help you if you get stuck.
12. Many people complain that their releases are slow. But I find the testing version good enough for use. So I am not worried about that.
13. backports.org and debian-multimedia.org often gives packages which are not available so I am not really at a loss too.
14. Due to large number of packages and libraries even when I download the sources I usually get the libraries easily from the repos.
15. I have a lot of options for customisation.
16. Many useful tools are available.
The list could go on and on. Due to all these reasons I recommend Debian GNU/Linux to all.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Free Software Vs Open Source
The free software movement was started by Richard M Stallman in the 1980s. (www.stallman.org). The aim of the movement in popular opinion is to forward the cause of community based software development. As opposed to proprietary softwares whose makers often restrict many things, it aims to eliminate all restrictions. This includes but is not Limited to the availability of source code. The story of how it started can be found in one of stallman's essays which normally comes with emacs documentation. C-h C-p would tell the history of the movement and the organisation (Free Software Foundation) founded by Stallman to further the cause. It is a nice read and would make many things clear.
Free software is about the freedom to use the software and it does not talk about cost of the software. (unfortunately there is no word in english which conveys this). It has famously been said "Free as in freedom not as in free beer".
In hindi there is a word called "mukt" which conveys the concept clearly. For this reason in India it is being called mukt software by many. (For similar reasons many in Europe call it libre software since it stands for liberty not cost).
Free software is a matter of the users' freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software.
If a software can give all these rights to you it is free software else it is not.
There has been a term in vogue called "Open Source" which has lead to lots of confusion. I am not talking about the Open Source Definition here. (It provides some of these things). But when closed minds talk all they can think of from the term is that code is available. Code being available is not the only aspect of free software. For this reason I recommend to all to not use this term because when people talk about "open source" thats what they think of. Its possible for a software to be open but not free. The software which meet the requirements of freedom are free and others are non-free.
Each distribution has its own guidelines for deciding this. (For example, my favourite distribution Debian has what they call the Debian Free Software Guidelines , DFSG for short. You can read it on their site www.debian.org).
There are many examples of "open source" but non-free software.
One small example I can think of immediately which is maybe not the best one to start with but here goes. My office had bought a PC-Add on card from a company. We wanted to use this on linux. He had provided windows drivers but his linux drivers were binary only. They were not working. I requested the company for the source. They gave the source to me but I had to sign a Non-disclosure Agreement with them. Due to this agreement I can modify the source and give to them. But I can not give it to you. This is restrictive software. The code is available but non-free.
Sometimes components of software are free while others are not there. Some years back KDE itself being free depended on the Qt library which was not released under GPL(GNU Public License- the most popular copyleft licence under which most free software is released. See www.gnu.org for more details). so kde although itself free depended on a non-free software library. (Debian normally places such softwares in the contrib section and the non-free components in the non-free section). The issue was resolved when Qt's regulating company Trolltech fell in line. Our efforts and refusing to use them can bring many other companies in line.
Another good example is java. They have been talking about releasing Java and many people have falsely started thinking that its free. Thats not the case. Java can be free only when ALL of its components are released under a free licence. A piecemeal approach wont work.(the classpath for example. AWT and swing to my knowledge are not completely 'out'). I therefore suggest to all to use GNU classpath tools and not the non-free java jdk. Using such softwares ensures you are using free components only. The Java jdk is a trap. You won't even realise when you are using features specific to sun's implementation which is non-free. There is a great need for developers who can work with GNU to put missing features missing in GNU's efforts.
I hope I have cleared some misconceptions here.
So use free software. Don't use the confusing term "open source".
Do add your comments so that I can improve this post.
Free software is about the freedom to use the software and it does not talk about cost of the software. (unfortunately there is no word in english which conveys this). It has famously been said "Free as in freedom not as in free beer".
In hindi there is a word called "mukt" which conveys the concept clearly. For this reason in India it is being called mukt software by many. (For similar reasons many in Europe call it libre software since it stands for liberty not cost).
Free software is a matter of the users' freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software.
If a software can give all these rights to you it is free software else it is not.
There has been a term in vogue called "Open Source" which has lead to lots of confusion. I am not talking about the Open Source Definition here. (It provides some of these things). But when closed minds talk all they can think of from the term is that code is available. Code being available is not the only aspect of free software. For this reason I recommend to all to not use this term because when people talk about "open source" thats what they think of. Its possible for a software to be open but not free. The software which meet the requirements of freedom are free and others are non-free.
