Mistakes ... I'm thinking of making few more !

If you think you can get through life without taking risks and making mistakes, think again!

Do you remember the first time you rode a bicycle? Can you relive the exhilaration of riding free, the sense of triumph as you broke free of the crutches of support? Now step back. How many times did you fall off the bike before that first ride?

All through school, a mistake indicates the prospect of lower grades. Good students don't make mistakes. At home, mistakes lead to admonishments. Good children follow the rules. At work, mistakes have serious repercussions. Good workers get it right the first time.

But, in those very schools and organizations where we are marked down for making mistakes, we also learn that people often stumble upon great inventions. There's growing evidence to suggest that innovation flourishes when people are given the space to make mistakes. Even Mahatma Gandhi attached value to experimentation; he believed that "freedom isn't worth having if it doesn't include the freedom to make mistakes."

Life is full of risks and it's only when we no longer have a pulse that we avoid risk altogether. Risk is an inevitable part of life, so we simply have to accept the existence of risk.

Even so, there are people who go out of their way to avoid all risk and frankly, they are doing far more damage than good. Risk adverse people often turn down great opportunities for fear of making a mistake and bringing about some sort of stress on themselves.

Too many people for instance, will opt to stay in their comfort zone and complain about a lack of friends, a lack of money, a lack of opportunity - or whatever it might be - rather than go out there and DO the stuff necessary to change their situation for the better. They don't want to make a mistake! They don't want to 'fail'!

Talk to any successful person about this approach to life and they will tell you straight out that if it wasn't for their willingness to go out there and have a go - and make the necessary mistakes and take the necessary risks - they would NOT be successful. They would NOT be where they are now.

Mistakes play a key role in this self-discovery thing. We have to make mistakes when we DO the stuff that helps us become the person we want to be. We have to be willing to make mistakes, in order to create the life we want. Because it won't just fall into our laps. We do have to get out of our comfort zones every once in a while and make things happen.

Sophia Loren, the Italian actress made a brilliant statement once that illustrated this point beautifully. She said,"After all these years, I am still involved in the process of self-discovery. It's better to explore life and make mistakes than to play it safe. Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life."

So don't be afraid to take risks. Mistakes Are the Guides to Future Success. Don't be afraid to make mistakes! It's what you simply must be prepared to do, if you really want to have a full life!

India unveils $30 laptop (tablet)

July 23, 2010, Courtesy of Times Of India -

India on Thursday unveiled a Rs.1,500 (around $30) laptop designed specifically for students. The device, no bigger than a conventional laptop, is a single unit system with a touch screen and a built in key board along with a 2 GB RAM memory, wi-fi connectivity, USB port and powered by a 2-watt system to suit poor power supply areas. The device would be made available to students in 2011.

"If more companies decide to manufacture a similar device, prices will come down automatically," Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said after unveiling the low cost-access-cum computing device here. When the ministry floated the concept of a low cost laptop some years ago, officials said it would cost Rs.500 ($10). It will now cost about three times the initial projections. The ministry expects the prices to drop to Rs.1,000 ($20) and reach Rs.500($10) as innovations are introduced.

The ministry started its efforts by holding discussions on this concept with a group of experts at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Madras and IIT Bombay, a ministry official said. The low cost laptops will be distributed in institutions by the HRD ministry. The final price will depend on the transportation cost.

Chetan Chen, Deepika Fang, Rajeev Yao, Deepak Xu

Huawei India execs take Indian names to be more culturally acceptable

Chetan Chen is into technology, Deepak Xu handles marketing, and Deepika Fang is a network systems pro. And when their company needs to reach out to the public, Rajeev Yao gets into the picture.

Welcome to the charm offensive of Huawei India, a firm that is on the radars of the Indian security establishment by virtue of its place of incorporation, the People’s Republic of China. As its top brass prepares to walk extraordinary miles to get its operations going on in one of the world’s biggest telecom markets, the Chinese equipment maker is nudging its Mandarin staff to mind their names.

Ergo, this cultural revolution with a telecom twist has Chen Tian Siang, a top consultant with Huawei India, introducing himself as Chetan Chen; Ling Yong Xu, a top management executive in its customer care division, is Deepak to his Indian colleagues; Liu Fang, a senior executive with its networks division, goes by the name ‘Deepika Fang’; Li Gin, a coordinator with Huawei India, is called ‘Rosy’; and Zhao Bing, in charge of the company’s warehouse division, is just Amit. To top it all, Huawei’s spokesperson in India, Weimin Yao, is known as ‘Rajeev’ to media colleagues here.

Huawei executives carry their Indian names even on their visiting cards. Suraj, Amit, Arvind, Ravi, Rajesh and Rajeev were some of the popular names adopted by their Chinese executives in India, says a Huawei staff.

