Open Source India Week - Bangalore - Day One
This is Venu reporting about the opening day of Open Source India Week from Bangalore with no camera person :)

Woke up at 5:30am and got ready by 7am. Did not want to miss any part of the event. And did not want to underestimate Bangalore traffic. Got into a Celcab at 7:10am. Reached JRD Tata Auditorium, Indian Institute of Science by 8am.

They were sweeping the floors. I stand corrected. They were preparing to sweep the floors. The early morning sun was trying hard to squeeze into the dense trees found in the campus.

Never had the brains to get into IISc the student way. So I thought I would take a leisurely walk around the campus. The campus was beautiful. There is a marked difference between organized lawn/garden management (a la Infosys) and the forest like atmosphere found in IISc. I instantly fell in love with the surroundings. If only I could trade my cubicle for a desk under one of those trees... Sigh! I should have studied harder in B-Tech and got into an MS program here. Damn! Realization comes in ten years late.

The canteen was yet to open for the day. So I went back to the Audi.

Note to self: No Coffee! WTF!

It was around 9:15am by the time I completed the registration. I thought I would go to the Audi early and catch some nice seat. I was the first person to enter the premises. Three more followed suit driven by my courageous act of entering the deserted auditorium.

9:30am- Total strength: 8 members. No activity yet. The session by Klaus Knopper was supposed to start at 9:30am.

9:42am- Total strength: 15 members. Still no signs of starting the show.

9:48am- Total strength: 10 members. Somebody comes in and boots the laptop. The overhead projector comes alive and we are all treated to a nice looking WINDOWS start page.

9:54am- The Knopper couple is in. The fiasco with Windows XP was resolved and a more agreeable Mandriva session is projected on the screen. Well and good. Looks like someone is testing the Microphones too. Wow - I believe something's gonna start pretty soon.

10:00am- Klaus steps on to the stage; apologizes profusely as he fumbles with the connections to his laptop. Couldn't this have been taken care of by the organizers?

Note to Self: Klaus has an Ubuntu laptop!

Alas! The projector won't budge; won't work with Klaus. It flatly refuses to show what Klaus has on his laptop. No one has a clue. All are standing on the stage white faced.

Klaus then perfectly rises to the occasion; ditches his presentation; walks to the middle of the stage and talks eloquently about Open Source. He doesn't require a presentation and has a mesmerizing speech up his sleeve. The topic? "Why Use Proprietary Software?"

He rattles off quite a few reasons but only the following two stuck with me.

1. Everybody is using it. Hence every other body wants to use it. (Windows)
2. Unavailability of Games!

And I thought he would tell me something really serious! His speech basically explains to the informed audience the various meanings of the phrase "The Power of Habit". He says that Games are not popular in Open Source because of the following reason: <i>Open Source guys don't pay for a copy. They pay for an upgrade or for the future!"</i> Game Industry works at the other end of the spectrum. Each copy is supposed to be bought by the customer - because that's their business model. Since this model is not in line with the Open Source philosophy, there aren't many games out there.

I am impressed Klaus. I really am. Actually you should have paid more attention to the balding guy standing right next to the stage when you were uttering those priceless comments about Microsoft and Windows. That guy is from Microsoft and he is waiting patiently to deliver his lecture on Open Source. (WHAT?) To his credit, the MS fellow managed to keep a straight feace when Klaus was skinning Microsoft alive.

Now it is time for Q&A. One VIT fellow asked the cheeky question: "Do you really think Linux UI is as good as Vista UI?"

That brings in a period of complete astonishment and silence. After recovering Klaus tells the VIT fellow about how KDE/GNOME is far better than Vista UI. He tells him - excited in the same way as a five year old kid would who has just been exposed to XBOX 360 - that "3D desktops are cool". Uber cool you know!

Another question from a Linux geek: "Why offer Windows versions for Open Source softwares like Open Office? Aren't we compromising by doing that?"

Klaus answers: "We'd like everyone to have absolute choice. Moreover it makes the eventual migration to Linux - fast and easier!"

He signs off with a nice comment: If it is Open Source, anyone can support it. (Anyone who knows it). If it is proprietary, only the vendor can support it. (Because others won't know a thing about the software.)

Amidst thunderous applause he leaves the stage and Mr Rohit Kumar Rai - from Microsoft walks into the limelight. I am skeptical about Microsoft's presence in this forum. However they are one of the Diamond Sponsors of the event. So they should get a chance to voice their opinions. I try to be as neutral as possible.

