Tech @ IrrashonallyUrs!

Run Chef Run - My Game for CodeChef Contest!

2009-06-21T15:10:00.007+05:30

Been a while eh? It's been more than two months since I last posted (Ironically about one year of blogging!). For those who're still following this blog hoping for a good post, well here it is!

Coming to the point, the past few days have been pretty different. A lot of things have changed, for example the fact that I've hardly been online lately (Can't help it, I don't have net access at my Institute in Mysore, where I'm doing a Summer Internship). So I've been spending a lot of time exploring things not in the World Wide Web.

And I finally succeeded in completing one of the "10 Things to do before I die" (Okay I don't really have such a list, but I guess now is a good time to come up with one!). So well, I made a game. Yup. Yes. Yeah. (Yoyo?) Sorry to disappoint you if you were expecting something greeattt. :P

CodeChef, a Directi Initiative, offers regular coding contests (aka codejams) apart from a huge collection of practise problems which you can solve in your free time. This May, they decided to do something different, and held a Browser Based Game Contest (Flash/JS Games). I was eager to take part in it, but couldn't take out much time from my summer internship. Anyway, I made a small flash game (1 Day of Photoshop + 2 Days of Flash) and came up with this:

CLICK TO PLAY!

The game is pretty simple. You are the Chef, you need to run all the way, jump over Binary Heaps and slide under Dangling Pointers (A little too geeky names eh?). And if you notice carefully (I'm sure you didn't :P), nearly all major objects are made using TEXT/KEYBOARD Characters ONLY (Like the Trees using "#" and Mountains using "&"). Sadly gif compression really (REALLY) screws up the detailing, so maybe you should wait for a while for better graphics (yes I'll make a new version soon!).

As for those who're thinking about the code, well basically everytime you play, the Environment objects (Trees/Clouds/Mountains/Bushes) are generated at random, and so are the Enemy (Or whatever you want to call that). So sometimes it'll be a little hard to play the game and sometime you'll just be plain lucky :P

Anyhoo comments about the game are most welcome. And please don't hesitate to criticise it! (Though a little description about what's not good will be better than the more common "This is $#!T" comment :P)

Oh & not to forget, I got an "Honorable Mention" for my game! You can check out all the Winning Games at the official blog post.

Thank you CodeChef for the mention! (I get a T-Shirt too! Yipee!)

PS: If you're a student at BITS Pilani, Goa Campus, gear up as CodeChef student Chapter will be up & running next sem! (You should know that by now! :P)

Lemme know how the game was! =) ;)

5 Superpowers your Gmail should have!

2009-03-01T16:58:00.007+05:30

Here it is! The recipe to make the best Mailing service even better! With the Gmail team working hard to add more & more features to Gmail, it’s easy to miss out a few amazing ones. Make sure you try these out!

So here are the 5 new Gmail features that’ll surely boost your Gmail!

1. Arrange & Access your mails better using Multiple Inboxes!

So you’ve been adding loads of filters, organizing mails in labels (No? Then you better read my earlier post about 10 Gmail features you should know!). How about dividing your inbox so that some important labels are visible separately? At Gmail, if you ask for it, you get it! Just enable"Multiple Inbox" and start playing around! Here’s more in the Official post! Oh & you can view mails from multiple accounts arranged nicely like this!

I’m currently using it do show my Facebook/Orkut/LinkedIn updates (Add me!) & MSP related mails next to my inbox. Sweet eh?

2. Labelling is now so much fun!

As you know, you can keep your mails in different labels (Everyone's doing it!). So the Gmail team was kind enough to give us to buttons on the top bar to help us easily add, remove labels from mails. So now it’s easy to apply a label and remove the mail from the inbox using the “Move To” option, or use the “Labels” menu to just add/remove a label (will not archive the mail). And yes, there’s an auto-complete too (No more scrolling through 30 labels!)
Here’s more on the Gmail blog!
Oh & for those geeks out there, you can press “v” for “Move To” & “l” for “Labels” menu. Yey!

3. Offline Gmail – No more worries about your slow connection!

Ever since Gmail became a part of our life, we’ve been screaming at our internet connection for not behaving nicely. Don’t worry, just enable “Offline Gmail” from the Labs and easily use Gmail even when you’re disconnected/have a slow connection. You need to go online once a while though to refresh your inbox (Mails won’t fly to your computer you know!) :P

Check out how to use Google Gears to enable Offline Gmail!

4. Be in contact with your contacts!

Finally, the Gmail Contact Section has improved. Do you have different mail ids of the same person? Add both the emails under one! Just select the email ids & choose “Merge”! You can also easily add people to your “frequently mailed” list & delete contacts from “My Contacts”. Not to forget, it’s now possible to search through the contacts details too (Looking for someone who lives in Bangalore? Look for Bangalore then and it’ll search for all contacts with “Bangalore” in their address!). Here’s more on the changes.

Being in touch with others was never so easy! :D

5. Small features add up to form a more powerful service!

There are plenty of new additions to Gmail since I last posted. You can now add your location to your signature, attach multiple files at once (and there’s a sweet progress bar too!), choose your own color scheme for Gmail, and tweak the title to show “Inbox (21) - Gmail” instead of “Gmail – Inbox (21)”.

Of course, I’ve been talking about new features in Gmail lab for a while now. Do check out the following posts if you haven’t!!

Don't forget to subscribe to get instant updates! :)

So how are you using Gmail’s new features? What all superpowers does YOUR gmail have, eh? :D
Do try these out & let me know your experience!

PS: Just added a "Share" Button so you can share these tips with other. Or Digg/Stumble it! :D

20 Blogs you can't live without!!

2009-01-12T14:44:00.007+05:30

Ever since my blog crossed 20,000 hits (Yay!), I've been trying to come up with the best post I could think of. The best compilation I could write. And so after 2 days of net surfing, (Slow campus net wasn't helping :X) here's a list of 20 (Design+Tech+Blogging Tips) Blogs, that you MUST check out!

