How to share files between Windows and Linux running on VMware

This is what you need to do share files between your Windows and Linux running on VMware without switching back and forth every time you need to access one of your files in the Windows desktop while working in a virtual machine.

1. Go to VMware>> Virtual Machine>> Virtual Machine Settings...>> Options

2. Select "Shared Folders" and enable it. (its disabled by default)

3. Click on the "Add..." button and browse for the folder or drive you want to access from the Windows file-system.

4. Click on "OK"

And you are good to go.

While inside the virtual machine, you can access your shared files under the File System>> mnt>> hgfs

Caution: Do not access the same file in both Windows and the virtual machine at the same time as it could result in unpredictable behavior. It is not recommended to share without backing up.

Have fun!

Excellent resource to refresh your c++

I was trying to find a a resource to get a quick refresh of my old and rusted c++ skills and my senior told me about www.cplusplus.com . Its a very nice website with eloquent explanation of all basic concepts in a very coherent manner. Its also very useful for newbies who are trying to self-learn c++. You would have to register with the site to make use of its features. The tutorials are under the "Documentation" section.

Screen shot of homepage of cplusplus.com

Rookie's Journey Through Linux

Its almost after 5 years that I am coming back to Linux, so I find myself only as good a rookie. 5 years ago it was for my c/c++ undergrad courses that I had to use linux. And a few months back, I had a short stint with the RedHat Linux for Cadence Virtuoso. But as I said, it was only a short stint. :)

  I thought I would document my step by step evolution and experiments with Linux and other softwares that I may use with it. To be frank, I am no expert and I would request readers to point out any mistakes or misconceptions that may creep in!

 I got Ubuntu 12.04 (Precise Pangolin) distro on  VMware Player 4.0.4. I would suggest using VMware Player only if you have sufficient RAM on your PC. I assigned 4GB RAM for the virtual machine but I guess 2 GB is also good enough. Anything less than that may be give you less than desired performance.

Ubuntu 12.04 on VMware Player 4.04

Silent Spectator

iPad or Kindle: which one is for you?

With all PC and mobile phone manufacturers taking the leap of faith and releasing tablets every now and then, consumers are loaded with a plethora of choices. There is no denying that there is still no one out there to beat the iPad as a complete tablet that it is. But with this amazing eReader called Kindle from Amazon.com, I would say you should have a relook at your priorities. 

 

The general question that arises is what do you need? Do you want a complete power packed tablet that does almost everything, runs a whole gamut of apps, takes photos, allow video chat , surf the web and what not and plus its an eReader, then probably you should go for an iPad. But if all you really care for is a decent eBook reading and some web surfing on the go, then you are looking at this nice little device called Kindle which is essentially an eReader at best.

I must make it clear that there is no question on the performance of these two devices, its only about the purpose that they serve. Both are really good at what they promise to do. But your decision should be a well-informed one and only based upon your needs and not upon the fantasy. 

So, here I am going to explore some general criteria that would you make a wise choice by looking at the different aspects of the two devices and see what suits you the best. This would not only help you get the right device, but might also save a considerable amount of money!

The most important factor: Price

The Kindle Fire is Amazon's Android-based Kindle tablet. At $199, it's far less expensive than the iPad, which ranges from $399 for the iPad 2, to $499-$829 for the new iPad 3 (the third generation device). You can also get Kindle devices for as little as $79. 

But the key is going to be what you do with the device. The machines are substantially different and serve different purposes. That said, if you're very much budget constrained, the Kindle Fire is a nice little machine for $199. 

The Size do matter

The Kindle Fire is a 7-inch device, while the iPad is nearly 10-inches in size. The iPad is also considerably heavier. Again, it depends on what you want to do with the device. 

 

I have my Kindle Fire on my night table, and it's my bedroom reader (and, sometimes, I cheat and look something up on the Web with it). The iPad would be uncomfortably large to read in bed. On the other hand, the iPad is great for larger documents and reading PDFs, so if you want to see something in detail, you'll want the iPad. With the new Retina display, the iPad is clearly the better looking of the two devices. 

