Broadband as a Basic Human Right

As the month of November comes to a close, I'd like to review something that happened near the time November had just arrived. Towards the beginning of this month, the United Nations declared broadband to be a basic human right. That's right, broadband. Not just the slow old dial - up that many people are still used to, but the high - speed connections currently available only in first world countries. The muscle behind this decision was Dr. Hamadoun Touré, the head of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

Dr. Touré compared the social media of today as the printing press of half a century ago. He underlined this statement by pointing out "Facebook" T-shirts being sold in the heart of Tahrir Square, Cairo. According to him, any place without broadband connections, is a place without ink or paper. To him, the freedom of speech should be bundled with the ability to broadcast it at high speed. Dr. Touré went on to say that broadband will keep unsavory regimes in check. When asked to explain how the so called unsavory regimes would be held back, he explained that twitter is not allowed in China. This is quite an odd thing to say considering that China is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council which can only mean that according to him the United Nations indiscriminately allows oppressive regimes to be at the heart of their operations. Dr. Touré also said that “Communication is a very powerful tool in the hands of the people and when you take it out of their hands, it’s a bomb waiting to explode.” What he forgets is that communication is an even more powerful at the hands of the wrong people. The very concept that telecommunication companies don't check who they give broadband connections to as long as they pay their bills is alien to him.

Though the idealistic view adopted by Dr. Touré charming as it is holds some merit, I can't help but notice the childish thinking that has been put into his decision. When opposing ideas clash, they make an impact that affects everything around it. Add to that the power of broadband internet, you have the means to start wars from your very own keyboard. Instead of wasting time naively declaring broadband internet as a basic human need, the United Nations would be of much more use if it actually did it's own job. Increasingly it is seen that instead of "preserving the peace", United Nations so called peace - keeping troops are bombing nations all over the world. Maybe the only reason they are called peace - keeping troops is because they keep the peace all to themselves by ensuring that the rest of the world is constantly in conflict. You see, nations in conflict are weak enough not to be a threat to the nations who use the U.N as their puppet.

Another point that ought to be considered behind this decision to elevate the position of broadband to a basic human need is that it is backed by the current richest man on earth Carlos Slim Helu, a man who just happened to make his billions from telecommunications (yes, that includes broadband). The stench that you all smell is corruption, plain and simple.

The 14 Day Week

There was a time long ago when 5 day weeks were a reality. As ambitions soared, 7 day weeks started becoming increasingly common. Now we live in an age where change is the only constant and the world around us is constantly in motion. Like the second hand of a clock, we keep plodding down our path inexorably towards what we perceive as destinations but are only points of origin for the next journey. However, in  the middle of all this, multi - Tasking is the call of the hour. As each seconds of our lives are split between a large number of work to be addressed, the grim reality gripping this world is that we are all working 14 day weeks.

Tired eyes thinly veil the anger and resentment we hold within ourselves for being victims of circumstance. As frustration gives way to depression, disillusioned souls seek new outlets. However, even displays of pure emotion are frowned upon by the 'civilized' society where everyone is expected to conduct themselves in a fashion befitting the general concept of propriety held by the dominant generation.

And so, countless souls remain trapped in a rut, stuck in a pit of their own design. Everyone is ready to blame 'the system' for their own misery, but they forget that they are as much governors as they are the governed as far as deciding societal ethical codes are concerned. It is as much the individual as it is the masses that is responsible to decide the very definition of morality.

We forget that every time we try to push people away to make way for ourselves, we force others to push back with equal force if not more. The unnecessary aggression eating away at the narrow core of humanity left in this world is the cause and we are the creators. It is us who are the parents to the birth of the 14 day week.

However, let me be clear so as not to be misconstrued, my message is not to drive the general populace into a state of lassitude and lethargy, rather, it is the adoption of equity. I say, finish your own work and let others have theirs. Take time to enjoy the wonders you build and climb out of the pit you've dug ever so deep. It's never too late to try!

Dark Knights Rises !

The PDPU chess team (sometimes referred to as the "Dark Knights") has done it !
They are the returning conquerors after being crowned champions in DA-IICT's sports tournament where they dominated the chess event. Current and former members of the chess team hail this as a landmark achievement as after getting a flurry of silver medals, we have finally clinched the gold !

A big congrats to all who made PDPU chess what  it is today ! Let's hope this winning streak continues for  many tournaments to come.

Future Computers

-> Graphite Computers

A researcher in the University of Newcastle has found that elecctrons travel a thousand times faster over the surface of a single molecule thick layer of graphite than it does on pure silicon which is the standard for current day motherboards. This will essentially allow all data to flow and be processed at a speed a thousand times faster than it is in most computers today.
Anyone can extract a single molecule thick layer of graphite buy wrapping sticky tape over a pencil tip and
then unwrapping it. Also, as silicon though it is abundant in supply but difficult and expensive to purify, a shift to graphite as the raw material, prices for computers whould drop phenomenally. So, next time you shell out to buy a 2400GHZ processor, it will come at a price lower than most 2.4GHz processors today.

