Spread Unconditional Love

Bihar day 2011 celebration at Bangalore

2011-03-23T15:33:00.002+05:30

On March 22, 2011, All the people of Bihar celebrated Bihar day with happiness, enthusiasm and Pride. There were functions organized at several places inside Bihar and Outside Bihar

In Bangalore, there was a huge ceremony organized at Hockey Stadium, Nanjappa road, Bangalore. Other details at Facebook page. This event was Organized by Bihar Foundation - Bangalore Chapter

Function started with the Lightening of candle by Chief guest Member of Parliament Syed Shahnawaz Hussain I.G Amar Kumar Pandey and other dignitaries.

It was followed by Karnataka State song, Vande Mataram performed by Hardik Melodies (A band started by folks from Bihar in Bangalore)

Then welcome speech was presented by Shri Amar Kumar Pandey IPS. Chairman, Bihar Foundation – Bangalore Chapter. It was very energetic and enlightening words, which made all of us very proud of being a Bihari. He said, there was time, Biharis outside of bihar used to hide his native information and at several instances, poor Biharis were physically assaulted, But the perception of World is changing about Bihar and Biharis. He also shared one instance when, a person from Mauritius met him in South Africa and wanted desperately to talk to him in Bhojpuri as that person's fore-fathers were from Bihar and still his Mother speaks Bhojpuri.

Later, the gathering was addressed by Bhaskar Rao, I.P.S., Commissioner for Transport & Road Safety. He basically belongs to karnataka but has great respect for Bihar.

This was followed by enthralling speech by Syed Shahnawaz Hussain. He said, Bihar is on growth track under the leadership of Nitish Kumar and Sushil kumar modi. There were various lighter moments he shared with us. He explained various initiatives taken by state govt. in order to improve the life of common man in Bihar and brand image of Bihar. Also He said that, Bihar does not have many resources after separation of Jharkhand and Bihar should be given special state status.

There was various songs performed by Hardik melodies. After this we had nice Buffet dinner arranged. We all enjoyed it.

Happy Bihar Day .. Jai Bihar .. Jai Karnataka .. Jai Hind ..

Some of the events pictures.

Congrats Nitish Jee for becoming CM of Bihar again .....

2010-11-24T11:37:00.000+05:30

Congrats Nitish Jee for becoming CM of Bihar again .....

Nothing much to say .. He knows what he is doing and how to get things done .. I am sure his next target after crime, would be corruption and After Roads it would be electricity and After Primary education, It will be higher education as well ..

Long way to Go Nitish Jee !!

Chhath Puja 2010 at Sankey Tank, Bangalore

2010-11-13T23:37:00.000+05:30

This year, I could not go to my home for Chhath puja. Chhath puja is celebrated very nicely in bangalore @ Sankey Tank. Sankey Tank is near to Mekhri circle. I think there were around 3000+ people present there. I could not go for evening Puja, But for morning Arghya, Left early at 4.45AM and reached at Snkey tank at 5.15AM (From C.V. Raman Nagar, 15 KM). I felt very nice. The event was well organized by Siddhartha Samiti. There was Prasad distribution after the puja. Though, I(actually We, Me and My Wife) would never want to stay at Bangalore on Chhath Puja, But by any chance, If we have to stay, we will go there every time.

Some of the snaps of the puja.

Cleaned up my blog to load faster!!

2010-06-04T18:58:00.000+05:30

My blog used to take around 60 Seconds to load fully. It had several gadgets like verve earth, Recent visitors, Google trends, Recent news, Videos etc etc .. I removed all those links from blog ..

Also there were 10 Posts displayed in page..Reduced it to 5

There were some posts which has Videos embedded, so whenever my blog used to load, these videos also starts loading and due to which, other parts of blog was loaded slowly .. Removed these Video embedded posts ..

I follow 70+ Blogs related to Testing, Identity Management, Social Cause related blogs.. earlier, It used to list latest blog entry with summary also. I disabled those, Now only name of blog is displayed.

Later, I had put Google Adsense Advertisement after every post, Through which I had earned few dollars in 2 Year, But these Ads were also having some Flash/Video which was making the blog slower ..also, It was not looking good .. So I removed the Adsense.

I had Amazon Associate Book advertisement link as well, I removed this.

I changed the template. Color pattern also is changed to give a better look and readability.

Looking for a Cook near Bagmane Tech park, bangalore?

2010-04-13T13:35:00.000+05:30

Looking for a Cook near Bagmane Tech park, bangalore? North Indian (Oriya) Cook Near CV Raman Nagar, GM Palya, Mallesh palya, Airport Road, Indiranagar, Thippasandra, Kaggadaspura, BEML gate, Jeevan Beema Nagar?

Contact Damodar @9900726269 or 9036601240 .. He is good Cook and honest .. :)

:)

Social Connections On Internet

2010-03-23T20:13:00.000+05:30

I visit Following sites regularly ..

Bihar Day: 22 March : Celebrations in Bangalore

2010-03-23T00:43:00.002+05:30

Bihar as a separate State was formed on 22nd March 1912. Before that, Bihar was Part of Bengal. Initially, Orissa and Jharkhand were also part of Bihar. On April 1, 1936 Orissa was formed out of Bihar, and On 15th November 2000, Jharkhand was separated from Bihar. We Biharis Celebrate, 22nd March as Bihar Divas. There is 3 Day long (22-24 march) Celebrations happening in Bihar.

Happy Bihar Day !!!

It is said that, After Bihar-Jharkhand Separation, Bihar was left with 75% Population and 25% Resources. Well, Today Bihar's GDP growth is 11.5%, Second after Gujraat. Bihar received No. 1 e-governance state award in 2008, and Nitish Kumar received, Business icon of year 2009 award. Bihar had a great Past .. Chanakya, Ashok, Koutilya, Gautam Buddh, Rajendra Prasad and many others are renowned personalities from Bihar.

Bihar was ruined in last 2 Decades .. But Now, Bihar is changing in every aspects, Governance, Law and Order situation, Roads, Electricity, Health care, Education .. Though it will take some more years to get Back its glory . But its possible .. We all need to be goodwill brand ambassador of Bihar and Send the Positive Waves about Bihar's Change to rest of the world.

