Thursday, October 6, 2011

Steve Jobs 1955-2011

Posted: 05 Oct 2011 07:26 PM PDT
Written by wired
Steven Paul Jobs, co-founder, chairman and former chief executive of Apple Inc., passed away Wednesday.
A visionary inventor and entrepreneur, it would be impossible to overstate Steve Jobs’ impact on technology and how we use it. Apple’s mercurial, mysterious leader did more than reshape his entire industry: he completely changed how we interact with technology. He made gadgets easy to use, gorgeous to behold and essential to own. He made things we absolutely wanted, long before we even knew we wanted them. Jobs’ utter dedication to how people think, touch, feel and interact with machines dictated even the smallest detail of the computers Apple built and the software it wrote.
Jobs was born in San Francisco on Feb. 24, 1955, and adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs of Mountain View, California. He was a techie from a young age, often sitting in on lectures at Hewlett-Packard in Palo Alto while attending Homestead High School in Cupertino. He eventually landed a summer job there, working alongside Steve Wozniak.
Jobs enrolled in Reed College in Portland, Ore. in 1972, but dropped out after six months – he later said he “didn’t see the value in it.” He eventually returned home to California. He got a job at Atari, renewed his friendship with Wozniak and started hanging out with the Homebrew Computer Club. After trekking to India in 1974 — a trip he, like so many others, made to find enlightenment – Jobs returned home and looked up Woz.
The two of them launched Apple in 1976. Their first project, the Apple I, wasn’t much to look at — just an assembled circuit board. Anyone who bought it had to add the case and keyboard. But it was enough for Jobs to convince Mike Markkula, a semi-retired Intel engineer and product marketing manager, that personal computing was the future. Markkula invested $250,000 in the fledgling enterprise.
The Apple I begat the Apple II in 1977. It was the first successful mass-market computer, and easy to use, too. That would become a hallmark of Apple under Jobs.
The Apple II had a huge impact on the tech business, but cheaper alternatives, like the Commodore 64 and the VIC-20, quickly eroded Apple’s market share. IBM’s open PC platform eventually won out over Apple’s closed approach, and the die was cast. The PC dominated the market.
Still, Apple was by any measure a success. By the time Jobs was 25 in 1980, he was worth more than $100 million. Not that it mattered to him.
“It wasn’t that important because I never did it for the money,” he once said.
Apple once again shook up the industry with the Macintosh, announced in 1984 with a now-iconic Super Bowl ad challenging IBM. The Mac was a revolutionary step forward for personal computing — the first mass market computer to use a mouse-driven, user-friendly graphical interface. It was influenced by – critics would argue lifted from — technology Jobs saw a few years earlier at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center. It irreversibly changed how we interact with computers.
But then Jobs fell from grace. One year after the Mac’s introduction, Jobs was fired in a power struggle with CEO John Sculley. Jobs was devastated. He felt he’d let those who came before him – pioneers like David Packard and Bob Noyce – down, and he wanted to apologize.
“It was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the Valley,” he admitted in a 2005 speech.
But Jobs realized he loved what he did, and wanted to keep doing it. So he founded NeXT, a computer company, and a computer animation outfit that he renamed Pixar. As for Apple, it faltered in his absence. The company’s stock plummeted 68 percent, pushing Apple to the brink of bankruptcy.
But in 1996, Apple purchased NeXT and Jobs returned to the company he founded. It wasn’t long before he was once again back at the helm, and Apple’s ascent began.
One of Jobs’ first moves was to make peace with arch-rival Microsoft. That led to a $150 million investment from Microsoft, breathing new life into the moribund Apple. Jobs was once again firmly in control, and this time he would make sure he didn’t lose it.
He ran Apple with a firm hand, enforcing a policy of secrecy, while instilling an unrivaled dedication to design and an unwavering commitment to quality. These things mattered so deeply to Jobs that he became a micromanager, one said to have put as much thought into the boxes holding Apple’s products as the products themselves.
Apple’s incredible string of hits started with the iMac and continued with iTunes and the iPod in 2001, the iPhone in 2007 and 2010’s iPad. There were some misses along the way – Mobile Me and Apple TV – but Jobs, working with lieutenants like Tim Cook, made Apple one of the biggest companies in the world.
Jobs had always been the public face of Apple, but he began retreating from the spotlight in 2004 when doctors diagnosed him with pancreatic cancer. It was a rare form of the disease, one that could be treated, and Jobs survived. His health, though, continued to deteriorate. His liver failed in 2009, and Jobs took a six-month medical leave. He returned, but was rarely seen. He announced he was resigning as CEO in August, and Tim Cook replaced him as the head the company.
At a 2005 commencement address at Stanford University, Jobs shared the philosophy that drove him.
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life,” Jobs said. “Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Monday, October 26, 2009

Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored each step of the way

The following is a Speech by Bryan Dyson that has an analogy to life.


Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them – work, family, health, friends and spirit and you’re keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls – family, health, friends and spirit – are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same.
You must understand that and strive for balance in your life.

How?

Don’t undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different that each of us is special.

Don’t set your goals by what other people deem important. Only you know what is best for you.

Don’t take for granted the things closest to your heart. Cling to them as they would your life, for without them, life is meaningless.

Don’t let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past or for the future. By living your life one day at a time you live ALL the days of your life.

Don’t give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.

Don’t be afraid to admit that you are less than perfect. It is this fragile thread that binds us to each together.

Don’t be afraid to encounter risks. It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.

Don’t shut love out of your life by saying it’s impossible to find time. The quickest way to receive love is to give; the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly; and the best way to keep love is to give it wings.

Don’t run through life so fast that you forget not only where you’ve been, but also where you are going.

Don’t forget, a person’s greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.

Don’t be afraid to learn. Knowledge is weightless, a treasure you can always carry easily.

Don’t use time or words carelessly. Neither can be retrieved.

Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored each step of the way.


Source: SiliconIndia.com - originally authored by "Soumya Mondal"

Saturday, October 24, 2009

New CBSE Grading System


With the academic year 2009-10, CBSE moves to the next level of education!/span>
Class IX & X students will now be evaluated on a 9-point Grading System that is based on Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE).
The academic year gets divided into 2 terms, each having two types of assessment:

Formative = Evaluation of class work, homework, assignment and project work
Summative = Term End Exams

April - SeptemberOctober - March
Two Formative Assessments each of 10% weightage = 20% Two Formative Assessments each of 10% weightage = 20%
Term End Exam / Summative = 20% Term End Exam / Summative = 40%
Total = 100%



9-Point Grading System
Grade Marks Range
A1 91-100
A2 81-90
B1 71-80
B2 61-70
C1 51-60
C2 41-50
D 33-40
E1 21-32
E2 00-20


Roadmap
Class X (2009-10) Board Exams happen, however, instead of marks - Grades are given
Class IX (2009-10) CCE gets operational from October 2009
Class X (2010-11) CCE gets implemented & Board Exams become optional
Grading system is based on yearlong performance.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Forget Android, Symbian or iPhone OS. Now run XP on your phone!

Suprised?
While developers are going ga-ga over building newer and efficient operating systems for the mobile clan, ITG, a Chinese technology company has managed to build an actual mobile phone which runs a full featured Windows XP! Now that looks funny! No, its for real!
xpPhone
Now, there seems to be some upside-down matters. The biggies like Google, Apple and Symbian foundation are trying real hard to improve the software to co-operate with mobile technology just to function as if it were a desktop.
But ITG, on the other hand is going ground-up and building ground-breaking hardware to let desktop OS to be run on the regular mobile handsets.
The newbie set to rock is dubbed the xpPhone. No prizes for guessing why! The xpPhone features a large 4.8" touch-screen with a resolution of 800x480 and has a full QWERTY keyboard. With a dizzying array of features, such as dual SSD and standard HDD, VGA output at full HD resolutions (1920x1080), USB port for connecting peripherals, 3G connectivity, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, camera, and more!
Other things on the phone are its optimization for being, well, a mobile device. The phone can be configured to wake from stand-by to receive a call. There's even an option that can let you restore the factory system image or the one created by he user at every restart so that your system remains good always.
On the software side, there's no point in telling you the features, as there's nothing that'll keep you limited if its running a whole desktop OS such as XP.

But the only thing to worry about is the overall weight of the device getting around to 400gm! Consider that in your pocket. You may need a "phone-proof" pocket!