-> Salt Hard Drives

Current day hard drives have hit the maximum capacity at 1TB per platter. This is because data storage relies on unevenly distributed cluster nanoscopic magnetic grains each about seven nanometers wide. Dr. Joel Yang of the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) has discovered that by integrating
common table salt (NaCl) into the platters, a single bit of data can be stores on a single 10 nanometer grain of salt thereby increasing potential storage to 3.3TB/square inch bringing the total platter capacity upto 18TB. Dr. Yang's research aims at improving upon the current achievements and increasing platter capacities first up to 6TB/square inch and then finally 10TB/square inch bringing the individual total platter capacity upto 54TB!

-> Quantam Computing

Every time we hear the word "quantam" our ears perk up. Chances are "quantam"-anything is related either to extremely complex science which we will all struggle to understand (except a few superhuman intellects out there) or, it's related to some extremely awesome science fiction. In my opinion, good science fiction is the second best thing to good science.
Quantam computer however, is definitely a science and a highly complex one at that. In this, direct use is made of quantum mechanical phenomena, such as superposition and entanglement, to perform operations on data. Quantum computers are different from traditional computers based on transistors. The basic principle behind quantum computation is that quantum properties can be used to represent data and perform operations on these data.The field of quantum computing was first introduced by Richard Feynman in 1982.

Although quantum computing is still in its infancy, experiments have been carried out in which quantum computational operations were executed on a very small number of qubits (quantum bits). Both practical and theoretical research continues, and many national government and military funding agencies support quantum computing research to develop quantum computers for both civilian and national security purposes, such as cryptanalysis.

Large-scale quantum computers could be able to solve certain problems much faster than any classical computer by using the best currently known algorithms, like integer factorization using Shor's algorithm or the simulation of quantum many-body systems. There exist quantum algorithms, such as Simon's algorithm, which run faster than any possible probabilistic classical algorithm. Given unlimited resources, a classical computer can simulate an arbitrary quantum algorithm so quantum computation does not violate the Church–Turing thesis. However, in practice infinite resources are never available and the computational basis of 500 qubits, for example, would already be too large to be represented on a classical computer because it would require 2500 complex values to be stored. Nielsen and Chuang point out that "Trying to store all these complex numbers would not be possible on any conceivable classical computer."

-> Faster RAM

Everybody likes having as much RAM as possible and for good reason too. However, having more is not much good, if it is not fast enough. For example, 8 gigs of 133MHz RAM will be beaten into the dust by 4GB DDR3 RAM at 1333MHz. If recent reports are to be believed, then by this time next year, we'll al be looking at RAM working at 2333MHz or higher which is way faster than the fastest commercially availale RAM today.

-> Artificial Neural Networking

Ever wonder why our brains work faster than supercomputers. For example, if I take an average gaming rig and my brain and observe them, the computer can run a 3.5GHz processor and my brain still beats it working at a paltry 100MHz. The gaming rig can have 4TB of internal memory while my brain has only about 3TB (approximate), so why is it that my brain can achieve much greater things than a deaf and dumb computer? Well, in the case of the brain each and every memory element is also a processing element and each element is interconnected allowing data to be accessed, passed and processed at phenomenal speeds. On the other hand, computers have to send data all over the place to get stuff done. They have internal memory and RAM, processors, motherboards and what not allowing bottlenecks to be created quite easily. Also, only a limited number of paths for the passing of data exist, whereas in the average human brain (and I assure you, my brains is VERY average), there exists millions of paths for the passing of data.
The solution lies in artificial neural networks. This is a paradigm which attempts to replicate biological neural networks. First created in Holland in 1975, currently much work is being done in the software application of artificial neural networks. Things such as data mining, pattern recognition, density function analysis, calculation of Gaussian functions, etc. is bringing forth programs with capabillities such as voice, handwriting and fingerprint recognition (e.g Apple Siri) and more complex ones which take on nearly AI (Artificial Intelligence) capabilities.


I hope you all enjoyed this article.

These are some of the innovations that embody the near future of computers world-wide.

A Reservoir of Humour : Santa Claus and the Great Hydrocarbon Conspiracy

[Humour is a pre-requisite to health. If you're not happy, you're not healthy. To ensure that me and my readers live a long and healthy life, here is a piece that I hope will tickle your funny bone.]

[Disclaimer : I am an X-Files fan. Always have been. So weird conspiracies are like music to my ears! Long live Mulder and Scully!]

From time unknown the tradition of the celebration of Christmas is marked by the presence of a strange yet highly jolly old man. Yes, I'm talking about Santa Claus. In most western superpowers, children are taught to love, respect and trust this figure from a very tender age. No matter which way the economy turns, Santa Claus remains a constant in the lives and hearts of people world-wide. However, what no one suspects is that Santa Claus is at the centre of a diabolical scheme to premanently shift the focus of the power balance in the favour of a select few. There is after all, a very good reason why he is jolly. Today (or tonight, depending on your time zone), I will reveal to you the machinations behind this arctic megalomaniac.

Over the years, the biggest, most powerful companies in the world have always been energy companies. In older times, it was the coal companies and now it is the oil companies. These companies have always had the need to deal with people of disrepute to ensure that their position at the top of the power ladder remain a constant while still appearing to be legitimate businessmen. The man who makes it all possible, Santa Claus. What is the modus oeperandi of this criminal mastermind you ask? Read on, and all will be revealed......

