Hello · வணக்கம் · नमस्ते

लोकाः समस्ताः सुखिनो भवन्तु

Lokāḥ Samastāḥ Sukhino Bhavantu
May all beings find happiness and freedom. May my actions help bring joy and liberation to everyone.

Hello! I'm Balakumar Muthu, an International Award-Winning Technologist, TEDx Fellow, and Entrepreneur recognized with the Top 50 Asia Innovation Award from SingTel in Singapore, Top 100 Startups Award from NASSCOM, First Prize Winner of the Java Master Award & Duke's Choice Award from Sun Microsystems and BenQ Siemens Germany, and the Red Herring Asia Award for technology innovation.

With over 19+ years as a multidisciplinary software consultant and architect specializing in UI/UX design and product engineering, I've worked with businesses ranging from B2B/B2C startups and SMEs to enterprises and Fortune 500 companies, with a particular focus on Japanese companies. I have extensive experience in designing, building, and scaling exceptional web applications, SaaS platforms, Social Networking Services (SNS), e-commerce sites, online marketplaces, and enterprise applications to address both technology and business challenges across various domains.


My Entrepreneurial Journey

↪ some of my notable early startups and ventures


I specialize in most aspects of web business, including Product creativity, design, development, strategy, and scaling growth. Throughout my entrepreneurial career, I have launched various startups, successfully scaled and sold a few businesses from scratch to successful exits, and learned invaluable lessons from ventures that didn't succeed — while also mentoring few startups. Listing some of my notable previous startups and ventures:


LoveLogger

↪ founder | product & design architect

As an entrepreneur, my journey began in 2007 when I founded LoveLogger, the world's first private pair-blogging social platform for any two people, which received a massive viral response from China, Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea. LoveLogger was awarded the "Asia's Top 50 Apps Award" (winner lists) from SingTel Singapore and the "Red Herring Asia Award" for Technology Innovation. I conceived the idea and did all aspects of product engineering for the LoveLogger website, including UI/UX design, branding, architectural framework, and web cloud hosting, successfully scaling the platform from zero to over 80,000+ users before its exit.

LoveLogger was featured in many prestigious internet magazines, including Yahoo! Japan, MSN Japan, Infoseek, Japan.Internet.com, Livedoor, 100 Shiki Japan, Sina.com, Yantai News China Newspaper, Kaoshi China, and various other popular Asian publishers. → Learn More


Coworkable

↪ founder | product & design architect

In 2013, I founded Coworkable, an early pioneer in the coworking space industry. Coworkable is a global network and community for discovering and renting affordable, accessible Coworking spaces, Shared office spaces, desks, Business centers, and meeting rooms in the Asia-Pacific region.

Coworkable gained significant recognition in the startup ecosystem, being selected as one of the Top Startups at the NASSCOM Product Conclave. I conceived and did the entire product engineering for the Coworkable website, designing and developing the entire UI/UX, architectural framework, web cloud hosting, and branding, successfully scaling the platform from zero to listings from 387 cities across 42 countries in the Asia-Pacific region before its successful exit. Coworkable.com also served team members from various leading global organizations including Google, Zoho, Citibank, BBC News, JLL, Serv Corp, and Coca-Cola.

Coworkable also forged strategic partnerships and collaborated with prominent organizations, including World Startup Fest, Coworking Europe Conference, Global Coworking Unconference Conference (China), Startup Weekend, BarCamp Bengaluru, YourStory TechSparks, Coworking India Conference, World Office Expo Conference, BITS Pilani's Conquest Entrepreneurial Center, Devspace Conference by VIT & Computer Society of India, STARup Summit, Tomorrow's India Conference, and Construkt Startup Festival, among others (view full list). → Learn More

Note My current and ongoing ventures are not listed here for business reasons.


My Core Tech Expertise

↪ end-to-end web applications are my specialization—ux/ui design, development, and scaling


UI/UX Product Engineering Expertise in crafting human-centered, intuitive experiences through Design Thinking, User Research, Cognitive Science, User Experience (UX) Design, User Interface (UI) Design, Interaction Design, Prototyping, Usability Testing, Information Architecture, Product Design, Frontend Design, Dashboard & Portal Design, Typography, and Branding.

