Cloud computing

In recent times a lot of my tech savvy friends have asked me what is “Cloud computing”. They ask me not because I am an expert, because I tend to have an opinion on everything. Cloud computing conceptually is quite old, at least a quarter century old.

Let us wind back in time to get some perspective on this. In the 90’s yahoo introduced the e-mail to the internet and allowed users with valid email identity’s messages. The only software required to use this service was the browser. Obviously the computer should be connected to the internet. This is the most rudimentary type of “Cloud computing”. The actual email software, the storage of your received and sent messages are all hosted in servers that are probably on the other side of the globe. Contrast the Yahoo email service to the one you use at your workplace either with Microsoft Outlook or Lotus Notes. The email software is installed in your computer; your messages are also stored in your computer or your company’s server.

Now, if cloud computing is such an old concept why is it getting a lot of attention and mention in the tech websites? The early Cloud computing services had a few limitations. They were not secure, they were not fast, they were not able to carry large amounts of data, and they were not very efficient. For these reasons the cloud computing market was restricted to the private individual internet user. However, in the last decade we have seen Telecommunication technology, particularly the internet has developed in leaps and bounds. Just to illustrate the change compare my anecdotal evidence below.

There was a time, when I started as a programmer; our office had one computer (Pentium 486, 12” monochrome monitor, windows 3.1, Netscape Communicator, 4MB RAM) that had internet access. The company boasted that it had a 64 Kbps ISDN service for which it was paying a premium. Those were the days of dial-up internet connections. We were given an hour’s time on the computer per week and we were allowed to browse anything we wanted. The first website I went to was www.whitehouse.com, to my utter surprise it was a porn site, the official Whitehouse website was www.whitehouse.org. It was painfully slow, I consumed by 60 minute quota just reading 5 pages on the Whitehouse website (.org one that is), but it did not bother me at that time, because you had no idea how fast internet could be.

Today, I can download a feature length movie in 20 minutes flat. Infact, the speed is so good, that I can watch the movies online (video streaming) without having to download it. Another good example of cloud computing, no need for a media player. All you need is a browser with a compatible video plug-in. The only major difference between a video streaming service (e.g. www.youtube.com) and the yahoo email service is the type of content i.e. Video vs. Text. Video obviously requires a lot of storage pace and needs a fast internet to view the movie without buffer interruption. Again, the target market is private individual user.

Google, created documents that can be created, edited and shared on the internet. I have been a recent user of this service (Software as a Service – SaaS). The only reason I use it is because of the sharing ability of the documents. I would not put any sensitive data on it. Google is enhancing the features of the service and I hear they are taking it to the enterprise level. I can guarantee that it will be an utter failure unless they sort out the usability and the security of the service. I have recently moved on to MS Office 2007 and am highly impressed with the usability and features available. Though not a very big fan of MS Technology, I rate MS Excel and MS PowerPoint as two of their best office products. If Google wants me to extensively use Google Docs, they have to come close to the office suite and that will be a huge challenge.
With ubiquitous high speed broadband, there has been a rush to offer more services over the internet. Google docs, mentioned above is one such example. On a serious note Amazon has embraced Cloud Computing and is offering a range of services including Virtual Private Clouds, Virtual Storage and many others. Organisations are seriously looking at using Cloud Computing or Software as a Service for their IT needs. The advantages of this would include Reduced software costs, as you pay for the service you use thus reducing Capital Expenditure

• Reduced IT infrastructure costs, as you don’t have to maintain energy consuming hardware
• Reduce IT Workforce, as you do not own the software or the hardware and maintenance is part of the service
• Increased desktop efficiency, with fewer programs vying for the computer resources, the desktop is more efficient
• OS Compatibility, no longer do organisations have to think about a MS or Mac PC strategy.

At the moment Cloud Computing is not mature enough for large enterprises and it will be highly unlikely, that corporations adopt it in the near term. The main reasons would be the number of transactions that will have to pass to and from the cloud, which in turn will pose serious performance related questions and also the security of the data in the cloud.

However, for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) this is an excellent strategy to drive efficiencies and reduce costs. Looks at the options available for SMEs; payroll software, email, document management and data storage.
Welcome the Cloud.

The rape of Mother Nature Continues

It is heartening to note that a moratorium has been issued in the case of introducing ‘BT Brinjal’. A wise move indeed. Though I am all for science and the benefits it bring to individuals, I am concerned about the effects of Genetically Modified Organisms being introduced in the Food Chain and the environment.

This is a scenario where it is impossible to get a consensus from all stakeholders. The Minister Jairam Ramesh has rightly said, no matter what the decision is, 50% of the people will be happy and 50% will be unhappy. To me this is an ethical issue where the decision should provide happiness to most stakeholders.

