Portal Experts

Vishwak Deploys National Productivity Council Portal

newsroom — Mon, 12 May 2008 10:41:00 GMT

Recently National Productivity Council launched its National Productivity Council Portal. NPC's vision is "To be the comprehensive online repository of knowledge on Productivity". Vishwak being the Microsoft Star Emerging System Integrator was referred for developing and deploying the portal for NPC/NIC. Vishwak's expertise in portal solutions has contributed to achieving NPC's vision for the portal in record time. NPC Portal is one of the first government body initiated global reference site on Productivity and Quality. We hope this Portal will help promote Productivity culture in India in a big way. The solution was developed with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Microsoft SQL Server 2005 as backend database server.

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Think Big and Kick Ass

Venkatarangan's Blog [வெங்கடரங்கன் வலைப்பதிவு] — Sun, 11 May 2008 16:35:39 GMT

Last month before boarding my long return flight from Seattle to Chennai, I checked out Borders store for some reading material to keep me occupied. I picked this book - Think Big and Kick Ass by Donald Trump . I have heard about the US TV Reality Show - Apprentice but I didn't know anything about Trump. So I had no expectations and didn't buy the book for Donald Trump's name. I wanted an interesting lite reading book and found this to fit the bill. I finished a portion of it in the flight...(read more)

Pandian Express - First Class Coupe

Venkatarangan's Blog [வெங்கடரங்கன் வலைப்பதிவு] — Sat, 03 May 2008 12:08:05 GMT

For my summer vacation this time I selected Kodaikanal. I booked my ticket to travel from Chennai to Kodai road by Pandian Express in Class 1A. I thought this to be First AC, but we were pleasantly surprised to see a AC coupe (H1 compartment). It was well furnished with wide beds, washbasin, wardrobe, curtains and even toilet occupancy indicators (like in flights). Good comfort provided by Southern Railways for just Rs.1336 per seat. With excellent facilities like this by train, budget airlines have...(read more)

FM Extends Tax break for SME IT Companies

Venkatarangan's Blog [வெங்கடரங்கன் வலைப்பதிவு] — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:03:44 GMT

Small and Medium Sized IT Companies (including Vishwak ) in India have been enjoying Government of India Tax break under 10A scheme (managed by STPI ) where by for their investments on new plant and machineries they get a 10 year Income Tax holiday. Few years back the government set the sunset for the tax break as 31st March 2009. The idea was to encourage movement in to the new China like SEZ (Special Economic Zones) where by more investments and job creations will be done. Unfortunately the SEZ...(read more)

Windows Live Suite in Windows x64

Venkatarangan's Blog [வெங்கடரங்கன் வலைப்பதிவு] — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:55:40 GMT

Both in my home and work I have powerful 8GB Quad-Core Desktops running Windows Vista x64 and I love the machines. I use extensively Windows Live Writer for writing my blog posts and Live Messenger for IM. Now they come as a single install package (Windows Live Suite) easy to install. When you try to install it on 64-bit Windows the installer fails. I then found this article on how to get the individual MSI files and install the programs from C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\WindowsLiveInstaller...(read more)

XBOX 360 AC Adapter

Venkatarangan's Blog [வெங்கடரங்கன் வலைப்பதிவு] — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:25:48 GMT

Recently I bought a XBOX 360 from USA to be used a Media Extender. The AC Adapter was 110V and surprisingly unlike your laptop/mobile chargers this doesn't support multiple voltages. So to connect the XBOX in India I needed a new AC Adapter that works in 220V. I checked in my other XBOX 360 that was purchased in India and that had a 220V rating and Amazon US Store carried the 110V as an item to buy from Microsoft . So I assumed I can buy the AC Adapter locally, but bad luck. No shop (brick 'n'...(read more)

Kingfisher handheld checking-in

Venkatarangan's Blog [வெங்கடரங்கன் வலைப்பதிவு] — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:44:39 GMT