Click Here for a larger image - http://i34.tinypic.com/m91yxl.jpg

Here are some of the specifications of the device:
  • CPU: AMD Super Mobile CPU
  • Memory:512M/1G
  • SSD: 8G/16G/32G/64G
  • HDD:30G/60G/80G/120G
  • LCD: 4.8' TFT Touch-screen LCD 800*480
  • Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP
  • Network:
    • GSM/GPRS/EDGE/WCDMA (HSDPA/HSUPA)
    • CDMA/CDMA2000 1X/CDMA1X EVDO,TD-SCDMA,TD-HSDPA
  • Wireless:WiFi 802.11b/g,WiMax(optional),Buletooth,Stand-alone GPS
  • Camera Specifications:CMOS, 300k/1.3 Million
  • Ports:1 x earphone jack,1 x microphone jack,Docking Connector (include VGA output signal ),1 x USB 2.0, SIM Slot
  • Power Management:
    • Battery: Removable Lithium-ion
    • Talk time: about 5 hours,Stand by time: about 5 days
    • Real life: about 7 hours(Standard), about 12 hours(Large)
    • Talk time,Standby time,Operation time may vary depending different usage.
  • Weight: 400g (include battery)

Visit the manufacturers website for more details.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Obituary to "Common Sense"

An Obituary printed in the London Times - Interesting and sadly rather true.

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, *Common Sense*, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
- Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
- Why the early bird gets the worm;
- Life isn't always fair;
- and maybe it was my fault.

*Common Sense *lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from
school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition. *Common Sense *lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion. *Common Sense *lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. *Common Sense *took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

*Common Sense *finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement. *Common Sense *was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his
wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers;
I Know My Rights
I Want It Now
Someone Else Is To Blame
I'm A Victim

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.
**********************************************************

Via agrasen.blogspot.com - "Facts of Life" - Original Post

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Google Docs now to be in Google Search Results!

Yes, thats for real. Now Docs and Spreadsheets from Google Docs that are publicly published will now be crawlable by the search engine. For this, the document should be published publicly and be a part of a public webpage that is already indexed by the webpage.
Here's Marie from Google who on Thursday wrote in a blog post that "in about two weeks, we will be launching a change for published docs. The change will allow published docs that are linked to from a public Web site to be crawled and indexed, which means they can appear in search results you see on Google.com and other search engines...This is a very exciting change as your published docs linked to from public websites will reach a much wider audience of people."

She added that the crawling for search results "only applies to docs which you explicitly publish using the 'Publish as Web page' or 'Publish/embed' option, and which are linked to from a publicly crawled Web page" (documents for which users choose only to "allow anyone with the link to view" will not get crawled. Also, the users can choose to un-publish the documents that they don't wish to be indexed.

Some users of the search giant's suite of online productivity applications expressed concerns about the plan, suggesting better labeling of potentially crawlable documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. For example, how would you know definitively if a publicly crawled Web page has linked to your published document? Is the only way to ensure that your published document does not ultimately show up in search results to actually unpublish it


As noted by The Register, "Google Apps master view does not tell you which docs are publicly published and which aren't." While it may well be obvious to most users how publicly available their Google documents are--and many of those published documents may well be intended to be as publicly available as possible--this seems to be another area where Google needs to find the right balance between transparency and data accessibility.


Respond in the comments about what you think about this move from Google.


Source: CNET News - "Webware"

Friday, September 11, 2009

So, What's new about Facebook Lite?

Facebook Lite is here. So what's good about it? Simple. The Slimmer the better.
The new "Lite" Facebook is available for users of US and India.
Try it out for yourself here - http://lite.facebook.com
Facebook Lite at a glance is really clutter-free version of the Facebook "Classic". Newbies and those who find the original Facebook to be just a bit too noisy, will feel at ease with this newer look. It also pushes the old-school Facebook apps off a cliff, which is just as well for the newest Facebook-connected services.

Some visual changes include the deletion of the left navigation panel alongwith the removal of the bottom taskbar. The overall look and feel is quite soothing and uncluttered. The input box is removed with buttons like Write, Post Photos and Post Videos and these pop down only when needed.
Birthdays and Friend Requests are shown right on top followed by the normal news feed.

Here is a view of the two pages of the same account:
(Credit: Screenshot by Rafe Needleman/CNET)
Facebook Lite Version





Facebook Classic




Other small hard-to-identify tweaks include that the "Friends" tab is missing in the navigation bar. That is replaced by a small Events link.

All pages are cleaner, faster and easier to read, thanks to the Facebook team.
Part of the game is the HTML optimization Facebook's been working at. Advertisements are low on FB Lite but you never know once this thing begins rocking!

Better still, its fast, its efficient, what else do we need?
Something else...reply in comments.