Santa Claus begins to scout out all the bad children from early on. Every Christmas, he sends them coal to make them associate themselves with the hydrocarbon industry. So, through this yearly conditioning, he has a group of people who know themselves to be 'bad' entering the petroleum industry every year. After all, the petroleum industry does have a lot of dirty work to be done. Also, it might be noted that Santa Claus preys on religious association. As he could not be associated to any religion in communist Russia, Santa Claus takes on the state - approved avatar of "Father Frost" in Russia. He extended his operations there sometime after large deposits of natural gas was found there which turned out to be largest deposit of natural gas in the entire world! By keeping himself out of the religions thriving in the middle east, he ensures that he does not have to send their children any coal. So, every 26th December, the middle east nations wake up to find that their coal reserves have been significantly depleted and this coal has already been laundered all the way to European and American energy superpowers. Now, the children who have no actual use for the coal they receive, readily sell them at low rates to hydrocarbon companies. Every winter, like clockwork, these nations which usually have extremely cold winters suddenly have a surplus of fuel to burn allowing them to make large profits from combined cycle power plant operation. The companies not only make a huge profit, but also get around all the energy trade embargoes. This entire smuggling operation is remotely controlled from Santa Claus's communications nerve - centre hidden somewhere near the Arctic reaches of the North Pole. This is because the electrical disturbance from the Aurora Borealis will foil any attempt to trace his command - centre.

So, where does all this profit go? Well, the money to buy presents for all the good kids in the world has to come from somewhere, right ? These good kids grow up unaware of the oil industry and become upstanding members of society. After all, everyone can't be 'in' on how things work. Santa Claus's 'sleigh' large enough to carry enough presents for every good child in the world indicates the presence of one or more massive oil tankers directly under his operation which are guided along ocean routes by ten tug-boats. The tug - boats are present so that the tanker itself can switch off its massive turbines if required and fool sonar.

The full extent of Santa Claus's diabolical plans are unknown to one and all including me unfortunately. However, I think I can make a good guess. With the rapidly increasing American debt to foreign economies, America will soon have to dig into their strategic oil reserves to pay off the debt with the accrued interest. However, if the gulf countries are still flooding the market with high quality crude at that time, America will get only a fraction of the price for its crude as compared to if the OPEC (Oil and Petroleum Exporting Countries) stopped supplying the global oil market. So, in an effort to decrease the reserves of OPEC and simultaneously increase the American big oil companies reserves, Santa Claus smuggles oil from one country to another. Santa Claus may not have any vested interest in saving the American economy in particular, however, if the American economy goes down, a number of multinational oil companies go down with it. These very companies are the lifelines on which Santa Claus bases his entire operations. He cannot risk them suffering such a fatal blow.

So, at the end of the day, Santa Claus is happy because he's making huge profits, the oil companies are happy because they are making huge profits, the Gulf is happy because.......come to think of it, I don't know why they're happy. Maybe its because they still have most of the oil in the world and with it a huge load of money. Or, maybe they're in the process of cutting a back - door deal with Santa Claus in which he will defect over to their side. Who knows? The truth is out there!

A Reservoir of Humour

[Written and presented by Jyotishka Misra in Soul Pepper's "Proscenium 2011" under the category of 'Stand-Up Comedy'.]
[Disclaimer : The author will not be held responsible, read at your own risk as this piece may contain views and present ideas in a manner that IS NOT savory to some people. To those people, you have my utmost apologies but you are way too much fun not to make jokes out of. Embrace it and learn to live with it.]

Good evening everyone, I am a Bengali. Many people believe that the renaming of West Bengal as Poshchim Bongo makes it more Indian somehow. However, I resent this change because it essentially turns me into an African drum. I am now a Bongo!

The world is going crazy. The best rapper is a white guy, the best golfer is a black guy and the tallest NBA player is Chinese. Let me tell you, there is a little bit of insanity in all of us. I’m Schizophrenic, and so am I! Truth is, we don’t exactly suffer from insanity, we enjoy every minute of it. Recently, we even went to the National Schizophrenic’s Convention, anybody who was everybody was there. There were some cases where the different personalities of the same person were all following different religions and that’s when things really start getting messed up. Thank god I’m an atheist.

Do you want to know what’s really insane ? Vegetarianism. I think that the human race is going backward. We did not fight our way up the food chain just to eat the stuff at the bottom. If you really like animals so much, eat them. It gives them a quick merciful death. Instead, you guys are starving them slowly by eating up their food !

Anyway, other than being a dedicated non-vegetarian, I’m a petroleum engineer. One of the most important parts of petroleum engineering is geology. Now, I’ve met quite a number of geologists in my time and the most important thing that I learnt is; whatever you do, never, ever lend a geologist money. He may say that he’ll return it after a short time, but remember, a geologist thinks in the geological time scale. A few millions years is nothing to him. Some people keep on mixing up geologists and archaeologists. A Geologist has the safest job in the world. If he’s wrong, it’ll take a couple million years of tectonic movements to prove it. On the other hand, an archaeologists, well his career always lies in ruins.

Scientists never stop thinking scientifically. If you go up to a physicist and ask him “Hey, what’s new?” he’ll probably say “New is one of the Greek alphabet and is used as symbol of mechanical efficiency”. No matter what, you can never isolate the science from a scientist. Even if a scientist is reading a Harry Potter book, they’ll be thinking about corrosion chemistry because both are about sacrificial protection. The worst thing possible is a drunk scientist. You should never drink and derive. It’ll end up as a summation of disaster.

