Onnashamsakal :)

Microsoft has using an open-sourse software for its upcomimg product !!!

Microsoft has finally confessed to using open-source in a forthcoming product: Windows Server 2003 Compute Cluster Edition. The reason why Microsoft uses BSD-licensed TCP/IP for its network stack was the same reason almost everyone does: The BSD TCP/IP works well, and its socket-based API (application programming interface) was already becoming the accepted way for computers to work with each other. I had gone through an article by Mr.Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols in which he is discribing all these matters. One word in that article is some more naughty...He says that "Of course, Microsoft could have come up with something that duplicated what MPI(Message Passing Interface). does, but this is one field where Microsoft can't move in and make up its own rules".

More about our Onam

The Origin of Onam



Onam or Thiruonam originated as a joyous annual reminiscence of the golden rule of King Mahabali, a mythical king, who ruled Kerala a very long time ago. It recalls the sacrifice of the great king, his true devotion to God, his human pride and his ultimate redemption. This king once ruled over the Keralites during the Golden Age before caste existed, "when all men were equal, when no one was poor, when there was neither theft nor dread of thieves".

The Legend

Facts and fables blend as Kerala celebrates this royal return, year after year with the festivities of Onam. Legend has it that the gods plotted against Mahabali to end his reign. For this they sent Lord Vishnu to earth in the form of a dwarf Brahmin. But before being trampled down to the netherworld, Vishnu granted the king's sole wish: To visit his land and people once every year.

The Custom

Pookalam


A flower carpet called 'Pookalam' is laid in front of every house to welcome the advent of the vanquished king, and earthen mounds representing Mahabali and Vishnu are placed in the dung-plastered courtyards. Traditional rituals are performed followed by a lavish feast called 'Sadhya'. Onam also means new clothes for the whole family, sumptuous home-cooked delicacies on plantain leaf and the lingering aroma of the sweet Payasam.

Kaikottikali

Onam is in the air.Its time to revive our rich folk arts when women come out with their dances, especially kaikottikalli.This is the period from "atham" to Onam when the Malayali celebrates a bumper harvest and is in a festive mood.

The women-folk neatly decked up in mundu-veshti and ornamental flowers in their hair decorate their frontyard and "nadumittam" with flowers and light a lamp near an idol of Ganapathy in a gesture to overcome all hurdles in their pah to prosperity.

The simple rythmic group dance which involves clapping each other's palms while encircling the pookalam is what's known as kaikottikali, the essence of Onam.

Women, young and old, take part in the folk dance which signifies joy, happines and festivity. Though kaikottikali is neither a ritual form of dance or stage art, it derives its "ragachaya" from kathakali and the songs are based on episodes and legends like Krishnaleela, Shakunthalam, Kuchelavritham and Dhruvacharithram. Emphasis is given on rythmic movements than on mudra.The uniqueness of kaikottikali lies in the fact that the songs are sung by the participants themselves and the dance involves just simple steps in unison.

The most common ragams found in the kaikottikali songs include the Hussaini, Bhairavi and Kamboji and on several occasions the song deviate from puranic tales to folk stories.

Songs are also sung in praise of Saraswati, Ganapathy and Krishna which is considered to be very auspicious. Sadya over, on Onam day, women dance away to glory till the euphoria wanes.


The Spectacle

Spectacular parades of caparisoned elephants, fireworks and the famous Kathakali dance are traditionally associated with Onam. It's also the season of many cultural and sport events and carnivals. All this makes Onam-time a perfect period to visit this coastal state, touted as "Gods Own Country". No wonder the Government of Kerala has declared this time every year as Tourism Week.

The Grand Boat Race

One of the main attractions of Onam, is the 'Vallamkali' or boat races of Karuvatta, Payippad, Aranmula and Kottayam. Hundreds of oarsmen row traditional boats to the rhythm of drums and cymbals. These long graceful Snake Boats called "Paliyodam" and 'Chundans' are named after their exceedingly long hulls and high sterns that resemble the raised hood of a cobra.


