A Software Engineer's feelings.....

It was raining heavily outside. Dark clouds gathered in the sky and nature was in its ominous best. I took a break from my work and went to the pantry to grab a cup of coffee. I had a sip and went near the window to see the rain pouring down heavily outside the glass structure. I was inside our huge office building, unruffled by even the fierceness of the nature.

 

Through the heavy transparent glass, I could see a small girl trying to hold on to her umbrella which the wind was snatching away from her. I felt sorry for the girl, and was happy that I was not in a similar pathetic situation. Yes. I take pride for the fact that I am a software engineer.

 

I have everything which a common man would envy; money, status, respect, you name it I have it. I always wanted to be software professional and here I am, working for one of the best firms in the world. But then, am I really happy? Now, I could see an imprint of my palm on the other glass window, through which I reminisced my past, basked in the warmth of the sun shine.

 

My childhood was so much of fun. I vividly remember those rainy days, when I hugged my mother tightly during sleeping listening to all the stories told by her. Now, I have a big house here, but then it is just a house, not a home. My parents are pretty far away from me now. I have a cell phone to talk to them everyday, but then I really miss those dinners which I had with my family everyday. I could easily afford to taste all the different cuisines these days, but the best of food there, lack the love and affection which is present in the food prepared by my mother.

 

I threw a lavish party for my colleagues for my birthday, but then they would never replace the birthdays when my friends secretly brought a cake and at the end, half of the cake would have ended up on my face. The couple of hundred bucks that u save for a long period just to give a treat to your friends in the road side chat shop can never give the pleasure even after spending a few thousand bucks these days.

 

The scene of me crying and refusing to have lunch on the day when I fought with my best friend in college canteen came to my mind. Today, she has gone far away from me, taking away my love and with it my life, but I am sitting and coding here with a false smile on my face. Everyday I meet new people, but then I long ceased to make a new friend.

It's true that I have a lot of things now. I have a nice bed, but no time to sleep. Lots of money, but no friends to spend it with. The latest designer clothes, but a worn out body . Quite a few to flirt, but no one to love. Awards for technical excellence, but no reward for the crave for peaceful ambience. A confident demeanor, but a reluctant and apathetic mind. Full of rain, but no sunshine even in the farthest distance.

 

Now, I could see the small girl on the road enjoying in the rain with her umbrella firmly in her grip. She might not have all the comforts which I have, but then she has the innocence and fun which I lost a long time back.
I have decided to come out of this false fantasy, even if it is at the expense of losing the tap of the software engineer. I am going to again enjoy my life. I am going to go out in the rain and play with the small kid now. I removed my tie, and went near my computer to shut it down.

 

Just then, I saw a new mail alert in my mail box. I slowly opened outlook and I found a message from my manager with an attachment saying that there was a critical defect in the code and I have to fix it soon. I convinced myself that I am not going to get bogged down again by these pressures and stick to my decision. I ignored the mail and went to the rest room. After a couple of minutes, the software engineer in me came out, his shirt tucked in with the perfect tie knot, sat before the computer, and started typing,

 

Hi XYZ,

I am looking into the defect and will send the patch files before EOD.

Regards,
Software Engineer.

(From a forwarded email)

GTalk hangs when winamp is playing

Google IM (GTlk) hangs/crashes if you use it with Winamp 5.5.

To solve this problem: Create a new file winamp.m3u under your Winamp directory (By default it is C:\Program Files\Winamp\). It worked :-)

Create a portable slideshow for your website, blog, Myspace, etc from your picasa web album

Create a portable slideshow for your website, blog, Myspace, etc from your picasa web album..

Using Picasa Web Albums you can create a Flash slideshow to embed in your blog or webpage. Each slideshow features built-in playback controls, size options, and the ability to display captions.

To create and embed a slideshow:

1. Sign in to your Google Account for Picasa Web Albums at http://picasaweb.google.com using your Google Account username and password.
2. Click the My Photos link and select the album you'd like to make a slideshow.
3. Click the Embed Slideshow link. This creates a Flash slideshow from the album you've selected. When you update this album, your slideshow is automatically updated to show the latest photos.
4. To embed the slideshow, copy and paste the HTML code that's shown into your blog or webpage.

