Me

Skytap: Going beyond IaaS

tarangkaushal@rediffmail.com — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 21:56:32 GMT

I recently started working for a local start-up in Seattle called Skytap. Skytap provides cloud computing solutions to businesses, and really differentiates itself in its offerings that go beyond providing just raw Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS). Its key competitors are AWS EC2, IT Structures, Rackspace, GoGrid, Surgient, VMware and Microsoft Azure. It seems like a crowded place with so many competitors, but Skytap has been able to distinguish itself from its competitors by tailoring its offerings to specific customer scenarios and requirements such as Development & QA, IT Operations, Software and Sales Demo, and, Virtual Training.

With so many players in the market, the right question to ask is: are all clouds equal and ready for enterprise IT workload? This link points out top 10 reasons why Skytap’s solution is more favorable for the Enterprise IT workload.

My iPhone and my social etiquettes

tarangkaushal@rediffmail.com — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 19:54:55 GMT

Three or four out of every five people I meet these days have an iPhone (at least in the Northwest). One out of every ten people I meet does not have a Smartphone. A couple of years back, I was weirded by all the smartphone owners and their need to stay connected every minute of their waking-hour. I got mine last year right before I started school, and now I am one of them. “I love it” would be an understatement. It is more like I am addicted to it. I know I am not the only one. And that’s where the problem starts.

I went for a brunch yesterday and while I was waiting to be seated, I realized about 30% of the people on one of the bigger tables were on their iPhones (or other smartphones). I looked around to see another big group of people waiting to be seated, and about 40% of them were on their smartphones. I go for a family or friends get together and I always find someone or the other on their smartphones. I sit in any classroom and I can always see a handful of people on their smartphones. I am in a movie theater and I can see people on their smartphones. Sadly enough, mea maxima culpa, for all the misdemeanors I just mentioned. I me repente. But the question is, will I change it? Yet?

The social conversations are not the same anymore. The classrooms are not the same anymore. People’s attention spans are not the same any more. There is a need to multi-task and know everything right away at all times. I still remember the December of 2006 when the snow-storm took away electricity, gas, cable, internet from a lot of people in Seattle. Obviously, that wasn’t an ideal situation. But it almost forced us to give our undivided attention to the other people we spend time with, and connect at a deeper level. It is not a mere coincidence that the conception rate in this area was at its peak during that time.

I think we as humans go through different phases in life. We first try to make advancements in various aspects of our lives. Like using fancy plastic bags, or driving cars, or using newer and better technology. We then realize how it is accompanied with a big and not-so-positive impact on our health, environment, relationships and lives. We then make an attempt towards de-advancements, and try to go back to our older-cleaner habits. In the interim, we create polarity amongst masses in terms of their opinions about the need to make any changes in our habits. And let us not forget that a lot of developing nations are a few decades behind in their advancements. This means, that now when there is a drive to go back to the older-cleaner habits in the developed nations, there is a drive to move towards the new-technological-advancements in the developing nations. And it will be several years before we see the reverse trend in these developing nations. Oh, well.

I wonder when the detox routine for smartphones will begin, if at all...

Did you know?

tarangkaushal@rediffmail.com — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:16:34 GMT

'Tipping point' or 'a bubble'?

tarangkaushal@rediffmail.com — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:32:29 GMT

This is something that this article addresses: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hsbc-sees-tipping-point-of-western-decline-2009-10-04.

"Now it looks as if new research from its economics team explains this move in report titled, "The Tipping Point -- The rise of the East and Demise of the West." Have events reached the point where the threshold has been passed and everyone just "gets it," or is this a case of just following the new bubbles in the East? The International Monetary Fund seems to "get it." Last week, it released forecasts saying the world economy will recover next year, but it will clearly be led by emerging economies, namely China with 9% growth in 2010 and India with 6.4%. That compares with U.S. growth at 1.5% and a mere 0.3% for the euro region."

I think Jon Stewart is a very smart guy with a great sense of humor, who happens to be talking about the same things, just differently:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Deep Space Naan

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Ron Paul Interview

I think.

tarangkaushal@rediffmail.com — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 19:42:38 GMT

Fears, undesirable.
Passions, insurmountable.
Ambitions, never-ending.
Jealousy, a part of life.
Faith, enormous.
Greed, nothing wrong with it.
Honesty, a necessary evil.
Challenges, unlimited.
Hope, sometimes.
MBA, a welcomed change.
Love, incomprehensible.
Support, more than ever.
Soul searching, existential.
Past, it’s all here.
Present, yes.
Future, who knows.
Life, good, I think.

