Spirited Free Fire !

I can see you fly.
You are an angel with wings,
high above the ground!

Soars so high,
rules you defy,
Freeing your soul benign.

The world combines,
to see you shine,
So Divine.

~ Yours SandyBoy ~

The Marking Scheme?

One of the first lessons that physics teaches us (well don’t worry that I’m going to talk about physics or anything boring, so read on) is that we have units of different kind. But what’s the use, we can’t measure distance between galaxies in nano-meters? Can we?

So here’s the deal of what I’m to blab all about. Like all major companies do, they device unique measures to prove that their product is better than anything you can find in this whole world. Be it your new flat screen TV, to the deo-spray you use.

Why has no one yet thought about the way they the old cronies evaluate our skills. With some concept called “marks”. Yeah innovative ideas like Grades, Percentile, Grade Point average, and plain old marks are there. But is it correct? Is this the best way to evaluate you?

Well in any case I don’t know much about you. But what I feel is that I can’t score anywhere you can call descent in these methods, because I’m a lazy kid. So Like all major companies I decided to push forward the idea, like kilometers/liter, why don’t we evaluate marks earned / hour studied?

The advantage lies with those people who do most of the learning the last minute. Critically the 11th hour. Well in some extreme cases 11th hour 59th minute and 58th second? Well those who do that will score terribly high in these scoring methods.

Ah lets consider the statistics, facts states that over 90% of the students fall in the category of those who study in the last minute. Lets not forget the 10% who scores well in the current schema, what will we give them?

Hmmm with reference to the current scenario in Delhi and other places in India, I guess we ought to allow for some reservation.

Think about the concept of studying for half an hour to get the essential 50%? Well that person has got a very high score in my marking scheme. The persons rate of studying is 100% per hour.

One should understand that these kinds of scores are not actually absolute scores. We can see people who study for 10 minutes and absorbs like a sponge all the information and get 40% marks, well in those cases their scores are well above 100%

Let’s leave how it’s done to the experts. But let us analyze why this type of scoring is more important.

1. It evaluates how good a candidate can absorb information
2. It Tells you how well the candidate can perform under extreme pressures
3. Leaves out all those people who stores entire math problems in their head.
4. It Evaluates individual’s potential. A potential that could be Microsoft’s Passion.
5. Ensures that this model teaches the student everything. From A to Z of the topics involved with Continual Evaluation.

The Drawbacks include, we have to formulate a method to involve teaching teachers to evaluate how much time has a candidate used for studying, a particular concept. The concept also has a break point when a candidate scores marks without studying for a single minute or second. Then his rate would be infinate. For this the ideal solution would be to create minimum study time say a reasonable half an hour to one! What do you say?

I’d like to hear your comments or this darnest issue that we students as a whole face?

MS Office Professional Plus 2007

Installation

Installation was the simplest of all things. The first point of order you will notice is that the progress bar is not a liar unlike the previous version cheating on multiple runs. The welcome change is that you don’t have individual boxes for the product key. Just one long box for the entire thing.

As obvious the installation looks like simply like a page from the Mac’s Big book of GUI. Just a progress bar and the name of the product. On a large page with a simple background design.

Microsoft Word 2007

As obvious the interface has gone under a major facelift from anything I can relate to from the previous office products. The first thing that strikes me Is that the interface, I have seen it somewhere. Yep got it. It’s strikingly similar to the design in Microsoft’s Kids Software Interface with all the cool tools like Talk It and so on. That was a part of the Microsoft Plus Toolkit of the ever famous windows 98

Looks terribly blue. A major feature of the sliding bar for the zoom looks like a direct rip off from the Google’s Picasa Software. The Buttons are arranged logically. That is Clipboard, Font , Paragraph , Styles And Editing Sections.

Should say a terrible loss for those folks who are looking for the standard windows API that made it ever famous. Yeah I am talking about the File Edit Insert etc kind of menus. None of them exist anymore. Should say the main aim of windows was to give a common look and feel. Now I can safely say. Its time to relearn or reconsider.

Mouse over highlights has got a delay in fading. Looks like we are playing a light up keyboard. Anyways instead of menus this has got tabs. Tabs of stuff that we would like do. The plug-ins has got a special section. So it’s way too easy to find them.

Whatever happened to times new roman. Font.. The new default font is called Calibri (body) , looks like a makeover of Tahoma and Verdana.

Many features have been added like digital signatures. More support for file versioning and so on. A most welcome change is that the direct support for PDF document creation. I still don’t see the ODF hyped stuff these people talk about. So I guess I’ll wrap up Word Here. And review the rest.

