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Friday Dec 04, 2009
Wednesday Nov 18, 2009
Posted at my blog - http://www.techmanageronline.com/2009/11/blue-ocean-strategy.html
Wednesday Nov 11, 2009
Tuesday Nov 10, 2009
Friday Oct 30, 2009
My journey on the social media and networking highway continues. It has been based around linkedin, facebook and my blogger plus Sun blog accounts. Pretty recently, i have begun twittering and hope to make twitter a regular part of my social networking repertoire.
If you are on twitter and would like to join me, i am at http://twitter.com/johnmorrison
Thanks,
- John
Tuesday Apr 07, 2009
CDDL (Common Development and Distribution License) is an OSI approved, Open Source license. CDDL builds on the Mozilla Public License (MPL). CDDL follows file based licensing which means that files derived from commons must use the same license, while files added may use any license. Similarly, changes made to sources licensed under CDDL are expected to be shared, any new files need not be made public.
In terms of patent grant, CDDL provides explicit patent license which would make it easier for businesses to use the software without worries around patents. There is also a provision to discourage patent litigation also referred to as the “patent peace” provision which is about termination of rights in response to patent claims. If anyone initiates a patent claim that involves CDDL software, all rights which they have received to the software from everyone in the community is terminated.
CDDL is flexible in that it allows mixing of CDDL open source files with files licensed differently, including proprietary source files. This flexibility allows licensing new IP created in new files differently and even with a non-open source license. This could be useful in situations where we have third party code that cannot be open sourced and should remain proprietary or we wish to work with the open source base and build some custom extensions.
Friday Apr 03, 2009
When a GPL licensed library is used along with a program that is under a proprietary or non-GPL license, the combined entity (program plus library) would be considered as a derivative work. If this combined entity is distributed under a non-GPL or proprietary license, it would be a violation of the GPL. Essentially, when a program is linked with a library (under GPL) either statically or otherwise, the combination is expected to follow the terms of the GPL.
The LGPL is more permissive with regard to linking code with the library and is normally used to permit linking libraries licensed under the LGPL with proprietary and non-free programs. Per GNU, “using the LGPL permits use of library in proprietary programs; using the ordinary GPL for a library makes it available only for free programs”
With the LGPL, there is the distinction between a derivative product that is based on the library vs work that links to the library or the library being used by a program. In the former case of being a derivative work, the similar set of rules as imposed by the GPL would apply. Moving across licenses (LGPL to GPL) is allowed. For example, a library licensed under LGPL may have its licensing changed to GPL. The reverse is however not permitted.
Generally, you would want to go with the LGPL when you wish to promote and enable wide adoption of your library. For this to happen, you would want to permit non-free and proprietary programs to also use it besides the free programs. Also, when you wish to provide your library as a viable alternative to an existing commercially licensed component which would be the case when your free library is a reasonable substitute for available commercial components.
Sunday Sep 21, 2008
Reflecting back on the kind of team members I have worked with over the years, i recall a quote that i came across a while ago that says, "Team builders are like tea leaves. They perform best in hot water." Personally, I have had (and still have!) the "good fortune" to work with some truly wonderful team members who perform very well across different types of situations; more so, when the chips are down and the only way to give seem to be - to either give-in or give-up. What kind are you ?
Wednesday Aug 20, 2008
Our team's been faithfully taking a break every once in a while to do something off-work. This week we decided to continue our now fairly regular intra-team bowling competition. We got together and after a quick lunch together, went for a round of bowling at the alley nearby.
One fact that bears mention is - for the sake of bowling, we've split our team into two sub-teams and compete against each other at regular intervals. Scores for each match are tracked on an internal wiki page by the respective team captains. There is a lot of cheering (and booing) while the game is on. I must admit, we tend to take our fun, seriously. Here are a couple of pictures of some folks in action.
