Kochi going hi-tech

This is an email forward I got from Sunil, my bro; Is Kochi turning to be a Satellite city ? I see good and bad with all these ..

Kochi 2009

Kochi currently has no malls; however, by 2009, the city is expected to have 6 malls covering a built-up area of 1.60 million sq ft, according to Cushman & Wakefield. Malls like Forum (expected to have 1 million+ sq ft of space), Lulu Mall, Aerens Gold Souk, Abad Mall, Metro One, Mall O, The Summit (to be spread over 12 floors) and Kalyan Mall are being planned. There have been reports that DLF too is looking at a mall-cum-hotel project in the city, near Marine Drive.

RAK Princeton, Edappally - 20 floors

RAK Princeton, Edappally - 20 floors

The Summit Mall, MG Road
Peevees Group, is in the process of setting up an international style shopping and entertainment mall in Kochi at an investment of Rs 175 crore.the project will host the first cine multiplex in Kerala



Mall O, Edappally - 350,000 sqft


Metro One Mall, Kaloor - 16 floors


Aerens GoldSouk mall, Vyttila - 450,000 sqft


Swapnil Regency, Kakkanad - 30 floors


Prestige Neptune's Courtyard, Marine Drive - 18 floors



Dreams Hotel - 19 storeyed


Choice Prestige, Tripunithra (40 floors)


Cochin Media City


L&T Tejomaya Tech Park, Infopark Campus


Park View, Convent Road - 16 floors


A hotel-cum-mall Admiral Plaza, Palarivattom - BCG builders

Connecting a Wireless device to a LAN

1. Bootup the windows computer (wireless device) to be connected.
2. From Start Menu, select Run, type in cmd and hit OK. This opens a black command box.
3. Type in ipconfig /all and hit enter. This will list all your logical and physical network interfaces and details.
4. Identify the interface corresponding to the wireless device using its Description. Note down the Physical Address which will look something like 00-50-EB-C0-00-A1.
5. Open up the admin console of the wireless router / access point using browser; authenticate as the admin user.
6. Navigate to the MAC Address Filter; add the Physical Address from steps above to the list. Save the list; apply the changes. Warm boot using the restart option in the admin console.
7. Using the wireless admin tool on the wireless device to connect to the network using your wireless network's SSID (KALATHUR.NET in one case I know !!) and also provide the encryption key, if there is one.
(8. Drop a comment in this blog, if this was a success or not !!)

30 Essential Free (& Open) Software for Windows

1. Firefox
http://www.getfirefox.com/
Replaces Internet Explorer
If U haven't switched to Firefox 4 your web browsing needs, do it now. It
stops annoying popups & it has tons of amazing plugins that can make
surfing the web even better. I could evangelize all day about Firefox, but
one thing's 4 sure: the first thing I do on any new Windows machine is run
Internet Explorer just long enough to download Firefox.

2. Thunderbird
http://www.mozilla.org/thunderbird/
Replaces Microsoft Outlook or Eudora
Thunderbird is an email client that has five big things going 4 it: it's
free, it's full featured, it's lightweight & runs quick, it has an
unparalleled spam filter, & it protects U from those ridiculous phishing
attacks by clearly indicating which emails send U to a bogus website. If
you're not already using a web-based email solution, Thunderbird should be
your client.

3. Sunbird
http://www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/sunbird/
Replaces Microsoft Outlook's calendaring functions
Might as well get the Mozilla trifecta out of the way by mentioning
Sunbird, which is the Mozilla Foundation's calendaring program. It's
extremely easy to use (I figured out everything I needed in a minute or
two) & easy to share your calendar with others. I consider a calendaring
tool to be essential if you're using a laptop, & this is no different.

4. Abiword
http://www.abisource.com/
Replaces Microsoft Word
Want a good word processor but find Microsoft Word too expensive? AbiWord
is my favorite replacement 4 Word. It's lightweight (meaning it runs
quickly) & includes pretty much every feature that I use regularly in a
word processor, plus it can save files in formats that U can exchange with
Word & WordPerfect users, plus open any of their files, too.

