How to mess-up: A definite guide.

President Kalam visited BITS today.

The visit of _the_ President of the nation, particularly when he happens to be a distinguished scientist and an exemplary visionary should've been an awesome experience. It wasnt.

OK, this is partly a case of sour-grapes, since i wasn't 'allowed' to see him in person. 5000 persons simply cant fit into our auditorium meant for 1500, except of course if it's some event like Oasis Inaug or FashP. So, only 60 'lucky' ones from each hostel got the opportunity to see the great man in flesh.

So, what are the lessons i learnt from his visit. Well, firstly, it did not affect me in anyway. I did'nt even get to see his convoy, forget the chopper. But well, i definitely learnt what sort of a hell-hole i am in.

So, he arrives at 3 sharp, and begins addressing the audience. Thankfully, for us poor unlucky souls holed up in our rooms (cells?), there is a live broadcast on the common-room TV. Except that it is of atrocious quality. The main microphone (the president's obviously) wasn't tuned properly and the image quality was mediocre.

I guess one of the reasons he visited this place in the middle of nowhere was because it is a technical institute. Lets see how 'technical' this place really is.

First off, what was really shocking was the fact that there was simply no formal announcement of the visit by the institute. I came to know of it on 24th, but the lack of any notice made me suspicious. How was i to know whether this is not yet another of those rumours. I saw the first notice on 28th - indirectly referring to the visit, asking vehicle owners to register their numbers as a security precaution. Pretty neat an announcement for a major visit, eh? Simply no communication informing the students that a great mind is doing us a big favour by visiting - no email, nothing on the website. Students had to go to the presidentofindia website to confirm. I guess some people simply dont know how to use and update a website.

Anyways, they choose students pseudo-randomly, and put up a list on _one_ noticboard. Go see your name and collect your 'papers' from the warden. Pretty advanced, eh?

My only consolation lay in seeing scores of security personnel in the campus, knowing that the chances of another burglary were slimmer today.

Well, after a valiant effort to hear the speech, i trudge back to my room, seething with so much frustration it would make a Sith jealous. And voila! The speech, along with the answers to questions, is up online on _his_ website! His staff had put it up online in a matter of minutes! Why the hell wasnt the speech broadcasted on the network here, so that everyone could see it without the common-room TV messing up the whole experience? Why are transcripts not available on the BITS page? And why isnt the whole address uploaded ? If the president's staff can achieve such an amazing efficiency, why cant legions of people here (students as well as the staff) at least _try_ to match it? Whatever happened to this being a _technical_ institute of learning, where cutting edge technology is supposed to be developed? Haven't people here heard of Video over IP ? Or maybe

We had a whole big network at our disposal, all possible resources available - and what was the response? Nothing. Absolutely none. Just shamelessly sat around doing nothing. Well, not unless you count a news ticker on the bits homepage i just saw.."prez visits BITS", followed by " Another Golden Moment in the History of BITS.". To me, this is what it means: The President visited us today, for all those who were not aware, and just so you know we _really_ screwed up.

What else can it be? How can anyone explain the fact that there wasnt _any_ sensible information dispersal by the institute? The president talked about a lot of technical challenges in his address. Many were about information technology. What better way to insult his vision than to do the completely opposite by being as fast as a slug? Well, the 'news' will come, sure. But only after a day or two - in the usual pompous, yet drab style. I think i can accurately predict what it is exactly going to read like, but thats another matter. And then, perhaps, we will get the communication through notices / email - the President _visited_ us. He said 'XYZ'. Such and such questions were handpicked by _us_ to be asked. And almost none of them were _really_ worth asking to an outstanding scientist.

Well, i have a lot more to write, but i have loads of tests coming up. 'Tests' which are nothing but huge insults to the subject whose knowledge they are supposed to test. So i'll get goi^%$@@** NO CARRIER

PS: I know this piece is highly inflammatory and vitriolic. If you have _any_ views on the matter, please, _please_ do flame me.

Why I hate Microsoft

I hope that by now i have succeeded in projecting my anti-M$ bias. It hasn't always been so. When i was 9, Bill Gates was my hero, and 'The Road Ahead' my favourite book.
Just like most people now, i equated computers to the start-menu and the 'are you sure' shutdown dialog-box. I had the pleasure of using a Monorail 75Mhz machine running Windows 95, and spent more than 5 years operating it. By then i had grown quite weary of the whole 'computer' affair - things being inconsistent, bugs, crashes, BSODs, and slow. Yes, that was the whole problem - if computers were supposed to be tools, they clearly were doing a very bad job at it, because you spent more time making it do what you wanted to do rather than getting the thing done.