Full-Stack Product Development Building and scaling exceptional experiences across Web applications, SaaS platforms, E-commerce, online marketplaces, social networks, payment gateway integration, content management systems (CMS) and enterprise applications.

Server & Cloud Infrastructure Cloud Computing, Open-Source Technologies, Linux Server Administration, Ubuntu Server, Linode Cloud Server, Web Hosting & Server Setup, LAMP Stack, Apache, Docker, Server Administration, Server Hardening, Firewall Configuration, Web Security, DNS Management, Email Server Setup, Backup & Recovery, Server Migration, and Server Monitoring.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Emerging Technologies Building intelligent automation, AI-driven products, Generative AI (Gen AI), Large Language Models (LLMs), AI Agents, Prompt Engineering, Computer Vision (CV), Open Source AI Models and Robotics.

Growth Hacking & Digital Marketing Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Social Media Marketing (SMM), Content Marketing, Email Marketing, Copywriting, Creative Campaign Development, Landing Page Optimization, Marketing Automation, Google Analytics, Keyword Research, Market Share Analysis, Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising, Google Ads, and Brand Positioning.

Industry Domains Experience spans across multiple industry domains, including Social Networking Services (SNS), Job Portals & Recruitment Platforms, Real Estate Technology (PropTech), Education Technology (EdTech), Retail Technology (RetailTech), Logistics & Supply Chain Technology, Content Management Systems (CMS), and Cloud Architecture.


Awards & Recognitions

↪ some of my selected honors and achievements



Google India Selected as one of the Top 5 Finalists for Google India out of 16,000+ applicants, advancing through 8 rigorous rounds of technical interviews. During the Google India's interview process, I developed and demonstrated Google Kids — an original search engine prototype designed specifically for children, covering homework help, lesson search, age-appropriate games, puzzles, brain teasers, rhymes, fairy tales, a dictionary, and curated content groups — all within a safe, child-friendly environment.

NASSCOM – Top 100 Startups Award My startup was selected as one of the Top 100 Startups to be showcased at the NASSCOM Product Conclave (NPC) — Asia's premier platform connecting product companies and startups with global software industry leaders.

SingTel - Asia's Top 50 Apps Award My startup LoveLogger — the world's first collaborative blogging and private social network for pairs — was honoured with the Asia's Top 50 Apps Award by SingTel, Singapore (winner lists), and the Red Herring Asia Award for Technology Innovation. The platform was also featured across leading magazines and digital publications in Japan, Korea, and China.

Java Master & Duke's Choice Award First Prize Winner of Java Master Award contest, conducted by Sun Microsystems and BenQ Siemens Germany. Received Sun Microsystems Duke's Choice Awards - 10 Year Celebration of Java Technology and Sun Microsystems appreciation for my contribution to the early versions of Java Platform.

TEDx Fellow Recognized for innovative thinking and selected to share ideas worth spreading that inspire change on the TEDx stage.

Certified Yoga Instructor An Officially Certified Yoga Instructor and Practitioner Specializing in Hatha Yoga. As an alumnus of Ramakrishna Mission, I approach yoga as a profound lifelong journey of learning and self-discovery. My yoga practice is rooted in the holistic teachings of Swami Vivekananda, Yogacharya B.K.S. Iyengar, and the Swami Sivananda tradition.

Korea Honorary Reporter Selected as the Official Honorary Reporter for the Korean Culture and Information Service of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to promote South Korea to Indian audiences by showcasing its travel, culture, and food through my articles.

Top Blogger, India - Tech & Travel Category I started tech blogging in 2002 during my early days and listed as the 'Top 30 Tech blogger' by 'Blog Street India' and rated as the 'Top 50 Tech Blogger'. My Tech blog is also listed as Favorite Blog lists at their Official Sun Microsystems Web Blog. My Tech blog posts have also been featured at Google Blogoscoped.com, Netscape.com, Java.net, Webpronews, Planet Mozilla, Linux Toy and few other popular blogs. My travel journal, Casual Walker, is ranked as one of the top 50 photo travel blogs in India.