5. OpenOffice
http://www.openoffice.org/
Replaces Microsoft Excel & Microsoft PowerPoint
If U want to replace the rest of the Office suite, your best bet is
OpenOffice. It includes very nice replacements 4 Excel & PowerPoint (and
workable replacements 4 Access & other Office elements). In fact, I
actually prefer their Excel & PowerPoint replacements to the real thing.

6. ClamWin
http://www.clamwin.com/
Replaces Norton AntiVirus or McAfee
ClamWin is a slick anti-virus software that's quite easy to manage & is
unobtrusive while keep your system free of viruses. That's pretty much all
I want from a package, so why pay money 4 McAfee to keep bugging me all the
time?

7. Gaim
http://gaim.sourceforge.net/
Replaces AIM, Windows Messenger, etc.
This is a very clean instant messaging program that allows U to be on AOL
Instant Messenger, Windows (MSN) Messenger, & Yahoo Messenger
simultaneously with one program. There are other free packages that do
this, but Gaim is stable & clean & simple.

8. BitTorrent
http://www.bittorrent.com/
Original but essential
From their website, "BitTorrent is a peer-assisted, digital content
delivery platform that provides the fastest, most efficient means of
distributing, discovering, & consuming large, high-quality files on the
Web. Our mission is simple: to deliver the content that entertains &
informs the digital world." In other words, BitTorrent allows U to download
large media files & also use your bandwidth to help others download these
files. Search 4 media files U want & download 'em.

9. GIMPShop
http://www.gimpshop.net/
Replaces Adobe Photoshop
This is a version of the GNU Image Manipulation Program that does a pretty
solid job of imitating Adobe Photoshop - a regular user of Photoshop (like
me) can adapt to it quite quickly. It's very richly featured & runs quite
well - in fact, I see no reason to ever go back, even if Photoshop were
free.

10. Gnucleus
http://www.gnucleus.com/Gnucleus/
Replaces LimeWire, BearShare, etc.
Sure, LimeWire & BearShare are free, but why not just get the same basic
software without all of the spyware? Gnucleus is pretty much identical to
those software packages - but without all that extra junk that slows down
your computer.

11. VLC Media Player
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/
Replaces Windows Media Player, Quicktime, RealPlayer, etc.
If U get tired of having tons of media players on your computer, get this
package that runs pretty much every media type you'll run across without
breaking a sweat.

12. Juice
http://juicereceiver.sourceforge.net/
Unique but essential
Juice lets U effortlessly subscribe to podcasts, organize them, & listen to
them at your convenience. In conjunction with PodNova, I find it easier to
use Juice to organize podcasts than using iTunes itself.

13. Audacity
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
Unique but essential (for some)
If you're interested in recording your own podcast (or just want to make
your own voice recordings 4 whatever reason), Audacity & a microphone are
pretty much all U need to get the job done. I'm not much 4 podcasting
(let's just say I don't have a radio voice), but I use Audacity 4 other
voice recording purposes.

14. RSSOwl
http://www.rssowl.org/
Unique but essential
RSSOwl is one of many open source RSS readers. In other words, it enables U
to use one program to keep track of the content of a lot of different
blogs; if U read a lot of blogs, it's the only way to keep tabs on all of
them without devoting hours jumping from site to site. If U have a laptop,
it's preferable to using sites like Bloglines, but if you're on a desktop,
a web-based feed manager might be better.

15. Filezilla
http://filezilla.sourceforge.net/
Replaces WinFTP
Many people occasionally have a need to FTP files to other computers; if U
ever have the need to transfer files in such a fashion, FileZilla will do
the job slickly & quickly.