On 22nd March, There was Huge Celebration on Bihar Day, Organized by Bihar Foundation - Bangalore Chapter, in Hotel Lalit Ashok, KumaraKrupa Road, Bangalore. Eminent personalities, Including, IG of Bangalore, Tathagat Avtaar Tulsi (Wonder Kid, Who is the Youngest PhD in Asia. He completed His PhD from IISc Bangalore at the age of 21) were present on this occasion. I had the opportunity to meet Tathagat, in person, after 5 Years. It was great pleasure to meet him.

There was Music and Dance programs by Various artists. They performed Various Indian Dance Forms Including, Karnataka's Yakshgana, Maharshtra's Lavani, North East's Kathak, South India's Bharatnatyam etc..

And Lastly, we had great great Dinner @ Lalit Ashok, The Pioneer 5 Star Hotel of Bangalore.. It was great time there .. Enjoyed a lot .. Some of the Event's Pics

Configure Beetel 450BXI wiFi Modem with BSNL

2010-03-14T00:09:00.000+05:30

Initially I had Airtel Broadband connection with Wired Modem (Beetel 220BXI). AT that time I had 2 PCs. Later when I got my Dell Lappy, I asked Airtel to get me a WiFi Modem. They had two options, either purchase or take it on rent. I purchased it. So I had another Modem, Beetel 450BXI.

Some time back, I removed Airtel and got BSNL broadband connection, and they gave one Wired Modem UT300RTU. I had asked to BSNL Technical person who had connected this modem in my house about my existing Beetel Modem, He said, he needs to change the Firmware (?) and which can be done by written application only. [Believe me, to change my Broadband Plan, I had to visit BSNL office and submit an application for that, whereas with Airtel, it was just one call to customer care]

Well, after few days, I thought, lets try to configure WiFi Modem. It was so simple.. below was the steps ..

1. Connected The BSNL Line cable to 450BXI, and connected network cable from port1 (This modem has 4 ports) to my Laptop.
2. In Browser, Open 192.168.1.1 [Catch, BSNL default credentials are admin/admin, whereas Airtel has admin/password, and I had to use admin/password]
3. Click Advanced Setup -> WAN. Delete all the rows by selecting all Remove option and clicking Remove.
4. Click Add. Enter VPI=0, VCI=35. Service Category= UBR Without PCR Click Next.
5. Connection Type : PPPoE, Encapsulation: LLC/SNAP , Click Next ..
6. PPP username= hk80XXXXXXXX@bsnl.in [80 is Bangalore STD code, and XX is my landline number], Please ask to Customer Care for ur username, But ideally, It should be same. Password is password. Service Name = DataOne . Authentication Method = AUTO MTU=1492 , Nothing else to select. Click next
7. You may/may not Enable Firewall. Enable NAT. Enable WAN Service. and service name = pppoe_35_1 Click Next. Save.
8. Now in Left side pane, Click Wireless. Select Basic. Check Enable Wireless only. Give SSID name as your name or something [When ur wifi device will search, u will see this name listed as available wiFi network.] Country India. Max Client 16 or less. Do not check Enable Wireless Guest Network. Click Save/Apply.
9. Click Wireless->Security. SSID=as mentioned above. Network Authentication=Open. WEP encrytion=Enabled. Strength=64 bit. Current network key=1 Network Key 1= Your Password. This will be asked, If u try to connect to this Network using ur WiFi Device. Save/Apply
10. Click Advanced Setup. Click Save/Reboot.

That's it !!! .. Now after Modem Reboot, You will be able to use WiFi.

It worked for me, and I thought to share this with world Hope this works for you as well..

Also, I believe, the default firmware supplied with any Modem should work with any Broadband service provider. Only their configurations are bit different.

Keep Spreading Unconditional Love !!!

Kudos to NDTV Greenathon Initiative

2010-03-08T01:40:00.000+05:30

Till sometime back, This Project (Toyota NDTV Greenathon) has received Donations to Support 155 Villages for Lighting and raised ~4 Crore.

Priyanka Chopra being part of this project is great and She Deserves applause and Thanks by the Indians.. She Stands as per her Stature..

We can also contribute in various ways, both financially or Non-financially .. We can donate to the project (More details @ http://green.ndtv.com/ Or we can at least do something in our home.. Like not wasting water .. Switching off extra lights..

Bangalore used to be one of the Greenest City.. Some 20 Yrs back, I hear, Most of the roads had Trees on both sides.. Now, Its not the case .. many construction works, Metro, Road-widening has resulted in Cutting of trees..

Lets do our bit .. Its logical.. isn't it .. We must think about our future Generation .. :)

NDTV, Keep up the good work and Keep inspiring us ..

Do You Really Want To Be A Better Software Tester?

2010-02-14T01:02:00.000+05:30

This is my thoughts .. You may/"may not" agree ..You may comment ..This Post is for existing Software tester, who wants to get better .. and feel better ..

I am a software test engineer and I love this now since few years .. I have my Vision and Mission And I am on track till now.. :)

Though, I had good Engineering score, I struggled for 4 Months to get a job after my B.E in Electronics and Communication Engineering. I was looking for Java Developer job [I did course in Java/J2EE from NIIT and had done 3 projects in J2EE/Oracle], But ... Something else was in my Luck(?) . I became Network Protocol Test Automation Developer (I used to write Tcl/IxTcl/Expect code for Layer 2 protocol Testing). Initially, I was thinking, I should change my job, but could not get another job in Java for few months and how one year Passed, I didn't notice.. Later I changed my job to a product development company ..as a Software Test Engineer.. My responsibility is to test an enterprise server software .. For Non-functional quality factors like Reliability and Scalability.. This company, has taught me so many things .. I would like to share some of the learning's ..(Again my perspective :) )

I asked "Do You Really Want To Be A Better Software Tester?". So in order to asses yourself, You should answer below questions .. I Keep asking these questions to myself ..