The key stakeholders in this debate is the Government, who are answerable to the electorate, the Company (Monsanto and Mahyco), who are answerable to their Shareholders, the Scientists, who apply their scientific knowledge to the debate, the farmers, who tend to gain or lose from the decision and of all the most important stakeholders, we the public who are the consumers. Unfortunately, the most important stakeholder has been conveniently left out of the debate. One can argue that humans are a subset of all the other stakeholders, but the other stakeholders have different objectives when compared to the humans.

I am writing this note purely as a prospective consumer of BT Brinjal. To me the biggest concern is the safety of my family and my environment. I have two questions,

1. Can the producer of the seeds guarantee that there will be no ill effects from the consumption of BT Brinjal for the life of me and my children?
2. Can the producer of the seeds guarantee that there will be no ill effects to the bio diversity of the environment due to the introduction of BT Brinjal?

No amount of testing can assure one that GMO food is safe for human consumption. May be it is safe in the short-term, but what about the safety in the long term (generations).

I have read that there over a 1000 varieties of Brinjal grown in India alone, what will become of these varieties if BT Brinjal were introduced? How can one control cross pollination of BT Brinjal? May be BT Brinjal is inherently safe, but if cross pollination with other plant species might cause disastrous effects.

Many critical unanswered questions. My humble opinion is to use science in other ways to increase productivity for farmers and nutrition for the consumers. Do not mess with the Gene map of organisms. We have raped Mother Nature enough. Enough is enough.

NBN will increase competition...really?

The Australian Government is pursuing one of the biggest and most ambitious infrastructure projects ever in the history of Modern Australia. The $43 Billion National Broadband Network, popularly known as NBN. After, a rather unsuccessful private bidding process (in which Telstra was excluded due to debatable reasons), Don Vito Corleone (Oops! read that as Stephen Conroy), the Communications minister decided that the Government will execute the project itself. Of course, with participation from the industry.

It is well known fact that Telstra is the only Telco which has the wherewithal and the financial backing to complete this project. In fact I am told that Telstra has such advanced plans for the NBN, that it can start work at the hint of a word. Telstra, is asking for something in return. Now discussing that is not in my scope, and I myself have some reservations about that.

Unable to move any forward in the project, except establishing a Board and realising that it is impossible to realise the NBN dream without Telstra, the minister in teh way of legislation has asked Telstra to do a couple of things. Mind you these couple of things are in the interest of consumers. That is increasing competitiveness.

1. Sell Foxtel, and hence the cable tv network
2. Sell Fixed network infrastructure
3. Banning Telstra from any more 3G spectrum

Interesting, one would think, that all these are potential competitors to NBN. Broadband, for the less tech savvy, is a concept that is able to provide huge bandwidth and speed over long distances. There are mutliple technologies that enable the realisation of the broadband concept. The most popular ones are ISDN, Cable (Fibre Optic), ADSL (via Fixed line network), Satellite, Cellphone (like 3G via HSDPA), Wireless and many more.

Now if Telstra is excluded from the participation of the NBN, it is most likely that Telstra will ramp up its existing infrastructure including Cable (Fibre), replacing Copper and extra growth in the 3G spectrum. All this would directly put Telstra in competition with NBN and its partners. Isn't this good for the consumers. This is what is competition.

The government is exactly doing the opposite by clipping Telstra's wings and building the NBN as a monopoly.

I just don't get this.

Dissecting the so called Racist attack on Indian Students (Mid 2009)

A little background about myself to convince people that I have some credibility to talk about this issue. I worked in Sydney in 2002 on a Business Visa for about 8 months. I studied in Melbourne for two years between 2004 and 2006, following which I worked in Brisbane for about 8 months. Then on I have worked and continued to live in Melbourne till now.

I like Australia and would never want to leave this lucky country. Infact I have not visited India since I came here to study in 2004. The recent spate (early 2009) of incidents aimed at Indian students has led me to take a step back and analyse why all of this could possibly be happening.

On a general note, I have seen a marked increase in violence in Melbourne since my first arrival in 2004. The stabbings, fights in pubs, beating up taxi drivers and bag snatches in shopping malls have made news in recent times. Not all of this has involved Indian students. However, there definitely seems to be a pattern on Indian student attacks. I will not go into the list of attacks, I am sure you can google it yourself.

I do not think racism is the only reason for the attacks, I believe it is a combination of a few factors. I personally have experienced racism in Australia. All of that are from uneducated bogans with nothing better to do in life. Be it my workplace or at university I have not experienced one shred of racism. All that matters is your professionalism. Everything else is unimportant at the University or the workplace. The recognition of professionalism and the work culture is one of the things that attracted me to Asutralia.

