Mumbai meri jaan
7/30/2005
I love my Mumbai and the people. They came and they fought back and they helped other people.
I spent four years in IIT-Bombay, but even after living away I realised, you can never take the Mumbai out of a man.
Read more!
DAtum
EDA, Software and Business of technology
Greek, 'loxos: slanting. To displace or remove from its proper place
da·tums A point, line, or surface used as a reference
... disruption results in new equilibria
I love my Mumbai and the people. They came and they fought back and they helped other people.
I spent four years in IIT-Bombay, but even after living away I realised, you can never take the Mumbai out of a man.
Read more!
Weird TCL behavior on Cygwin/MinGW
7/26/2005
A C++ program compiled with TCL stubs, which performs just fine on Linux, just seems to go out without a sound on Cygwin. TCL_LIBRARY was set properly (also tried the
Also tried a weird hack that changes the "tclPreInitScript" variable to help set the $tcl_library variable, et al. But nothing helped.
On debugging the executable in gdb, the call to Tcl_Init returns a segfault, which is not visible on a normal run.
The solution to this mystery is a simple call to
But it works!!!
Read more!
"export TCL_LIBRARY=$(cygpath -w /usr/share/tcl8.4)"hack). But the execution just seems to vanish after a call to Tcl_Init(). Now internally, Tcl_Init parses a whole load of stuff, starting from init.tcl.
Also tried a weird hack that changes the "tclPreInitScript" variable to help set the $tcl_library variable, et al. But nothing helped.
On debugging the executable in gdb, the call to Tcl_Init returns a segfault, which is not visible on a normal run.
The solution to this mystery is a simple call to
"Tcl_FindExecutable(argv[0])", which sets up some internal variables for use by tcl. Now since in cygwin there are two paths (the /usr type path and the /cygdrive/usr path) for all resources, this helps initialise everything correctly. I almost did'nt try this solution.
But it works!!!
del.icio.us Tags: software
Read more!
RTL Signoff - When will it happen?
7/25/2005
A post by Gabe Moretti set me thinking. Exactly how critical is RTL handoff going to be ? By critical, I do not mean to the designers - but rather to the upper management of the semiconductor companies, who are the only ones with clout to influence a radical change in the revenue model.
Design for Manufacturing is not a new keyword. But I think this keyword now has competition - One of which could be Platform Based Design and the other could be design methodologies like the RapidChip environment. This essentially reduces the argument for profit sharing by foundries and semiconductor cos alike. Atleast this is the bargaining chip that could be used by them to push for RTL Signoff as just any other methodology and being priced similarly.
There was also an interesting article by Aycinena on how foundries may end up acquiring EDA companies, for much the same reasons that Gabe puts forward. However, I feel that, given the step-fatherly treatment that semicos mete out to their EDA underlings, it is far more probable that EDA tools will remain a commodity item.
Then who will solve the problem of RTL signoff, if indeed it needs to be solved (refer to alternative methodologies above) ? Well Gabe gives the answer himself - VC's and startups. Oh and if I may point out an earlier article byGabe Dieter Ernst , it may well be done by people having Tandoori chicken for lunch!
Read more!
Design for Manufacturing is not a new keyword. But I think this keyword now has competition - One of which could be Platform Based Design and the other could be design methodologies like the RapidChip environment. This essentially reduces the argument for profit sharing by foundries and semiconductor cos alike. Atleast this is the bargaining chip that could be used by them to push for RTL Signoff as just any other methodology and being priced similarly.
There was also an interesting article by Aycinena on how foundries may end up acquiring EDA companies, for much the same reasons that Gabe puts forward. However, I feel that, given the step-fatherly treatment that semicos mete out to their EDA underlings, it is far more probable that EDA tools will remain a commodity item.
Then who will solve the problem of RTL signoff, if indeed it needs to be solved (refer to alternative methodologies above) ? Well Gabe gives the answer himself - VC's and startups. Oh and if I may point out an earlier article by
del.icio.us Tags: eda
Read more!