The company reasons that since Indians find it difficult to pronounce Chinese names, the Indian nomenclature helps in daily operations. This also makes Chinese executives more culturally acceptable not just to their Indian colleagues, but also to their clients and business associates in the country.

“There is a conscious attempt as part of our India localisation strategy that Chinese and Indian employees understand and encourage each other’s customs and mores and develop a healthy understanding and appreciation for both the great countries’ traditions and cultures,” says the company spokesman.

Being online: identity, anonymity, and all things in between

We barely exist anymore if we don’t exist online. As we move towards a more exposed global community, with increased information exchange online and decreased division between personal, professional, and student lives, shouldn't we be redefining the boundaries of acceptability? It is time we acknowledged the truth that modern technology has made evident: all those identities are us and we are more than the sum of our identities.

As students, we’re advised to exercise discretion over information revealed online: Don’t write anything offensive. Don’t be photographed drinking if you’re underage. Don’t “friend request” your boss. Keep a low profile; your online sins will come back to haunt you.

As young professionals, we’re pressured to do precisely the opposite: Develop your presence online to establish credibility. Create a profile on LinkedIn. Make a Facebook Fan page for your organization. Use Twitter to publicize your brand. Make lots and lots of “friends.”

How am I to deal with the (now permanent) online implication that I do? Do I clarify each “tweet” that references my username so readers on Twitter don’t misinterpret my character? Do I delete each post written on my Facebook wall that may unintentionally imply something incriminating? Should I remove each photograph with a drink in my hand, because that image may be accessed by a potential employer? And then there’s the issue of online appropriateness. Who should we share our online profiles with, and who shouldn’t we?

It’s exhausting and counter-intuitive to tailor our online profiles to suit each individual who connects with us online—former professor or otherwise. However, it would be naive to believe we can express ourselves freely online without repercussions. Anything we do has the capacity to end up on the Internet, and we must be mindful of this reality while making everyday decisions.

Of course, I know employers “Google” potential employees, and that anything I say or write on the Internet is forever archived online. And I know my parents and relatives scrutinize every online photo album I appear in.
Regardless, I refuse to spend my time carefully constructing an identity that perfectly pleases whoever sees me online. I’m just trying to keep it real—both online and offline.

Here are some useful resources on this subject -
1. India Currents article where above thoughts were expressed originally
2. Wikipedia - Online Identity, Online Identity Management
3. Mashup - 25 ways to manage your online identity
4. Oreilly Radar
5. Reputation Defender Blog

Are you ready for IPv6?

They thought 4 billion would be enough. Wrong, said the Internet.

They're response: 340 trillion, trillion, trillion. We're not sure just how many zeros that is, but it can be written as 2 to the 128th power (or 5 times 10 to the 28th power).

Of the 4 billion addresses possible under IPv4, only about 7% are left. They'll probably all be used by early 2012.Every device — computer, cell phone, utility meter — connected to the Internet needs its own address in order to communicate back and forth. The addresses are bundled into what is called Internet Protocol version 4, released in 1981.

That might cause some problems, but don't panic. IPv6 is taking over. It offers 128-bit numbers, as opposed to IPv4's 32 bits. Most people don't know or care about their IP address, but most computers have fairly easy ways to find yours. Your ISP or business assigns them. Currently, your address would look something like this: 123.45.678.9. With IPv6, the address might look like this: 3ffe:1900:4545:3:200:f8ff:fe21:67cf. (The Web site whatsmyip.com can find your IP number for you.).

Check out more info at -

1. Wikipedia

2. MOXA

3. CAIDA

Whats your carbon footprint ?

Many of our daily activities contribute to climate change. Using energy in our homes and offices or driving a car generates greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide (CO2). These greenhouse gases act like a blanket, trapping heat near the Earth's surface and warming the planet.
 
If the Earth's warming continues, scientists predict potentially extreme climate changes - causing more frequent and intense heat waves, rising sea levels affecting coastal areas, and other serious impacts.

But there is good news: working together, we can make a difference.

Calculate Your Carbon Footprint

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Your Footprint	Country Average	World Target

Your "carbon footprint" is a measure of your impact on the environment, in terms of the carbon dioxide emitted as a result of your daily activity.

Inevitably, in going about our daily lives — commuting, sheltering our families, eating — each of us contributes to the greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change. Yet, there are many things each of us, as individuals, can do to reduce our carbon emissions. The choices we make in our homes, our travel, the food we eat, and what we buy and throw away all influence our carbon footprint and can help ensure a stable climate for future generations.

Use one of the calculators at following sites to measure your carbon footprint -
1. carbonfootprint
2. nature
3. US EPA
4. PG&E