W3C HTML5 Working Group & Internet Society (ISOC) India Served as an early contributing member of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) HTML5 Working Group, which was responsible for developing the HTML5 specification and advancing it to formal W3C Recommendation status. Also a member of the Internet Society (ISOC) India Chapter, supporting internet development and advocacy .

Wikipedian Contributed to 100+ Wikipedia pages across Indian culture, Computer & Internet Technology topics, improving technical knowledge accessibility for a global audience.


Travel & Culture Photo-Documentary Journal

↪ capturing my unique indian travel & culture experiences


Casual Walker

Casual Walker is an travel + culture photo journal and is one of the top 50 travel blogs in India — a curious discovery journal that I started in 2017, having travelled across 637 cities and locations, and authored 650+ travel photo guides, finding, exploring, and documenting uniquely authentic local photo stories, guides, and tips.

Casual Walker, visually discover and showcase thoughtful documentary photography stories and guides covering Travel Adventures to Timeless Indian Traditions, Ancient Indian Temples, Mesmerizing Art Galleries & Exhibits, Cultural Events & Festivals, Museums & Historical Sites, Vibrant Flavors of Local Indian Food and Culinary Delights, Dance Performances & Art Forms, Hotels and Stays, Yoga & Vedas, Wildlife, Nature & Living, and Reviews.

Casual Walker's work has been featured in Hinduism Today Magazine, British Council India, Outlook Traveller, The Better India, Vice, Tripadvisor, Times of India (TOI) – Chennai Chance-ey Illa, Puthiya Thalaimurai TV, Thanthi TV, Citizen Matters, Mylapore Times, Many YouTube Channel, and various other medias. → Learn More


My Early Community & Open Source Involvement


Richard Stallman (RMS) & David Axmark at IIT Madras

↪ Met Pioneers Who Inspired My Open-Source Advocacy Journey

Had the privilege of meeting two towering figures of the open-source world — Richard Stallman (RMS), founder of GNU and the Free Software Foundation, and David Axmark, co-founder of MySQL — at IIT Madras, engaging directly with the pioneers who shaped the foundation of modern free and open-source software. → Learn More


WikiCamp Conference India — with Jimmy Wales

↪ Official Event Brand Designer | Met Visionaries Who Inspired Free Knowledge Movement

Had the honour of meeting Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation, at WikiCamp Conference India — an event dedicated to advancing the open-source knowledge and free information movement across the country — for which I also conceptualised and executed the official WikiCamp event brand logo, delivering a cohesive visual identity that represented the spirit of the open knowledge movement. → Learn More


Mozilla Firefox India — Early Advocate

↪ Firefox 1.0 → Firefox 2 Launch

As an early adopter of the Mozilla Firefox browser since version 1.0, co-organized and championed the inaugural Mozilla Firefox Party India, commemorating the landmark release of Firefox 2 and helping build initial momentum for the open-source browser movement in India. → Learn More


DevCamp India Unconference

↪ Official Event Brand Designer — first edition

Designed the official visual identity and event brand for the first edition of DevCamp India Unconference — one of India's earliest developer-focused community events — establishing its foundational design language and public presence. Event organized by Zoho Corporation, Thoughtworks, and OrangeScape (Kissflow). → Learn More


Ubuntu Linux — Early Advocate & Community Builder

↪ Ubuntu Supporter since Version 4 (Warty Warthog era)

A steadfast supporter of Ubuntu Linux since its earliest releases, and organiser of the "Ubuntu Dapper Drake T-Shirts Contest" — a grassroots community initiative designed to generate awareness, enthusiasm, and adoption of Ubuntu Linux across India, furthering the open-source movement at the community level. → Learn More


BarCamp / BlogCamp / IdeaCamp

↪ Unconference Pioneer & Co-Organiser

Co-organized and actively contributed to some of India's earliest and most influential unconferences — BarCamp Chennai, BlogCamp, and IdeaCamp Pune — and also served as one of the key sponsors and supporters of BarCamp Bengaluru's early edition, collectively helping establish a culture of open, community-driven knowledge exchange in the Indian tech ecosystem.


