Indian IT Industry

[Singha]

airtel is offering unlimited POP email from multiple accounts on RIM for 299/month.

to set smartphone sales up, they need to offer bband browsing for 299/month with some reasonable cap like 3 GB dnload....at 3G speed.

its years away.

[manish]

airtel is offering unlimited POP email from multiple accounts on RIM for 299/month.

to set smartphone sales up, they need to offer bband browsing for 299/month with some reasonable cap like 3 GB dnload....at 3G speed.

its years away.

GD saar, I am also aware of that and in fact had reco'ed it to someone I know. That doesn't come with internet access AFAIK and that was the reason quoted by the person for not choosing it. Many cos still are not keen on giving BBs to mid-level guys in India. Strange thing is that many such cos are willing to give laptops and support them. Once this inertia goes away and adoption amongst desi karporates increases, RIM will make loads of money in desh also. A simple thing like providing an allowance for a package like the one you spoke of will also easily do it.

So MSFT+NOK combine has to move and move fast.

[Singha]

MSFT is not ejatly famous for making lean mobile friendly apps.

Office 2007 is more their style - enough bells and whistles to keep the
user in learning mode for a year.

[Raja Bose]

Could this be a sort of an Emerging Markets play by MSFT?

The emerging markets access for MSFT in mobile apps will be a good consequence of NOK's presence - Despite the fact that iPhone and its apps gain the limelight, after things settle down, the main growth area will again be the so-called emerging markets. People in these markets don't care about cool, they care about utility and have comparatively spartan tastes (even in the upper-middle class levels). The media limelight is disproportionate to the actual impact in case of mobile apps and services right now. If one reads only news reports in the Si Valley one would be led to believe that the whole world uses iPhone, Twitter and Facebook on a daily basis.

Currently, as per the news release however the main thrust seems to be taking on RIM using the MS Apps+NOK E-Series combine - Integration and smooth experience is the key, N97 like clunky software experience has to be avoided.

[manish]

Could this be a sort of an Emerging Markets play by MSFT?

The emerging markets access for MSFT in mobile apps will be a good consequence of NOK's presence - Despite the fact that iPhone and its apps gain the limelight, after things settle down, the main growth area will again be the so-called emerging markets. People in these markets don't care about cool, they care about utility and have comparatively spartan tastes (even in the upper-middle class levels). The media limelight is disproportionate to the actual impact in case of mobile apps and services right now. If one reads only news reports in the Si Valley one would be led to believe that the whole world uses iPhone, Twitter and Facebook on a daily basis.

Currently, as per the news release however the main thrust seems to be taking on RIM using the MS Apps+NOK E-Series combine - Integration and smooth experience is the key, N97 like clunky software experience has to be avoided.

This is exactly what I meant when I spoke of an emerging markets play iPhone has bombed in India+China and last week I had read a report that claimed that iPhones were rotting in warehouses of large RU handset retailers with no takers for them. With RIC out of BRIC ruled out, there isn't much mkt expansion possible for the iPhone - dunno abt the scene in Brazil and SA but the markets are tiny compared to the Big Three of Next Gen telecom.

[svinayak]

MSFT is not ejatly famous for making lean mobile friendly apps.

Have you checked the silver light product

[amdavadi]

what is MSFT makes a deal with RIMM. In all honesty it would of been a good deal few years ago when RIMM was beaten down not now when it is at 71.

[Raja Bose]

Smartphone market share numbers came out today. Apple is a big gainer (iPhone 3GS being a big factor), NOK re-gained some lost ground. Palm is not being impressive at all.

Report: Apple's smartphone market share rises‎
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10308173-37.html

Apple is still in its initial growth phase - but can it sustain without a massive change in its exclusivity and tight integration/quality control philosophy?

[Singha]

apple has zero impact in most developing nations except for the bread-n-circus masses shuffling through the Hippodrome to gawk at the peacocks, exotic beasts from carthage and elburz mountains, ipods, imacs and the exorbitant price tags
attached.

they can make a tidy living selling new stuff and replacements to the aeging
rich countries but for how long - if NOK gets its head out of its ass why cant it come up with something like RIM or Palm pre to compete while securing its cash flow from its global reach and scale.

Its NOK's game to lose and so far they are losing it soundly.