Ecosystem

Each device is tightly tied into an ecosystem of products and services. The iPad is tightly integrated into Apple's App store, and the iTunes ecosystem. The Kindle Fire is tightly tied into the Amazon ecosystem.

I'll be honest: I prefer the Amazon ecosystem far more than Apple's, but that's me. Both my friends and I have Amazon Prime accounts, we buy most of our goods from Amazon, we read Kindle books almost exclusively, and we watch the large library of free Amazon Prime videos. 

If you're a heavy Amazon user, the Kindle Fire is something of a no-brainer. Of course, you can also read all your Kindle books on the iPad or even your iPhone. Smart boys, those Amazon chaps. 

By contrast, I've never liked iTunes and I find the Apple App store cumbersome. But there's no getting over the fact that Apple does have a tremendous presence in the App store game... 

Let the Apps talk!

Let's be clear. Nothing... and I mean nothing touches the assortment of apps available for iPads and iPhones. It's almost insane. Apple claims over 500,000 iPhone and iPad apps. By contrast, the Amazon AppStore has 31,000 apps -- a large selection, but tiny compared to Apple. 

If you want apps, the clear winner is Apple. In addition, the apps available for the iPad are often far more capable and powerful than those you'll find for the Kindle Fire.If apps are your game, the winner is, without a doubt, the iPad. 

Mobile connectivity

The Kindle Fire is a WiFi-only device. That means you need to be connected to a router to browse the Web and download books and apps. Many iPads are also WiFi-only devices, but the new 3rd generation iPad also can be purchased with 4G high-speed wireless connectivity (and the cheaper iPad 2 with 3G).

Interestingly, although the Fire doesn't have any 3G wireless capability, all the older Kindles do -- but only for downloading books you bought from Amazon. 

If you want to browse the Web while at your local coffee shop or in the airport, the winner is clearly the iPad. 

Flash support for websites

This one is simple. The Kindle Fire supports Flash (meaning a lot of Web sites that don't work on the iPad work on the Kindle Fire). If you want to browse a Flash Web site (and this includes a ton of educational sites), the winner is clearly the Kindle Fire. 

Native USB drive mode

There’s much better access to the Kindle Fire as a storage device than Apple provides with the iPad. For example, you can take a USB cable, plug it into the Kindle Fire and then to your PC, and drag-and-drop documents for later reading. 

There are some hacks for this for the iPad, but native USB drive mode is supported, out of the box, for the KindleFire. There is a detail here, though. While the Kindle Fire supports this without fiddling, the device doesn't actually come with a cable that will connect to your computer. Of course, you know where to go if you want to order one, don't you? Click here to order one from Amazon.com.

Usage model

We touched on this earlier, but let's make it explicit. The Kindle Fire excels at consuming Amazon content. If you want to consume Amazon content, whether it's Kindle books or Amazon Prime videos, the Kindle Fire is the clear winner. 

On the other hand, if you want to consume or create other content, the choice isn't as clear. You can watch Netflix videos on both, for example. But if you want to see high-quality 1080p video on a vivid display, you'll want to get the iPad 3. 

 Both devices will let you read PDF files quite nicely. I’ve found that the 7-inch form-factor of the Kindle Fire makes it much easier to hold the Kindle Fire in one hand, and fiddle with a switch, knob, menu-panel, or button in the other. It's much harder to do that with the iPad.

So, as you can see, it's up to how you use the device to determine which is a better fit in terms of usage.

Support

Support is always relative, and depends on which company ticked you off last. That said, both Apple and Amazon provide surprisingly good support, at least compared to the norm in tech products. For support, it's a tie. The only major downside is that, unless you've ponied up for AppleCare, you're on your own for support after the free support period ends. As far as I know, Amazon support is ongoing.

Free Card Design with OCBC FRANK Account

This is especially for those students who are on stipends or who are earning part-timers. Wonder if you were also tempted by those card designs that adore the walls of OCBC FRANK branch at NTU, but settled for the free complimentary design due to budget restrictions. If that is the case, then there is good news.