Sun TechDays · BEA Dev2Dev · Google / Oracle Developer Days

↪ Technology Conference Participant

Participated in an array of premier technology conferences during their formative years in India, including Sun TechDays, BEA Dev2Dev Days, Oracle Developer Forum, and Google Developer Days — maintaining consistent engagement with global technology movements at the ground level.


Yahoo! GeoCities — Tech Blog

↪ my tech blog built on geocities in 2000

Established a tech blogging presence on Yahoo! GeoCities at "geocities.com/i5bala" as early as 2000 — positioning as one of India's early personal web publishers at a time when blogging was virtually uncharted territory in the country. → Learn More


Personal Interests

↪ my favorite hobbies, activities, and passions


I travel extensively, mostly on solo trips, and love backpacking and trekking. I'm deeply drawn to minimalism and simple living, and have zero presence on most social media platforms. I enjoy immersing myself in exploration, photography and nature, and love reading books. As a Certified Yoga Instructor and Practitioner, I'm fascinated by the depth of Vedanta, Yoga, and Zen philosophy, art, and culture — particularly Indian, Japanese, and Korean traditions. I love spending time with my dog and tinkering with personal DIY projects. I'm also a huge fan of classic Western movies and comics.


CONTACT ME

↪ send me a message drop me a line and let's talk


I'm passionate about connecting with fellow entrepreneurs, innovative minds, and creative thinkers. Whether you have a project in mind or you're looking for a UI/UX product designer, design advisor, product engineer, or long-term design partner — feel free to drop me a line. Want to work together, grab a coffee, or just say hello? Great! Personally, I have zero presence on Facebook or Twitter — feel free to ping or text me directly.



My Works featured at press / media


My works have been featured and covered by a diverse range of medias — including ZDNet Asia, Economic Times, Times of India (TOI), Hinduism Today Magazine, British Council India, Yahoo! Japan, MSN Japan, Infoseek, Japan.Internet.com, Livedoor, 100 Shiki Japan, Sina.com, Yantai News China Newspaper, Kaoshi China, Shm.com.cn, Outlook Traveller, Tripadvisor, Vice, Google Blogoscoped, Netscape.com, Java.net, Webpronews, Planet Mozilla, Linux Toy, DeveloperIQ, The Better India, Citizen Matters, Mylapore Times, Puthiya Thalaimurai TV, Thanthi TV, and many other prominent Asian, Indian, and global publishers and broadcasters. Notably, Java.net published my Java Duke Holiday Pictures , selected from thousands of submissions.

My Current Reading List: Books


❝ If you only read what everyone reads, you can only think what everyone thinks.❞


My Travel & Culture Photography Journal


Contact & Reach me


I'm passionate about connecting with fellow entrepreneurs, innovative minds, and creative thinkers. Whether you have a project in mind or you're looking for a UI/UX product designer, design advisor, product engineer, or long-term design partner — feel free to drop me a line. Want to work together, grab a coffee, or just say hello? Great! Personally, I have zero presence on Facebook or Twitter — feel free to ping or text me directly.


Self - made man

the statue I greatly admire & the principle I strongly believe

“... left to his own devices, man will use his god-given talents to be creative, productive, & prosperous...”
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Mobile Money with Near Field Communication [NFC]!

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No need to carry our wallet any more ... A tiny add-on chip which will turn our mobile into a credit card, bus schedule, concert ticket and much more. An NFC chip in our phone will send our credit-card number—stored on our phone or on the chip—by way of short-distance radio waves. An electronic reader at the checkout will decode the number and ring up our purchase. We can use it in all our phones just need to add, the miniSD-card-size adapter from SanDisk can add NFC to any smartphone with a Symbian operating system. Only thing to take care is just keep our mobiles safe. Check out how it can be used... >>

Inside the World's First PC: Kenbak-1

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Kenbak-1, which is considered by many as the world's first Personal Computer. It represents the first commercially available Von Neumann computing device intended and priced for personal use. Check out the cool collection of Kenbak-1 PC photo gallery. >>

Highly Confusing Invalid, Error Message in Microsoft Hotmail !!