I believe that the greatest engineering achievement till date is the computer. One of the things which fascinates me is artificial intelligences working on the human genome project. They are essentially robots designing new and improved human beings. Pretty soon, we’ll have Human version 2.0 and then Apple will release their own i-man. Many people believe that if artificial intelligences became any more human – like, they would try to take over the world. I just think that they would get lazy just like us and refuse to live up to their true potential. What we do by procrastination, they will do through processor latencies.

Some people prefer windows, some Linux and yet some others go for a Mac. They may all have great GUI support, but my favourite “Point-and-Click” device will always remain an AK-47 !

Thank you and Good night.

Demise of a Legend

All those who know me will automatically tell you that I am NOT an Apple-maniac. Quite the opposite really, I have always held this modern day computer elitist oligarchy at an arm's  length and looked upon their products with unfeigned disdain. I never have and never will own an Apple product as I have always found them to be lacking in power. Yes, sure they look good, but being the staunch supporter I am of the open - source revolution, I can never bring myself to align with the Apple overlords. Yet, now that Steve Jobs has left the earthly plane and many open - source fanatics the world over are celebrating his demise, I can't help but acknowledge that he was a great man who brought about a revolution worth noting. A digital toast if you will to Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak who forever changed the modern - day computer bringing to us the first personal computers and the first GUI based computers mice and all.

May rest in the peace he so desperately sought while still attached to the mortal coil.

He truly was a legend both in life and now in death who championed the need for aesthetically pleasing clutter - free electronics with an easy to use interface, which at some point of time far in the past also held cutting edge technology backed up with an OS to be proud of.

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Brilliant or Blunder ?

In a recent speech to the U.N, our very own Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said "We must address the issue of the deficit in global governance. We need a stronger and more effective United Nations that is sensitive to the aspirations of everyone -- rich or poor, big or small. For this, the United Nations and its principal organs, the General Assembly and the Security Council, must be revitalised and reformed. The reform and expansion of the Security Council are essential if it is to reflect contemporary reality. Such an outcome will enhance the Council's credibility and effectiveness in dealing with global issues. Early reform of the Security Council must be pursued with renewed vigour and urgently enacted,"........

In this speech he plunged head-first into addressing global problems and spoke for the world as a whole. All in all, this much was a master stroke worthy of applause, however, in this same speech, he went on to emphasize the ills of globalization which not all believe in. While this does not adversely impact India's bid to join the U.N Security Council as a permanent member, Dr. Manmohan Singh also spoke directly against Western powers "forcing" democracy on countries who do not want it. Whether or not he was morally right, this statement will not go down well with the majority of the U.N Security Council permanent members, and of the only two who do not favor democracy, one has a border with India which is currently engaged as an active war zone under a ceasefire order. This gaffe certainly does us no favors.


At the end of the day, we can only hope for the best, expect the worst and ask ourselves, was this speech brilliant ? Or was it a blunder ?

A World Class "Energy" University

PDPU, namely Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, is at least the most - advertised of universities. So, one may ask, what exactly do they advertise themselves to be ? Well, PDPU masquerades itself as an energy university with no parallel, but this very same university was devoid of any and all electric power for more than half a day this 24th September, 2011.

One must wonder how a university with its own solar energy farm AND its own wind turbine can manage to lose power for so long a time. Could it be that we have sullied the term 'educational institute' so badly that the sun is now embarrassed to shine on us thereby disabling the solar panels ?

One thing is for sure, we may not have the best engineering departments in the country, but the School of Petroleum Management must have a bunch of student experts on advertising....

The Online Battlefield

Throughout the ages, the periods of greatest technological advancement has been periods of turmoil, most specifically war, barring only the renaissance. History has seen us go from clubs to swords to automatic guns. The first world war gave us tanks and the second gave us jet aircrafts. With advanced times come advanced weaponry, refined and sophisticated in its capabilities, and what more potent a weapon than the all-pervasive internet. In this information age, there is no deadlier weapon than information.

While various armament companies such as Heckler and Koch, Barrett, Smith and Wesson, Kruger and Glock to name a few keep on researching smart bombs, pinpoint accuracy rifles and what not, the great arsenals of the world have begun to consider a paradigm shift to augment their ever-burgeoning stash of modern day weaponry. In this age of the atom and the electron, the face of warfare has changed. While in the past there was no secrecy in marching an army into enemy territory, the wars today are all about covert operations and misinformation. The other new addition is the birth of the cyber-warriors. They are the ultimate when it comes gaining sensitive information without getting caught.

This new unconventional addition relies on the capability of crackers (black-hat hackers) to collect sensitive data, disrupt normal functioning and otherwise inconvenience in every possible way, the target country as a whole at all levels. The most convenient thing about this form of warfare is the complete lack of bloodshed in it. No, this is not a humanitarian gimmick, what I really mean is that if you don't die, you can keep on fighting! Also, the host government who initiates the attack maintains complete deniability.

Not convinced ? Do you still think that this is some outlandish conspiracy theory ?

