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Showing posts from 2018

.fig extension used by Figma software - source of confusion

Recently one of our customers sent design files in fig format (with .fig extension). As .fig is an extension used by famous old Linux design tool Xfig , we tried to open in it and were getting errors. And then the designer came to rescue and informed about the online tool Figma . Figma provides easy prototyping options for lazy aka productive designers. In my opinion, it is somewhat comparable to Pingendo . It is more of an online tool developed in JavaScript. They also provide desktop version / downloadable software. I'd thought that its performance will be better in desktop tool, but noted that it is only an Electron app.

3-years of Ubuntu MATE - Good and the bad

Many people are getting shocked to know that I'm using Ubuntu in my workplace. Linux/Ubuntu is more of an alien here as Windows 10 and Mac OSX is having good market here. First of all, I'm a very happy Windows XP user. In XP, I used to do most of my JavaScript and PHP in  Devl , the editor that our team has developed. Reason for switching to Ubuntu MATE Primary reason for switching to Ubuntu was, at one point of time PHP team stopped supporting Windows XP . So, we're left with few options: 1. Upgrade to Windows Vista, 2. Switch to Ubuntu. We chose the second option to experiment it. One of the major challenges was choosing the right code editor and we chose VS Code . Ubuntu MATE - Pros Linux comes with lots of command line tools. I have started to do many tasks using these shell scripts and found very productive. We switched from Google Chrome to Chromium for good. Ubuntu MATE - Cons We started with GNOME for desktop, but it was memory hungry and was not

Tamil Castes and Consolidation - Hacker Style Cheat Sheet

Tamil caste system and its hierarchies are complex and difficult to understand--due to different addressing systems. Similarly, the caste consolidation or grouping of similar or different castes under some title is extremely confusing. In many cases, the caste consolidation doesn't make any sense, but due to ulterior motives of politicians for their vote bank politics, these systems exist. So, to explain the system, I created a formula like cheat sheet: Vellalar = Pillai + Mudaliar + [Gounder] Pillai > Mudaliar ~ Gounder Thevar = Maravar + Kallar + [Agamudayar + [Senathipathi]] Senathipathi >>> Agamudiyar > Maravar ~ Kallar Agamudayar ~ Gounder Vanniyar = Padayachi + Gounder + [Naicker + [Reddy]] Naicker >>> Reddy > Padayachi ~ Gounder * Gounder is BC, Padayachi is MBC

Open source resume templates with JSON-LD (SEO-friendly) support

I don't usually keep track of the projects that I worked on. I have been recently advised to keep resume updated with the projects list. And so I have searched for resume templates and tools. Indian resume Vs International resume During the process, I have found that there are vast differences between the format of Indian resumes and International resumes. Indian resumes are extremely verbose with number of projects, team size, client name, etc. whereas international format is more succinct and short. So I was kind of lost in the process in adopting the template. LinkedIn to the rescue? No. Unfortunately, LinkedIn format is "common" and is not easy to update. Moreover, these days LinkedIn has become signupware [sic] and so accessing resume is a nightmare. Enter JSON Resume JSON Resume is an awesome open source approach for creating resume. I accidentally came across while searching for JSON-LD format for resume. Couple of great features: Resume hosting (op

Comparison and review of MacBook cases and brands

Of late, I have worked on the development of AppleOnly.in , a website that sells cases, sleeves, covers, bags, etc for Apple MacBook Air/Pro, iPhone, etc. Because of that, people started to ask questions about cases and their reviews. I'll try to summarize my answers here: i-Blason Vs iBenzer -- what is the premium brand and why? Both i-Blason and iBenzer are from the USA. Hence, both are priced around Rs.3,000/- to Rs.8,000/-  i-Blason is relatively an established brand (and so, they're popular in social media) iBenzer is relatively new compared to i-Blason. But, cost wise and quality wise, iBenzer is much superior to i-Blason. For example, Hexpact by iBenzer is an award winning design at the CES At AppleOnly.in, we have not received a single return and complaints for iBenzer. But, many times, we have received complaints and returns from customers for i-Blason. What MacBook Pro/Air case would you recommend and why? I would personally recommend iBenzer cases witho

Want better housing / home loan in India?

When one of my friends wanted home loan, it was taking a big mess as bank was asking lot of paper work. Now, I came across good bank contacts and so if any of you want home loan, message your contact number in comments section below. Note that your comments will not be published and your contact numbers will be shared with my contacts for further processing.

AI/ML in Flipkart--CTO Talk event experience

Our team has done some Machine Learning projects. When it comes to recommendation system, my favorite has been so far PredictionIO which was based on Apache Mahout (Now they have switched to Spark). I was also avidly learning Machine Learning for some time. My boss suggested me to attend the CTO Talk event hosted by OrangeScape. Its first session is “AI/ML in Flipkart” by Flipkart CTO Ravi Garikipati. As I mentioned earlier , I always had my skepticism towards these buzz words.  But, this presentation changed my perspective for good. Event The event started with welcome note by Rajesh Manickadas, Head of Engineering, OrangeScape. Then OrangeScape CEO Suresh Sambandam quickly introduced and handed over to Ravi Garikipati. Flipkart CTO Ravi Garikipati Ravi explained his journey from TCS in 1988 to IBM, Oracle, etc. He explained his earlier attempts of AI based virtual assistant for [24]7. Also, quickly connected with the audience through his remark about his connection with Chen

Technology prediction for 2018

Bubbles of bitcoin, blockchain, machine learning, deep learning, artificial intelligence and more People usually appreciate me for my predictions on technologies. As I already noted our team will quickly hit the edge case for any use cases and that's supposed to be the reason for my better prediction rate. And so, here are my predictions… Bitcoin bubble When Bitcoin became talk of the town/industry, I informed my boss and colleagues that I find no real use case for this digital currency--except in underground markets like drugs, etc. In fiat currencies, there is at least a way to take legal route, in case, if you've transferred the money and not received the goods. But, in Bitcoin, this is not possible at all as it is not a legal currency. So, if there is no trust, the chances that other person can cheat you by not sending the goods and or not transferring bitcoins after receiving goods. My stand above vindicated by the article Ten years in, nobody has come up with a

Using Sodexo Meal Pass Card in BigBasket.com - How-to

How to Use Sodexo Meal Pass Card in Bigbasket.com Sodexo started to issue Smart Card similar to Credit Card--instead of their usual paper based vouchers. I was using Sodexo vouchers for longtime, but it was a big letdown when I can't get some of my unused vouchers renewed. And so, I was somehow happy with their new Meal Pass Card. But, again, it was a big letdown as I can't use it with BigBasket--where I usually use most of my meal coupon vouchers. SMS message from Sodexo on December 20, 2017 1:18 PM came as a big surprise, as I was waiting for this for longtime: Great News! Pay with your Sodexo Meal Card for food items ordered from Big Basket. Choose Sodexo in the payment section & pay on delivery. And so, this month, I tried to use my Sodexo Meal Pass Card in BigBasket. BigBasket website had not much information; I thought that I have to swipe my Meal Pass Card. Delivery person also didn't have much information; initially he was rejecting my Card! I trie