Ubuntu 10.10: released on 10.10.10

                              

Canonical Ltd. announced the release of its latest Ubuntu 10.10 on 10th October, 2010 (apparently the most auspicious day of this century). Open source operating system Ubuntu 10.10 is available to download for desktop, notebook, and server editions. All the versions are emphasizing Canonical’s embracing of the cloud, whether in terms of a “personal cloud” for desktop and netbook users or the deployment in virtual environment of the server edition. The first visible change comes in the installer itself.

The Ubuntu 10.10 Netbook edition has come up with the all new “Unity” user interface. It is optimized for smaller netbook screens and mobile computing. The Unity UI offers limited support for touch. Canonical says that it lets you find and rediscover your preferred applications more easily whether they are on your netbook or on the web.

Ubuntu 10.10 untangles the complexities of cloud computing in a very efficient manner. Ubuntu One Basic offers users a personal cloud for sharing and synchronizing files, contacts, bookmarks and notes. It offers 2 GB of storage and access to music from the integrated store. The Ubuntu One Mobile service supports Android mobile devices and iPhones. This allows end users to stream music from their personal cloud to their various mobile devices and synchronize contacts. Ubuntu One Mobile costs $3.99 per month or $39.99 annually. Canonical claims its server edition to be “the default open-source choice for cloud computing.” Ubuntu also allows the creation and control of public cloud. Amazon’s Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) allows you to build on-demand virtual systems on almost any scale without investing in hardware.

Ubuntu 10.10 includes Mozilla Firefox for web browsing and can also support Google Chrome (I’m especially happy for it because I use Chrome).The software named OpenOffice.org is fully compatible with Microsoft Office and has everything to create professional documents, spreadsheets and presentations. In terms of software, Ubuntu is like the iPhone. The Ubuntu Software Centre gives instant access to thousands of open-source and carefully selected free applications. Ubuntu’s new Me Menu lets the users access their Facebook and Twitter accounts and allows them to connect to all the favorite chat channels and make updates through a single window.

Ubuntu 10.10 takes less than 10 seconds for booting (good news for computer geeks who hate slow computers).Canonical says that Ubuntu loads quickly on any computer, but it’s super-fast on newer machines. What will be next? Only a six months wait can reveal (Ubuntu 11.04 planned to release on April 28, 2011).

(P.S. Now this post may seem different from my previous posts, the only thing why I was drawn to write is I’d used Ubuntu(9.04), its latest version solves the complexities of CLOUD COMPUTING(my seminar topic!!) and most importantly its release date.)

Just a thought...

The world has become a pretty small place and most of us move around a lot. We move away for school or college (and after a few months for job), and most people have friends across the country and around the globe. But even with cell phones and instant messages, chatting, email, Facebook and Twitter, I find it difficult to maintain close friendships with people who live far away.

Whether we met in high school, college, or some other time in life – chances are high that distance will come between us and some of our closest and dearest friends. Why is it hard to maintain long-distance friendships? When friends staying so far meet after a long long time, I’m elated…we can talk about the big stuff, but there is a lot of pressure to get it all out before your time is up. So much of day to day life is in the small stuff, the things you’d never want to waste time with if you only had a few hours with someone. But the everyday details are what allow you for better understanding and bonding, to take the pressure off a rare visit and focus on the moment.

I should accept that friendships come and go. That’s not to say that people are expendable, just that as we move to new phases of our lives, some relationships naturally drift apart and others form. No matter whatever you try…and hold on; this just happens. The small-small things that we shared each day reduce to just sharing the major things in life.Each of these people represents a cherished part of my life. The precious moments (no matter how small, yet sweet) spent with the dearest ones will always be etched in my heart as they embellish my life.

As these friends move away, and the distance between us grows (blindingly obvious) it feels like I’m moving farther away from what those times in my life represented.Especially now, when my life is challenging and often seems out of control, I am nostalgic for times when the future seemed so bright and full of endless possibility.

(P.S. Friendship is measured by the heart…so no matter how many miles friends are away from us, they are never far apart.)

Shall WE change?

I came across something pretty obvious. It’s something we all know but something we do not really talk about. Well, it’s not like we haven’t been doing that for age; it’s a natural tendency to blame someone else for just about everything. At some point or other, you must have said to yourself, “How come that person be so rude?” or “Why don’t he/she understand my views?” or “How come they say such a thing?” or “Why I am the one who always gets hurt?” Even I have said things like that several times. We often react this way because our emotions are a part of most people’s innate thoughts & behaviours…we respond emotionally to emotional needs of our own, rather than in a logical, rational manner.

It’s ridiculous when people spend inordinate amounts of time and energy being upset, angry or frustrated by other people’s thoughts & behaviours. We don’t think pragmatically about it when we have an emotional reaction to someone else’s behaviour or words. Why should we (by default) believe we can change another person’s (an independent, thinking self just like us) behaviours and thoughts with just a few choice words? (If we think about it for a minute…it sounds kinda ludicrous)  One of life’s hardest lessons is just change yourself, if you can’t change the world.