About 18 months back I was surprised to find a convenient checking-in process done by Kingfisher (Yes, I know that this was the only item I am in praise of an airline other than my favourite Jet Airways). It is by what they call "Roving Agents" who are airline staff roaming around near the entrance and checking counters. If you just have a hand baggage they check you right there with the help of a PDA and print your boarding pass as well (with the printer connected to the hip belt). I noticed...(read more)

Worldwide Pinhole Photography day

Bosco Mascarenhas — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 08:37:00 GMT

April 27, 2008 was celebrated as Worldwide Pinhole Photography day. Since 2001, the last sunday in April is dedicated for this celebration. People in the digital world may not be aware of Pinhole Photography. Perhaps some will vaguely remember learning in school science textbooks.

Pinhole photography is the oldest form of taking pictures using a simple box without a lense. The box has a tiny hole and a sheet of film pinned inside opposite the hole. The results depend on the pinhole size and the distance between the pinhole and the film. From trial and error you can achieve a fairly good picture.

Photos taken with Pinhole Cameras on Worldwide Pinhole Photography day can be viewed at http://www.pinholeday.org/gallery/index.php

Corbis - the stock photography company, has created a few PDF templates for creating pinhole cameras which can be printed and assembled. The templates are available to download free online at http://www.corbis.readymech.com/en

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Have Windows Server 2008 in your Laptop

Venkatarangan's Blog [வெங்கடரங்கன் வலைப்பதிவு] — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 07:57:34 GMT

I was running Vista Business in my Sony Vaio Laptop for almost a year and I wanted a change for change sake. Going back to Windows XP was unimaginable and felt old. I needed something new. So about a month or two back, I got interested in trying Windows Server 2008 (WS2008), just few weeks after it got released. I remembered the experiences of running Windows NT and then Windows Server 2000 on my previous laptops, so I thought this will not be so good with drivers and I will lose all the gizmos &...(read more)

சந்தோஷ் சுப்ரமண்யம்

Venkatarangan's Blog [வெங்கடரங்கன் வலைப்பதிவு] — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 12:08:23 GMT

நேற்று விடுமுறை, எங்கே போவது என்று யோசனை செய்ததில் சுட்டெரிகக்கும் கோடை வெயில் பயமுறுத்தியது. குளிர்ந்த திரையரங்கம் தான் சரி என்று முடிவு செய்து, இணைத்தில் தேடியதில் ”சத்தியம்” சினிமாவில் ”சந்தோஷ் சுப்ரமண்யம்” படத்திர்க்கு சிட்டு கிடைத்தது. எவ்வளவு தேடியும் “அறை எண் 305” மற்றும் “யாரடி நீ மோகினி”க்கு இடம் கிடைக்கவில்லை. இது ஒரு வகையில் சந்தோஷமாக இருந்தது, ஒரு சில வருடங்கள் முன்பு வரை தியேட்டர் தொழிலே அழிந்துவிடும் என்ற நிலையிலிருந்து இது ஒரு நல்ல வளாச்சி. எதனால் என்று எனக்கு சரியாக சொல்ல தெரியவில...(read more)

Indian Character "Raj" in Archie Comics

Venkatarangan's Blog [வெங்கடரங்கன் வலைப்பதிவு] — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 09:08:31 GMT

I have been enjoying "Archie" comics for over two decades now. I was introduced to them during my high school days by my cousin "Anand" who is now working in USA. Those days (and even now in Indian Rupees) they used to be very expensive and not available in Chennai. So the option was to rent them from book lending libraries and my favourite was Raviraj Lending Library in Usman Road (Opposite to first GRT Thanga Maligai). Those days the membership was like Rs.25 or Rs.50 and even...(read more)

ஓவியர் மதி அவர்களின் “அடடே” புத்தக வெளியிடு

Venkatarangan's Blog [வெங்கடரங்கன் வலைப்பதிவு] — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 10:12:28 GMT

