No more VMWare or other commercial, hefty virtual machines. Use Sun's FOSS VirtualBox. It's light, streamlined and it works! The configurations I have tested are XP-host, Ubuntu-8.04-guest Mandriva-2009.1-host, Ubuntu-8.04-guest. The latter because the cisco-vpnclient for linux always hangs my dual-core pentium machine (known issue), even on disabling one processor. It ran just fine on the virtual machine.
I haven't got around to testing an XP-guest, but my next configuration will be Mandriva-host, XP-guest. It might not be as clean because of a greater kernel-replace for a Windows-guest but it's too early to say. I'm simply loving VirtualBox so far. It's worth the... effort?
Monday, June 29, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
corkscrew
Excepts from man corkscrew:
CORKSCREW(1)
NAME
corkscrew - Tunnel TCP connections through HTTP proxies
SYNOPSIS
corkscrew proxy proxyport targethost targetport [ authfile ]
DESCRIPTION
...
corkscrew is a simple tool to tunnel TCP connections through an HTTP proxy supporting the CONNECT method. It reads stdin and writes to stdout during the connection, just like netcat. It can be used for instance to connect to an SSH server running on a remote 443 port through a strict HTTPS proxy.
...
COMMON USAGE
The common usage of corkscrew is to put the following line in your ssh_config:
ProxyCommand corkscrew proxy proxyport %h %p
This will let your ssh connection go through the proxy with the help of corkscrew.
CORKSCREW(1)
NAME
corkscrew - Tunnel TCP connections through HTTP proxies
SYNOPSIS
corkscrew proxy proxyport targethost targetport [ authfile ]
DESCRIPTION
...
corkscrew is a simple tool to tunnel TCP connections through an HTTP proxy supporting the CONNECT method. It reads stdin and writes to stdout during the connection, just like netcat. It can be used for instance to connect to an SSH server running on a remote 443 port through a strict HTTPS proxy.
...
COMMON USAGE
The common usage of corkscrew is to put the following line in your ssh_config:
ProxyCommand corkscrew proxy proxyport %h %p
This will let your ssh connection go through the proxy with the help of corkscrew.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Butter slices?
They have cheese slices. But I eat bread-and-butter in the morning. And I want to eat it almost everyday. And it's so hard to scrape and spread the butter when I take it out from the fridge. Why can't they just have butter slices too? Imagine your warm toast that just popped out from the toaster with a crisp butter slice sandwiched between them. And now think about digging your teeth deep into it... as opposed to still being stuck scraping butter and somehow getting it to spread uniformly on that toast. Wouldn't you love to have butter slices? I wonder why we don't have them. Or am I missing something?
New grad students to US - housing
The first part of this post talks about admits/admissions/funding and such.
Now that you have decided to join UCLA, let's get you settled here. The primary resource is the Bharatiyam website. It contains a lot of useful information. Below is a collection of questions freshers asked me.
Bharatiyam:
http://www.studentgroups.ucla.edu/bharat/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bharat_ucla
bharat DOT ucla AT gmail DOT com
Co-op housing:
http://www.geocities.com/uchaonline/ucha_home.htm
UCLA off-campus listing:
http://www.data.cho.ucla.edu/cfapps/mainpublic.cfm
Craigslist:
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/
UCLA fall 2009 Indian community:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ucla_fall2009/
I plan to get down there by the end of August. How do i find a place to stay? Do i post it in the bharat UCLA community and ask for help. One of my friend would be joining with me. How do i go about in deciding on a place to stay?
Options:
- Weyburn Terrace grad housing
- University apartments
- Co-op housing
- Privately-owned apartments
The university offers accommodation to some grad students at Weyburn Terrace for (at most) first two years (you would know if you have been offered a spot - not everybody gets one). This is the cheapest private-bedroom option you will find close to campus. It's about $900/month per person. Even if you have been offered one, you can choose to decline it. Sharing bedrooms is not allowed at Weyburn.
University apartments are more suited to married grad students. They are also economical if you share bedroom with a roommate, which is allowed in this case. These apartments are farther from campus (about 4-5 miles) and harder to get due to a long waiting list. If you're looking to live close to campus early on, this is not the best option.
The "Co-op" housing is not owned by the university, but they allow only students to board. Find out more about it on the website. It's a cheap housing option close to campus if you are fine with the trade-offs.