16. Keynote
http://www.tranglos.com/free/keynote.html
Unique but essential
Keynote is basically designed specifically 4 the task of taking notes on a
laptop. If U ever find yourself in a meeting or a presentation with your
laptop open & want to jot down notes & organize them just a bit, Keynote is
unquestionably the program 4 you. It's not good at quality word processing,
but that's not the point. In my professional work, I find myself using
Keynote almost as often as any other utility.

17. MusikCube
http://www.musikcube.com/
Replaces iTunes
If you're not already committed to downloaded music from the iTunes Music
Store, then MusikCube is the best choice available 4 a music organizer &
layer. It organizes your mp3s, makes it really easy & really fast to find
them, & allows U to make some incredibly clever smart playlists.

18. Handbrake
http://handbrake.m0k.org/
Unique but essential
Handbrake enables U to stick a DVD in your DVD drive & have the contents of
that film stored to your hard drive in a form that can be read by pretty
much any media player. I often use it to put a few movies on my laptop 4
travel purposes, so I don't have to worry about keeping track of DVDs while
on the road.

19. X-Chat 2
http://www.silverex.org/
Replaces mIRC
X-Chat is a free IRC client. 4 those unfamiliar with IRC, it's a place 4
technical people (and, as my wife loves to point out, nerds) to meet &
discuss topics in an open environment. I often find it very useful when
piecing through difficult technical issues.

20. KeePass
http://keepass.sourceforge.net/
nique but essential
KeePass is a program that securely stores & manages the abundance of
passwords we all use on a daily basis. I have literally hundreds of
usernames & passwords spread out all over the place; KeePass keeps them all
4 me & keeps them safe.

21. TrueCrypt
http://www.truecrypt.org/
Unique but essential
TrueCrypt enables U to convert a memory stick into a strongly encrypted
data storage device, meaning that U can store personal data on it without
worrying about losing it & having personal information get out & about. I
use it to keep some of my most personal data off of my laptop & strongly
secured, just in case.

22. PDFCreator
http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/
Replaces Adobe Acrobat
PDFCreator creates a virtual printer on your computer that, if U print a
document to it from any program, creates a PDF of that document that can be
read on any computer with Acrobat Reader on it. After installing
PDFCreator, all U have to do is print like normal & out comes a PDF!

23. Freemind
http://freemind.sourceforge.net/
Unique but Essential
Freemind is a "mind mapping" software program. In essence, it enables U to
brainstorm & link together ideas quickly, creating "maps" of concepts
similar to what U might do on a whiteboard. I find it incredibly useful
when putting together ideas 4 new posts or planning small projects or
assembling the backbone of a writing project.

24. NASA Worldwind
http://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov/
Replaces Google Earth
WorldWind is very similar to Google Earth in that it allows U to browse the
globe. While it isn't strong 4 creating maps (but why not just use Google
Maps 4 that?), it is utterly incredible 4 viewing three-dimensional
landscapes of any place on earth.

25. Notepad2
http://www.flos-freeware.ch/notepad2.html
Replaces Notepad
Notepad2 is a replacement 4 the traditional Windows Notepad that just adds
a few sweet little features: multiple documents; line, word, & character
counts; & some highlighting of tags. In fact, I'm using Notepad2 as I draft
this post (after using Freemind to organize it).

26. HealthMonitor
http://healthmonitor.zucchetti.com/
Unique but useful
HealthMonitor enables U to keep an eye on the health of your computer. It
identifies slowdowns & other system issues quickly & lets U know (for
example, it gives a popup if your system memory gets to a certain
percentage of fullness, or if your hard drive has only 10 GB free). This
can keep U out of trouble & also give U clues to problems your machine
might be having.

27. Workrave
http://www.workrave.org/
Unique but useful
Sometimes late into a writing session, my wrists get sore from too much
repetitive movement. Workrave basically jumps in before this happens &
locks down the computer 4 a while, preventing me from working too much &
causing repetitive stress injury. Since I've started using it, it hasn't
significantly hurt my productivity at all & my wrists are thanking me!

