Free coffee and other incentives to attend class

I was wondering if I would have attended more classes in college if there was some free beverage on offer ?

After doing a one year full time course in the UK, I have emerged wiser, and of course almost bankrupt. The course (I did an MBA from Cranfield School of Management), was very nicely designed and I was very comfortable in setting a good pace against it. Exams were not a major headache and obtaining grades were just a formality.

 

And now I know why I hated studying while I was doing my bachelors degree in engineering in India. Yes, laziness played a major part in it. But there were many reasons for us (at least a lot in my cohort) to hate studies at college.  I am no way implying I had a bad 4 years at NIT Nagpur, oh no . In fact the time was awesome, spent mostly on non - academic stuff. Now, coming to why I hated studying  - reasons were plenty, and here are few of them - outdated syllabus, and outdated mode of teaching, lack of good content, lack of connection between profs and students, exam (grade) centered culture and so on.

And these were the same reasons I loved studying in the UK. In fact, just after being in the university for a few weeks, I knew why I hated going to classes back in India.

And there is one more reason - free tea/coffee at the Cranfield SOM. While it might not matter that much, but it was much of an incentive to at least turn up to the college building, hangout with fellow students, profs etc and also attend classes for a change. I remember waking up during my undergrad days, and rushing straight to the mess/canteen to find some tea or grab something to eat, before rushing off to attend the 11am lecture (classes used to start at 9). Having a vending machine to serve tea near the classroom would have definitely helped ;) Now, don't ask me the practicality/operational-plan of such an idea.

Now, one might argue that college is not for fun, relaxation and comfort, but a place for hard work in spite of challenges and to get the max out of it. Well, I agree, but I am also a lazy person, a Bengali by heart , and I love to live a slow paced life with as little hiccups as possible. So a degree on a sliver platter served with minimal effort from my side, while I was sleeping (and occasionally playing cards) in my dorm was exactly what I was looking for !

Oracle vs Google : Lawsuit of the decade !

Oracle is suing Google over Google using the Java framework in Android without license.

This presentation released by Oracle gives a clear picture of what it is suing Google for. It definitely presents the picture from Oracle's part, and on first look paints a very dark picture about Google's use of android. Oracle claims that the Android framework is copied from Java, without paying the due credit, and of harming the bigger java community. Some example (of code) do suggest that Android is based on Java, a lot of it is just taken verbatim.

This part of the presentation clarifies what is going on :

Do you need a license if you are building an application using Java : No. However, if you are extending Java, and providing an API specification or application framework of your own, you do need one, especially for commercial purposes. Android clearly (until court decides otherwise), in my holy opinion, falls under that category.

Here is what the presentation says about 'When is a Java License necessary' :

• You are writing an application (say a web-application) in Java programming language : NO


• You are providing class libraries on Java API Designs : YES


• Downloading java software components: YES

Most of the developers of java fall under the first category, but some companies do need to use Java for the rest two and they thus purchase License from Oracle (formerly from Sun) and some also contribute to Java community. Several exampls quoted in the presentation.

I think Oracle has a good case, however the Google side of the story is interesting as well, as it claims that Java programming language, or any language for that matter is not copyrightable. Partly true, and remains to be seen how it is presented in court. Meanwhile, the hearing started in San Francisco yesterday (17th April) and the next 8 weeks are going to be really interesting.

And then remains the lawsuit about the patent/copyright infringements which will be heard soon after. More on that later.

References:

Oracle presentation (91 pages, takes a while to open) : http://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/features/opening-slides-1592541.pdf

Bloomberg news coverage : http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-17/ellison-testifies-oracle-explored-dropped-making-java-phone-1-.html

BBC news : http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-17705873

Worlds biggest companies

Here is a list of worlds biggest companies in terms of revenues.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_companies_by_revenue

Walmart leads the chart with more than 400 billion in revenues. Quite astonishing. Some more personal observations and trite remarks:

1. None of them have yet reached 1 trillion USD. Why not a single of them, is it too huge ? Considering that GDP of India is 1.5 trillion (USD), it looks a big number, isn't it.

2. Largest Indian company, IOCL is 139th in the list with 54 billion, and then Reliance at 180. Quite a lot of catching up to do for Indian companies to be somewhere in top 10. China is already there - with 2 companies in top 10.

3. How is Walmart at the top ? How can a retail company generate more revenues than oil and gas ? Difficult to imagine. But then the scale and geographies in which Walmart operates is bigger than any other company. Also it proves how much the Americans consume !

 

Spend Wisely, Waste Less

70% of poor students in India miss out on their primary education because of lack of funds. Sometimes its as small as 500 Rupees (12 USD), which is sometimes the same or even less in some cases as that spent by an average urban youth in movies, haircut or partying...

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjYNGj4tuOc]

There is a small message to this video - Think before you spend. I would add more to it - do not waste. Especially to the urban Indians.

