Dim Dim - a free open-source web conferencing app

Easy, Open & Affordable! That's Dim Dim. I was searching for a free web conferencing application and then Dim Dim happened. There is a WebEx trial and I have tried Adobe Connect in the past but Dim Dim appears to be a better solution. Dim Dim free supports web conferencing with upto 20 people (audio and video). For anyone who intends to use web conferencing (even sporadically) this defintely looks to be a great tool. I tried Dim Dim out today and was pretty impressed with this freeware. All it took was 2-3 minutes to get started. Video turns on by default and sending out invites and organizing the meeting couldn't get more easier. There were three options - Share Desktop, White board and Share a Presentation. I only tried 'Share Desktop' and it was seamless. Overall, it looks very promising and I was mighty impressed.

Chrome OS - A True Paradigm Shift!

I haven't yet had a peek of Google's OS - Chrome OS but have been following it closely over the last few days. Yesterday (11/19) Google held an event to update prospective users and prospective competitors about the status and some of the features of Chrome OS (Project: Chromium OS). I took instant liking to many features and am also skeptical about a couple of them. I will address my concerns below.

Many of Google's products have been runaway successes. Many useful applications come to mind, including their flagship 'search engine'. GMail, Calendar, App Engine, Maps, Transit stand out. A few haven't taken off that well but are surely promising. But all these products have a commonality. All these apps focus on our day to day activities and are very efficient. I cannot fathom using an email other than GMail because I haven't come across another service that offers more features than GMail. They aren't even close. Google has attainted its stature from the quality of its products. And that is what makes it so imposing to its competitors. Google's open-sourced operating system, Chrome OS, is the next big thing from their stable.

Honestly, I am not 'living on the cloud'. Infact, I am nowhere near to living on the cloud. This is because I am dependent on my local machine for many quotidian activities. Chrome OS is a browser-based operating system that makes you live on the cloud. No hard disks, No viruses, No native apps. Just the internet, web apps and solid performance. That is what Chrome OS aims at. It is a new paradigm which started evolving a couple of years back and we are near to embrace it. Another very encouraging feature of this OS is the boot-time and patches. 7 seconds to boot-up. I wouldn't ask for anything less. And Google has mentioned that security and software updates will automatically be applied to the OS from the cloud. So, no more system downtime. The fact that you can access your data on the move is cool. Speed, Simplicity and Security mark the crux of Chrome OS.

That said, Chrome OS is targetted at netbooks (or secondary computers). A Chrome OS device may be the primary device in terms of the amount of time you spend on the internet but there will be things that this won't do (yet!!!). If you code a lot and that requires an IDE or a standalone software like SAS or Oracle, Chrome OS is not ready for that. Likewise, unless Apple comes up with an online iTunes concept you still cannot efficiently use your hard disk-less Chrome OS for syncing your iPhone/iPods. As always, workarounds will find their ways through but, a workaround is a work around. It is not the best way to do things. Second thing concerning Chrome OS is security. Agreed, Chrome OS will be virus-free and security and update patches will be applied automatically but one need not steal your computer to steal your identity. All a thief has to do is steal your online login and they will probably have access to all your Google accounts and everything on your Chrome OS PCs. This coupled with the fact that all your stuff is on the 'cloud' can give you salvo for privacy. The last thing you want is Google or a market research company monitor your online behavior to 'enhance' your online experience. I wouldn't be comfortable with that.

But, it is what it is. I think we can trust a Google product based on the company's track record. I am thinking out loud, but biometric logging can reduce the risk of login-based security threats. I think it is not a bad idea that these Chrome OS based netbooks have fingerprint readers and Google makes it mandatory to login through this or a similar biometric logging feature to access one's online content. It would surely be a good identity management norm.

To sum it up, Chrome OS is a revolutionary move from Google. All that remains to be seen is how they will go about implementing it. And we all know how good Google is at implementing stuff!!!

Ubuntu 9.10 - more of an evolution than a revelation!

I am leaning more towards Ubuntu these days - have been using it regularly over the last 3-4 months. I was prompted for an upgrade to 9.10 yesterday night (it was officially released in the last week of Oct). And I gladly took it. Here is a link to 9.10 release notes.

Success of an operating system is majorly dependent on its usability, features and the interface. And Ubuntu is fast catching up on features and interface. 'Usability' is a tricky though. Device support or an applications' compatibility is proportional to the popularity of an operating system. Software companies are generally unwilling to spend time and money for R&D on their software's compatibility on less popular operating systems. And as long as this happens, these companies' software or related apps remain incompatible on that less popular operating system. This is like a circular reference and a major hurdle for Ubuntu. Workarounds exist for sure, but they reduce the usability. Case in point is Apple's iTunes. It is only supported on Mac and Windows OS. One can get iTunes to work in Ubuntu through WINE (WINdows Emulator), but those extra steps hit the usability of Ubuntu real hard.