Well, the truth is that this form of warfare is hardly anything new. For example, Russia is known to have initiated cyber attacks against Estonia in 2007 in retaliation for an Estonian decision to relocate a Soviet war memorial. Russian hackers are some of the smartest and scariest in the world. They are more than capable of accomplishing a lot more. Another example that deserves mentioning is the attack of a private company. Mitsibushi Heavy Electronics (MHI) have been on the receiving end of this form of attack for quite some time now. MHI was attacked on multiple occasions due to their line of products which include all the Japanese Naval submarines and even F-15 construction for Lockheed Martin. Those F-15s arm not just the U.S Air Force but a number of other countries as well. Rumours have been flying thick and fast that these attacks have been undertaken at the behest of the PLA (People's Liberation Army) cyber warfare unit known as the Blue Army. In case you are not aware, the PLA is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China.

How long will it take for the Chinese to divert their attention from the Japanese and focus it on India instead? Who knows, given our poor cyber security record, they have already penetrated Indian cyber networks and are operating inside our country but outside our knowledge. What is to stop them from stealing research from the top-notch academies and research organizations we have or even taking over our nuclear arsenal?

In future, cyber attacks should be dealt with as seriously as other more conventional modes of warfare as it is no less than infringing the territorial integrity of the nation being attacked. If cyber criminals can harm people over the internet, organized groups with the same skill set can bring a country to its knees. While many of you might be thinking of Bruce Willis in Die Hard 4.0, it will probably take more than one senior detective to stop a military effort of that level, even if that detective be John McClane.






[P.S : Forgive me Bruce Willis, don't get me wrong, I am a die hard "Die Hard" fan. Yipee Kay Yay, <censored expletive / colourful profanity>....]

Google+ and the Modern World of Social Networking

In a post-orkut, facebook dominated world, google+ is still struggling to find it's own identity. While twitter has dug deep into its fortified niche, google+ is slowly being relegated to the ranks occupied by myspace, etc. In this story of death before birth, one must wonder, is google really the future of the internet ?

If google+ really wants to take the offensive in the battle of the social networks, it must define itself first as formal (such as LinkedIn) or informal before moving on to the intricate details that will funnel traffic into it.

With an increasing number of apps accessing the internet and retrieving data for the user and google's all-too-intrusive collection of user data to "refine" searches, people are turning to other avenues of using the internet. While google strives to perfect android and ChromeOS, they have failed to notice the shift of users away from google. After all, people flock to a free service and leave even faster !

If google wishes to truly dominate the computing world, they will need to make a move to capture it now and monopolize it through consolidated effort much like microsoft did so many years ago.


[Before you ask, yes this post did start out with a focus on social networking and ended in the mad scientist type rambling about world domination ! :)]

Torres is not Chelsea material

Time and again, Fernando Torres as furnished us all with irrefutable evidence that he does not have what it takes to be a Chelsea footballer. His perennial out-of-form nature now begs the question, was he really ever out-of-form to begin with or is this pathetic display of footballing skill the true extent of his capabilities ?

Sunday, 18th September, 2011. It is Chelsea vs Man. U, easily the most important match the English Premier League has to offer. Chelsea despite being the quite obvious superior team was surprisingly down by 3-1 in the 95th minute. At this time, Torres was presented by a perfect through ball. The Man. U. goalkeeper De Gea being the rookie that he is was out of position by a simple bit of dribbling by Torres leaving the goal completely open. The defense was miles behind and the target seemed almost impossible to miss. "Almost" being the operative term used here. Personally, I was tempted to say it was impossible to miss, but once again, Mr. Torres always trying to prove that he can do what no one else can missed this golden goal-scoring opportunity. No other player, whether they be a goalkeeper, defender, midfielder, striker, an amateur footballer or even a person kicking the ball for the first time would have missed but Torres once again displayed his fine talent for finding the wrong side of the net.

In case no one has told you Mr. Torres, here's the secret........you're meant to get the ball to go INSIDE the net ! Not around, not under it and definitely not over it !


I say, just give him a couple million or two and tell him to stay at home for the rest of the season. He'll be doing the rest of the team a big favour. Spain may have won the world cup, but that does not make all spaniards world - cup material.





Also, I know Andre Villas-Boas is new and all and deserves more of a chance to prove himself capable, but what was he thinking ? Benching Anelka was Dumb with a capital D, plain and simple. We all hope Drogba a speedy recovery so that he may replace the inept Spaniard Torres. Though Sturridge is proving himself an asset to the team, I'd still pick Anelka over him for just the sheer experience and greater finesse in his play. Sturridge makes for a great substitute.

Code Magic : Loopy Loops -> Twisting the For Loop (C and C++)

Every textbook that teaches the basics of the programming languages 'C' and 'C++' will clearly state the syntax for the "For" loop as :-

for( initialization; comparison; update )
{

Body of Loop;

}

For example,

for( int i=0; i<5; i++)
{
cout<<"\n "<<i;
getch();
}

This will give us the output :-

 0
 1
 2
 3
 4

Now here comes the interesting part. Though in most cases a program will throw up errors while compiling if the syntax is not strictly followed, in certain cases, we can exploit the weaknesses in the coding of the programming language itself to veer away from the syntax without causing the compiler to interpret it as an error. In some cases, this provides us with definite advantages such as faster running of the program due to less number of calculations required to complete the program.
I will now demonstrate how to get the same result as the above example program with one such exploit.