1. Why do I live ?
2. Why Do I work ?
3. Why do I work as a Software Tester ?
4. Do I like the work ?
5. Do I work as Tester just because, I have no other work?
6. Does company really require me ?
7. Can company live without me ?
8. Can I live without company ?
9. Can I live same life, If I don't work in Testing? What about in IT?
10. Is my Technical Skills really important ? Do I really Have some ?
11. What I am doing, can a fresher also do the same in same time and with same efficiency?
12. Company is paying me huge money, Is company getting return on investment?
13. Do other stake holders think, testing is really important?
14. Do stake holders (Development, Upper management, Sales, Customer Support, Customers) think, I am doing good job?
15. Am I doing something which will lead to improve quality of software?
16. Can I convince Customers about their expectation of quality?
17. Once I test a product, can I guarantee (Or at least try to.. ) That customer will not face any problem in their day-to-day use of this product?
18. Do I do anything repeated .. which can be automated ?
19. Do I talk business and profit ..?
20. Do I understand the testing process ?
21. Do I respect testing profession ?
22. Do I think I can do development of same product, Which I am testing?
23. Do I think, Developers are superior ?
24. Do I ask to developer more often about the product features and usage?
25. Do I understand Technology and Domain In depth ?
26. Can I develop a software to test the software from scratch ..?
27. Do I work well in a team ?
28. Do I have Ego ?
29. Do I see good future in testing ?
30. What is that, (without any training), Which I can do but Developers not?
31. What is that (without any training), which Developers can do and I can't ?
32. Do I take ownership/responsibility to get the things DONE ..
33. Do I get emotional when things does not work out the way I want ?
34. Can I get the product requirement written from scratch by talking to customers directly.. ?
35. Can I architect the product ? Can I design it High level ?
36. What all computer languages Do I know..? Am I perfect in any few ?
37. Is it really difficult to code, once you have detailed requirement document ?
38. Can I elaborate the requirements in PRD (SRS) and understand fully?
39. Can I question the product? Why this and why not that?
40. Do I understand the business of Software ..?
41. Do I understand the customer environment ?
42. Who is going to use the product ..? Is it our Direct customer? Or his Customers or the customer of his customer ..?
43. What would be the usage pattern ?
44. What is the expertise level of the end user ?
45. Do I respect seniors and their experience ?
46. Do I praise myself always ?
47. Am I an active listener? Good analyst?
48. Do I have positive attitude ?
49. Do I talk more and do less ? and Do I talk non-sense?
50. Do I have good sense of humour ?
51. Do I feel cheated ?
52. Do I feel I am at wrong place?
53. Do I know whats happening in world?
54. Do I enjoy on weekends or worry about the job security?
55. Do I procrastinate work to do?
56. Do i understand and do good detailed estimation?
57. Can I prioritize the work at hand properly?
58. Do I know my weakness ? and My strengths ?
59. Do I have many friends at work place and apart from work place?
60. Do people like to be with me or they get irritated when I talk ?
61. Am I selfish? Do I worry about others? Other's success ?
62. Do I get sad, when somebody else gets appreciation?
63. Am I financially sound? Do I have good cash in Savings?
64. Do I have several liabilities?
65. Am I managing my time wisely?
66. Do I stretch at work place everyday?
67. Do I fear while talking to stake holders ?
68. Am I confident of what I say, what I do and what I believe?
69. Am I a Fun loving guy ? Or Boring guy ?
70. Do I read blogs? News regularly ?
71. Do I participate in extra-curricular activities?
72. Do I take up new initiatives?
73. Can I control my emotions and Nobody can get that from my face and behavior?
74. Am I satisfied?
75. Am I interested in music? Cooking ? Painting ? Reading ? Writing? anything else ?
76. How is my relationships?
77. Does my view point matter and get implemented?
78. Can I test anything ?
79. Am I a fast learner?
80. Do I Plead/"Do Buttering" to anybody to get benefit ?
81. Am I physically fit ? Do I do exercise?
82. Do I take discussions as argument ?
83. Do I take criticism positively or Start fighting/Defending?
84. Can I take immediate and correct decisions?
85. Am I flexible to take up new activity at any point?
86. Can I work with global team?
87. Can I communicate well with anybody and be understandable to the audience?
88. Do I take Risk to improve something ?
89. Do People believe me?
90. Do I understand, Really why am I doing what I do?
91. Do I complain about the problems faced in completing the task or solve the problems and get the task Finished ?
92. Do I lie @ Workplace and @ Home ?
93. Does somebody hate me @ Work and @Home ?
94. Do I help others to accomplish their task? Professionally? Personally?
95. Am I credit hungry? Appreciation hungry ?
96. Do I appreciate/thank if somebody helps me ?
97. Do I accept my mistake, and Do I apologize and take this as learning?
98. Do I participate in Customer calls, Forums ?
99. How many people know me in person @ Work @ Society ?
100. Last question for Now .. Am I spreading "Unconditional Love" ?

You may feel, some questions are repeated.. Well may be ..

I know my answers.. You may also get your answers..You should first answer what you are really without thinking what the answer should be for an Ideal situation..Now Once you got your answers..Revisit the question and Consider yourself a Judge, and think logically/Rationally for an ideal, and I am sure most of the People will have similar answers.. And the theme would be Love/Respect You work and people around you, Keep on learning and Be Responsible .. If you further abstract It, All leads to one word "Humanity" .. Just think .. think about "Geeta Saar".. We all are just biological things, which will Decay one day ..

If you see a huge difference between what you are (Or would like to become) AND What you think the Logical answers should be, Then May be you are not going to be happy ..

For Me, I do see the gaps, But the gaps are not such a big that, I can't fill it.. Well, This may take Years or whole Life to get even closer to Ideal situation, but Student who will try for 100 marks, He only Has a chance to get 100.. right ?

Well .. I started sounding philosophical .. :)

Happy testing .

7 working phone numbers just for me ..

2010-01-11T00:13:00.000+05:30

Yes! Its true that currently there are 7 phone/mobile numbers, which belongs to me and I am the only Person who can answer call on these. I wanted to recall my journey with phones.

I got my first mobile phone in 2003, when the incoming became free. It was Nokia 3315 with Airtel connection. I was very excited to own a mobile. Those days, Call was bit costly, so I was not making many calls from the mobile, rather I used to call from PCO. Later, In 2004, Reliance CDMA was launched with 501 Rs Postpaid scheme. I got the new white LG mobile, which had R-World feature, with which I was able to check my mails as well. I gave old Nokia mobile to one of my friend.

