compuneo

Cheaper Airlines between Cyprus and India; via Kuwait

noreply@blogger.com (compuneo) — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 13:13:00 +0000

Jazeera Airways appears to be one of the cheapest connections between Cyprus and India (around 300-400 Euros compared to about 700-900 Euros by other Airlines).

It started services from Larnaca, Cyprus started around April 2007.

Their main hub is Kuwait. Currently, they have few connections to India (Delhi, Kochi and Mumbai). They sem to have at least one flight a day and in the weekends more.

For people travelling to other major cities like Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai in India, it could be a multi step journey.

For e.g. to Hyderabad, Larnaca <-> Kuwait <-> Mumbai <-> Hyd. And, as Jazeera currently flies till Mumbai. So, one has to book an additional connection themselves through a different/partner airlines.

Though the cost of the ticket appears very attractive, comes along more waiting time in transit.

iStocks, the influence of iphone goes much beyond Apple

noreply@blogger.com (compuneo) — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 12:24:00 +0000

iPhone, the innovative multi-touch, multi-functionality phone from apple, has its influence even on stock market.

According to this article on BBC, as O2 reportedly got the exclusive deal for UK market, instead of Vodafone as was initially anticipated, stock price of Vodafone fell about 2.3%.

And, according to another article, the stock prices of several manufacturers and parties involved in making iphone have been rising.

So, sould we call this phenomenon iStocks?

At least, once country admits!

noreply@blogger.com (compuneo) — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 14:13:00 +0000

At least, one country admits that they're in Iraq for Oil.

Lets see how many more make statements in favour/against Australian minster.

Sleepwell, dear Britons!

noreply@blogger.com (compuneo) — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 13:37:00 +0000

According to the article on BBC, 2/3rd of the Britons have snoring problems in sleeping.

Its an outcome of a survey conducted by a hotel chain Travelodge.

The survey identified five distinct types of snorer:

The Snorter (18%): Distinguished by a rapid blowing of air through the nostrils and mouth, similar to the sound of a horse snorting.

The Snorchestra (12%): Typified by long, low snores that gradually build into a deafening crescendo.

The McEnroe (10%): Distinguished by violent grunting sounds, similar to the noise made by tennis stars when competing.

The Walrus (8%): Typified by continuous groaning noises when sleeping.

The Old Banger (5%): Sounds like a broken car with a spluttering engine.

Joost - I've got invites

noreply@blogger.com (compuneo) — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 13:31:00 +0000

Folks, if you need an invitation
Please send me an email : compuneo [AT] gmail [DOT] com

Greed..

noreply@blogger.com (compuneo) — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 09:52:00 +0000

As someone said, "God has provided resources for everyone's need, but not for everyone's greed".

While I was in India, I used to feel really great about one of the very few Indian CEOs in an MNC IT firm like Computer Associates. May be, I was too innocent then to understand the other-sides of a leader like him.

Having seen the verdict in the accounting fraud, which he has pleaded guilty and getting a 12 year sentence along with $8m fine.. is really disgusting.

Is it the "greed", that causes people to go to such extremes?.

ps: There have been several such accounting frauds and sentences, but this case in particular is different for me for the reason that, he is an Indian CEO (after all, we are all humans).

Andhra turns 50

noreply@blogger.com (compuneo) — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 08:38:00 +0000

Though Andhra Pradesh (AP) has a history more than 2000 years, its the Andhra Pradesh we live in free India (India got its freedom British colonial rule in 1947).

That Andhra Pradesh has turned 50 today. Its the first state to be formed on the basis of language in 1956. Though, there are other states (Karnataka, Maharashtra, etc) to be formed so on the same date.

Looking at the progress, that the state has made in the past 50 years, is certainly good. But, it could have been lot better.

More than three decades of continuous administration by the Congress party (a nation level party which was supposed to be dissolved after India got its freedom), the emergence more regional parties like Telugu Desam, more recently Teleganra Rashtra Samithi is fueling lot of regional sentiments (some true and some are articulated by politicians for the advantage). But, these regional parties are certainly helping the local population to fight for their rights and compete in the world's largest democracy.

With the more modern leaders like Chandrababu Naidu, AP has a long and brigh future ahead.

I have just tried to visit the official portal of AP and very disappointed that, as I couldn't see a word about the Golden Jubilee.

CDN: Content Delivery Networks

noreply@blogger.com (compuneo) — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 09:59:00 +0000

I was wondering, how much bandwidth might be consumed by giants like youtube.com. I came across this site

http://willy.boerland.com/myblog/youtube_bandwidth_usage_25_petabytes_per_month
Some interesting statistics of youtube around July, 2006, estimated at least 25 petabytes/month consumed by youtube
and then noted that, youtube's muscle power for bandwidth is given by a company called limelightnetworks.

Just take a look at their content delivery map.

Is this the future akamai?

esnips.com (promotion)

noreply@blogger.com (compuneo) — Mon, 04 Sep 2006 13:29:00 +0000

I've been using eSnips to share and store my files, and I thought you might like to use it, too.
I have 1GB of space and I can upload any file type I want and post it in any of my folders, which can be private or shared with my group or with the world.

