Indian IT Industry

Neshant · Post by **Neshant** » 27 Jun 2010 18:54

Bob V wrote:cross-posting from gen. discussions thread:

hello birathers,
I need some help urgently. One of my chaps in a remote location is trying to send a fax using VoIP. But inorder to make it work he needs to make the following changes to the Canon MF4350 :
ECM : disable
Rings to answer : 2
Resolution : lowest
Overseas mode : ON
Baud rate :9600

The chap is unfamiliar with making changes to settings on the machine and the manual isn't of much help either. Can anyone please guide me through the fax interface to make these changes ? Thanks in advance.

edit : is there any resolution for slow or incomplete fax over VoIP ?

tell him to scan it and email it to you if all else fails.

VinodTK · Post by **VinodTK** » 01 Jul 2010 02:09

Scam-hit Satyam turns World Cup star

Little more than a year ago, scandal-hit Satyam Computer Services appeared destined for the corporate scrap heap. Now, under new management, it is a central player at the football World Cup in South Africa, managing US$1 billion in assets as it holds together the telecommunications, the ticketing process and the co-ordination and transport of thousands of officials and volunteers.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 08 Jul 2010 22:54

India Tech Firms’ Search for ‘Lost Sheep’.

India’s technology companies are looking at innovative ways to unearth and maintain a steady supply of workers as they strive to meet soaring demand for outsourcing services triggered by the recent rebound in global technology spending.Infosys, the country’s second largest software exporter by sales, has opened a “green channel” initiative, whereby employees who have left the organization can join again with minimum processing time. The policy currently only applies to positions in India.
Medium-sized outsourcing company Mphasis has introduced a similar initiative called “homecoming,” inviting employees who left firm in the last 18 months to join back.“When the demand scenario improves, employees would certainly want to move from one organization to another, but with a higher pay,” says analyst Sandeep Muthangi of IIFL Capital.That means these companies may actually end up paying a premium to rehire the lost sheep.

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2010/07/08/ ... ost-sheep/

Ameet · Post by **Ameet** » 12 Jul 2010 11:04

How the World Cup Has Resurrected India's Enron

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/ ... 65,00.html

paramu · Post by **paramu** » 14 Jul 2010 23:38

Epic Browser:
the first-ever web browser for India
the world's only antivirus browser

Raghavendra · Post by **Raghavendra** » 15 Jul 2010 20:17

paramu wrote:Epic Browser:
the first-ever web browser for India
the world's only antivirus browser

Epic is really epic

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 16 Jul 2010 03:14

^ cool.. downloaded it.. feels like Indic mozilla.. good start.

shyam · Post by **shyam** » 16 Jul 2010 09:42

Someone needs to request them to add BR as one of the icons on the left side of Epic browser.

Varoon Shekhar · Post by **Varoon Shekhar** » 16 Jul 2010 18:44

"^ cool.. downloaded it.. feels like Indic mozilla.. good start."

Any idea which company or organisation developed it?

sampat · Post by **sampat** » 16 Jul 2010 20:17

Varoon Shekhar wrote:"^ cool.. downloaded it.. feels like Indic mozilla.. good start."

Any idea which company or organisation developed it?

hidden reflex http://www.hiddenreflex.com/ is the company behind epic browser.

It's pretty cool browser. I like their implementation of siderbar.

ArmenT · Post by **ArmenT** » 16 Jul 2010 20:18

^^^^
Try clicking on the About Us link on their website. It tells you who made it.

By the way, the reason it feels like an "Indic Mozilla" is because it is based on Mozilla Firefox and uses their engine

.

What these guys don't realize though is that they're supposed to release the source code to anyone who asks, per the terms of GPL that Mozilla Firefox is licensed under, otherwise it is a violation of the license terms. Should try and ask for the source and see what they say.