Venture Capitalists and the "manager-ese" language
7/21/2005
A great post by Narasimha Chari, underlines something that I had suspected all along - the standard VC questionaire on "barriers-to-entry", "competition-space" and other manager-ese lingo is plain marketing. If you can maintain a straight face and confidence when faced with these, then it can be handled. Ultimately, no one knows if a venture will succeed or fail (who would have bet on iPod and how many did'nt on Webvan), but do you have the passion, hustle (a-ha!!) and resiliency to.
Read more!
Read more!
A Sardarji in New York
7/18/2005
As I have written earlier, the US is looking towards India as a long term strategic and economic partner - both as a key foothold in the labor-rich Asian arena, as well as in its fight against "terrorism" (the double quotes being entirely intentional). As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (or Moneymoan Singh as he is so fondly known!!) commences his tour of the US, a question lingers - how much armtwisting will the other do?
The Bush govt. will go to far lengths to gain a security foothold in India. It has already got the Indian govt. to agree to FBI presence on Indian soil - with all its anomalies about human rights. However, I am betting that PM Singh will wrangle his fair pound of flesh.
India has already made it clear that it wishes for the H1-B quota to be tripled. Though it might appear we are encouraging..nay..actively fighting for brain drain, it has become increasingly apparent that the pull of the paratha(pizza nonwithstanding) is too great for most Indians, who come back with more skills than they left with. I believe this will be one issue that will be put on the table during talks with the US Govt.
What I hope for, but do not have high hopes for, is for India to push for more liberal laws in the generics pharma sector. India is the largest manufacturers of generics in the world and the most innovative. Since Indian manufacturers jumped into the fray, the average cost for anti-retroviral drugs nosedived from USD 10000 to USD 250, in little over 4 years. Brazil and several African countries source their drugs from India. The TRIPS agreement enforces these rights by clamping down on generics production. I believe there is a way out of this by having an Eastern Economy Edition type of system to provide differential pricing (enforced by providing appropriate pricing to citizens only).
The hot topic of the day will of course be India and the Security Council. However, considering that US is not ready to antagonise both China and Pakistan, there seems little chance of progress. However, since US has already dangled a 10 year defence partnership with India, I believe that 10, Janpath will not push for more. As India builds INS Kadamba into a major naval force, it will affect the security of not just India, but also allies like Japan who depend on maritime shipping through the Arabian straits.
And as Pavitr Prabhakar would say, "with great powercomes great responsibility" - lets see whether India can exert her power or discharge her responsibility.
Read more!
The Bush govt. will go to far lengths to gain a security foothold in India. It has already got the Indian govt. to agree to FBI presence on Indian soil - with all its anomalies about human rights. However, I am betting that PM Singh will wrangle his fair pound of flesh.
India has already made it clear that it wishes for the H1-B quota to be tripled. Though it might appear we are encouraging..nay..actively fighting for brain drain, it has become increasingly apparent that the pull of the paratha(pizza nonwithstanding) is too great for most Indians, who come back with more skills than they left with. I believe this will be one issue that will be put on the table during talks with the US Govt.
What I hope for, but do not have high hopes for, is for India to push for more liberal laws in the generics pharma sector. India is the largest manufacturers of generics in the world and the most innovative. Since Indian manufacturers jumped into the fray, the average cost for anti-retroviral drugs nosedived from USD 10000 to USD 250, in little over 4 years. Brazil and several African countries source their drugs from India. The TRIPS agreement enforces these rights by clamping down on generics production. I believe there is a way out of this by having an Eastern Economy Edition type of system to provide differential pricing (enforced by providing appropriate pricing to citizens only).
The hot topic of the day will of course be India and the Security Council. However, considering that US is not ready to antagonise both China and Pakistan, there seems little chance of progress. However, since US has already dangled a 10 year defence partnership with India, I believe that 10, Janpath will not push for more. As India builds INS Kadamba into a major naval force, it will affect the security of not just India, but also allies like Japan who depend on maritime shipping through the Arabian straits.
And as Pavitr Prabhakar would say, "with great powercomes great responsibility" - lets see whether India can exert her power or discharge her responsibility.
Read more!
Ha..Ha..Ha
7/11/2005
This probably wont be understood by any Muggle who has'nt read Ayn Rand, but here's The 25 Most Inappropriate Things An Objectivist Can Say During Sex
Cool..
