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A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in Kochi

Gayathri — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 07:45:06 +0000

A.P.J. Abdul Kalam comes to Kochi! So whether you are a science lover or a major Abdul Kalam fan, make sure you do not miss him when he is in town. Our Former President will be here to inaugurate the Science Fest ‘Sasthrayan’ which will be happening at North Paravur. Does it really matter whether you have to travel a little to the outskirts of Kochi to meet our Former President? It would be worth it! He will be in Kochi on the 17^th of December to inaugurate the fest at the Government Higher Secondary School in North Paravur at 10.00 a.m.

The fest is conducted in order to encourage the interests in learning science amongst school students. The fest will also be a platform for teachers and students to come together and interact with experts from the field of Science. More than 7000 students from various government aided schools will be part of the programme.

Schools that participate in the fest will be get facilities including Energy Park, Science Parks, and more. So much for Science, but this will be the right opportunity for you to catch a glimpse of India’s all time favourite President and Scientist-A.P.J. Abdul Kalam!

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Science Expo at Siva Temple Ground

Gayathri — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 07:39:35 +0000

If you are interested in science, then here is something which you would want to check out. Kochi is hosting a science expo that will begin on the 15^th of December 2011. G. Madhavan Nair, Former Chairman of Indian Space Research Organization will be inaugurating the expo. Organized by the Swadeshi Movement, Kerala, Science Expo ‘Vigyan Mela’ will surely be a treat to Kochiites.

Science and technology organizations from different parts of the country will be taking part in the expo. Some of the pioneer stalls will be from DRDO, ISRO, Coconut Development Board, DAE, CIFT, NPOL, and Ministry of Earth Sciences. There will also be a students’ programme, painting, essay and quiz competition which will be conducted as part of the Expo. Each school can send 10 students and the students will get an opportunity to interact with leading scientists and experts from the field.

There will also be a science pavilion where students can show the various models and products which they have made. ‘Vigyan Mela’ will be held at Siva Temple Ground. So whether you are a science enthusiast, or someone who loves to watch unique products, make sure you do not miss this one.

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Cocon 2011 in Kochi

Gayathri — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 09:15:30 +0000

So many tales of hacking and internet insecurity is being reported these days. Kochi has also turned out to be a major hub for such activities online. But do you know that there is something called ethical hacking which is actually done for some good purposes? Yes, they are done by ethical hackers who have worked and proved their skills in hacking. But, for good. ‘Cocon 2011’, an annual event will be conducted as part of the International Information Security day. Information Security Research Association along with Matriux Security Community will be organizing this two-day International Security and Hacking Conference as part of the Information Security Day 2011.

‘Cocon 2011’ will be held on the 7^th and 8^th of October 2011. Youngsters, who have been working in this field, can come together in a common platform and discuss issues related to cyber crime. It also helps in educating and showcasing the talent of young aspirants from this field. Corporates, government organizations, and people from other orga

nizations will also be present here, and this will be an open forum for discussions.

For more details, log onto http://informationsecurityday.com/c0c0n/cfp.html

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NDTV and IDBI quiz- Register soon, Kochi

Gayathri — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 14:40:35 +0000

Intellectuals in the city, here is the chance to show off how smart you are! What if a leading news channel shows you on TV? Now that adds to the opulence, doesn’t it? NDTV, along with IDBI Bank is organizing this quiz that can topsy- turvey your life in a good way. If you are an adult between 18-25 years, come and register soon.

There are five different subjects that the contestants can choose from. Bollywood and Entertainment, History and Mythology, Sports, Technology and Automobiles, and Politics and Government are the topics from which you can choose. Once you register online, your registration number will be sent to your e-mail address. After registering online, you need to participate in their online quiz. 10 questions will have to be answered in 5 minutes from a topic which you can choose from (from the above given list of five). You will be shortlisted based on the score and time taken to complete the quiz.