   If you decide to credit your monthly pay into your new OCBC FRANK account, then you can choose a card design for your free ATM/debit card absolutely free of cost. This offer is valid only if you open a FRANK savings account before 31, October 2012. You can choose any card design (which they usually may charge upto S$ 20) except the ones in Designer Series.

Screen shot of the promotion from OCBC website

   You can check out the card designs here. You can know more on this from here.

One thing to note is that sometimes the people at the branch may not be aware of this promotion. This happened to me. I had seen this promotion on the website but when I asked at the counter, they said that the promotion ended in August itself. But I called the customer service and they responded aptly and now I am going to get my favorite card design. Now thats being FRANK! :)

   So get ready to get your funky new ATM card and flaunt it among your friends. :)

You might be also interested in: FRANK by OCBC vs DBS Remix : Which one to choose!

FRANK by OCBC vs DBS Remix : Which one to choose!

Hi All,

   I thought of producing this post to help out those people out there who are really confused about which bank to go for to open a savings account. They feature attractive benefits like No initial deposit and no fall back fee (i.e. no minimum balance is needed to be maintained!). Being someone who has an account in both the schemes, I feel that I can give out some information based on my interaction with the Banks to help you out in making an informed decision.


  First of all, if you ask anybody in Singapore about their preferred bank, they will suggest DBS in unison. It is definitely the most preferred bank in Singapore with maximum number of ATMs island-wide.

    However, OCBC is also pretty good and you can see an OCBC ATMs in almost all public places like malls, MRTs and in University campus. Considering the fact that DBS has maximum number of takers, you will often find large queues in front of DBS ATMs in public places while OCBC ATMs would be relatively less crowded. However, DBS gives you the freedom of using ATMs of both DBS as well as POSB. (DBS and POSB are one and the same)

   Next, if you see the interest rates offered by these two, OCBC clearly have an edge over DBS. DBS is offering 0.05% till the first S$ 2,50,000 and then it gets slightly better as the deposit goes up. Whereas OCBC FRANK accounts are offering 0.3% for the first S$ 10,000 and the rates get even better with increase in savings. But for a student who is supposedly not going to have much savings in the bank, the variations in interest rates is not a great concern.

   Now, the next most important factor that all of us take into account is the accessibility. OCBC has a FRANK branch within the NTU University campus whereas DBS has a REMIX branch in NUS campus. Being an NTU student, I definitely would go for OCBC. DBS doesn't have a cash deposit machine on the NTU campus whereas OCBS do. However, you can find a DBS branch in the Jurong Point mall in Boon Lay, which is pretty close as well.

   Another important point to note is that DBS will charge you a fee of S$ 2 if you perform any withdrawal over the bank branch within your daily ATM withdrawal limit (example: If you try to withdraw S$ 1000 from your account over the branch while your daily withdrawal limit is S$ 2000. You should use DBS ATM for such transactions to avoid being charged. OCBC has no such restrictions.

  Again, DBS has no fee whatsoever, annually or monthly. However, OCBC will charge you S$ 20 from the second year onwards as ATM fee. But this fee is waived if you spend atleast S$ 1800 using your ATM Debit card over the previous year. I think that should not be a problem as you would anyway spend more than S$ 2000 in a year anyway!

    One more important thing is the longevity of these benefits. These benefits (No initial deposit and no fall back fee) are applicable to all people below 26 years if you are in OCBC, while this limit is extended to 29 years in DBS. Also, the interest rates are subject to change as it is a promotional rate and the banks reserve rights to alter them later.

   Now, another fancy stuff that OCBC is providing to attract the youth, is a Designer card! You can pay a nominal fee and get an attractive design for your ATM Debit card to make different from others and add your own taste to it. They also give a trendy laptop sleeve upon a fresh account opening. But these are all sugar coating and should not bother you much.