[Singha]

a fellow fanger pointed this out recently while interviewing mtech candidates - a lot are now taking >1 course in algorithms and its not uncommon to find a iit mtech who has taken 3-4 out of 6 courses in different algorithm type courses.

I would say thats one good effect google / yahoo have had on the world - made theoritical comp sci / databases / algorithms / optimization / HPC sound sexy and shoppable again.

imagine a sfta brunette sipping wine at some campus/work cocktail party, looking
deep into your eyes and appreciating with gentle +ve nods as you expound on how
your experimentation and optimization work resulted in the search engine running 11% faster ... visions visions....then you offer to drop her as its a bit late and she invites you for a cup of coffee and some walnut bread she baked herself ... you protest, you pretend to atfirst refuse before reluctantly walking in...(secretly polishing those long vampire fangs)

as things are heating up on the couch suddenly your iphone vibrates...weaning yourself away from the good stuff you glance down to read a SMS from The Big Dog that says "is the bug fixed yet, SVP just bit my head off and gave a deadline of 9am tomorrow. code commit by 8.30am tomorrow to make the build or your ass is my pincushion"

[manish]

apple has zero impact in most developing nations except for the bread-n-circus masses shuffling through the Hippodrome to gawk at the peacocks, exotic beasts from carthage and elburz mountains, ipods, imacs and the exorbitant price tags
attached.

they can make a tidy living selling new stuff and replacements to the aeging
rich countries but for how long - if NOK gets its head out of its ass why cant it come up with something like RIM or Palm pre to compete while securing its cash flow from its global reach and scale.

Its NOK's game to lose and so far they are losing it soundly.

I agree completely GD saar. Also their 'oh-so-cool' segment will face ever increasing competition as GOOG tries to draw in its fanbois for the Android. The recent snub that Apple delivered to Google by barring Google Voice sales through their apps store will not go unnoticed. In fact Eric Schmidt has already resigned from the Apple board citing 'conflict-of-interest'.

Plus so far at least, Apple is a one-trick pony in the market - you either like the iPhone or you don't. Nokia may have too many models, but apple has too few. So what does apple do when others catch up in terms of eye candy, ease of use (esp browser) and hype (GOOG can do this!).

Interesting times ahead.

[manish]

Also another curious thing is that MSFT somehow seems to have got its mojo back. Now I might be wrong here, but this is what it seems to be, at least on the surface.

Consider this - everybody had almost written MSFT off (like they had wrongly done in the mid-1990s first and then in the early 2000s). Google was going to be the Alpha and the Omega in everything from search to ads to email and online apps. MSFT's online business was forever the wannabe and WinMo was on life support, Vista was declared a failure by anyone with access to a computer and a keyboard and internet. They failed in the Yahoo bid. Recession loomed.

Fast forward to this year - bing is making (some) headway and there is a tie up with Yahoo. The NOK partnership may turn out to be interesting - if nothing else, it will at least make the competition sit up and take notice. The office franchise is leading a two pronged attack on its biggest rivals - office online vs GApps and the mobile office vs RIM/Apple. Win 7 is getting positive reception in most circles. Office 14 launch is around the corner. Enterprise biz is doing pretty well for itself as well.

I am looking forward to the tussles and gonna stock up on popcorn!

[Singha]

the traditional apple groupies are not necessarily techies but a lot of media/liberal arts types who sit in coffe bars and tap some blog out or write creative poetry in moleskin notebooks. they may not earn a whole lot but they are high spenders and quite vocal on the internet.

goog imo still does not have that easy-to-use/style image that apple has got because they do not have a physical appliance that the bread-n-circus masses can gather around and gawk it.

android again the physical shell is someone else's phone.

[manish]

X-Posting from the Telecom thread:
Meanwhile, an article by Sam Pitroda pays tribute to C-DOT
Behind India's rise as IT power lies 25 years of C-DOT

C-DOT planted the right seeds for this information and communication technology (ICT) revolution in the country a quarter century ago. The spirit of private enterprise helped it grow to a substantial industry. Now is a good time to review and reflect on what was so unique about the C-DOT endeavour.

C-DOT was essentially a bypass to the legacy system which was full of bureaucracy, vested interests, large unions, confused priorities and political interference. It was clear then that to plant any new ideas and initiatives in the Indian system, bypass was essential with catalysts to engender out-of-the-box thinking. If the same new experiment had been initiated within the Department of Telecom as one of the projects it would have been killed instantly.