So what exactly am I talking about? For those wondering if I am speaking sense at all or wondering if I’m sane…let me make this simple. We get up and wonder that something is wrong. Something is wrong with system…something is wrong with the people around us…something is wrong with the country…something is wrong with our lives…something is wrong with the world…basically most things don’t seem right and we just aren’t able to do anything about it. Pardon me if I seem pessimistic. It is we who are the problem. It is us where the issues begin. Each day it’s we who decide how things happen. The world would be a better place if WE decide to take action and change accordingly…we are the one who can change things.People looking for a solution must realize that the solution to all their problems lies in themselves.The moment we  discover that within ourselves, things will change.

If we can change about the way we live our life, then it’s very easy to deal with an external change. We can’t expect the whole world to change the way we want. We must be the change we want to see in the world. In simple words, all it takes is a bit of flexibility and a force to think or act differently. It’s always easier to change our own self-image, values and behaviour( rather than someone else’s). A change from within is the smoothest and most effective way for improving the way we perceive the eccentric world (because a person thinks that everyone except him is weird in one way or the other).

When I was young and free and my imagination had no limits, I dreamed of changing the world. But now, I discovered the world would not change, my country  wont  change either. Neither I can change my family nor my friends. All I can  do  is  change  myself  first. I guess I’ve just realized something really important.  Realization is one thing, doing it is what actually matters…

(P.S. CHANGE is the word that I have been hearing these days from my colleagues. Yeah! Someone has already changed, someone is trying to change, someone is changing, someone wants to change, etc. And I thought, why not write something about this ‘change’.)

LIFE............as we know it

Well, the first thing which caught my attention when I thought of writing this blogpost is Mark Twain’s quote “Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.”  But hey! I am no philosopher or writer to write some great stuff about life…I just want to express what I feel regarding this small word LIFE (yet encompassing one’s whole lifetime) from my past experience of two decades (Oh yeah…it feels great to be in 20’s!!).

For many of us, life is not a fairy tale. You just can’t wait for a genie to fulfil all your wishes (ironically, my last Facebook status was that only). In reality, it takes a mammoth amount of efforts and perseverance to fructify just an iota of SUCCESS. All the hurdles faced in the lifetime is actually rewardful at the end because you would know the real taste of success only if you had suffered as a part of the quest. But remember success is more permanent when you achieve it without destroying your principles no matter how you have to endure hardships.

When something right or wrong happens to you, you blindly say its just DESTINY but never agree to the fact that what happened is just the consequences of your own actions. And if its destiny, then destiny too smiles on only those who’ve given ample dedication to their work. You simply can’t sit with your legs crossed and wait for golden eggs. Nothing comes so easy. The rate of achievement is directly proportional to the rate of efforts put in (This law does not exist in any subjects, I just think that way). But wait….I know many of you must be wondering about negligible yet significant factor called LUCK. When this factor is favourable, you get high rewards and when unfavourable, you fail……but I bet, you read “Fooled by Randomness” and you will be convinced that such a hypothetical factor does not exist. Without effort and preparation lucky coincidences don’t happen. All your results sheerly depend on your past actions.

Sometimes when life plays a prank on you and you are shattered by the failures, only a few people make an attempt to resurrect and fight back while most of the people are deemed to be doomed. But why don’t all understand that their chance of success lies in the trials only. Its only when the conditions seem worser, a strongly determined person’ll not quit because the HOPE (the last thing that dies in man) in him keeps him moving ahead to chase his dreams by overcoming all the failures. When the world says give up, hope whispers try it one more time.

Sometimes life gives a feeling like being in paradise (happy moments) and sometimes like being in hell (sad moments) and you say Life sucks!! Well, ups and downs make the road to the destination, we all know. In our whole lifetime what values most is the valuable time spent with others (parents, siblings, friends, relatives, etc.) and not being too selfish by cramming ‘I’, ‘me’,  ‘myself’, ‘mine’, etc. Life’s too short to live, your birth won’t make a slightest difference to the entire world (for some great personalities, it’s an exception) but you can make a difference for the people around you not for the sake of fame/recognition but just because you CARE. It would neither cost you a million bucks nor a lifetime….just simple gestures, kind words and a helping hand will work as MAGIC!!  And that’s the BEAUTY of life apart from feeling the ecstasy of spring, warmth of summer, chillness of rains, quite charm of autumn and calm of winter.

You can also leave a trail behind when you live in to an eternal hope, love and God and letting others live by your virtues. The true measure of life is not how long you live, but how well you live in peace and harmony….a life that’s short, simple and satisfied rather than an endless craving for money, fame, pleasure, pride (things that are ephemeral).

Realise the time value of life........Explore. Dream. Discover!!!

(P.S. LIFE and the related terms are defined and understood by different people differently. The above written stuff is my perspective.)