Microkernels: Tanenbaum-Torvalds debate

Very interesting article by Andrew Tanenbaum (Remember the OS book we studied from :) )
Excerpt: "Over the years there have been endless postings on forums such as Slashdot about how microkernels are slow, how microkernels are hard to program, how they aren't in use commercially, and a lot of other nonsense. Virtually all of these postings have come from people who don't have a clue what a microkernel is or what one can do. I think it would raise the level of discussion if people making such postings would first try a microkernel-based operating system and then make postings like "I tried an OS based on a microkernel and I observed X, Y, and Z first hand."

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America's 25 Fastest-Growing Tech Companies

It has been a rough 12 months for the stock market, including technology stocks. The S&P 500 is off 2.1% over the past 12 months (dividends excluded) and the Nasdaq 100 Tech Index is off 8.7%. But you could have done well owning these really hot technology companies.

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Taxpayers could get checks under economic stimulus plan

American taxpayers would get checks of several hundred dollars from the government under a plan to stimulate the economy, sources said Thursday.

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100 Best Companies to work for 2008

100 Best Companies to work for 2008

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1 Rogue French trader costs bank $10.2 billion

French bank Societe Generale has announced losses of 6.9bn euros ($10.2bn, £5.2bn), blamed on a fraud by its trader and the credit crunch.

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The 53 places to go in 2008

Collection of exotic places to visit in 2008. Nice guide for people who like traveling and discovering new places...
I was discussing with a friend places that I would like to visit in the US mainly Boston and Washington DC... Its a pity that I didn't visit them when I was on the east coast :(
Also I had a look pictures of Hawaii sent by a friend and it looked beautiful.. Outside mainland US, Hawaii and Alaska are top on the list :) Lets see how soon I get a chance to see them....

Places I've visited....

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Tech's all-time top 25 flops

For all the amazing advances that the computing industry has brought us over the years, some of its most pivotal moments are memorable for all the wrong reasons. Not every idea can be a winner, and not even Microsoft can avoid every misstep. Infoworld Article

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Indian Stock Markets tumble ...

Indian Stock Markets tumble...

The numbers and facts ...

Citibank crisis

After seeing the stock markets recover yesterday I thought the situation will improve in the coming days. But with Citibank announcing today its worst results in history of the company; stocks overall plummeted including the ones in my portfolio :(

Here is an interesting US News article related to Citibank and the foreseen recession in US economy.

VJTI moments..

Ankit has always been the "jaan" of VJTI Computers 2004 Batch. Always upto some prank and fun guy to discuss the "Pyaar-Ishq-Mohabbat" topics ;) Friend for life...

This time he has put together pictures and made a nice video clip....

Halla Bol

I watched Halla Bol starring Ajay Devgan, Vidya Balan & Pankaj Kapur. Didn't have any expectations from the movie as I had come across mixed reviews; Rediff review Indiatimes review.
The movie was "okay" overall. The concept was good but the treatment could have been much better. The flashback part wherein they show the initial struggle of Ajay Devgan is dragged unnecessarily I think.
I liked the spoofs of celebrity endorsements. Esp the one targeted at Govinda on hair-oil and SRK on dancing at weddings.
I was shocked at the scene where Vidya Balan says "coz he has got the balls"!!! It actually sounded hilarious to me :))

Long-time Apple developer says goodbye...

Nice post by a long-time Apple developer who has quit to try something on his own...

http://mooseyard.com/Jens/2008/01/gone-indie/

Taare Zameen Par

I watched Taare Zameen Par last week and really liked the movie. Loved this song from the movie.
Its been a while since I had tears in my eyes:)

Pedestrian Killer

This simple flash based game is fun to play. You run your car over pedestrians and kill them!!!

I like the background score...
http://www.2flashgames.com/f/f-140.htm


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18 Stunning Bridges From Around The World

From the awe-inspiring to the historic, from the elegant to the quirky. Check out these amazing feats of engineering. Glad to see Golden Gate here :)

Stunning Bridges


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HD DVDs Fall Like Dominoes

There has been lot of buzz surrounding High-Definition; HDTV, HD-DVD, HD-Radio etc. Personally I'm not into American TV shows (I still like watching the good old Malgudi Days, Byomkesh Bakshi, Hum Paanch etc.) so don't watch TV. Last Thanksgiving most ppl were looking into deals to buy HDTV so that got me interested into learning details about difference between Plasma v LCD, 1080p resolution, HDMI ports etc.

If HD wasn't enough there was the Blu-Ray promoted by Sony and compatible with its PS3 gaming console. With Warner Bros & Blockbuster both supporting exclusively Blu-Ray; it will be interesting to watch who wins the battle of standards and what consumers adopt eventually...

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Google Processing Over 20 Petabytes of Data Per Day

Google currently processes over 20 petabytes of data per day through an average of 100,000 MapReduce jobs spread across its massive computing clusters.

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Ratan Tata Unveils the $2500 Car: Tata Nano

The specifications like 624 cc engine, 30 bhp etc look reasonable for driving conditions in India. But somehow the tires look too small to me :)



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The research dilemma at the IIMs

I've seen rush among peers to do an MBA in India.When asked why they want to do it most don't have a convincing answer.Its the "placements" or lucrative offers from MNCs that drive them towards it.Though this article doesn't delve into that aspect it does go into explaining why candidates aren't interested in research in these premier institutes.

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Posting Links

Everyday I read a bunch of articles, posts, videos etc. I like to share it among peers. Usually I keep it as my Gtalk status so the ones interested can click and view them in their spare time. But it so happens that I want to go back and read those articles again but then I have to search for them ...
May be I don't know the right app that does this (Google Reader??). Facebook has a nice app to do this but not everyone uses it and so it becomes restrictive. So thought might as well use Blogger where visitors can similarly post comments...

PS: I found a cool integration between Digg and Blogger that exactly serves the purpose :)