Each distribution has its own guidelines for deciding this. (For example, my favourite distribution Debian has what they call the Debian Free Software Guidelines , DFSG for short. You can read it on their site www.debian.org).
There are many examples of "open source" but non-free software.
One small example I can think of immediately which is maybe not the best one to start with but here goes. My office had bought a PC-Add on card from a company. We wanted to use this on linux. He had provided windows drivers but his linux drivers were binary only. They were not working. I requested the company for the source. They gave the source to me but I had to sign a Non-disclosure Agreement with them. Due to this agreement I can modify the source and give to them. But I can not give it to you. This is restrictive software. The code is available but non-free.
Sometimes components of software are free while others are not there. Some years back KDE itself being free depended on the Qt library which was not released under GPL(GNU Public License- the most popular copyleft licence under which most free software is released. See www.gnu.org for more details). so kde although itself free depended on a non-free software library. (Debian normally places such softwares in the contrib section and the non-free components in the non-free section). The issue was resolved when Qt's regulating company Trolltech fell in line. Our efforts and refusing to use them can bring many other companies in line.
Another good example is java. They have been talking about releasing Java and many people have falsely started thinking that its free. Thats not the case. Java can be free only when ALL of its components are released under a free licence. A piecemeal approach wont work.(the classpath for example. AWT and swing to my knowledge are not completely 'out'). I therefore suggest to all to use GNU classpath tools and not the non-free java jdk. Using such softwares ensures you are using free components only. The Java jdk is a trap. You won't even realise when you are using features specific to sun's implementation which is non-free. There is a great need for developers who can work with GNU to put missing features missing in GNU's efforts.
I hope I have cleared some misconceptions here.
So use free software. Don't use the confusing term "open source".
Do add your comments so that I can improve this post.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Focus
Focus is a must to achieve anything, however small. One must concentrate on the task at hand. If we pay full attention to what we are doing we increase the chances of doing that well. I am not a fan of so called multitasking. One should do only one job at a time and do our best at it. Do your best and leave the rest. That is the slogan to be followed if one wants to be successful. And if inspite of it you don't reach your goal, don't loose heart. Tomorrow is after all another day. persistence pays of in the long run.
When you focus you can look at everything very objectively and take the right decisions.
When you focus you can look at everything very objectively and take the right decisions.
Stand up for yourself
Sometimes inspite of your best efforts you don't seem to be doing things right. It could be that one subject in which you always reach bottom of the class even if you work very hard. It could be the results of your pursuit for something.
It could also be that you made a choice in life and everybody comes hollering at you, demanding to know how could you do it?! Without being judgemental about your past choices or decisions my advice for that is to stand by them. The decisions you make are made at a particular time with certain thoughts. They are never right or wrong. Don't let second, third and future thoughts trouble you. Whatever decision you made was right at that time. Leave things at that. Thinking about them again doesn't change them. So one must learn to accept them and stand by them. Tell yourself, "I made that decision in a particular frame of mind. It was right at that point of time and I refuse to get affected by what others say of it now. I stand by my decision. "
Once we accept our old decisions its so easy to move forward with life.
Judging can sometimes be such a waste of time, isn't it?
It doesn't change anything but you loose the precious moments you had in hand. So don't judge. Just move forward.Stand by yourself no matter what. (Always try to take informed decisions though.)
It could also be that you made a choice in life and everybody comes hollering at you, demanding to know how could you do it?! Without being judgemental about your past choices or decisions my advice for that is to stand by them. The decisions you make are made at a particular time with certain thoughts. They are never right or wrong. Don't let second, third and future thoughts trouble you. Whatever decision you made was right at that time. Leave things at that. Thinking about them again doesn't change them. So one must learn to accept them and stand by them. Tell yourself, "I made that decision in a particular frame of mind. It was right at that point of time and I refuse to get affected by what others say of it now. I stand by my decision. "
Once we accept our old decisions its so easy to move forward with life.
Judging can sometimes be such a waste of time, isn't it?
It doesn't change anything but you loose the precious moments you had in hand. So don't judge. Just move forward.Stand by yourself no matter what. (Always try to take informed decisions though.)
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Dependencies
There are occasions in life when one wants things done ASAP (As soon as possible). Impatience is certainly not a virtue of the great but is definitely a trait of the common man. (Coming to think of it, great men aren't really divine. I have touched a couple of them and so I know, they are only flesh and blood with a few bones thrown in!). To be successful one needs to be ultra-cool and unfazed by all that can go wrong when you don't want it to. Its always easier to do things when they are small. A trivial task does not warrant your attention and talents for long. You just do it fast. But things no longer remain simple when you want something big. A big task means that it has a lot of intricacies and angles. And unfortunately, it no longer remains a one man/woman job. That brings along with it what could be one's biggest nightmare - Dependencies. Your completion of the task depends on many stars. (conditions apply). Certain events must happen for you to be through with it. My biggest problem happens when there are other people involved.
