SiliconVerse

Bye to blogger

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 5 Sep 2005 20:40:00 +0530

I have been using blogger quite some time now and it was great fun using blogger. From now onwards I will be blogging here , which we recently made up using wordpress.

Please do update your blogFeeds with http://feeds.feedburner.com/siliconverse/zUNE to get updated yourself about SiliconVerse (Technology, Business & Life in Digital Village).

Projection technology

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 30 Aug 2005 12:07:00 +0530

I came across a cool projector by iMatte which spares the presenter from blinding lights and eliminates grahics from the presenters body.

Cool, giving presentations is going to be much more comfortable now..

Animated blogpost link

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 29 Aug 2005 21:35:00 +0530

I have been playing around with lot of options I am getting through feedburner I found another good utility for feedburner users.

Users can create this kind of animated billboard to display their latest blog posts. Its just the matter of including few lines of html code which is self generated at feedburner.

It can be used at N number of places to advertise about your recent postings but I wish if it had enough flexibility to design the final looks,contents and dimension of this animated stuff.. I had no option but to add the same animation twice on top of my blog posts just keep items aligned.

NICE Alumni Group

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 28 Aug 2005 13:07:00 +0530

I have been moderating alumni group for my Alma mater on yahoo groups for around five years now. Year 2000, I have started with this e-group to bring in all NICE alumni on common platform and enjoy being networked.

Delighted to share, we have now good many numbers of alumni, probably atleast one from each batch. Though I find that total members on this group is no where near to the total professionals coming out of the campus, but anyways numbers are growing significantly.

I have put up a subscription link on the right side of this blog for getting directly to the mebership request page.

Hopefully fellow NICEians will have great time being instrumental on this Alumni group.

No Pulse in BlogPulse

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 25 Aug 2005 10:53:00 +0530

Mark and others have been happily using Blogpulse as it supposedly gives an idea about the traffic coming to the respective blogs.

Good rave commets we heard about it, but unfortunately I am having bad experiences or better I say got no chance to experience it at all.

I have registered this blog about a month or more and its unable to update 'posts' sections for it, probably there systems are already out of their breath or have some bugs to be fixed on their part.

Whatever be the issue, I have not heard a single line from them despite writing them via their own 'feedback' form..

Update: Jason Dowdell from Marketing Shift took my concerns to the CTO Intelliseek and he reverted back with positive comments and explaned why it takes so long to get enlisted. Yeah my blog is listed on blogPulse now

Google: One stop internet mall

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 24 Aug 2005 10:01:00 +0530

Google is gradually turning into one stop internet mall while they are continuosly adding internet based services in their product portfolio.

They has came out with talk.google.com where they say they" enables you to call or send instant messages to your friends for free–anytime, anywhere in the world"

Looks like its going to be a cool IM interoperable with other IM clients.. having interface to gmail account, gmail notifier, and gmail contact book. Probably soon they will have (or probably they will have it) features like

1. Search your friend on google and add on google talk.
2. Look for work meaning using "define:" service by google.
3. Interface with Google Map to find out your friends location.
4. A mobile client for google talk leveraging google mobile...

Here is a review on GoogleTalk by download Sqad.

Update:Its a warning bell for Skype.... I am getting very positive feedback from users all around. Users prefer using one tool rather than keeping several different tool for better interoprability between their functionalities.

Update: Looks like google is soon going to have an Internet browser

Japanese meetup @ Bangalore

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 23 Aug 2005 10:30:00 +0530

I posted earlier about Koyo, the fantastic Japanese speaking Bangalore group. We had a great time at last meetup where we sang and danced on Japanese lyrics.

As promised they have a website http://www.freewebs.com/koyoblr which details about various activities about the group, with a mailing list at http://groups-beta.google.com/group/KOYO .

Koyo has recently started alerts for jobs requiring Japanese skills. These Job-alerts are open for individuals who are member of koyo group.

There are more interest group in the line up, great going

Cheeers!!!

BSNL to launch Wi-Fi Services

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 16:55:00 +0530

The state-owned telco that provides telecom services in the entire country except for the Delhi and Mumbai cities, will soon launch Wi-Fi Services at public locations. Installation of Hot Spots is already underway at various cities/ locations such as airports, railway stations, and universities.
The article has the list of proposed tariffs for wi-fi services. via Voice&Data

Attacked by spammers

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 13:51:00 +0530

Since this morning, I am not sure what made my blog url http://siliconverse.blogspot.com so popular that its on target by spammers and I am getting big number of irrelevant comments on my posts.

Probably this morning I have registered my feed url http://feeds.feedburner.com/Siliconverse with FeedBlitz .