Microsoft PowerPoint 2007

Interface looks exactly similar to that of the word. Sheesh I sure did wish that it would be having an orange color scheme was like word logo blue. PowerPoint logo orange. That way. The most welcome change that I can say about PowerPoint is the themes. They got fewer themes and some of them looks cool. But really it’s nowhere near the Apple KeyNote. Wow that thing can deliver a keynote by itself. The theme I liked best (Civic) is really simple and neat. Another feature of this is mouse over preview of themes or options. It’s a great feature for all those running a dual core Intel D or an AMD x2 , but what about us poor folks it sometimes tends to be a disadvantage on the longer run.

Animations tend to be better understood with this version of PowerPoint as they are described as wipe from above. Instead they give a nice little diagram about what could happen with all arrows. And so on. But to tell the truth the blue is slightly getting on my nerves. Although I am a blue color freak, is getting a bit too annoying.

Another nice feature I found about PowerPoint is the new one in which one can have the presentation view. That is you can see how exactly the show will go on. Lucky me I could test out this feature and how it runs because I had my new Sony HDTV hooked onto my PC.

One can save the PowerPoint presentation as pdf. List like those Linux freaks do, it’s really cool to do it in windows. Another rip off from KeyNote is that the charts and diagrams have got textures that was a stunning feature of the Apple Software, The implementation is Nice but not as cool as one in KeyNote.

Finally, to speak of a common feature is the mark as final, as I consider myself as one of the lazy retard folks who can’t keep tag of where the final version of the file is. The office provides a MARK as FINAL option. But again. This has to be extensively tested against marking so many different files as the final. I guess a simple time stamp of when it was saved would save me the trouble of opening it and checking everything. Like I do with the previous versions.

Microsoft Excel 2007

As obvious as it is this devil also denies you to float around with toolboxes. All are fixed and they are on top. Just as adamant as Henry Ford was on Ford comes in all colors that are black. But that seems intelligible thing to do because after a while of using the office suite you will have to reset the tool boxes to the default location as the suite tends to look more or less like your very own desk. Cluttered and messy. Mouse wheel can move you through the tabs or ex-‘toolboxes’.

The first thing I noticed about this ever popular accounting / spreadsheet application is that the new sheet is as simple as a click away. Before one had to go click insert new sheet or right click new sheet option. But there seems to be a tiny button to do that daunting task for you. Although rename takes double clicking, it’s a welcome change from clicking exactly on the text saying “sheet 1” as in the prior variants.

I always have this question as how different colors are shaded based on the values in the boxes. I did ask few of my teachers at college about and they were like “oh yeah it does that?” attitude. Ah that makes me understand that they work on a template that is designed my someone else to enter our marks. But this version simplifies that task by an option called Conditional Formatting. You can color grade your values. So I guess I can see top students mark go green, bottom guys go red, but I still remain yellow. However that can’t change I guess.

Another Awesome feature about this is the Format as table option. I always wanted to format stuff like the calendar colors that word offers. But this thing helps you to do that automatically. Loads of preset ‘cell styles’ are offered that helps you pep up your numbers. As always the great leader Microsoft Taught us, or at least is helping us Make Numbers Fun with Colors.

The graphs have got a major make over in color. Yeah its cool to look at graphs with various colors rather than the obvious red blue green yellow combination. But shades of colour.

Conclusion

This is just a simple review by an engineering grad student at the way he uses office. So its a review of the major tools that i use. So to simply put it: this is just another upgrade, no major makeover other than the GUI, and some features here and there. The Claims are high the stakes are high, But the frank point is that I have never been as impressed by this major software company since Windows 2000. I really got freaky happy at the release of the Windows 2000 on 17 February 2000.

All I can see around Office 2007 is major Hype. And Of course the controversy of the ODF formats. But as long as the Beta is free, I’ll keep it.

Adios Buddies - Do Comment - Took lots of pain to write em

Destined Anomaly

Indeed… whatever you do… you can’t mess with destiny..!!!…
If u are bound to be good… you will be… or vice versa…

That’s what I’ve been telling sujith, a friend of mine… its an age old concept… but I’d still like claim it as mine… because I’ve put serious thought into it…
Whatever happens…. its because you are destined to make it happen or it to happen….
its basically says the entire happenings on the world is pre programmed…
but I add something to it… if you are bound(and destiny says so) to get it .. Or do it… you can get it or do it… with MINIMAL effort…

But if someone… who is not programmed or destined to be the one.. However hard… how much ever he tries… one MAY NOT is able to achieve it…

If someone does. That one is great… The one is an anomaly to the system… to the world…. they are mostly world leaders… or highly influential people…
or simply happier people..!!Simple examples of this includes… getting rich… From extremely poor situations…: e.g. Ambani… he was destined to make a change… so he could do with a minimal effort that would have taken anyone else… take extreme pains… than what Ambani had to achieve the same….