ஓவியர் மதி அவர்களின் “அடடே” புத்தக வெளியிடு நேற்று மிக பிராமாண்டமாக “Music Academy"யில் நடைப்பெற்றது. இந்தப் புத்தகத்தை வெளியிடுபவரான எனது நண்பர் திரு.பத்ரி சேஷாத்ரி அவர்களின் அழைப்பில் விழாவிற்கு சென்றிருந்தேன். இப்படி ஒரு பெரிய விழாவைத் திட்டமிடுவது, இவ்வளவு எண்ணிக்கையில் இத்தனை சிறந்த முக்கியஸ்தர்களை சம்மதிக்க செய்து அழைப்பது, கடைசியாக அரங்கம் நிறையக் கூட்டத்தை வரவழைப்பது என்பது மிக மிக கடினம். எங்களது புத்தக ( லிப்கோ ) நிறுவனத்தில் எனது தந்தையின் இது போன்ற உழைப்பை நேரில் பார்த்தால் எனக்க...(read more)

HP Way

Venkatarangan's Blog [வெங்கடரங்கன் வலைப்பதிவு] — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 09:45:05 GMT

Though I purchased the book " The HP Way " long time back, I just managed to finish reading it few weeks back. The book is written by HP (Hewlett Packard) co-founder & Silicon Valley legend David Packard . This small book of 200 pages is a must read for anyone in High Tech Industry. David talks about their early days around starting HP, how it got named and their initial challenges. One of the common business management myths the book dispels is that you need a clear laid out Vision...(read more)

Vishwak Solutions in MS Marketplace

newsroom — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 03:55:00 GMT

Last week nearly 6 of our solutions and offerings got listed in Microsoft's Solution MarketPlace site. Having got listed in Microsoft Solutionfinder will make it easier for our customers to find about Vishwak and our solutions. It adds a line of credibility to our solutions as they have verified customer references. The solutions that got listed includes our Media Offering (Vishwak Portal Framework), Sharepoint & Mobile solutions.

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Chennai Super Kings beats Mumbai Indians

Venkatarangan's Blog [வெங்கடரங்கன் வலைப்பதிவு] — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 01:50:31 GMT

It has been more than 2 decades since I have been to a Stadium to watch a cricket match live, the last time was during my School Days that too only once and I remember it vaguely . So yesterday when I went to MA Chidambaram Stadium (Chepauk, Chennai) with my son to see the match it was pure fun. I didn't want to go through the parking hassles so I left my car in a relatives house in Royappetah and went to the stadium in an Autorickshaw - a wise decision that helped us to reach to our seats by...(read more)

எனது நண்பர் திரு. சிவாபிள்ளைக்கு பாராட்டு விழா

Venkatarangan's Blog [வெங்கடரங்கன் வலைப்பதிவு] — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 08:41:00 GMT

எனது நண்பர் திரு. சிவாபிள்ளை சமீபத்தில் ” மொழிகளுக்கான ஐரோப்பிய விருதை ” பெற்றுள்ளார். அவரை பாராட்ட லண்டனிலுள்ளத் தமிழமைப்புகள் ஒரு விழாவை போன வாரம் மிகச் சிறப்பாக கொண்டாடினர். அவர்களுக்கு என் மனமார்ந்த நன்றி! Share this post: email it! | del.icio.us! | digg it! | newsVine!...(read more)

Juno

Venkatarangan's Blog [வெங்கடரங்கன் வலைப்பதிவு] — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:09:27 GMT

On my way back from USA, I saw this movie " Juno ". I suppose this to be a hit movie b'cos in every store I went to in last 1 week in Seattle, I kept seeing tons of DVDs of this movie. It is starred by Ellen Page as a 16 year old Teen, who gets pregnant and gives away the baby for adoption. The story is about what happens during her pregnancy - how supportive her parents were on this and how the couple who are adopting the baby gets divorced before the baby's arrival. I will not...(read more)

I bought a Macbook Air

Venkatarangan's Blog [வெங்கடரங்கன் வலைப்பதிவு] — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 04:21:58 GMT