Then there are 'Odis', the small and swift raiding crafts adorned with gold tasseled silk umbrellas, the 'Churulans' with their elaborately curled prows and sterns, and the 'Veppus', a kind of cook-boat. This traditional village rivalry on watercrafts reminds one of ancient naval warfare.

Thousands throng the banks to cheer and watch the breathtaking show of muscle power, rowing skills and rapid rhythm. These boats - all pitted against their own kind - rip through the backwaters of Kerala in a tussle of speed.


Onam is for All


Although this festival has its origin in Hindu mythology, Onam is for all people of all class and creed. Hindus, Muslims and Christians, the wealthy and the downtrodden, all celebrate Onam with equal fervor. The secular character of Onam is peculiar to this land where unity had always coexisted with diversity, especially during festivals, when people come together to celebrate life's unlimited joys.

A long long time ago, an Asura (demon) king called Mahabali ruled Kerala. He was a wise, benevolent and judicious ruler and beloved of his subjects. Soon his fame as an able king began to spread far and wide, but when he extended his rule to the heavens and the netherworld, the gods felt challenged and began to fear his growing powers. Presuming that he might become over-powerful, Aditi, the mother of Devas pleaded with Lord Vishnu to curtail Mahabali's powers.

Vishnu transformed himself into a dwarf called Vamana and approached Mahabali while he was performing a yajna and asked for alms. Pleased with the dwarf brahmin's wisdom, Mahabali granted him a wish. The Emperor's preceptor, Sukracharya warned him against making the gift, for he realized that the seeker was no ordinary person. But the Emperor's kingly ego was boosted to think that God had asked him for a favor. So he firmly declared that there is no greater sin than going back on one's promise. He kept his word.

The Vamana asked for a simple gift "three paces of land" and the king agreed to it. Vishnu in the guise of Vamana then increased his stature and with the first step covered the sky, blotting out the stars, and with the second, straddled the netherworld. Realising that Vamana's third step will destroy the earth, Mahabali offered his head as the last step.


Vishnu's fatal third step pushed him to the netherworld, but before banishing him to the underworld Vishnu granted him a boon. Since he was attached to his kingdom and his people, he was allowed to return once a year from exile. Onam is the celebration that marks the homecoming of King Mahabali. It is the day when a grateful Kerala pays a glorious tribute to the memory of this benign king who gave his all for his subjects.

Another Legend

Another legend has it that King Mahabali was a devout worshipper of Lord Vishnu. He was sincere, honest, just and a good ruler. But he had one weakness ego. And to eradicate his pride and redeem his beloved devotee of this one sin, Vishnu came to earth in the form of a dwarf Brahmin named Vamana.

The king in his pride asked the Brahmin what he wanted for he could give anything. Vamana asked for three paces of land and the king agreed. To humble him Vishnu, as Vamana showed Mahabali that he is just a puny creature in front of God's universal stature.
Mahabali, who was a man of principles, realized God's purpose and offered his head for Vamana's footstep, as he was sent to another world. This fatal step proved a blessing in disguise for the good king the foot salvaged and released him from the recurrent cycle of birth and death. That is why Onam is celebrated by wearing new clothes and resolving to lead a new life of truth, piety, love, and humility.

'Onasadhya' is the grand feast served during the celebration of Onam in Kerala. It is served in Banana leafs. There is a way of placing the leaf and an order of serving the dishes. The picture given below shows the serving order beginning from the left with 'Upperies'.

Pesticide Percentage (%) in cool drinks !!!

Pesticide Percentage (%) in cool drinks released from IMA recently.

1 Thums up 15.2%
2 Coke 13.4%
3 7 up 12.5%
4 Mirinda 0.7%
5 Pepsi 10.9%
6 Fanta 09.1%

If the Range exceeds 2.1%, then its very dangerous to the Human Liver.Results in Cancer! "This Message is from Indian Medical Association."

