Immortals Of Meluha: Must Read Book

Amish Tripathi's Immortals of Meluha is a wonderful read and it is indeed a page turner. It has become one of the best-sellers in India and the book is the 1 part of the series released in the name of "The Shiva Trilogy". The 3rd part is yet to be released, but you buy the first 2 parts from any online store. 
The 2 parts which are already in book stores are:

1. The Immortals of Meluha 
2. The Secret of the Nagas


About Shiva

Shiva a.k.a Mahadev is a Hindu deity, and is the Destroyer or Transformer among the Trimurti ( Brahma, Vishnu,Shiva) who are believed to be the balancing the entire universe. Shiva is regarded as the most powerful god as he is believed to have the power to destruct this whole universe. He is often depicted as immersed in deep meditation and In fierce aspects, he is often depicted slaying demons.

About the Book

Amish Tripathi has used his imagination well and tried to portrayed Shiva as a man who has become Legend by his work or his karma and not because just it was written in our mythological books. And this books took you through that journey which made him that legend. 

Shiva is a tribal leader of the Guna tribe who are fighting everyday for survival from the hostile enemy who seem to surround them from all sides. Shiva is brave, smart, loves to relax by having chill-um (a pipe used for smoking cannabis.) and his fighting tactics are perfect. Then comes Meluha, the kingdom of Suryavanshis, the perfect society created by lord Ram and following his path to create a balanced society. Their citizens are well fed, contented and their kingdom is a perfect place to live. 

Shiva along with his tribe left his place and moved towards Meluha where he learns that he is destined to be the saviour of the Meluhans just because he has a blue throat ( which also gives him another name Neelkanth), and Suryavanshis were waiting eagerly for him to lead them in their battle against evil Chandravanshis. Suryavanshis believe that Chandavanshis are behind their holy liquid which is their power source and can keep them alive forever.

Now Shiva is expected to save them, but he needs to understand himself first. Is he really the one ? How can a foreigner wild tribesman can be a saviour of such a perfect society?  Is he destined for this? How the Chandravanshis are believed to be working along with Nagas who are dangerous and lethal. The book will take you to this wonderful journey which will keep unfolding new secrets as it proceeds.  

Characters

The characters and the roles are well drawn and nicely narrated and their description is well written which helps you to picture them perfectly like Nandi: Shiva's friend and his devotee, Daksha: the king of Suryavanshis, Sati: the bold and beautiful, Parvateshwar: A warrior who believes that only one's karma can make someone a legend, The Naga's who are tactful, poisonous and lethal fighters. 

Many more characters are there and you'll come to know them better once you read the book. Don't Read it only because it is a best-seller but because it is different from regular stuff and I bet you'll enjoy it. 

Bug Bash: How to have Fun with Testing

Testing is fun and i am realizing the power of testing now when i can see the real difference it is making in making a successful product. Without testing, you can never assure a quality product. And no matter how much arguments we make, we will admit it one day.

People consider testing as boring and less competitive because they think that it doesn't have that opportunities which other fields of software development cycle provides. They just do it as a very monotonous way and slowly they start loosing the interest in that completely. Testing is fun and one such fun event is called: Bug Bash.

What is a Bug Bash 

Software development defines bug bash is a  event or where all the testers, developers, infra, leads, project managers,analysts, designers, senior managers, documentation folks or even directors or particular division and  last but not the least, sometimes marketing people, put aside their regular activities and strike the product simultaneously to get the as much know how about the product as possible.


Some good reads for testing:

How to Organize Bug Bash

An event like these needs to be declared well in advance so that proper arrangements can be made and the test scope is sent across to the concerned people and then testers assist them in setting the resources properly to work on it. Tester will also help them in understanding about the bug. 

The event can be done for as much time as you wish, but generally test management have it for around 1 hour or so which will keep the interest intact. The event can be followed by prize distribution where employees can be awarded token of appreciation for finding the good bugs. Which further can be followed by drinks or snacks as per the availability and just to get it social. 

I arranged in a proper manner, a Bug Bash can be a very successful and a very interesting event where employees will come to understand the system better and it is really helpful to see that how system handles the load when so many people together are using it and at till what time it can sustain before going down. Teams can also sit together after the event to understand what has been learnt and how the system can be improved. Also they can explain their experiences and exceptions from the system. 

Bug Bash is a fun and useful exercise and at the same time least expensive which can come out with potential problems in the system. 

