It was a day around 3.5

Today,I participated in a day long training session on .Net Framework 3.5.
The trainers fluent English and deep knowledge of the subject really did not let any of us get bored.
And time flew by.It was nice to see the incredibly powerful features of the 2008 version of .Net3.5.
It was almost ok,in the morning session but by the time the discussion started heading towards concepts like IEnumerable and IEnumerator types,it was not easy to stay in the loop.
I was almost lost,came back by the time it was time to discuss LINQ.
Saw,the glory of strongly typed variables in action for the first time in .Net framework.
It was a surprise to know dat there would be an evaluation tomorrow evening,it was too late to begin.Back to home tried reading a few concepts but was too tired to give due attention:P
Absence of a VS08 version on my lappy is another impediment I am grappling with.
Me going off to sleep for an early morning in office tomorrow.

Blogging the view of IT !!!!

The second day,when I resumed blogging after a long spell of no writing activity from my end.Its been great to have a platform where you can express your views about anything and everything you are feeling like.I have been observing the Software Development Life Cycle for a few months,now that its part of what I do to earn a living.Delivery on time is a very crucial aspect of any project that is undertaken irrespective of the industry,but more so in IT.And a very realistic analogy that I observed recently,was say you give that "Raymond suit cloth" for stitching to your tailor and the delivery gets delayed by a day.The experience is really very disappointing.
Same is the case in real life project management.But more so failure to deliver at the promised dates happens not because of poor developers alone,but also a lack of consistent management of the project.One of the crucial aspect is to break down the projects into smallest foreseeable components or modules and set the time line accordingly.This along with a weekly review process helps keep the project on track.Most projects fail not because we plan to fail but we fail to plan.More so this is relevant in any project across industry.A poor management leads to lot of time wastage in the initial days of the project and an unwanted late night stints at office when the delivery dates draw close.One of the other observations that I have made is that a significant amount of time gets wasted if the meetings related to project requirement gathering does not get coordinated in a disciplined manner.More often,its really astonishing to see responsible experienced managers wasting time,in a requirement meeting,when all try singing their own songs.Rather than trying to properly document the required features.
And its really amusing to see people pass on the ball in others court,and shying away from taking up that small responsibility of documenting this or that.A radical change is needed in the entire method in which IT projects get handled these days.
Not only can we save a lot more dollars but also prove the myth wrong that you need to hire that MBA types to make a project successful.Rather I believe we can achieve a far better result by giving adequate training and responsibilities to a developer

who is involved in full time coding effort to manage the project.Because he can better understand the direction in which the project is moving.Its not at all mandatory to hire that suit clad MBA types to manage a project in the IT world at least.We can not only save lot of precious dollars but also the spirit of the entire team stays high when they see one among them leading them and then happens the grooming of true leaders.Hope Mr.CIO is listening ;

My Sudden interest in Forex

While reading casually today afternoon,I got interested in discovering more about Forex and forex trading.It was really a nice feeling to discover that Foreign Exchange trading is one of the most traded activities in the banking circles.It involves intricate math calculations and happens across the week from Sunday to Friday 24hrs a day,thats remarkable.while other stock exchanges trading spells would hardly be 5 hrs.Just imagine the scope of volatility and excitement involved in trading Forex for 4times or more the time spent trading in any exchange that operates across the globe.
The total volumes traded according to some calculations indicate it to be over 2trillion dollars.
There are 3 broadly classified circles where trading occurs:

• InterBank Circles where banks trade Forex under undisclosed bids and ask values which the general public has little idea of.
• Money Remitting Agencies operating across the globe.These companies handled around 295bn$ alone in remittances to emerging markets like India,China,Philipines and Malaysia.These companies are interested in playing the trade bets simply because of the mass volume of funds .

• The third can be identified as such companies that make payments in international locations.

No surprise that the financial consultants operating in the markets of singapore command consultancy rates to the tune of $700/hour.
To discuss the detail math involved in the trading of Forex here would be out of scope,but for those interested can visit this invaluable post in wikipedia foreign exchange markets.

Would try to keep posted on anything that comes up in mind.

Bottom of Pyramid key liye Blogs aur unkaa asar

Its 3:14 in the morning and most of the evening today after returning from office was spent sleeping.I am unable to get sleep,and apart from my long slumber in the evening one of the prime accused for the trouble is that there is a turbulence in my mind.I am amazed at thinking about the sheer potential that the estimated 40 million strong Bottom of Pyramid population in India provides for the future of Business and Enterprise.

I would like to quote here the definition of Bottom of Pyramid as stated in Wikipedia,"In economics, the bottom of the pyramid is the largest, but poorest socio-economic group. In global terms, this is the four billion people who live on less than $2 per day, typically in developing countries. The phrase “bottom of the pyramid” is used in particular by people developing new models of doing business that deliberately target that demographic, often using new technology. This field is also often referred to as the "Base of the Pyramid" or just the "BoP"."

Stats aside,I think that it is high time that the attention be drawn towards the enterprising individuals from this lot who primarily cater to a small yet significant population for their daily staple needs viz.chai,nashta,biscuits etc.

It is only a matter of time that these businesses would also utilise the power of blogging to market themselves.And why not?
If only they could be explained that a presence on the blog world can be ensured for free,and in terms of pricing some one offers them a platform to air their business offerings for as little as a 100bucks,they would be more than happy.

And I see this happening,creating a true revolution in the internet world.Leave apart the example of the chai waalah shop and its marketing needs,just think of a small Pan shop,that has delicate and unique pan offerings , a presence on the blogosphere can ensure an increased turnout of customers at their small shop and push revenues upwards.
This intern can lead the shopkeeper to reinvest the sum in his business or to spend it on his trivial needs like entertainment.It might seem to be impacting the Business scenario in a very minute manner,but compounding this impact over a population of on a very conservative estimate 1million people would translate into a good amount.
So,there is a lot to do in this space,right from awakening the BoP entrepreneur about the power of blogging and advertising.

Way to go India!!!