Humane Computing - The beginning of a new era!

Man-Machine Interaction has constantly been evolving ever since machines were invented.It was computers that marked the beginning of an era where machines began to get smart and intelligent. Smarter machines facilitated better ways of communication and this ease of communication attracted even laymen towards them. As these machines evolved they began augmenting human intelligence to provide better and faster solutions to problems.

"The profound technologies are those that disappear"

Machines took up different shapes and forms of real world objects by encapsulating computing prowess within them. These objects have grown in dexterity to learn and understand human behavior. We are in an era where humans have become oblivious to the existence of these computing devices. Interaction among these ubiquitous computing devices provided a platform for setting up the pervasive environment.

The potential of these environments to understand human behavior has been aided by sensors through the advancement of several technologies facilitated by gesture recognition, haptic perceptions, acoustic and phonetic analysis etc. Soft computing techniques using an agglomeration of these inputs are able to react to human behavior by the use of actuators through technologies like iO2, audio synthesis, haptic simulators etc.

The pinnacle of Humane Computing will be a time where machines would be able to understand and react to human thoughts by analyzing neuron impulses in the human brain. At that juncture it will only be a matter of time before we humans loose our hold as the most dominant species on the planet.

Divya M
Shivram R V
Sudharsan C P
V M.Sc. SWE

Originally posted online @ http://richiervs.blogspot.in/2012/01/humane-computing-beginning-of-new-era.html

Thinking beyond Anna Hazare

Anna Hazare - like many across India and around the world, I must confess I had no clue of who this person was until a few days back. He became a prominent public figure when he started his “fast until death” movement demanding the government of India for a joint drafting of the Lokpal Bill.

“Truth stands, even if there be no public support. It is self-sustained” - Mahatma

But for Anna Hazare’s “fast until death” had both truth and public support. Mighty internet and traditional “streets” were used as a platform for supporting the ultimate cause; a few others even started a fast in different cities across the nation. Everyone prayed their heart for the success of this movement lead by Anna Hazare and we indeed did succeed. But the great man himself says

"In this fight against corruption, India has won, not Anna. You have shown we are united. But the fight must continue."

When this movement started all the patriotism that we have for this country came popping out like champagne and so did it when we heard the news of government obliging to the demands. Our educational and cultural systems works in a way that it nurtures the seeds of patriotism in our hearts. Every Indian, immaterial of the million ways that divide him from his fellow countrymen, wants India to be called a developed nation and this has become a start of it.

I really wonder how many of us who came forward to support this movement would be ready to do the little that we can do. Often I have come across conversations in the past like "What difference is it going to make if i do it right? The whole of India does it wrong." But is that what patriotism is all about?? - doing something the wrong way because the whole of the country does it wrong.

I know now there are a few who are wondering what he can do about it. Trust me there are many things, in fact loads and loads of stuff that we can do to make India the India that we want to see. Things as simple as not dropping even a chocolate toffee wrapper on the streets, following traffic rules, getting bills for every small thing that we buy and a loads and loads.

When there was someone who was fighting to make India a corruption free nation all of us joined hands to make the movement a success. But what we - the citizens of this country- do not realize is that we do not need someone to lead us to make this change in our country.

"Be the change you want to see in the world" - The Mahatma

Remember it was this one man's movement that gathered the momentum and critical mass required to make a change in this country. One among us may become the Anna Hazare of tomorrow!

Jai Hind!!!

Signing off

Another Indian hypocrite who is working towards being less hypocritical with every passing day.

Chetan Bhagat's speech at Symbiosis!!!

Good Morning everyone and thank you for giving me this chance to speak to you. This day is about you. You, who have come to this college, leaving the comfort of your homes (or in some cases discomfort), to become something in your life. I am sure you are excited. There are few days in human life when one is truly elated. The first day in college is one of them. When you were getting ready today, you felt a tingling in your stomach. What would the auditorium be like, what would the teachers be like, who are my new classmates – there is so much to be curious about. I call this excitement, the spark within you that makes you feel truly alive today. Today I am going to talk about keeping the spark shining. Or to put it another way, how to be happy most, if not all the time.