It proved to be a rather useful, inexpensive, fun exercise which could flush out potential problems and give everyone more confidence in the system-under-test. 

You Might Like to Read

Important Software Testing Interview Questions: Part 1
Important Software Testing Interview Questions: Part 2 
Testing Fundamentals

Mere Nishan Lyrics : Oh My God

If you are into music then you probably have heard the latest song: "Mere Nishaan" from the movie Oh My God. Kailash kher has sung it exceptionally well and the lyrics are indeed lovely and totally drags you inside and ask you this question that what might GOD be thinking when he looks down upon us.

He might be guilty of what he has created and trying to find his imprints somewhere on this earth and still in this belief that he might alive at some places. They lyrics are deep and will make you ponder over them and even if your compare it with any devotional song they are not slightly less. 

You can listen it below:

Here are the song lyrics:

 Main toh nahin hoon insaan mein,
  Bikta hoon main toh in dukano mein
 (I am not inside Human heart, i am just an 
    Idol in the shop waiting to be purchased)

Duniya banai maine hathon se, Mitti se nahi jaz baaton se, 
Fir raha hoon doondh ta Mere nishaan Hain kahaan  
(I created this world with my own hands, 
 not with Soil but with emotions, trying 
 to search, my imprints, my identity )

O..ho.ho.. mere nishaan  Mere nishaan (Repeat)

Tere hi saaya banke, Tere saath chala main, 
Jab dhoop aayi teri sar pe Toh chau bana main (Repeat once)
(I became your shadow and walked with you,
  Protected you from intense sunlight by becoming your shelter)

Rahon mein teri raha.. Main hum safar ki tarah..
(I stayed with you like a friend all the way)

Uljha hai phir bhi tu jaalo mein, Dhoonde sawalon ko jawabo mein
Khoya hua hai tu kahaan Tu.. kahaan
(Then why are you still stuck in the web,
 why trying to search questions when there
 are answers, where are you lost ? )

Mere nishaan  Hain kahaan (Repeat)
Mujhse bane hai ye panchi, Ye behta paani
Leke zameen se aasman tak Meri hi kahani 
(I created these birds and this flowing water,
 From earth to Sky, it my story only and i am everywhere)

Tu bhi hai mujh se bana.. Baante mujhe kyun yahaan
Meri banayi Taqdeeren hai,  Saanson bhari yeh tasveeren hai, 
Phir bhi hai kyun bezubaan
(Even you are created from me, then why are you dividing me ?? )
(I created this destiny, and my picutres do breathe, still they don't speak ? )


Mere nishaan Hain kahaan (Repeat)

Song: Mere Nishaan
Singer: Kailash Kher, Meet Bros Anjjan
Lyricist: Kumaar
Music Director: Meet Bros Anjjan

Hope you Enjoyed reading them as much as i love writing them!!

Varandha Ghats: Best place to travel in Monsoons

I know i am late at the time of writing this article as September is almost over and the monsoons are almost gone. But i had such a great time there i can't stop writing about it. And also one should put it on the paper when thought arrives because it will never be the same thought again. 

Well, from all the destinations i went through in or around Pune this Monsoons, i had best experience going through Varandha ghats. Varandha Ghats are the mountain pass in the Western Ghats range in Pune district, Maharashtra India. The best part is they are very less explored and hence the beauty is intact. Also there is hardly any civilization after the Bhor village and that's what makes it more beautiful. Just nature all around and the sound of water and air only makes you go on the top of the world. 

The route from Pune

Varandha ghat road is around 80 kms from Swargate Pune. I am considering Swargate because its a very common stop and most of the puneites or even the outsiders know about or can reach there easily. So if you are on a private vehicle it would be fun. 

             Map from Swargate to Varandha Ghats ( Courtesy: Google Map)

The Route beautiful

From swargate, start moving towards the Katraj and keep going towards the Katraj ghats. After crossing the Katraj ghats you will get connected to Pune-Bangalore Highway. People coming from Aundh, Kothrud, Wakad etc. can directly take the pune-Bangalore highway.

                                 

Keep going straight you'll reach Kapurhol ( from where left turn will take you to Mini balaji, a famous temple in Pune Maharashtra ) , and after going going around 500m you'll see an HP petrol pump on your left and on your right you'll see a road which will take you to bhor. You can also see the boards of adventure plus on the road which are on the same way around 10-15 kms from that road.