Others is sheer will.. To succeed… and stubbornness…. to get what one needs…. e.g.: Gandhi… mahatma…
I would love to quote my favorite leader in this category… Priyadarshini Indira Gandhi… but some restrictions do make people… dead in the effort to be an anomaly….

what do you say?
True to every extent..?
Or what crap am I talking about?
Or do I have to put up with this?

As far as I’m concerned… I want to be an anomaly… if possible… if……. that’s destined for me… I am happy to be an anomaly…

do think about the last statement… its pretty recursive…

Retiring an Era !

Just found this email of just too great importance for you and i. Even if it doesn’t directly influences us.


From: MSBILLG

Sent: Thursday, June 15, 2006 1:41 PM
To: Microsoft and Subsidiaries: All FTE
Subject: My Transition Plans

I wanted to take a moment to share some of my thoughts, as well.

As Steve’s mail indicates, I’ve decided that two years from now, in July 2008, I want to devote more time to the work of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Right now and for the next two years, my full-time job is here at Microsoft, and my part-time job remains the Foundation. Beginning in July 2008, I will switch that, to be full-time at the Foundation, while remaining involved with Microsoft as Chairman and an advisor on key development projects on a part-time basis.

To prepare for this change, we have a well-thought-out transition process. Again, I will continue at Microsoft full-time for the next two years, but over the course of those two years, my day-to-day responsibilities will shift to a team of incredible technical leaders who are already doing amazing things at the company.

I feel very lucky that we’ve got extraordinary technical leaders at the company, like Ray Ozzie and Craig Mundie, who can step up to assume the roles that I’ve played. I’ve known Ray for the last 20 years, and he has created some of the most important developments in the industry. Craig and I have worked together for nearly 14 years, and he’s been a technical visionary and a leader on policy throughout his career. With Ray and Craig stepping up, I feel very confident that the technical stewardship of Microsoft is in very capable hands.
And I feel the same way about our business leadership. Our core businesses are strong and we have a clear vision for how we will meet new challenges and opportunities. We just had our first $12 billion quarter, and we continue to generate almost a billion dollars in profit every month. We are about to launch breakthrough versions of Windows, Office and Exchange, which are already generating a lot of excitement.

Six years ago, Steve and I made a major transition when he stepped up to be CEO. He’s done a fantastic job by every measure, whether it’s the people he’s brought in, the new ways he’s running the company, or just the objective results - like doubling our revenue in six years. Steve has driven us to make bold bets on things like Xbox, Real Time Communications, business applications, IPTV, and many others including the Live platform. Steve is the best CEO I could imagine for Microsoft - he is changing the company in ways it needs to be changed. He is bringing in new leadership at all levels. And, he is focused on the long-term - making Microsoft a great company not just today but for decades to come.

With Steve’s organization of the company into three divisions led by our incredible presidents - Jeff Raikes, Robbie Bach, and Kevin Johnson - we’ve laid a solid foundation for greater autonomy, agility and entrepreneurial spirit in our product groups. And with the great addition of Kevin Turner as our COO, our leadership team has never been stronger.

Our deep technical strength is one of the key reasons I believe Microsoft is well-positioned for great success in the years ahead. I’m very pleased that in addition to Ray, Craig, David and Rick, Steve has asked J Allard, Bob Muglia, and Steven Sinofsky to play an expanded role in shaping the company’s business and technology strategy. And when you consider all of our remarkable Technical Fellows, Distinguished Engineers, all of the brilliant researchers working at our MSR labs around the world, and all the technical people in the business groups, I can safely say that our technical talent has never been stronger or deeper.

Obviously, this has been a very hard decision for me. Microsoft will always be a huge part of my life, and I’m lucky to have two callings that are so important and so challenging.

On a personal note, I know that my work on global health and education issues at the Foundation would never have been possible without the enormous success of Microsoft, so I want to thank you and all of the employees past and present who have contributed so much to this company.

For these last 31 years, I’ve had the best job in the world. I’ve worked with some of the brightest and most passionate people in the world. Together, we’ve built a great company whose products have empowered people around the world.

We’re only at the beginning of what software can do, and I’m excited about the impact that Microsoft can have. I’m going to take an extended vacation this summer with my family, but I’ll be back in late August and I look forward to working with all of you for the next two years and beyond, to make those dreams a reality.

Thanks.

Bill