Is it worth the hype?

tarangkaushal@rediffmail.com — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 01:28:27 GMT

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/07/22/technology/AP-AS-China-iPhone-Suicide.html?_r=2&partner=rss&emc=rss

Excerpt from the link:

GUANGZHOU, China (AP) -- Chinese worker Sun Danyong was responsible for handling the prototypes of one of the world's hottest products -- the iPhone. When one of the gadgets went missing and his company began investigating him, he jumped off his apartment building and killed himself.
The death -- which involves allegations that security guards roughed up the worker -- prompted Apple Inc. on Wednesday to issue a terse statement, insisting that all the company's contractors must treat workers with respect and dignity.

Not sure what the truth is, but is a job such as this one worth it? Is this hype worth it?

Desktop, Laptops, Cell phones, Smart phones, Netbooks, Nettops, Smartbooks…what next?

tarangkaushal@rediffmail.com — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 16:07:11 GMT

Please stop coining these random-words that better describe how-companies-compete as opposed to what-people-want. People’s needs are not half as complicated as the numerous words mentioned above.

So, what do people need?

Human Being 101: Human beings are social animals. That results in their need for “Communication & Connection”. This is not a new need for humans but it surely has heightened in the last few years. It is this need that is the driver of various innovations in the recent past (or vice versa?). People want to be able to share their thoughts, work and life.

The need for thought-sharing lead to the online tool development such as facebook, twitter (please don’t ask me about it, I don’t get this one), blogs and what not. The need for work-sharing lead to productivity tools such as word, excel, document-sharing mechanisms et al for information worker. The need for life-sharing lead to emails, flickr, games and so on. And obviously there is some extent of overlap in all categories.

To top it all, people want to be able to do it anytime. Anywhere. This, is new. I don’t know if this need drove innovation, or innovation drove this need. But either way, that’s where the heart of the matter lies.

Human Being 201: When it comes to creating things, people can very well create complex things. But when it comes to using things, people want it simple. Be it an object, a process or “names”. People prefer it simple.

So again, we do not need a gazillion names for something that solves the same problem and achieves the same result. Stop trying to fool us with these buzz words and get to the point already. This statement does oversimplify the problem at hand, but it does not treat the consumer as a puppet in this fierce competitive world of manufacturers and producers. Give me one thing that I can use to talk, read, write, find-my-way and entertain myself. Then it doesn't matter who calls it what, but it’s just my "digital friend". Hmmm... am I coining another word right here? Well, the point is to make things simple for all, and not confuse people by changing either the first 4 letters in a word, or the last 4. That simply feels like someone is trying to exploit me.

That said, no matter who the industry players are, and who gets a win in coining the most long-lasting-fancy words, people who will win in this game in the long run - are the end-users. Now that sounds better, doesn't it? Yayy to that!

Project Natal

tarangkaushal@rediffmail.com — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 05:43:51 GMT

Who said Microsoft can't innovate.

I learnt this in Business School...when I read about Business School...

tarangkaushal@rediffmail.com — Thu, 07 May 2009 03:58:15 GMT

Just a few (totally) random thoughts...

tarangkaushal@rediffmail.com — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 03:00:04 GMT

I had an awesome trip to Europe in the second half of March 2009. I went to Munich and Zurich on an MBA Study Tour. That partly explains why I love my MBA. I started by knowing very few people on the tour, and ended up making a couple of super great friends on the trip. I define that as success. I visited companies/organizations like BMW, UBS, Polaroid, ABB, Allianz Stadium, Ministry of Bavaria and such. I *LAUVE* Munich, and like Zurich. We visited the Dachau concentration camp in Germany. It is quite a heartbreaking and a grounding experience to visit the camp. Did you know that Hugo Boss was the first company to design Hitler's army's uniform? Did you know that water for 15 people could cost 120 CHF? Anyway, the climax of the trip was perfect with a visit to the Alps. The trip was above and beyond my expectations and I absolutely loved it.

Some thing that makes me wonder, other than life, is popularity of products such as Swiss bags, Timbuk2 bags, North Face jackets and some other things that are slipping my mind. I would love to study how they were marketed and what made them so successful.