Yesterday while surfing the net, I needed a test email account, so I tried to create a new email account in Microsoft Hotmail.


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I tried to create a new email account as 'thisisjustatestmail@hotmail.com', and checked the availability of the email id, but it throwed me an error message saying, " The e-mail address contains a word or phrase that is not allowed. Please type another e-mail address.". I am highly confused with the message, why the email id is not allowed; I don't find any phrase or word anything invalid. They only contains alphabets, have a look at it yourself.


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Usually, if the e-mail is taken by some one, we will be getting Error message like "The e-mail address is not available. Please try a different address", as seen below


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Next, I tried with creating different account called 'ilovemicrosoft@hotmail.com' [not exactly, just for fun :)] and checked for the availability. But I received the same error message as " The e-mail address contains a word or phrase that is not allowed. Please type another e-mail address.". Is it because ilovemicrosoft, is something not valid, not even Microsoft believe that some one loves them ??


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My next attempt tried in bit-tempered mood, creating account as 'ihatemicrosoft@hotmail.com', once again the same error message!!


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I am just fed up with process; felt I am just wasting my time at Hotmail. So I finally tried to name my account same as 'iamwastingmytime@hotmail.com', and managed to successfully create my new Hotmail account :).


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iamwastingmytime@hotmail.com is ready to go... but I am not ready, just left Hotmail and continued with my coding, peacefully ;).

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Although it doesn't seems to be a big issue, I am not able to understand on what basics Hotmail validates with such Error message. Do you find anything in the word 'thisisjustatestmail', 'ilovemicrosoft', 'ihatemicrosoft', which is invalid ...any one got any idea... please correct me if I am wrong... do drop in a line.

--
Balakumar Muthu



5 Comments:

At 11:41 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...
I'm going to guess they have a filter with restricted words like : microsoft, test, mail, billgates, etc.
 
At 6:37 AM, Blogger udayms said...
This is definitely an interesting research!! :)

http://blog.udayms.com
 
At 3:39 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...
I stopped using Hotmail a long long time ago. Why use when there is stuff like GMAIL.
 
At 3:49 PM, Blogger balakumar said...
Ya I am also a GMail user... but I need a account for one of my test mail, I tried it in hotmail ...
 
At 8:44 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...
i encourage with the first comment

"I'm going to guess they have a filter with restricted words like : microsoft, test, mail, billgates, etc."

i'm one of you, that was annoyed by this microsoft's idea..

first, i try to sign up the new mail and i want to use my name in this account.. my name is Porntawe, so i want to use wee.porntawe@hotmail.com

then.. i found the same error as you.. and it made me so confuse!

i want to find out why microsoft not allow me to use this account and that leads me to this topic.

i suddenly know why i can't use my name in Hotmail. you know why?

i already told you that my name is PORNtawe!!

i click back to the hotmail's subscription page and try
"wee.pontawe@hotmail.com"
and click "Check Avilability"

then microsoft told me:
"The e-mail address wee.pontawe@hotmail.com is available."

god bless you microsoft..
and i'll use Gmail..

Redesign of Famous Logos in Web 2.0 Format

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Checkout this great collection of famous logos which are redesigned in Web 2.0 format. Most of the redesigned looks so great, then their previous old logos. Nice innovative redesign. >>

Spam Plants : Art With Spam !

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Alex Dragulescu, has applied techniques in computational modeling and information visualization to invent a new form of artistic expression. One of his more notable projects involved creating what he calls spam plants. He wrote algorithms that analyzed various text and data points of junk e-mail to produce "organic" images of plantlike structures that spontaneously grew based on incoming spam. He explains "Spam is a random piece of literature, it has unseen effects, it changes all the time. And it's led me to see text differently."... Interesting works check it out. >>

Changing Mozilla Firefox's Default Icon to Java Coffee Cup!!

