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I upgraded to Win 7 Home Premium 32-bit OS today. I had read some concerns on ramifications of a 32-bit OS with RAM of over 3 GB. I later read this post and confirmed it myself. Look at the following screenshot of my Task Manager and Computer Properties.

I can only use 3071 MB of 4GB RAM. L 

Back in December 2007, I traveled with my folks visiting the 8 temples that house Lord Ganesh. Infact, there is a wiki here that describes the temples in detail. One of many features of Google Maps I love is that it lets us create maps with custom points of interest(POI). Following is the map that locates the 8 temples.

View Larger Map

DataStage alllows generating job reports and screen shots at the command line on a client machine. This is a great help when creating documentation. The following command generates a HTML report and a bitmap image of the job. It has been verified to work on Windows XP DataStage 7.5 client.

cd C:\Program Files\Ascential\DataStage7.5.2
dsdesign.exe /H=<hostname> /U=<user> /P=<password> /R /RP="C:\Documents and Settings\Alice\My Documents\Job_Reports" <project> <job>

Example:
dsexport.exe /H=123.45.67.89 /U=alice /P=ch!cken$ /R /RP="C:\Documents and Settings\Alice\My Documents\Job_Reports" day_score extract_score_data

If you just need the screenshot alone, the following command will do.
dsdesign.exe /H=123.45.67.89 /U=alice /P=ch!cken$ /SaveAsBmp=C:\Documents and Settings\Alice\My Documents\job.bmp day_score extract_score_data

It is not uncommon for Indians who have worked in US for a while,
return back home to India and need to call customer support center for
US Banks, Offices for some reason. Gizmo lets you call US Toll Free
numbers starting with 1-800, 1-888, 1-866 at no cost from a browser on
any computer. No software installation required. Just pull up
www.gizmocall.com and dial the numbers and talk for free.

How to determine specifications of a laptop that fits your needs:

Now that you have decided to purchase a laptop, let us figure out the specifications. There are several pieces(both in the realm of software and hardware) that make up a laptop, and each piece matters differently to different people. Some value the Operating System more than the hardware, while some may value the hardware interface(keyboard, touchpad, screen) more than anything else.

The Operating System matters the most in a lot of purchases, with Windows and Mac OS ruling more than 99% of the market. Windows is in widespread use and is prevalent in both enterprise and home users. Due to its ubiquity, it is targeted in large numbers by programmers with both honest and evil intentions. Though the operating system is often accused of being relatively insecure, a few simple changes in user behavior can drastically reduce the chances of getting infected by viruses and malware. Mac OS is based on Unix and is reputed to be safer and more secure than Windows. The latest version of Windows, the Windows 7 has received much positive reviews than its predecessor, the Windows Vista. Generally speaking, it is best if the buyer get a first hand experience on either of the Operating Systems.

The Applications are programs you install on an OS to do stuff, such as write documents, compose music, edit pictures, create movies, browse the Internet, communicate via email/IM and even develop other programs. Both paid and free programs are available on Windows and Mac. In some cases, the programs that the Operating system is shipped with suffices most of the needs. However, the number of programs available for Windows is many times more than that available for Mac. That increase however, doesn't necessarily translate to quality of programs. For an excellent list of free programs for Windows, refer Trent at thesimpledollar.com

The Hardware Interface comprises of keyboard, touch-pad, track-point, display etc. The keys take the worst hit in handling. Be it the incessant pounding or the dust that permeates, the keyboard is a component that can fail often. The keyboards on large sized laptops also have a dedicated numpad. The texture and responsiveness of the Touchpad needs to be just right to make its usage second nature. The new Macbooks features a glass touch-pad, which I have personally found to be the best in laptops. Displays are another sticking point in the choice of hardware. Their sizes may vary from 8.9" to 18.4". Common sizes are the 15.4", 14", 13" and the 17". As the display gets smaller, so does the laptop, which causes problems in proper heat dissipation. To avoid overheating, smaller laptops are designed with low-power processors that run at lesser clock frequencies. So, if you want a faster processor, you might have to trade size for speed. Further points of interest are the display resolution, display texture-matte or glossy, maximum brightness. Higher the resolution, more the screen real estate as the icons and text get smaller and higher the price. As the screen gets larger, the resolution also needs to increased to retain the same text and icon size. Again, choose what you are most comfortable with. Most of the new laptops now come equipped with web-cams, fingerprint sensors, blue tooth, IR receivers. Generally, these components have standard hardware specifications and those are good to go along. Currently, web-cams come in 1.3MP and 2MP resolution and web-cams aren't replaceable. The memory card reader, the Express card slots are another important interface. The most popular memory card format among digital camera is the SD Card and so it might be helpful if the laptop sports a SD card reader.