^^^ITI, anyone?

The first product was a small rural exchange to connect villages. Thereafter a small PBX was delivered for the business community. Then came a medium-sized 2,000-line digital exchange, a 16,000-line exchange and eventually a 40,000-line large exchange to meet urban needs. All of this was achieved with young talent whose average age was 23 years without any experience or background in digital communications technologies. Most of them were right out of colleges like IITs with no experience but a dream to help build the nation.

[AmitR]

If the same new experiment had been initiated within the Department of Telecom as one of the projects it would have been killed instantly.
^^^ITI, anyone?

Can you explain that a bit more Manish.

[manish]

If the same new experiment had been initiated within the Department of Telecom as one of the projects it would have been killed instantly.
^^^ITI, anyone?

Can you explain that a bit more Manish.

Sure AmitR. I was trying to point to the many failures at ITI over the years, under the aegis of DoT. Perhaps the link is less than straight, but ITI had repeatedly been given exclusive mandates on ambitious projects, and for long they were almost a monopoly in the Indian market. Even after all these decades and many JVs and ToT deals with global majors like AlcaLu, we are left with little to show in terms of achievements and accomplishments. I felt that Pitroda was sorta pointing out how keeping C-DoT out of DoT's direct grasp helped it thrive, unlike ITI, which was rigidly controlled by the guvmint.

Sorry if the parallel sounds a little obscure.

[CalvinH]

True to some extent. Companies like C-DOT, CMC, ITI etc had raw talent at engr level and facilities to nurture that talent like a private enterprise (mostly ensured by recruitment at entry level from Good engg colleges..no nationwide exams like MTNL or oil PSUs for engineers but visit to well known colleges for campus). What they lacked is vision in senior leadership. Also they had a large untapped market to exploit as a quasi govt bodies but they failed.

[CalvinH]

As a sign of change in Indian IT services industry "The most admired company" has adopted a new role structure where the average exp to become a PM (and above) has been raised by 2-3 years from the current level...expect other companies will follow suit but not before they have poached the discontent from the "Global leader in IT services".

[Singha]

there have been demotions and asking of idle people to find work in 6 months or else. lot of fight is going on now. plus with variable component of pay reduced drastically due to economic conditions, senior managers are not earning as they used to.

but its the same everywhere, not specific to one co. IT is a tough place to be.

[Sachin]

The promotions etc. seems to be getting tougher and tougher these days. The 'vegetable oil co' has introduced a kind of 'online test' for all people and flunking in this test means that no promotions. To get into the manager levels, some mandatory courses have been introduced and unless people go through these courses they can forget being a Manager.

[Tanaji]

As a sign of change in Indian IT services industry "The most admired company" has adopted a new role structure where the average exp to become a PM (and above) has been raised by 2-3 years from the current level...expect other companies will follow suit but not before they have poached the discontent from the "Global leader in IT services".

To be honest I think this is a welcome development. Too many people confuse project management with progress chasing. A bit more experience in the trenches should be useful. (I am not a PM).

[Singha]

I have seen two cases of really good technical people get the 'fever' to be managers due to whatever reasons and not do too well. not everyone has the personality for it, not everyone can draw well, not everyone can write poetry, not everyone can run 100ms in 9.58 secs....its just part of life.

one should be happy in whatever role / line on selects and do a good job of it. taking up roles due to social/peer pressure, perceived H&D=H&D++ does not end well.

[CalvinH]

Not only peer pressure but the feeling that it can be achieved with reasonable or no effort. We all know that to run 100m under 10 seconds require huge effort and time, so that kind of desist general people from aspiring for it. Moving from Tech roles to PM is an option available to most of the techies after some point of time in a IT services company.

Its very different in a product and IT services company.

Most admired company has added another layer below PM for a technical lead to ensure that PM has more technical competencies. The underlying assumption is probably that more time = good technical exposure=Good technical knowledge

[Jayram]

Not only peer pressure but the feeling that it can be achieved with reasonable or no effort. We all know that to run 100m under 10 seconds require huge effort and time, so that kind of desist general people from aspiring for it. Moving from Tech roles to PM is an option available to most of the techies after some point of time in a IT services company.

Its very different in a product and IT services company.