Changing Firefox's default icon is relatively simple. This is how we can change them from default icon to Java coffee cup or any other icon image.

How to change:

  1. Go to the Mozilla Firefox folder [e.g. C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\] and then go to the subfolder chrome.
  2. In chrome, go to icons folder. Next, go to subfolder called default. The full path to this folder could be like C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\chrome\icons\default\.
  3. Fianlly, choose the .ico you want to use and then place it in default folder and rename it to 'main-window.ico', and restart the Firefox !!

10 Common Words Uttered by Programmers !!

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The Most common 10 word phrases uttered by programmers, when getting bugs or errors while programming are listed below:

1. uh-oh God
2. it's weird
3. f**k
4. come on
5. shit
6. it worked yesterday
7. ^#!%& microsoft
8. stupid computer
9. cuppa time
10. more coffee

Anything more left out to be added ??

Dual-Booting Windows and Linux the Easy Way : Videos !!

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Checkout this Linux.com's videos about the dual-booting Windows and Linux in easy way. It consists of four videos in simple steps through the process of downloading Gnome Partition Editor from SourceForge.net, defragmenting Windows, shrinking your Windows partition, and installing the three most commonly-used Linux partitions. >>

Google Vision Gadget !!

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UK designer Callum Peden has come up with a product idea for Google called Google Vision, the concept involves a gadget about the size of a cell phone with built-in GPS that scrolls out to reveal a flexible screen. Its purpose would be to use image recognition and GPS data to tell you what we are looking at. The image would be compared against a database of objects known to be near the physical location identified by the GPS electronics. Nice concept !! >>

Azureus : Java BitTorrent Client

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Azureus is a Java-based BitTorrent client which comes bundled with many invaluable features like Multiple torrent downloads, Upload and download speed limiting, both globally and per torrent, Advanced seeding rules, we can use a proxy, for both tracker and lots more features. I just love the cool simple interface. >>

How Does Anti-Virus Works !!!

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A basic explanation of how Anti-Virus really works

Generally, the Viruses Enters our System:

Running an infected file from removable medias like floppy disk, CD or other vulnerable medium.

When Opening a web age which contains malicious code.

Opening an infected file sent over P2P Network.

When we open un-scanned attachments in e-mail our messages.


The Antivirus Software constantly checks and monitors our system, when it detects an infected file, or when it sees suspicious activity; it uses the most common 3 methods to identify the virus.

Signature Method

Just like cops trace patterns in crimes back to a criminal, the Anti-virus software reverse engineer a virus to find the signature it leaves. This signature is added to the database, which when the anti-virus performs a virus scan, each file is scanned for matches with any of the virus signatures.

Sandbox Method

The Sandbox is a method, which emulates an OS. The suspected executable file is run within the confines of a sandbox, and then the sandbox is examined to see what changes were made. These changes are used to determine which virus infected the file.

Heuristic Method

In this method, the anti-virus analyses a program for seemingly malicious behavior. Heuristic is effective against undocumented new viruses.

After the Virus is found, Antivirus software removes the infected files by:

Removal of the Virus

First the anti-virus tries to remove the viral code from the file. It is the best method and no harm is made to the infected file or the system.


Quarantine of the Infected file

The Anti-virus tries to make the file inaccessible to other programs, by moving the infected file to unreachable location in the system, without deleting it.

Deleting the Infected file

The Anti-virus deletes the file if the virus cannot be safely removed from the infected file.

Physical removal of infected file

If the infected file is in use by the Operating system, the anti-virus asks the user to delete the file and replace the file manually from a clean backup.

Seeking Help

If the virus has changed the registry and the anti-virus can't reverse the changes. The user is directed by the anti-virus to the anti-virus software's website to get an online help on what registry keys to be change or delete.


If all the methods fails to remove the virus or the infected file is critical, the anti-virus boots through the secondary OS to access files being used by the infected Operating System to remove the infected file.

HP's Sticky Memory Spot Computer !!

