Suramya's Blog : Welcome to my crazy life…

February 18, 2006

CollageGen Ver 0.5 released

Filed under: Software Releases,Tech Related,Website Updates — Suramya @ 5:13 PM

Released Version 0.5 of the Collage Generator. This time the source code for the script is also available for download at the site.

I do have a working demonstration page but it don’t works if one person uses it at a time, because it queues up each request it recieves and process it in a FIFO (First In First Out) format, so if too many people are using it at the same time the page time’s out. Will probably switch to a threaded model to allow parallel processing of requests.

ChangeLog:

  • Rewrote the Backend Script to speed up the collage generator faster
  • Added XML-RPC support to allow better communication between the frontend and the backend

Your Feedback/Comments would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Suramya

February 17, 2006

Surabhi and Vinit’s Engagement Pics are online

Filed under: My Life,Website Updates — Suramya @ 1:41 PM

Hi Everyone,
After months of procrastination I have finally put Vinit and Surabhi’s Engagement photographs up in the photogallery.

Thanks,
Suramya

February 14, 2006

Free Geek: Helping the needy get nerdy

Filed under: Interesting Sites,Linux/Unix Related,My Thoughts,Tech Related — Suramya @ 4:43 PM

This is a really good program that combines volunteer work with computer education with helping underprivilidged get computer access.

Free Geek volunteers are a part of one of two programs, the Adoption Program or the Build Program. The Adoption Program gives each person, after 24 hours of volunteer service, a FreekBox, consisting of a rebuilt computer running Linux, as well as basic software, a monitor, keyboard, mouse, one year of tech support and classes on how to use it all. For the Build Program, which takes about 100 hours, volunteers build five computers and get to keep the sixth one, leaning more towards an educational focus.

They also have a couple of other projects you can help with. Check out How to Volunteer for details.

Unfortunately most of the projects require you to be in the Portland, OR area which kind of sucks as I would have loved to help out with this project. Luckily they do have a Coder section that lets people who are located remotely help out with the project. I am joining this mailing list as a volunteer, lets see how much fun/interesting its going to be. I will keep you posted.

URL: Free Geek: Home
Some media Coverage: Designtechnica.com

– Suramya

February 10, 2006

Liquid Camera Lens Ready For Phones

Filed under: News/Articles — Suramya @ 12:36 PM

This is pretty cool, now liquid lenses are now available for manufacturers to use in cameraphones. The new Arctic 320 is a zoom and auto-focus lens, but has no moving parts. Instead a small current warps liquid trapped inside two lenses to change the distance them and adjust focus or zoom.

Now we will probably get a camera phones with more powerful digital camera’s and better zoom features. Can’t wait till its out in the market.

Source: Liquid Camera Lens Ready For Phones

– Suramya

Police blotter: Patriot Act e-mail spying approved

Filed under: Computer Security,My Thoughts,News/Articles,Tech Related — Suramya @ 12:27 PM

Another not so useful move by the US govt in the ‘war’ against terrorism. My cooking can be described as a lethal weapon so I guess they need to check my email to make sure I am not a terrorist.

Abstract:

A federal judge recently approved a prosecutors’ Patriot Act request for e-mail surveillance without any evidence of wrongdoing by the target. The Patriot Act’s amendments authorize that type of easily obtainable surveillance of e-mail. All that’s required is that prosecutors claim the surveillance could conceivably be “relevant” to an investigation.

Complete Article: Patriot Act e-mail spying approved

– Suramya

February 7, 2006

Good Article on Profiling and Generalizations

Filed under: My Thoughts,News/Articles — Suramya @ 4:23 PM

A really good article that talks about profiling and generalizations. It takes a case about generalizations regarding Pit Bulls and compares them to terrorist/smugler profiling and how thats not such a good idea.

Profiling is never a good idea, if I know that there’s a profile for a particular kind of person then when I am trying to do something unnoticed as that person I would deviate as much as possible from that profile. I think thats a logical/intelligent response and while terrorists are acting on a false sense of right/wrong that doesn’t make them idiots and this is proved time and again when a bombing or terrorist act is carried out by someone completely unsuspected as they were completely outside the usual profile.

Another issue with generalization is that people tend to start focusing on them and ignore other vectors of threat. e.g. terrorists usually hijack planes right? So the reaction is that lots of money is spent on airport security etc. What is to stop them from taking a shopping mall/theator hostage? They can seal off the exit’s and threaten to blow it up. This is not a threat that is commonly recognized. There are hundred’s of other ways they can terrorize us.

So what do we do? Do we hide at home and refuse to comeout? Nope, we learn not to limit our responses to a list of threats, diversify and learn to counter/field unexpected threats.

Original Article: The New Yorker: Fact

Thanks to: Schneier on Security for the link.

– Suramya

February 6, 2006

What do you say when…

Filed under: My Life,My Thoughts — Suramya @ 11:53 PM

What do you say when you open your CD player to put in new CD’s and you notice a 1/2 mm layer of dust inside it, telling you no one has used it in the past 4 years?

What do you say when your desktop at home hasn’t been powered on for over a year?

What do you say when you want to get a new gaget for home and the response is: What will we do with it/My current one works fine.

When you go to bed at 5:00 am when everyone else is waking up.

– Suramya

February 4, 2006

Ultimate solution for Spam

Filed under: Funny News,My Thoughts — Suramya @ 12:39 PM

How to eliminate spam permanently:

Solution for Spam

– Suramya

February 1, 2006

IT Crowd: Awesome show

Filed under: Interesting Sites,My Life — Suramya @ 4:06 PM

Found this new show on Channel 4 called IT Crowd thats really funny. Best of all its available of the show’s website for a free download.

Show Website: IT Crowd

—–
Show Synopsis:

The high-rise towers of Reynholm Industries are full of go-getters, success stories, and winners… apart from in the basement.

While their beautiful colleagues work in fantastic surroundings, Jen, Roy and Moss lurk below ground, scorned and mocked by their co-workers as geeky losers, doomed never to make it back into normal society
—–

Episode 1 (Yesterday’s Jam) Story line:

In a cluttered basement deep in the bowels of Reynholm Industries lurk Roy and Moss, the I.T. Department. Reviled and mocked by cooler colleagues, their world of servers and firewalls is rudely interrupted by the arrival of Jen, a new “Relationship Manager” who knows as much about computers as a yak.
She doesn’t want to work in a dingy basement, and they don’t want a manager who doesn’t understand BASIC let alone binary, but they discover sometimes there are benefits to having a woman about the place…


it_crowd.jpg
The IT Crowd Cast

———————–

Check it out. Its worth it.

Thanks to Google Blogoscoped for the link.

Thanks,
Suramya

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