    There is one thing on which I am not very sure and that is about the rates for remittances to a foreign nation. I understand that DBS has a collaboration with ICICI bank in India and thus is able to provide cheaper transaction rates to and from India. DBS also has a few branches in India (Chennai, Madurai, Trichy etc.) as well. But I am yet to ascertain on these details. I would request the readers to add to it if they have relevant information.

   Some of my friends who are doing Master's are also worried about the tuition fee loan. I must say that both OCBC and DBS are similar in this regard. Both are ready to issue upto 90% of tuition fee as loan at an interest rate of 4.75% which is payable only after your course completion.

   After going through all this, I believe now you are well informed enough to make the right choice. In fact, I was totally confused and I opened an account in both the banks. Since opening an account and maintaining it does not incur you any costs, you can go for this option as well!


You might be also interested in: Free Card Design Promotion with OCBC FRANK account

There was a time...

There was a time when everybody who smiled at you was a "friend".
When the boy who owned the cricket bat was the "boss".
When loosing a "rubber" was reason enough to cry.
When "searching" for a one rupee coin on the TV stand used to give you goosebumps.
When the prettiest girl in the class was just another friend.
When Jimmy Bhaiya's Samosa were the ultimate concept of a "grand treat".
When the Principal was more scary than a zombie.
When vacations were filled with fun, surrounded by cousins and we never thought of them as irritating.
When you used to beg to mom to skip tuition for "Alladin" on Fridays.
When shining the cycle rim was the toughest job of all.

There was a time when our eyes used to brim with playful innocence,
and the job of worrying was left to mom and dad.
I can't explain enough how I miss those times!

Philips SHQ1000 Sports Headphones - Red

I have used many headphones and the best among them is unarguably the one that came bundled with my Apple iPod! But I find it difficult to use them when I am traveling or during a gym session or jogging. 

The white ear buds of an iPod would get dirty very quickly and the soft rubber lining around its edges would wear out due to constant friction along with the sweat generated during these activities. Once that lining is gone, it is almost impossible to neglect the kind of discomfort that it might cause. In other headphones, I have experienced that the sweat might even spoil the functionality of the ear piece!

Finally I found Philips SHQ1000 Sports headphones that are specifically designed for this purpose. Philips SHQ1000 is has a standard gold plated 3.5 mm stereo jack and is made of water resistant material, ideal for your outdoor adventures. The headphones come with 3 pairs of interchangeable caps that are made of high quality soft antibacterial rubber and you can choose the one that makes you feels comfortable. This also protects the internals of the earpiece from damage due to humid conditions.

Steps to Serenity

(click to enlarge)

Raj Comics : Part 2 … Indian Comics

I was pleased to see the interest the readers have shown on my previous post titled ‘Indian Comics : an intro’
As promised earlier,here I am with a lil info on other characters from the RC universe.

PARMANU:
Vinay was traumatized when he saw his classmate being murdered by none other than the Head of Police.Accidently he found the murder weapon,a police revolver. The wicked Policeman came after his life to save his reputation in the society

His family was brutally murdered but Vinay was saved by his maternal uncle-Prof.K.K – who is a nuclear scientist,Vinay calls him Professor.

The need to talk about Educational Loans

I am extremely grateful to Aamir and the entire team of Satyamev Jayate for spreading awareness on various topics concerning us, the common Janata of India.

As a student from a middle-class family, my immediate concerns are very disconnected from the many issues that have been raised in Satyamev Jayate till now. After four years of engineering studies, now a huge task is glaring on my face- repaying the education loan that my parents took from a National bank for my education.

In a nation where car and home loans are cheaper than an educational loan, I would request the SMJ team to take up this issue. I can assure you that you would be spell-bound by the magnitude of support that you would get for this as this a problem that directly affects the youth of India irrespective of the gender, caste or color.

We should learn from a nation like Singapore which bases its development on the grounds of sound education. I am not very proud when I mention that I have received a full scholarship and S$ 2000 monthly stipend in a Singaporean National University for my PhD studies while I am yet to repay the huge interests that have piled up back here in my own country for an educational loan. Though I understand that India can't afford that much, but at least the Govt. should ensure an interest free moratorium period to encourage the students and their parents.