New Syntax :-

for( initialization; update; )
{

Body of the loop;

}

New Example :-

for( int i=4; i--; )
{
cout<<"\n "<<(4-i);
getch();
}

In this, the value of the integer 'i' is first assigned as 4, then 3, 2, 1 and 0 respectively on subsequent loops.
So, the output of the program will remain the same. This modified loop will basically decrement the initialized value down to zero. That will be the point at which the program will be terminated.


P.S : Please comment if you liked this post. I hope to make this the first of many "Code Magic" articles.

Tracking a blog ping.....

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Germany has done it !

Germany, one of the techno-hubs of the world and one of two "Research and Development (R&D)" world capitals (the other is Japan) has finally done it ! This mecca for engineering student is setting standards that only a scarce few could dare to dream about !

After the Fukushima nuclear tragedy in Japan, Germany took the initiative to avoid the use of civilian nuclear energy completely by phasing out all of their nuclear power plants with at least 35% of their power coming from renewable sources ! Not only are they well on track to achieve what was perceived as the ludicrous ravings of a nation gone mad, they are ahead of schedule. According to the German Association of Energy and Water Industries, the share of power generated from renewable sources has soared up to an all time high of 20% !
Wind power was the dominant source supplying 20.7 billion kWh (7.5 percent of total production) of the 57.3 billion kWh provided by renewable sources in the first six months of 2011, followed by biomass with 15.4 billion kWh (5.6 percent), photovoltaic solar with 9.6 billion kWh (3.5 percent), hydroelectric with 9.1 billion kWh (3.3 percent, and waste and other sources providing 2.2 billion kWh (0.8 percent). The most considerable jump registered solar power, increasing by 76 percent over 2010. To achieve this end, the German Federal Government decided not to cut subsidies for private solar-power generation as was initially planned.

Hats off to this enterprising German nation and their modern day miracle !

Now, some of you might be thinking that this was possible because Germany is a rich nation with deep pockets to pull from and make huge renewable energy projects. The truth is quite the opposite. Though Germany earns more than any other European nation, it is far from being rich. It is in fact one of the poorest in Europe. Only in 2010, 20 years after the re-unification of Germany, were they finally able to pay off the war reparations of the 1st World War with the interest owed. Even now, they are paying off the war reparations to all the allied countries the war reparations of world war 2. They will have to continue doing so for many years to come but I have full faith that they will be able to do so soon. Well, I hope so anyway.

Perhaps the reason why both Japan and Germany are so amazing at Research and Development is the fact that it is easy to earn from technology. They are forced to pay war reparations and it is this necessity to earn or fall apart that provides them with the drive to excel.

What ever may be their motivations, I hope to keep seeing engineering ingenuity from them for years to come.

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InReview -> Batman : Arkham Asylum (2009)

Batman is one of those characters which have transcended all boundaries and is a universally popular character. This DC comics legend has dominated the shelves of graphic novels(read comics) stores, filled cinema halls full of movie goers and now has been all immortalized in digital gameplay. Batman : Arkham Asylum (B:AA) gives the player the reigns to the "caped crusader" as he hunts through the island of Arkham Asylum trying to unravel the plot that the joker has set in motion.

Not only is the lighting and musical score spot on for such a game, B:AA gives us a much more realistic view of the madmen the "vengeance of the night" has to deal with. Gameplay is never boring despite certain repetitive elements and while the fighting mechanics are easy to grasp, they take a while to really master. B:AA pits the gamer not only against the joker but other batman villains such as bane, killer croc and poison ivy. Also, there is the ever-present riddler with his hidden statues and riddles that you can solve for bonus unlockable content.

Graphics though stunning are not highly demanding and most laptops with a 2.4GHz processor, 3GB RAM and a dedicated 512MB GPU should be able to play it at full settings without much of a problem.
What really gives this game a ring of authenticity is the voice-acting done by some of the original voice artists from Batman : The Animated Series. This ensures that the joker has just the right amount of "crazy" in his voice.

As you can obviously understand, I will not be describing this game any further to avoid giving any spoilers, however, I will say this, it is one of the best games ever made and definitely worth playing. The freed Arkham Asylum inmates will ensure that the "Dark Knight" will be tested to his limits, can you handle it ?
 
Final Rating : 10 / 10

Note : This game is worth the money, and if you're like me, it's worth the time spent downloading it !

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Clash of the Titans : Social Networks do not Socialize

In a post-orkut, facebook dominated world, google+ is still struggling to find it's own identity. While twitter has dug deep into its fortified niche, google+ is slowly being relegated to the ranks occupied by myspace, etc. In this story of death before birth, one must wonder, is google really the future of the internet ? If google+ really wants to take the offensive in the battle of the social networks, it must define itself first as formal (such as LinkedIn) or informal before moving on to the intricate details that will funnel traffic into it. With an increasing number of apps accessing the internet and retrieving data for the user and google's all-too-intrusive collection of user data to "refine" searches, people are turning to other avenues of using the internet. While google strives to perfect android and ChromeOS, they have failed to notice the shift of users away from google. After all, people flock to a free service and leave even faster ! If google wishes to truly dominate the computing world, they will need to make a move to capture it now and monopolize it through consolidated effort much like microsoft did so many years ago. [Before you ask, yes this post did start out with a focus on social networking and ended in the mad scientist type rambling about world domination ! :D]

