Wednesday, September 29, 2004

Skype ? ? ?

Check out this new tool, has both Windows and Pocket PC versions, and can very easily be used to talk on the internet, audio quality is quite good and works through firewalls (though that may be a security concern)

From: A Mathur
We have been using Skype here for almost a year now....no hassles so far...takes up some bandwidth though.....got ourselves headphones in bulk when we first started using it...freely downloadable...got some other nice features too...try it out!!

From: Abhishek Kumar
As Abhinav said, it’s a great piece of software built for people using broadband. It’s been made by the author of Kazaa, and uses the same basic philosophy of peer to peer. I’ve often used it to talk o my friends in US.

No problems reported yet.

From: GG
Popular Telephony's Peerio technology just might upstage Skype's juggernaut. The company today announced that it has signed a deal with France's Logicom to develop a new line of handsets that use the Peerio serverless peer-to-peer VoIP technology. Unlike Skype which relies on a server to act like god for Skype calls, Peerio is a true peer-to-peer technology.

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040928/285450_1.html

GG




Saturday, September 25, 2004

Love Hua - Once More

Went to watch this play that was performed today in Hyderabad as part of the McDowell 4 city Theatre Fest. It left me with just one question. How do plays like this get corporate sponsorship while really good scripts with good actors dont get any ?

The script of this play was sad to start with. The actors tried to make something of it, but theres just so much an actor can do.

If u want to know the story it consisted of a film script writer -Rajesh Khattar who's wife had died and Rati Agnihotri who had recently divorced her husband and how they fall in love, out of love, and in love again.

Directed by Vandana Sajnani who also played Rajesh's sister and performed an item number somewhere down the line. Naved Aslam provided the only real comic relief as Rati's helpful childhood friend.

Organisers told us we had to pick up our tickets by 6:30 as 6:45 they would close the doors and performance would start on the dot of 7. It started at 8.30 and everything kind of went downhill from there.

Not worth mentioning any more about this play, just decided to skip part 3 of the series which will be here in 15 days.

Thursday, September 02, 2004

Back off, I’m trying to unwind - Published in Deccan Chronicle on 3rd September 2004

Back off, I’m trying to unwind

By Karishma Pais

Have you ever had a rough day at work? Come back home and think “At least I’ll relax at this evening’s party” and just as you begin to forget the day’s frustrations, nurse a drink, tap your feet to the music, someone comes up and says, “Doctor my son has been coughing for a while, what’s the problem?” Or to a techie, “Warcraft isn’t loading on my computer, what should I do?”

How does it feel to be questioned regarding work in a social setting? Even those in the media, while they might enjoy dining out on the odd nugget about some hotshot politico, don’t like being accosted for some insight into the current political situation. “During election time, I dread going to a party, because everyone seems to think I have an inside track on what will happen,” grumbles a hack. Politeness often makes her and the doctor/lawyer/ teacher/techie to try and veer the conversation to something that does not seem like talking shop while they really want to scream, “Back off, I’m trying to catch a break here.”

When do we draw the line between being interested in another person’s line of work and trying to get free advice? Are we justified in asking a friend’s professional opinion, especially at social gatherings? Aren’t they entitled to have conversations at dinner parties regarding something other than their work?

School teachers narrated incidents where pushy parents cornered them and gave them a hard time at social occasions. Telecom professionals said they found it irritating when people got into intense debates regarding TRAI policies. Techies complained that friends tried to get them to solve their computer problems without realizing the difference between software and hardware experts.

Dr V Koteswara Rao, Pediatrician, Apollo Hospitals says “People do ask for advice on and off. When we are trying to relax in a social gathering, we don’t like to be asked for advice, but I try to be courteous and give an answer if their problem is genuine.” Another doctor joked that people would stop asking for free advice at parties if he turned around and asked them to undress so he could do a full physical check-up.

Everyone attends social occasions to relax and take their mind off work. We need to respect that, professionals too need time off. Let’s be a little less selfish and allow them to chill and enjoy their time away from work.

Back off, I’m trying to unwind - The Rough draft

Have you ever had a rough day at work? Come back home and think “At least I’ll relax at today evening’s party” and just as you begin to forget the day’s frustrations, nurse a drink, tap your feet with the music, someone comes up and says “Doctor my son has been coughing for a while, what’s the problem?” Or to a techie, “Warcraft isn’t loading on my computer, what should I do?”

How does it feel to be questioned regarding work in a social setting? When do we draw the line between being interested in another person’s line of work and trying to get free advice? Are we justified in asking a friend’s professional opinion, especially at social gatherings? Aren’t they entitled to have conversations at dinner parties regarding something other than their work?

We spoke to professionals in the city to find if they get frustrated at facing such questions and how they deal with it.

School teachers narrated incidents where pushy parents cornered them and gave them a hard time at social occasions. Telecom professionals said they found it irritating when people got into intense debates regarding TRAI policies. Techies complained that friends tried to get them to solve their computer problems without realizing the difference between software and hardware experts. Journalists said they were fed up of being asked for inside gossip from politics to Tollywood.

Dr V.Koteswara Rao, Pediatrician, Apollo Hospitals says “People do ask for advice on & off. When we are trying to relax in a social gathering, we don’t like to be asked for advice, but I try to be courteous and give an answer if their problem is genuine”

Mrs. Tina Fernandes, Acting HOD Psychology & Counselor, St. Francis College says: “Friends and students do confide problems in me and seek solutions. With them, I do my best to help. But it feels strange with new acquaintances. On the other hand, it’s difficult for some students to talk to me outside class hours, because then it’s assumed by others that she has a problem.”

Dr Kalpana Aleaxander, Gynecologist, Matrika Hospital told us “Women only approach me if they are really worried about something, so I don’t mind. I do my best to reassure them and schedule an appointment if necessary.”

Mr Hirendermath, a lawyer said “I try to avoid talking about my job in social settings, there’s more to me than my profession. But my friends only ask for advice, when they really need help. Then I do my best, because relationships are important. It’s an American Concept which discourages this. I sincerely believe we should not take umbrage if friends ask for advice.”

Another doctor joked that people would stop asking for free advice at parties if they were asked to undress for a full physical check-up.

Everyone attends social occasions to relax and take their mind off work. We need to respect that, professionals too need time off. Let’s be a little less selfish and allow them to enjoy the party.


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