And then I heard about the whole Netscape - antitrust affair. Curious, i tried Netscape..and realized something.. it was different. You could feel that it definitely wasn't made by Microsoft, and then there was this whole 'rebel' angle to it. Using Netscape became synonymous with supporting the small-guy against the big-bully in a fight where the chances that the small-guy would win were small. But that's the whole point. Using Netscape meant that Microsoft's victory could not affect me, and that no one could decide which software i ran on my computer.

And then I heard of Linux, sometime in early 2001 , and that was it. Here was an Operating system, which was NOT windows. Where there would me no start-menus and crashes and other things that became synonymous with using a computer. To me, at that time, Linux represented an alternate universe, a universe which was totally different, and better. As fate would have it, i would have to wait 4 more years to use Linux. And when i used it for the first time (Knoppix), i knew that my belief was right - that Linux *is* different, and that in order to use the full powers of a computer, you *had* to use it.
Yes, so far, the impression may be that i love Linux not because of what it is, but what it is not. And in a way, it is true. To me, it is more than an Operating System, it is a philosophy as well as a symbol of defiance to the ruler (Bill Gates) and his empire (Microsoft). Well, this essay isn't about why i love Linux, but it definitely had a big role in shaping my thoughts on Microsoft.
The principle reason I hate M$ is ethics. By that i mean both Microsoft's lack of them as well as how using M$'s products conflicts my ethics and principles.
Making a flawed an imperfect product isn't wrong. But claiming that it is the ONLY good thing out there and everything else is bad is definitely not. Don't believe me? See the previous post on Bill Gates' interview- see how he claims numerous times that Windows is Superb, while everything else is worthless. Now tell me, ever heard of Linux malware, or an Mac anti-virus? Who made "anti-virus", "malware", "trojan" household words? Or how about "crash", "bug", "Bluescreen of death"? If you are using windows right now, tell me, how does it feel knowing that (you do now) that your activities are being reported to Microsoft by something called WGA?
Ever heard of a book called '1984'? Well, 1984 wasn't like 1984, but if no one checks M$, we will get there by 2010, i guarantee. Welcome to Microsoft Reality 2010, SP2, Genuine Edition (tm), (c).Get ready to be killed by rocket powered flying chairs..flying bombs are so old-fashioned. So, hurry up and buy yourself a copy of all M$ products out there, why wait till 2010, eh?
Actually, i would not have objected to M$ behaviour, but as it turns out, M$ does not usually make these products. They either buy them from some innocent chap (think DOS), gobble-up the company which makes it, and if both the above approaches are not possible, copy their competitor's product. I will give proof of all these activities in later posts, i promise, since i cannot give them all now.
Whats more, when copying, stealing, blackmailing and strong-arming isn't simply enough, M$ simply finds ways to kill off the competition. Embrace, Extend, Expand, and Exterminate. And sometimes even that is not enough, so M$ simply tells you that you MUST use their products. And if you are reading this on windows, you already do that, don't you? Must be fun, having a corporation take over all your rights, not to mention money..do tell me the secret of your obedience to your master.
So, there you go.. in the most incoherent of ways, i have done a horrible job of portraying why i hate M$.. If you don't agree, please feel free to flame me, and do also tell me how it feels to sign away your soul along with the EULA.

Bill Gates and Reality

It is funny, yet sad reading a Bill Gates interview, especially after the launch of something so unique as Vista. Funny because most of it is a completely distorted version of reality, yet sad because almost everyone falls for it (by using windows).
The best one so far is the one he gave to Newsweek (part of MSNBC) here.
Well, every sentence which Bill speaks is hilarious and downright wrong, but i guess it'll be fun examining the gems.

On being asked about the delay of Vista, here is what he had to say:

"We released Windows XP about five years ago. During that time, we’ve had, I think, three releases of Media Center, four releases of [Windows Media], Tablet releases, Windows XP SP2, which was really a very major release. So in no sense has Windows been standing still. Actually, if you look at Windows strength versus Linux, or versus anything, it’s done very well, because we have this big ecosystem."