Repost : Donate for London Marathon

Our dear friend Ram is running the London Marathon and by doing it he is also raising funds for charity.

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserPage.action?userUrl=Ramotherunner&pageUrl=3

Also join the facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/pages/RamoTheRunner/164638250222333

Please donate generously. Your donation will not only help the needy but would also encourage him to perform better.

Here is how you choose how to donate :

1. £1 for every 4.2 kms ie -  £10. This says “I encourage you Ram.


2. £2 for every 4.2 kms ie -  £20. This says “Go Ram. Go”


3. £4 for every 4.2 kms ie - £40. This says “Ram! You can do it”


4. £6 for every 4.2 kms ie – £60. This says “Ram! You rock.  I will be there (morally/physically) to support you.”

John Glen on Economics of Cricket

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P06WMO8b8fk

Professor John Glen is an economist and teaches at Cranfield School Of Management. Personally, the best professor I have come across, and also the one without whom I would not have liked economics.

Love to hear him, now and then. The other day at the coffee machine, we were talking about the ongoing IPL auctions and the Ashes. Here in this interview he talks about what the recent Ashes win will do for Cricket in UK and sporting in general. Also the upcoming tour of No 1 Test Team India in summer will generate huge interest and huge returns for the two boards.

 

50 Things to do while in college

Here is a list of 50 things posted by Ben Jones one must do in College.

I wish I had come across this list before I went to my undergraduate. Some of them are still valid for graduate courses and I will try to achieve those. Afterall, one of my reasons for coming to b-school was to do things that I missed out while I did my engineering.

Notable ...and I quote

'1. Your friends will change a lot over the next four years. Let them.'

'18. Take Risks'

'30. If you need to get a job, find something that you actually enjoy. Just because it's work doesn't mean it has to suck.'

'34. Ask for help. Often.'

And many more...

 

2010 in review

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how my blog did in 2010, and here's a high level summary of its overall blog health:



The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is on fire!.

Crunchy numbers

A helper monkey made this abstract painting, inspired by your stats.

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 6,300 times in 2010. That's about 15 full 747s.

 

In 2010, there were 78 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 108 posts. There were 7 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 4mb.

The busiest day of the year was March 22nd with 65 views. The most popular post that day was UK B-Schools : List and Rankings.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were pagalguy.com, gmatclub.com, google.co.in, how2immigrate.com, and mail.yahoo.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for cranfield mba, cranfield mba interview, cranfield mba blog, strawberry picking in london, and strawberry picking london.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1

UK B-Schools : List and Rankings November 2009
2 comments

2

Welcome changes in Tier-1 Immigrant Visa for UK – From April 2010 March 2010
8 comments

3

Interim CAP on Tier-1 and Tier-2 Visas for UK implemented July 2010
4 comments

4

About Me September 2009
4 comments

5

Questions in mind before accepting Cranfield MBA April 2010
2 comments

Donate for Charity - Via London Marathon

Our dear friend Ram is running the London Marathon and by doing it he is also raising funds for charity.

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserPage.action?userUrl=Ramotherunner&pageUrl=3

Please donate generously. Your donation will not only help the needy but would also encourage him to perform better.

Here is how you choose how to donate :

1. £1 for every 4.2 kms ie -  £10. This says "I encourage you Ram.


2. £2 for every 4.2 kms ie -  £20. This says "Go Ram. Go"


3. £4 for every 4.2 kms ie - £40. This says "Ram! You can do it"


4. £6 for every 4.2 kms ie - £60. This says "Ram! You rock.  I will be there (morally/physically) to support you."

 

 

India EU trade deal : in view of immigration

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/India-EU-trade-deal-may-nullify-UK-migration-cap/articleshow/6719964.cms

Quote from the article -

"India has insisted on increased mobility for its skilled workers in return for reduced tariffs on European products and the lifting of some restrictions on businesses bidding for public procurement contracts".

What this essentially means is that, if this trade deal goes through, Indian workers (highly skilled, like us) will be able to work in any EU country under contract. This will also mean an increase in worth of 3.9 billion pounds a year for the whole European economy, much needed in times of recession.

This also means that, once this deal is through, UK will be bound by this EU agreement and companies in UK will be able to recruit Indian workers in sectors such as information technology, management consultancy and engineering. This would mean bypassing the annual limit of immigration set by the conservative government earlier this year. It will not be a surprise if this deal gets immense criticism and opposition from within UK, as limiting the immigration is one of key promises of this coalltion government.

The mere fact that India can dictate terms to EU/UK, makes me feel good. But a free trade between countries, and free flow of highly skilled workers will always be beneficial for both parties.

The deal is due to be signed in December, and only time will what will be its fate.

