Posting from my new setup!

Its been a long time now since I updated this space. We've recently set up a new desktop at home, so here comes a post from and about it..

The new set up is nice - we assembled components for this system at home, starting from a barebone CPU. The order came with the tower, a power supply and a motherboard with the CPU of our choice installed. We ordered it at http://www.portatech.com and they delivered the unit promptly and in good condition.

We ordered the other components separately - some RAM, a 500 GB hard disk, a keyboard and a mouse, a wireless adapter and a DVD drive. The interesting thing this time was learning about SATA; we realized that we needed Sata cables for both the DVD and hard disk drives. This was new to me, since the last time I saw a hard disk, it did not use these cables. Anyway, turns out these cables are pretty nifty and easy to use; no more headaches trying to figure out how to connect the cables ! Amazon.com has been quite nice to review stuff and buy them with free shipping !

Next, we burnt a DVD with Ubuntu's latest and ran it on the new system. Installing was quite a breeze, and I loved how the set up recognized all the hardware comfortably and everything worked so well ! Ubuntu is pretty good to use too.

Some nice points:

We'd ordered a HDTV / monitor from LG, and used that as the display. The resolution being a little large, I was afraid whether it will require special configuration, but no, Ubuntu took care of it by itself !

Sound was next, and we connected our mini Logitech speaker system, so thoughtfully gifted by Sandeep. The sound is quite awesome now !

One other fun part was how nicely our old HP printer works ! We'd replaced the cartridges with newer ones from cartridge world, but windows on our laptops refused to print. We were almost ready to give up and buy something new, but Ubuntu came along and is printing B&W and color merrily!

We haven't missed any Microsoft products so far; Ubuntu seems to have a fairly reasonable alternative to everything we've needed so far. Drivers work well, Open Office works beautifully, the printer and wireless adapter needed no configuration and even VPN got installed like a charm !

My final IT trouble at home was connecting to the office network from Linux; I'd tried to get it working on the older Ubuntu on my laptop, but it just refused. The new Ubuntu liked the Cisco VPN software, and I am enjoying wfh on this fine setup. We were looking at a window on unix inside windows inside unix, and decided this warranted a post!

The best part is switching the display between the computer and TV !

Missing aircraft

My heart goes out to the 200+ people in the Air France jet that went missing over the Atlantic.

Its difficult to believe that in this day and age, the craft cannot be located. Couldn't they start looking in the location from where the last contact was made ?

Isn't the craft supposed to also work as a glider, if it loses power ? One would think there was the chance to land it over the water and get the people out on floating rafts. The cold water would make it crazy, but there is a chance for survival if rescuers reach there quickly enough.

Makes me a little jittery to think that I will be flying out in 10 days time myself, all statistics aside.

Oracle Gym and clever invitations

Our gym's weekly newsletter uses clever ways of keeping the reader entertained and interested in their events. Here is one from today that I found hilarious:

You'll need this info if you cheat on your taxes and have to run from the IRS:
Are you Wearing the Right Running or Walking Shoe?
Wednesday, April 22nd
11:00am - 1:00pm
Club Oracle 1st Floor Weight Room

Erdos number

My Erdos number is 3 !

A friend/labmate of mine from ASU just got her PHd. In a congratulatory exchange of messages, she was recalling our talk of the Erdos number many years ago, and mentioned I am indeed going to be 3 now. Seems that the paper in question has been published. She will, of course, be Erdos 2.

If only our paper was mathematical, it could have been real. Here is my older post on the topic.
Congratulations, Toni !

Winds

Its crazily windy outside today. So much so, a couple of the lifts at work did not work! Apparently, someone needs to keep the door closed for it to 'sense' that finally there is no one trying to walk in, and get about it's business.

Its crazy.

HNY

ಹೊಸ ವರ್ಶದ ಹಾರ್ದೀಕ ಶುಭಾಶಯಗಳು !

My last post was about the new year. This one is, again. Happy new year to everyone in the Hindu calendar !

HNY

Just a little note to wish you a very happy new year !

Intel, Mumbai terror

It is a daunting challenge, gathering intelligence that can point to a future strike. In a country as populated as ours, with the severe lack of resources, is it really possible to cover all possibilities ? There could be a zillion ways to smuggle guns and ammo into the city. And people are even easier. Depending on the population to alert the authorities is no good either.

Someone tell the media, it is easy to point fingers, but its a very difficult task.

Raj Thackeray

I wonder how many of the army commandos fighting in Mumbai, are from Bihar and other northern states. Mr Raj Thackeray ?

Mumbai terror

While I have many things to say, let me just say, Kudos to our commandos.