http://www.nilkanth.com on Life and Technology Mon, 08 Sep 2008 03:29:01 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en As Paras Chopra informed me, the BarCamp Delhi conference is coming up in October. BarCamp is an international network of user generated conferences, often focusing on early-stage web apps, and related open source technologies, social protocols, and open data formats. Paras mentions: BarCamp Delhi - 11th and 12th October 2008 at IIT-Delhi “Ideologies ... http://www.nilkanth.com/archives/2008/09/08/barcamp-new-delhi/ Today, most of what we use the Web for on a daily basis aren't just web pages, they are "applications". These applications, which run inside our Web browsers, are increasingly becoming more advanced in their functionality and more interactive in their usability. The Web browser acts as the core container for ... http://www.nilkanth.com/archives/2008/09/03/content-not-chrome/ India has reason to celebrate. Abhinav Bindra claimed the men's 10-meter air rifle shooting title at the Beijing Olympics. India's first-ever Olympic gold medal in an individual event. The state of sports in India has been on a downhill path. More than a billion people, but a small 56 member contingent ... http://www.nilkanth.com/archives/2008/08/12/olympics-galore/ What is power? Is it wealth, is it affluence, is it assets, what is it? Philosophers have thought about this, [and] they have found the seat of power -- knowledge! "A king is honoured only in his own kingdom, but a man of knowledge is honoured everywhere." Filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker, the director ... http://www.nilkanth.com/archives/2008/08/09/vidvaan-sarvatra-pujyate/ In his recent (and apparently his last before blogging retirement) article, "A Brief History of Dangerous Ideas", Reg Braithwaite wrote about the dangers associated with technology (ideas). Reg' article also draws a reflection on how the Internet has become a dangerous idea for corpocracy. Web applications are dangerous. Never mind the ... http://www.nilkanth.com/archives/2008/07/23/snails-in-the-internet-wormhole/ A happy person is one who enjoys the scenery on a detour. Are you, enjoying, the scenery? Watch out for the Rabbit in your Headlights. http://www.nilkanth.com/archives/2008/07/21/scenery-on-a-detour/ Radiohead just released a new video for their song "House of Cards". It's a ground-breaking experiment with capturing 3D images. Forget about your house of cards And I’ll do mine Fall off the table and get swept under Denial, denial The infrastructure will collapse From voltage spikes Put your keys in the bowl Kiss your husband goodnight Digital lives ... http://www.nilkanth.com/archives/2008/07/15/house-of-cards/ Once Einstein was on his way to deliver a speech to university students. His faithful chauffeur not only drove his car, but was always present amongst the audience during all his speeches. Einstein had delivered this particular speech so many times that his chauffeur had actually memorized it. On that ... http://www.nilkanth.com/archives/2008/07/11/jeopardy-of-knowledge/ As much as I like thought provoking films, I also like thought provoking animations. Yesterday night, lying in bed, I was pondering over how the day went, and what I have for tomorrow, for the weekend, for the next few months. Caught up in the loop of thoughts, while randomly ... http://www.nilkanth.com/archives/2008/07/04/solarium/ People get in their own way. So says a group of researchers, who also highlight the value of not overthinking a decision. The brain, they have found, appears to make up its 'mind' 10 seconds before we even become conscious of a decision. And we think, and think, and overthink, till ... http://www.nilkanth.com/archives/2008/06/29/contrast-by-nature/ A recent news article suggested that the matter in the universe 'may be' arranged in a fractal pattern. With all the randomness of nature, that might not just be a coincidence between fact and fiction. The other night I was hurriedly trying to watch this sci-fi film called "Primer". Unfortunately I ... http://www.nilkanth.com/archives/2008/06/26/the-universe-is-fractal/ The author of the Harry Potter series, JK Rowling, recently gave a commencement speech at Harvard. An excerpt ... Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life. You might never fail on the same scale I did, but some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to ... http://www.nilkanth.com/archives/2008/06/08/dont-fail-by-default/ What does it mean to be human? However vast this question might sound, the answers are infinite. This infinite nature of thoughts is the basis of humanity. Can science illuminate the answers? A panel of scientists share their answers in a nutshell. http://www.nilkanth.com/archives/2008/06/02/what-does-it-mean-to-be-human/ Windows XP is the most popular, and in many ways more reliable, than any other computer operating system offered by Microsoft. Windows XP is also one of the largest consumer software applications. But, let's face it, Microsoft has had a hard time selling Vista, their most recent operating system. The sales ... http://www.nilkanth.com/archives/2008/05/28/from-xp-to-vista-to-7/ Around the world, except for the Middle-East, there's a bubble building up around oil prices (and real-estate costs). Oil prices are rising, like never before. And the world is worried. Futures speculation has created frenzy, unless you are driving a Prius. Supply fears have sent oil past record $135 a barrel, ... http://www.nilkanth.com/archives/2008/05/27/oil-price-bubble/