Microsoft's Talk: "Open Source @ Microsoft"

Rohit talks about Open Source quite eloquently. To his credit he is a great orator and knows what to talk and what not to divulge. He is quite candid about Microsoft's interest in Open Source. "We are not a charity organization. We are profit oriented. All our objectives should be aligned with our company goals." he says. In his opinion, Microsoft is genuinely interested in working closely with Open Source community to resolve interoperability issues and to ensure these open source products run well on Windows.

So Microsoft's real interest is in ensuring that people can stay with Windows even if they want to use the Open Source products?

He tells us all about programming for multi core processors. He talks about Hashkel programming language which is supposedly Open Source. Microsoft has obtained two Open Source licenses approved by the Open Source community. They are almost the same as LGPL and BSD. In fact I am yet to find a difference. If any of you have an idea where these licenses differ from LGPL and BSD, please let me know immediately.

Microsoft has its own cute little open source team, which takes care of their own version of SourceForge - CodePlex. This was launched to fill in some glaring gaps found in SourceForge it seems. There is no version control of the projects and there is a lack of a good repository for documents and file management in SourceForge. CodePlex supposedly addresses all those gaps. "It was a need that we had to address" Rohit says. (Not his exact words but that's the meaning.)

I have a question on this but a gentleman in the penultimate row throws a tantrum before I voice my opinion and tells Rohit in a quivering voice full of emotion that Microsoft is doing a great disservice to the world of interoperability by bringing in a new document file format OXML when there is already an established ISO format ODF readily available. Yawn!

Rohit plays the usual line: Customers expect choice. These two formats can coexist. We are committed to support ODF too. We have converters available.
Yawn again!

That gentleman firmly says that he is happy India voted against Microsoft's format. Rohit smiles and tells him everyone is entitled to his/her opinion.

When I finally start with my question, the organizer hurriedly steps in and closes the session as we have already crossed the grace time.

Anyway - my question is this: Why didn't Microsoft offer to plug in those gaps found in SourceForge? Why did it have to come up with an entirely new "Open Source" project repository? It could have worked with SourceForge people and made SourceForge a better product!

Alright - I will send him an email :) and hope to get an answer.

If you are interested in knowing more about Microsoft's Open Source initiatives, please head to http://www.microsoft.com/opensource

Don't just write them off. The last speaker of the day has a lot of good things to say about Microsoft.

I come out of the Auditorium and visit the stalls there. First stall belongs to Microsoft and the reason it attracts me is the attractive young lady womanning the stall. I go there, she gives me three puzzles which I solve. She gives me a Laser Pointer as a gift. Thank you sweetheart. How about a cup of coffee tomorrow?

Then I head to a talk about John Smedley, from Ingress. He is quite a guy! He gets all irritated if questions are asked. He growls and swears at people "Lunch time! I am starving." Yes I know he is kidding and I know it is all in good humor but he overdoes his part there and gets on to everybody's nerves.

In his marketing talk about Ingress (Titled misleadingly as - Open Source Software Appliances - while in reality it is nothing but "Ingress is best; Ingress is best; Ingress is best") he says that his company delivers high performance "software appliances" that solve all the problems of his customers. Suppose you are looking for a Data Warehousing solution, earlier you would have to buy a system, load an Operating System on it, hunt the market for the perfect RDBMS solution (Ingress is the best) - get all the reporting tools for the RDBMS - customize them and deal with a whole lot of vendors for support. Now Ingress in all its wisdom has come up with the concept of a "Software Appliance" - which is nothing but an OS, a Database, All the reporting modules and the support required for all these - in one single installable package. (How does one install support?)

"What do you do when you get a problem with the OS? Dial our friendly call center. What do you do when the DB doesn't work. Dial the same friendly call center. We are 24X7. It means that if you get a problem on Friday evening at 7pm, you don't have to wait till Monday morning 9 o'clock to get it resolved." John Smedley has a twinkle in his eyes when he says "24X7". He is so proud of it. Come on John! This is the 21st century and we are in 2008!

The question by one of the irritated listener - "John do you have a software appliance for document management too?"

For this question, John is wide-eyed first and gapes next. After this dramatical theatrical histrionics he says in a la Phoebe Buffet - "Yes and No". He then explains, "Yes, we have an appliance ready. No it hasn't crossed Alpha stage yet."

NDTV did a small story on my son Ishaan. It was aired yesterday on NDTV 24X7 and NDTV India. You can watch the clip online at:

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/videopod/default.aspx?id=22630

I hope this clip spreads the message across and results in more people opting for organ donation.

The Tool I Hate Most

My boss gives me an ultimatum - I have to come up with a five line article on the tool (Not the friendly neighborhood hack-saw! Software tool please) I hate the most. I say politely that the answer to that question will utmost take two words - not five lines and certainly cannot pass off as an article.