ManjaM · Post by **ManjaM** » 17 Jul 2010 01:26

Prem wrote:India Tech Firms’ Search for ‘Lost Sheep’.
India’s technology companies are looking at innovative ways to unearth and maintain a steady supply of workers as they strive to meet soaring demand for outsourcing services triggered by the recent rebound in global technology spending.Infosys, the country’s second largest software exporter by sales, has opened a “green channel” initiative, whereby employees who have left the organization can join again with minimum processing time. The policy currently only applies to positions in India.
Medium-sized outsourcing company Mphasis has introduced a similar initiative called “homecoming,” inviting employees who left firm in the last 18 months to join back.“When the demand scenario improves, employees would certainly want to move from one organization to another, but with a higher pay,” says analyst Sandeep Muthangi of IIFL Capital.That means these companies may actually end up paying a premium to rehire the lost sheep.
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2010/07/08/ ... ost-sheep/

lulz.

the ones inside are the sheep. Happiest and most lucrative years have been since i left "the revered co." No more late night calls, obstinate and overbearing managers, no more "please write BOK", no need to share apartment ...

Funny story - A co-worker from "revered co" forwarded his resume and asked me to send it to the mythical any-suitable-position at my new company. I sent it over, pal got a call to set up an interview, interview done, offer made and the offer has a 1 week expiry period. My pal thinks over for a coupla nights and tells me "Sorry, with great reluctance i have to refuse the offer. I just luv the buildings and lawns in "most revered co" . Also job security is good"
Nothing else mattered, not the close to 50% pay hike, not the opportunity to work on a product from concept....

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 17 Jul 2010 03:34

Key e-Governance projects to have Rs 40,000-cr outlay.

The government today pegged the total outlay for all 27 Mission Mode Projects (MMPs) under the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) at around Rs 40,000 crore. Of this, Rs 10,000 crore has been spent on 14 projects, which have started functioning. This year, three more projects will be approved, and by 2014 all projects will start delivering services. “The total outlay for the MMPs including the capital expenditure and lifelong operating expenditure is between Rs 30,000 crore and Rs 40,000 crore, of which Rs 10,000 crore has already been spent. All projects will go live by 2014,” said R Chandrashekhar, secretary, Department of Information Technology (DIT), here today while addressing an event on NeGP.

The 14 projects that have already started delivering services include mobile computer applications (MCA21), pensions, central excise, income-tax, passport, banking and insurance, land records and road transport. Under these projects, 1,100 services are likely to be available progressively. Of these, 600 citizen- and business-centric services are now available electronically.The projects yet to be approved are e-procurement, e-PRI, agriculture and employment exchange.

“To enable all this, state-wide connectivity is being provided through State Wide Area Networks ensuring a minimum of 2 Mbps connectivity up to block levels. SWANs are operational in 23 states and the remaining will become operational by March 2011,” Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrashekhar, who was present on the occasion, said.

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 17 Jul 2010 04:07

So it is safe to download Epic, no?

Just asking.

Raghavendra · Post by **Raghavendra** » 17 Jul 2010 11:24

SwamyG wrote:So it is safe to download Epic, no? Just asking.

Yes it's clean, no spyware or anything like that.

Here is an report from virustotal
http://www.virustotal.com/analisis/e057 ... 1279339719

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 18 Jul 2010 05:13

^^^
Nice side bar features. Isn't it little bit sluggish?

CalvinH · Post by **CalvinH** » 18 Jul 2010 06:21

Ameet wrote:How the World Cup Has Resurrected India's Enron

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/ ... 65,00.html

Sir it wasnt India's Enron. Unlike Enron the company had fundamentals and money but it (the public money) was siphoned by the CEO. The only similarity can be cooking of books to give an incorrect reflection of cash at hand.

I bought 5K shares of the company @20 Rs. when the news broke. The share went to 125+ at peak time. I knew they had/have clients and contracts and the talk that there was never any money was pure nothing but pure baloney.

CalvinH · Post by **CalvinH** » 18 Jul 2010 06:31

ManjaM wrote: My pal thinks over for a coupla nights and tells me "Sorry, with great reluctance i have to refuse the offer. I just luv the buildings and lawns in "most revered co" . Also job security is good"
Nothing else mattered, not the close to 50% pay hike, not the opportunity to work on a product from concept....

he would have used the offer to negotiate a better position and profile in the most revered company.