I never thought I will buy an Apple Mac as my primary PC (laptop) but I did just that today. After nearly a month of thinking, I finally bought a Macbook Air to replace my aging Sony Vaio TX57GN laptop. The machine looks irresistibly beautiful. I bought it from the Apple Store in Bellevue Square, the whole experience was smooth. A floor person did the entire transaction from his handheld (it looked like it ran Windows CE) including Credit Card charging, signature capture. Since I have been to Apple...(read more)

Waste in USA & Reuse in USA

Venkatarangan's Blog [வெங்கடரங்கன் வலைப்பதிவு] — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 07:37:00 GMT

If you are from India (or Asia) and you happen to visit USA, in the first few days itself you are likely to notice the amount of food (and other stuffs) that is wasted here in this country. For example, today I was in a nearby Safeway (Grocery store) and I couldn't find a small (100 Grams) pack of Potato Chips. Most of the time, it is because it is cheaper to buy in bulk, much more than what you need and throw the rest. This is encouraged by sellers, you only get everything in really big packs...(read more)

Why I love the new Messenger control?

Venkatarangan's Blog [வெங்கடரங்கன் வலைப்பதிவு] — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 23:06:57 GMT

I was telling someone yesterday on why I love the new messenger control . This is the control that you see on left hand side of this page titled "Chat with me" that allows any anonymous visitor to the page to chat with me in real time when I am logged in to Live Messenger. I love the opportunity this simple control gives me to interact with visitors around the world. I am sure they are finding this easy to use this, rather than writing a comment and it also gives them instant gratification...(read more)

Welcome to Art & Design Blog!

Bosco Mascarenhas — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 07:05:00 GMT

This blog is an attempt to share what I know, what I've learned, beautiful things I've seen and more. The focus will be more on art, design, and creativity. Hopefully you will find something which is informative and interesting.

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The camera behind Virtual Earth Birds eye

Venkatarangan's Blog [வெங்கடரங்கன் வலைப்பதிவு] — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 20:19:22 GMT

In the recent months there has been good improvements in Virtual Earth's Birds eye view. One of the reasons behind them is the camera used for these excellent high resolution images is Ultracamx . UltracamX is from a company (Vexcel) Microsoft acquired some time back. It supports very large image format available (216 megapixels: 14,430 pixels across track; 9,420 pixels along track) which means they do fewer flights to capture images. It has something like 13 CCD Arrays, each of them controlled...(read more)

The camera behind Virtual Earth Birds eye view

Venkatarangan's Blog [வெங்கடரங்கன் வலைப்பதிவு] — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 20:19:22 GMT

In the recent months there has been good improvements in Virtual Earth's Birds eye view . One of the reasons this was possible was due to new camera used for these excellent high resolution images - Ultracamx . UltracamX is from a company (Vexcel) Microsoft acquired some time back. It supports very large image format available (216 megapixels: 14,430 pixels across track; 9,420 pixels along track) which means they do fewer flights to capture images. It has something like 13 CCD Arrays, each of...(read more)

Why Men Don't Listen and Women Can't Reverse Park

Venkatarangan's Blog [வெங்கடரங்கன் வலைப்பதிவு] — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 04:31:07 GMT

I saw this documentary (Original German dubbed to English) on my Lufthansa flight - imagine they having only this worthwhile to watch. Overall Lufthansa hardly had a dozen movie and absolutely no comedy TV Shows in their in-flight entertainment - it is one of the things I don't like in Lufthansa. OK, enough of my airline ranting, coming back to the documentary. It is a retro comedy that talks about gender differences - a mixer of biology lessons and a love story line of two couples. Acted by...(read more)

August Rush

Venkatarangan's Blog [வெங்கடரங்கன் வலைப்பதிவு] — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 22:14:22 GMT

I just now saw this movie on a Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Seattle - where I am going for MVP/RD Summit. The movie is about August Rush (played by Freddie Highmore) an orphan who loves Music more than food and runs out in search of his parents. His parents (played by Keri Russell and Jonathan Rhys) are a sheltered cellist and a charismatic guitarist who get separated by accident after a single night of love and living in search of each other for 11 years. The mother herself never knew she...(read more)