Tuesday, October 28, 2003

[Imported from Blogdrive]Package, Deploy and Install -- It is as easy as saying 1 2 3


Easy To Use Package and Deployment SystemsElegant Package and Deployment of applications has been the concern of people for long time. With the advent of Visual Studio, there was an easy 'Package and Deployment Wizard' with Microsoft Visual Basic. Then with Visual Studio .NET, there came, 'Setup and Deployment Wizard' project, which makes Package and Deployment a breeze.

But whilst searching in Google, I just came across this simple tool called NSIS -- NullSoft Scriptable Installation System, available from http://nsis.sourceforge.net/site/index.php?id=2&backPID=2&tt_news=4
Well! This comes under Open Source license.
The beauty is an EXEcutable is made by simply writing a script file, which is so simple like our Windows/DOS batch files or Unix Shell Scripts.

I was just browsing through NSIS website and it seems it also supports a wide spectrum of User Interfaces.
Perhaps, if someone was looking for a Scriptable Installation System, where one needs to put custom Scripting, than application supplied wizards, they can give a try to NSIS. Is'nt it?<!--
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        Posted at 12:42 pm by Deepak Kumar Vasudevan
 

 

 

 

  Original BlogDrive Post on Tuesday, October 28, 2003

Friday, October 24, 2003

[Imported from Blogdrive]The 30-Day Observations

Sabarimala...The month of Karthigai&nbsp; and Margazhi are supposedly causing the entire Indian atmosphere to vibrate with more incessant spells of God, Devotion, Classic Music etc. The significance of Sabarimala Ayyappa 30-40 day observations are also not an uncommon feature.

I had an opportunity to start this 30-day observation for Lord Ayyappa and I am planning to start to Sabarimala Pilgrimage sometime by December 22, with the blessings of the Lord.

There are observations to follow and strict regulations to abide by. With the blessings of the Lord, I hope, all this would be feasible.
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        Posted at 08:14 am by Deepak Kumar Vasudevan
 

 

 

 

  Original BlogDrive Post on Monday, November 24, 2003

Thursday, October 23, 2003

It's Diwali...

It is Diwali on 24th. The most celebrated festival through out India. It falls on the Amavasya day of the Hindu month of Ashwini (October-November).  The festival is celebrated with a diversified set of rich historic reasons that are being attributed to it.

There is saying that slaying of the wicked demon king of Narakasura is one such reason. In Northern Parts of India, it is being celebrated as a return of Lord Sri Rama after his two seven (14) year exile period.  Perhaps, towards Dussehra, Northern Parts of India celebrate a Ram Leela, which signifies burning of effigies of Kumbakarn, Indrajit and  Ravan, in that order

For us, a Diwali means a lot of fun and new inspirations and new goals rejuvenated for our lives. Sweets, New Clothes, Meeting and Get-To-Gether with Friends and Relatives. Perhaps with this age of cable Televisions, we should not get locked up before the stupid box but break off to get together with a lot of our friends. That's a small note about Diwali.

[Imported from Blogdrive]It's Diwali -- Time to rejoice amidst all brightness all around and all along...

It's Diwali...It is Diwali on 24th. The most celebrated festival through out India. It falls on the Amavasya day of the Hindu month of Ashwini (October-November).&nbsp; The festival is celebrated with a diversified set of rich historic reasons that are being attributed to it.

There is saying that slaying of the wicked demon king of Narakasura is one such reason. In Northern Parts of India,&nbsp;it is being celebrated as a return of Lord Sri Rama after his&nbsp;two seven (14) year exile period.&nbsp; Perhaps, towards Dussehra, Northern Parts of India celebrate a Ram Leela, which signifies&nbsp;burning of effigies of Kumbakarn, Indrajit and &nbsp;Ravan, in that order

For us, a Diwali means a lot of fun and new inspirations and new goals rejuvenated&nbsp;for our lives. Sweets, New Clothes, Meeting and Get-To-Gether with Friends and Relatives. Perhaps with this age of cable Televisions, we should not get locked up before the stupid box but break off to get together with a lot of our friends.

That's a small note about Diwali.