On the way to Bhor. (Image Courtesy: Iklick Photography)

You'll cross the river bridge and beautiful Bhatghar dam on the way. Do stop and enjoy the scenic beauty.

   

A tryst with nature in Bhor. (Image Courtsey: Iklick Photography)

After crossing the bhor village, you'll see a board towards Mahad, take that road and they will take you through Vrandha ghats.

The Bhatghar dam.(Image Courtsey: Iklick Photography)

 

                 Waterfall on the way. (Image Courtsey: Iklick Photography)

Bhor will be the last village you'll see and from that place to around 40-50 Kms stretch you'll hardly see any people around apart from tourist or some small 1 or 2 food outlets. And you'll encounter another beautiful Nira Deoghar dam on the way whose beauty is unbelievable. Do stand there and you'll understand.

         Backwaters, Nira Deoghar dam. (Image Courtsey: Iklick Photography)

The route is not that much complex but it would be good if you go in a group of few to avoid trouble. Better to leave for such places early morning because they are not safe places to travel through the night. And enjoy this place before it gets explored more and start loosing its beauty.

Also there are no Lodge or hotels on the way so leave on time and best way is to cross them and reach Mahad city from where you can either connect to Mumbai Goa highway which will take you to Mumbai and is around 160 kms from mahad or you can take a road to Mahabaleshwar which is around 6o kms from mahad and is another beautiful hill stations to enjoy in monsoons.

Barfi: Why you should watch it

There have been lot of reviews about Anurag Basu's latest piece: Barfi. To be frank there is nothing special in the movie which you will remember for long but on the other side there are many lovely small things which can make you laugh and cry at the same time. Its a movie about loving without limits and the best thing this movie teaches us is that your disability cannot stop you from loving someone.

Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra are heart and soul of this movie. Although all the characters did wonderful but they both were carrying the movie so beautifully that you just feel like watching them the whole time. Its a story about a person who is deaf and mute from birth and a kind of happy go lucky person that everyone in the small city of darjeeling loves him like a darling.

Barfi(ranbir) plays, smiles, do pranks, irritates but still loved by all because that's what make others smile too. He proudly boast about himself and openly express his love to someone without making his disability as his barrier. He is not rich but he do enjoy the perfect sleep by putting his head on his dad's stomach which is the another best place to sleep in the world after your mom's lap. 

And then comes our lovely jhilmil played by Priyanka chopra who is autistic and is forced to live in away from her family in a day care just because people believe that autism is a kind of sickness. She is crazy and doesn't allow anyone to be touching her or coming near to her. She is an old childhood friend of barfi but since she also big girl now so her inner self pulls her towards being a women and that translation she plays is wonderful. Watch this movie for her beautiful face and hair and i bet you won't regret it.

Another character or i would rather say: the narrator of the story is Shruti played by Ileana D'Cruz, who fall in love with ranbir because he make her go crazy and he make her enjoy all the time. But as usual she is rich and Barfi is poor so she suppose to marry a rich and smart Boy she thought she is on love but after meeting ranbir she didn't felt so. And so even after marrying the other boy , her destiny keeps her pulling towards barfi because with him she is what she is. 

Another lovely thing about barfi is its music. Pritam has done a nice job and since the movie has not much dialogues so the music has done nicely to cover the moments for which words are not required.

Barfi is full of lovely moments with very innocent things like the ransom letter ranbir writes and spelling mistakes in the ransom letter is indeed beautiful and the last thing that barfi teaches you: "Who says love happens only once" is the moral of this movie. Go watch it for a simple laugh and brighten up your day.

Watch it for its simplicity, its acting and its Music.

How to Select a Manager: Funny Interview

Interviewer: Tell me about yourself. 

Candidate: I am Rameshwar Kulkarni. I did my Tele Communication engineering from BabanRao Dhole-Patil Institute of Technology.
 
Interviewer: ok, it seems you have taken 6 years to complete your engineering.  
Candidate: Actually I tried my best to finish it in 4 years. But you know, these cricket matches and football world cup, and tennis tournaments. It is difficult to concentrate. So I flunked in 2nd and 3rd year. So in all I took 4 + 2 = 7 years.
 
Interviewer: But 4+2 is 6.
 Candidate: Oh, is it? You know I always had KT in maths. But I will try to keep this in mind. 4+2 is   6, good, thanks.
 