Saturday Aug 16, 2008
A good description of commoditization, was given by Thomas L. Friedman who states, "A commodity is any good, service or process that can be produced by any number of firms, and the only distinguishing feature between these firms is who can do it cheapest. Having your product or service turned into a commodity is no fun, because it means your profit margins will become razor thin, you will have dozens of competitors and all you can do is every day make that product or service cheaper and sell more of it than the next guy, or die."
This description can very well be applied to professionals. Technological advancements are one of the factors contributing to commoditization. Today's jobs, or at least elements of today's jobs will be commoditized by tomorrow's advancements in tools & technologies. At this juncture, reflect back on some of the hot jobs of yesteryears, their relevance and importance today. When organizations transform from entrepreneurial innovation & value creation to bureaucratic structures, employees transform from creative innovators to non-creative members who are trained to operate within processes and structures to think and act in terms of defending what already exists.
In such a situation, what are you doing to differentiate yourself and avoid the commoditization trap ? The smart ones reinvent themselves, are constantly watching the trends, riding the winds of change, taking the opportunities that come along to learn, unlearn and relearn. Importantly, do not assume the value of your current skills will continue to increase or even hold the same level.
Saturday Mar 29, 2008
I realize its been ages since i last posted anything here ... i did travel a bit ... some interesting trips to Wayanad (yes, again! with the super team that i'm part of), Chennai (to attend to a good friend's wedding) and Singapore (generally on a sudden trip!) ... hopefully i can now keep adding more content here in the days ahead.
For this post, i thought i'd write a few words about an interesting experience I had while coming back from Singapore. So, here goes ... Would you ever have imagined that a single stray dog can bring an entire airport to its knees, preventing all international and domestic flights from either landing or taking off ... the airport was virtually closed for couple of hours and incoming flights were diverted to another city ! Well, i'd never have thought such a thing could happen until i had the luck to be part of this event. Here're the details ...
I was aboard a Singapore Airlines flight traveling from Singapore to Bangalore. The flight was due to land in Bangalore Airport at ~ 9:30 - 9:45 PM. Just as we were hovering above the city, the pilot announced that our flight was being diverted to another city (Chennai) due to some problem at the Bangalore Airport. We did not then have much other information on happenings. After having landed in Chennai airport all we could do was stay in the plane and were not allowed to come out of it. Again, i did'nt have much to complain about, as a matter of fact i'm glad i got to go through this experience. I got to know the cabin crew much better, very nice folks working extremely hard to make sure the needs of the passengers were met. Since the plane wasn't too full, many of the passengers chose to occupy multiple adjacent seats and lie down for a nap. Also, none knew when we would reach Bangalore - so sleep seemed to be a good option with nothing much else possible. To me, sleep did'nt seem like the best thing to do especially when I was in such an interesting situation. As the saying goes ... When life gives you lemons ... make lemonade !
Decided to stroll around the plane and doing so, got to sit & chat with some of the cabin crew. We talked about the nature of their work, Indian and Singaporean cultures, etc. and shared some soft drinks and small eats. We were soon joined by a few other interesting passengers. Before we realized it, all of us were talking like old friends, joking, laughing (in the process waking up a few passengers who did'nt seem too amused with the boisterous proceedings) and generally having a great time ! After what seemed like a short while, the captain announced that the Bangalore airport was now open and we would be leaving to Bangalore. I did a quick time check .. it was 2 AM on a bright beautiful new day ... we'd spent nearly four hours on the plane at the Chennai airport ... having a nice time !
We returned to the now crowded Bangalore airport and after landing we had to wait a while to disembark. Finally, got out of the airport by ~ 4 AM. Looking back, it really seemed like a nice ending to a good trip. During that short stop at Chennai, made friends with an industrialist from Indonesia with a good knack for communicating & connecting with people, a friendly and cheerful Equity Researcher from HSBC and an IT professional from Infosys who along with his wife were returning from Hong Kong via Singapore. On hind sight I would'nt have minded a little more delay in returning to Bangalore, especially if I could meet with and connect with a few more such wonderful people !
