Monday, December 1, 2008

MUKTI '09

After lot of efforts, finally we would be having an independent MUKTI. It would be held from 6-8 Feb, 2009. MUKTI is an annual national level technical symposioum on GNU/Linux and Free Software. It is organized by Linux Users' Group, NIT Durgapur.

There would be a plethora of events and talks/workshops. So Be there and Celebrate FOSS with us.

Saturday, June 7, 2008

First Taste of Copyright Infringement.

Hello All. This post is a piece of news for everyone.

In Virginia Tech, we all have ethernet connections in our dorms and the download speed easily touches 750 Kbps. We all were happy seeing that and as usual started downloading movies and tv series as was expected of anyone studying in an engineering college back in India.

It was about a week after we had come and had already downloaded around 50 movies and some 11 seasons of various series, when we got a mail from one of co-ordinator professors that we have breached Virginia Tech Policy # so and so and one of the possible consequences of that was being sent back to India.
It was a forwarded mail from the person who tracks the network out here and the mail said something like this:

Title: Accepted
Infringement Source: BitTorrent
Initial Infringement Timestamp: 28 May 2008 00:00:50 GMT
Recent Infringement Timestamp: 28 May 2008 00:00:50 GMT
Infringing Filename: Accepted[2006]DvDrip[Eng]-aXXo
Infringing File size: 735180504
Infringers IP Address: 198.82.62.195
Infringers DNS Name: hc6523ec3.dhcp.vt.edu
Infringing URL: http://tracker.torrent.to:2710/announce:6969/announce
==============================
===============================

/* Names Mentioned Here */

It has come to our attention that copyrighted material is or was
available for public access from a computer in your room. Specifically,
(a) copyrighted copy(ies) of...

Accepted

...has (have) been found available to the public via network connections
numbered TP02A 232 Newman Hall and TP02B 233 Newman Hall. The computer
plugged into these connections, at various times that include the
timestamp above, has MAC address number 00-16-D3-9F-E3-91.

It is our understanding this (these) copy(ies) is (are) not authorized
for reproduction or distribution at your site. This notice is sent to
all roommates in the identified room. It pertains to the individual
whose computer is connected to the previously-listed portal (or Ethernet
connection).

Unauthorized use of Virginia Tech communications facilities and
disregard for intellectual and artistic property rights are violations
of Virginia Tech's Policies: #7000 - "Acceptable Use of Computer and
Communication Systems" and, "Acceptable Use of Information Systems at
Virginia Tech".

Additionally, ***>this activity violates federal and/or state copyright
laws and may constitute a criminal violation, subjecting you to both
criminal and civil legal charges.<*** Information on related legal
issues my be reviewed at the URL:

http://fairuse.stanford.edu/

>>> READ THIS CAREFULLY...
If you do not send an e-mail reply to this message within twenty-four
hours (one business day) of the time this note was sent, commenting on
your involvement or knowledge of this incident and confirming you have
ceased unauthorized sharing of copyrighted files, your network access
will be curtailed. It will not be reactivated until you send e-mail to
dmca-admin@cns.vt.edu to confirm that the problem with your computer has
been resolved.

THIS CASE IS BEING REFERRED TO THE UNIVERSITY'S JUDICIAL AFFAIRS OFFICE
FOR FURTHER ACTION. Judicial Affairs may be contacted by phone at 1-3790
or by e-mail to judicial@vt.edu.

I was shocked to see how accurate the system was even telling which movie it had been and the software and everything.
We all had hearts in our mouths and contacted our professor immediately about this issue. He was very calm about the whole episode and said that this happens every year as students from India are not aware of such things so we need not to worry much. Then he explained that the problem was not in downloading but rather that some one was uploading copyright stuff from the Virginia Tech Network.
So, guys please remember that this is not India and the copyright laws are real strict here and we do not have the liberty to do anything and everything as back home.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Windows XP Lives, Thanks to Linux

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols puts his thumb on what really happened to spur Microsoft's change of mind on sparing Windows XP: The smashing success of Asus and others' Linux-powered UMPCs and mini-notebooks caught Microsoft completely by surprise. It turned out people wanted inexpensive, hard-working Linux laptops rather than overpriced, underpowered Vista PCs. If anyone thought this was a flash in the pan, that Asus just hit it lucky once, they haven't been paying attention. Intel is putting big bucks into its Atom family of processors, which have been designed for UMPCs, or as Intel would have it, MIDs. Intel has encouraged both the computer makers and the Linux companies in its Moblin initiative to run desktop Linux. The Linux companies have picked up on this. Canonical, Ubuntu's dad company, has come up with an UMPC-specific version of Ubuntu 8.04, the latest version of this popular Linux distribution, for Intel Atom UMPCs. At Computex, by my count, more than a dozen new UMPCs were announced both from vendors you've never heard of and from big name companies like Acer and Asus. You can also expect to see Dell releasing its 'mini-Inspiron' with Ubuntu by June's end."