There are two kinds of people in this world (talk about oversimplification): one kind that believes that everything happens for a reason and there is only so much you can control; and the other that believes that everything is in your control and it all depends on the choices you make. I am not sure which category I belong to. Probably the first. Although I would like to believe I belong in the second category.

I am toying with the idea of writing something, like a novel, or something. But I have been told my writing is pretty bad. So I may work on it a little bit before I take this toyed-idea seriously!

Oh btw, while I search for the meaning of life, I am also looking for a summer internship in my spare time!

Cherry Blossoms at University of Washington

tarangkaushal@rediffmail.com — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 04:59:16 GMT

Now that I am there...

The plan was to…

tarangkaushal@rediffmail.com — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:13:57 GMT

…write more often about my MBA et al. Everyone had warned me of the lifestyle I was about to get into starting September 2008. But I guess the only way I learn is by doing and not by listening to other people.

I should not be complaining though, because I love it. Every minute of it. Almost. I am learning coursework I never imagined myself learning. I never thought I was a Finance person, but I surprised myself with my liking towards the subject. I enjoyed learning about Microeconomics and Marketing too. My favorite coursework has been Strategy and the dude who taught the subject is my favorite Professor so far :). One thing that is common amongst all the Professors at Foster is that they have a great sense of humor. It almost seems like a prerequisite to be a Professor at this University. I have also met a lot of new and different kind of people. Pretty unlike the people I met at Microsoft. It has been fun, interesting, educating and sometimes frustrating trying to work/play with them. Oh well.

The real question to ask is. How did I find time to write this today? The answer is that I didn’t. I should be doing my Accounting or Finance HW right now. But I ‘bailed out’ on it. Isn’t that what most people are doing anyway :)? The next week and half are going to be super intense as I plough through my final exams. I will leave for a study tour to Munich/Zurich in the week after next and will come back by EOM. Coolness!

On a side note, I am writing this note sitting in the library while a part of me is feeling guilty about not doing the assignment. And I just saw this classmate of mine, a very frail and petite guy with a *massive* backpack on his shoulders. I am almost sure that’s how I look from far, not the frail bit. And it is not a pretty picture.

Anyway, I am almost rediscovering myself in many ways as I go through this program. I didn’t know I could be so passionate about things I believed in. I guess I just did things my way so far and didn’t need to do a lot of convincing. Now that I am working in this weird setup of MBA teams, I have a lot of convincing to do. I sometimes find myself run out of patience sometimes, but I am learning. And hopefully I am growing. That’s what this experience is all about. I also didn’t know I totally dig humor and automatically get attracted to people with a good sense of humor. And I didn’t realize I was so in love with my sleep, still. I am an insomniac who loves her sleep. Aah, the want of that unachievable target…follows me in one form or the other. But who is complaining.

It is hard to explain in such few words, but this MBA is one of the best things I have done in my life. Even though I complain about being so busy, I love being this busy. I like to keep my mind engaged, overtime in this case. And I almost recommend this as a therapy to everyone.

I haven’t written a poem in a very long time (long before I started MBA, so that’s not the reason). I hope that part of me strikes back someday!

A request....

tarangkaushal@rediffmail.com — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 04:25:45 GMT

...for netbook owners. My MBA team is doing a project on Netbooks and needs help in data collection process.

Please take this facebook survey if you own a netbook: http://apps.facebook.com/surveymaster/takequiz.php?quiz=1618.

If you do not own a netbook, please spread a word by pointing others to this sruvey.

Thanks.
Tarang.

Don't be too happy if you think you got a good deal in a liquidation sale.

tarangkaushal@rediffmail.com — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 20:49:19 GMT

Agflation ("agriculture" and "inflation")

tarangkaushal@rediffmail.com — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 01:44:58 GMT

Interest in alternative energies contributes to agflation. In order to produce biofuel (such as biodiesel and ethanol), manufacturers need to use food products such soybeans and corn. This creates more demand for these products, which causes their prices to increase.

Unfortunately, these price increases spread to other non-fuel related grains (such as rice and wheat) as consumers switch to less expensive substitutes for consumption. Furthermore, agflation will also affect non-vegetative foods (eggs, meat and dairy) as the price increases for grain will make livestock feed more expensive as well.

Interesting....