I've choosen blogs that I've been reading regularly, and I'm sure you would love to read to! Also, I've listed 3 posts that I think you should check for each blog (and then I'm sure you'll be looking around for more!)

Oh & maybe this would be a good time to start using a Blog Reader (Or maybe switch to a better one?). Check out my post on 6 Ways to keep up with Blog Updates (Using RSS) to make sure you don't miss any new post on these blogs! (And mine too!)

So gear up for the 20 Blogs that you MUST check out!

10 Design Blogs

It's been only a couple of months since I started reading up about Designing, and now that comprises of most of the blogs that I read! The content of each blog is so great, that it took me quite some time to short list 10 Design Blogs I'm sure you'll love! There are a lot more, so I'll keep others for the next time!

10Steps.SG : It has a really nice collection of Photoshop Tutorials (& Some nice posts for ideas!)

Abduzeedo : Weird name, but this is a blog you would fall in love with! Even if you aren't remotely interested in Designing, the Photos & Artwork here are splendid!

20 Fantastic Deviant Wallpapers
Great Graphic Design Online Courses
60 Great Abduzeedo Articles from 2008
Oh & don't forget to check their Daily Inspiration Series for some excellent Designs & Photos everyday!

DesignShard : Great Design, Even better Blog. Very popular for it's top quality content. Worth bookmarking!

Just Creative Design : Remember Jacob Cass? (He gave a video lecture on "Logo Design" in our campus!). Young, but awesome at what he does! (Did you check his Logo Of The Day site?)

NETTUTS : From the creators of PSDTUTS (Below), here's another great site! From CSS to PHP, it covers a lot!

Noupe : Another impressive Design Blog. Oh & this covers a lot topics, so has a nice variety of posts!

PSDFan : Just when you thought you can never learn Photoshop, you stumble upon something like this. Next day, your friends are all around you asking you to show more of your designs!

PSDTUTS : THE Site to go for Photoshop Tutorials. You'll die playing around but their tutorials won't end. I would download their whole site for referring to if I could! :D

Smashing Magazine : Pretty cool design, and amazing content. What more can we ask for!

Web Designer Wall : I hate them. Such people shouldn't be allowed to be designers. Once you look at their site, you'll, well, just keep staring at it. NEVER seen a site with a better design! One day, I'll get them to design my blog. One day.... :D (For those who're confused, just go check their site. It's great!)

6 Tech Blogs

I love staying updated with Tech news, but there are some blog that are different. Blogs where authors put effort into each post. So here are 6 Tech Blogs I think you must subscribe to!

LifeHacker : A MUST for everyone who is slightly interested in Technology. The posts are very simple and well explained, and cover a wide range of topics. Really amazing team of writers too!

TechCrunch : One of the most quoted Tech Blogs, this will surely help you keep updated with what's new. And unlike other Tech Blogs which mostly link to the latest news (like Techmeme), TechCrunch Team puts a lot of effort in each post. Check it out!

The Google Blog : This is something that every Google fan must read. Frequent updates of nearly everything big that's related to Google, from their April Fool Pranks to the Search Trends!

The GMail Blog : I've quoted them in a lot of my posts, simply because this will keep you updated about your favorite email service - GMail! :)

Digital Inspiration : This one gets a special mention not just because Amit Agarwal is an Indian, but because the writing style is very easy to understand, with minimum jargon in it! Superb blog!

MS/Web : Now we can't forget Microsoft so easily, can we? MS/Web is a really useful blog which keeps you updated with some popular posts around the web (And no, it isn't just Microsoft related posts). And you can also narrow down and choose a particular category of posts to read!

4 Blogging Tips Blogs

I know there are loads of such blogs everywhere, but these are some of the special ones, that I've been reading for a long time. I give full credit to these blogs for making my blog what it is today!

Must-read for all Bloggers/Going-to-be-Bloggers!

BloggerBuster : This one by Amanda is the best collection of the Blogger tips you'll ever find. And ofcourse, there are plenty of free Blogger Templates there too!

Blog University : Another amazing blog for Blogger Tips. One of the scripts that I used was inspired by this blog!

Problogger : Starting a new blog? Not happy with the way your readers are reacting? Problogger helps you become, well, a Pro Blogger! :D

DailyBlogTips : Another nice Blog. What's unique in this blog is that a lot of posts are Ques & Ans based posts, which one can easily relate to. Do check it out!

Those were some of the blogs from my huge Subscription list. Hope you'll enjoy reading them!

So which of these Blogs did you like? Any other blog(s) you think are as good as (or better than) the ones I mentioned?

Do let me know!

6 Ways to keep up with Blog Updates using RSS

2008-12-28T20:00:00.004+05:30

If you've been reading blogs for a while now, then you must've heard about RSS. Wiki defines RSS as "a family of Web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works - such as blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video—in a standardized format." In simple words, it allows you to keep up with changes on Blogs, News sites, Photo Galleries, Video Streams etc.

RSS is pretty popular now with nearly every Blog offering a RSS Feed. After exploring a few options, I've updated the Subscribe Box for my Blog too!

So here are 6 (Tried & Tested!) ways of using RSS to keep track of your favorite Blogs:

1. Online Feed Reader

They are in plenty, and I've already reviewed Google Reader before. These "Web Apps" allow you to easily add blogs that you read and keeps you updated with their new posts. You can even arrange blogs in folders/labels to organize your collection better (Say one for Tech Blogs, one for Music Blogs etc).

One major advantage is that they can be accessed anywhere and work just like your email account. The disadvantage is that you need to be connected to net, and a slow net connection won't be very helpful!

Two of my favorite Online Feed Readers are Google Reader (Used earlier) & Newsgator (Popular thanks to FeedDemon). Here's the complete list.