Most admired company has added another layer below PM for a technical lead to ensure that PM has more technical competencies. The underlying assumption is probably that more time = good technical exposure=Good technical knowledge

On the flip side cost cutting is become such a imperative that non technical PMs have been cut loose regardless of thier years of exp with no replacements in sight resulting in Tech Leads now being asked to perform PM role along with rest of the workload like SOX navigation and off shore co-ordination.. And of course mgmt holds your bxxx and squeeze it tight to make sure you dont miss delivery dates since thier bxxx are in same squeeze as well..
End result life sux more now for people in IT ...

[Raja Bose]

Nokia announces netbook offering
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8219005.stm

Another netbook though key differentiator will be how effectively it can be hawked as a services platform - carrier based subsidies will help (Europe already does that).

[bart]

Not only peer pressure but the feeling that it can be achieved with reasonable or no effort. We all know that to run 100m under 10 seconds require huge effort and time, so that kind of desist general people from aspiring for it. Moving from Tech roles to PM is an option available to most of the techies after some point of time in a IT services company.

Its very different in a product and IT services company.

Most admired company has added another layer below PM for a technical lead to ensure that PM has more technical competencies. The underlying assumption is probably that more time = good technical exposure=Good technical knowledge

On the flip side cost cutting is become such a imperative that non technical PMs have been cut loose regardless of thier years of exp with no replacements in sight resulting in Tech Leads now being asked to perform PM role along with rest of the workload like SOX navigation and off shore co-ordination.. And of course mgmt holds your bxxx and squeeze it tight to make sure you dont miss delivery dates since thier bxxx are in same squeeze as well..
End result life sux more now for people in IT ...

This actually makes sense, even in good times. I have never understood what the F PMs actually do, on most run of the mill IT projects. PMs might be useful for real projects like say building a Dam or setting up an oil rig. In most IT companies they just tend to be a bunch of useless jackasses with neither technical knowledge nor genuine deep knowledge of project management methodology, they only end up confusing various parties and impeding the project by obstructing the free flow of information. Most good techies can easily manage their own projects, and probably will be able to pick up MS Project and PM concepts much faster and also make genuine use of them.

[CalvinH]

BART seems like you have bad experiences with PM

In Indian IT services industry PM role is very crucial role. Its the role which does all the work for the Management, ensures client aspirations are met and has bottomline for delivery. The role become very important due to unstructured work (projects are poorly scoped and low balled) and relatively inexperienced workforce (mostly in band of 2-5 years).

This is also the role from where the people are trained to take over management responsibilities at some later stage and become part of the mainstream "management culture" of services companies. Some people branch off to sales/BD type roles after this but PM role is start of the pipeline for higher management roles.

[Tanaji]

True story:

Deploying a major VoIP project for a big customer, with sites across 3 continents. PM presents a schedule (without checking with the lead designer of the project) to the customer, and ends up embarrassing himself and the vendor (his employers): he had scheduled the WAN IP backbone go-live date AFTER all testing and acceptance were scheduled to be completed. When asked about it whether it was a typo, his reply was its a side project isn't it, so to be done later to prevent "distraction".

One loses their will to live after such incidents.

[SwamyG]

I don't know if this got posted elsewhere in BRF......
South based IT & ITES firms post 15% revenue growth in FY 09: CII study

CHENNAI: The information technology (IT) and IT-enabled services (ITeS) companies, based in the Southern Region, reported an operating income of
about Rs 60,000 crore, during the fiscal year 2008-09, up by a 15% over the previous year, according to a CII quarterly update on the sector.

The study said of the over 230 listed IT and ITeS companies in India, more than 44% of them have their registered offices in the south. The number of software units in Karnataka increased 24% from 1,520 units in 2004-05 to 1,885 units in 2006-07. The number of software units in Tamil Nadu increased from 855 in 2001-02 to 1,127 in 2007-08, representing a growth rate of 32%.

Andhra Pradesh aims to achieve Rs 69,000 crore software export turnover and seeks to create 3 lakh direct employment. The IT industry in Kerala has an annual turnover of about 15 billion, employing about 60,000 people.

In software exports, Tamil Nadu recoded a 29% growth in rupee terms at Rs 36,680 crore or US$7.9 billion in 2008-09, over Rs 28,430 crore or US$6 billion in 2007-08.