Interviewer: Ok, What is your biggest achievement in life?
 Candidate: Obviously, completing my Engineering. My mom never thought I would complete it. In fact, when i flunked in 3rd year, she was looking for a job for me in BEST (Bus corporation in Maharashtra) through some relative.
 
Interviewer: Let's talk about technical stuff. On which platforms have you worked?
 Candidate: Well, I work at SEEPZ, so you can say Andheri is my current platform. Earlier I was at Vashi center. So Vashi was my platform then. As you can see I have experience of different platforms! 
 
Interviewer: And which languages have you used?
Candidate: Marathi, Hindi, and English. By the way, I can keep quiet in German, French, Russian and many other languages ha ha ha...
 
Interviewer: Why VC is better than VB?
Candidate: It is a common sense - C comes after B. So VC is a higher version than VB. I heard very soon they are coming up with a new language VD!
 
Interviewer: Do you know anything about Assembly Language?
Candidate: Well, I have not heard of it. But I guess, this is the language our ministers and MPs use in assembly.
 
Interviewer: What is your general project experience?
Candidate: My general experience about projects is - most of the times they are in pipeline!
 
Interviewer: Can you tell me about your current job?
Candidate: Sure, Currently I am working for Bata InfoTech ltd. Since joining BIL, I am on Bench. Before joining BIL, I used to think that Bench was another software like Windows ha ha ha.
 
Interviewer: Do you have any project management experience?
Candidate: No, but I guess it shouldn't be difficult. I know Word and Excel. I can talk a lot. I know how to dial for International phone call and use speaker facility. And very important - I know few words like - 'Showstoppers', 'hotfixes', 'SEI-CMM', 'quality', 'version control', ‘deadlines’, 'Customer Satisfaction' etc. Also I can blame others for my mistakes!
 
Interviewer: What are your expectations from our company?
Candidate: Not much.

1.	I should at least get 100,000 in hand.
2.	I would like to work on a live EJB project. But it should not have deadlines. I personally feel that pressure affects natural talent.
3.	I believe in flexi-timings.
4.	Dress code is against basic freedom, so I would like to wear t-shirt and jeans.
5.	We must have sat-sun off. I will suggest Wednesday off also, so as to avoid breakdown due to overwork.
6.	I would like to go abroad 3 times a year on short term (preferably 1-2 months) assignments.Personally I prefer US, Europe. But considering the fact that there is a world cup in Australia in 2015,I don't mind going there in that period. As you can see I am modest and don't have many expectations. So can I assume my selection?

Interviewer: ha ha ha ha ha ha. Thanks for your interest in our organization. You are welcome in to our family. Your current position will be a project manager. We look forward to working with. Thank you.

Madari Song - Coke Studio: Lyrics with Translation

Coke Studio enters its Second Season in India and with slightly disappointing Season 1, It was least expected out of Season 2 also, but then came 'Madari' , A song that can blow your mind , a composition that can beat anything, came and changed Coke Studio Completely. If you haven't listen the song then leave everything behind, get yourself a nice headset, close your eyes and just Listen and Enjoy:

Now, I can bet that you will be looking for lyrics as the song is so mesmerizing that you feel like singing along and learning it all the way. The song is in two languages : Hindi and Punjabi. 

By Madari, Writer want to address God: Like the way Madari controls the Monkey , the God above is controlling all of us. He is our controller: 'Madari' and we are his servants: 'Jamure'

So here are the Lyrics:

[Vishal Dadlani]

Madari, Madari, Madari,  Madari mera tu,

Main Jamura re Jamoora, Jamura re Jamoora... 

Master, master, master, you're my master,
I'm your obedient servant ,an obedient servant...

Tera damroo baje, baje damroo, Man ka mayura, 

Man ka mayura, Jam ke naache...

Your drum beats, the drum beats, 

Peacock of my heart started dancing ( Means it felt euphoric).

Teri vaani ke dam par,  vaani ke dam par!
Jag saara bhaage Aage paache.

On the strength of your voice/words, On the strength of your voice/words!
The entire world runs hither thither.

Tu hi dhare muskan ki booti, Cheetein tu ashuwan ki phoohar.
Tu hi dhare saagar kaa thela, Tu hi bhare nadiyaan mein dhar.

You are the one who hold keys to happiness).
You create youth and energy.
You're the one who takes care of the seas. You're the one who gives flow to the rivers.

[Sonu Kakkar]

Haaji lok maakke nu jaande, Assa te jaana Takht Hazare.
Te jis wal yaar, Us wal kaaaba... Te assan phol kataabaan chare...