2. Offline Feed Reader

For those who don't have 24x7 internet, or a slow internet connection (BITSians reading?), this is one of the best way to read blogs. Offline Feed Readers allow you to keep a list of blogs you like to read and fetch the posts whenever you connect to the net. The content is saved locally, so you can read/refer to the content later without the net. Some of them even let you download images in the post (Though it'll take more time).

This is helpful for those who read a lot of blogs (Like Tech-News Blogs/Tutorial Blogs etc). Also for those where internet is available for a short time/at a high charge (Blog Feeds don't include the template design, so they are 'lighter'). One major disadvantage is that Blog Readers tend to just read the post and not comment (Just a word about the post helps a Blogger understand what to write & how to write!)

Two of my favorite Offline Feed Readers are FeedDemon (Currently using - It's great!) & RSS Bandit (Pretty similar, but still lacks some features). Here's the complete list.

PS: Google Reader also let's you read feeds offline, but you'll need to install Google Gears (Didn't work very well for me)

3. Through Email Subscription

This one's for those who check their mail regularly and prefer everything to be available at one place. If the blog you're reading offers Email subscription (Mine does now! Yay!), just fill in the form and you're done. Otherwise you can switch to a web service (I found FeedBlitz the best) and it'll send you the updates directly to your inbox.

This works great for a few blogs (Ones with low frequency of posts), but who would like to see an Inbox filled with only Blog Updates? If that's the case, don't forget to make a Filter/Label for them (If you're using GMail, check Filters & other features I posted about!)

4. Blog Roll aka Blog Lists

Do you have a blog? Then I'm sure you have added a Blog List (You've added me haven't you?) which was launched in June'08. You can tweak it to display sort blogs according to last post date, display the latest post title etc. A must-have for all bloggers! Here're the official post(s)!

5. 'Follow' Blogs using Blogger's Follower Feature!

This is one of the less popular feature, but it helps bring all your Blog related stuff to your Blogger Dashboard. Below the list of your blogs, there's a section in which you can add Blogs that you read.

Try it out! Head to your Dashboard ( You may have to sign in) and scroll down. Click on Add, and enter my blog's url: http://irrashonallyurs.blogspot.com/. And you're done!

The main advantage of this is that once you start "following" a blog, it is visible in your Blogger Profile, thus allowing others to know what Blogs you read (You can turn this off too). Also, you can show-off your Blog's Followers by using a neat Widget. Read The Official Post(s) to know more!

6. Use Live Bookmarks in Firefox!

Surely you've noticed the RSS button that is displayed next to the address bar when you're viewing my blog (Or any website with RSS Support). Click on that and subscribe to the blog. This will make a Folder for the Blog with Links to each post. And it keeps updating the list with new posts!

I used this feature, but it was too basic (Unread Posts? Search? Save/Export Blog List?). And it doesn't support OPML format. (It's used to export the list of blogs you are reading. Leave a comment if you want to know more!)

So which method do you use the most? Have you subscribed to my blog? (If yes, then what are you using?) Not sure what to use/how to switch? Do let me know!

11 GMail Tips you'll love!

2008-12-02T20:00:00.005+05:30

Celebrating the triumph of reaching 9000 hits on my blog, I thought I'll come up with a another collection of tips to make your GMail (& GTalk)experience even more fun!

So here's the 3rd post in my "GMail Tips" Series! If you usually don't go around tweaking GMail, first check my earlier post on 10 GMail Features you must know!

GMail Desktop Gadget

For all those Google Desktop users, here's a great Gadget! Read, Send, Star mails & even log into different accounts simultaneously! Read more about it in the official announcement & on LifeHacker!

FoxGLove - Browser for Google Lovers!

Most of the time, all you do is check mail, sign into GTalk and maybe read your Blog Feeds. Here's a Portable Firefox Package, that gives you the feel of Google Chrome and power of Firefox. Have a look on LifeHacker & DownloadSquad!

Let's add a smile to your mail!

We all love emoticons don't we? So how about adding some emotions to your mail? Check out the small Smiley Icon in your Formatting toolbar, and see a huge list of emoticons! (Infact, there are 2 different styles! Check the button below the emoticons!)I Loooove GMail!!

Pimp your GMail with themes!

I've talked about it before, and like everyone else I'm in love with them! Have a look at my favorite themes!

3rd Party Applications: GMDesk, AlwaysIdle, Greasemonkey scripts...

It's not just Google which helps us enjoy every moment we spend using GMail. There are plenty of 3rd party tools to play with (But take care, since they aren't by Google). Like:

GMDesk - A standalone application made in Adobe Air which gets GMail on your desktop.

GAlwaysIdle - To always stay Idle on GTalk. (Really helpful :D)

Greasemonkey scripts - Add more features to GMail (and other Google Services) using these scripts in Firefox! (Caution: Use with care!)

Don't just type. Speak (And act?)

GMail now allows you to do Voice & Video Chat! Though it isn't really of much use for me (Net speed in my campus are pathetic), it still is a great feature! Check the official blog to know more!

Google Transliteration Bots!

Surprise your friends by saying नमस्ते (Hindi) or Bonjour (French) or こんにちは (Japanese)! Or add bots in group chat just to see some crazy translations! All this instantly, using GTalk Bots! Add them in your contaact list now! (Like en2hi.translit@bot.talk.google.com)!

Labs: Reply Addons

Long conversation, loads of replies. Getting lost in who's replying to what? Then "Quote" people!

Going on a vacation? Let your GMail send automated replies by scheduling it before hand!

Have a look at some of the Reply Addons in GMail Labs!

Labs: Canned Responses

How often do you reply by saying "Nice mail" or "Thanks for mailing, will reply soon"? How about storing your frequent replies as separate templates? Check this out to know how!

Labs: Label Addons

Chances are you are a Label Freak like I am. And you have loads of labels, and love color coding them. Then add more colors to your Labels by using Custom Label Colors! And ofcourse, when you have a lot of them, you should use Label Keyboard shortcuts to access them faster! Read more here!