That's when I come to know that I need to offer an "explanation" on why I hate that tool. Now, come on! Some things we just hate. Don't we? Have you ever sat down and tried to figure out why you hate certain things? For example Nisha Kothari? Or Ricky Ponting?

Alright, I think I shouldn't be questioning the integrity of some people here or else I shouldn't be standing here I suppose. So let me just confine my rants to the software tool I am supposed to hate most - with a justifiable explanation.

To start with let me just list out the tools I hate most with no explanation whatsoever. It is surprisingly difficult, now that I think about it, to identify this list.

Windows Desktop Search:

ACDSee

As per the unwritten restriction that a list should have more than one member, I think this is a good enough list. Personally I don't like to hate any tool because every tool must have gone through a really boring phase called "Development". Branding it as "bad" will hurt all those worked on the tool.

But I have no way out, Have I? Boss orders. I shall follow.

Let me talk about Windows Desktop Search first. A little bit of digression here: Back in the late nineties when there was a burning need for search engines that scout the Internet for information fast and efficient, Yahoo and Microsoft took their own sweet time to come up with one. Google burst on to the scene with a wonderful product Google.com and snatched away the Search market from Yahoo and Microsoft almost overnight right from under their noses.

I thought Microsoft would learn from this debacle and be more proactive in identifying such opportunities in future. When users were asking for a better way to search the folders and files on their computer, before Microsoft could revamp its pathetic windows search function, Google simply ported with its immensely successful Internet search program to the desktop resulting in a highly efficient desktop search.

Google Desktop Search enables the user to find documents, photos and videos stored in the most inaccessible corner of your computer in a fraction of a second. The program has a small download footprint and installs in seconds. The one time initial indexing takes sometime but once it is done, you won't see it interfering with your work.

Windows Desktop Search was more of an afterthought. Now that Google has a solution, why not imitate it! - Seems to be Microsoft's mantra. When Windows Desktop Search was unveiled, Google had already had a sizable chunk of the desktops in its kitty.

I have used both search tools and while I am thoroughly impressed by Google's, Windows Search is disappointing. It has a larger memory footprint; is slow compared to Google and it uses its own windows to display the results. Google on the other hand uses the default web browser. From the user's point of view this offers a seamless integration between web searching and desktop searching. They need not worry about yet another program to learn.

However, it is not always that the best program will survive. (Remember Netscape browser?) It all depends on market dominance. Microsoft will continue bundling the Windows Search tool with its operating systems. So the users don't have to actually download Google Desktop Search tool anymore. Personally I don't see a future for Google Desktop Search but it will forever remain in the history books as a pioneer in this field.

More on ACDSee in my next blog. Till then, happy searching!

Okka Magaadu - Telugu Movie Review

Let us start with a helicopter in which a minister of the state is traveling. It develops a snag and has to land in the middle of nowhere. When it does do the emergency landing, it does so on a proper helipad - complete with the "H" mark - in the middle of nowhere by the side of a village - Venkata Puram.

If you have any questions about this incident, do not let them out because if you do, and you have to follow the same yard stick, half your life will be spent asking questions. The remaining half? You guessed it right... hunting for the answers. So let us save all that trouble and accept whatever YVS Chowdary throws at us in the form of Okka Magaadu, Balakrishna's latest offering on the marquee.

The mantra seems to be pretty simple. Shun Logic. It would have actually helped us if the director were kind enough to display this warning too along with the Tobacco warning. "Please do shun logic at this point. We are not responsible for any brain damage arising out of an unnecessary logical appraisal of the events happening on the screen."

However for an intelligent viewer having an IQ of at least 25, the implicit warning is pretty much there in the face within the first two minutes of the movie when the helicopter lands. So I wouldn't hold YVS responsible for any technical snag in my brain.

This movie categorically states that most beautiful women in this part of the world are so sex-starved that they are always hunting for "The Man". They don't have any other feelings. They can't do anything else - Sometimes they dream about The Man. Sometimes they talk about The Man. Sometimes they behave in a lewd manner unable to resist the very thoughts of The Man. And that's pretty much what they do. Quite interestingly they come, they see, they show, they conquer, they sing, they dance, they disappear. Fifteen minutes later the same cycle repeats. I know this is the standard formula for most Telugu movies these days but to show them just as sex maniacs with no other goal in life is stretching it a bit too far. YVS needs a reality check. The audience has moved on if the reaction to these scenes are indicative of anything.

Nisha Kothari and Anuskha are two dunderheads who epitomize the male chauvinism of the scriptwriter. A word of advice to Anushka - Ma'am you need to reinvent yourself. Otherwise you will be spoken along with Jayamalini and Silk Smitha.