Andhra Pradesh registered an export turnover of Rs 32,500 crore or US$7 billion from the IT/ITES industry during 2008-09, a growth of 24.5% in rupee terms over the previous year's Rs 26,120 crore or US$5.7 billion.

The software exports from in Karnataka amounted to Rs 67,500 crore or US$14.7 billion in 2008-09, compared to Rs 58,500 crore or US$ 12.7 billion during the previous year, an increase of 15% in rupee terms being hit by global recession.

The Indian IT and ITES Industry recorded a turnover of Rs 2,74,000 crore or US$59.5 billion in FY2009, with exports accounting for about Rs 2,16,200 crore or US$47 billion and contributing to over 75% of industry revenues.

The industry has grown at a CAGR of approximately 30% between FY2004 and FY2009. The industry growth, which has been affected by the current economic slowdown, is expected to pick up in the near future.

The Indian IT/ITES industry is expected to grow at 13.9% CAGR to reach US$105 billion in 2013, with the domestic market growing at a slightly higher 15.8% to report revenues of Rs 2,06,400 crore or US$ 41 billion.

[VinodTK]

TCS, Infy, Wipro bag big chunk of BP's 5-year IT deal

[manish]

Something big seems to be in the works in the Telecom world, esp. wrt to AlcaLu. X-Posting from the telecom thread:

As the tough times for giant telecom vendors continue, someone floats the idea of merging two entities that were formed out of recent mergers...
NSN, Alcatel-Lucent - once bitten, now merger shy

ARIS/HELSINKI, Aug 25 (Reuters) - As top mobile network equipment firm Ericsson snaps up bankrupt Nortel's assets, its smaller rivals need to combine to provide a real challenge, but painful recent mergers are likely to blind them to that logic.

On paper, a merger of struggling Nokia Siemens Networks [NSN.UL] and loss-making Alcatel-Lucent (ALUA.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) -- the number two and four manufacturers of mobile network equipment in terms of market share -- would make a lot of sense.

"Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent may want to consider a collaboration of sorts to gain scale against Ericsson and to fend off Huawei's ascent with Western operators," said Pablo Perez-Fernandez, analyst with MKM Partners.

"Huawei's cost advantages and resulting competition may be the spark that ignites a marriage of convenience," he said.

Wot say the Gurus? Wasn't this 'spark' etc the rationale behind the original merger that has backfired so spectacularly for AlcaLu?

Something's cooking, eh? Now the talk of a Chinese bid for AlcaLu...
Alcatel shares surge on Chinese bid talk, upgrade

By Leila Abboud and Anupreeta Das

PARIS/NEW YORK, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Shares of Alcatel-Lucent SA (ALUA.PA) jumped 16 percent on Wednesday on market chatter that it could be bought by a rival Chinese manufacturer of telecommunications gear, and a rating upgrade by Natixis.

IMHO, unlikely. Look at Huawei's track record - Marconi-failed. 3COM-failed. Nortel-failed. Not gonna be allowed, esp as the article mentions the Bell Labs related security concerns that such a deal would raise.

[Singha]

wont be allowed by nato. alca-lu infra is into lot of classified comms networks I would think on both sides of atlantic.

[Raja Bose]

Nokia N900 running Maemo 5 officially €500 in October - Difference is that it is a phone not an internet-only tablet.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/27/noki ... n-october/

[negi]

Still with adim kaler resistive touch screen... I got my hands on the 5800 Xpress music series the touch screen is yuck...I mean it feels as if someone applied superglue all over the screen; the reception and sound quality are top notch (better that Aye phonuwa).But jeez the brick life feel (it is as thick as two phonuwas slammed together) makes it unfit for chaddi mujahids like me.

Despite the hype and overpricing of the Appil products their customer service is top notch I know some of my friends who had their sets replaced for even simple cosmetic reasons ,no questions asked.

[Sachin]

Techie commits suicide at work premises: Bangalore
Sad

[manish]

wont be allowed by nato. alca-lu infra is into lot of classified comms networks I would think on both sides of atlantic.

Very true. And now reports say that Huawei has denied any such moves.
Here's an analysis which believes this might be just an attempt to jack up AlcaLu's stock price:
Napoleon, Huawei, ZTE, And Alcatel-Lucent

This story is either an attempt by traders to generate interest in Alcatel-Lucent's stock to enable them to liquidate or mitigate losing positions, and/or the start of a controversy in which a complex mix of geopolitical as well as commercial forces will come into play.