Labs: Keyboard Shortcuts

Though I've talked about it before, it's always good to remind right? Navigate through GMail without touching your mouse! And if the default ones aren't enough, add more Custom Keyboard Shortcuts!

Hope you're experimenting with these features (As they said!)

That's it for the moment! Tell me which of these do you like using? Anything that I missed? Do let me know by commenting! :)

PS: See my earlier posts in the GMail Tips series:

PPS: Don't forget to Subscribe to receive updates on more such posts!

Thanks Google for Pimping my GMail!

2008-11-21T04:00:00.000+05:30

It's finally here!! After a day since it was launched and the whole web was talking about it, even my GMail account now has Themes!!

For those wondering what this is, here's the news: After launching the Voice Chat a week back, Google recently launched a feature to allow users to choose different themes for their GMail account. With 3rd party tools like Gmail Redesigned skin in Better Gmail becoming more and more popular, Google finally decided to release Official Themes. And boy haven't they done a great job!!

Let me stop blabbering and come to the point. Head to Settings -> Themes in your GMail. If you can't see such an option, then you'll have to wait for sometime (I know how frustrating that is!). Once you get The Screen, just randomly pick a theme and ZiNg! Say "Hello!" to a more beautiful (and smart.. read on to know why!) GMail!!

Once you are back on your seat and your eyes are back to blinking the same old way, notice that GMail asked you for your Location before applying some themes. No it is not for some analysis or something. Some themes actually change according to your location (ie according to the current time at your place). Remember iGoogle themes? Now they're here on GMail!!

Before you start experimenting with your themes, or see what others are saying, have a look at some of My Favorite Themes:

Calm & soft

Beach: The best theme to suit my location (Goa!) It's pretty dark right now (What else do you expect at 4 in the morning?), so I'm guessing this one will change with time. Coooool!!!

Summer Ocean: Another beautiful theme. I loved the way the blue header slowly fades on the left side. Try it out!

Tree: No heavy graphics. Just a serene theme with a nice silver interface. So it's either this or Beach!

A little bit flashy, eh?

Graffiti: A "must-check-out" theme for all those Graffiti fans (like me!). The translucent interface makes it even better!!

Phantasea: Phashinating name, phashinating theme! Doesn't it sound like it's asking you to see it? :P

Planets: We all want to be a star. But for now, settle with a planet. A red shiny planet (It isn't Jupitor is it?). Good for a start! :D

Not a fan of heavy themes??

Shiny: For those who just like a sweet color scheme, a nice gradient header and shiny interface, look no further. This is the theme for you! (Or is it Silver Lining? You decide!)

Contrast Black: For those dark, monochrome freaks, here's a nice dark (I mean really dark. Dark Black!) theme. But what is yellow doing there??

Special Mention!

Terminal: They just had to do it didn't they? This is what you get when two Google Engineers bet. A dark theme with lime text. And everything (literally EVERYTHING. Even the GMail logo), using only ASCII characters. I wonder who's gonna keep this one! :D

Well my pick for the time being is Beach (as it changes with time :P) Did you check out the themes?? Which one did you like the most? Do leave a comment!!

PS: Love Gmail? Don't forget to read about 10 GMail features you must know!!

So you want to be Microsoft Student Partner??

2008-11-13T20:00:00.003+05:30

First of all: Good news! I've been selected as a Microsoft Student Partner!! and I just received the official letter (Ofcourse the results were out in the start of this month!). To know about how my MSP exam was, check my eariler blog post!

For those wondering what this Microsoft Student Partner is all about, read on!

[Logo modified by me :) ]

Microsoft Student Partners is a Global program that aims to find college students passionate about technology and willing to learn and share their knowledge.

MSPs get a chance to interact with other MSPs all over the world, as well as Microsoft Professionals. Apart from this, they get to attend Exclusive MSP Boot-Camps by Microsoft and much more!

Not to forget, they also get Internship & Recruitment opportunities at Microsoft & partners.

You can register (Last chance for this year!) latest by 16^th November, ’08.

Time's Up!! Anyway go check http://student-partners.com/ for more info!

When you'll apply for MSP, you have to also take part in Imagine Cup. Open to students around the world, Imagine Cup involves using Technology to make a difference to the world. It aims at finding solutions to real world issues and has come a long way in the past 6 years.

From Short Film Making to Game Development, Photography to Software Designing, Imagine Cup has something for everyone!

To Register, Head on to: http://imaginecup.com/

PS: While registering, please give the Referral Code as “Rasagy” J

PPS: You can apply for Imagine Cup 2009 (In Egypt this time) without applying for MSP too! Check it out!

All the best!

Who'll be the next Microsoft Student Partner?

2008-10-24T16:00:00.002+05:30

Update: I've been selected as a Microsoft Student Partner!! Check out the new post to know more :)

How many times have you glanced at a Google Product and said, "Oh it's by Google. Let's check it out!” How many times have you turned away from an application just because it's from Microsoft? Today, there's a growing trend of "Anti-Microsoft" feeling amongst most of the tech-enthusiasts. They'll blindly buy an Apple product, but ask them anything about Microsoft and they'll start making faces. And to an extent, Google & Apple have managed to draw attention thanks to their revolutionary products, but somehow a lot of amazing Microsoft application are not even known to people (Take MS Office OneNote for example. I never cared to look at it till now, but once I did, I realized what an awesome product I'd been missing!)

I guess this gave a hint to the smart minds running Microsoft that something needs to be done. There wasn't anything wrong with their products, what was needed was to make sure people atleast try it out once before checking some other vendor. And here comes the concept of Microsoft Student Partner.

MSP are selected from different colleges, mainly to try and make their college peers aware about different MS products. Products which are better than the ones they are currently using, but never cared to try out, maybe just because of the common notion to under-estimate Microsoft. And the selection test was held this Sunday (19th Oct) in 8 cities across India to choose the next MSPs.