Now let me discuss the possible reasons for the incidents.

Reason 1: The uneducated Australian youth in general are getting intolerant because of a variety of reasons including binge drinking, drugs and what have you. It is this segment, I believe, that is responsible for most of the attacks. I attribute this to be one of the major factors for the increase in general violence over the years.

Reason 2: Australia is a multi ethnic multicultural society and that is the fabric of Melbourne and this is what makes Melbourne great. Over the decades the English, Italians, Chinese and a host of other communities have migrated to Australia. In comparison to all of them I believe the Indians have taken the least amount of time to get established in the society. It is not surprising to see a large percentage of First generation Indians in Australia to be earning a high 5 figure salary from the 3 rd or 4^th year since they have set shore in Kangaroo land. It has taken the other communities a few generations to what the Indians have achieved in one. This fact could be a possible irritant to some.

Reason 3: The “R” word. Recession is taking its toll on everyone and if we were to learn anything from history the level of crime always increases during times of economic distress. The old saying “an idle mind is the devil’s workshop” comes to mind.

Reason 4: The Indian students themselves have to take some of the blame. Loud Bhangra music on their iPods in the morning peak hour train could put anyone off. Talking loud in your mother tongue in the train which is already filled to the brim is not something people look forward to at the end of a days work. I have advised some of these students, but they tend to have an attitude, “who the hell are you to tell me what I am supposed to do”. I am sure they would react differently if a white skinned Australian told them to keep quiet.

Reason 5: The Australian justice system and the ineffective Victorian Police have brought a sense of fearlessness among culprits, to the extent they believe they can get away with anything. The police are tied in a way they just can’t arrest a guy and beat the shit out of one to testify against oneself, like they do in India. Ethics, morality and human rights do have their place in Australia. Unless, the police are handed with all the evidence in a platter they will assume the accused is innocent, which is what they are legally expected to do.

I was quite amused by the comment of the Assistant Commissioner that the Indian students are soft targets and they carry valuable items like mobile phones, iPods and laptops. Since, when did these items become valuable? I see school kids having all three these days.

So, whilst there is a pattern here, I beleive these attacks not to be merely racial in nature. For a westerner it is hard to distinguish Indians, from Sri Lankans, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis or even Nepalis. So, are Indians really being picked on, or is it just bad luck for being at the wrong spot at the wrong time?

I welcome comments from all. I am sure you have something to share.

Even this shall pass

Even This Shall Pass Away
Once in Persia reigned a King
Who upon his signet ring
Graved a maxim true and wise,
Which, if held before the eyes,
Gave him counsel at a glance,
Fit for every change and chance.
Solemn words, and these are they:
"Even this shall pass away."

Trains of camels through the sand
Brought his gems from Samarcand;
Fleets of galleys through the seas
Brought him pearls to match with these.
But he counted not his gain
Treasures of the mine or main;
"What is wealth?" the king would say;
"Even this shall pass away."

In the revels of his court
At the zenith of the sport,
When the palms of all his guests
Burned with clapping at his jests;
He amid his figs and wine,
Cried: "Oh loving friends of mine!
Pleasure comes but not to stay;
Even this shall pass away."

Fighting on a furious field,
Once a javelin pierced his shield;
Soldiers with a loud lament
Bore him bleeding to his tent;
Groaning from his tortured side,
"Pain is hard to bear," he cried,
"But with patience, day by day,
Even this shall pass away."

Towering in the public square,
Twenty cubits in the air,
Rose his statue, carved in stone,
Then, the king, disguised, unknown,
Stood before his sculptured name
Musing meekly, "What is fame?
Fame is but a slow decay
Even this shall pass away."

Struck with palsy, sere and old,
Waiting at the gates of gold,
Said he with his dying breath;
"Life is done, but what is death?"
Then, in answer to the King,
Fell a sunbeam on his ring,
Showing by a heavenly ray,
"Even this shall pass away."

Theodore Tilton

The Minimum wage...is it minimum

Many people talk about social equality and that all men are equal. I tend to take a middle path on this. If one looks at the success of olden civilizations, it will be clear that there was an obvious social demarcation between classes of people. The Hindu society itself was divided into four classes based on their role in society, namely Brahmana ("scholarly community"), Kshatriya ("warriors or politicians community"), Vaishya ("mercantile community") and Shudra ("service providing community"). Each person in the society should have a role and they should perform that role. There is no question of equality here.