Firefox Nightly Version 8 Download Link

Well, the Post title is fairly obvious. The main reason for posting is that I felt pretty stupid after extolling the virtues of nightly version 8 over 9 in my previous post to see that the nightly website had removed version 8 and had links only for version 9. So, for all you smart people out there who want Firefox Nightly 8, all you have to do is go to the "Downloads" link on my website and select the Firefox download (it's the only one there for now) and save the file. After that, just install and enjoy ! Here's the link -> http://jmexpress.hpage.com/

Future Firefox

Are you a firefox fan ? I mean, who wouldn't like a amazing browser that runs faster than.....well something really, really fast. Anyway, if you want to use versions of firefox that are yet to be released, you can do just that ! What you are looking for is a firefox "nightly" build. These builds are not even Beta stage but more of a development stage version of firefox. Some of your add-ons may not work with these new builds but I can personally assure you that they deliver top-of-the-line performance when it comes to internet speed. After all, its a browser, what more can you ask for ? The current version of firefox (stable) is 6 and Beta is 7. I've been using Firefox Nightly 8 for over 2 months and not only is it faster than both version 6 and 7, but it is also more stable and supports more add-ons than either of the "mainstream" builds ! Intrigued ? Well, you can download Firefox Nightly Builds from -> http://nightly.mozilla.org/ Another developer stage firefox is the "Aurora" ! Download it from here -> http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/channel/ Last but not least, here's a direct ftp link to all the firefox builds you could ever want. In the mood for legacy or on the search for future versions, grab any version even before they hit the firefox website ! -> http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/nightly/ If your an add-on junkie like I am, I would suggest that you do not use the Nightly build 9, rather the nightly build 8 as version 9 still needs some work in regards of managing add-ons. Version 8 however, is the by far the best browser I have ever used (that's right Microsoft, I said it, and for the record, Internet Explorer will never have a home on my computer, I'll use Opera or even Safari if I have to in case Firefox is not available!) LONG LIVE MOZILLA !!! |\/|[]Z!|_|_/-\ |2|_||_35

How to Apparate !

[Disclaimer : This is intended only as a comic piece. No, scientists or wizards were harmed in the writing.
@J.K Rowling -> yes, you created harry potter and I made fun of it. Don't sue me, I don't have much anyway.]

Many of you Harry Potter fans believe that apparition is magic. I mean how else do you explain someone disappearing from one place only to reappear somewhere else ?
However, after putting some thought into it, I have concluded that it is in fact nothing but science. Any science advanced enough is akin to magic. Sound familiar ? It will be at least to Isaac Asimov fans (now there was an author far superior to J.K.Rowling, but that's not saying much is it).

Anyway, the truth, apparition is simply the application of quantam mechanics to large bodies. You see, according to quantam mechanics, we are all probabilistically distributed throughout the universe. So, in the process of apparition, we are simply controlling the probability of our being in one place as being in another place. As our probability of existing i one place decreases, we take upon a smoky appearance. This represents some residual random probability of our being in our point of origin. This does not last long and soon disappears.

Last but not least, when disturbed in the middle of an apparition, wizards get 'splinched' as they are now probabilistically distributed throughout the entire route between the point of origin and the intended destination. The wizard in question can not 'un-splinch' his or herself as being in a scattered state, can't really gather his or her thoughts well enough to carry out complex calculations dealing with four dimensional vector space ! :D

A Bright Dawn

Dawn in Gandhinagar is typically around the hour of 5:30 a.m. Today, I can tell you for a fact that the morning dawned in Gandhinagar bright and without being even slightly obscured by a non-existent fog which many of us were expecting. The painful thing is, no sane person should be able to describe dawn as all sane people should be asleep at that ungodly hour. It's bad enough to know that the early hours exist, there is no need to be awake to confirm it.

On that note, I will now bring my rant to an end as far as being awake at dawn is to be considered. "Why ?" might you ask ? Well, it's for the simple reason that I was awake at 5:30 a.m and I have no intention of being branded a hypocrite. Instead, I shall turn my ire (and ask you dear reader(s) if you would be so kind to redirect yours too) in the general direction of a bunch of narcissistic, self-serving sadists. Yes, we all know who I'm talking about, but it's safest if I don't put it into words as they have eyes and ears everywhere !

The toll of a night - long educational effort compounded by the utter lack of sleep is quite disorienting I can assure you. The entire world seems insulated, distant and surprisingly lacking in meaningful stimuli. Sometimes, it's hard just to keep track of whether you are awake or asleep. Sometimes, it's both, where a part of the mind is asleep and the other parts work away. That's when it gets really weird. Visions oddly enamoring in their sheer uniqueness spring up and travel unhindered into the plane of reality alloying the conscious experience. It really leads one to think -> "The universe is simply the perception of it in the individual".

Now that my thoughts are nice and jumbled, this narrative will probably progressively dissolve into disjointed, meaningless jibberish. Feel free to ignore the rest of this post as it's been long past since I passed through the looking glass into wonderland - visions conjured up by my subconscious mind. Such weird hallucinations are these that it would put even Lewis Carrol to shame. And yet I type on as is the force of habit when I sit with a keyboard in front of me balanced on the precipice between dreams and reality ever cautious wondering which way I will tumble at the first stumble.