I and few of my friends were shortlisted for the test, and I went to the Delhi center (As I was leaving for Pilani to participate in Oasis). And nearly half of those in the Delhi center (More than 75 students) were from BITS Pilani! A short introductory session made us more familiar with what MSPs are, what benefits they get by being one and what they are expected to do. And then we went for the written eliminations.

The written test was of 4 parts (of nearly equal questions). First one was on Logical Reasoning, with simple puzzles like in any IQ test, and a section having excerpts from a technical article/news items and questions based on it. This was followed by a test to judge Analytical Ability, in which you had to use the statistics provided (Bar graph of Sales, Details of Bus timings etc.) to answer the questions.

Next, we had to technical papers. One was on C Programming, which was pretty simple (except for some questions based on syntax and header files which you need to mug up to answer). The last paper was the weirdest of all, as it had high level technical questions (some about how data is sent in a network, memory architecture and what not!). Thank god there was no negative marking!! :D

Some 40-50 students were shortlisted from the 200-300 present, and were grouped for GDs. Sadly, I had a couple of 3rd years in my group, and they turned out to be pretty good at GDs. We got the topic as "Relevance of Internet in Rural Areas in India" and the ten of us started thinking about what to speak. But what was disappointing in the GD was the contrast in experience of the participants. One of them was very dominating, where as some 1st yearites were actually quarrelling, instead of letting others speak. Unable to understand what's going on in this fish market, the Observer finally asked everyone to speak one by one, and then asked the dominant participant to conclude (Sadly, she didn't conclude the GD. She just concluded what she was saying). And well, that was it.

The results are expected around ~~28th Oct~~ 1st Nov, and I'm a bit doubtful about my selection, thanks to the chaotic GD. In the other center, Rahil & Sudipt from BITS Pilani Goa Campus got through for the GDs. Let's see if we get a MSP in our college!

Anyway, I took this opportunity to talk about getting some Microsoft guys to do a presentation/guest lecture etc in our campus, under CSI (Computer Society of India, BPGC Chapter). Hopefully, you'll see a notice soon with the Microsoft logo \m/. Oh & if there's any particular topic you would like to have a lecture/workshop on, do tell me!

So what do you feel about this whole Microsoft Student Partner idea? Do you feel it'll be able to reduce the "Anti-Microsoft" feeling which is there among a lot of students today? Do leave a comment!

Zephyr '08 - BITSians Fight it out!

2008-10-09T10:00:00.013+05:30

Zephyr '08, the Intra-campus Cultural, Technical & Sports Fest of BITS Pilani, Goa Campus, concluded this Sunday. 13 Hostels (11 Boys + 2 Girls) fight out for 4 days to emerge as the winner, with events like Fashion Parade, Dance Duo, Solo Singing, T-Shirt Designing, Contraption, Tug of War etc. Last year, CH1 (My hostel), came 2nd, closely beaten by CH4 (one of the girls hostel). This time, it was the other way round, with CH1 beating CH4 (Even though there is a huge advantage on CH4's side. Guess what :P ) Anyway we still managed with some ~~3000~~ 5400 points, and beat CH4 with a difference of 25 points :D I took part in 4 events, and here are the results: (Click on the Event name to know more!) Mock TalkShow : 1st Prize (With Betting)

Participants are given different personalities, and they need to give a 1 minute monologue followed by a TalkShow round. I got THE JOKER (Dark Knight) and had Nikhil Samuel to help me get the make up. And that Nikhil is AWESOME!! Apart from me, the finalists were Bobby Darling (By Nishant), Gabbar Singh (By Ishan V), Jim Carey (Dhairya), Lalu & George Bush. Nishant came second, missing the first spot by just 1 mark, followed by Lalu. It was fun, but sadly no one took the Video. :(

Spot Sketching : 1st Prize (With Betting)

In a team of 2, participants have to sketch one by one and the second one has to merge the first one's sketch. Both are given different themes. Me and Nikhil took part and I got "Life in Heaven" as my theme. Nikhil was then given "Life in Hell" as the theme and he merged both amazingly, with a great sketch (He's god at sketching). And we won! :)

Codatholon : 1st Prize

This was the most unexpected (And I guess i'm as proud about winning this, as I'm of my Joker performance). First round was on Herbert, where you need to design the most optimized algorithm to cover all white spots (It has its own language, using L,R,S (Straight) and recursive functions). Second round had 2 C++ questions. What made this victory special was the fact that I beat 4th & 3rd yearites, including Rohan Anil & Rakesh, who are head of Free Open Source Softwares & Networking of CSD (Center of Software Development) respectively. Infact Rohan Anil went for Google Summer of Code this vacation, and beating him was the best feeling ever!

Street Play : 2nd Prize

A bit weird, but I still feel we didn't deserve the 2nd prize. We completed writing the script an hour before event, got ourselves the last slot and made it just in time for our chance. And still managed to come 2nd (Though I felt AH5 were much better.. Saw a bit of their performance).

Here's me (Center), Sudarshan (L) & Rituj in a scene. Sitting from L to R: Pao, Parag, Doodie, Salil

In total, I earned some 1,675 points for CH1 :D This was more of a self praising post (Come on, I can do that once a while right?) Anyway how was your experience of Zephyr? If you aren't from BITS, then do comment about your college fests...!! ;)

3 Google Services I like the most!

2008-09-27T20:00:00.002+05:30

As you might be knowing already, it's Google's 10th Birthday today :)

Today Google is more than just BackRub, it's behind nearly everything we do online (And even offline!), be it Searching, Mailing, Blogging, Social Networking...

Anyway here are the 3 Google services I like the most (Apart from Google itself!) and have posted about. Do check the posts if you still haven't!! :)

GMail: 10 GMail features you MUST know!
Google Chrome: All you wanted to know about Google Chrome (And more!)
Google Reader: Feed me, Google Reader!