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Researchers at Hewlett-Packard's labs have come up with button-sized computer called stick-on memory spot that can stick on any document and data on the devices can be erased and rewritten several times. The basic concept of Memory Spot is similar to RFID tags, but the data rates are of magnitude higher and higher capacity. >>

Blogspot/Geocities/Typepad Blogs Blocked in India ??!! :(

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Indian Government has passed an order to all ISPs to block several websites which includes Blogspot, Geocities, Typepad blogs :(. I don't what is happening with the indian government and on what basics this sites are banned. I am really feeling very ill with out blogging :(. Just managed to login to the blogger dashboard website... and post :) ... checkout the blog censorship wiki and cast your views ...>>

Summer's Hottest New Gadgets !!

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Check out the Summer's Hottest New Gadgets, listed by Popular Science Magazine, the clock that beams the time onto any flat surface in our home, a laptop mouse that transforms into a VoIP handset, Moto USB plug and other hot gadgets around. Nice cool collections and bit cheap too. >>

Top 16 Interesting Security White Papers !!

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Network Security Best Practices

http://cisco.com/warp/public/126/secpol.html

Secure Operating System

http://www.jya.com/paperF1.htm

Virus in UNIX Networks

http://www.cybersoft.com/whitepapers/papers/print/networks_print.html

Linux Network Security

http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/Security-HOWTO/

Spyware, Adware Security

http://ww2.websense.com/docs/whitepapers/spywareyouprobablyhaveit.pdf

Network Security Whitepapers

http://www.securitydocs.com/

Sun Software White Papers

http://www.sun.com/software/whitepapers/index.xml

Virus, Malicious Code Protection for Wireless Devices

http://download.antivirus.com/ftp/white/wireless_protection022801.doc

Instant Messaging Security, privacy tips

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/online/imsafety.mspx

Network Security Issues

http://download.zonelabs.com/bin/media/pdf/Hurwitz_wp.pdf

Email exploit detection engine

http://secinf.net/anti_virus/why_you_need_an_email_exploit_detection_en

Collection of Network Security Whitepapers and Presentations

http://cyber.com/section.php?section=papers

Why Phishing Works

http://people.deas.harvard.edu/~rachna/papers/why_phishing_works.pdf

Trojan White Paper

http://whitepapers.zdnet.com/whitepaper.aspx?docid=235631&promo=100202

Antivirus Vendor Whitepapers

http://antivirus.about.com/od/vendorwhitepapers/

Window Security Whitepapers

http://www.windowsecurity.com/whitepaper/misc/

Java Powered : Search Inside the Music Project

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Search Inside the Music project is a content-based music recommender/browser and exploration tool that includes a number of visualizations of the 'music space'. It is a research project at Sun Labs which is been exploring new methods of searching music by its acoustic content and context. This project is aimed at helping people find and organize their music based on the properties of the music itself: lyrics, musical theme, melody, tempo, rhythm, and instrumentation. >>

Steve Jobs for Jesus !!!

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[click to see the full size image]

Checkout this religious pamphlet using Steve Jobs' career as a way of promoting Jews for Jesus. Read the top three first from left to right, then the bottom half. Steve hitting the past, present and the future. >>

9 Ways to Work Life Balance: The Key to an Individual's Fulfillment !!

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Striking the right balance is the key to a fulfilling life. Whether you are spiritually inclined or not, the truth is that, balance is central to our very universe. The earth revolves around the sun and as long as that happens, the human race will continue to exist.

From the Upanishads to The Bible, from The Talmud to The Koran, numerous passages call upon individuals to lead balanced lives. Yet, in the rat race of our present-day existence, especially in the long-working-hours ethos of our industry, we forget to maintain a balance between work and family. The result is devastating; High levels of stress, trauma and even nervous breakdowns.

An individual's life can be divided into four basic quadrants - self, workplace, family and friends and community. All of us face the 'Why' factor from the time we take our first breath. And as we grow, the 'Why' follows us like a shadow. The manner in which we tackle the question determines the manner in which we function.

Why does one seek a higher salary? Why does one long for a better house? Why does one go to work? Why does one want to do well?