Read more!
Cool..
del.icio.us Tags: personal
Read more!
Quest for Fool's Gold: India and the Security Council
7/03/2005
With events in India's diplomatic circles reaching a silent crescendo (seems like an oxymoron..but that's how cloak-and-dagger it is), India's quest for a permanent seat at the security council has reached a new sense of urgency.
Is this all that necessary?
For one, since the United States crippled the status of the new members, by refusing to grant them the veto privelege, the G-4 (as India, Japan, Brazil and Germany are known) have accepted fool's gold. As it stands now, of the G-4 countries India is the one country that can provide a security, economic and political counterbalance to the Chinese influence in the South-Asian region. Japan - being dependent on the US for its security, Germany - which had better resolve the EU constitutional crisis before flailing elsewhere, Brazil - a relative newcomer to global political innuendoes are not going to stand as an effective counterbalance to the sphere of Chinese influence.
Though China recognises that, in light of increasing Indo-US ties (helped in no small part by the highly influential expatriate Indian caucus in the US), it had better maintain growing trade and economic ties with India. Similarly, we recognise the need to forge strong economic bonds with China and the ASEAN.
As it stands, India is the country which has consistently opposed the United States on issues that appear to be skewed - be it the CTBT, patent reforms and Iraq. As the only democratic rising power in the Asian region, it has the potential (as yet to be exercised - a case in note would be our silence to the Taiwan issue, with whom we still do not diplomatic ties) to chill the fire of the Dragon's breath.
However, it is moot whether or not a permanent seat can help in doing this. A permanent seat is a recognition of power, rather than a seal of approval to exercise it. Can India, which has not opposed China on many issues (other than the venerable Dalai Lama), can do what it could not earlier? I believe that a permanent seat without the veto option is just a permanent seat-warmer with the option to talk out loud.
For me, I think the Indian govt. should pursue the idea of the Ruan - a unified currency for south-asia along with creation of a Free Trade Area (a'la EU). That would be much more effective than a frikking permanent seat.
Read more!
Is this all that necessary?
For one, since the United States crippled the status of the new members, by refusing to grant them the veto privelege, the G-4 (as India, Japan, Brazil and Germany are known) have accepted fool's gold. As it stands now, of the G-4 countries India is the one country that can provide a security, economic and political counterbalance to the Chinese influence in the South-Asian region. Japan - being dependent on the US for its security, Germany - which had better resolve the EU constitutional crisis before flailing elsewhere, Brazil - a relative newcomer to global political innuendoes are not going to stand as an effective counterbalance to the sphere of Chinese influence.
Though China recognises that, in light of increasing Indo-US ties (helped in no small part by the highly influential expatriate Indian caucus in the US), it had better maintain growing trade and economic ties with India. Similarly, we recognise the need to forge strong economic bonds with China and the ASEAN.
As it stands, India is the country which has consistently opposed the United States on issues that appear to be skewed - be it the CTBT, patent reforms and Iraq. As the only democratic rising power in the Asian region, it has the potential (as yet to be exercised - a case in note would be our silence to the Taiwan issue, with whom we still do not diplomatic ties) to chill the fire of the Dragon's breath.
However, it is moot whether or not a permanent seat can help in doing this. A permanent seat is a recognition of power, rather than a seal of approval to exercise it. Can India, which has not opposed China on many issues (other than the venerable Dalai Lama), can do what it could not earlier? I believe that a permanent seat without the veto option is just a permanent seat-warmer with the option to talk out loud.
For me, I think the Indian govt. should pursue the idea of the Ruan - a unified currency for south-asia along with creation of a Free Trade Area (a'la EU). That would be much more effective than a frikking permanent seat.
Read more!
- << Home
Author
Categories
Posts
- Blog migration
- Should we emulate the US in education?
- The road ahead...
- Looking for and Developing leaders
- You mess with one of us...you mess with all of us
- Bernanke's gonna go up in a 'copter
- When VC's turn evil
- Explicit construction of class object (not pointer...
- Fly like a bird
- Marathon training: Week 2
Archives
Tech Blogroll
Business Blogroll
Sights and Sites
-
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