[Sanjay M]

BW:

Indian Outsourcing Companies Eye $1 Billion Exxon Deal
As economic turmoil creates more incentive to outsource, ExxonMobil is in talks with top Indian IT companies and Western multinationals

[Singha]

we interviewed around 10 people today, the pick of the lot from around 80 screened on phone earlier. after a day long effort by two dozen employees finally 2 met the mark - and our mark is nowhere as allegedly selective as msft or goog - we dont throw smartass puzzles at people.

it is utterly frightening the level of (in)ability in experienced 10+ yr people from many revered cos. simple coding problems that a 2nd yr btech student should be able to do couldnt be done by 'architects' 'tech leads' and so on. and if they did anything in the right direction it was littered with unsafe practises. yet their resumes claim to have done so many projects, mentored people and
been the go-to guy for any issues.

I truly worry for the future of the world if the IT infra of the future is built/managed by this lot. whew - its been a draining experience...I need some beer and TLC to cool down.

bottom line is people have grown lazy on easy money and a lot of people who shouldnt have risen
much in the industry have done so. each such bad apple brings in 10 more using the guru-chela principle AND also demotivates 10 good people with their antics and politics. people have gamed
the system to Nth degree and reduced meritocracy to a farce.

[Paul]

This might interesting reading

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/ ... ?uniontrib

Microsoft's VIP interns
Company aims to lure the best and brightest, promote its products
By Sharon Pian Chan
THE SEATTLE TIMES
2:00 a.m. August 29, 2009

Steven Sinofsky, president of Microsoft's Windows division, hosted a model-rocket launch with the unit's interns to mark the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing. (Steve Ringman / MCT News Service) - JUST A FEWOF THE PERKS
XBox console

Housing stipend

Competitive salary: estimated at $4,600 to $6,000 a month

Relocation costs

Mentors

Sky diving

Paragliding

Private party: event at Pacific Science Center and screening of new “Harry Potter” movie

Puzzle day: eight hours of 1,000 Microsoft employees working on logic puzzles

Mount Rainier hike

Seattle Mariners game
SEATTLE — The same day Microsoft reported some of its worst financial results, a dozen buses left the software giant's Redmond, Wash., campus. During rush hour, they headed toward Highway 520 as a phalanx of police on motorcycles shut down the on-ramps ahead, clearing the path to the Pacific Science Center.

Microsoft had rented the museum for a private party and a screening of the new “Harry Potter” movie. After the screening, about 600 attendees received free Xbox 360 video game consoles.

The recipients of this VIP treatment? Microsoft's summer interns.

“You feel like royalty to be escorted by police,” said Joriz De Guzman, a 19-year-old intern working toward his master's degree in business administration at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

[Raja Bose]

we interviewed around 10 people today, the pick of the lot from around 80 screened on phone earlier. after a day long effort by two dozen employees finally 2 met the mark - and our mark is nowhere as allegedly selective as msft or goog - we dont throw smartass puzzles at people.

it is utterly frightening the level of (in)ability in experienced 10+ yr people from many revered cos. simple coding problems that a 2nd yr btech student should be able to do couldnt be done by 'architects' 'tech leads' and so on. and if they did anything in the right direction it was littered with unsafe practises. yet their resumes claim to have done so many projects, mentored people and
been the go-to guy for any issues.

Smartass puzzles are useless in determining competency levels. I dunno about Yindia but in massa GOOG/MSFT levels of selectivity are not that sky-high (in terms of tech. competence required, mouthing YumBeeAye-type phrases is a different requirement) - they are pretty run of the mill with some creativity in coding thrown in. GOOG does care way too much on "personality fit" hence if you are a non-yuppie non-environment friendly SDRE, P(rejection) does get higher.

Dunno how much in touch with hands-on coding 10+ yr folks will have - is this expected of them to be proficient in coding in a snap or they have probably lost all their coding skills while churning self-glorifying power points? 2nd year Btech student has all those funda fresh in mind, put him behind a desk/in a cubicle and see how fast he deteriorates!

I have to interview a prof. sometime next week - fella is leaving a tenured position to join industry (and facing the indignity of getting interviewed by a baccha 15 years his junior ) - wonder why?! Allah acts in mysterious ways.