I came to Bangalore in 2005, Got a job in Nov. 2005. I had a dream to own a Landline phone in my name. So I applied for a tata-indicom Landline phone. As I was staying bachelor, the agent said, better you get this phone in ur room owner house, and say He is your uncle and you are staying with him. I did the same, and got Landline phone. There was a scheme, that along with Landline phone, one mobile was given, and till one year, the call from my landline to my mobile was free. So In December 2005, I had three phones. Later after few weeks, I gave Reliance mobile to somebody.

I was working in Afila, sometimes in shifts 3PM-12AM, and there was a cab drop after 12AM. In the office, after 9 PM, I was getting sleep, So, I used to call my roomates and, they used to keep my Land line phone connected to my mobile and near Computer playing Songs and I used to enjoy free. If any friend visit my room and I am not there, they used to call me from my landline. It was absolutely free. So till yet I had two phones. I still have these two phone with same number.

In 2006 November, I joined novell, and got a Direct Phone number,, My third phone. In 2007 December, I applied for BSNL broadband connection, but after few months, they said, as there is no Line in that area, they can't connect phone and asked me to get back the refund which I had paid while applying for connection. I never went to BSNL office for the refund.

As I didn't get BSNL broadband, I applied for airtel broadband in Feb 2008 and got the connection with a phone .. My Fourth phone which is still with me ..

One of my close friend works for Reliance, and He said me to get a Reliance number so that he can call me free. I said him, Give me two hours and I will call you from my new Reliance number. I went to Reliance Office with all required document and got Reliance prepaid number activated withing\ 2 hours, This phone is still with me. Initially I used to talk with my Reliance friend hours together, But now a days, we both are bit busy and talk once in a while. I still have this phone with me, but I don't carry this phone with me, and it remains off most of the time, unless I want to talk to my friend -- This was my fifth phone ..

In 2009 September, I wanted to get a new High-end mobile, But thought not to go for CDMA phone, so I had to drop tata-indicom mobile which is since 4+ years with me now and many places I have given this number, My Banks, Insurance, Investments, Credit cards and many friends.. So It was bit difficult to drop this number. So I decided to keep this phone as well and Got a new Nokia Express Music 5800 Mobile along with Airtel connection .. My 6th Phone..

On 31st December, I saw the same BSNL lineman in my area who had visited me 2 years before, I asked him, what happened, I had applied for the BSNL broadband 2 years back, I have not yet got the connection. He said, still the connection has not reached that area, But I can do something. He came to my room and proposed to connect from a far distant apartment directly, which He said is not allowed officially, But He said, I want your New year to be happy and you should talk on this phone on 1st Jan. I will connect the phone today and It will start working from Jan 1st. He did connect a long wire (around 200 Meters) but the phone started working only on 4th Jan 2010. Later on 6th, I got my BSNL broadband working too. This was my 7th phone.

So today I have 6 Phones in my house .. 2 Tata Indicom Postpaid, 1 Airtel prepaid, 1 Airtel Postpaid, 1 BSNL Postpaid, 1 Reliance prepaid and One Airtel Landline in office.. Now, I am going to cancel Airtel Broadband, so that I will be left with 6 phones only. :)

Similar to phones, I have 3 computers as well :) (Actually I wanted to setup a client server Lab with wireless connectivity and was trying to setup a Private Web server, File server and Mail server just for learning purpose, though I have not yet done this setup, But its in my To-Do list) .. 2 PCs and one laptop .. Both the PCs are connected with single monitor, single KB and Mouse using KVM switch. and one Dell Studio laptop.

:) Bye Till My Next Post .. Thanks for visiting my blog ..

India in last Decade..

2010-01-01T21:59:00.000+05:30

Wish You All A Warm, Happy And Prosperous New Year..

Last 10 years wrote a history for India and most importantly the IT sector has done tremendously well.. After Dot-Com boom, It was Indian IT services companies which reached to new heights in last 10 years. Many Indian IT companies got listed in NASDAQ. The job opportunities in IT sector made many people prosperous.

Apart from IT, it was Telecom sector, which changed the way we used to communicate. from merely 5-6 Million Mobile subscribers in 2000, Now India has 450 Million mobile subscribers. The Teli density is increased hugely. The Internet has reached to masses, Still lot more needs to be done in internet space, considering almost nill penetration in rural India.

Also, Reality sector wrote good success story .. Many Indian Builders are now contending for overseas projects.

Still, Farmer suicide, widening gap between Rich and Poor, Food insufficiency, price rise etc.. are major concerns.

India has great potential to get into league of world leaders in coming years.

Wishing a peaceful world!!

Testing job is inferior and less innovative compared to Development job? Huh ..

2009-12-03T14:19:00.000+05:30

This blog post is inspired by (With few addition by me) this post.. Thanks to the author ..
http://geektester.blogspot.com/2009/10/do-you-have-it-in-you-technical-skills.html

Somebody Said, QA/testing job is less innovative and inferior, they get less Salary (Mostly wrong statement) and they can't code (Well, they can but they won't)..

I believe QA engineer should be able to code, But may not code ..

Lets see what Development engineer innovates while He Codes .. U see Business Analysts Says "What is Business requirement for customer", Product manager says "What all features will be developed" and Architects Says "How to modularize the product development".. and once Dev Engr knows, what specific has to be done (Like Validate the username/pwd taken from login page), he translates his modules functional description written in English language to another language say C/C++/Java ..

So I don't think there is much scope of innovation to Dev Engr as well .. One may say, Dev Engr has more chances to become Architect, Similarly testers have more chance to become Business Analyst and Consultant, As they have Bird's Eye View and Domain understanding and more closeness to Customers..

You Testers (Including me), Beware, You Must and Must understand Technical things (Architecture of the product, Module flow diagram, Languages used, Debugging skills, Middleware and backend understanding) and at least one General purpose language and one Scripting language, and the best bet would be C++ and Perl .. Also, Good understanding of Internals of RDBMS is required... Become the Domain expertise .. and Learn Testing Tools and Automation ..

I believe, whatever I said above is not very difficult to achieve.. We can do it, If we focus ... But, If you want to just learn Record/Play Tools, which any 10th Pass student can do, Forget about Job security and Bright career in Testing .. Life is gonna be tough .. In Past few years, many Testing jobs is moved to India (Main reason being Low Cost labor) and If we do not focus, Jobs may move to Nepal, Bhutaan, Srilanka, China, South Africa etc.. (For the Same reason, of curse)

One May Ask, Developer can only test, He knows, In and out of the product, so he can better Test..So Why testers are required..? Well, Ask to IT industry experts and they will say u something like "Separation of Duties" and "Conflict of Interest" .. Its like, if A Doctor has Medical shop also, he will/may prescribe only those medicine, which He has in his medical store right now, Even when there may be better medicine for the same Disease.. Or If an enterprise makes the Financial Auditor and Accountant the same person (See what happens..)