Privately-owned apartments are the most common accommodation and allow you the most flexibility. Accommodation is rather expensive around UCLA. This are is called Westwood/Westwood village. If you look at the map of UCLA campus, you will notice it's shaped like the mickey-mouse face. There is a pocket of housing to the west of it next to the left ear of the mickey-mouse. This is also the area that includes Weyburn Terrace. You can usually find a place here for $450-$650/mo per person for a shared bedroom (3-5 people in one apartment), or double that for your own bedroom. This housing area provides the easiest access to UCLA. There are also a few houses to the east of the campus (Hilgard Av).
The next pocket is to the south of the campus, south of Wilshire Blvd. Houses will become cheaper as you go farther from the campus. This pocket (about 2-3miles from the campus) is a comfortable distance for biking to the campus or taking a bus. Commute time either way will be about 15-25min (excluding bus-wait time).
You can live farther if you want yet cheaper accommodation. Culver City is a nice neighborhood with bus access. At this radius, there are too many residential communities to list. Refer the map.
How do I find a privately-owned apartment?
I found Craigslist and UCLA community-housing (off-campus) database helpful in my housing search for an off-campus apartment.
I wanted to look at the apartment before I signed the lease and so, found one only after arriving at LA and going around looking. That's what most of my classmates also did. I stayed with some senior grad students while looking for an apartment. The process was to look at the listings, call and arrange appointments to look at the house, apply if to liking and finally sign the lease once settled, before moving in. I fixed my roommates before starting the house search, naturally.
Unfortunately, the Weyburn apartment is offered on an 'unfurnished' basis, except for the basic equipments in the room. It would have been so much easier if all the rooms were furnished.
"Unfurnished" still includes the basic utilities - refrigerator etc. I don't know if you'll get a mattress or not - ask someone who lives in Weyburn.
I wonder if you could let me know about general availability of furniture around that place, rental or purchase, how to lug it into the room and where to store it when I vacate the room at the end of the academic year.
That's the good part - with all the students moving out, there is an abundance of used stuff on the streets. You are welcome to pick up anything you like. If you would rather prefer a new mattress, you could order it from a store and they'll deliver it. Moving around stuff isn't easy without a car, but usually you will find stuff within walking distance. You can always promise us seniors a treat and we'd be happy to help you move in. Putting stuff at the end of the year etc is not an issue - you'll be able to work that out.
Is there some Desi Community of UCLA which helps the Indian students?
Did I already mention Bharatiyam? How about ucla_fall09?
This isn't the most help FAQ. What do I do now?
Are you kidding me?! Well, ok, I know. Finding an accommodation is a daunting task. It appears like a jungle in the beginning. There's no easy way out. Absorb the geography, lay down your preferences (close to campus or not, own-bedroom or not, budget, roommates), then see what fits your needs best. And be on the lookout for postings on the groups above - it's easiest to move into an already settled house.
I hope I can call you up for any assistance when we reach there.
Wouldn't you if I said no? :P
Welcome to Los Angeles, babeyh!
Now that you have decided to join UCLA, let's get you settled here. The primary resource is the Bharatiyam website. It contains a lot of useful information. Below is a collection of questions freshers asked me.
Bharatiyam:
http://www.studentgroups.ucla.edu/bharat/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bharat_ucla
bharat DOT ucla AT gmail DOT com
Co-op housing:
http://www.geocities.com/uchaonline/ucha_home.htm
UCLA off-campus listing:
http://www.data.cho.ucla.edu/cfapps/mainpublic.cfm
Craigslist:
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/
UCLA fall 2009 Indian community:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ucla_fall2009/
I plan to get down there by the end of August. How do i find a place to stay? Do i post it in the bharat UCLA community and ask for help. One of my friend would be joining with me. How do i go about in deciding on a place to stay?
Options:
- Weyburn Terrace grad housing
- University apartments
- Co-op housing
- Privately-owned apartments
The university offers accommodation to some grad students at Weyburn Terrace for (at most) first two years (you would know if you have been offered a spot - not everybody gets one). This is the cheapest private-bedroom option you will find close to campus. It's about $900/month per person. Even if you have been offered one, you can choose to decline it. Sharing bedrooms is not allowed at Weyburn.
University apartments are more suited to married grad students. They are also economical if you share bedroom with a roommate, which is allowed in this case. These apartments are farther from campus (about 4-5 miles) and harder to get due to a long waiting list. If you're looking to live close to campus early on, this is not the best option.