Happy Diwali to one and all!<!--
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        Posted at 01:28 pm by Deepak Kumar Vasudevan
 

 

 

 

  Original BlogDrive Post on Thursday, October 23, 2003

Saturday, October 18, 2003

[Imported from Blogdrive]Leadership Qualities needed for Technical Domains

Leadership Qualities for Personnel in Technical Domains

I was quite in tensed and depressed&nbsp;mood perhaps sometime last week.&nbsp;One of my friend sent me some URL and articles on leadership&nbsp;to keep me motivated and keep up the&nbsp;spirits. I really loved the Leadership Qualities for Personnel in Technical Domains that I almost spent that night till about 3:30 trying to understand it. It is really a very excellent piece&nbsp;of article. In fact, my heart-felt thanks to the author.
Perhaps this ten points on leadership, which I got via mail, I would like to share with the readers of my blog.

Perhaps I would consider this as a kind of Ten Commandments for a Leader in Software Industry.&nbsp;
Out of my own interest and curiosity, I just went to google andput the the first line to find out where this content actually came from. It was from this URL: http://www.isoquantic.com/RandRs/SWLeadership.html

 

1. BUSINESS LITERACY
Software operations leaders who are now technology-oriented must increasingly see themselves as business leaders. To be business literate, leaders must

be aware of customer needs, competitor activities, and market trends, and how these impact in-house development initiatives;
understand the financial and economic dynamics of the software industry and make well informed decisions about product and technology investment;
set clear and objective business goals and hold people accountable for achieving them; and
take personal responsibility for financial results (good and bad).
& nbsp;
2. TECHNOLOGY VISION
To help their companies compete, leaders of software operations must establish a compelling, long-range vision for technology investments. Visionary leaders must

keep up-to-date on emerging technologies
bring together people from all organizational levels to develop a common vision of success and get their commitment to work toward that vision;
communicate the vision consistently and encourage open discussion and feedback about the company's direction; and
use the vision as a "litmus test" for making decisions about new technology investments.
& nbsp;
3. CROSS-FUNCTIONAL ORIENTATION
The world of rigid, functional "silos" in most organizations is gone forever. Software operations leaders must become adept at working with people performing various functions across the enterprise, including those in marketing, customer support sales, and so on. To work across functions, leaders must

understand the roles and interests of all stakeholders in the software development process and how each role contributes to the product's success;
establish effective working relationships with leaders from other functional areas and involve them in decisions that affect their work, and
demand a high level of cross-functional cooperation and teamwork from your own team and the organization as a whole.
& nbsp;
4. STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP MANAGEMENT
The need for organizations to establish partnerships and alliances for sharing technologies and developing new products will continue to increase. Managers of software operations will be required to develop partnership strategies and manage them for success. To do this, leaders must

know when strategic partnerships are required to make a software development effort successful (such as in "make" versus "buy" decisions);
establish an overall strategy that defines specific objectives, benefits, and metrics for using strategic partners;
understand how to identify, negotiate, and select appropriate strategic partnerships;
manage the tension between collaboration and competition that is inherent to most strategic partner relationships; and
recognize when a partnership is no longer advantageous and know how to successfully end the relationship.
& nbsp;
5. CUSTOMER RELATIONS
With the move to a competitive, profit-oriented business model in software, leaders must increasingly interact directly and at higher executive levels with both prospective and existing customers. To succeed in this, leaders must

comfortably interact with customers from a wide range of businesses, industries, and technical backgrounds;
make persuasive, high-level presentations to executives and senior leaders in sales and marketing situations;
translate highly technical information into terms that nontechnical customers and end users can understand;
deal effectively with the technical and public media on behalf of the business; and
act as a customer advocate in all business dealings.
& nbsp;
6. TOTAL QUALITY DISCIPLINE
Two factors have increased the urgency of quality improvement at all levels in the software industry: rapidly growing financial investment in software systems and products, and the institution of international software quality standards. To help answer this call, leaders must

initiate and sponsor efforts to increase product quality;
establish aggressive standards for software quality and customer satisfaction;
encourage people to experiment with innovative technical and work processes that might lead to quality and productivity breakthroughs;
find ways to remove barriers to quality improvement across the enterprise; and
establish firm goals and metrics for software quality, and measure leaders and teams for progress toward goals.
& nbsp;
7. MARKET DECISIVENESS
Although time-to-market has always been a critical success factor for any high-technology business, it has become a matter of survival for software enterprises. In an increasingly competitive market, this "need for speed" is placing increasing pressure on leaders to accelerate the development and delivery of new products and services. To contend with this pressure, leaders must