Here is a sample album (My cats)

Extend Your Life With iMac

Your .Mac membership gives you 10 GB of online email and file storage, as well as instant access to everything you need to extend your Mac experience to the Internet:

• Web Galley for sharing photos and movies (requires iLife '08)
• Website hosting with iWeb (included with iLife '06 or later)
• IMAP Mail and webmail
• Groups
• Sync
• iDisk storage
• Backup

You can share photos and movies online, send and receive email, publish your own website or blog, sync and back up important data, and more. Setting up your account on your Mac takes just a few seconds, so you can make full use of .Mac right away.
I signed up for a trial membership of 60days. Don't know whether i can try all those things because now i am working in Flip Media. If you have time don't wait.. Try your mac life :)

iPOD TOUCH

Steve Jobs introduced new Apple iPOD Touch. The new iPOD "the same size screen as the iPhone, but it is thinner (8mm), and it also touts the "same multi-touch interface" found on the iPhone. Additionally, it boasts a 3.5-inch widescreen display, the ability to "flick through your photos," and you even get the "slide to unlock" feature, too. Some features are Features

• Music

  If a picture says a thousand words, think of what all the album art in your collection might say. With Cover Flow on iPod touch, you can flick through your music to find the album you want to hear. And when you do, a quick tap of the cover flips it over to display a track list. Another tap starts the music.

• Video

  The 3.5-inch display gives you video like nothing you’ve seen before on a portable device. Watch your favorite movie. Catch up on television shows, anywhere. Enjoy video podcasts. Play music videos. All using multi-touch technology that lets you bring up onscreen controls and go widescreen (or back to full screen) with a tap.

• Photos

  iPod touch holds up to 20,000 photos you sync via iTunes. Flick to scroll through thumbnails. Tap to view full screen. Rotate for landscape format. Or perform some sleight of hand by opening two fingers to zoom in. You can even play slideshows, complete with music and transitions. Set any photo as your wallpaper to personalize your iPod touch...with a touch.

• Wi-Fi Wb Browser
• 

  Safari

  With Apple’s Safari browser built in, iPod touch is the only iPod that gives you wireless access to the web, everywhere you go. See websites the way they were designed to be seen. Sync your bookmarks or add a few as you go. Search the web using the touchscreen keyboard. Zoom in and out by tapping the multi-touch display.

• YouTube

  Got a bit of a YouTube addiction? iPod touch feeds it from anywhere with a special YouTube player built right in. Watch featured videos, check out the most viewed, search for something specific, then bookmark your favorites for future reference. It’s all the fun of YouTube — pocket-size.

It is available in in models based on its memory.

1. 8GB which will cost 299$
2. 16GB which will cost 399$

Other Features Tech Specification

The 2007 Oscar Awards

The 79th Annual Academy Awards were held on February 25, 2007 at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland.

Best Picture The Departed Director: Martin Scorsese

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Best Actor : Forest Whitaker

Film: The Last King of Scotland

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Best Actress : Helen Mirren

Film: The Queen

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Best Supporting Actor : Alan Arkin

Film: Little Miss Sunshine

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Best Supporting Actress : Jennifer Hudson

Film: Dreamgirls

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Best Director : Martin Scorsese

Film: The Departed

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Other Awards

Animated Feature Film: Happy Feet

Art Direction: Pan's Labyrinth

Cinematography: Pan's Labyrinth

Costumes: Marie Antoinette

Documentary (feature): An Inconvenient Truth

Film Editing: The Departed

Foreign Language Film : The Lives of Others

Makeup: Pan's Labyrinth

Music (Original Score): Babel, Gustavo Santaolalla Music (Original Song): An Inconvenient Truth "I Need To Wake Up" - Music and Lyrics by Melissa Etheridge

Sound Editing: Letters from Iwo Jima

Sound Mixing: Dreamgirls

Visual Effects: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Writing (Adapted Screenplay): The Departed

Writing (Original Screenplay): Little Miss Sunshine

Honorary Award: Awarded to Sherry Lansing

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

Honorary Award: Awarded to Ennio Morricone For his magnificent and multifaceted contributions to the art of film music.