So which all Google Products/Services do you use the most? How has Google made you life simpler?? Do add a comment!

PSsstt: Google Toolbar 5 is now available!! Go Download now!

ALL you wanted to know about Google Chrome, and more!

2008-09-20T17:38:00.004+05:30

It's been a while since Google Chrome was launched and the web filled with reviews, tweaks & random comments made by every other person. So I decided to dig out stuff I read & found very useful.

For those who are still asleep, happily using Firefox, (or Internet Explorer??!!) Google launched their own browser a few days back, named Google Chrome. And like any other Google Product, it did stir the online community. Some went "Awww" over the looks, some were impressed by the new "A Process for each tab" feature. Some were dissapointed by the initial lack of add-ons (Or extensions). But alot has been going on since the release!

So, like everyone else in my campus, I also installed Google Chrome. First look at Chrome, and I went "AAaahh! Coool!". The minimalistic design (Few buttons on the top, a statusbar that appears only when needed, sweet downloads bar..) is just what you were expecting from Google (And the theme too!). Minutes later, I was watching the Tabs smoothly float around (and fade into a new window and then slip/dock back into the main window). During all this random time-pass, I opened my GMail account (Yes, Gmail works better on Chrome!) & my blog, and both opened fine. Unlike IE, my blog looked just the way I wanted it to, and I was happy :D

Next I noticed the list of processes, which now had a couple of chrome.exe (One for each tab + one for the browser + other(s) for plugin(s)). "Dumb.. they are all same name", I thought. And then came the reply, "Duh.. That's why there's a Task Manager inside Chrome." And trust me, it's a really useful feature! (Oh the shortcut key is - Shift + Esc, similar to that of Windows Task Manager - Ctrl + Shift + Esc.. Smart!). Then there's the Incognito mode, for getting the privacy you need, and the Application Shortcuts which allow you to use websites like other "Applications" from your desktop (you'll need Google Gears for this though!) and much more. All in all, a pretty good deal!

Soon after Chrome was launched, people from all over the world came up with reviews, suggestions, tweaks & applications to improve the browser experience.

Here are some of My favorite ones: (Check out the links to know more!)

Check out the "Inspect Element" Feature (Right click on Page, select Inspect Element). For ex, you could check out the different properties of each of my Blog's div elements! Really helpful for developers!

Notice that the New Tab shows thumbnails of most visited, recently visited and recently bookmarked sites, along with last closed tabs & search engines you prefer. Try browsing a bit to make the best use out of this feature!

Place websites in the Bookmarks Bar, which shows up only when you need it ;)

There are some Keyboard (and Mouse) Shortcuts too! There are some you already might be familiar with, like Ctrl+T for new tab, Ctrl+Tab (and Ctrl+Shift+Tab) for cycling through Tabs etc. And then there's Shift+Esc for Task Manager, Ctrl+Shift+N for Incognito Mode etc. Want more? Check out this post on Lifehacker! And read this to add more custom keyboard shortcuts! And this to switch tab using mouse wheel!

Carry the new browser in your pen drive! Here's an (unofficial) Portable version (English) of Chrome!

Keep Separate Profiles, back them up via Google Chrome Backup.

Click here to see more tips & links!

And click here to see what others had to say about the "First Impression of Google Chrome" on them!

Not yet convinced? Still sticking with Firefox? (If you're still using IE, atleast shift to Firefox!) Here are some links for you then:

Best features of Chrome, now in Firefox & Opening Sites in Chrome from Firefox.

* Phew *

That's the best I could squeeze from my recent surfing ;) So what are your comments about Google Chrome? Tried it or not? Liked it or not?

Do Add a comment! :)

BITS Updates: "Start" of Hyd Campus and LAN & Internet in Goa Campus

2008-08-18T07:39:00.002+05:30

It's 4 in the morning and I'm finally free to write a post. It's been long since I posted, and I had to catch up with all that I missed in the last 3 weeks. Why didn't I post earlier? Being busy with club/deptt. work can be one reason, but the major reason is what has been happening in our lovely campus. Read on to know more. :|

For the record, I'm studying in BITS Goa. Oh I meant BITS Pilani Goa Campus. How can we forget the "BITS Pilani" Tag that we share! The brand name, the alumni support, what not. But seems like the tag isn't helping much (Not even in the placements). Here's what's new in the other "BITS Pilani" Campuses:

BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus:

First the Birla Group comes up with a BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus. Then they let students apply for it and ask them to come on 8th Aug for Registration. And on that day they send them back saying the campus isn't ready, so you are requested to come 2 weeks later. WHAT? I mean there were people from all over the country and you just ask them to leave without any prior notice? Never thought BITS would act so silly. Maybe the campus isn't ready (I heard rain should be blamed for that), but still this isn't the best way to start a new campus!

BITS Pilani Goa Campus:

Things here aren't any better. There still are power cuts (less frequent, and actually enjoyable during lecture hours), and it's raining 24x7. But we don't really care about that. What we care about is LAN & Internet. That's the most essential thing for BITSians. And the admins are taking it away from us!

It all started with the admins blocking Orkut in our campus last sem. Then they started randomly blocking keywords in the url, like design, picasa etc. Infact I had to rename my sketches on the blog (For ex: Sketch of Girl Crying). All this done to try and provide "better" internet speed.

Our director changed this sem, and he came up with an even more innovative way of improving speed: By dividing the Internet timings in slots of 2 hours each for the A & C wing. So now my hostel has net from 5-7PM, 9-11PM and then 1AM-8AM. And even in this "slot", many sites have been banned (Proxy sites are the first ones to be banned). Infact, my Sketch Slideshow doesn't work coz Picasa is banned. Great.

And now there are rumors that they might shutdown LAN during class hours. Oh come on, there are days when I have only 3 hours of lectures. What will I do in the rest 6 hours? What's wrong if someone plays CS or chats with friends in the other hostel during this free time??