Reference:

Read article in timesofindia oct 9th 2010

London: First Look

Well, I haven't landed in London yet. But my wife has. And here are her first thoughts at the city.

http://ruddhi-travelogue.blogspot.com/2010/06/first-look-on-london-uk.html

Many things surprise visitors to the UK, especially from India. Like the amazing train network, the culture and the day light savings time as well, when you have looong days during summer. Nice read.

Like the new gmail chat window

Gmail Chat gets a new chat window

I like the audio and video chat buttons which come in handy. These were earlier very promiscuous.

The overall chat experience does not change much, as it is pretty much the same as earlier.

The look of the small window however changes because of these small images and now it looks like a cool widget.

Fuel efficiency of four wheelers in India - complete list

Fuel efficiency of four wheelers in India - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/technical-stuff/82655-fuel-efficiency-figures-4-wheelers-india.html

Courtesy SIAM (and Team-Bhp-ian who posted it)

The table is sorted by engine capacity (in cc)

Interesting to note that new wagonR gives 18.9 kmpl. Mine (old one 2007 model) does not even touch 12.5 in city with A/C :( .

Is it the end of the passport size photo ?

Recently visited the Passport Seva Kendra, or PSK as it is now called in Bengaluru. And its modern. TCS has been awarded some 1000 crores for a project to modernize and e-fy passport offices all over India. Bengaluru and Chandigarh are the two places where this project has been implemented to start with. Expectation is to have swift process for passport application which takes a lot of time thanks to erstwhile manual process of application, police verification (which remains but is swift, as claimed) etc.

So coming to the point of passport size photo, you do not need a photograph to be provided with your application while applying for a passport. They have digital cameras which capture your picture, quite hassle free. I had a similar experience at RTO bangalore where I did not have to provide a passport size photo.

This simply means that you no longer need the ubiquitous passport size photo. Well, it is still needed in some cases like when applying for loans, sim card etc but the actual meaning of the photo - 'passport' size will be soon gone.

So will the name need be changed ? Think of it some 100 years from now, will there be an entity called passport photo ? If yes, we will be there to tell tales of how the paper passport photo was taken over by digital photos.

Not to forget the fate of photo studios which survive on passport photos. They might move into other businesses or offer other services like marriage photography, etc ( A lot of them already do this along with regular passport photo business )

Thinking of creating a website ? - think minimalistic

If you are thinking of creating a website, or a webpage you must be wondering how should you format your page to fill in with the 'right' amount of information without making it too cluttered. I know its easier said than done. No design is perfect and we (web designers, sometimes I like to call myself this name, I find it fancy ;)) keep on tweaking our designs, re ordering content, and resizing divs.

Here is a very good guide on how to create good web pages. Its based on "minimalistic" idea of creating web pages.

http://www.skelliewag.org/a-guide-to-creating-a-minimalist-website-63.htm

Minimalization is the 'art' of making a web page look un cluttered. There should be enough white space between sections to space things apart. Also there should not be more content than whats required. A picture speaks a thousand words, and its best to put a picture than writing a content, as it saves real estate and speaks volumes without making the visitor go through it (believe me , not many like to read everything).

Everyone has his own definition to minimalism. To me, minimalism means tending towards the google home page.

'Always aim to be different from your crowd' is another idea behind this theory as well. Every other site now a days is crowded with flash , images, widgets and so on. A site with clear and clean look stands out anytime.

Believe me, thats why I like wordpress better than blogger.

Read more here

• http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/12/minimalist-web-design-when-less-is-more/


• http://bloggingbits.com/minimalism-in-web-design/

email id is your unique identification

Everything in the world of internet revolves around your email-id. Its a unique identification for you, a passport. Want to enter a site, want to view some details, want to make some friends, just enter your email id and you are through. I don't even remember a lot of sites where I have registered my email-id. Well, thats a different thing altogether, but the point is - the email id opens your door to many things on the internet.

I took my email-id lightly, especially when I created it, in 2003 after I got an invite to open a gmail account. Well, the email-service has been phenomenal since then and so has been its usage. But, more importantly its importance has grown over time. A lot can be attributed to how good it has been.I wonder if this has been as lousy as xxdiff-mail or yahxx-mail would I be still using it ? Well, again, that's a different issue altogether.

I now have more than 10 Gigs of data in my gmail account, discounting pics uploaded to picasa, and files uploaded to google docs. I even have bought 25 Gigs of extra space from google in case I run short of memory (which I already have because of the huge volumes of pics I have, thanks to my DSLR). My email id manages everything for me in my life. It holds all the information I need and keeps me updated with latest information via digest mails, email subscriptions and numerous other such emails.

Talking about importance, it now has a very important role in my life. It is the same id with which I am registered to GMAC, who manage my GMAT score. Its the same id with which I have applied to a lot of b-schools to whom I applied, and its the 'official' id for communication with the b-school I am going to join. Its the same email id with which I manage my mutual funds portfolio, and also my social presence via twitter,facebook and ning.  I didn't realize when did this personal/un-official email id of mine became official for many purposes.