The TEN days of Onam

Atham - Day One
First day is an important one and is considered holy and auspicious by the people of Kerala...

Chithira - Day Two
On the second day of Onam, people add to the size of the Pookalam with different flowers...

Chodhi - Day Three
Size of the Attha Poo gets further increased with an addition of design with a different flowers...

Visakam - Day FourOnam Celebrations
Brisk activities in the market and households can be witnessed on the day of Visakam...

Anizham - Day Five
High point of the day is the grand boat race event called Vallamkali...

Thriketa - Day SixOnasadya
People, who may be staying away from their homes, start coming to their homes as the main day approaches...

Moolam - Day Seven
With just two days left for the festival now, enthusiasm grips the state of Kerala...

Pooradam - Day Eight
The day holds significance in Onam festivities. Devotees create clay idols in the shape of small pyramids...

Uthradam - Day Nine
It is a day prior to Thiruvonam. Some people begin festivities on a large scale on this day...

Thiruvonam - Day Ten
The biggest day of all, is the tenth day called Thiruvonam...

Onam : The National festival of Kerala

ONAM, OUR harvest festival, is round the corner. It comes in the month of "Chingam" according to our calendar. The festivity begins ten days before Thiruonam, by putting floral decorations (Pookkalam) on every home. Every day, fresh flowers are used to make fresh patterns, whose elaborate structures grow increasingly grand as Big Day draws near. Even the moss growing on the monsoon-soaked, laterite walls is used as a finishing touch. Indeed, there are contests as to who makes the best pookalams.

This festival is celebrated by All Malayalees with much enthusiasm both within and outside Kerala, is a symbol of plenty. This is when the rice has been harvested, and markets saturated with vegetables of all kinds. People get themselves new clothes and the smell of the legendary banana chips, both savoury and sweetened with jaggery, hangs in the air. People buy themselves new clothes, and, in today's consumerist Kerala, jewellery and white goods.

In my childhood, on these Onam days we were always busy with plucking flowers from the fields. But now in this modern life people are buying the flowers from the market. This is become the biggest business season for the flowers in Kerala. Lots and lots of flowers are reaching from the other states...

Today Life is became fast and no one has enough time to do their work...but ONAM always makes a special feeling in the mind of all malayalees and bring colorful thoughts and fills our mind. Honestly says, I can't describe that great feeling in words.... :)

Some facts about Taj Mahal

Building of Taj Mahal



Besides the miraculous architectural features and the elaborate ornamentation of the Taj Mahal, many additional features, which can often be overlooked, help complement and enhance this spectacular monument.

Background
Unlike other Mughal tombs, the garden of the Taj Mahal has been laid out entirely in front of the tomb and does not play any part in the 'background'. Instead, the background has been provided by the sky. This background is not constant; it changes its colour and texture more than often, and the Taj is always presented in a variety of tints and moods. Its shades are subtly reflected on the white marble surface of the Taj Mahal which changes its colour and complexion accordingly.

Marble
The Makrana marble used is of such a nature that it takes on incredibly subtle variations of tint and tone, according to the changes in the light, thus picturing the passing colour of the moment.

Soaring Effect
The colossal height of the tomb, along with its pyramidal appearance (which is obtained by the receding plinths, the square tomb and the bulbous dome, along with the pilasters surmounted by pinnacles, the tapering minarets and the decreasing volume of the dome culminating in a kalasa) give it a soaring effect. It appears as if it is about to rise into the sky...an ethereal quality full of lightness and grace.



Correction of Illusionary Effects
Taj Mahal, Agra TourismThe indigenous builders of the Taj Mahal fully understood the deceptive nature of the human eye. They knew that the reality and its perception and interpretation thereof differed. The plinth of the main tomb is 2'10'' high on an average. But the height varies at different places, particularly the central point between two piers being in each case 0.5" to 0.7" higher than the sides. This convexity has deliberately been given to the plinth in the centre of each arch, or else the building would have appeared as if it were falling down! The facades are not exactly at a right angle with the plinth, but are slightly inclined.