I was always topper in my Engineering College (BE/2005/ECE), I had received 2nd Prize in C++ South India Competition conducted by NIIT and had designed Mail-Client/Server in just a week using java servlet, JSP, Oracle, and J2EE as part of NIIT Course for J2EE after I finished B.E. Initially, Even I wanted to become Dev. Engr, But, I am here since 4.1 Yrs.. Its like, No profession is Bad, and every profession has some Pros and Cons .. Lets highlight Positive things and Be Happy ..

I am quite happy now with my career...

No Offense to anyone.. I just felt, Lots of negative talk about Testing is floating around, and why not encourage Testers.. Happy testing .. :)

Completed 3 years at Novell on 29/11/2009

2009-11-29T00:57:00.000+05:30

Today I completed 3 years service at Novell.. Let me share you my first day at Novell.. It was very funny actually ..

Before Novell, I was working with Afila for 1.1 Yr, which was a service company, and we used to wear mostly formal dress. There was no rule as such except on wednesday, we had to come to office in formals only with full sleeve shirt, Formal Pants, Formal shoes..

On First day, to get good impression or whatever.. I went to Novell in Suit/Tie/Formal wear, and I was amazed to see, nobody in the office was in formals.. almost everybody was in Jeans/T-shirt. Well, I had to fill several forms and it took around two hours for that .. Later, I was introduced with my team.. and one colleague couldn't control to say to take off my suit/tie. It was very funny for others.. not for me though..

There were some other funny incident on the same day, which my team and myself can never forget .. But I am not gonna share those for now.. :)

In last three years, Novell has given me a lot.. Lots of happiness, job satisfaction, many friends and lots of weight (Kidding..) But I can say that, I have not returned Novell that much. I owe a lot to Novell snd I promise myself to work even smarter, and do my work more effectively, and contribute towards Novell's success..

Thanks Novell ..

Going Home

2009-10-13T08:30:00.000+05:30

I am writing this blog while waiting for my Flight for Kolkata. I will reach kolkata by 12PM. There is free internet provided at BIAL. Once you get WiFi connected, You open any browser, You will be greeted by BIAL. It needs password to connect. To get password you need to send one SMS to 56767 and yoy get Password. After entering Password session is started. There is 1 hr free session. Speed was upto 12 MBps (Windows Task manager information)

I will be back to Bangalore on 2nd November ..

Happy Deewali

Most Important Learning In Software Testing

2009-09-27T01:15:00.000+05:30

"Customer Focus" .. Yes the answer is Customer Focus .. Everything else come after that.. You see as a tester, You have the responsibility to make sure, Once the product goes to customer, He is able to get his business done.

Let me give one example.. You are testing a VOIP software for a call center. it generic software which can be customized by Call center company based on their usage.

You have to think from Customer point of view..

1. Direct customers: Like Airtel CIO, IT Heads of Call center companies. He will talk about Reliability, Scalability, Support etc..
2. Indirect customers: Call center executives, Who will operate this software.. You must know, Their IT skills will not be as equal as IT Head, Or Yourself.For them its the features .. How quickly he can get the caller information.. ?
3. Customer's customer: Callers.. General public .. What they would need is quick resolution of problems, Voice Clarity etc ..

You as a tester should wear different customer Hat and question to software like that .. Are you reliable .. Can I measure your reliability?

You might be knowing that, 20% of Features of a product gets used 80% of the time.. So Identify those functions.. and test them thoroughly..

You should participate in Customer Beta Feedback, Forums etc.. To understand Customer's issue and try to have testing for them ..

My Journey through Multi Level Marketing (MLM) ..

2009-07-21T18:41:00.000+05:30

I would like to share my views on Multi-Level-Marketing Or Networking Business Or eCommerce Business(?) ..

I had heard about AmWay some 12 years ago..Some of My Villager had joined AmWay and was trying to influence/convince others to join in this business.. Most of the People used to say, its not good .. In this business, You need to Plead to others .. you need to Lie .. etc.. etc .. I was student ...had no Money and never thought to join..

Later, When I joined Engineering in 2001, I heard a lot about Conlif Pvt. Ltd (Headquartered in Kolkata) through my friend. He wanted me to join the business. Again, I was student, and I didn't join .. the strategy for this business was that, the New Joiner has to pay 2500 Rs. and can choose one Product (TV, Fridge, Oven, Washing Machine etc.. Manufactured by unbranded companies) and get the product after you add few members in your leg(?) as you might have earned money by that time.. In this business, One of my friend could earn few Lacs Rupees .. Yes I saw that from my Eyes .. He had some 3000+ Members under Him in the Business .. I was later thinking I did mistake by not joining the business..

Later, When I got the job, and after few Calls by UXL Pvt. Ltd. (Kerla Based, But Branch in CMH Road, Bangalore), I thought to attend the Session (?) by few High Ranked (?) Person .. And Person@UXL was able to brainwash (+ I got Greedy) and I joined this business .. let me say what was my State of mind, when I had joined this business .. I thought ..

1. Its just 3000 Rs., and I am getting a Juicer, Mixer, Grinder (I was erroneously thinking that price of this must be in this range only) ..lets grab this..
2. I am quite friendly guy ..and I have 100+ friends in Bangalore itself, and my friends will join this Happily.
3. I will get an account in UXl site, and I can sell the product (Even if some body is not joining the business)
4. I was thinking, I can go to any group of people and start lecturing about the same benefits which was told to me and Its quite logical that people will join this..
5. I don't see any Cheating in this ..whatever the business needs and does is transparent and Hence I am not going to cheat People.
6. I know, I will not be able to work as Hard as others in this company, but In any means I will be able to earn few thousands a month .. just like that ..
7. What will I do anyhow on weekends .. Lets enjoy this.. I will get to know many people in this business ..
8. Even If I do not get a Rupee out of this, Its just 3000 Rs, and I have got a Mixer as well, So I am not gonna waste much of the money so the Risk is less but gain is very very huge (As in the first session, It was asked repeatedly to me to write down my dreams ..and I had written I want to have BMW in 5 years, and They had ready examples who had achieved that..some Gold/Diamond winner ..)
9. I saw other people from all walks of life joining in this business..