Friday, May 30, 2008

MS Office 2007 to Support ODF but not OOXML

Microsoft Office 2007 will support ODF in full, but not fully implement OOXML. Office 2007 will also support PDF 1.1, PDF/A, and Microsoft’s competing fixed-text format, called XML Paper Specification.

In a surprise move, the company also announced that it intends to participate in the OASIS ODF working group and the corresponding ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee 1 Subcommittee 34 working groups for ODF, as well as the ISO Technical Committee 171 working group for PDF, said Doug Mahugh, senior product manager for Microsoft Office.

However, the company is not quick to embrace its own creation. Mahugh stated that Microsoft would not implement the final ISO version of OOXML until Office 14 ships at an unstated date in the future. This variant of OOXML was designated ISO/IEC 29500 at the time it was certified as an ISO International standard in April.

I wonder how long it will take them to implement the enormous spec.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Indian Food in Blacksburg

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to have Indian Food in Blacksburg. Was really bugged up of having bread and butter all these days.

So, thanks to Ramu, my Research Scholar, who is taking real good care of me. He took me to India Garden for lunch. It felt heavens after so many days of bread butter.

Looking forward to many more outings there.

SSH Accounts Set

All thanks to Shreyank, LUG NITDGP is doing some great things this year.

First, we had set up the Time Server and we can boast ourselves to be one of the very few time servers in ASIA.
Next up, we have set SSH Accounts on the LUG SERVER. This has been a big achievement..
More to come soon...

Saturday, May 24, 2008

I am among the Research Group.

Hello...The day started normally and I was in the lab trying to figure out was happening in a Program given to me by Ramu. Was trying to trying apprehend and mann its really true that it is very difficult to understand someone else's code, no matter how well it is commented. I knew what is happening but could not figure out how it was happening.

Highlight of the day was when Ramu came to me and asked whether you could care for a break. I obviously had no answer other than "NO". So we went down stairs and to my surprise the whole Research Group of Dr. Onufriev including himself, was waiting for me. Dr. Onufriev introduced me to everyone else and mentioned that I am part of the Group for this Summer. It felt very proud to be called a part of the Research Group where everyone was else doing his Phd and I am not even a Graduate yet. Then our dear Professor took us all to a Coffee Shop named Bolos and gave us coffee treat. Seriously it was an awesome feeling. I wonder when our Professors back there would be so open, accessible and friendly.

It was Friday so had next two days off. We thought of going out in the evening to a place named RadioShack. Had heard it is a nice place to buy electronics so we all planned going there. We just had some directions to the place and had no idea as to how far it was. So we started to walk. After walking for about a mile and still no where near the place, we all got a bit apprehensive as to whether we were on the right path or not, so asked some one the way and got to know that we were on the way and it was ahead. Again after walking for sometime, still no signs of Radioshack we again asked and again got to know that it was straight. This thing happened 5 times until we reached RadioShack..yippie....But wait there was something else in store for us...The store is open only till 8 and we reached at 8.30....So after walking for 5 kms what we found was close doors of RadioShack and we were very flabbergasted...disgusted and what not....

So none of us wanted to walk back. We decided of taking a lift. Asked 2 people directly but they refused. So thought of trying indirectly. I approached man for the way back and bugged him for 15 mins about the way and modes of transport. And then he himself said that he would give us a ride back....We all were very happy.....On the way back, got to know that tnis person had studied in India 30 yrs ago and remembered a bit of Hindi of too...It was great talking to him and he even gave us some ideas of recreation activities in Blacksburg....This would be a memorable experience. It was a coincidence that the person who helped us had some Indian roots too....
Signing off...

1st Day in Office

After sleeping for over 10 hours, I went to Torgerson Hall to meet my Professor, Dr. Alexey Onufriev and his Phd student, Ramu Anandakrishan, under whom I am working.