Good night. My computer is going into "sleep mode" and so am I.....

Need Resources

Has anyone used the Visual Studio 2010 Visual C# ? I really need to learn programming in this language. If anyone has resources, please mail it to me at

jyotishka.misra@gmail.com.

Thanks a ton!

Petrel is Intimidating

Unless you're a petroleum engineer, chances are that most of you haven't even heard of the software "Petrel". It's one of the 'one-stop' solutions that has ensured the continued success of Schlumberger, the creators of Petrel, in their quest for dominating the petroleum service provider world.

Petrel is as useful as it is expensive and let me assure you, it is extremely expensive ! However, the person on whom the task of installing the Petrel software falls is in for a roller-coaster ride. In order to get this software working, we require a dongle and a license key. Not impressed ? Well, the truth is plugging in the dongle is the easy part. Figuring out that one has to create a locally hosted server, add the key file to it and then and only then run the Petrel software is what leads to many a 'left-scratching-my-head' moments !

Well, today I can finally say that at long last, I got the software up and running! Now all that's left is to understand how to work on developing a plug-in for it. It's going to be uphill from this already steep point. If ever there was a moment when I felt that I was in over my head, it's now. Usually, I'm quite the epicure, but right now, I've bitten off more than I can chew !

With deadlines closing in, the pressure is rising. No, this isn't a negative point. I've found that pressure is one of the best of stimuli that an engineer can have. I look forward to what my team and I can accomplish in the little time left with us !

PDPU Dramatics Club Shines Again

"Soul Pepper" the PDPU dramatics club once again lived up to its reputation this Independence day. Their drama "Naali Ke Kutte" was a well written piece of literature and it was a jewel of a performance that allowed everyone in the audience to relish its fine flavour.

The entire "Soul Pepper" crew were in fine form. The main characters Gurusevak and Shahnavaz were played by Abhimanyu Manna and Deepak Goyal respectively. They spearheaded the play with excellent performances. However, it was most definitely a coordinated team effort and one cannot ignore the amount of effort put in by the rest of the team.

"Naali Ke Kutte" contained a serious message alluding to the decadence that is prevalent in the two nations, namely, India and Pakistan. Represented with a touch of humour, the play went on to describe that people from both sides despite sharing great similarities are forced to live as enemies due to the egoistic power struggles of politicians past and present.

Speaking on behalf of all those who enjoy good dramatics, let us hope that Soul Pepper continues to treat us to many more performances of such high quality !

Why Dwell upon a Dell ?

All of you who have read the story of Michael Dell will know his motto....."under-promise, over-deliver". Those were the words of a smart man ! Unfortunately, that same smart man went from being an engineer to a businessman. The result was that he lost sight of what it was he was selling.....computers. His motto is forever lost and can never more be associated with Dell Computers Ltd.

The foundation of Dell were these boring-looking battered boxes of machines that kicked all the competition around, leaving them in the dust. I personally loved those machines ! They were robust, well designed and best of all.....they worked !

The current shift in focus that Dell Computers India Limited has brought to its computers has left Dell as one of the most stylish, visually stunning, attention-grabbing of computer brands, creating expensive paperweights and nothing more. There is no substance behind the sleek, polished frames. The Dell BIOS is in perpetual conflict with the rag-tag assembled components often leading to blue screen errors due to its incompatibility with the GPU.

The only good thing I have to say is that the customizable options when buying a Dell Pc are nice, but even here, no top of the line options whether it be processors, RAM, HDD or GPU are offered. You always get left a generation behind the ultimate computer components.

Worst of all is the customer support. After being left on hold for close to half an hour, the Dell service representatives display a shocking lack of even the most basic knowledge of computer systems. There was once a time when I talked to a guy who actually tried to convince me that the "keyboard" is a software and I should try to re-install it or do a system format and restore! All this is protected by a flimsy casing which breaks at the slightest shock. I've seen other laptop brands such as Compaq and Toshiba take a battering and come out without a dent. Not so in the case of Dell. This is a laptop you have to constantly worry about damaging irreparably at the slightest jolt.

At the end of the day, take my advice because I speak from experience, pay the little bit extra and get an HP or an Asus. Don't dwell upon a Dell !

15th August - A Day to Remember

I'm fully aware that today is 14th August, but I think it's safest to get this post out of the way with plenty of time at hand. You see, 15th August is a day to remember for many reasons.

First of all, it's the Indian Independence Day !

Secondly, it's the birthday of three friends of mine !
So, without any further ado... allow me to wish a very happy birthday to -
Abhimanyu, Tabassum and Urvashi.

Guys, have a blast ! It's your day !

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Better Late than Never

Yes, I'm aware that it's been two years since my last posts. Oh well, better late than never I guess!

With that being said, all I can promise now is much more frequent posting as my internet connection speeds have greatly improved and I no longer feel irritated waiting for my posts to be added !

JM-Express Is finally online !

Blogging is a pastime of many. It gives us all a chance to express ourselves on a certain level. However, websites are the real thing ! They have the potential to become the stuff of legend !

Keeping this is mind, I set out to create my own website alongside this blog of mine.....and jmexpress was born !

After a lot of planning and searching for the right host, I've finally set it up at hpage.com. To all those interested, here's the link -> http://jmexpress.hpage.com

Go check it out !