At the end of the day those who are staying or stayed for long are doing so for the personal reasons and not for the love of the company. I dont think there are any "sheep" in IT services companies. Even a 2 year exp guy knows how to negotiate based on what he percieves as his strengths. Some people overestimate it and some underestimate it but no one is buying the lawns and buildings argument anymore there. Even when I was there most of the people who were joining were doing so because they wanted an onsite opportunity which were around in plenty.

ManjaM · Post by **ManjaM** » 19 Jul 2010 02:24

CalvinH wrote:
At the end of the day those who are staying or stayed for long are doing so for the personal reasons and not for the love of the company. I dont think there are any "sheep" in IT services companies. Even a 2 year exp guy knows how to negotiate based on what he percieves as his strengths. Some people overestimate it and some underestimate it but no one is buying the lawns and buildings argument anymore there. Even when I was there most of the people who were joining were doing so because they wanted an onsite opportunity which were around in plenty.

hmm, could be. i got out before the new and highly unpopular payscale/structure changes. So, i might be a little behind on the angst. Never heard of pay being revised between hike there though. I had a couple of buddies in my IBU, who got offers from other companies and wanted to negotiate their scales in revered co , but they ended up quitting anyway. The IBU i was in, was FUBARED. It doesnt exist in its original form now.

CalvinH · Post by **CalvinH** » 19 Jul 2010 06:47

angst was already there but may not rubbed you while you were there. The new structure delivered a fatal blow to some of the fundamentals which are a primary driver in any tactical operational strategy at IBU/HBU level and just spread it around even in the "performer and richly rewarded" crowd.

All GDM based indian IT services firms have strategies at company level which are an extension of current operating model such expansion in Non US regions, accquistion of services firms which complement the service portfolio, put a good training infrastructure etc . Whenever the strategic plans include goals which are detached from the current operating model or require some fundamental changes in they had never find middle management support. Non linear growth model is very good example of it. All indian IT services companies are struggling with this strategic goal.

At the end of the day success and sustenance of these companies are largely based on individual competence and brilliance. In Infosys NRN understood this and promoted this. Infosys still has some great people at senior management level but middle management is going down the drain for few year and it just a matter of time before the rot will reach senior management.

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 19 Jul 2010 08:59

CalvinH wrote: At the end of the day those who are staying or stayed for long are doing so for the personal reasons and not for the love of the company.
<snip>
......but no one is buying the lawns and buildings argument anymore there.

Isn't it true for most people in private sector except perhaps some starry eyed Nooglers (naive Googlers)?

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 19 Jul 2010 09:12

to lean a moving armed camp of 120,000 effectively against multiple threats you need people in the mould of chengis khan, rommel or the Mahdi

when such leaders retire, lesser mortals often cannot exercise proper control and the empire splinters eventually....

CalvinH · Post by **CalvinH** » 20 Jul 2010 06:33

Sir to manage 120K people you may need chengiz khan at top and may be generals with same attitude but you dont want every platoon commander to behave like chengiz khan in ambitions and feeling of entitlement (that comes with it). In IT services companies like Infosys under the facade of managed growth the tactical level plans/strategy are shaped by personal ambitions.

At the end of the day if you can sell something without much issue what will you focus on, bringing differentiation or more sales. You can sell and quickly move up the ladder.

People who are talented either move up fast or leave the company. The company will face severe crunch at platoon/battalian commanders level in future as the quality is no longer a concern in recruitment and company does not attract talent (due to its name) anymore like it used to attract 10 years back.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 20 Jul 2010 07:20

ManjaM · Post by **ManjaM** » 20 Jul 2010 10:20

lulz

i used to use the same analogy when i was at revered co.

i saw a russian movie a long time ago about WW1. General saab comes in with a plan to rush the german lines. Germans are well prepared and shred all but 2 of the russian foot soldiers. the 2 see the hopeless situation and risk life and limb and make it back to the russian lines. General saab promptly has them arrested and shot as they did not take over the entire german platoon themselves. he says - my plan was perfect but these guys just died and didnt complete the job!!

same with revered co. it is a hopeless struggle against monumental odds. morale, bank account everything is down there. only onsite employees have any semblance of optimism. rest all are sacrificial goats at the altar of IRACE and HR. After getting trod on for 4 years, i deserted and ran for my life. better than being caught and shot during appraisal time for not single handedly saving the team, group and company.

after all i am humble engineer not Jack Bauer.