.. And Many more ..That I am unable to recall now.. I was very much excited about this .. I started this Idea sharing with my close friends . They politely refused to join this business ..and then I started talking about this in my company ..to my teammates ..and They started making my joke .. and Later, I was talking about this to common public in the Bus sitting next to me, Chai-Coffee walas, Other people in my area .. But no body was interested.. Few seniors (@ UXl suggested, not to talk to prospective clients directly, rather influence/convince them to join the Session by Seniors and They have the capability to Brainwash .. I did this also .. But All in vain .. I had given My friends/colleague's contact number to that Girl who had called me for first time .. She was quite good on talking .. And She was able to get few of my friends to Session but nobody joined the business .. In One Month, I was feeling like, I did mistake.. This is not for me at least .. People started Hating me..They thought, I am a greedy person.. People said.."You had never called me since 1 year but now you are calling for this business .. Huh .. Go To ...." And It was all over .. I decided to stop working for this .. And that's it .. Some counter view (by UXL colleagues) why I failed in this business
1. I attached business with emotion.
2. I could not lie properly.
3. I could not influence others.
4. I didn't work hard, I was not attending meetings regularly ..
5. I was not following the process of not saying anything directly to Customers.
6. I didn't understand the business properly.
7. I could not make new relationships (And later play around with that !!) Blah..Blah..

.. But I was happy by not thinking about that any more ....

Later in 2006, One of my close friend, was again able to convince me emotionally to invest 1500 in RCM MLM business, here I would get some RCM Cloths and same Left-Right mechanism .. What my friend said that, He has to get a leg anyhow by this date .. I offered him the money directly, But He said, I should Influence people in Bangalore to join this .. I clearly denied this.. I said at the max what I can do is, I will send you money, and You do the business in My name .. and I don't want a single rupee out of that ..But I don't want to hear about RCM again .. and hence I was part of RCM ..My Friend had given my Bangalore address in the Form, and Hence I had received few Posts about this Business .. I didn't even talk to any of my friends about this ..

In 2008, few people tried to convince me to join Quest International MLM business, where lots of Software Guys were joining.. It required 30000 Rs to invest initially and I would get one Limited Edition Gold Coin whose value will become huge after few years ..I should make Left-Right etc etc ..and there was potential to earn upto 7 Lacs a month (Was this a weak? I forgot).. This Company had international Presence (HQ: Malaysia?)(and This is banned in Few Countries e.g SriLanka) and lots of High-End (Like IAS officers, Doctors, Engineers) People were Part of this business already .. I had seen few close people to earn upto Crore Rs. with this business in 2 Years .. But I refused to even come for a session ..

Later in 2009, One fine evening, somebody called me (I don't want to take his name, As He is a good Person, and Just trying Hard to get more money for his family) and said, I saw your profile in Networking site (Like LinkedIn) and would like to know, If I am interested in a good Part time job on weekends..There is a eCommerce project coming up in India..First time in India .. People have not understood this technology (?) yet in India .. there is an International Seminar on this project in Chennai on next week, and We are looking for somebody capable to represent that seminar for our behalf .. Also, In my team IITians and IIMians are there.. I asked him, See I am not in Software Development..And Also, I am not looking for any monetary benefit to start with.. rather, I want to socialize with these High-Class People and understand the new technology .. Also, I will come to venue and You may later decide, Whether I am eligible for that .. This Person didn't say anything .. He said..We will be pleased to have you in venue ..somewhere in Koromangala ..
I went to the venue..It was some body's two BHK house with a small White board in the hall .. After few minute, I could feel whats going to happen here (I was thinking People from IIT and IIM will surely offer some Tea/Snacks [as I am coming by driving 15 KM] as soon as I Reach there ..But only water was offered in a Bottle) .. later somebody from IIM Ahmedabad started the explanation of so called eCommerce business .. He said

1. You purchase something in 100 Rs, which is getting manufactured in only 30 Rs, Rest 70 Rs is the distribution/advertisement cost. Why not get the same thing in 30 Rs by Direct Marketing.. [I objected, is it same thing .. Can You give me Colgate paste with MRP 100Rs in 30 Rs, If I join this business .. He said No..this all depends upon Marketing .. You see people Sell Maaza .. There is mostly water with very less fruit concentrate, and We pay for the transportation of water.. but Our Company gives the same (Sorry Similar) thing in concentrate form .. Initially only I asked, Please let me know, If you are finally going to say this is Multi-Level-Marketing, If Yes, I would like to leave now, as I have no time for that, This Gentleman Said, 'Neither Me!! So Please Listen for few minutes and I will answer all your queries"

2. Then He started with, Why do you need to add other fellows in this business (Once I objected saying I don't want want to involve my friends, He said, If you are opening a company, to whom you wall make VP-Sales, VP-Marketing, VP-HR ..Friends/Family only right ..? I said..The VP-sales is an Employee, here you are saying to Hire a customer ..and Hence you can't compare "Making your Friend as VP-Sales in your business" To "Making partner/customer in this business, where I, myself is a customer"). During Some conversation This gentleman said, I did MBA from IIM not you..I understand Business More than you and I am earning a lot out of this business ..I Calmed down .. Also, He said, If You think like this You can never become entrepreneur with this attitude ..(Well, This Future will tell :) )

3. There were other things like, With this business, You get other branded products like Shirts etc..with 50% Discount (I was amazed why John Player [Or something Similar to this Brand] will give 50% Discount to This Customer ..and also, If somebody purchases this shirt, everybody else in the Organization will get a commission .. I was already angry/sad to myself for wasting my time.. I wanted to leave ASAP..So I didn't ask this question .. )

Even after saying straight that, I do not see any rational behind this type of business, People were explaining me about 1100 Crore rupees of Yearly turn Over in India Alone.. Operation in 100+ countries .. etc etc .. I asked, is this company listed in NASDAQ? No..There is no debt on this company .. Its not owned by somebody .. Its company of all ..