Jamaica December 2008

tarangkaushal@rediffmail.com — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 17:46:47 GMT

First of all, this was a complete surprise to me. Until 2 days before the departure date, I did not even know that we were going somewhere. And then I knew that we were going someplace ‘beachy’, but that was about it. At the airport of course, the boarding pass revealed the suspense to me and made me a happy person. I had been speculating Mexico and Hawaii, but I definitely did not imagine Jamaica!

Living in the Northwest, it definitely meant a rather long trip, but I slept through it. I was itching to get access to Wikipedia so that I could read more about the place I was about to land in. But I was looking at one week of no internet and no laptop. I must say I was secretly happy about that too. Two stop-over, three flights and 12 hours later we landed at the Montego Bay airport in Jamaica. The entire airport had wall posting of two resorts – “Sandals” and “Couples”. I wondered if we were going to stay at one of these resorts.

The place we stayed at was Ocho Rios Sandals resort. It is about a 2 hour bus ride (that the resort arranged for us) from the airport to the resort and it was exhausting. But it was such a pleasant change to move from a cold-Seattle to a pleasant-Jamaica. The bus route was really scenic and made me nostalgic with slight Indian resemblance to the place – driving on the left side of the road, people just walking on the main roads like it is their father’s property, stray animals, signs in Km/Hour, road side stalls for refreshments, and much more.

At the resort, we did nothing for the first two days. Normally I am pretty uptight, especially on vacations, and like to have an agenda of what we are going to do on everyday and like to plan it all out. So this was a first. I hadn’t slept so much in the last 3 months and sleep never felt better. It is an all inclusive resort, which means that we didn’t pay for any meals, drinks or activities in the resort while using those services, because it is included in the initial package cost. It gives you a weird illusion that you are getting things for free, while clearly you paid through the nose for it! So anyway, the first two days was only sleeping, eating, drinking, sleeping by the pool, sleeping in the pool, eating a lot of fries and desert (in addition to the meals), and some more sleeping. Then I finally reverted a little bit to the uptight-me and booked 3 activities for the next 3 days. We climbed up the Dunn’s river falls. Yes we climbed up the falls, on the rocks, in the water. I was very apprehensive but managed pretty well. We did horseback riding in the ocean. I was quite thrilled but kept feeling that I am going to fall off the horse. My horse’s name was “Reload” and he was a pretty hyper (in my opinion) horse and wanted to race, tailgate, and jump quite a bit. But overall, these horses were very well trained and new exactly what to do! I LAUVED the experience. We did zip-lining, which seemed pretty scary in the beginning, but is so safe that is was unfair to complain at all. We sailed in what I consider a very rough ocean. Screaming is my natural reaction in such situations and I was pretty much screaming the whole time, providing free entertainment to our sailor. They also had a lot of activities like rock climbing, clubbing, and game shows throughout the day. Last couple of days we spent in more relaxing and nothingness, and travelling. Needless to say, I completely indulged in sleeping, eating fries and cakes and pastries.

The one thing that did strike me about the place was the extremely friendly people. I cannot emphasize it more, but coming from the Northwest, it felt like such a HUGE change. It in fact reminded me of India. The people at the resort were so friendly and fostered a family like culture amongst the employees. Everyone who worked there seemed like a happy person, probably because of the working culture endorsed at the resort and the relationships they share with each other. Simply amazing! And a very good business model, if I may add!

Coming back to the snowy continent wasn’t easy. We missed our connecting flight to Philadelphia at the Charlotte airport because of super long immigration lines, and in turn were put on standby for a direct flight to Seattle. It was a huge risk, and according to their assessment based on the previous week, there was a 99.9% chance of us not making it through. But miracles happen, and 30 minutes later we were Seattle bound. Most of the US at this time is hit by the snow storm, delayed and canceled flights and it was shocking that we made it back home on the same day, and got all our baggage on time! We had to drive back from the airport on snow covered roads and we even skid once. But in the end, we made it back home – safe and sound.

I can go on and on about snow in Seattle, our incapability to deal with, and the paralysis that it causes to this part of the country. Not fun. But that’s a whole new story and deserves it own real estate.

For now, I am still basking in the happiness of the extreme relaxation and excessive calories this vacation got for me :). And I have nothing to complain about!