The people who do the Haj go towards Mecca.
But I'm going towards the throne/shrine of Hazare instead.
(Takht Hazara was home town of Ranjha. So, its like Home of Love)

In whichever direction is your beloved, that's the direction of the Kaaba (of prayer). We have read and scrutinized the books rigorously for this.

Itt kharakke, dukhhad wajje, Tatta hove chulha.
Aan fakir tey khake jaawan, Razi hovay Bullah.

Bricks clang, the dukkhad plays,
The stove is heating up.
Ascetics may come, have food, be merry, and go.
Bulle Shah Satisfied and contended

(Context: In the olden days, wood fired stoves made of brick were used for cooking. They were kindled by blowpipes called 'dukkhads' and housewives would do charity by cooking for ascetics.)

[Vishal Dadlani]

Teri rukhi-sookhi, sookhi-rukhi, kha ke dekha, Har ek niwalah amrit laage.
Tere rehmo karam se, rehmo karam se!  Har phoote kismat uthke bhage...

We tried your plain, simple food and
every bite now feels like the elixir of immortality. With your grace, Every person's bad luck/poor destiny goes away..

Jitna bhar le khilonein mein chaabi, Utni hai uski raftar.
Tu chalata hai jeevan ka mela, Tu hi sunein hum sab ki phuhaar.

The speed of the toy with which it runs is decided by the amount of winding you give to that toy.
You run the circus of life, You're the one who listens to our spouting.

Madari, Madari, Madari, Madari mera tu,
Main Jamura re Jamoora, Jamura re Jamoora... 

CREDITS:

Language: Hindi & Punjabi

Producer: Clinton Cerejo

Vocals: Vishal Dadlani & Sonu Kakkar

Lyrics: Traditional Lyrics & Manoj Yadav

Mandolin: Chandrakant Lakhpati

Keys: Beven Fonseca

Keys: Aman Mahajan

Drums: Lindsay D’Mello

Guitar: Shon Pinto

Guitar: Nyzel D’Lima

Bass: Rushaad Mistry

Dholak: Aslam Dafrani

Dholak: Haneef  Dhfrani

Backing Vocals: Lynn D’souza

Backing Vocals: Thomson Andrews

Backing Vocals: Dwayne Leroy Gamree

Backing Vocals: Crystal Sequeira

Letter from Koodamkulam women

Hi Friends, 

I am posting this blog post on the behalf of people who are protesting in Tamil Nadu against the Koodankulam Nuclear plant. Below is the letter we

have got from them and they need support from people to fight against it. Please spread the message.

From

The Women of Koodankulam

People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy

Idinthakarai

Thirunelveli District

Tamil Nadu

Dear Sister,

We hope this letter finds you well. We are sure that you would have liked to hear the same from us. But today, we cannot say that even to fool you or fool this moment in history.Things are not fine with us anymore here in Idinthakarai, Tsunami Rehabilitation Colony, Koodankulam, Koottapuli, Perumanal, Koottapana, Manappad and so on. The situation in Thoothukudy where our friends fasted inside the Church in support became tense after we lost a dear brother. How can we say we feel good?

Today morning, a sister from nearby Tsunami colony was arrested as she got out of her house. We miss the unifying presence of Xavieramma, the quick and efficient Sundari and the slight Selvi who have been taken to a destination that is unknown. Our homes painstakingly built up with hard earned money and effort have been broken down, with utensils and almirahs thrown out and trampled upon. Many of us are not able to go back there and evaluate what has been lost or destroyed. Our friend Inita was hurt badly. So too, many children. The worst part is the fear that now fills the eyes of our small ones. As all this was happening, many of us were paralysed by the cries of the tiny tots whom we had to carry, drag and run in the sand.

We hear that 60 of our friends from Koodankulam are in jail somewhere. It seems improbable that 20 men who were undergoing treatment for injuries in hospitals have not come back home after being discharged, but that is the truth. We have no drinking water supply since 48 hours and electric supply is intermittent. We are on a 48 hour fast too. The friends from Thoothukudy are ready to bring us rice and other provisions, but they have not been able to reach us because of road blocks. Our children have not gone to school. They have not been bathed or fed properly since the 9^th evening. We feel uncomfortable and scared to go to our own homes. Have you ever had that feeling?

Now we are sitting and sleeping in the comfort of each other and the security of the Samara pandal which has been our second home for over an year. But for how long?