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 21 Jul 2010 00:51

RIL eyeing Indian tablet PC maker?

Reliance Industries is said to be in talks to invest in the Hyderabad-based Notion Ink, which is developing a “made in India” tablet computer that is already being pitched against Apple's iPad.

It is learnt that the talks, which could even lead to RIL picking up a majority stake in Notion Ink, are centred on the Adam tablet, which is scheduled for a worldwide launch later this year.

A tablet PC is a laptop equipped with a stylus or a touchscreen.

RIL's interest could have been triggered by the fact that the Adam has been touted as an “Apple iPad killer” in many quarters. The product has been generating enormous buzz on tech Web sites and gadget blogs since an early prototype was put up for demonstration at consumer tech trade shows earlier this year.

An RIL spokesperson said, “We do not comment on speculation as a matter of company policy.” Officials at Notion Ink said the same.

Notion Ink was established by six IITans and an MBA graduate who were able to integrate two breakthrough power saving components — nVidia's Tegra 2 chip and a PixelQi screen.

The buzz is that Adam has twice the battery life and performance of the iPad.

Starting at $325, the Adam tablet PC is around 36 per cent cheaper than the starting price of an iPad — $499. Moreover, Pixel Qi screen technology makes it easier to read under bright light, technology experts say.

The deal with Notion Ink is also expected to help RIL in its quest to garner a significant share of the Indian broadband market. RIL recently re-entered the Indian telecom market through its Rs 4,500-crore acquisition of Infotel, which has bagged broadband wireless access spectrum for all 22 circles

Given the high propensity of a tablet PC to consume bandwidth, RIL could bundle the Adam tablet with its broadband services to target high-end users in India, Mr Kunal Bajaj, Director, of technology advisory firm Analysys Mason, told Business Line. “From Notion Ink's perspective, the funds infused by RIL could help in setting up its manufacturing and distribution networks.”

Apple's iPad is not yet sold in India. Interestingly, in a blog posting dated June 9, Notion Ink co-founder Mr Rohan Shravan, said: “We have closed the final round of funding and are now in perfect sync with our investors. This is extremely good news for everyone. I say that because if we have global ambitions, there must be someone who can help us achieve that. And now we have got the muscle power… I cannot reveal the amount of investment, but it's a big day for Notion Ink!”

Analyst firm ABI Research has predicted that eight million media tablet devices will be sold this year.

manju · Post by **manju** » 21 Jul 2010 01:03

Does anyone remember that IISC or some blore based institution was supposed to come up with a small pc tablet to browse online... It was called "Chikki" (whcih is actually jagger+groundnut sweet sold in most shops in india)... I have not heard of it for the last several years..

Yayavar · Post by **Yayavar** » 21 Jul 2010 07:00

manju wrote:Does anyone remember that IISC or some blore based institution was supposed to come up with a small pc tablet to browse online... It was called "Chikki" (whcih is actually jagger+groundnut sweet sold in most shops in india)... I have not heard of it for the last several years..

I recall Amitha or Amidha computer with some cool interfaces - flipping to go to next photo, zoom through moving the device towards you, etc. It was a good UI innovation. Did not seem to have fared all that well though.

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 22 Jul 2010 01:37

Centre, states agree on new platform for GST.

IT infra for the new tax regime will be ready by Feb 2011.

The government will float a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for setting up information technology (IT) infrastructure for the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST). The SPV, called GST N (Network), will have the Union government, the states and a technology partner as its stakeholders.

In a presentation given to the empowered committee of state finance ministers today, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) Chairman Nandan Nilekani assured that IT infrastructure for GST would be ready in the next six months, that is, by February 2011 — two months ahead of the proposed introduction of GST.

