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Monday, November 15, 2010

Browse the Web with your Email Address

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Web2PDF is an extremely useful web based service that lets you browse the web using your email address.
Compose a new email message, type the URL of any web page in the body of that message and send it to submit@web2pdfconvert.com. The service will then fetch the corresponding web page on its own servers and will send it back it you as a PDF attachment – all this takes no more than a few seconds.
I have tried this service will several web pages, including ones that have complex layouts, and the conversion was more or less perfect in all cases (see examples here and here). The converted PDFs not only retain the layout but also the hyperlinks and thus you may fetch other internal pages as well using email itself.
Such a service may come handy in quite a few situations like when you have access to email but general web access is restricted. Or when you are surfing the web on an old mobile phone with a pathetic browser – in that case, the built-in PDF reader may be a better option for reading web articles.

Free-up Some Disk Space on your Computer

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If the hard-disk of your Windows computer is running out of space, here’s something that you may do to instantly recover a few gigabytes of free space, if not more. This tip should work on both Windows 7 and Vista machines.
When you install new software programs, patch existing ones or update drivers on your computer, Windows will automatically store a snapshot of your system before making the changes. This helps because if something stop working after the installation, you can easily restore your system to the previous working state.
Other than system files, Windows also stores backup copies of data files (like documents, pictures, etc.) on your computer which may come really handy if you accidentally modify or delete the original files. Technically, these are known as shadow copies and the feature is available in all editions of Windows Vista and Windows 7.
If you have been using your computer for some time, the disk space consumed by these restore points and shadow copies may easily run in gigabytes (see the size of the “System Volume Information” folder on your C: drive).
You have two options for reclaiming this space – you can either remove all the restore points from your system or, if you would like to play extra safe, you can keep the new restore points and just get rid of the old ones.
Step 1: Disk nearly full? Free-up some space..
Click the Windows Start button and type cmd in the search box (not the Run dialog). Now press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open the command prompt with Administrator privileges. Click Yes if you are shown the User Access Control Window.
Now type the following command to remove only the old shadow copies:
c:\>vssadmin delete shadows /for=c: /oldest
Or, if your system is working normally, use this command to remove all the shadow copies.
c:\>vssadmin delete shadows /for=c: /all
Refer to Microsoft Technet for more details on the VssAdmin command.
Step 2: Why reserve less space for shadow copies..
Windows will continue to save new restore points until all the reserved disk space is filled up. That means if you have less reserved space, the old ones will get deleted more quickly as new ones are created.
Go to Windows Start –> Run and type sysdm.cpl to open the System Properties dialog. Click the “System Protection” tab and choose Configure.
If the disk space allocated for system protection is on the higher side, you may move the “Max Usage” slider to the left and set it anywhere between 3% and 5% of the total disk size. The reserved space should also be greater than 300 MB according to Windows help.
Step 3. Make a fresh start..
Now that you have recovered some important space, go back to the “System Protection” tab and click Create to to capture of snapshot of your system in its current working state – just to be on the safe side of things.
Related: If you are on Windows Vista, you may also use the Vista Cleaner utility to free some more space on your system.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

The Pros and Cons of Moving Back to India

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After having stayed in the US for nearly 15 years, Peeyush Ranjan and Mallika recently decided to shift base to Bangalore, the Silicon Valley of India, along with their two kids.
Peeyush is now the head of engineering (R&D) at Google India while Mallika continues to work with Microsoft. Read their experiences after moving back home
Why did we return to India?
After talking to a lot of people it seems apparent that moving to India is harder than moving back to US (when people do return). We all know the pros and ease of living in the US, things are way more streamlined, so I guess the question is why voluntarily leave it in the first place. The reason that has struck most to me is – to try something new and gain a few more experiences in life. Hopefully these experiences are enriching to your career, your kid’s outlook of this world and to your parent’s/relatives’ relationship with you.
We had a very easy move in many ways and have settled in with few issues here. I am the one with most problems adjusting amongst the four of us but after seeing how my kids perceive the world now, how amazing Diwali was with my parents and how much my spouse is growing and learning at work I have little doubt this was a good decision.
I have jotted down some pros and cons and also some things that surprised me a little.
Pros of moving to India:
  • Can be great career move and an opportunity to try new things at a lower cost – India is just a different ball game and even I am hyper excited about startups and the market here.
  • Closer to family – can’t stress the benefit of this enough.
  • Children see a different world – can make them have a more global outlook and be more charitable.
  • Help at home – allows you to do more and have better vacations.
  • Certain luxuries are very affordable – personal trainer daily, photography workshops, getting a home theater setup.
  • Celebrate festivals like we did when we were kids.
  • Travel more in and around India – amazing places are 2-3hr flight away – Sri Lanka to Dubai to Macau and rest of Asia.
  • Food – I loved the food in US but am enjoying the diversity and availability of my favorite foods here.
Cons of moving to India from US:
  • India is expensive if you want to live like an American. On the other hand money can get most things done for you easily.
  • Lack of parks, good hiking trails and things for kids to do on weekends.
  • Attention to detail and reliability is missing in work and people here.
  • Pollution (not so bad in Bangalore), noise, traffic and general dirtiness.
  • Bureaucracy – knowing people who know people. US is more straightforward in how we deal with people and things.
  • Being nice is not the way to go – you need to toughen up.
  • Kids can get spoilt with help and get impervious to poverty. They can also imbibe the above mentioned cons rather easily – throw rubbish out of window, etc.
  • Easy availability of everything is missing – HDMI cable to cookie dough to latest iPhone. You can get a lot in India these days but still it is nothing like walking into Frys or Costco or Trader Joes in the US. Same goes for internet reliability and bandwidth – so if you are someone who thrives on being on the cutting edge of tech. it can be issue at times.
Things I thought would be cons but are not:
  • Relatives visiting all the time – I love it now. I am not the one cleaning up the rooms or figuring out dinner. They come, play with kids and it all makes me feel closer to them.
  • Weather and bugs – Bangalore is actually rather pleasant weather wise and bug free.
  • Noisy neighbors, etc – People are busy and not interested in gossiping about you.
  • School and education – I was unsure if it would be good or the style would suit my kids but there are plenty of schools here and we found one that works great for us. Kids are learning a lot and loving it.
Things I did not worry about but are cons:
  • Long work hours and travelling – this maybe the nature of the work you do but you do end up syncing up more with US and thus your nights are pretty busy regardless of the day schedule.
  • Managing domestic help – I have great help but still keeping health, emotions and working dynamics of some seven people on a daily basis is management overhead.
  • Lack of independence – not driving, knowing the place. It is hard to be dependent and feel lost in a city but this is something that will go away with time.
  • Making new friends – after living in Seattle for 13 years it is hard to let go and after a certain age it is harder to make friends.
  • Being nice is underrated – people will take advantage of you, you will not get things done.
The other big problem I hear about is getting sick. If kids get sick in first few months it spoils the move for everyone. Then the whole family wants to return and that feeling engrains itself in the family for a long time. Also, if you do plan to move make a rule that, regardless of how miserable you may be feeling at that moment, you will never say that you want to return in front of the kids.
There is good and there is bad but once you decide it is the attitude that matters. Keep it positive and enjoy the good that each place has. US or India they both have pros– make the best of it.

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