Again there was comparison with traditional business model, Franchisee business like McDonald, and Direct Sales marketing .. I could get a sense of correctness in the word of the person who had called me .. Like, In traditional business also, Customer talk so rashly to Vendors, and vendors needs to be in receiving end .. Its same here .. In Traditional business also, You are not forcing customers (In fact you can't), here also same .. In Traditional business, You need to have good contact and Huge money to start with, But, here its not required.. And He said Regarding the Emotions that, Relations will break.. Its not correct ..

Well, I must admit, This person was very cool, Intelligent, Had good position in reputed Software company and Was not talking nonsense .. What ever I asked, He was trying to answer.. But Finally My Fear to lose Relationship and Dignity (I don't know, If I am right, But this is my perspective) won over..and I refused to join this company ..and You guessed right ..This company was AmWay ..

I asked, why did you lie to me Y'day about So called Technology Product, He admitted, Otherwise, I might not have come for the Session (Remember this word?)

Also, I apologized for the Heated questions asked during Presentation and Said I can't join this for now .. But He gave me one CD to see that, how This business changed Life of an IIT Engineer who was thinking same as me and Now Has everything He once dreamed of..

Conclusion: In my humble opinion, There is no problem in this type of business, Only If, people don't Lie and Show/Proof transparently how the profit is made by Company and Investor (Customer).. Answer all the Questions on Grey areas publicly. Make good product .. and Sell it without much of advertisement and Directly to Users .. Make this Left-Right thing bit flexible .. and Create positive awareness about this business in Press/Media/Advertisement.

Note: I neither recommend to join or refuse to join any of the MLM business. I just wanted to share my thoughts on this.

Testing LDAP Directory Server

2009-07-18T16:52:00.000+05:30

Testing of LDAP Server is no different than any other Software Application (Did I say, OS is an application Software .. Oops ..). Functionality Testing must be done as per the standards and the design requirements. Non-Functionality Testing Must be done based on Customer (Direct/Indirect) Usage pattern.

For Ldap servers, the standards are written in RFC 2251-2256 (For Details Link1 Link2)

To test the functionality, there are several tools available like QTP, STAF, C/JAVA LDAP SDK, Perl/Python/Ruby Modules for LDAP etc ..

One should write LDAP Enabled application for testing the functionality As the Available tools may not cater to all the needs of a specific Ldap server. It is quite possible that your LDAP server has some features which are not documented in RFCs and hence no tool vendor has testing for that feature .. Its always advisable to have Test Automation Suites Written for basic operations like connecting, Performing LDAP add, modify etc .. to Do Partition, To backup etc .. And Later Have scripted Test Case, which should call these Test-Automation-Framework-API (Which infact is the wrapper over C/JAVA LDAP SDK.). Again, Though, I have not developed any application using C till yet, But I have used DirectoryMark (C based) and SLAMD/DSRK (Java based), and I know, C based tool for testing is better and gives more accurate result from Server point of view. Its like Server could have done more processing but the client itself got bottlenecked due to JAVA VM issues)

For Non-functional testing, tools like SLAMD, DirectoryMark, LoadRunner, DSRK etc.. can be used.

While developing test case, There should at least be clear objective (What is the expected result, If you perform these steps?. How will your test result will look like..? Can we have the output result template please?) and Do you see any chance for getting a bug? and why do you think bug may arise out of this step? (Depending upon the objective, for example, If your objective is to get the performance number of Adding users, then, Adding a step to create a users and assign this to a group makes no sense, as this must have been verified by Functional testing)

Types Of Testing : Simplified approach

2009-07-18T16:24:00.000+05:30

I am in testing since 4 years.. I hear lot many types of testing [1 2 3 4]. .smoke, sanity, usability, ad-hoc, reliability, scalability, regression, unit, component, system, performance, alpha, beta, security. monkey, white, black, Grey, installation, static, dynamic, compatibility, usecase, install, exploratory, documentation, interoperability, upgrade, migration, Acceptance, Volume, Integration, language, load, stress, blah blah .. Even after 4 years, I am not confident in saying whats the difference between load and stress testing or Why do we need so many types of testing. some times I felt, Its just to make the testing complex :)

Well, In my opinion ..No white, black, ..nothing .. Just two types of testing

1. Functional testing -- This should include all smoke, sanity, localization, installation, adhoc, security, monkey ..etc etc .. The objective of Functional testing should be to say that, with very minimum load on the software system, all the features as designed works fine. That's it ..

2. Non-Functional testing -- Reliability, scalability, performance etc .. etc.. This testing must be done when satisfactory functional testing is done and Passed. Again, I would like to divide this in just 2 parts (Last division .. so you have finally 3 types of testing)
2a. Capability Testing: This testing is meant to showcase the overall capability of the software system. Objective of this testing should be to say, This is the maximum load system can withstand, This is the increase in performance If you increase memory by 100% etc ..
2b. Sustainance Testing: This testing is meant to showcase to customers that, given your kind of load, There will not be any issue in running this software for 30 days in a row .. Or The users interface is very easy-to-use or This software will work within your environment along with other softwares/hardwares. that's it ..

You tell me one type of testing with brief Objective of the testing, and I can (Will try..) say you where it fits in above three types of testing ...

Note: I believe Testing is not just test case design and reporting (As you see the syllabus of all the testing certifications), and not just having soft skills like Trust, Confidence, Communication, Don't Get Personal Blah Blah.. Its very-much in-depth technical activity.. A real Tester should be having qualities (Though In small extent) of a strong Developer, A strong marketing guru, A good Customer support Person, A very good Business Analyst , A very good People Manager, A Very good IT head of non-IT organization (Our Direct customers ..right ?) and Lastly a very very Normal End user (As If He does not anything about internal of IT). IMHO Software Testing is not "anyone can do" type of job. Today I hear that, People who has no knowledge of Information Technology is willing (and able to) get a job as software tester by just mugging up few testing terms and passing Testing certifications.

SUSE linux rocks

2009-06-10T20:41:00.000+05:30

SuSE (Acronym: Software und System-Entwicklung) is my favorite Linux System. YaST2 package management feature in Novell SuSE is unmatched. To know More about SuSE Linux visit SuSE Linux and SuSE on Wiki

The Cool SuSE Geeko .. Now You can make your own stylish Geeko .. Vist Geekobuilder.com

Probable bugs in gmail/blogger

2009-06-10T16:31:00.000+05:30

Bug #1 in Gmail:
Summary: Seeing lots of repeated unknown contacts in gmail Chat
Steps to reproduce: Could not reproduce
Observation:
Below is the Screenshot Taken once I observed this..