Be nice to your people, don't over expect but ensure things are on track and all shall be fine. Dependencies can be managed!
- The first biggest problem is to communicate whats in your head to theirs. Now thats easier said than done. (Now I know why bosses get frustrated when you do exactly opposite of what they wanted!). Documenting exactly what you want goes a long way. I feel if everything is written there are less chances of your deviating from what is wanted. That is true not only for others but yourself too. This is because the plan in your brain is a soft copy, no doubt but it is not a digital copy - liable to change. Hence, one must plan in writing what needs to be done. Believe me, it really makes you organized.
- The second problem is whom to share the task with? Its usually good if you know whom to give it to. If you don't its probably a good idea if you find someone, you should mentor him/her for the task. Initially you can be with him/her but slowly you should move away. As a good manager its important that you let your colleagues make their own decision. Nobody depends on a good manager. They simply do the job for them.
- Monitoring the work is another grey area. Again, document and plan it. Don't unnecessarily poke into your colleagues noses. Be helpful without being too intrusive. Ofcourse, there are some lazy bones whom you should be always after! You must always keep appreciating good work anyone does. Talk about them not you. It goes a long way in having a good team spirit around.
- Don't try to do everything is a golden rule to be followed.
- Resource crunch can be a trouble. Please plan ahead what all you'll be needing. Keep it ready and you won't be stuck later.
Be nice to your people, don't over expect but ensure things are on track and all shall be fine. Dependencies can be managed!
The pursuit of happiness
Sometimes I wonder what is this life, just a chase trying to go after something not yet in your hands, yet a part of the myriad possibilities that life seems to offer us all the time. This surely gives me a sense of bewilderment off and on increasing the mystery of this great thing we call life. In our pursuit for things out of reach we go through a rollercoaster of experiences, some wonderful while some seem to sap out all you seem to have. But voila, then you discover, things are not over, friend. Its a new phase. A clean slate on which you are free to write whatever you want. You can make whatever you want of yourself. There is a slight problem occasionally though. Some call it inertia. I prefer to call it a sense of wanting to be stationary. I know many people don't like change in life. Like many things in life, change is a double edged sword. It can go both ways. It is this wanting no change which has led to delays in the arrival of many achievements of mankind. But then I guess everything has its time. If only we would let go, ready to experiment with what we have we could really make our life so much more exciting. We should realise we have only this finite time on earth which we should utilise to the maximum and leave an imprint in the sands of time. When I go to the golden gates, I want to be remembered for what I am and not who I was. (I am yet to do something worthwhile to be remembered but hope I will. Mark twain once said, to be great one must either write something great or be written about. Both are yet to happen!). The reason why I feel we are not happy are manifold. On a number of occasions we aim for the moon. Now that is good and bad. Good, because if we do that we can reach more than if we aimed for something lower. The bad part you may get demotivated. But don't let that stop you. We should be optimistic and concentrate on the good parts of life. (Life is too short to concentrate on the bad things). Of course, beware my friend. Don't spit on the moon. It'll all fall on you! On other occasions I find that I don't get things because I was doing the wrong things at the right time. My priorities are sometimes misplaced leading to wastage of precious time. I should learn to prioritise and manage things efficiently. I can't just do away with my responsibility to myself and society by taking things lightly when I shouldn't. Sometimes we leave too much to fate and that doesn't pay off well. We should really be doing our best and leaving the rest. There are multiple reasons like this which may lead to non-attainment of goals. But the key is tomorrow is another day. And more importantly, its the first day of the rest of your life. We must make most of it. And while we are doing that, we should never forget that each moment is a gift from god to be enjoyed to the maximum. Be happy in the moment cause it won't return. Also one needs to be happy for whatever comes your way. When things are not going where you want them to, one should never forget the things we have. Many people don't even have a proper meal a day even today. So we should thank god everyday for everything he gives us. All expectations from oneself should be realistic and one shouldn't have any expectations from others if one wants to avoid trouble. Once you do that everything you get is a bonus and life is wonderful. So go ahead, try to do things the best you can and then relax.That shall extract the true Joie De Vivre!
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