“The IT infrastructure will be ready by April 2011. Most of the states have agreed to the strategy laid out by Nilekani. In this system, taxpayers will directly deal with one common network, while states and the Centre can do the audit through their respective systems like ACES or TINXSYS,” sources told Business Standard.

The finance ministry has laid out a roadmap for the formation of the SPV. It has proposed setting up an empowered group chaired by Nilekani, with joint representation from the Centre and the states. The group will choose technology and the vendor for time-bound implementation of GST. The technology partner could be National Securities Depository Ltd or National Payments Corporation of India.

The empowered committee on IT will include people from five states who will represent most advanced, moderately advanced and least advanced states in terms of the use of technology. One of these could be a north-eastern state. The group will be formed by July 25.

The SPV will be formed by August 10 and by December 1 it will start testing of a tax platform interface with taxpayer software. By January 1, 2011, it will start testing the Centre’s system with that of states. By February 1, it will be prepared with facilitation centres for businesses which do not have computers. The SPV will also provide assistance to states which do not have required IT infrastructure for the GST rollout.

“One measure that would immensely facilitate simplification is the use of information technology so that physical interface between the taxpayer and the administration is minimised… Since this infrastructure needs to be in place well before the actual introduction of GST in April next year, decisions have to be made with great alacrity and speed,” Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in another meeting later in the day.

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 22 Jul 2010 02:48

Singha wrote:to lean a moving armed camp of 120,000 effectively against multiple threats you need people in the mould of chengis khan, rommel or the Mahdi

when such leaders retire, lesser mortals often cannot exercise proper control and the empire splinters eventually....

That is why it is said, a successful leader creates good quality leaders who can take after him (or her).

CalvinH · Post by **CalvinH** » 22 Jul 2010 05:15

SwamyG wrote:
Singha wrote:to lean a moving armed camp of 120,000 effectively against multiple threats you need people in the mould of chengis khan, rommel or the Mahdi

when such leaders retire, lesser mortals often cannot exercise proper control and the empire splinters eventually....
That is why it is said, a successful leader creates good quality leaders who can take after him (or her).

Many followers will emulate a successful leader by picking up the perceived qualities but success is product of many factors including opportunities presenting themselves at the right time. One can have lot of similar qualities but still may not be able to handle challenges due to the new situations such as changing battlefield (change in marketplace) something which the previous leader never faced.

The new leader does not need to take after the previous leader. Things change over a period of time making some qualities redundant and creating the need for some other qualities which may be completely different than what original leader had.

Infosys problem is :
1. There is no chengiz khan at top level but a lot of people with chengiz khan ambitions at one/two level below. Some of these have limited battle experience but mistakenly assume that they possess battle abilities of chengiz khan just because they were promoted too fast to generals.

2. The most aggressive person in the leadership team who is also vying for the top general slot has never been to a battle ground even and has no battle experience at all. He is the strategy types who thinks battle experience can be easily substituted by studies and thinking and thus has no relevance at higher levels of management.

3. The battlefield scene is changing fast, new rivals are emerging and leadership is now more important than it was ever before.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 22 Jul 2010 06:33

is .2 by any chance from mangalore side ?

Nayak · Post by **Nayak** » 22 Jul 2010 15:31

ManjaM wrote:lulz

i used to use the same analogy when i was at revered co.

i saw a russian movie a long time ago about WW1. General saab comes in with a plan to rush the german lines. Germans are well prepared and shred all but 2 of the russian foot soldiers. the 2 see the hopeless situation and risk life and limb and make it back to the russian lines. General saab promptly has them arrested and shot as they did not take over the entire german platoon themselves. he says - my plan was perfect but these guys just died and didnt complete the job!!

same with revered co. it is a hopeless struggle against monumental odds. morale, bank account everything is down there. only onsite employees have any semblance of optimism. rest all are sacrificial goats at the altar of IRACE and HR. After getting trod on for 4 years, i deserted and ran for my life. better than being caught and shot during appraisal time for not single handedly saving the team, group and company.

after all i am humble engineer not Jack Bauer.