Is there anyone else experiencing the same? Anyways how do I go about spammers on blog.

Update: I have made "Word Verification" feature On provided in blogger, which means automatic comments will not be allowed and readers will have to see a graphic and type in the letters to be authenticated.

Get blog posts as email

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 10:11:00 +0530

I have enabled multiple feeds for this blogs which many of the readers are using to read my posts. Still I find there is surely a need of subscription of blog-posts as an email.

I have added a new feature which enables readers to get an alert via email whenever I post on this blog. I am using Bloglet services which you can find at right sidebar of my blogpage.

So readers, if you are more comfortable using emails than Feeds, then get set go!!!

I am still testing this service, do let me know if you finds some issues in it.

Update: I have moved from Bloglet to FeedBlitz which seems to have better standing in blogspere. Bloglet was unable to deliver.

Stages of success

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 15 Aug 2005 16:55:00 +0530

Nivi quotes one of the oldies from Arthur C. Clarke,which goes like

“Like all revolutionary new ideas, the subject has had to pass through three states, which may be summed up by these reactions:

“It’s crazy — don’t waste my time.”
“It’s possible, but it’s not worth doing.”
“I always said it was a good idea.”

Similar to this, one of my mentor used to say that their are four states of social reaction for any of new work you starts:

When you start people laugh on your work.
Further down the line as you progress, people watch your action silently.
As you move ahead further, people starts doing the samethings and appreciates your work
Same set of people now follows you and become your followers.

Its quite a bit similar to the Chasm Theory by Geoffrey A. Moore which takes into account how market transits from technology enthusiats to the pragmatists and ahead..

Whatsover crux is, perseverance is the key..

Get Ready for GoogleNet

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 15 Aug 2005 13:32:00 +0530

Suppose google starts giving Wi-Fi access to people... and if that followed by advertising specific to user’s precise location.

The gatekeeper of the world’s information could become one of the globe’s biggest Internet providers and one of its most powerful ad sellers, basically supplanting telecoms in one fell swoop. Sounds crazy, but how might Google go about it? More…

Cities Racing to Build Wireless Networks

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 15 Aug 2005 11:34:00 +0530

As with the other global cities, Indian cities are also lined up in the race for wireless networks. Here comes Mysore as first Wi-Fi enabled Indian city.

Is citywide WiFi the cure-all for struggling municipalities? asks Michael Sciannamea and adds up by saying "Most likely not, but the offer of wireless access, free or paid, will attract people to areas of commerce, and that can’t be all bad."

I do agree with you.

Behaviors of the Blogsphere

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 13 Aug 2005 15:28:00 +0530

"Understanding the Scale, Composition and Activities of Weblog Audiences" a pdf report by comScore. Read Here

It may surely help guys understand that blogging is already into mainstream.

Using innovation , India style

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 13 Aug 2005 14:55:00 +0530

Cows are revered as sacred among Hindus and are protected by law. Some 40,000 cows are thought to be roaming the streets of Delhi, posing a serious traffic hazard.

The authorities in the Indian capital have turned to RFID microchips to tackle the growing problem of stray cows roaming the streets.

A court had earlier ordered authorities in south Delhi to offer a reward of $45 to anyone delivering a stray cow. The authorities then sell the cow to a new owner but they are concerned people might take advantage by bringing back the same cow for quick money.

A $11 microchip in the cow's gut will now allow resident welfare associations to determine whether the cow brought to the authorities was a stray one or not. [Via BBC and this]

Automatic door... Japan style

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 13 Aug 2005 14:44:00 +0530

Here comes another real next generation innovation from new Tanaka Seisakusyo known as automatic door

The door is segmented into multiple strips and opens minimally according to the shape of the individual, animal or object that has to pass through. It also incorporates a security function that identifies people. The door is activated by the infrared sensors (the small black areas attached at the inner edges of the strips).

Its like vanishing into a magic wall...

The main aim of this invention is to better protect a room from dust, pollen, bugs, germs etc. It could also be used for room-size freezers. In addition, it helps save the energy needed for air-conditioning. [via this]

Picture-in-Picture for internet

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 12 Aug 2005 18:53:00 +0530

Most of us have seen Picture in Picture television sets which allows you to watch multiple channels at a go, Bitty browser does exactly same for websites.

If you want to view or display related information on your webpage from multiple sources and which you may want to see sometimes in small-mode and sometime in few-screen mode, this a perfect tool for you. You just need to follow an online wizard and get a small source snippet, which you can add to your webpage.

I am still thinking about various situation one would like to have this facility (probably streaming two movies simulatneously on big flat internet TV) guess you may like to check it out and share your thoughts.