Auditions are held in 12 cities across the country including Pune, Chennai, Bangalore etc. Yes yes, Kochi is also on the list!!! Shortlisted candidates will be part of the Sawal India Ka- Dil Se quiz contest that will be aired on NDTV India. Register soon because entries will close by the 1^st of September 2011. For more details, log onto http://www.sawaalindiaka.com/#

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Boomerang Charity Bowl- A Must Check Out

Gayathri — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 18:21:43 +0000

Oh! You must try this out. The Charity Bowl happening at Boomerang in Oberon Mall can bowl you over. The right place to drop in when boredom tightens its clutches on you, or when you really want a break from that monotonous weekday tedium. Or if you are really in the mood for some fun with friends, Kochi cannot treat with you with a better place now. Shoot the darts to fame, bowl to victory, play smart snooker, and the games at Boomerang beckons you to come and take part, and become the vanquisher.

The best part is, you are paying the money for charity. Along with getting to play, have unlimited fun, and check out the latest games in town, your ticket money goes for a good purpose. You can also sip on some nice smoothies and yummy Gelato from ‘Third Place’ right there. Playing snooker sipping some strawberry smoothie, or bowling gulping on nice Ferrero Rocher ice-creams- Heaven. Drooling, are you??? Run, run. There is still more time to play for the right cause.

Boomerang Charity Bowl is the place to be this week. Hop in. Have fun. And carry home some lovely memories.

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Kochi all set to be smart

Gayathri — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 06:45:05 +0000

Smart city has been in the news since over a decade now. With political parties switching over, politicians ensuring their corrupted hands in the business, media reporting it all, and common man being spectators, Kochiites thought that we nearly lost this smart initiative. Finally, Kochi gets to own her ‘Smart city’. The initial phase of construction will begin on the 29^th of next month. The project named ‘Smart city Pavillion’, will introduce us to the doors of the bigger one.

Smart city, which many thought, would go down the drains, is something which will give Kochi a facelift. It will ensure Kochi’s significant space not just in the national cyber arena, but an international one. Along with giving thousands of youngsters employment opportunities and a platform to exhibit their talents, the best part of this initiative would be- techies who work in places like Bangalore and Hyderabad won’t have to spend thousands on train and bus tickets anymore . You can find better alternatives and jobs that can pay you quite a fortune right here in Kochi. Well, now that sounds really interesting and exciting!!

The exact dates on when the complete construction work would get over have not yet been confirmed. But the work processes has been going in the right pace, and let us hope we can very soon say- Kochi is a smart city.

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TRAI taking a U-turn to the dark ages

carboncredit — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 13:46:01 +0000

How most people would feel about the TRAI rule

Do you know there are over 700 million mobile phone users in India? And between these 700 million users, quite a hefty number of texts are send everyday. Well not more that 700 million times 100 as of TRAI’s new regulations from today. The new rule effectively limits users to only send 100 sms each day, i.e sms packs that has more than 100 free texts each day will no longer exist among any of the service providers. You will either have to have an additional connection or expect to shell out money from your regular balance. Which may be huge kill-joy for heavy texters. According to some wise-ass survey users in urban cities send an average of only 29 texts each day. Key-word being average over here. It does not even make sense as if there is a user a who only sends 5 texts a day, there may be some who sends 250 texts each day & so on.

The TRAI’s decision to impose such dictatorial-pro-Iranian-styled regulation is to curb unsolicited commercial communications. The exact quote being “unsolicited commercial communications can be/are being sent by unregistered telemarketers and such messages can be sent by any person and they are essentially in the category of P2P communications”. And this is their brilliant idea of combating the issue. Kudos to them I say, well thought out. I am sure that the 16-35 age group is absolutely thrilled at this news and why wouldn’t they not be? They are free from unsolicited commercial communications. Sense the major sarcasm.

Texting or SMSing is a HUGELY popular thing in India, it has made a huge social impact in society. The way people interact and communicate has often been dictated by the manner in which we accept technology, this has been one the largest consequential technology from the last decade. By the actions of a fair amount of people, a far larger number will suffer. Mark my words TRAI, this indeed is a step back rather than forward.

What next? Only 100 wall posts on facebook?