I was allocated a cubicle and a Computer to work. Ramu took me around the campus towards the Main Street and we had a coffee. He showed me various cafes and other hangout places in the campus. I was very happy to know that there is an Indian Restaurant out here. Can check that out in case I get bugged of my "Mess" food.

He then gave me an overview of the study he and Dr Onufriev are doing and told me what they want me to do. It is on Molecular Dynamics Simulation. We have to find an efficient way to compute electrostatic potential between the atoms of protein molecules. These forces determine the shape of the protein which in turn is very important for drug design for diseases. Uhhh..It is not that difficult as it sounds. I have to simulate an algorithm in NAB (Nucleic Acid Builder). The language is much similar to C/C++.

Then completed various formalities at Cranwell International Center, where its Director, Mrs. Kim Biesecker was waiting for us but we got lost and were late by an hour. Filled 3-4 forms and then went to Students Center to get the HOKIE PASSPORT (it is the I Card). Guess what got the I card in 2 mins flat with photo. I was literally awestruck when the woman behind the counter said that the Passport would be ready in 2 mins. This process generally takes months in our College but this is Virginia Tech and yes man these guys are well ahead of us.

Well, in all talking I have forgotten to mention about the Dining Hall. Its name is D2 (Dietrick Dining Hall). Its great. Its like a food court with 6 different restaurants all serving different cuisines. And yes there is a Vegetarian Section. Was really happy to know that but the taste of the food is very bland and peculiar. Trying to get accustomed to it. There is also a Dessert Section which serves amazing desserts. There is no limit on the quantity of the food to take and it is all included in our Internship Program so we dont have to pay anything extra. The charge for the meal for one time is $10. Its a buffet and a very good one too. I have been to buffets of 5 stars and I can say that it is of their comparison. So the biggest problem that of food is solved, just the taste which I am sure I'll get accustomed to by the time I leave. Oh the timings.....the breakfast and lunch times are fine. But the Dinner is served only between 5 and 6.30. Can you beat that...Dinner before sunset which normally happens at 9.

Dreamcome true

Well Hello All. So, finally I decided to write my own blog and why not, now that I have so much to say. Here is my first blog.

It all started on 19th May, 2008. I finally left for my VT (Vocational Training) at VT (Virginia Tech) :-). Had to take flight from Kolkata to Delhi to save money of Virginia Tech :( The Delhi Airport was like a fish market. Had never thought that an airport in India would ever be so congested. First had to stand in a queue for an hour for the boarding pass and then an hour for the immigration formalities. It was very very tiring. Even the KLM people had never managed such crowd. But none the less, I was more than excited to be on the flight. I had a stopover at Amsterdam and the temperature was 4 C and it was summer time. I was freezing and did not have any warm clothes either. Then the next stopover at Detroit. The Detroit Airport is awesome. And then I took a flight to Roanoke. The flight was a small one with just 30 seats. It was so small that there had to be proper balance of weight on both sides for the flight to fly. And this took 15mins. Then when it took off, it was going tipsy turvy sideways and I had my heart in my mouth. Felt damn scared. Then there were some turbulences on the way. One was so bad that it felt that I was traveling on one of the worst Indian roads filled with potholes. But all was well and I reached Roanoke. From Roanoke, I took a Smartway Bus to Blacksburg, an hours drive. So after traveling for nearly 30 hours, I reached Virginia Tech.

At the bus stop, there was a surprise in store for me. I had my Professor waiting for me. It was very kind of him. Moreover he even helped me pick my bags. Does this happen in India. He then showed me my room and we took a walk around the campus and found where the Dining Hall was.

In my Dorm, I was more than amazed to see my room. Its no less than a 5 star compared to the rooms that we have in our college. Dont know how would I again settle down in the pathetic rooms of NIT Durgapur. We also have a huge Kitchen on each floor fully equipped with ovens and all other stuff required for cooking, though I have no plans of cooking, I still liked it a lot.

Melissa from Pertorica in the Caribbean helped me explore the Dorm as she had been here two days before. She is also an Intern but in a different program. People here are damn friendly and dont have any apprehensions as back there. Also made friends with Tim, Nex, Hectar and Lauren.

Off to sleep.

P.S. Writing this blog so late, i.e., 4 days after arriving because dint have charge in my Laptop because everything here runs on 110V supply unlike 220V as in India. So had to buy a 220-110 converter.