Oh ! lest I forget, the reason for the delays at the Bangalore airport was - apparently a domestic flight hit a stray dog that wandered onto the run way just when the plane was about to take off. This resulted in the plane's landing gear getting damaged and the entire airport had to be closed for domestic and international operations until the runway was cleared. Whoever said that every dog has its day, was right. This one's had its day and what a day its been !
Anyways, that to me was an interesting experience, but not an isolated one though ... i've been through similar interesting experiences. The last time i had a similar kind of an experience was during January this year, when I & my colleague Kalyan landed at London's Heathrow airport. At that time a British Airways plane crash landed just minutes before our flight reached there. Fortunately for us, this did not affect our onward journey out of London. We did however hear a lot about it on the news & from fellow passengers.
Anyways, looking forward to more interesting experiences in the days ahead !
Signing off this post with a quote by Alexander Woollcott, "There is no such thing in anyone's life as an unimportant day."
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Friday Feb 29, 2008
Its been a while (well, sadly thats how i've been starting my posts these days !) since i posted anything in this area.
Recently came across a message that my colleague, Swetha, sent my way. I found this interesting and thought i'd share it here.
CHAT WITH GOD!
God : Hello. Did you call me?
Me: Called you? No.. Who is this ?
God : This is GOD. I heard your prayers. So I thought I will chat.
Me: I do pray. Just makes me feel good. I am actually busy now. I am in the midst of something.
God : What are you busy at? Ants are busy too.
Me: Don't know. But I can't find free time. Life has become hectic. It's rush hour all the time.
God : Sure. Activity gets you busy. But productivity gets you results. Activity consumes time. Productivity frees it.
Me: I understand. But I still can't figure out. By the way, I was not expecting YOU to buzz me on instant messaging chat.
God : Well I wanted to resolve your! Fight for time, by giving you some clarity. In this net era, I wanted to reach you through the medium you are comfortable with.
Me: Tell me, why has life become complicated now?
God : Stop analyzing life. Just live it. Analysis is what makes it complicated.
Me: why are we then constantly unhappy?
God : Your today is the tomorrow that you worried about yesterday. You are worrying because you are analyzing. Worrying has become your habit. That's why you are not happy.
Me: But how can we not worry when there is so much uncertainty?
God : Uncertainty is inevitable, but worrying is optional.
Me: But then, there is so much pain due to uncertainty. .
God : Pain is inevitable able, but suffering is optional.
Me: If suffering is optional, why do good people always suffer?
God : Diamond cannot be polished without friction. Gold cannot be purified without fire. Good people go through trials, but don't suffer. With that experience their life become better not bitter.
Me: You mean to say such experience is useful?
God : Yes. In every terms, Experience is a hard teacher . She gives the test first and the lessons afterwards.
Me: But still, why should we go through such tests? Why can't we be free from problems?
God : Problems are Purposeful Roadblocks
Me: Frankly in the midst of so many problems, we don't know where we are heading..
God : If you look outside you will not know where you are heading. Look inside. Looking outside, you dream. Looking inside, you awaken. Eyes provide sight. Heart provides insight.
Me: Sometimes not succeeding fast seems to hurt more than moving in the right direction. What should I do?
God : Success is a measure as decided by others. Satisfaction is a measure as decided by you. Knowing the road ahead is more satisfying than knowing you rode ahead. You work with the compass. Let others work with the clock.
Me: In tough times, how do you stay motivated?
God : Always look at how far you have come rather than how far you have to go. Always count your blessing, not what you are missing.
Me: What surprises you about people?
God : when they suffer they ask, "why me?" When they prosper, they never ask "Why me" Everyone wishes to have truth on their side, but few want to be on the side of the truth.
Me: Sometimes I ask, who am I, why am I here. I can't get the answer.