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The Hindalco Farce

carboncredit — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 08:50:03 +0000

When the concept of union strikes and such came into being in India, it was a non violent manner of creating a forum to address the issues of workers. But in Kerala, it has come to be such a despondent tool that is a blemish to our state. From being a laughing stock to creating uneasiness to tourists and fellow citizens, now the Hindalco farce is looming on the fine lines of National Security. It would have been a pride to say that this factory is the only one in India to produce the AK6 alloy required by the wheels of the T-90 tanks, but now it is just an unfortunate handicap to say the least.
After failing to meet any sort of agreement between the management & the employees, the crisis has just broken down even further. Even police intervention on trying to get these wheels to Bharat forge was foiled by the employees. Are the our people so short-sighted and so into themselves that they failed to see the repercussions of their actions? I can understand their point of view on trying to find a decent understanding on the wage issue which is their source of living. But for our defence forces’ lives may depend on these alloys lying useless at Hindalco. I have always heard people say Kerala act as though they are a separate nation since the attitude and mindset portray such an image. Which is not to bother much with how the rest of India operates, this kind of affirms that opinion. It is high time our people change this and the Government dealt this issue with an ‘iron hand’ before things get ‘out of hand’.

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The Technological Help – GPS In Kochi

Blesson Gregory — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 15:17:13 +0000

The rain pelted down against the windshield, almost completely blurring my vision. Damn, those wiper blades had to be changed. I turned to my left and looked at the man sitting in the passenger seat of my dilapidated Maruti 800.

“Binny, any idea how to get there?”

My question was more out of a general lack of a sense of direction than penetrating vision. The rain was only just playing the sidekick to the villain of my ignorance of Cochin city routes. I could almost see and hear Binny’s brain churning and turning over in an attempt to produce a comprehensible answer to my relatively dumb question. It was natural for me to expect an answer to fall out of his mouth, but a GPS-enabled mobile appeared out of his shirt pocket instead. Apparently, he was no better informed than I was. Greed is a bad thing, a very bad thing (but more on that later). GPS was now somehow convincing us that not only could we navigate through the rain to our destination without any prior knowledge of the route, but also land there much quicker than by adopting the conventional
one.

Which meant, Binny immediately turned into my co-driver; saddled with the task of navigating me through obscure Cochin roads. He had Google Maps and a Nokia smartphone for help, of course. Who was I to doubt names like Google, Nokia and Binny? GPS told us exactly which road to use. The map revealed the terrain over which we would travel. Everything was going according to plan until we came face to face with a bridge that had to be transcended, when, err, a problem arose. I was now faced with the daunting challenge of driving my car across a two feet wide bridge (meant for pedestrians and the daring bikers). I chickened out (no, I am not proud of it). The map had somehow left out the inconsequential detail
of the width of the bridge.

To cut the long story short, we turned the short route long and eventually reached our destination. But not before a great deal of time, energy and petrol had been needlessly spent. That is what the greed to accept technological help to make things simpler got us. Which got me thinking. How dependent are we on technology now and how desirable is that trend? We cannot write a grammatically correct essay devoid of spelling errors without the help of Microsoft Word Spellcheck. We cannot recollect a single phone number without looking into our mobile contact lists. We cannot remember our old friends without logging onto Facebook. We cannot engage in a discourse of history without researching it on Wikipedia first.

So, the next time you choose to not doubt names like Microsoft,Facebook and Wikipedia, think again!

PS: Just in case you were wondering, I did run a Spellcheck on this article before posting it.

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Now Tune in to IndiaVibes!

The Anarchist — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 04:02:50 +0000

That idiot box in the corner of our living rooms is getting outdated. Maybe they’re bigger and meaner and awesome to watch blu-ray dvds of sfx-intensive movies on, but the fact remains that the vast majority of us rarely watch TV (on TV, that is) anymore. Who wants to sit through miles of ads anyway?

That’s where Web TV comes in. A lot of big names, HBO, CNN, and even Cartoon Network among them, have begun to actively prepare for this revolution in communication. And in India, this movement is being spearheaded in our very own Kochi!

The up-and-coming Vibes Media will soon launch Indiavibes, a one-stop entertainment portal that is sure to be global in its appeal. Although English would be its primary language, multilingual programs would be subsequently added.

This would be an ideal way to get a finger on the pulse of a new generation, and a totally new form of communication: Internet Entertainment. It is backed by an passionate young team that lives and breathes innovation, tempered by the wise hands of experience.

They’re also looking for fresh young faces, so heads up models! This could be your ticket to stardom!

Check it out at: www.indiavibes.tv

Or find them on facebook at www.facebook.com/indiavibes and twitter at www.twitter.com/indiavibestv . Know more about the Indiavibes.tv Team here.

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