Now hang on a minute, Gates, Media Center and Tablet are just different names you attached to XP, and you say SP2 was a major release? You mean lots of security fixes in it, right? So i interpret it this way : No folks, we have been very busy these 5 years, re-labelling our products, trying to fix those security holes, and ducking from the flying chairs. Then he goes on to mention Linux. Thats funny,i guess there have been 4 releases of Ubuntu itself in the past 3 years or so, and each is a huge leap forward. So, what is so different in Tablet and Media Center?? I dont know, but some M$ fanboys will answer that. Expect something like : OMG Mediacenter is teh roxxorzz..it has a modified start menu and green screens of death - take that you Linux/Apple suxxors. (Oops, sorry..business execs dont speak like this).
Moving on to Security..heres what he says:

"The number [of violations] will be way less because we’ve done some dramatic things [to improve security] in the code base. Apple hasn’t done any of those things."

Great, now its clear he wants to start a M$ vs. Apple/Linux flamewar.. Unfortunately theres nobody to flame him to ashes, since the poor interviewer is already owned by M$. Call me when you feel like being humbled, Bill. If BillyG posted such a comment on Slashdot, he would've committed suicide, i bet.

He goes on :

"I don't think the over 90 percent of the [population] who use Windows PCs think of themselves as dullards, or the kind of klutzes that somebody is trying to say they are." (Answer to the Apple vs. PC ads)

No, ofcourse not, Bill, they are Dinosaurs!

And on he goes, literally meaning "M$ rocks, Apple sucks, i say it, so you believe it."

And now it gets really sad. I am posting the whole question answer verbatim..apparently my brain can't comprehend this utter nonsense in such a concentrated dose :

QS:"In many of the Vista reviews, even the positive ones, people note that some Vista features are already in the Mac operating system."

BillyG : "You can go through and look at who showed any of these things first, if you care about the facts."

OK we copied it from Apple, so what?

If you just want to say, "Steve Jobs invented the world, and then the rest of us came along," that's fine."

I dont care, Jobs created , i copied, big deal.

"If you’re interested, [Vista development chief] Jim Allchin will be glad to educate you feature by feature what the truth is."

Allchin apparently liked Macs, so he copied all the features.

"I mean, it’s fascinating, maybe we shouldn't have showed so publicly the stuff we were doing, because we knew how long the new security base was going to take us to get done."

OH, so you invented a time machine, eh Bill..now we know how you made so much money.

"Nowadays, security guys break the Mac every single day. Every single day, they come out with a total exploit, your machine can be taken over totally."

Looks like he lost his temper (and his sense) again. His personality's a lot like Ballmer's, he just can't fling chairs as far.

"I dare anybody to do that once a month on the Windows machine."

Oh yes..thats so difficult, really. I mean you want us to break Vista once a month? I don't know whether the temptation to break it 10 times a day can be avoided.

"So, yes, it took us longer, and they had what we were doing, user interface-wise. Let’s be realistic, who came up with [the] file, edit, view, help [menu bar]? Do you want to go back to the original Mac and think about where those interface concepts came from?"

"See, we copied the original Mac interface too, big deal.
On a side-note, on an interview on BBC, answering a question on Apple, he said that "He enjoys having them in the business". Of course, so that he can shamelessly copy their products.

One question to Bill from me : When did you last have your head examined, Gates? Looks like the flying chairs have killed your last remaining neuron.

Well, the interview gets boring from this point on..Gates spews more BS, and the interviewer laps it all up. Well, i wish was a brainless git with zero ethics and no sense of right/wrong. I'd be a billionaire just like him.

First Post

First Post

First Post of this blog. Well, this isn't Slashdot, so i will try to limit my euphoria - after all, this isn't just about mod-points.
The initial phase is an exciting time, but i will have to remain cautious, since the direction i follow now will be the path of the future as well. So, what is it going to be? Is this 'blog' going to be about ramblings about how much Microsoft sucks, or about how Free software will save humanity from extinction, or maybe i will try to ape Stallman. Time will tell, and events that occor will have a very strong influence.
Like how Microsoft Chief Software Architect, Bill Gates (BBC news article) claimed today that "Windows Vista is dramatically more secure than any other operating system released." Yeah right - we'll see how long it takes for M$ to roll out the first 'security patch' (a term synonymous with 'bug-fix' in Microsoft's context). I'd wager on 42 minutes.


But more on that later. For now, i am signing off..