Many would say we brought it on ourselves and have no right to complain. But what other way did we have? To agree to the commissioning of the Koodankulam Power Plant? After knowing that it will spew 50 trillion Becquerels of radio nuclides every year into the air and discharge 70 tons of water at temperatures varying between 36- 45 degree centigrade? Would you have felt good to be one of the 2000 living less than 900 metres away from the Plant? After seeing the Fukushima disaster and images from Chernobyl, how could we agree to all this just close by? Many say we have been brainwashed and misled. Yes, ignorance is bliss. But not in this case. We are glad to be informed and to know with clarity about what could be in store for us. This alone has empowered us and strengthened our resolve not to allow the commissioning of the Nuclear Plant.

We hear that instead of immediately withdrawing the police force and initiating a decent dialogue with us, many were talking about the foreign funds and the poor illiterate people that we are supposed to be. At this stage at least when we are back to the wall, please do not refer to us so. We have built up this movement with our daily toil. We are proud of this. We are not afraid of hard, honest work as long as the sea and land is there.

We reiterate our earlier request and demands even now:

1.Please intervene and stop all police force in and around the villages. We do not intend to commit any violence. We know that violence begets violence. We value our life and peace.

2. Please stop the commissioning of the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant immediately after engaging in a dialogue with us. We know that it is unsafe and the energy so produced is uneconomical and unnecessary.

3. Please engage in a national level talk on other sources of energy that are in surplus in our country.

4. Release all our friends and family arrested and kept in jails / withdraw all false cases against them.

5. Please ensure that we would be able to live in our homes without fear and that basic amenities like water and electricity will not be disrupted.

Do have the boldness and honesty to come here and see for yourself the beauty and simplicity of our lives. This is the time we need you. Please break the barricades and hindrances that have been created and walk in fearlessly to see us here. Please act and intervene as fast as possible. We cannot afford to lose one more life, scare one more child, break one more house anymore….

Do stand by truth, justice and womanhood

September 12, 2012

regards

Usha

The situation in Koodamkulam is really terrible. My friend who translated this letter request all of us to gather support to this struggle

--

 

M. DAVID AMALANADANE
PHARMACIST-ONGC
CHELLAMAL ILLAM, Ist FLOOR
123, Ist CROSS, BHARATHY NAGAR,
KARAIKAL 609 602.
Mobile: 97516 70140 ;  94425 93448 

Hubs and Switches: A brief look

Both hubs and switches are important exchange points at the logical centre of an Ethernet network. Each computer or other network node connects to a hub or switch through a cable plugged into a port. In a small network, a hub or switch is almost always a tabletop box with indicator lights on the front and Ethernet ports on the back. In a larger network, the hub or switch might be a panel that mounts in an equipment rack.


The maximum data transfer speed of a network is the data-handling speed of the hub or switch.  Today, the most common hubs and switches are designed for both 10Mbps and 100 Mbps operation. The latest generation of switches and hubs supports even faster Gigabit Ethernet (1000 Mbps) switches but only at slightly higher prices than those of older 100 Mbps versions.



Hub

A hub is a broadcast domain and when a data packet enters a hub, the hub relays that packet to all of the hub’s ports. Each node compares the address on the packet with its own address and either accepts it if the address is the same or ignores it if the packet is addressed to some other node. Because the hub sends each packet to every port, only one packet can travel through the network at a time. If two or more computers try to send packets at exactly the same time, Ethernet’s collision detection feature forces them to stop, wait, and try again a fraction of a second later. Also the hub adopts the shared bandwidth working mode.

In order to prevent collisions, each node must examine the network to be certain that no other node is already using the hub before it transmits a packet. Therefore, a network with a 10/100 hub is no faster than the slowest node. If all the computers in your network use 100 Mbps network adapters but the printer connects through a 10 Mbps port, the whole network will run at only 10 Mbps or less. 


As more nodes try to use a hub at the same time, the data transfer speed  through the entire network drops. This could have a significant effect on a busy network that uses a hub: The actual data transfer could be only a fraction of the nominal 10 Mbps or 100 Mbps. In general, hubs are slow, simple, and cheap.



Switch


The switch is a device of data link layer, forwards and floods data frames based on the MAC address. It connects the nodes of a network to one another but rather than sending every packet to every port, a switch reads the MAC address of each incoming packet and sets up a direct connection from the source of each packet to its destination. In the meantime, if some other node tries to send a data packet to another unused port, the switch can set up the link without breaking the other connection. 