aggressively seek and take advantage of new business or technology opportunities;
make fast decisions under pressure with incomplete data;
understand how and when to balance the need for analysis and consensus with the pressure to execute;
make tough decisions about where to invest limited resources to achieve the greatest market advantage; and
create an environment where aggressive market orientation and decisive action are recognized and rewarded.
& nbsp;
8. TECHNICAL TEAMWORK
Most high-technology organizations are moving toward flatter, team-based work structures. This makes team communication, problem solving, and decisiveness critical; software leaders must both model and reinforce these behaviors. To reinforce team effectiveness, leaders must

be a role model of effective collaboration with individual leaders and software project teams;
establish mechanisms for consistent information sharing and open communication across development teams, functions, and the entire software operation;
minimize unnecessary project competition and "us versus them" thinking;
delegate authority for technical and business decisions to the lowest logical levels; and
institute team-oriented rewards where appropriate, recognizing both group accomplishments and individual contributions.
& nbsp;
9. KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT
Because software is almost exclusively a "knowledge business," software operations are competitive to the extent that they can attract, retain, and develop the best technical and marketing talent. Thus, leaders must provide development opportunities that will ensure the continued professional and career growth of individuals and add to the organization's overall knowledge store. In addition to evaluating and planning for their own technical and professional needs, leaders must

have an explicit employee training and development strategy, with clear objectives and metrics;
define and develop "core competencies"-key technical and business knowledge areas needed for future success;
identify people with significant technical or management potential and ensure that they have targeted development plans; and
be available to employees for individual coaching.
&nbsp;
10. LEADERSHIP VERSATILITY
Software development is getting more diverse and complex on many levels-business, organizational, cultural, and technological. Managers must become versatile to lead effectively across different business models and work settings. To do this, they must

adjust quickly to changing business needs and organizational requirements;
communicate effectively and comfortably across a range of technical, cultural, and international boundaries;
use various management models and project structures-rather than "one size fits all"-to find the best fit for diverse business and technology strategies;
balance a "loose-tight" management style that encourages experimentation and innovation but also demands accountability for contribution and results; and
create an environment that values and optimizes everyone's intellectual contribution.

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        Posted at 09:11 pm by Deepak Kumar Vasudevan
 

 

 

 

  Original BlogDrive Post on Saturday, October 18, 2003

Friday, October 10, 2003

For men may come and men may go but I go on for ever ...

This was a few jottings I wrote sometime back and circulated to my friend fed up because of the amount of attrition that my team was witnessing. The email slowly leaked into my CEO's attention. I was afraid whether that is going to create trouble whereas Srinivas Thirunagari took it very positively for the affection I had for myorganization and he sponsored today's snack juice at Hotel Ashoka.

I come from Mississippi and St. Paul plains
I jump down through the timezones
I sparkle amongst the different rains and chains
To bicker down the Marina cones

By thirty months I hurry down Or Slip between various ridges
Till last by XP’s farm I flow To join the brimming bridges
For Men many come and Men May Go
But I go on forever.

I chatter over the stony ways of enraged customers,
I jump into hard days and babble with the pebble of depressions,
With many curves and twists I fret with many peaks and fallows
Sweety fairy projects and sour maintanence provides
I keep flowing towards the software river
For Men many come and Men May Go
But I go on forever.

People steal out to HCL and Infosys lawns,
I slide by hazel covers; I move the sweet forget-me-nots
That grow for happy lovers.
I slip, I slide, I gloom, I glance Among my skimming swallows,
I make the netted sunbeam dance Against my sandy shallows.
And out again I curve and flow To join the brimming river;
For men may come and men may go, But I go on forever.

[Adapted from 'The Brook' by Alfred Lord Tennyson]

Friday, October 03, 2003

Thursday, October 02, 2003

Happy Ayudha Puja and Vijayadasami

Happy Ayudha Puja and Vijayadasami

Wish you all a Happy Ayudha Puja and Vijayadasami.