God : Seek not to find who you are, but to determine who you want to be. Stop looking for a purpose as to why you are here. Create it. Life is not a process of discovery but a process of creation.
Me: How can I get the best out of life?
God : Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear.
Me: One last question. Sometimes I feel my prayers are not answered.
God : There are no unanswered prayers. At times the answer is NO.
Me: Thank you for this wonderful chat.
God : Well. Keep the faith and drop the fear . Don't believe your doubts and doubt your beliefs. Life is a mystery to solve not a problem to resolve. Trust me. Life is wonderful if you know how to live. " Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that took our breath away! "
Hope you find this message useful !
Monday Dec 24, 2007
Things seem to be getting faster, swifter and more quicker ... agreed, all of those words tend to mean similar things, yet i can't help mouth these words given the way things are shaping up ! Oh well, i'm referring to the practice of singing Christmas carols. Usually around Christmas day, a bunch of youngsters (generally members of the choir) from our Church tend to troop in to each house and sing carols. Nothing out of the ordinary here, just that the carol session at my house this time around, set me thinking about the way things seem to be getting mindlessly fast ! For instance, recently, one evening when I was standing outside my house admiring the peace and quiet, out of the blue, i heard the roar of nearly a half-dozen motorcycles and soon enough a bunch of motorcycles and couple of cars screeched to a halt right in front of me. Even before the dust had settled, a bunch of teenagers stormed into the house and sang a few carols in quick succession and without pausing to even breathe!, they left at the same speed at which they arrived. It was not until a few moments later that i realized that it was our Church choir that was visiting all the member houses and trying to spread some good cheer, all at warp speed!
I'm amazed at the way times have changed ! I remember how a few years ago, I used to participate in these carol sessions ... we would start singing practice several weeks prior to Christmas and during the Xmas season, we'd visit almost all of the member houses over a period of about a week, there were many members whose houses we needed to cover ... yet we planned our visits to ensure we spent a little time at each house, sang whole-heartedly, interacted with the members of the household & involved them in the session, wished everyone good cheer and partook of the treats that were offered (cakes, pastries and some piping hot coffee ! ... our visits were generally during late evening / mid-night times and we needed to keep warm) ... although we had to visit many houses, we did'nt go about scurrying like scared mice ... anyways, just a few years have passed and we seem to have already become too busy to even pause a while to truly spread some cheer ! Anyways, here's wishing everyone the season's choicest and best ... have a great time.
"Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy."
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Sunday Dec 23, 2007
Its been quite a while since i've posted anything ... hold on, i'm trying to think of an excuse ... lemme see ... aha! the oft repeated phrase ... frankly i've been busy lately ... thought i'd simply post a quick update on my recent activities and so here's an update on a recent short trip to Chennai ....
So, whats special about this trip ? Absolutely nothing and thats probably of interest ... i'd say its time we rejoiced in the ordinary rather than wait for something extra-ordinary to happen.
Chennai is at a distance of about 360+ kilometers from Bangalore. Boarded a train (Sanghamitra Express) that goes to Patna via Chennai, from the Bangalore City Railway Station at 9AM last Thursday. The coach was'nt too full, which is a good thing. I like the idea of traveling during the day and having a window seat is a bonus ! Was wondering who my fellow passengers would be ... my wait ended shortly when an elderly husband-wife duo perched on the seat opposite mine. They seemed like nice folks and there were just two instances when they communicated with me - the first instance was a request from the lady asking to borrow my copy of the day's newspaper for her to solve the daily cross-word puzzle and the second instance was actually a high-pitched squeal directed at me ... i'll explain the squeal bit shortly.
