Archive for March, 2007
When you change, all your relationships change
One of my favorite bloggers, Pamela Slim at Escape From Cubicle Nation shared yet another interesting aspect of becoming an Entrepreneur. The shift in your relationships. Having experienced (ing) first hand how people around you react to your plans of becoming an entrepreneur, I would suggest that you read her post to get some great insights to get prepared.
One of the unexpected parts of heading towards your right life is discovering that sometimes those around you are not ready, willing or able to see you change. This can result in disagreements, fracturing or even ending long-term friendships and relationships.
Based on my personal experience, if you are working somewhere currently, I suggest that you DO NOT share your plans with anybody. I deeply regret sharing this with my buddies at work. Word gets out pretty fast, and trust me, not many (infact most) will like it.
Source: Escape from Cubicle Nation: When you change, all your relationships change
Software Engineering Radio with Grady Booch
I love Grady Booch, for how he defines Software Engineering and lives up to his own expectations and privileges of being a Software Developer. Here is an Interview with Grady Booch by Software Engineering Radio.
If you haven’t watched, you must watch the video presentation by Grady Booch: The Promise. The Limits and The Beauty of Software.
Episode 47: Interview Grady Booch
Guest: Grady Booch
Host: Markus
In this Episode we are happy to talk to Grady Booch. We started off by discussing his Architecture Handbook, how it came into being, the progress, and how it will look like once it’s finished. In this context we also looked at the issue of how to distinguish architecture from design. We then asked him about how “professional” software architecture is these days, as well as about the ubiquity of software product lines in industry. The next couple of minutes looked at the question of whether software development is an engineering discipline, craftsmanship or an art form, and we discussed the key qualifications of software developers. Grady then elaborated on the problems of developing in large teams as well as the potential limits of complexity we can tackle with software.
We then got back to a more technical discussion, where we looked at model-driven development, DSLs, etc. and the role of the UML in that context. Next was a discussion about scripting languages, and the current trend towards new languages. We then looked at component marketplaces and other forms of reuse, as well as the importance of OO these days and the relevance of AO. We concluded with a (small) outlook to the future.
Source: Software Engineering Radio
Where the hell is my package?
I would be glad and little suprised if you could decipher the following tracking information provided by USPS and tell me where is my package.
I recently ordered an item at Amazon.com on 28th Feb, 2007. Though, the Amazon.com page said the item is available and will be shipped immediately, the item seems to have been shipped 5 days later on 5th of March through USPS. Amazon.com sent me a tracking number to track the shipment.
I looked up the information with that tracking number at USPS, I am totally confused at the following tracking message. It says, the package was processed and left the Dallas TX 75398 facility on 7th March, 2007. I am expecting to receive the package in Dallas, TX itself. And when I looked up today, it still says the same message except that now it says 10th March, 2007. I don’t have a clue where Amazon.com is shipping this particular product from. And I don’t have a clue where it is currently either.
I clicked on the ‘Additional details’ button and this is what I see.
This doesn’t make any sense. First of all it is confusing when it said it was processed in Dallas TX itself and was enroute to Dallas TX for almost 5 days. It would have been a lot better and atleast gave me a sense of information if the message atleast identifies where the product was originally received and processed and the last city that knows about this product than ‘cryptic’ and yet politically and technically correct message ‘enroute Dallas Tx’.
What Indians Are Really Searching For?
What Indians are searching for:
After learning a few concepts about SEO (Search Engine Optimization), I went on to find out what are the top 10 things Indians are searching for. First place to look for that information is obviously Google. And here are the top queries in January 2007 from India. (via Google)
What the world is searching for in/about or around India:
If that is what Indians are searching for, let us see what the whole world is searching for in or about India (via Yahoo):
Searches done in January 2007 about India: Total: 451995
- 69791:india times
- 56280:india yahoo
- 51911:india railway
- 37447:india travel
- 35734:india map
- 34057:india sex
- 32657:arie india
- 28534:air india
- 25154:across eat everything india indonesia italy love one pray search womans
- 19506:code country india
- 19010:forum india
- 15813:india music online
- 13669:india news
- 11938:india rail
- 11134:india visa
Who is Searching for India:
The above numbers doesn’t make any sense unless we see ‘Who’ is searching for India. Here we go (via Google)
These numbers are too low to draw any conclusions about what Indians are searching for or what the world is searching for in/about India. But it is very interesting to know the top search keywords around India.
I am trying to understand what Indians are really searching for and what the world is trying to find out about India. Well, search is still on..!
Corporate Managers And Wikis
Whenever we think of collaboration and community built documentation, I believe there is no other form best suitable than wikis. Along with religious patronage by Open source communities and new web2.0 entrepreneurs, many Small businesses started adapting Wikis as an integral part of collaboration platforms. Applications like Jotspot (acquired by Google) makes it lot easier for anybody to get started. I heard that a few corporates are giving it a try too.
I love the concept of Wikis and its underlying power of simple and yet powerful collaboration for any kind of enterprise small or big. Wikis are particularly important for virtual teams, where team members are physically distributed throughout the world and there is a need for a precise and lots of coordination required. But it looks like its a long way to go before wikis are accepted. Still many corporate managers are very reluctant to accept wiki, some even to give it a try.
The management at my workplace has decided that we (a workforce in 9 different countries) have to use a new Configuration management system. The documentation prepared by SCM Admin team has lots of holes and users are struggling to get it working. So, I requested to start wiki page where all users can contribute their experiences, comments, tips and tricks and ofcourse workarounds. Instead, SCM team wanted all to copy them on emails with workarounds and suggestions so that they could update the document and release a new version every now and then. Key reasons for rejecting wiki idea are :
- Its against the Company procedures and Quality processes. Should always have a document stored in a repository with a certain number. [Process]
- It is very difficult for SCM team to monitor changes as they SUSPECT that information added by Users will not be accurate. [Control]
- Emails is still a much better form of communication and collaboration tool than wikis. [Change]
After a few hours of discussions and attempts to explain why wiki is a much better form of collaboration for the given situation, I gave up as we reached a certain point where ‘reasoning’ or logic stopped making any sense. The “authority” replaced the “logic” instead.
Knowing what Wikis can do and knowing political reasons for how a Corporate chooses its tools, I can’t hope to see wikis in mainstream corporates any sooner than expected.