In his speech on the Independence Day, the Director said that "Cows must be tied together to make sure they don't get lost. It helps both the cows & the shepherd." But we aren't cows. We are "adults" who have the Right to Vote, but not the common sense to realize how much time we should spend on the Internet. Yeah rite.

Already things like "Students with cgpa < 7 won't get electives" & "2007 batch won't get Creative Multimedia course. It's the policy" have been pissing us off right from day one. And the network admins aren't helping either.

PS: YES I'm pissed. Who wouldn't when he has to spend 2 ******* hours waiting for the internet "slot"?

Does your college also block websites/LAN? Or are you another BITSian who has been facing the same problems? What do you think about Restrictions on LAN & Internet? What should be done to improve the situation? Do leave a comment!

10 GMail Features you MUST know!

2008-07-17T20:00:00.011+05:30

What's so special about today? My Gmail account just turned 4! Yipee!! From an invitation-only to a 7GB (And still counting!) inbox, Gmail has come a long way. So here are 10 Gmail features which I bet you'll love to check out!

PS: I've already expanded some of the Must-know features. If you've been using Gmail for a long time, then make sure you "Expand" the ones in the end!! ;)

+ 1. Archive, don't Delete!

All about the nice habit of archiving you mails!

+ 2. Arrows ka chakkar!

For those who get irritated by those annoying Forwards, here's a solution!

– 3. Labels, labels & more labels!

When you'll have such a huge inbox, how about taking out some time and organizing it? Let's say I want to keep all mails related to "TalkOfCampus" in a particular folder (From now on, Label==Folder). On the left-side, just add another Label (say "ToC"). Now check all mails related to it and from the drop-down menu, choose Apply Label.. "ToC". Done! Oh & once you have loads of them, color code them by choosing the Label Style from the drop down!

Manually selecting mails for each Label isn't the best way right? Read more about Filters & find a better way out!

+ 4. *Isssstar* It!

About adding Stars to special mails, and using SuperStars from Gmail Labs to spice them up!

– 5. Speed up your Search!

So you've been archiving your mails for a long time. And now finding a mail has become a pain, right? Here's some of my common Search Queries:

Orkut Scrapbook Notifications :- from:orkut subject:(scrap OR message)
All unread, starred mails in Inbox :- is:unread is:starred in:inbox
The website someone told me a week back while chatting :- is:chat after:2008/7/9 before:2008/7/17 http
Recent mails in the label "ToC", not related to Alpha release :- label:ToC -Alpha
Scan of Ticket sent by Dad :- from:Dad has:attachment

Here's something if you are hungry for more! Otherwise, you can always use "Show Search Options" :P :P

+ 6. Using Multiple Accounts - I

Having multiple accounts, and accessing all using one!

– 7. Filters

Has those Orkut notifications always bothered you? Would you prefer checking those "Daily Jokes" only when you are free, instead of it filling your inbox? Then use Filters! Filters allow you to set up particular actions for a specific type of mails. For ex, I want to keep all my TalkOfCampus related mails in its "ToC" label, and star it automatically so that I'll first read them when I open my inbox. To do this, I go to "Create a Filter" (Next to the Search box on the top). I enter the criteria (Subject: TalkOfCampus) and in the next screen, I choose: Star it, Apply Label: "ToC" and apply. Simple & easy!!

Update: Nishant wanted to know how to prevent Orkut Notifications from appearing in his Inbox. Check the comments to know how to do so!!

You could also use filters to differentiate mails of your multiple accounts. For ex, if I use rash.news@gmail.com for subscibing to newsletters, then I can have a filter to mark all mails sent to rash.news@gmail.com to Skip Inbox, and Label as "NewsLetter". No more cluttering my inbox anymore!

PS: When you have a mail open, Open the Drop down menu on top Right > "Filter messages like this" to easily add a filter for similar mails!

+ 8. Using Multiple Accounts - II

Sending mail from different email ids without Signing in & out again!

– 9. Making Multiple Gmail Ids from one Gmail id!

A lesser known feature of Gmail, you can add "tags" or "keywords" to your email id by writing them after adding a + at the end of your id. The mails will still be sent to your original id, but with a different "To:" Address.

For example, for all my old DPS RKP batchmates, I could give them the id as: rash+DPS@gmail.com. I'll actually be using rash@gmail.com to access these mails, but can easily make filters to organize the mails from my old friends sent on this id!

Similarly I can have rash+Urgent@gmail.com which I could give to only a few close friends (And make a filter to Star all mails To: rash+Urgent@gmail.com).

Also, Gmail doesn't recognize the number/position of "." used in a gmail id. So all mail sent to ra.sh@gmail.com, r.ash@gmail.com r.a.s.h@gmail.com are sent to the same id: rash@gmail.com!

+ 10. Keyboard Shortcuts

Throw that mouse away. And if you are also a Laptop user, you HAVE to use this! Plus a new Gmail Labs feature to Customize it too!

What others said:

Rijul: Don't forget to use inbuilt Gmail Chat (It has Conference/Group Chat & Cute emoticons!)
RG: Check out the Vacation Settings too.
Vandith: Other Labs features are also worth a look!
Gowtham: Gmail >> Yahoo, thnx to faster loading time & better interface.
Nitish: Gtalk Labs now out!

Incase you liked this post, do check out these links:

So those were the 10 Gmail Features you MUST know! How has your experience with Gmail been? Do you use any of the above features? Do let me know!

Feed me, Google Reader!

2008-07-06T16:00:00.002+05:30

I've got over 2000 hits on my blog now. Yoy! So I thought better take some panga with the template! And after a day of time-pass, I was able to make a simple edit and learn a lot about Blogger Templates. Oh and the Navbar will come more handy in the future, but u can always try out some effects i coded ;)

This post is basically about Feeds & Google Reader. I've been blogging (Not on a Personal Blog though) for a long time (Check my Profile and see!), and earlier the most difficult thing was to stay updated with the recent posts (And to make sure your readers read posts too.) Since not everyone was interested in opening the blog everyday, posts generally would be left unread for a long time. And then came Feeds!