Before the release of this movie, YVS gave a press interview in which he made an emphatic announcement that his script demanded three heroines and hence the movie had three glamour dolls. I guess he was either talking about a different script or had very low opinion about the IQ levels of the viewer. Anushka and Nisha appear in two paise roles clad in one paise garments and have exactly 2 minutes of footage outside the songs.

Let me not get into the illogical sequences in the movie as I have already stated that anyone looking for logic in this movie is probably going to be brain dead immediately . The sequences unfold at breakneck speed with everyone shouting at 150 decibels for no apparent reason. And such shouting and mindless violence is served as "Freedom Struggle" complete with voice overs for Mahatma Gandhi and Chacha Nehru. Jingoism is equated to freedom struggle.

The fighter goes to China; watches Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon; comes back and kills all the British single-handedly. He resurfaces after 60 years and continues his struggle against the corrupt and the callous people of India. If that reminds you of another movie, you are not alone.

I don't know what the hero learnt in China but YVS sure learnt third degree Chinese torture techniques there and uses them on the hapless viewers reducing them to vegetables by the time the credits start rolling up.

The movie could have done away with two of the three heroines, one of the two Balakrishnas (the younger one to be precise) and a little bit of matured handling of pre and post independence Indian conditions. But that is probably too tall an order for YVS. If it were not for Balakrishna's relentless efforts, the movie would have killed all the viewers.

That brings us to the man who has given it all. It was refreshing to see Balakrishna mouthing ferocious dialogues and creating an impact naturally. Let's admit it, it is a sheer pleasure to watch Balakrishna when he is in his elements. Sadly all his efforts are wasted in this pointless and badly executed movie.

I hope this serves as a wake up call to Balakrishna. He needs to look at fresh ideas - try something radically different and give the new generation a chance rather than persisting with people who refuse to move beyond the decade before the last.

My Rating: Bad.

Episode One: Seize The Day

When a person spends close to four years in the land of opportunities, you'd think that the person would be conditioned to understand the basic algorithm of a successful life – Grab all the Available Opportunities and Seize the Day.

Unfortunately you'd be surprised to know that there is one man on this planet who, in all the wisdom acquired by spending four years in the United States, has not got the essence of the way of life there. All he learnt in the land of opportunities was to wait for his turn everywhere.

So when he returns home to Hyderabad, India he decides to show his well natured personality to the unsuspecting Hyderabadis.

That alone can explain why he, in other words "I", waited patiently for fifteen minutes after entering a famous food joint in Himayat Nagar of Hyderabad. I was waiting to be seated. However no one paid any attention to me. People, who came after me, gave me a sympathetic look and grabbed all the available opportunities while I stared at them with disgust in my eyes. "Uncivilized people" I thought.
I should wait for my turn. Perhaps some people would draw inspiration from my resilience.

However after fifteen minutes of standing there like a dork, my resilience was showing signs of wearing out. When an esteemed patron called me and asked me for "Iced Tea on the rocks" I snapped and grabbed the next available opportunity much to the frustration of a young lad who arrived at the doorstep moments ago and looked as if he had just got off the plane from California.

When I finished my dinner, that guy was still standing there with a puzzled expression on his face – waiting to be seated.

This is not an isolated one off incident. Last week I went to a mobile phone showroom and expected a friendly salesperson with a warm smile on his/her face to guide me to the counter and pamper me with brochures etc.

Nothing of that sort happened though. I patiently waited for five minutes. The salesmen simply chatted amongst themselves. There was no other customer in the showroom. Finally I went to the group and politely asked, "Excuse me please. Do you sell mobile phones?"

They looked at me as if I had just escaped from the famed Nehru Zoological Park. "Yes sir."

I asked again, just to be on the safe side, "Are you open now?"

The look turned into one of sympathy. "Of course we are open."

I realized I needed to grab my opportunity here and make the first move. "Can you show me the latest Nokia models?"

When I came out of the showroom, a friend of mine, who was with me all along, told me in clear terms that I had to change my ways if I had plans of settling down in Hyderabad or for that matter anywhere in India. I readily agreed with him. It may sound a little odd that just four years of exposure to the American way of life, actually a grossly incorrect interpretation of it, could change a person so much. However in my case, it was pretty real. Maybe it was due to my limited exposure to the metro lifestyle of India prior to my Great American Stint. I come from a sleepy little hamlet in South Andhra Pradesh and customer service there meant the warm smile of the next door green grocer!

It is pretty clear to me now. I failed to read the American script properly. I should have read the line "Seize the day. Grab the opportunity with both hands." instead of "Wait for your turn." Well, to each his own.