At this point, you might have a clearer picture of what kind of a laptop you want. I will continue on this discussion in a later post.

While reading Jeff's post on visual encoding, I came across Aztec Code which looks something as shown below.

From Wiki, "Data is encoded in a series of circles around the bulls-eye pattern. Each additional circle completely surrounds the previous circle causing the symbol to grow in size as more data is encoded. A dark module is a binary 1 and a light module is a binary 0. The code is orientation independent." I then realized that I had a close encounter with Aztec Code - on a boarding pass which I have talked about here. Turns out that Aztec Code has been selected by the airline industry for the electronic boarding passes. However, on my flight other paper boarding passes still carried the Bar Code.

Gdgt is a new social site focused on discussion, sharing, reviews of gadgets created by Ryan Block (former Engadget Editor-in-chief) and Peter Rojas (founder of Engadget). Here is my short review of the Sprint Blackberry Curve 8330 on the site.

Purchasing a laptop should be an exciting feeling but its easy to feel overwhelmed and clueless when faced with the multitude of choices in hardware, software, the different brands and their prices. This post is the first in a series of posts composed by Mano and I who have together 8 years of experience in making and recommending purchases. We hope that reading these posts can clear up any questions you might have and we always welcome feedback.

Laptop makers build the innards of laptops using components made by hardware manufacturers and then designing a frame to hold all the components in. An operating system is then installed after purchasing a license from a software company. Dell, HP, Acer, Apple, Asus are a few examples of Laptop makers. Hitachi, Seagate, Samsung are hardware manufacturers. Microsoft and Apple are the two biggest and provide the two most common Operating Systems, the Windows and Mac OS respectively. As such, there are laptops made by Dell and laptops made by HP. There are laptops with Windows installed on them and laptops with Mac OS installed on them.

Companies like Dell, HP, Sony build Windows laptops, also called as PC laptops. As said earlier, these companies build them using components manufactured by Hardware makers such as Intel, AMD, Samsung, etc. So, its not surprising to find a Dell laptop and a HP laptop with the same exact components, give or take a few. The difference exists only in the frame, and the finishing of a laptop. The key spacing on the keyboard, their texture, the feel of the touchpad, the glossiness of the screen, the sturdiness of the hinges, the placement of the external ports, speakers, and the cooling fan, the fine shape, color of the laptop, are what differs among the many PC laptops. And these differences translate into price differences. As an example, a Sony laptop can cost twice as much as a HP laptop with identical components on the inside.

Macbooks are laptops which run Mac OS and are made only by Apple and sold by a few retailers. Similar to PC laptops, Macbooks are built using hardware components made by others. The difference, as you might have guessed lies in the frame and finishing and the Operating System.

On Reliability, no one can assure that one laptop from a manufacturer will have the same reliability as another laptop from the same manufacturer (true for all electronic equipments). One laptop might work for 5 years without any issues and the other might stop working the very next day you bought it. It all depends on what breaks. A hardware issue is worse than a software one. If software breaks, the most you will lose is data, which can be covered with regular backups. You spend some time, restoring the data, reinstalling the software, maybe replacing it with another one with almost no expense and you are on your way. If hardware breaks, the laptop becomes unusable depending on severity of the issue. Hardware fixes aren't as easy or an inexpensive as software fixes. Software issues can be fixed even by a beginner by going online and researching if anyone else have had the issue and how they fixed it. Generally, laptops are fragile and need to be handled delicately for longer lifespans. But you can never know when they might start acting up. All manufacturers provide a year's worth of warranty to cover damages. Usually, if the warranty is valid, getting a laptop fixed can be as simple as picking up the phone and calling the warranty provider.

The next post will suggest ideas on how to buy Windows laptops.

A college buddy and I are at the top of Alam Rock Hill in San Jose, CA after a exhausting but refreshing 30 min quick trek. I can see the sun set and the moon rise on either horizon overlooking the city of San Jose. A nice end to my 3 day tour of San Francisco area. Sent from my BlackBerry