The finial is a stupendous crowning feature which measures nearly 10 meters!! The architect fully anticipated the apparent size which a finial would present from such a great height. It has therefore been very ingeniously been planned. These features of construction demonstrate the ability of the Indian architects to reconcile the illusionary effects created by distance and light.

Inside The Taj Mahal


The interior of the mausoleum comprises a lofty central chamber, a crypt immediately below this and four octagonal corner rooms originally intended to house the graves of other royal family members.

In the centre are the cenotaphs of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal. Shah Jahan's cenotaph is to the left and is higher than that of his beloved which rests immediately below the dome.

The cenotaph of Mumtaz Mahal stands in the centre of the marble screen, it has inscribed on it in Persian with texts from the Koran. The cenotaph of Mumtaz has the single epitaph inscribed on it- "Marqad Munavvar Arjumand Bano Begum Mukhatib bah Mumtaz Mahal Tanifiyat fer sanh 1040 Hijri" (Here lies Arjumand Bano Begum called Mumtaz Mahal who di((d in 1040 A.H. or 1630 A.D.)



The cenotaph of Shah Jahan is inscribed in Persian- .'Marqad Mutahar Aali Hazrat Firdaus Ashiyani Sahib-qiran Saani Shah Jahan Badshah taab surah sanh 1076 Hijri" (The sacred sepulchre of his most exalted Majesty, dweller of Paradise, the second lord of constellations, the king Shah Jahan, may his mausoleum ever flourish, 1076 A.H. (1666 A.D.).

Inside The Taj Mahal, Agra Travel Above the tombs is a Cairene lamp, the flame of which is supposed to never burn out.

Marble screen of trelliswork surrounds the graves. Both tombs are exquisitely inlaid with semiprecious stones.

The acoustics of the building are superb with the domed ceiling being designed to echo chants from Koran and musician's melodies.

It is suggested that one walk around the outside of the tomb, before retrieving your shoes, to appreciate it from all sides.


Taj Mahal Story



The story of Taj Mahal reflects the intensity of love. The fairy tale began when walking through the bazaar of Agra prince qhurram saw a girl. The girl was exceptionally beautiful. It was a love at first sight for both of them. After five years, on an auspicious day they were married and from that moment began the great epic of love.

Shah Jahan, "The King Of The World"

Prince qhurram was the fifth son of emperor Jahangir. He was the man of extraordinary brilliance, a great diplomat, a warrior and a lover of art. Once Jahangir wrote, "In art, in reason, in battle there is no comparison between him and my other children". In the honor of his numerous victories Jahangir entitled him as "Shah Jahan", "The King of the World". After Jahangir's death all his sons quarreled for the thrown, after fighting for years Shah Jahan killed all his brothers under suspicious circumstances and became the emperor, besides him stood his queen, comrade and confidante.

Mumtaz Mahal "The chosen one of the palace"

Shah Jahan titled her "Mumtaz Mahal", "The chosen one of the palace". A rare found combination of beauty and brain. She was her husband's best friend and confidante. She would counsel him in the diplomatic matters. She too was a great lover of art.

The End of the Fairy Tale

Shah Jahan & Mumtaz MahalIn 1631 Shah Jahan set up to berahanpur with his troops to subdue a rebellion, accompanied by Mumtaz Mahal Unfortunately during childbirth she suffered some complications and died. According to legend before dieing she extracted a promise from Shah Jahan that he would build a mausoleum as a tribute to their love.



The story of Taj Mahal begins Shah Jahan was obsessed to fulfill his wife's last wish. He invited the architects and artisans all over the world and planned for the building with absolute perfection. Taj Mahal was structured in Persian style combined with carvings of artisans called from Afghanistan and the garden designers from Kashmir. It took 22years to complete the Taj Mahal, a memento of love with the perfection of art. The carvings of Taj Mahal were decorated with very precious gemstones.