A switch can handle more than one connection at the same time. Because a network node connected to a switch doesn't have to monitor the entire network for possible collisions, it can send and receive data at the same time. 


Networks in larger business offices usually run cables from each computer back to a central space where all the switching equipment is mounted on a wall plate or an equipment rack. This is often the same room where in-house telephone equipment connects to the telephone company’s outside lines. This space is often called a wiring closet.



Switches increases the number of collisions domains in the network. Switches that are configured with VLANs will reduce the size of the collision domains by increasing the number of collision domains in a network, but making them smaller than that of one big, flat network.

Enjoy!!!.

You Might like to Read:

What is the Function of a Router 
Linux Networking Commands 
ATM Networks Explained

Working with ePUB File Type in Ubuntu

What is an ePUB File?

ePUB (short for electronic publication) is a free and open e-book standard by the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF). Files have the extension .epub. ePUB is designed for re-flowable content, meaning that an ePUB reader can optimize text for a particular display device. ePUB also supports fixed-layout content. The format is intended as a single format that publishers and conversion houses can use in-house, as well as for distribution and sale. It supersedes the Open eBook standard.

Features of ePUB Extension:

• Free and open
• Reflowable (word wrap) and resizable text
• Inline raster and vector images
• Embedded metadata
• DRM support
• CSS styling
• Support for alternative renditions in the same file
• Use of out-of-line and inline XML islands to extend the functionality of ePUB

How to Open ePUB file


The easiest way to open an ePUB file is to double-click on it and let your PC decide which default application should open the file. If no program opens the ePUB file then you probably don't have an application installed that can view and/or edit ePUB files.

EPUB files can also be opened on a computer with various free programs including Calibre,Adobe Digital Editions, Stanza Desktop, Mobipocket Reader Desktop, Okular, and many more.

You can use any of the above, but if we see the user friendly behaviour and the ease of use and installation in Linux or Ubuntu in our case, the best alternative is to use: 

   Firefox AddOn: EPUB Reader

Firefox has provided and addon to open the file with EPUB extension called: EPUB Reader. Just find the addon name in firefox and add it to the browser. Current version as of writing the article is: 1.4.2.1. After the installation is complete, just restart the browser and you are done. 

Then got to Firefox - File- Open File and just give the path to the ePUB file and bingo. You should be able to see the contents now.

Calibre

Other best option is to install the Calibre software for Ubuntu. I hope you are familiar with software installation in Ubuntu. If not then you can read it Here. For installing the software the package manager may ask you to install libraries or other dependent packages, just select them and click on apply as shown in below screenshot. 

           

After installing the Calibre, when you launch the software , you'll be shown the screen to setup the location for library as shown in below screenshot.

Just Click Next and then proceed till Finish. You can now see the Homepage of the software as shown below. You just have to click on Add Books to add the ePUB file you want to open. After adding the file, double click it and you should be able to see the contents. 

The best feature of Calibre software is the file conversion, where you can convert the ePUB file from any format you like of your choice. Mostly we convert to PDF format as it is the most basic viewer to be found on every system. You have to select the book you want to convert and then Click on Convert Book. Give the required details like Output format( You can choose as per your requirement) and other relevant details and Click on Ok. On the right below corner, the Jobs will show the conversion proceed and after it turns to 0 means the conversion is complete as shown in below screenshot.  

There are many other different , distinct features you can find there. Try them out. Let me know in case you need more information on them. Hope it helps. Enjoy.

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Unix Shells in a Nutshell

A Shell is a command line interpreter. As command interpreters, they process commands you enter on the command line in response to a prompt. We can also use the shell as a programming language where it processes commands stored in files called shell scripts. Like other languages, shells have variables and control flow commands (for example, for loops and if statements). 

When we use a shell as a command interpreter, we can customize the environment we are working in. We can make shell prompt display the name of the working directory, create a function or alias for cp that keeps it from overwriting certain kinds of files and so on. We can also write shell scripts that do our bidding, from a one-line script that stores a long, complex command to a longer script that runs a set of reports, prints them, and mails you a reminder when the job is done. 

Lets see which are the various shells available in UNIX or LINUX for us to work upon.

Bourne Shell(sh)

Because of its long and successful history, the original Bourne Shell has been used to write many of the shell scripts that help manage UNIX systems. On UNIX systems the original Bourne Shell is named sh. On Linux systems sh is a symbolic link to bash ensuring that scripts that require the presence of the Bourne Shell still run. 