Why? Why? Why?

Two simple concepts determine the answer: the sense of achievement and the resultant joy.

Happier employees are more productive and more loyal. More productivity adds to a healthier bottom line. Work-Life Balance (WLB) enables a company to retain the best candidates for their open positions, increasing productivity even further. In short, there's everything to gain for both the employer and the employee.

Here are Nine Tips to a Better life:

1) SIMPLIFY

Learn to say `No' if it affects your schedules. You don't have to be busy all the time.
Remember nobody is indispensable. Choose your best time to do the toughest work. Look for tools to improve productivity. Stay home once in a while. Don't carry the frenetic madness of the workplace home - rushing from cinema to restaurant to club. Chill out. Don't commit yourself to anything, especially avoidable social engagements while at home and don't feel guilty.

2) DE-STRESS

Sure, it's easier said than done. A degree of stress enables creative people scale new heights. But one must manage stress so it can enrich and motivate, not result in high blood pressure.

The best relief from the debilitating affects of stress is to 'take it easy' at times. Get your second breath and then tackle the problem.

Learning yoga or doing a course in breathing at the Art of Living Foundation has helped many a stressed-out individual.

3) BE A CHILD

Read with your child. There is nothing to beat a fairy tale to bond with your child, as well as improve your voice modulation. Get down on the floor and cuddle your little one.

Take a walk to the nearby park with your child and point out the flowers and trees. If you have a teenager, have regular conversations; talk to him or her about the birds and the bees.

Go for a movie impulsively with the family. Become a little child yourself. Buy that popcorn, cotton candy or ice cream cone. Nobody is looking.

Go on a holiday at least once a year. It doesn't have to be a long one. You can have a number of short holidays.

Get yourself a pet. There's nothing to beat the welcome you get from your pet dog when you return home.

4) SHARE THE LOAD

A clean, orderly home reduces so much unnecessary tension. Everything in the right place makes existence so much simpler. Sit down as a family and assign each other tasks. Dusting books and CDs can have a calming affect on your nerves.

At the workplace, learn to share your burden. Don't take all the load on your shoulder. Learn to say `No' if it affects your schedules.

Trust your colleagues and delegate. Don't do their fishing for them, teach them how to fish

5) SLOW-DOWN

Sure that's a contradiction in terms. At the workplace we want the assignment done yesterday not tomorrow! If only we could bend e = mc2 to our will!

Yet, one mustn't get pulled in different directions. One step at a time, that's the key. Sometimes one must let go to see the light, to discover a new way of doing the same thing.

6) TAKE CARE OF YOUR HEALTH

It's the most neglected aspect of existence. 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.'

Don't make grandiose plans: take a walk, go to yoga class, join a gym if you are so inclined, and take a swim. Take up a sport, any sport.

Eat a well-balanced diet; reduce junk foods and pesticide-contaminated soft drinks.

And don't forget adequate rest, meaning 'Please Sleep'

7) DON'T POSTPONE

When something needs to be done. Do it. Never procrastinate.

Avoidance uses up more energy than actually doing it.

8) HAVE A POSITIVE APPROACH

Look around you. There is so much to be grateful about.

Take time to list things that you are thankful for it will be a good reminder of how much is going right for you. Remember it could have been worse.

9) FINALLY, TAKE CHARGE

It's your life and as far as we know the only one we have.

Plan ahead: short term, medium term, long term and then work towards them.

Check out the sunscreen song by Baz Luhrmann, director of the Academy Awardwinning Moulin Rouge.

Don't worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds know still don't



--
This is based on the presentation made by Mr. Parthasarathy senior vice president of MindTree Consulting at the MindTree Lecture Series. © MindTree Consulting.

I felt it's quite inspirational, so thought of sharing it.

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softpedia.com

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gamespot.com

actiontrip.com

justadventure.com

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gametab.com

gamevideovault.com

gameaholic.com

miniclip.com

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4kids.com

big6.com/kids

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familyfun.go.com

thekidzpage.com

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salon.com

instapundit.com

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