Its been ages since i've traveled by train and i must admit its truly a fine experience ... there's always something interesting happening if you keep looking around ... anyways, there was a steady stream of vendors traversing the length and breadth of the coach selling bottled water, breakfast, soup, beverages, snacks and hawking their wares pretty loudly. Close to lunch time, a railway attendant arrived to take our meal order. Lunch was delivered at about 1 PM. Just as i was about to dutifully complete my task of polishing off the contents of the lunch tray ... the lady sitting opposite my seat let out that high-pitched squeal which i alluded to earlier in this post. Although taken by surprise, i retained my grip on the spoon and looked up at the source of the noise only to see her looking at me and pointing a finger ... apparently trying to communicate something. And, she did look a wee bit uncomfortable as she gestured towards the side of my right hand. Looking to my right i noticed that we had another fellow passenger (probably hungry too) ... it was a fairly cute looking rat ! I soon realized that the ticklish feeling that i felt couple of times earlier on was probably this rodent trying to grab my attention and share some of the food with it. Anyways, the rat soon realized that it was the center of all the attention and probably being a tad too introverted, it scampered out of sight ... leaving behind some not very comfortable passengers ... this was one of the times i missed all those cats of mine ...
The rest of the journey was fairly uneventful and we reached Chennai at about 3:30 PM. Took one of the famed Auto-rickshaws of Chennai to my destination (needless to state the obvious - we had a short haggling session to decide the fare). Anyway, this was a short trip and my plan was to leave to Bangalore the same day after finishing some personal work at Chennai. I returned back to the Chennai central railway station by about 6:30 PM. Before entering the railway station, took a leisurely walk on the streets outside and gorged on some very tasty street food. As darkness set in, slowly trudged back to the railway station and looked for the return train to Bangalore. The train was due at 9:30 PM and i had close to three hours to spend in the railway station, which seems like eternity when there's not much to keep you occupied. The station is truly a sprawling place teeming with humanity ... its so easy to get lost in the crowd here and after walking around for a while, in a slightly less crowded area, found an interesting place to sit, where i could spend some time quietly observing the crowds & activities at the station ... the seat was a large unused railway trolley which is generally used to ferry luggage ... hey there's a bit of the kid within ! After about half-hour of watching people watch me, I wanted some solitude and paradoxical as it may sound, sometimes the best way to get alone is to be part of the crowd. So, went ahead and joined the milling crowds; walked past various platforms and watched trains from different parts of the country arrive and depart ... and finally the time came when the Mysore Express (thats my train to Bangalore) chugged into the platform and before i knew it, a whole sea of humanity converged on the train and even before the train stopped there were hordes of people scrambling to get in. Thankfully i had reserved my seat and could take it a little easier.
The train left on time and all that was left to do was to catch some shut eye. My fellow passengers were again an elderly couple (don't ask me why !) .. who after a while, woke me up from my beauty sleep to ask me my seat number ... apparently they seemed a little confused about their seat numbers and soon figured that they were in the wrong seat numbers. They soon left and suddenly i had the entire area to myself ... just as i drifted back to sleep, an entire family with tonnes of luggage packed in innumerable boxes of all shapes and sizes, landed next to me and occupied every inch of free space. Their banter made it hard to get back to sleep. After an hour or so, they seemed to have gotten tired with their vocal exercises and settled down to take a nap which afforded me another chance to sleep. This time i was terribly tired and simply slept like a log until about 4 AM in the morning whence a couple of excited little girls ran down the aisle shouting that their station had arrived. I realized that in the next half hour we would be reaching the Bangalore City station. As the train chugged into the City railway station in the wee hours of dawn, it felt good to be back after a pretty interesting trip. That, was a short quick update from my side.
Happiness is a journey not a destination, work like you don't need money, love like you never been hurt, and dance like no ones looking ...
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Sunday Oct 28, 2007
Currently making sure that posts come out at-least on weekends - hopefully can get back to writing more often, whenever the urge strikes ! Until the next post ... here's an interesting quote about working "half-a-day" by Kammons Wilson, which i think could do wonders for productivity ! ... " I like to work half a day. I don't care if it is the first 12 hours or the second 12 hours" ...
