Woohoo! JES is free

Today Sun announced to bundle Sun Java Enterprise System, Sun N1 management software and other development tools with the already free Solaris operating system. I welcome this decision. With this Sun is not reinventing itself, it is just bringing its' free soul out. Sun tried ealier to give the hardware free at the cost of the software but I guess this makes a much more sense. BTW, I am also happy because one of my pet projects will come to a proper end. I was given the task to create http://devservices.sun.com which allows subscription based software/patches and content downloads. With JES going free I guess this portal is not necessary. It makes me happy when a project comes to its' logical end. A proper EOL'ing.

Is Utopia hard to achieve?

1. I work from home.
2. My car runs with solar energy.
3. Winters are coming, I need to get my tokamak cleaned.
4. I just sent the electronic key of the house I sold online.
5. I now type with my thoughts.
6. I am not afraid of flying anymore, we have bubble seats in the planes.
7. I don't pay anything for my phone.
8. I don't buy CPUs, I don't even know where it is.
9. My leader is obligated to me to answer.

There was a king

There was a king. Very fond of new clothings. He was surrounded by his courtesans who always kept him flattered. He wanted a new dress everyday. Tired to keep up his demands the tailor decided to play a trick on him. One day he stiched him an invisible dress. Proclaimed, only people with pure heart can see the dress. No one could see it but everyone praised how beautiful the dress was. The king roamed around his kingdom seeing everyone praising it. One poor man asked the king why was he naked? Hang him! ordered the king. We don't want people with impure heart in my kingdom - the king gave the reason. The poor man was hanged.

Everyone knows this story. Now look around! how many such kings do you see?

Phil Ivy and the Ace Queen

Sixth time on the WPT final table and the Ace Queen did the damage again for Phil Ivy. I like his play, he is one aggressive player and I would like him to win a WPT title one day. The jinx he has with the Ace-Queen though is still holding off for him. Everytime he loses a turn around pot, he had played his Ace queen. Everyone else come and go but only few stand. Phil Ivy is one of them. Sure we will see him again.

10 reasons not to use to make someone (project?) manager

He was there from the start of the project.

He is the oldest guy in the team.

I know him personally.

He is technically good, we have to promote him.

Hiring a manager from outside is a lengthy process.

He likes football like me.

He says he used to manage projects in his last job.

He has some good ideas but doesn't know programming.

He has been a developer for a very long time.

We just created this new group and we need a manager quick.

Solaris and Postgres - Never would have imagined it.

So today Sun announced the support for Postgres database - an opensourced database distributed with RH linux, on its' Solaris10 operating system. And once again I have a story to tell. In my first job Postgres was the only database I worked with. It was on Solaris 2.6. Everybody else in my laboratory (Yes thats right) was playing with SQLserver, Access and screaming to get Oracle installed and I was happy with Postgres. Reason? It was free. It was good. and the concept of objects it has built in, and it was just v6.5 then. On the other hand Solaris has always been my favorite OS - no I am not a Solaris guru but have grown up around it. It is a good feeling to see these two of my favorites coming closer.

VC's pointers and its application to developers

BBC published an interview with venture capitalist Doug Richard, one of the dragons of the BBC's "Dragons Den" programme. He mentions five things he looks for in a venture before investing his money. How does these rules apply to a developer?

1. Return on investment - Immense satisfaction
2. Innovation  - The essence
3. A good team - Yeah it helps!
4. Market opportunity - What?
5. Business plan - Whats that?

I am not alone to think this way...

Okay, the following two posts so match with my earlier thoughts (even words) that I am about to think I am not alone to think this way...

These people are insane - King of Jordan - And its me.

The future of digital communication - And its me.

haha... I am speechless.

Simplifying the problem

There are tons of books, articles and blogs available and searchable explaining different patterns and frameworks to simplify the solution of a problem. One aspect which we all ignore is how to simplify the problem itself. I watched Anina's interview (the queen of WAP) on the nerd TV (PBS) and was amazed to notice how easily she simplified the problem of mobile networking. With the inspiration a new phase in the software development life cycle should be added. The scope of the phase should be not to think of the solution but to simplify the problem. I think the most important step in any software development is to convert a 200 page business requirement document to one simple statement. If we can do it right, the rest will be a piece of cake.

Communication should be free

Weird idea isn't it? But yes the communication should virtually be free, atleast no more than what you pay for your internet. Sooner the rip-off communication companies understand this, the better. What a google talk or yahoo messenger can't do which your land line could? Yes more needs to be done. May be a dedicated internet phone with google talk for say burnt in. 911 (999 or 100) calls should also be properly registered. Just accept it and do something about it, thats the way its going to be.

Why is Google important?

Search engines are not new. Google was not the first to appear in the market of search engines either. I am no search expert but what I hear, the algorithms used in google search is not the best either. Then why is Google is what it is today? Why is Google so important as a company and for the future of the software industry? Two things - Its simplicity and its ability to change other's momentum. It has awaken a sleepy Yahoo. It is forcing Microsoft to scan libraries. It is forcing it to provide online softwares. Its making MSN search to get better. As Sun forced IBM to revamp itself during the dot-com boom and as its burst changed Dell's strategy, Google is a very important event changing the face of the software industry.

Sun and Oracle are going to merge - One day

I have never seen such a compliment technologies ever. Never saw a Sun guy cursing Oracle and either way. They are as open to use other's technologies as if its their own. Yeah they do have appserver conflict or the message service but neither are the market leaders in that segment. Oracle has much better sales force and Sun has a better stack. With StorageTek now part of Sun, wouldn't it make more sense for Oracle to have an end to end solution? Afterall Oracle is a leader in data management and how about its' storage too? Sun can provide Oracle its' hardware, solaris and Java which is so integral part of Oracle's future. They are going to merge one day, or so I wish.