America and a few western countries are now at a stage where they are finding it hard to find people to do menial jobs. Have a visit of the Servos and convenience stores in Melbourne during the weekends you will find scores of Chinese immigrants and Asian students working there. Simple reason is that the local people do not work in such jobs. So is the case with America. America is facing a problem with illegal immigrants from Mexico. The argument in favour of the illegal immigrants is that they form a fabric of America and they are ready to do the menial jobs Americans don’t want to do and better they will do it for half the pay.

It is widely argued (at least in some quarters) that increasing the minimum wage is critical to an economy thus bringing social equality. I tend to disagree on that. I bought a wrist watch (no prizes for guessing where it was made from) from Kmart. It cost be $7.50. I tried hard to get it adjusted to my size by removing a couple of (I don’t know what you call them, you know the chain type of thing) plates I guess. I could not and then I took it to the watch repairer whom you find in the middle of the aisle in shopping malls. You won’t believe it; he quoted $22.50 to do it. It is ridiculous. But lets wait for a minute and think rationally why is he charging that much. Well, my theory is that the worker will be paid at least $20 per hour as a consequence of the minimum wage and his skill. Know you can work the math and add margin, cost of rent etc., and figure out whey I was charged that much.

Another example, when I was studying I had to change the muffler on my Apollo Holder. It cost me $40 for a second hand muffler and $60 to refit. It was a 45 minute job.

I cannot see this happening in any of the developed countries, because we have no minimum wages and we always have another person do it for cheaper. On the other hand in western countries irrespective of what service you require you will find the price more or less the same and they will not budge on the price.

The point I am trying to get at is there should be no minimum wage the invisible hands of supply and demand should determine that. I do hope India does not tread the path of minimum wages.

Disclaimer: I am not an economist and I do not claim that my theory is fool proof. I welcome comments and criticisms.

I had to do this...sorry

I start with Diwali and I dont know where its going to end

It is Diwali today and tomorrow...no lights...no lamps...no music...no crackers...no new clothes...no sweets...no fanfare...

I live in an alien nation called Australia...the land of the Kangaroo (Kangaroos outnumber hunans here). To put it in perspective the population of Australia is nearly equal to the population of Bombay.

I am in Brisbane, not so multi-ethnic as Melbourne or Sydney. Apparently there is a huge celebration in Federation Square in Melboure. I hate to miss it.

Okay enough beating about the bush. The point I am getting at is we tend to forget a lot of India connections trying to chase the Pardes Dream. It might be materialistically (I have no idea if I have spelt that right, please excuse me if it is'nt - this spell checker on the blogger is'nt that great, see again I am off on a tangent, you know what? Now I even doubt if there is a word materialistically, forget the spelling - time to visit dictionary.com - confirmed there is - I can't beleive I am off again) beneficial, but I feel I am moving far away from my motherland. It drives be bananas sometimes.

I am not that emotional a person (I know a lot of people who will vouch for that ;) but still when I listen to Indian Music I feel the urge to go back and live life there. The movies in Satyam, teh Molaga Bajii in Beasat Nagar, Picnic Bar (I am not sure if they call the same now, its in Mylapore), SV Sekar Dramas in the Hall near Gemini Flyover. It was so much fun and with so little money. India is amazing.

But the then the monstrous perils of Indian politics, the roads, the transport, the rotten bureaucracy, (I would'nt dare mention Indian Railways - looks like Apna Laloo has done good work - not sure if the good work is only in getting the numbers right - how about customer service improvement?) scare me to death. In fact I have actually tried sending my CVs to a few Indian companies and I don't think it would be hard for me to get a good job. (With the kind of econimic activity going on in India you got to be really dumb to not get a decent job I guess).

The point I am trying to get to here is that I am missing too much for too little.

The mystic manage is'nt so mystic anymore

He! He!

I am no more jobless. Managed, to find a job after Uni. Working for CITEC, a Queensland Govt. owned commercial organistaion provinding Software Services.

Am a Busines Analyst and am mostly interacting with Govt. Depts.

It ain't too bad.

www.citec.com.au

The J'ist in me

Today while reading the interview with Karan Thapar and Mani Shankar Aiyar on the stripping of the petroleum portfolio I realised that my interests were more towards current affairs and politics. I have always been interested in this and only today it struck me that is one profession where I would like to be in. However, weird it might sound Journalism could have been my career, but may be it is a little too late or probably a little early. But my dream still is to work for the UN in some capacity that will complement my technical and managerial skills.

But for now I get back to reading the interview. Well, if anybody is interested in the interview here is the URL http://www.ibnlive.com/article.php?id=6024§ion_id=4&single=true. I used to think PHP is on the way out, but, on the contrary more and more sites are on PHP. Just, proves that I am a little lost in touch with whatz happening on the internet.