Where do these sparks start? I think we are born with them. My 3-year old twin boys have a million sparks. A little Spiderman toy can make them jump on the bed. They get thrills from creaky swings in the park. A story from daddy gets them excited. They do a daily countdown for birthday party – several months in advance – just for the day they will cut their own birthday cake.

I see students like you, and I still see some sparks. But when I see older people, the spark is difficult to find. That means as we age, the spark fades. People whose spark has faded too much are dull, dejected, aimless and bitter. Remember Kareena in the first half of Jab We Met vs the second half? That is what happens when the spark is lost. So how to save the spark?

Imagine the spark to be a lamp’s flame. The first aspect is nurturing – to give your spark the fuel, continuously. The second is to guard against storms.

To nurture, always have goals. It is human nature to strive, improve and achieve full potential. In fact, that is success. It is what is possible for you. It isn’t any external measure – a certain cost to company pay package, a particular car or house.

Most of us are from middle class families. To us, having material landmarks is success and rightly so. When you have grown up where money constraints force everyday choices, financial freedom is a big achievement. But it isn’t the purpose of life. If that was the case, Mr. Ambani would not show up for work. Shah Rukh Khan would stay at home and not dance anymore. Steve Jobs won’t be working hard to make a better iPhone, as he sold Pixar for billions of dollars already. Why do they do it? What makes them come to work everyday? They do it because it makes them happy. They do it because it makes them feel alive Just getting better from current levels feels good. If you study hard, you can improve your rank. If you make an effort to interact with people, you will do better in interviews. If you practice, your cricket will get better. You may also know that you cannot become Tendulkar, yet. But you can get to the next level. Striving for that next level is important.

Nature designed with a random set of genes and circumstances in which we were born. To be happy, we have to accept it and make the most of nature’s design. Are you? Goals will help you do that. I must add, don’t just have career or academic goals. Set goals to give you a balanced, successful life. I use the word balanced before successful. Balanced means ensuring your health, relationships, mental peace are all in good order.

There is no point of getting a promotion on the day of your breakup. There is no fun in driving a car if your back hurts. Shopping is not enjoyable if your mind is full of tensions.

You must have read some quotes – Life is a tough race, it is a marathon or whatever. No, from what I have seen so far, life is one of those races in nursery school, where you have to run with a marble in a spoon kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no point coming first. Same with life, where health and relationships are the marble. Your striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your life. Else, you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited and alive, will start to die.

One last thing about nurturing the spark – don’t take life seriously. One of my yoga teachers used to make students laugh during classes. One student asked him if these jokes would take away something from the yoga practice. The teacher said – don’t be serious, be sincere. This quote has defined my work ever since. Whether its my writing, my job, my relationships or any of my goals. I get thousands of opinions on my writing everyday. There is heaps of praise, there is intense criticism. If I take it all seriously, how will I write? Or rather, how will I live? Life is not to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here. We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500 weekends. Do we really need to get so worked up? It’s ok, bunk a few classes, goof up a few interviews, fall in love. We are people, not programmed devices.

I’ve told you three things – reasonable goals, balance and not taking it too seriously that will nurture the spark. However, there are four storms in life that will threaten to completely put out the flame. These must be guarded against. These are disappointment, frustration, unfairness and loneliness of purpose.

Disappointment will come when your effort does not give you the expected return. If things don’t go as planned or if you face failure. Failure is extremely difficult to handle, but those that do come out stronger. What did this failure teach me? is the question you will need to ask. You will feel miserable. You will want to quit, like I wanted to when nine publishers rejected my first book. Some IITians kill themselves over low grades – how silly is that? But that is how much failure can hurt you. But it’s life. If challenges could always be overcome, they would cease to be a challenge. And remember – if you are failing at something, that means you are at your limit or potential. And that’s where you want to be.

Disappointment’ s cousin is Frustration, the second storm. Have you ever been frustrated? It happens when things are stuck. This is especially relevant in India. From traffic jams to getting that job you deserve, sometimes things take so long that you don’t know if you chose the right goal. After books, I set the goal of writing for Bollywood, as I thought they needed writers. I am called extremely lucky, but it took me five years to get close to a release. Frustration saps excitement, and turns your initial energy into something negative, making you a bitter person. How did I deal with it? A realistic assessment of the time involved – movies take a long time to make even though they are watched quickly, seeking a certain enjoyment in the process rather than the end result – at least I was learning how to write scripts, having a side plan – I had my third book to write and even something as simple as pleasurable distractions in your life – friends, food, travel can help you overcome it. Remember, nothing is to be taken seriously. Frustration is a sign somewhere, you took it too seriously.