I'm guessing you know what Feeds are (Also read about RSS on Problogger). In simple terms, "They keep you in touch with the latest changes in a dynamic page". Now to use it, just subscribe to a feed. Ever noticed an Orange colored "Radio Signal" next to the url in the address bar in Firefox? Click and you can subscribe to my Blog feed! It'll appear as a folder inside your Bookmarks Folder with links to the latest posts.

But Feed Readers/Aggregators go a step further. They'll email you whenever a new post is there, or collect all new posts in one place where you can read it later. There are many services that do this. But I prefer Google Reader. Though it doesn't email you notifications, it has a really simple interface. So here are some things that you can do in Google Reader:

Adding Subscription: Just Click on the option, enter the Url of the blog, and you are done! Also, you can just type keywords to search for public feeds (EPL? Latest Google Updates? Cooking Tips?). Alternatively you can bookmark a "Subscribe" button, clicking which will Subscribe you to the current page (Blog/Site) you are viewing (If it has Feed Support that is!). To do this, go to Settings > Goodies and then drag the button to your Bookmark Toolbar.

Using Feeds: You can easily Rename the feeds & categorize them using Folders. Also, you can "Star" selected posts or "Share" them with other friends in your contact list (Or add a widget to show them on your blog!)

Reading Feeds: A very nifty feature is that each post that you read (ie. scroll by) is automatically marked read. This way you can just glance through the "All Items" Section everyday, scroll past boring posts and open those which you like (And then comment on them too!)

Notes: Everything you read might not be a blog. Sometimes you might like some random webpage and would like to keep it for reference. Though that's what Bookmarks are for, you can also do it through Google Reader. Just drag the "Add as Note" Button as a Bookmark, and add Notes to sites while browsing!

Offline: Yes! You can set your Google Reader to download feeds which you can read later without being connected to the net. Helps when you are in a campus like BITS with high-speed Internet :P

On the other hand, Feeds come with one disadvantage: Traffic. Though it's expected that one will post a comment after going through the feed, many just read posts and don't comment (Well many of you do that even when you read it on the blog :P). Comments allow the Blogger to see how others are reacting to his posts, and does help in inspiring him to write more (Take for ex, Rahul Sir's comment on my last post. Trust me, that's the best thing this blog has given me till now!)

So do use Google Reader (Or whichever Aggregator you prefer), but do let the writer know you read the post! ;)

PS: I would also like to inform my fellow BITSians that our beloved Dr. T. C. Goel, Director, BITS Pilani, Goa Campus, is no more. May his soul rest in peace.

Recent Deviations

2008-06-28T12:00:00.012+05:30

Okay it's been a long time. Though apparently I've been doing nothing other than getting bored at home, I still have been busy, well err.. doing nothing.But then, alot of things happened since the last time I posted, so well here are some of the major ones:

[Yes you have to Click them to Show/Hide more info. Talk about spoon feeding! :P]

TalkOfCampus | Euro Update | New Blogger Features

TalkOfCampus:

Under the guidance of Harsha Konduri, from the first batch of BITS Pilani, Goa Campus, I'm proud to announce that the TalkOfCampus website is up and running!

Well incase you still are clueless, TalkOfCampus is a web service, launched by Vipashyin. It aims at providing a one-stop shop for college students (and aspirants) by giving them everything they need: The latest College Notices, News Updates on what's happening in and around your campus, a platform to share and build Projects, a playground to enjoy chatting about random topics through Blogs & Forums,and a lot more!

Right now in Alpha Stage, the site is available only to BITS Pilani, Goa Campus. Our Dev team is working very hard to remove any bugs and make visiting the site a much better experience. So needless to say, your suggestions are most welcome!!

*Update: It was an honor to have Dr. Rahul Banerjee, (CS & IS Deptt, BITS Pilani) comment on our project. Thank you Sir!

PS: Click on Euro Update & New Blogging Features above to see more about them!

PPS: Bing finally uploaded his "Yeah Him!" Series!! Go check!!

Finally Home!

2008-05-19T20:00:00.002+05:30

Delhi greeted me by the hottest afternoon in the past few days, though since then the sun has hardly been visible. It's been raining, which isn't very common during this time of the summer. But well who cares! Good for me!

It took me a while to get used to home. The food that makes you realize you were surviving by eating shit till now, Relatives who treat you as if you are a superstar, and well no tension of having EG pracs the next morning. But well it takes a time to realize that you can't wake up whenever you want, you HAVE to eat everything that is served, you can't stay up late night, and you are suppossed to do something productive or else teach your sister.

But what I'll miss the most is the people, or rather the time spent with these people. Though it isn't the last time I'll see them (Unlike fellow-blogger MS di who now will not be seeing half of her batch-mates next sem), I still miss the random moments spend with them.. So then,

No more meeting people and then saying "Waazzaaaaaa...."!
No more saying random abuses & fighting with people...
No more going to someone's room to call him for lunch, and finding him asleep...
No more messages saying "colon hyphen P" in the middle of a lecture...
No more bringing people back to this world while they sit at the dinner table all lost...
No more calling people "muscular"...
No more messaging people to come for dinner & getting a "I had a juice in the evening" reply...
No more screaming next to someone's window...
No more spending days in someone's room...

Well its a long list, but this kinda sums most of it. I'll miss you people!

Ok enough of this "I miss BITS". Here's a good news: I finally got my hands on the May Edition of Digit! Felt great to see my name on it! :)

PS: Apart from my article, the DVD & CD has some nice softwares, Update for Vista, and some really cool "Indie Games"! Go buy one now!