Bourne Again Shell(bash)

Bash is a Unix shell written by Brian Fox for the GNU Project as a free software replacement for the Bourne shell (sh). Released in 1989, it has been distributed widely as the shell for the GNU operating system and as the default shell on Linux and Mac OS X. Bash can also read commands from a file, called a script. Like all Unix shells, it supports filename wildcarding, piping, command substitution, variables and control structures for condition-testing and iteration. The keywords, syntax and other basic features of the language were all copied from sh. 

Korn Shell(ksh)

KornShell (ksh) is a Unix shell which was developed by David Korn at Bell Labs in the early 1980s and announced at USENIX on July 14, 1983. KornShell is backward-compatible with the Bourne shell and includes many features of the C shell, inspired by the requests of Bell Labs users. KornShell complies with POSIX.2, Shell and Utilities, Command Interpreter (IEEE Std 1003.2-1992.) Major differences between KornShell and the traditional Bourne shell include:

• Job control, command aliasing, and command history designed after the corresponding C shell features.
• Three WYSIWYG-style line editing modes designed to make an interactive shell session behave like vi, Emacs, or XEmacs;
• Associative arrays and built-in floating point arithmetic operations (only available in the ksh93 version of KornShell.)

Z shell(zsh)
The Z shell (zsh) is a Unix shell that can be used as an interactive login shell and as a powerful command interpreter for shell scripting. Zsh can be thought of as an extended Bourne shell with a large number of improvements, including some features of bash, ksh, and tcsh.

Features:

• Programmable command-line completion that can help the user type both options and arguments for most used commands, with out-of-the-box support for several hundred commands
• Sharing of command history among all running shells
• Extended file globbing allows file specification without needing to run an external program such as find
• Improved variable/array handling
• Editing of multi-line commands in a single buffer
• Spelling correction
• Various compatibility modes, e.g. zsh can pretend to be a Bourne shell when run as /bin/sh
• Themeable prompts, including the ability to put prompt information on the right side of the screen and have it auto-hide when typing a long command
• Loadable modules, providing among other things: full TCP and Unix domain socket controls, an FTP client, and extended math functions
• Fully customizable

Tee Shell(tsch)
tcsh  is a Unix shell based  on and compatible with the C shell (csh). It is essentially the  C shell with programmable  command line completion, command-line editing, and a few other features.

Features:

• Command history
• The built-in history command displays the previously-entered commands
• Command line editing
• Auto-completion of file names and variables at the command line
• Alias argument selectors; the ability to define an alias to take arguments supplied to it and apply them to the commands that it refers to. Tcsh is the only shell that provides this feature.
• Wildcard matching
• Job control
• The built-in where command. Works like the which command but shows all locations of the target command in the directories specified in $PATH rather than only the one that will be used.

The C Shell(csh)

The C shell (csh or the improved version, tcsh, on most machines) is a Unix shell  that was created by Bill Joy while a graduate student at University of California,  Berkeley in the late 1970s. It has been distributed widely, beginning with the 2BSD release of the BSD Unix system that Joy began distributing in 1978. Other early contributors to the ideas or the code were Michael Ubell, Eric Allman, Mike O'Brien and Jim Kulp.

The C shell is a command processor typically run in a text window, allowing the user to type commands. The C shell can also read commands from a file, called a script. Like all Unix shells,  it supports filename wildcarding, piping, here documents,  command substitution, variables and control structures for 

condition-testing and iteration. What differentiated the C shell from others, especially in the 1980s, were its interactive features and overall style.  Its new features made it easier and faster to use. The overall style of the language looked more like C and was seen as more readable.

These were the Shells available in Unix, other shells also exist but i don't find them relevant enough to be discussed here as above the the main and the important ones.



About Posix Standard

The POSIX (the Portable Operating System Interface) family of related standards is being developed by PASC (IEEE's Portable Application Standards Committee) A comprehensive FAQ on POSIX, including many links, appears at www.opengroup.org/austin/papers/posix_faq.html. POSIX standard 1003.2 describes shell functionality. The Bourne Again Shell provides the features that match the requirements of this POSIX standard. Efforts are under way to make the Bourne Again Shell fully comply with the POSIX standard. In the meantime, if you invoke bash with the – –posix option, the behavior of the Bourne Again Shell will more closely match the POSIX requirements.

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