Unfairness – this is hardest to deal with, but unfortunately that is how our country works. People with connections, rich dads, beautiful faces, pedigree find it easier to make it – not just in Bollywood, but everywhere. And sometimes it is just plain luck. There are so few opportunities in India, so many stars need to be aligned for you to make it happen. Merit and hard work is not always linked to achievement in the short term, but the long term correlation is high, and ultimately things do work out. But realize, there will be some people luckier than you. In fact, to have an opportunity to go to college and understand this speech in English means you are pretty damm lucky by Indian standards. Let’s be grateful for what we have and get the strength to accept what we don’t. I have so much love from my readers that other writers cannot even imagine it. However, I don’t get literary praise. It’s ok. I don’t look like Aishwarya Rai, but I have two boys who I think are more beautiful than her. It’s ok. Don’t let unfairness kill your spark.

Finally, the last point that can kill your spark is Isolation. As you grow older you will realize you are unique. When you are little, all kids want Ice cream and Spiderman. As you grow older to college, you still are a lot like your friends. But ten years later and you realize you are unique. What you want, what you believe in, what makes you feel, may be different from even the people closest to you. This can create conflict as your goals may not match with others. And you may drop some of them. Basketball captains in college invariably stop playing basketball by the time they have their second child. They give up something that meant so much to them. They do it for their family.

Coimbatore in top 70 preferred destination for Outsourcing

Six Indian cities - Bangalore, Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune - are among the eight top global destinations for outsourcing of services, according to a new survey released Tuesday.

The other two are the Philippines’ Manila NCR and Ireland’s Dublin city, according to the 4th Global Services-Tholons Top 50 emerging outsourcing destinations survey, jointly done by Global Services from CyberMedia and Tholons, a services globalisation advisory firm.

The Next 10 Outsourcing Destinations considered to be ‘Top 10 Aspirants’ from a total of 68 destinations is dominated by China’s Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen, Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, Poland’s Krakow, Argentina’s Buenos Aires, Egypt’s Cairo and Brazil’s Sao Paulo.

Avinash Vashistha, CEO of Tholons says: “For a CIO today, finding a Centre of Excellence is more than just lower cost. It must consider location, risk mitigation for business, cultural affinity and scalability of the skilled workforce.”

“The service providers need to think through their offerings so as to differentiate as the competitive advantage is rapidly vanishing due to cut throat competition and market saturation,” adds Vashishtha.

India continues to top the list with revenues of US$40 billion in IT-BPO export services in 2008. Indian IT-BPO export services posted 35 percent year on year growth rates in the last five years.

Interestingly, India’s FDI inflows posted the largest increase globally at 46 percent in 2008 - from $25 billion to $46 billion even as global FDI flows decreased from $1.9 trillion to $1.7 trillion and several developing economies struggled to acquire investments from client nations.

Compared to the previous year’s rankings, this year’s study reveals minimal shifts in rankings because of the overall slowdown in the pace of outsourcing activity in the face of global recession.

Seven Chinese cities - Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Dalian, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Tianjin - and six Indian cities - Chandigarh, Kolkata, Coimbatore, Jaipur, Bhubaneswar, Thiruvananthapuram - make it to the list of next 60 outsourcing destinations.

The study lists India, Philippines, Ireland, China and Brazil among Top 5 Offshore Nations “with a high degree of maturity and record of successful delivery capabilities.”

Canada, Russia, Mexico, Vietnam, Poland are listed as Top 5 Emerging Nations. The difference between the Top 5 and the Next 5 offshore nations is most pronounced in the service level maturity, the study said.

Courtesy : The Hindu

Tamil Nadu Tourism Board

A new effort taken by the Tamil Nadu Tourism Board to promote "Enchanting Tamil Nadu".

The link gives a 360 degree view of several monuments in the state.

Take a Virtual Tour of the monuments.

The views are really beautiful and breathtaking.


P.S. : Zoom in and take a close look.. you might see a few inscriptions in some of the monuments...

COBOL turns 50!!!

