Tech and Culture »

[23 Aug 2005 | No Comment | 95 views]

I downloaded and installed the latest version of Konfabulator yesterday. Needless to say, it is probably one of the best free software that I have ever installed on my Windows machine. Konfabulator is a “JavaScript runtime engine” for both Windows and MacOS that allows programmers to design interactive and visually appealing “widgets” to be placed on the desktop. These widgets run as individual programs and do not consume a lot of system resources.
There are tons of widgets already available for download for both these platforms. The most wonderful aspect of …

Life and Personal, Tech and Culture »

[22 Aug 2005 | No Comment | 74 views]

I just listened to my first official PodCast at slate.com! Nevertheless, I am sure I cannot be branded a slow learner. After listening to this news-piece, I realized that PodCasting isn’t as new as we think it is. Anyone else remember the old CNET Radio 910?!
It used to be a terrestrial radio channel in the SF Bay area during early 2000, and then was downsized as CNET’s media business wasn’t doing so well. As a result, a new audio web delivery service was launched by the name of “CNET Radio …

India, Politics »

[15 Aug 2005 | One Comment | 102 views]

Today marks the 58th anniversary of India’s successful freedom struggle. I would like to extend the warmest best wishes to the readers of my weblog on this occasion. At the same time, I salute the martyrs who laid down their lives to fulfill their dream of an independent and progressive Hindustan.
Click here to read the full text of the President of India’s speech to the nation on the eve of the Independence Day. The President of India is akin to the British Crown in that he “reigns” but does …

Economy »

[14 Aug 2005 | No Comment | 55 views]

Just discovered that the H1-B visa cap for FY2006 has been reached. This signifies an acceleration in the demand for H1-B visas by corporate America when compared with the demand last year. The USCIS would not issue any H1-Bs for applications that are received after Wednesday, August 10th, 2005. The “cut off” date was October 1st, 2004 in the last financial year.
This is an interesting trend that clearly proves that the US is still the dream destination for tech workers from around the world, and that the economy is still …

Tech and Culture »

[13 Aug 2005 | No Comment | 89 views]

One of last week’s major event was the compromise of the NCSU Webmail system by hackers. What is surprising to me is the fact that the hackers had an IRC server running on 2 webmail servers for about 5 days before the IT Department staff noticed that the attackers might have captured user passwords.
The NCSU ITD system news bulletin has more information on the event. The NCSU password change facility was bogged down due to excessive network load after emails were sent to those that might have been affected by …