28. GanttPV
http://www.pureviolet.net/ganttpv/
Replaces Microsoft Project
If U do any project management (or have a need to dip your toes in the
water), GanttPV does a brilliant job of managing the task quickly, easily,
& freely. If U need to move to MS Project later, U can export from GanttPV
to Project, but once U start digging into GanttPV, you'll likely have no
reason to use Project.

29. GnuCash
http://www.gnucash.org/
Replaces Microsoft Money or Quicken
GnuCash is a slimmed-down version of the bloated Microsoft Money & Quicken
packages, but it contains all of the features I want 4 managing my money.
The interfaces are incredibly simple - it functions much like a checkbook
ledger on your computer - but there's a lot of meat hidden throughout the
software.

30. True Combat: Elite
http://www.truecombatelite.net/
Replaces Quake IV, Halo, etc.
After all this downloading, you're going to need to blow off a little
steam, & I've yet to find a more enjoyable free game than this one. It's
basically a third person combat game, but the graphics are spectacular &
the game is quite engrossing.

Only if all were this health conscious ...

Java SSL question

Ref: JAVA + SSL Tutorial
Subject: the usage of the EchoClient makes the trustStorePassword visible to all users of it.

One workaround could be to use JAAS (Java Authentication and Authorization Service) and manage it smartly by getting the OS user (user.name property) and handling the rest. But this is complex and is adding more dependency to the solution.

Another workaround could be to have a helper class like the one below

class EncryptedDataHandler
{
    public static void encPswd()
    {
        Object encPswd = System.getProperty("com.anthos.security.trustStorePassword");
        if(encPswd != null)
        {
//get a better encryption logic than this!!
            StringBuffer sb = new StringBuffer(encPswd.toString());
            String pswd = sb.reverse().toString();
            System.getProperty("javax.net.ssl.trustStorePassword", pswd);
        }
    }
}

and use it in EchoClient as below

public class EchoClient {
    public
            static
    void
            main(String[] arstring) {
        try {
            EncryptedDataHandler.encPswd();
            SSLSocketFactory sslsocketfactory = (SSLSocketFactory) SSLSocketFactory.getDefault();
            SSLSocket sslsocket = (SSLSocket) sslsocketfactory.createSocket("localhost", 9999);

            InputStream inputstream = System.in;
            InputStreamReader inputstreamreader = new InputStreamReader(inputstream);
            BufferedReader bufferedreader = new BufferedReader(inputstreamreader);

            OutputStream outputstream = sslsocket.getOutputStream();
            OutputStreamWriter outputstreamwriter = new OutputStreamWriter(outputstream);
            BufferedWriter bufferedwriter = new BufferedWriter(outputstreamwriter);

            String string = null;
            while ((string = bufferedreader.readLine()) != null) {
                bufferedwriter.write(string + '\n');
                bufferedwriter.flush();
            }
        } catch (Exception exception) {
            exception.printStackTrace();
        }
    }
}

Now the command line for the EchoClient will be

java -Djavax.net.ssl.trustStore=.keystore -Dcom.anthos.security.trustStorePassword=erotsyek. EchoClient

Note the encryption used in this demo is possibly the stupid-most but I guess it conveys the idea.

Proxy authentication to Oracle Database

Interesting post on proxy authentication.

OraTransplant - Wilfred van der Deijl » Using Proxy Authentication with SQLPlus

it took me few extra steps to test this.

• logged into ORACLE 10.2 db instance using sqlplus as dba and executed following sql statements.

1. CREATE USER proxy IDENTIFIED AS proxy;
2. GRANT CREATE SESSION TO proxy;
3. ALTER USER proxy GRANT CONNECT THROUGH scott;
   

• now login as scott[proxy]/tiger

as simple as that.

Podcast / Record live stream on Mac

Thanks to Roychayen for the Hit 96.7. It is a live malayalam music radio ideal for away-from-home mallus like me. The quality is wow and is 24 x 7. Now I like to play these audio from my car and other places where there is no Internet (as of today !!).