The story of Taj Mahal is unique in itself. It is an evidence that how the emotions and feelings are important to human life. The story of Taj Mahal is an example of devotion and faith. The story of Taj Mahal is a love story not found in papers but stands in the structural form. The story of Taj Mahal is rare.

The beauty of Taj

Some rare pictures from the computer world

I got these pictures through a mail. Really rare ones. Ist it? :-)

Tim Berners Lee -- Founder of the World Wide Web

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Picture taken when INFY was started. This picture was found in the album of the clerk who took this picture...
The picture was with that clerk only because it was his birthday and he just told everyone to stand together at one place to take a pic.
He borrowed a camera from his friend and as he could not tell any of his boss to take the pic, he took the pic himself... though it was his birthday.

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Linus Torvalds of Linux Operating System Linus Torvalds originally used the Minix OS on his system which he replaced by his OS.
Hence the working name was Linux (Linus' Minix).
He thought the name to be too egotistical and planned to name it Freax (free + freak + x).
His friend Ari Lemmk encouraged Linus to upload it to a network so it could be easily downloaded.
Ari gave Linus a directory called linux on his FTP server, as he did not like the name Freax.
Linus like that directory name and he kept the name of his new OS to LINUX...

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Andreas Bechtolsheim , Bill Joy, Scott Mc Nealy and Vinod Khosla of SUN(StanfordUniversity Network) MicroSystems.
Founded by four StanfordUniversity buddies.
Andreas Bechtolsheim built a microcomputer;
Vinod Khosla recruited him;
Scott McNealy to manufacture computers based on it;
and Bill Joy to develop a UNIX-based OS for the computer...
SUN is the acronym for Stanford University Network ..

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Gordon Moore(L) and Bob Noyce(R) ,founders of Intel.
Bob Noyce and Gordon Moore wanted to name their new company 'Moore Noyce'.
But that was already trademarked by a hotel chain...
So they had to settle for an acronym of INTegrated ELectronics... INTEL

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Larry Page(L) and Sergey Brin(R), founders of Google.
Google was originally named 'Googol'.
After founders (Stanford graduates) Sergey Brin and Larry Page presented their project to an angel investor...
they received a cheque made out to 'Google' !...
So they kept name as GOOGLE

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Ken Thompson (L)and Dennis Ritchie(R) ,creators of UNIX.
Dennis Ritchie improved on the B programming language and called it 'New B'.
B was created by Ken Thompson as a revision of the Bon programming language (named after his wife Bonnie)
He later called it C.

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Bill Hewlett(L) and Dave Packard(R) of HP.
Behind them in the picture is the famous HP Garage.
Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard tossed a coin to decide whether the company they founded would be called Hewlett-Packard or Packard-Hewlett.
And the winner was NOT Bill... the winner was Dave.

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Steve Woznaik(sitting) and Steve Jobs of APPLE Computers.
He was three months late in filing a name for the business because he didn't get any better name for his new company.
So one day he told to the staff: "If I'll not get better name by 5 o'clcok today, our company's name will be anything he likes..."
so at 5 o'clock nobody cameup with better name, and he was eating APPLE that time...
so he kept the name of the company 'Apple Computers'

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Microsoft Corporation 1978 :Picture taken when microsoft was started The person in

Light Field Camera- An article from "Science Daily"

Ren Ng, a computer science graduate student in the lab of Pat Hanrahan, the Canon USA Professor in the School of Engineering, has developed a "light field camera" capable of producing photographs in which subjects at every depth appear in finely tuned focus. Adapted from a conventional camera, the light field camera overcomes low-light and high-speed conditions that plague photography and foreshadows potential improvements to current scientific microscopy, security surveillance and sports and commercial photography.