Bismillah, a fellow mujahid who has escaped from the magical seduction of green campus + company gym and heera-mandi identity.

You have my instant respect and have a open invitation to fondle my goats and use my uber secret tora bora caves when the bredators come calling, maybe I will even get you inside the exclusive secret club of sonegachi.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 22 Jul 2010 15:43

even though we rebels are small, yet we have the strength of five because we are 'free' ... day by day our numbers increase as peasants, lycans, escaped serfs rally to our cause in the forests and ravines.

as the sun sets we gather at the end of the forest and look across the meadows to the hated Castle of the Elders and number the days when we shall launch a final attack on the tyrant Victor and his coven.

freedom is priceless brothers - defend it !
http://unrealitymag.com/wp-content/uplo ... mlycan.jpg

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 22 Jul 2010 18:49

CalvinH: Agreed. But then you are assuming that a leader finds other leaders who are kind of xerox-copies; a good leader will adapt to the current ground conditions, no?

CalvinH · Post by **CalvinH** » 23 Jul 2010 01:00

SwamyG wrote:CalvinH: Agreed. But then you are assuming that a leader finds other leaders who are kind of xerox-copies; a good leader will adapt to the current ground conditions, no?

I see it now. I read your statement "who can take after him" as who can take after him in personal qualities instead of who can take after him the reigns of the company.

At the end of the day people try to inculcate qualities of the leader by following them. More true for IT companies which mostly hires average joe from non-descript college who for most part are completely dependent on the company to shape their future qualities and ambitions (i have many such cases). People also do it as they try to fit into the company culture, to strike rapport with the boss or want to gel in "his/her crowd". Over a period of time they start to behave in similar way. This is very true for lot of Infosys aspiring leadership team which has spent extended amount of time in the company (many will have Infosys as the first company)where conforming to a broader set of qualities is considered essential for leadership. So in nutshell the leaders that will emerge out of the years of following and conforming will not be very different from the previous leaders but they will be facing very different markeplace than the previous ones.

CalvinH · Post by **CalvinH** » 23 Jul 2010 01:01

Singha wrote:is .2 by any chance from mangalore side ?

Not sure where he is from but he had Haji mastan as one of his heros during teenage.

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 23 Jul 2010 01:12

http://www.techgoss.com/Story/2470S14-I ... ugans.aspx

In reality, he is the most feared man in Infosys with no one dare crossing him. Only the CFO Mr V. Balakrishnan has a reputation of looking Mr. Pai in his eyes and refusing a ‘suggestion’. Mr. Pai is on his way to fulfill his ambition to lead Infosys.

Over the last 6 months, Techgoss had nick named Mohandas Pai as ‘Quick Sack Murugun’ for his letting go of many people he termed as non performers. (See full story below). South Indian comedy ‘Quick Gun Murugun’ hit the screen in 2009 and its hero is played by Telugu super star Rajendra Prasad. This filmi spoof is very silly but very watchable.

chilarai · Post by **chilarai** » 23 Jul 2010 13:43

Hope this is not another damp squib like t he thumbdrive they launched sometime back
An IIT, IISc-designed laptop for just Rs 1500

but with scilab for printing support !

Based on Open Source, the device does not have a hard-drive. It can not only support video-web conferencing facility, but also boasts of several other latest features -- multimedia content viewer (pdf, docx, ods, adp, xls, jpeg, gif,png, bmp, odt, zip, AVCHD, AVI, AC3), searchable Pdf reader, unzip tool for unzipping files, computing capabilities such as Open Office, SciLab for printing support, media player capable of playing streamed along with stored media files, USB port etc.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 23 Jul 2010 14:46

the mistake we make is that we expect these things to become ipad type PRODUCTS and hang out patriotic hopes on that.

there are 1000s of such projects in worldwide univs which build prototypes as learning initiatives. maybe 0.000001% of that becomes a successful commercial product.

what we should be worried about is why so FEW of such projects in india - we need 100s of such projects to achieve critical mass in people, infra and skills.