Way to go would be to record this live stream as MP3 or Ogg and cut onto CD / DVD. Live streams are typically of formats friendly with iTunes, QuickTime, VLC, Windows Media Player and so on. But none of these allow recording. One yucky way would be to loopback Audio Out to Mic In and record using Audacity; that is the hardware way;

The software (and ideal) way is to use SoundFlower which installs a 2ch and a 16ch audio in and out ports. Set System Preferences to use either of SoundFlower ports as default output and use Audacity (with Recording source as SoundFlower port selected above) to record the stream and may be after 3-4 hours stop recording and export the recoding as MP3 or Ogg from Audacity.


Same procedure could be followed to record from Skype or any audio source and publish it as Podcast.

What a miss

My Gadgets

• At home

Marantz 5200 Receiver/Amplifier
DigiTec HD8710 Set Top Box
Momitsu V880N DVD Player with DVI
BenQ PE7700 Widescreen Projector
Samsung 32" (LA32S71BX) LCD TV.
Apple Powerbook 12" - Mac OS X 10.4

AdiumX
Skype
VLC Video Player
Gimp
Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Thunderbird

• In car

Parrot 3200 LS-COLOR Bluetooth handsfree

• At work

Apple MacBook Pro 17", 2GB RAM, 120GB HDD - Mac OS X 10.4 & Win XP on Parallels Desktop
Dell Optiplex GX260 - Ubuntu LTS 6.06
Dell Optiplex GX260 - Microsoft Vista Trial
Sun Sparc Ultra 10 - Sun Solaris 5.6
Sun Sparc Ultra 10 - Ubuntu Linux 6.10 (Edgy Eft)

Eclipse 3.2
Oracle Database 10.2
Oracle SQL Developer

• On me

Nokia 6280

How to schedule iSync on Mac ?

Now that I have a car with bluetooth handsfree, my mobile phone got its bluetooth always on (but NOT discoverable, for security reasons). Now it makes sense to schedule the iSync on my MacBook Pro to sync my Address Book and iCalendar with my phone automatically.

Initial thought was to use Mac's launchd as described at developer.apple.com but somehow I could not get it working :-(


So I got onto my unix comfort zone; so to use crond. There I have a script at ~/bin/iSync.scpt which contents as

tell application "iSync"
activate
synchronize
repeat
if not syncing then exit repeat
end repeat
quit
end tell
return input
end run

and a cron job added using "crontab -e" as below

#m h dom mon dow command
25 16 * * 1-5 osascript ~/bin/iSync.scpt

and seems to work just fine.

Is (novated) lease of a car that wise ???

I been thinking on our next car; a brand new semi-prestige car like Honda Accord and 2 year old prestige car like Audi A4 seems to cost quite same. If so, buying one of them on a fully maintained lease, which save on some tax, seems like a good idea. Any thoughts ?

Now that I have bought the car, an Audi A4 on the lease, I kind of understand how the system work. I think it is a wise thing to do, especially for those on higher tax bracket and drive to work thereby get max. benefit of Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT). With all tax and math, one would be paying only about 70% for the car. If the car is of good resale value, it can be bought back from lease company and sell on private sale and get onto another lease !!

How-to a tech report

Found this interesting post at edwardtufte.com

"State your message in one sentence. That is your title. Write one paragraph justifying the message. That is your abstract. Circle each phrase in the abstract that needs clarification or more context. Write a paragraph or two for each such phrase. That is the body of your report. Identify each sentence in the body that needs clarification and write a paragraph or two in the appendix. Include your contact information for readers who require further detail."

Hope my reports/articles get better from here !!

Just started tickling ..

It's been a while since I've been sleeping on this idea of b-l-o-g-g-i-n-g. Why ??? hmmm ... I guess during work and other times I come across few or more interestings tit/bits that may come handy for others. Some may be right and some may be wrong; the viewers to this blog may comment if there is another perspective/view to it.