COBOL celebrated its 50^th birthday on September 18, 2009. Many developers see COBOL as a relic, a dying dinosaur, or a stodgy language that has been superseded by more powerful systems. I believe that viewpoint as being uninformed. In honor of COBOL’s 50^th birthday, here’s an overview of COBOL’s history and place in the current development landscape.

COBOL’s origins

COBOL was designed by the late, great Grace Hopper. Ms. Hopper had an extraordinary influence on the computing industry, including writing the first compiler, the “A compiler.” In addition, she served in the U.S. Navy, eventually attaining the impressive rank of rear admiral; there is even a U.S. Navy destroyer named after her in honor of her service.

COBOL was designed by committee, including representatives from the three government agencies and six major companies. The initial seed was planted in April 1959. On September 18, 1959, the committee picked “COBOL” for the name, and by the end of 1960, COBOL compilers had been completed and working programs had been made. (Thanks to Wikipedia for information about COBOL’s history.)

COBOL is an interesting language. Originally, it did not have many of the features that we have come to rely upon. For instance, you would not expect to find object oriented capabilities in 1959, but there were not even local variables then. The structure of a COBOL program is also different from what you would expect, being divided into different “divisions,” each of which serving a particular purpose. COBOL is best known for batch processing, in which large amounts of data are fed in and acted upon on a regular basis. In recent years, COBOL has undergone many changes and adapted to the needs of modern programmers, including adding object-oriented programming capabilities.

COBOL applications run the world

The average person deals with a COBOL-powered system 13 times a day. ATMs, inventory systems, airline ticketing, and health insurance all run on COBOL.

COBOL has been ported to numerous platforms, and currently runs on everything from traditional mainframes to Windows PCs on the .NET Framework. Forrester Research analyst Mike Gilpin says, “32% of enterprises say they still use COBOL for development or maintenance.” That is remarkable penetration for a language that has been around so long and that has been supposedly “superseded.”

In fact, I recommend COBOL as a job skill for developers looking for a long-term, stable career. The simple truth is the COBOL applications out there cannot be replaced. It is an impossible task in reality. In and of itself, this would not necessarily mean a strong job market. But for a variety of reasons, fewer and fewer colleges are giving their students exposure to COBOL, and new programmers have a negative perception of it and avoid it, meaning that the pool of new programmers is quite small. To make matters worse, the COBOL workforce is aging rapidly, and these developers are transitioning to management, retiring, and dying faster than they can be replaced. Meanwhile, new developers on these projects can take years to become fully acquainted with what it takes to maintain a million line application. This all adds up to a great environment for someone looking for a steady job over the years to come.

Courtesy : TechRepublic

Swine Flu

Don't panic, be careful. That's the advice from health experts who point out that the H1N1 influenza is milder than the seasonal flu and that 55 percent of the more than 1,000 cases in the country have already been cured and discharged from hospitals.

India has so far has reported 1,079 swine flu cases and 12 deaths. While 589 have been discharged, the others are still undergoing treatment in various government hospitals in the country. "The swine flu virus is a mild strain and, in fact, is less virulent than the seasonal flu, which causes more deaths... We have treatment for it, which is Tamiflu. It is a curable disease, not an incurable one," said Health Secretary Naresh Dayal. According to Randeep Guleria, head of medicine at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, worldwide about 95 percent of those hospitalised have been discharged. "Global data shows that less than six percent of those affected needed hospitalisation, while one third (of those in hospital) needed ICU care. However, those who have recovered from the flu are not immune to the infection and have to take care as others. But the next time they get the virus, it would be a mild one," Guleria said. Officials also reassure those panicking at the rapid spread of the disease that an indigenous vaccine to tackle the viral disease is on its way. "The work to develop an indigenous vaccine and testing kit is also going on at a fast pace and we will have a vaccine by year-end when we are expecting a more virulent strain of flu to be active," said M. Katoch, secretary in the department of health research. A total of 4.6 million people have been screened for swine flu across the country in the past three-and-a-half months; of these 5,000 people were tested for the flu. The central government has spent over Rs.30 million (Rs.3 crore) for testing - 1,079 positive cases and 3,921 negative. The swine flu testing kits are imported from a US company and each positive test costs Rs.10,000 while a negative test costs Rs.5,000, the government says. Courtesy : in.com