This is despite the fact that the Govt. of India has directed the National banks to waive the interests during the moratorium period. But every time I have gone to my bank to inquire on this, the send me back with a bland answer: " We don't know, we have not been directed anything yet!" (It should be noted that this announcement filled the newspapers as early as in 2009). Check this PIB link: Press Information Bureau .

 Lets hope for a better tomorrow, where we Indians work for our own India in an environment that is conducive for burden less education, so that we don't have to go abroad to get us a better future.

Checklist for International Travel- Done by a group of NTU students, who wrote, re-wrote and finally have this up here!

    Its a highly comprehensive list of items that you would like to pack your bags with. Although many things are optional, you can be sure that at least you won't miss out on anything if you follow this.

Clothes

• Three to Five pairs of jeans/Cargoes/Capris/pants
• Five t-shirts
• Three formal shirts ( for guys).
• One or two formal skirts or pants ( for girls)
• Ten sets of inner wear
• Four sets of casual wear - for sports, night wear. Carry tracks, pyjamas etc. If you live on campus, you will practically live on these.
• Hand kerchiefs
• A light weight travel jacket (optional, need not be too thick nor heavy, it is not for cold climate)

Girls - Salwars are fine to wear to college. Kurtas, Jeans, Leggings are mostly preferred. It is really hot here, so carry cottons. A saree can be bought, if you have space. Nice to have. Purely optional.
Guys - Most of them lived on jeans, and t-shirts. Cargoes are great too. Formals only for interviews, in the end of course. If you plan to go to India in between - you can skip it.

Got Admit in NTU and 3 other Universities overseas :)

Hi friends,

   I am happy to let you all know that I have been granted admit at the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore for a PhD in the School of Computer Engineering. NTU is ranked the 26th best University in the QS International University rankings 2011. I can not thank enough for the support provided by my parents and especially my mentor Asst. Prof. Rajesh Kannan who was instrumental in all my achievements.

     Earlier, I applied for 3 other Universities as well and with God's grace I got admits in all of them. I applied in University of Eindhoven, Netherlands, University of Cincinnati, USA and TUMunich, Germany.

    I chose NTU as it was the best option for me. NTU is the best among the 4. I have been offered full scholarship and a monthly stipend of S$ 2000. I was particularly not very interested in USA for various reasons though I was offered Graduate Research Scolarship at Cincinnati. The next best option was the University of Eindhoven that I obtained through a program called ERASMUS IDEAS which is sponsored by the European Union. Its a Masters program in Embedded Systems and offers complete tuition fee waiver and a one-time round trip traveling expense and a monthly stipend of 1000 euros.

   I have a lot of people to thank for whatever I have had in my life so far. Especially my parents and my mentor for the extreme belief in me and my abilities. Then my friends, the PICInc. who have stood by my through all the good and bad times. All my teachers whose dedication has provided the base for me to grow and be bold enough to dream. And finally God, for answering my prayers.

sCTF 2012 : National Level “Capture the Flag” style ethical hacking contest

Not a day passes when several machines are compromised and infections spread rampantly in the world today. The cyber world has witnessed several dangerous attacks including the Stuxnet virus and it’s successor Duqu.

The most recent such attack is the Flame infection, in which the malware managed to disguise itself as a legitimate Windows software. It exploited a bug in Windows to obtain a fake certificate which allowed itself to

authenticate that is was from Windows.

Indian websites too offer little or no resistance to such security intrusions. The Computer Emergency Response Team, India(Cert-In) has been tracking de-facements of Indian websites and more. Their report can be viewed here . It’s really sad that with so much talent and skill, Indian websites are compromised frequently and nothing can be done to stand this wave of attacks on them.

5 most creative iPad wallpaper websites

Ever since I got my hands on my brand new iPad, I had been searching for unique and creative wallpapers for my iPad that would reflect my personality. Even though the bundled wallpapers are there, but I find them outright boring and plain. So, I went ahead and dug out some really cool websites that offer incredibly creative and fun filled iPad apps. I hope you would find one that matches your personal taste :)

1. Mantia

Mantia is a simple website featuring iPad, iPod and Mac wallpapers created by US based designer by Louie Mantiais. I simply fell in love with the simplicity and character of the featured designs.