They have got to stop this shit.

tarangkaushal@rediffmail.com — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 23:14:21 GMT

I can’t figure out where to start. By expressing my disgust, or apprehension, or concern, or helplessness? Or by preaching high-flying morals that those idiots won’t ever understand. The account is so overwhelming and consuming that I am completely lost. All I know is that:

It is an extremely well planned (for months) heinous act.
Those terrorists are young kids.
The victims are hundreds of innocent people (Indians and foreigners).
It has scarred people for life.
It is much worse than bomb blasts because these monsters are standing in front of the people and shooting them.
This is unlike any other act of terrorism we have seen in India so far.
These devils wanted a lot of publicity and they got it.
They don’t want any ransom, so we don’t know what they want.
They are looking for American and British people, but we don’t know why.
There are external forces behind this attack, but we don’t know who.
After 24 hours of when the act started, we are still hearing gun shots in the background.
Police, army, navy, reporters, citizens and escaped victims have been some of the bravest people in coming to the first line of defense and we are proud of them.
My country is scrambling to put the missing pieces together, while a lot of them are still trying to stop the act.
Someone trained those young kids to shoot innocent people in the name of religion. Such acts make me hate religion of any kind. Religion is the root of all evils. We have rather not have one, than have something that guides us sometimes, and misguides some the rest of the times.
All I know is that my heart is beating fast. It almost skips a beat every time I start watching the news coverage. This will hurt not just the people (of India and other countries), but the economies (of India and the world) and the perception of India across the world (stock market, business, tourism, sports, politics, everything). Those son of b****** need to understand that killing doesn’t help. There are other ways to get attention. People who taught them to kill are not the people to learn from. Chaos is not the way to be.
26/11 will mark a black day in the history of India.
No place, no country, no race and no socio-economic segment is safe.

We can seal the airports and the buildings in the name of protection. But what is the next step now? Seal the city, or an entire country. Create another million rules for protection? As Swami Vivekanand said, ‘a large number of rules in a society make the society dead’. And that’s where we are headed.

But it hurts me to end my thoughts like this. I applaud and thank the citizens (across the world) who are still trying to think straight and positive amidst this commotion. Thank you for all the prayers and support. We need it.

To mankind! I hope it survives.

Quantum of Solace

tarangkaushal@rediffmail.com — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 08:12:41 GMT

Who knew water was more important than oil. Some people with foresight.

As conceited as he is....

tarangkaushal@rediffmail.com — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 04:26:31 GMT

...I feel so good when *House* is right :). It is quite a talent to create a character so flawed, so hateble and yet people's favorite!! At least my favorite.

AmEx is turning into a bank.

tarangkaushal@rediffmail.com — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 07:08:35 GMT

http://money.cnn.com/2008/11/10/news/companies/amex/index.htm?postversion=2008111019

Will you invest in it?

HP - anyone?

tarangkaushal@rediffmail.com — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 03:42:26 GMT

Does anyone know anyone who works in HP in the greater Seattle area?

Also

tarangkaushal@rediffmail.com — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 05:36:41 GMT

I think that McCain gave a fantastic speech tonight, and handled the situation like a pro.

And Obama's speech was even better, inspirational, regal and 'Yes-we-can'ish!

I don't want to write what a million other folks are already writing, or are about to write.

tarangkaushal@rediffmail.com — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 04:39:26 GMT

But I do want to say, that I have never seen such an emotional reaction in people so close to me (class mates, and people I meet on an everyday basis). Everyone around me was so nervous.
I really hope the young generation in India is just as motivated, involved and excited to make a difference. Says the person who does not stay in India. That is because I don't consider this as a sign of unawareness or unfeelingness.

2 times in the last 3 days

tarangkaushal@rediffmail.com — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 20:49:18 GMT

Security breach at the Sea-Tac International Airport.

It happened on Thursday and the airport was locked down for an hour (30th October 2008).
It got locked down today (1st November 2008), yet again. The reason for this one is unknown, but it could be another security breach.

Murphy was an optimist!

tarangkaushal@rediffmail.com — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 19:43:48 GMT

Leakproof seals - will.
Self starters - will not.
Interchangeable parts - won't.
If you are feeling good, don't worry, you'll get over it.
Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.
The chance of a piece of bread falling with the buttered side down is directly proportional to the cost of the carpet.
The other line always moves faster.
The repairman will never have seen a model quite like yours before.
Everyone has a scheme for getting rich that won't work.
Anything good in life is either illegal, immoral or fattening.
A bird in hand is better than one overhead.
If everything seems to be going well, you obviously don't know what the hell is going on.
Never argue with a fool, people might not know the difference.
Where you stand on an issue depends on where you sit.