Back to Networking Simplified

Remember, you are going to get only as much basics as you need to set up your own Home or small office network. If you need additional information please look elsewhere as this post is written with a particular audience in mind and too much information is overwhelming and confusing. Continue Reading >>

 

Back to Networking Simplified

This is something I get regularly quizzed about.  When the server is installed in a networking cabinet and looks radically different from a desktop in its form factor, people have no questions about it. However when its form factor changes for example in the lower range servers and someone looks at a tower server, which more or less resembles the CPU (box) of a desktop computer, or if they know that a server operating system can be installed on a Desktop computer and it can then be used as a server, then a lot of questions arise in people’s minds. These questions often come into the minds of the bean counters or that of the top level management who are not well versed in this field of operation, so it becomes difficult for them to justify the cost of a server when presented with the fact that theoretically the same software will run on a desktop as well . Continue Reading >>

 

Back to Networking Simplified

We can divide the logical parts of a computer into five horizontal slices.

1. Hardware (Right at the bottom)
2. Firmware or BIOS software (Basic Input/Output System)
3. The Operating System
4. Driver Software ( Device drivers)
5. Application Software (Topmost) Continue Reading >>

 

I work for an organization which is an association of about 20 odd mission hospitals spread out over suburban and rural India. Although our hospitals are spread out more over North, Central and North Eastern India, there are other similar organizations who call me up for consultancy regularly who cover some of the parts left out by us.

As a charitable organization, our IT struggles are different from that of the cash rich corporates. Our solutions too cannot always be bought at a price as that price is usually beyond our reach or grossly unjustified for the kind of work that we do. Open source software has opened the door to us for mainstream technology, but to get enterprise level technology to work for us takes a lot of hacking and re-shaping to fit a product into our mold. In addition we struggle with issues like erratic power supplies -blackouts, brownouts, surges and spikes that not even industrial level PLC’s have been able to handle reliably. Continue Reading >>

 

Part 1 2

An old vodu

Kappar Rotti or Uppu dosae (Uppu = salt)

This is prepared on a clay vodu. As previously  mentioned, the vodu was swabbed with a salt water solution and the rotti poured onto the Vodu. It is more or less similar to the rotti used for kori rotti but the vodu is not more than 15 cms in diameter and the dosa is thicker. It is mandatory that this rotti be eaten hot. My aunt recollects that it was quartered and  divided among the siblings. The thickness of the dosa was about 1 cm. Continue Reading >>

 

I get to go home only once a year for Christmas. This is also when I grill the poor old things at home for my blog. I hate to do this as this sort of information is passed on during casual conversation or while doing something related rather than through an interview and many times it causes a mental block in the interviewee.

The best way to go about things is to do it practically, as it rekindles old memories and gives momentum to the flow of information trapped in those wise old heads. The reason for presenting this post out of order is that I received at least four hits from Google with people looking for the recipe for this dish and I felt guilty  for withholding this information as it was more or less ready for publishing. Continue Reading >>

 

When we were kids, we went  home to Udupi from Bombay every year to spend the summer holidays with our cousins who all came to grandma’s house for vacations. For a change, we had lots of place to run around and when we played hide and seek, Ajjamma‘s (grandma’s) gadang (store room in Tulu) was a favorite place to hide. We normally avoided this place as it was full of cobwebs and we always wondered what else lived there among all the old stuff of generations past. Among all the dusty stuff that was stored there, one thing caught my fancy. It was a machine that stood on three legs and had a handle which could be turned to lower or raise the wooden dowel attached to it. My favorite pastime (in spite of all the threats and scoldings of the adults) was to raise the piston using the handle and let it go -watching it come clattering to a stop as the weight reached the bottom. Continue Reading >>

 

I’ve been using the Tata Photon Plus for a while now. In spite of my rant on its TV services some time back, I’ve found its mobile broadband and customer service more or less reliable and polite relative to my long experiences and dealings with Reliance.

However, one of their “features” has rubbed me the wrong way for quite a while. This is the Huawei dialer which insists on opening up a start page which has been set to a Yahoo page with mixed content from Tata & Yahoo. Tata is undoubtedly enjoying some monetary advantage by facilitating this. In addition it also opens up -or at least tries to open, annoying pop up windows. This is a cheap trick from Tata and they descended a few rungs from my credibility list for this stupid stunt. I have no interest in knowing who the look alike’s of Aishwarya Rai are nor who is hooking up with whom in the filmi world. Neither do I want to know what’s happening in any of the professional sports. Continue Reading >>