2. Vlad Studio

Vlad studio has a whole gamut of wallpapers for everything Apple! Filled with colorful and extremely attractive wallpapers, Vlad is one of my favorites. Apart from wallpapers, the site also features some small games and apps for iPad.

3. Iconpaper

Dedicated to making awesome artwork for your Apple devices, Iconpaper is a dedicated Mac/iOS customization website that will definitely blow your mind away. With designer docks, icons, wallpapers and lockscreens, you are good to go!

4. Dizorb

Dizorb aims at compiling an extensive wallpaper library using user-contributed content. Dizorb features a wide range of gorgeous HD wallpapers for your iPad. You would really appreciate the variety and quality of the content that is shared.

5. The Desktop Wallpaper Project

This is a really special one. The Desktop Wallpaper Project is a great initiative of The Fox Is Black, an art and design blog. The blog's endeavor is "share the most interesting and inspiring parts of contemporary life and culture". I personally find it one of the best source to choose your pick if you are in love with contemporary art. The website offers wallpapers in many different resolutions and off course, it supports your favorite Apple devices.

Lets hope that you enjoyed the compilation and found a perfect match for your homescreen on your loved iPad/iPhone. Please share your comments.

Some time off work ...

Smart Traffic Controller in Deccan Chronicles

Hi friends,

Here's the snippet of the press release in Deccan Chronicles of my team's achievement in Accenture Innovation Jockeys contest :)

Btw, I am the guy in Black shirt who is dumbstruck watching the awesome trophy :)

The World Outside

MANCHESTER UNITED – WHAT I FEAR

What first comes to your mind when you read or hear Man Utd..??.......the awesome Old Trafford stadium, the legends it has produced, the classic red jersey,…….or simply the legendary coach Sir Alex Ferguson……..

Well  I am not going to write about him. Simply because I don’t have to. People with great track records, cranky critics, and even opposition players and managers have said and written about him and what he has done for Man Utd. We all know that for the past 25 years he really has been the father of the United club, achieving almost everything within his grasp and more. The club is still doing great under him, performing well on the field and behaving well off the pitch and am sure that they will clinch their 20^th Premier league (Can’t resist myself from saying at least a sentence of praise).

But the real worry is that how long can he carry on??... He is now 70 years old & is not getting any younger. He expressed his desire to coach United for the next three seasons also. Okay, well and good. But we all fear what’s gonna happen to this club next??... No ‘any other’ coach will do!!

Men with the Dreaded Finger: Top 5 Cricket Umpires of all times

Cricket has been the most inventive sport of all time. The game has changed by leaps and bounds over the years and its latest version of the twenty overs format promises to take it to even greater heights. One thing that has not changed since the time I started watching cricket at the age of 10, is that the fate of a game is decided based on batting, bowling, fielding captaincy and the umpiring.

How many times have we seen one wrong decision swing the entire match off the balance? Umpiring errors have always added a lot of controversies and flavor to the game of cricket. However, the history of the game has seen a lot of gritty characters who have donned the hat of an Umpire with great passion and pride and have won the respect of the followers of the game with their acumen.

Tusker and the Man

The Chariot in Stone

Saurav Ganguly - Dadagiri Reloaded

IPL match number 3 between Pune Warriors India and the Mumbai Indians was reminiscent of the good old days when Indian Cricket was lead by a flamboyant captain in Saurav Ganguly. Dada was seen busy on the field right from the word go, trying to articulate the strategy to the bowlers, setting the field up and maintaining the momentum in Pune’s favor.

Ganguly was quick to realize at the start of the game that the pitch would feature a lot of turn. The toss didn’t favor him but he maintained that he would have opted to bat anyway. I doubt how much of that is true considering his early observations, but that is the typical Dada for you- always confident and intimidating.