The light field camera adds an additional element—a microlens array—inserted between the main lens and the photosensor.Each lenslet separates back out the converged light rays received from the main lens before they hit the photosensor and changes the way the light information is digitally recorded

Keep reading... Computer Scientists Create 'light Field Camera' Banishing Fuzzy Photos

Flexy Flex from Adobe

“Moreover, MXML - the language on which the Flex 2 framework runs - takes such a minimalist approach to developing Web UIs that it beats Ruby and all other Java Web frameworks hands down. So it’s worth your while to try rich Internet application programming with Flex 2. You’ll think twice before using Java or any server-side scripting language to write Web UIs.”

Mario Morejon, CRN Test Center

Today I used Adobe Flex, the new emerging web designing as well as programming tool. Flux is great. Being a J2EE developer as well as an eclipse user, its eclipse nature helped me to do some works with it. Yeah its really interesting to me. After that I had searched for some more practical comments about this Flex work and happened to see the following posts.

One is about its troubles :Trouble with Adobe Flex

Another one is an interview with an expert Web programmer Anatole Tartakovsky of Farata Systems :Adobe Flex 2 - Answering Tough Questions About Enterprise Development

Sounds interesting..right?

Latest Developments in the .Net World

If you are a .Net developer and you want to know the latest technologies in .Net field then this link will help you sure.Latest Developments in the .Net World It consists of an article from www.devarticles.com

The new attractive features of JDBC 4.0

Mustang : Java SE 1.6

Java SE 6.0 is expected to be released in October 06. An important part of the new version of Java is the new JDBC 4.0 API. JDBC 4.0 brings several changes to JDBC, but its top priority is making things easier for developers.

Interesting developments in JDBC 4.0 are:

1. No need to explicitly load JDBC drivers using Class.forName() to register a JDBC driver. The DriverManager class takes care of this automatically.
2. Java SE Service Provider mechanism as another means to specify database drivers
3. Specify SQL queries using Annotations
4. Bundled database based on Apache Derby
5. SQL 2003 support, including support for XML as a native database data type
6. Improved exception handling with new exception classes
7. A new DataSet interface. When used in a connected mode, the DataSet functions in a manner similar to ResultSet. A disconnected DataSet functions in a manner similar to a CachedRowSet. You can navigate, modify and delete records in a DataSet.

Ban on Coke and Pepsi in Kerala

Kerala has banned the production and sale of Coca Cola and Pepsi following a report that the drinks contain harmful pesticides.

It said it was taking the step because the drinks pose a health risk. Both soft drinks manufacturers have said their products are safe.Coca Cola has, in a press release, said there was no legal basis for the ban and it was unfair, unwarranted and arbitrary.

Five other states have already announced partial bans on the drinks in schools, colleges and hospitals.

But Kerala is the first to completely ban their production and sale. I think this will not harm much to these two big MNCs. At the same time a good and brave move from the government and a good start to maintain high quality of consumer poducts.

But one question still remains ...If cigarettes,liquor and other pans can be allowed to be sold, why shouldn't Pepsi/Coke be sold?

Leopard : The new challenge from apple to Vista

What do you do when you reach enlightenment? Keep going. Mac OS X Tiger was ahead of its time in 2005. But that didn’t stop Apple engineers from moving forward. Get a glimpse of the not-so-distant future. Introducing Mac OS X Leopard.

Screenshots








Time Machine



Safari




DVD Player



Trash

Microsoft may discount Vista

CNN news : Microsoft Corp. is considering discounts or other promotions during the holidays to entice consumers to upgrade their PCs with Windows Vista, even though the new operating system isn't due to hit store shelves until January at the earliest.

Any end-of-the-year effort to spur PC purchases would likely please many retailers and computer manufacturers, who fear disappointing sales during the crucial holiday as consumers wait for the highly anticipated and long-delayed software.

Vista will be the first major upgrade to Microsoft's flagship operating system since Windows XP was released in 2001. After a series of delays, Microsoft said it appears to be on track to ship the business version of Vista in November and to consumers in January.

Last month, however, Kevin Johnson, co-president of the Microsoft division that includes Windows, said the company would not hesitate to delay Vista again if it has any concerns about product quality.