In short, I think you should join. Using eSnips is free and signing up takes a few seconds.
To join eSnips go to: http://www.esnips.com/r/tg

Hollywood.. Bollywood.. and the influence

noreply@blogger.com (compuneo) — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 09:09:00 +0000

I have been in Germany during the past six months or so, several times in Germany (on business visits).

Most of the times, the taxi drivers I encounter are from Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and few other countries of that geographic region.

Certainly, by my colour of skin, they feel that, I am an Indian atleast south Asian. On telling them that, I'm fron India, the next reaction I encounter is, aaah.. Movies. Most of them have been great fans of Indian movies. This is partly the reason that, those countries do not have many movies made indigenously. So, they get to see the movies made in India.

Slowly, I started to contemplate my past encounteres. Some of my friends went to Egypt on a small tour. Same situation there as well. The first thing the local Egyptians recall when they were told that my friends were from India, Amitabh Bachhan.

So, is the case with Europe (principally industrially developed nations). They have been watching so many movies from Hollywood. I have also observed that Germans have special taste for Bollywood movies and the extravaganza that goes in Indian movies (sentiments, sumptuous settings, dance sequences, etc).

Movie play such a critical and extremely effective in communicating the culture and other social issues that go on in a certain country.

Ja, Yeah

noreply@blogger.com (compuneo) — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 09:03:00 +0000

So, what makes this american affirmation, come into existence.

For the past few days, I have been reading quite a bit on America [you can call it random reading, because I follow the hyperlinks ;-)].

I used to feel that, there must have been a sensible reason on why this German word became so common in America.

Today, I have discovered that, that 60 million Americans (according to 2000 US census), have German ancestry.

West goes 'East' again

noreply@blogger.com (compuneo) — Thu, 18 May 2006 21:36:00 +0000

This is not 17th or 18th century where Europeans wanted to grab the treasures from East.

Young Americans finding it more appealing and challenging for their career. As this article states, several Americans esp from Texas are going to India in the light of rapid economic development in India.

This has really made me to think again?

Do all Indians and Americans agree with this? I am really optimistic on the progress of India. India along with China are going to be the economic superpowers of 21st century.

Either we can wait and see whats going to happen or be a part of this revolution.

The good part of the article is it does state some of the radical changes an American would face.. whether it be bargaining with a local auto-driver or how difficult is to find a date.

Layout Engines: Which OS has the most compatible ones?

noreply@blogger.com (compuneo) — Fri, 05 May 2006 21:56:00 +0000

The layout engines are the rendering engines (or the core) of most of the web browsers we have been using.

Wikipedia has an excellent article on the Layout Engines

I have discovered that, Mac OS X has more compatible rendering engines than any other OS (amongst Windows, Mac OS X & 9, Linux, BSD, Unix).

The article has very informative comparison of these layout engines.

Who said water goes only downstream?

noreply@blogger.com (compuneo) — Mon, 01 May 2006 15:25:00 +0000

Scientists in US have proved water can flow upstream without any external force over metal sheets scored with a carefully designed array of grooves.

They've lot more expectations out of this to drive coolants through overheating computer microchips.

Apparently, it also mentions that the effect was described in 18th century by a German scients Johann Gottlob Leidenfrost.

More at BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Scientists make water run uphill

3D view of the mess we've created underground

noreply@blogger.com (compuneo) — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 20:39:00 +0000

One of my dreams, is coming true. I have been thinking for a long time, whether any of the governments/organisations know what all the pipes are under-ground.

British govt. is attempting to map all of the pipes in 3D, in UK. The project is funded with a 2.2 million pounds.

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Pipe network to be mapped in 3D

Its very obvious to see, how beneficial it would be to have such a system in place.

I wonder, when would Indian folks take these footsteps. I'm recalling one of the advertisements show by Times of India.

Japan's humanoid robots | Better than people?

noreply@blogger.com (compuneo) — Mon, 20 Mar 2006 21:39:00 +0000

One culture has been a great fascination for me : Japanese. Whether it be their technological expertise, or their ability to excel in almost any manufacturing practice in which they're part of.

As most of us know, Japanese are world-leaders in Industrial Robots. But, how many times we thought, why?. Here's an insight article on Economist, looks at why this unique community favours Robots so much.

Japan's humanoid robots | Better than people | Economist.com

Interestingly, it also contrasts the Japanese way of thought towards living and non-living things from the perspective of Shintoism. How're they immune from robophobia.

Nevertheless, I've come across an interesting discussion /. is it the necessity or the choice that Japanese have so much interest in Robots. The article also discusses at not so pleasant view of racism in Japanese society and a reader indeed made a comment referring to the article from Economist with the following comments.

The article had an especially strong lead paragraph about an immigrant who would never be able to get a job taking care of the elderly because she was a foreigner and because she wasn't a robot; the point of the article was that racism is so strong in Japan that old people actually shy away from a human's touch when the human isn't the right kind, and that they prefer robots.