But I am confident that more and more companies will continue to confide in Ubuntu or Linux in general as this OS is less cumbersome, robust and user-friendly. And 9.10 is a step in the right direction. It scores high on the user-interface part. It is not instantly distinguishable from Mac OS. Menu bar on the top of the screen and look and feel of the OS is almost the same. But Mac is more shiny and visually attractive. Polished is an apt word for the Mac OS. The log-off/shut-down button has changed significantly in both appearance and functionality. It now has many advanced options (including hibernate). You can also directly control your IM status from this function/button. Appearance of other logos like wireless signal strength, battery power have changed and make the overall appearance of the desktop look very slick.

There were around 200 packages that were disabled from 9.04 and around 400 odd new packages. Most of the apps I had continued into 9.10. A comprehensive list of apps is in the release notes. I still reiterate that usability remains to be the only hurdle for Ubuntu (or for that matter any variant of Linux). Once software corporations start opening up to Linux (obviously Microsoft and Apple will be stay away from producing Linux-friendly products - atleast till Linux becomes super-popular), the real evolution will begin.

Andre Agassi's OPEN: An Autobiography

Andre Agassi has always been one of my favorite tennis players and will remain so. More so, after the controversial autobiography that hit stands today. Contrary to some, I see no reason why Andre should not come up with his autobiography at this point. I feel he had got the time to look back and make sense of his life. He knew he made some mistakes and put an effort to come out clean. It is easy to comment on a book or a person but spare a thought for that individual. Agreed, it is absolutely wrong to hide the 'meth' episode and lie to ATP. Lesser individuals may not have survived that scare. As the book claims, Andre was reborn then. Till then he hated tennis. He hated tennis as a kid, hated tennis as a teen and in 1997 after he hit an all-time low rank of #141, that's when he had to choose. Choose between a professional career in tennis or mundane enjoyments of life. And to the delight of millions of tennis fans, he chose tennis. Else, we wouldn't have witnessed some of the best tennis matches and his magical returns.

In the hindsight, it all makes sense. I recall watching Agassi with his mane (which was infact a postiche!!!). He was more of a showman than a tennis player. I haven't seen the much talked about Australian Open 1996 semi-finals which Agassi claimed to have tanked, but I have seen couple of other matches during the same time. 1992 Wimbledon comes to mind first. That five set final again Goran Ivanisevic was just talent at its best. And en route the final he blasted Boris Becker and John McEnroe. But I never noticed his 'lack of intensity' or his 'dislike for tennis'. But as a tennis fan, you can definitely feel Agassi's pain in the 1995 US Open loss to Pete Sampras. Agassi termed it as an uber-loss. And post 1998 when he rose from ashes to #1, his game was there for all to see. His passion was evident. I fondly remember 1999 in which he won all three grand slams sans Wimbledon. (And then there was Pete! 6-3 6-4 7-5)

Though I haven't yet read the book, it looks like one more thing (in addition to not confessing drugs) that I will not like about 'OPEN' is that it is overtly straightforward in expressing Agassi's views on his rivals. Especially Pete Sampras, whom I equally admire. Agassi's satirical comment on Sampras' dullness is in poor taste. So are his comments on Chang, Muster, Nastase. But I guess the quotes can be put into perspective by viewing them as feelings of the immature Agassi (pre-1997). Post 1998, a different Agassi evolved and I doubt he would have thought of his rivals as described in the book.

As a final word, I feel OPEN is, as the name suggests, an outpour of Agassi's emotions that have accumulated over the last 39 years. No wonder he said living this book was cathartic. I came across some articles where some curious readers had questions if Agassi took drugs during Grand Slams and if meth or other drugs contributed to his victories. Those are ludicrous questions. I don't think you can question the talent of Agassi. It was always a question of mental strength and he gained control of himself post meth-episode. Also, 'meth' as described in websites and in the book, is an performance depressant and would have adversely affected him during matches, if at all he took them. So, current players need not necessarily crucify him. Instead, I think the book serves as a good lesson to all budding tennis professionals what to do and what not to do.