And I hate to admit but its difficult to part away with this id now. No day passes by when I don't check my mails. When I do not have a computer, I am busy on my mobile, and I hate it when I do not get a network to connect to gmail. Its addictive, and why not, its part of me now.It uniquely identifies me .

My email is me is my email.

Ten Things ...

Like everyone else, I do have a list of ten things I want to do before I die.

To get started, here is the list of monuments I want to see in my lifetime.

1. Space Needle, Seattle Washington : The Space Needle is a major landmark of the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and a
symbol of Seattle.

2. CN Tower, Toronto, Canada : The Canadian national tower (named after the railway company that built it) is a communications and observation tower standing 553.33 metres.

3. Burz Dubai, Dubai : The tallest building in the world !

4. Big Ben, London : It is the great bell of the clock at the northend of the Palace of Westminster in London.

5. Tower Bridge, London, UK : Often confused as London Bridge. This is one of the monuments that is recognized world over.

6. Eiffel Tower, Paris, France : The icon of France. Do I need to say more.

7. Opera House, Sydney, Australia : The Sydney Opera House is an iconic image of both Sydney and Australia. I have seen it in at least a dozen movies.

8. St Peter's Basilica : Vatican City, Italy : It is the symbolic "Mother church" of the Catholic Church and is regarded as one of the holiest Christian sites.

9. Museum De Louvre , Paris, France : This is the largest national museum of France, the most visited museum in the world, and a historic monument. Have seen it in the movie 'Da Vinci Code'.

10. Petronas Towers, KL, Malaysia : The tallest twin towers in the world.

[Source : google See
http://www.google.com/help/maps/streetview/gallery/#world-landmarks]

Here is a list of ten world monuments I want to see before I die. I have already seen the Golden Gate bridge in CA, USA, so didn't mention it here. If you think there is some monument I missed and you think I must see that, do let me know.

Creating your own brand - courtesy Gaurav

Read this interesting post in Gaurav's blog - http://brandfizz.wordpress.com/2010/04/07/how-to-create-a-positive-brand-image-in-social-media/

Quite interesting. And I like the idea of creating one's own brand and maintain it.

I think I also need to create a brand, of myself, for this blog, and for the work I do. Game on !

Exploring "Imagining India" - a book by Nandan Nilekani

Nandan Nilekani, former CEO Infosys, talks about his book in the videos below:

He is a great thinker and visionary. I think he should be involved more in policy making and strategy for Indian Urban Renewal, Indian Education Reforms, and other forward looking processes like these. In fact, the government should use gems like these to help us accelerate to a more developed economy.

Index:

http://imaginingindia.com/explore-and-discuss-the-book/explore-the-chapters/

Ideas that have arrived:

http://imaginingindia.com/imagining_india_wordpress/explore-and-discuss-the-book/explore-the-sections/ideas-that-have-arrived/

Ideas in progress (agreed upon but not implemented)

http://imaginingindia.com/explore-and-discuss-the-book/explore-the-chapters/ideas-in-progress/

Ideas in battle

http://imaginingindia.com/imagining_india_wordpress/explore-and-discuss-the-book/explore-the-sections/ideas-in-battle/

Ideas to anticipate

http://imaginingindia.com/imagining_india_wordpress/explore-and-discuss-the-book/explore-the-sections/ideas-to-anticipate/

Free Trade Theory of Comparative Advantage

I am reading one of the great books of modern times, The World is Flat. The writer, Thomas Friedman is a visionary. It is a must read for any MBA aspirant.

While reading, came across this Free Trade Theory of Comparative Advantage, put forth by David Ricardo in the late 19th century. It states that any nation which can produce a good in a cost effective and productive way should trade that good with other goods with other countries which can produce those other goods in mass and cost effective way. This will lead to high trade volumes in both nations and ultimately income levels of both nations will increase. This theory entails that each nation should engage in production of goods in which it has relative advantage like low cost of raw materials, labor cost etc.

One good example is the way US outsources its low skilled manual jobs to China and India which can be accomplished here in lower cost and thus increases the income levels of Indians. Then these  affluent Indians in turn can be the market for the iPod, KFC or Microsoft Windows.

In the context of globalization this hold very true. In an ideal world free of trade barriers, this could lead to equal distribution of wealth and employment opportunities. However, believers in protectionist systems disagree and hence we have trade barriers between nations.

This law applies everywhere, other than between trading nations as well. For example in the context of India, it applies between states. Example, Bihar can provide low cost labor to other states, and in turn create a market for the textile industry of Gujrat or Mumbai.

References:

1. David Ricardo on Wikipedia.

2. The World is Flat