I have no idea what/who is airfexcourierdeliveries..and there are multiple entries for same user in my chat box.

After Few minutes, It was all normal, and This particular entry was not there.

Bug #2 in Blogger:

Summary: Unable to insert image at cursror position in Blogger -> New Post
Environment: Firefox3.0.6 in Suse Linux Enterprise Desktop 11
Steps to reproduce:
1. Open Blogger-> new post
2. Write a line say "Below is the picture" and type few Enter So that the cursor is at 4th line..Here I want to insert a picture.
3. Click "Add Image" -> get the image ..Click Done.
4. You should see, This object got inserted at start, not at the cursor.

Workaround: Cut-Paste Entire object section At the required place.
Severity: Minor

Let me know, If I am missing something .. :)

I have a dream .. Beggar Free World

2009-06-08T01:01:00.000+05:30

This is one of my favorite song by ABBA .. I have a dream ..So whats my dream .. Is my life also going to be similar to millions "(Birth) Start -> Study -> Job -> Marriage -> Kids -> Their Study -> Their Marriage -> End (Good Bye)}" .. Whats wrong in that life .. Nothing .. But whats wrong in dreaming .Dreaming to go beyond that.. Apart from Normal responsibilities.. . Dream on .. Dream On .. Will try to do something about that .. If achieved ..Great .. If could not ..At least there will not be regret that, I didn't put even a cent for that ..

My Dream is to see Beggar Free World .. Simple .. Who is beggar? Why He begs in Streets .. What can be done ..

People Say .. They are lazy .. There is Gang who operates them .. There are many frauds/Cheats by beggars .. They are criminals at night .. They may be fit but, act as disabled .. Don't encourage them by giving money .. Blah Blah ..

There are NGOs for children, Old-Age, Disabled .. Do we have any NGO for Beggars .. I didn't find on Internet at least ..

What should be minimum Action Plan:
1. Identify how many beggars are there in Every District ..
2. Open one big House Say "Less privileged Home" having large capacity ..
3. Get all the beggars (Police and Civic bodies should make sure, No Beggar is left) in that place ..
4. There should be minimum food/Shelter/cloths arranged ..
5. Counsel/Discuss with each and every Person (They are no more beggars Once they enter this house) and See whats their problem? Do they not have Ability to work due to heath reasons .. Mental problem .. (We know there is scarcity of labours/4Th grade persons to work in Villages/Cities, Again work can be allotted based on skills))
6. Initial training for different work should be given .. and private jobs like working in Fields or Construction should be given ..
7. I request to all those Rich people, who spends millions of Rs for their every day expense to help this cause by spending bit less .. There is so many people in world(India), who does not have food (Even Thrown food by hotels) to eat in night, and so many people spend Lacs for one evening party .. I do not say, Do not spend .. But just a portion ..1% of that ..give to these organization ..

Well, should I start an NGO and contact to BBMP/State Govt in Karnataka to begin with .. I would love to .. But I am lazy/weak ..Yes that's reality .. I fear a lot .. I need some initial push/help from some established organization ..I don't know what should I do .? Where to start .. I do not have money .. Do not have big contacts.. I try to spread this message to as many as possible ..whenever I meet somebody .. In my blogs .. In my websites ..I know, its not enough.. I should do more .. I promise to myself, I will do something more ..

I am trying to contact few of Administration/Govt personel, who can help .. I will keep on trying .. My conscience is clear .. I do not want money out of this .. Where I work, I put my maximum effort and I am sure, I will not get any problem for my basic necessities (And I don't need more than that to live) .. But I want this biological life to be of some use..before it decays. (This opportunity I will not get again,.. I do not believe in Re-incarnation :) ). I don't want to die unnoticed .. I want to see world Happy..

Lets see .. what can I do .. a new Slogan from my side Other than "Spread Unconditional Love" .. "Beggar Free World" ..

Please support me for this cause ..What ever you can do ..at least guide me.. encourage me..

Install, Configure Drupal on Suse Linux Enterprise Server (SLES10) with Linux, Apache, Mysql and Php (LAMP)

2009-05-09T21:57:00.000+05:30

Finally Drupal is working in a newly created SLES server. Steps I followed [From scratch to get fully functional website running Drupal with php, mysql, apache on linux]

1. Install Suse Linux Enterprise Server with LAMP (Select from package), apache2-mod_auth_mysql, php5_mysql, ph5-gd, php5-mbstring (Select by searching mysql, gd, mbstring) ; start /etc/init.d/apache2
2. /etc/init.d/mysql start; mysqladmin -u root password 'blogp' ; mysqladmin -h localhost -u root -pblogp create ashish; [Here blogp is password for user root]
3. Untar drupal inside /srv/www/drupal6.11; copy htdocs to htdocs_default and rename drupal6.11 to htdocs; So no change required in Apache.
4. cd /srv/www/htdocs/sites/default/; cp default.settings.php settings.php; chmod 777 settings.php; mkdir files; chmod 777 files/;
4. start /etc/init.d/apache2 and Open in browser /install.php
5. Provide databasename as ashish, user as root and password as blogp.
6. chmod 644 settings.php;
7. Continue Configuration of Drupal, Provide admin user name and password. (This can be different from that from mysql root user).
8. Open your website , click "administration section"; You will see "Cron has not run. Please visit the status report for more information." Click "status report" and You should not get any errors except Cron question mark; Click "run cron manually" and then refresh. Finished.

Note: This installation is for Local Intranet; Please Change permissions in sites/default directory; (I do not have much idea on that). Also To configure mysql, You may use and other user other than root.
I had got this error: "Your web server does not appear to support any common database types". This was due to php5_mysql was not installed.

Novell's Indentity and Access Management Solutions

2009-05-09T19:02:00.000+05:30

1. Novell Identity Manager

2. Novell Access Manager

3. Novell SecureLogin

4. Novell Sentinel

5. Novell Storage Manager

Top 100 websites viewed in India

2009-05-02T03:38:00.000+05:30

Top 100 websites viewed in India

Source: http://www.alexa.com/topsites/countries/IN