Read this blog on Yahoo,MSN and more..

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 12 Aug 2005 16:56:00 +0530

If you enjoy reading this corner of the blogsphere i.e. my blog, there are now several other options by which you can read my blog without actually coming on to this page.

I have new feeds listed on the right sidebar of my blog, which enables you to directly add my blog's content to your MyYahoo page or MyMSN along with other usual contents like horoscope, weather, and more.

If you dont like to read blog on MyYahoo or MSN, you can choose some of the other feed readers
like bloglines , feedreader , feedburner and more, which allows variety of feed management features, drastically increasing daily dosee of information capsule.

Feed is one of the superb building block of web 2.0 which enable you to track the changes on internet you care about and to take action based on them. I am currently using bloglines as my feed aggregator which allows me to quickly peek into some 55 websites/blog daily.

To those who are new to feed can read basics about it here.

Skype movie

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 12 Aug 2005 09:41:00 +0530

Skype is One year old now. Its a great communication software 'that simply works'.

Here is a cool animated movie released by Skype on how to use it. Check it out here

Cisco eyeing Nokia

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 8 Aug 2005 10:14:00 +0530

Cisco Systems Inc. is considering buying the world's top mobile handset maker Nokia reports Yahoo News

None of the company has chose to comment on this news, but looks like somthing is there for sure.

Whatever, if this happens, it would considerably change the market dynamics when CISCO, the largest maker of Internet equipment (worth around $123 billion) adds Nokia's market ( around $71 billion)

PenTop Computers

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 8 Aug 2005 09:42:00 +0530

Computer loaded on pen, its cool, check it out here .

Unwiring Bangalore

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 8 Aug 2005 09:38:00 +0530

Intel has released a white paper on “unwiring Bangalore” that talks about the current net access situation in the city, possible usage models, technology framework, risks and advantages and proposes WiFi/WiMax combination to unwire Bangalore. [link]

Hopefully this happens.

Interesting Live video

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 7 Aug 2005 11:15:00 +0530

Web cams are old news, but its really interesting to see something of this sort.

I just saw a link on Aizu Wakamatsu station web cam from Joi-Ito's blog. Its a Live video streaming from a japanese railway platform.

The speed and the resolution are so high that you can see people walking and things flapping in the wind. You can hear the announcements and listen to the trains come and go. It's amazing how far we've come.

Note: You need a good quality internet connetivity to watch this without jitters.

"Band of Angels" Indian angel investor group

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 28 Jul 2005 16:53:00 +0530

A bunch of professionals-turned-entrepreneurs have quietly joined hands to float the Band of Angels, a loose association that is looking to fund new ventures at the earliest stage. These include some of the people I met sometime like, Xansa's and Indian Venture Capital Association's chairman Saurabh Srivastava, Flextronics Software Systems' managing director Arun Kumar, and others like Digital Globalsoft's CEO Som Mittal, Mphsasis BFL's CEO Jerry Rao, BPO evangelist Raman Roy,, Jobsahead's co-founder Alok Mittal, Naukri.com's co-founder Sanjiv Bhikchandani, Escorts Hospitals' head Naresh Trehan, Cyber Media's Pradeep Gupta, Lawyer Rajeev Luthra, India Abroad's founder Gopal Raju, and US-based entrepreneur Sanjay Bhargava.

Good news for budding entrepreneurs.

Look-and-feel does matter

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 13:34:00 +0530

Many a times I found programmers complaining about the latest assignment they have, "designing a new GUI" or improving the look-and-feel. No fault on their part. Programmers may not necessarily be good product designer who can change the feel. Its in taste. Some programmers may enjoy doing GUI (self taught) and others enjoy only coding.

I blame it to the project manager here, as he is not differentiating the skills needed for the designing the look-and-feel and probably unaware about the need of a better feel. He may have some resource constraints but then its true that product coming out of lab is not going to be #1.

Doing look-and-feel may be un-interesting to some, but one of the most important part of the product. Its the first thing which the end user observe and make their buying decsion. We do change our mind based on the looks of the product like car or bike or TV...whatever. We are ready to pay few bucks more for an appliance which is more elegant even though it has 1-2
features missing than the other one with dull color and crappy design. It applies to software as well.

Ever wondered why iPod is so hot, whats there in iMac, which sells 2 million units in its first year. Look at plaxo, skype which neatly plugs into your exisiting softwares and leave the user with a wonderful feel. Its MUCH to do with how it looks and how consumers feel while they use it.

Meet Jonathan Ive who is one of the finest product designer we have in the globle who knows the important art of making a successful software product.