A trip to Hawaiian paradise (Big Island)

For nearly an year I was longing to visit Hawaii. We almost planned a trip in last December but it never really worked out. A punctilious weekend plan helped me nail it this time. We went to the Big Island (Island name: Hawaii). For starters, there are 8 main islands (out of hundreds) in the state of Hawaii. The biggest one is Hawaii and is often called 'Big Island' to avoid any confusion with the state as a whole. Out of these 8 main islands, four are very famous for their uniqueness and outstanding natural values. Those four are Big Island (volcanoes, lush rainforests), Maui (outstanding beaches), Oahu (Outstanding beaches, Pearl harbor), Kauai (Lush rainforests). Check out this wikipedia link for more details.

It is extremely difficult to explore each of these islands completely (let alone all the islands). So, this weekend we focussed only on the Big Island. A map of the island is included in this link.

The best thing I liked about the Big Island is the natural diversity it has. There are 13 climate zones on Planet Earth and Big Island has 11 of them. The eleven climate zones in Hawaii are - Tropical continuously wet, Tropical winter dry, Tropical summer dry, Tropical monsoon, Hot semi-desert, Hot desert, Continuously wet warm temperate, Summer dry warm temperate, Summer dry cool temperate, Cold continental climates, Periglacial climate. The only climate zones it does not have are Arctic and Saharan. It has the world's largest volcano, Mauna Loa, which by the way is much taller than Mount. Everest when measured from the ocean floor. Big Island is known for - volcanoes, beaches, snow-covered mountaintops and rainforests. And all within 150-200 mile drive :)

The island has lot of Vog (Volcanic Smog), which is formed by chemical reactions between sulfur dioxide emissions from the volcano and oxygen, water or sunlight. Also, sulfur dioxide emission during rain leads to the formation of Sulphuric Acid (H20 + SO2) and results in Acid rains. That is the reason for the arid parts south west of Mauna Loa.

We travelled to Kona (Airport: KOA) and stayed at Waikoloa Beach Marriott. The hotel was excellent. It was on the oceanfront and had excellent amenities. Except for the night, we were on the beach throughout - sunset, sunrise, breakfast. I was in the water, neckdeep, for over two hours and was just enjoying the view. That evening was more like a breezy night on the terrace top or under a tree in India. There were many coconut trees and we sat for an hour or so under one of them and were glazing at the clear skies. Nostalgic. The next morning we set out on our longest road trip. Here is the map of our drive.


View Larger Map


We drove along the west coast and then a cross-island drive through forests to the east coast. It was a very scenic drive interspersed with clouds. We had to drive through clouds :). Hilo is another major town on the west coast. Some 15 miles before Hilo, we visited Akaka waterfalls. The scene was reminiscent of screensavers and desktop wallpapers we normally see. Just fantastic. Then we headed to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park which was some 40 miles southwest of Hilo.

And about the Volcanoes National Park, I am sure no words can match the sight it offered. It had fossils of nature's fury - Solidified Lava. We visited the Lava tube, Chain of craters and Steam vents. We got to see the actual site of 1974 volcanic eruption and the havoc it created. Many trees that were uprooted lie in the Lava, lifeless. It was one hell of a sight. And then we headed to the Steam vents and the Kilauea caldera. Kilauea is an active volcano. It was emitting harmful sulfur dioxide fumes. We couldn't go any further as the park authorities blocked certain trails owing to safety concerns. Nonetheless, it was a GREAT sight. We were lost for words and kept staring at the crater. Check out the Halemaumau Crater which is in the Kilauea caldera.

Overwhelmed with what we saw in the day, we headed back to Kona in the same route. We decided not to encircle the island because that meant we had to pass through some arid parts which we did not prefer. We had enough of arid climate back home.

Kona to Hawaii National Volcanoes Park was around 125 miles and including the ride to the airport, I drove some 270 miles on that eventful day - by far the longest I ever drove in a day.

Here are some useful links if you plan to visit the Big Island -

County eruption update
http://lavainfo.us/
http://www.hawaiimagazine.com/blogs/hawaii_today/2009/1/30/hours_change_for_Kilauea_volcano_viewing_are
http://www.starbulletin.com/news/20091026_kilauea_sends_flow_over_road_but_stalls.html

Website about visiting Mauna Kea Observatories:
http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/mko/visiting.htm
Website about the Mauna Kea visitors station:
http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/vis/

Akaka Falls map:
http://www.bigisland.org/parks/223/akaka-falls-state-park
Rainbow Falls (in Hilo):
http://www.downtownhilo.com/Places/RainbowFallsBoilingPots/tabid/418/Default.aspx

Black Sand Beach:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punaluu_Beach


I tend to use the word 'paradise' very sparingly and I feel this Big Island deserves the word with absolutely no questions. I look forward to visiting other islands in the state of Hawaii. This visit had only made me more curious and bedazed.