Bangalore talent lures start-ups in high tech - Business - International Herald Tribune

noreply@blogger.com (compuneo) — Mon, 20 Mar 2006 21:23:00 +0000

Is Bangalore losing the ground or revitalising all its strengths?.

Here's an article on IHT (International News Paper from NY Times), discussing how Bangalore is becoming the incubation center for the young graduates. Is it the city's atmosphere that has developed over the past twenty years or so with so many technology and research companies.

Bangalore talent lures start-ups in high tech - Business - International Herald Tribune

The new firms are drawn by the region's big pool of engineering graduates, many of whom have expertise in esoteric new technologies.

That advantage, coupled with labor costs much lower than those of Silicon Valley, is starting to turn Bangalore, long a center for lower- end outsourcing services, into a center of higher-end innovation.

I sincerely look forward to see the Desi Silicon Valley. Way to go!

If Google calls it Labs, Yahoo goes Next

noreply@blogger.com (compuneo) — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 13:10:00 +0000

Keep looking into some of the very innoative and amazingly useful things from the two giants of search.

Google Labs: The technology playground for Google.

Yahoo Next: The cutting edge of what Yahoo!'s doing today and working on for tomorrow!

Not all of these innovations go into the mainstream, but give a new dimension to the way look, organise and store information.

Its quite interesting to see this race between Google and Yahoo. Irrespective of who would win the race, the end user will certainly get a lot of comfort.

Vital Statistics of the two most populous nations

noreply@blogger.com (compuneo) — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 08:58:00 +0000

Here's are two interesting and very informative articles from McKinsey Quarterly.

Checking India's Vital Signs (Registration required) [The article is supposed to be accessible only for premium subscribers, but in the light of the visit of US President to India, it has been kept for free till March 7, 2006.]

Checking China's Vital Signs

Instead of long descriptinve text with few illustrations, these articles are just presented with full of illustrations. Very easy to understand, about the Overview of the nation, Economy, and Challenges that lie ahead.

Shouldn't we get benefit from this knowledge?

Thanks to McKinsey Quarterly.

Brilliance Beautifully Communicated

noreply@blogger.com (compuneo) — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 16:39:00 +0000

How many of us really use the full potential of the enormous information and knowledge from BBC?

freesound, the creative commons way!!

noreply@blogger.com (compuneo) — Thu, 24 Nov 2005 12:38:00 +0000

Just came across an article on /.

The Freesound Project is a collaborative database of Creative Commons licensed sounds. New to this site? Read the What is Freesound page to learn more!

The McKinsey Quarterly: Don't blame trade for US job losses

noreply@blogger.com (compuneo) — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 17:12:00 +0000

An excerpt from the article:

The enormous US trade deficit has caused many observers to conclude that international trade, particularly a massive flood of imported goods from China and of services from India, is to blame for the loss of US jobs since 2000. In fact, research shows that only 11 percent of the job losses in manufacturing—about 314,000 jobs—can be attributed to trade, and even in this instance the real culprit was falling exports, not rising imports. Offshoring in the services sector destroyed even fewer jobs. The real causes of job losses were weak domestic demand, rapid productivity growth, and the dollar's strength.

Read More: http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/article_page.aspx?ar=1559&L2=7&L3=10&srid=17&gp=0

TECH TIME: 50 Coolest Websites

noreply@blogger.com (compuneo) — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 19:45:00 +0000

TECH TIME: 50 Coolest Websites

There have been so many top web sites listings. Treat this as another. But, worth going through.

Difference between copying-lifting and inspiration

noreply@blogger.com (compuneo) — Sun, 06 Feb 2005 14:24:00 +0000

I don't know exactly :-).

But, ever since I came to Cyprus, I have observed two more copies-insipirations in Indian cinema from the rest of the world.

In the first week of coming to Cyprus, I was getting bored of watching greek tv channels. But, most of these greek channels feature some English movies in the nights.

This was about one movie I saw then named Dead Poet's Society starring Robin Williams and others.

One of Chopra's romantic musicals, 'Mohabbatein' which looks similar in more than plot with the Robin Williams' movie.

Can we call this inspiration, copying.. ???
Google Search: dead poet's society mohabbatein

And, another instance was a song in a telugu movie 'Varsham', which became hugely popular in Andhra Pradesh was actually copied from a greek song called 'Sarampel'. Only after coming to Cyprus, I realised this.

Ignorance is bliss :-D.

Personally, I feel inspiration is positive where as copying is somewhat should be discouraged either by law or by society.

Gmail - Invitations

noreply@blogger.com (compuneo) — Wed, 02 Feb 2005 13:22:00 +0000

Gmail, started like an April Fool joke on 1st April, 2004.

I was desperately looking for an invitation then. I managed to get an invitation after two months since it was launched. Gmail is still a fascination for the net republic.

Today, I've got 50 invitations to offer. If any one needs one, please contact me.