The "Co-op" housing is not owned by the university, but they allow only students to board. Find out more about it on the website. It's a cheap housing option close to campus if you are fine with the trade-offs.
Privately-owned apartments are the most common accommodation and allow you the most flexibility. Accommodation is rather expensive around UCLA. This are is called Westwood/Westwood village. If you look at the map of UCLA campus, you will notice it's shaped like the mickey-mouse face. There is a pocket of housing to the west of it next to the left ear of the mickey-mouse. This is also the area that includes Weyburn Terrace. You can usually find a place here for $450-$650/mo per person for a shared bedroom (3-5 people in one apartment), or double that for your own bedroom. This housing area provides the easiest access to UCLA. There are also a few houses to the east of the campus (Hilgard Av).
The next pocket is to the south of the campus, south of Wilshire Blvd. Houses will become cheaper as you go farther from the campus. This pocket (about 2-3miles from the campus) is a comfortable distance for biking to the campus or taking a bus. Commute time either way will be about 15-25min (excluding bus-wait time).
You can live farther if you want yet cheaper accommodation. Culver City is a nice neighborhood with bus access. At this radius, there are too many residential communities to list. Refer the map.
How do I find a privately-owned apartment?
I found Craigslist and UCLA community-housing (off-campus) database helpful in my housing search for an off-campus apartment.
I wanted to look at the apartment before I signed the lease and so, found one only after arriving at LA and going around looking. That's what most of my classmates also did. I stayed with some senior grad students while looking for an apartment. The process was to look at the listings, call and arrange appointments to look at the house, apply if to liking and finally sign the lease once settled, before moving in. I fixed my roommates before starting the house search, naturally.
Unfortunately, the Weyburn apartment is offered on an 'unfurnished' basis, except for the basic equipments in the room. It would have been so much easier if all the rooms were furnished.
"Unfurnished" still includes the basic utilities - refrigerator etc. I don't know if you'll get a mattress or not - ask someone who lives in Weyburn.
I wonder if you could let me know about general availability of furniture around that place, rental or purchase, how to lug it into the room and where to store it when I vacate the room at the end of the academic year.
That's the good part - with all the students moving out, there is an abundance of used stuff on the streets. You are welcome to pick up anything you like. If you would rather prefer a new mattress, you could order it from a store and they'll deliver it. Moving around stuff isn't easy without a car, but usually you will find stuff within walking distance. You can always promise us seniors a treat and we'd be happy to help you move in. Putting stuff at the end of the year etc is not an issue - you'll be able to work that out.
Is there some Desi Community of UCLA which helps the Indian students?
Did I already mention Bharatiyam? How about ucla_fall09?
This isn't the most help FAQ. What do I do now?
Are you kidding me?! Well, ok, I know. Finding an accommodation is a daunting task. It appears like a jungle in the beginning. There's no easy way out. Absorb the geography, lay down your preferences (close to campus or not, own-bedroom or not, budget, roommates), then see what fits your needs best. And be on the lookout for postings on the groups above - it's easiest to move into an already settled house.
I hope I can call you up for any assistance when we reach there.
Wouldn't you if I said no? :P
Welcome to Los Angeles, babeyh!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Good die young - Rajeev Motwani
The following was circulated on the LAN of IIT Kanpur in honor of Rajeev Motwani. Some people are very familiar without ever having met them. He was one of those few to me.
Remembering Rajeev Motwani, 1962-2009
IIT Kanpur deeply mourns the tragic and untimely demise of one of its most illustrious alumni: Rajeev Motwani. Rajeev did BTech in Computer Science and Engineering in 1983 from IIT Kanpur, after which he went to the University of California, Berkeley to do his PhD which he completed in 1988 under the supervision of Professor Richard Karp. Rajeev then joined the faculty of the department of Computer Science at Stanford University. He was awarded the IITK Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2006.
Rajeev was a brilliant researcher who made fundamental contributions to many areas: randomized algorithms, computational complexity, approximation algorithms, data mining, mathematical modelling of the world-wide web etc. Rajeev was one of the group of five researchers who gave the world the PCP theorem, one of the most stunningly beautiful and immensely deep results of the modern era. It is this contribution for which Rajeev was awarded the prestigious Godel Prize in 2001. Rajeev was a great teacher too; he has co-authored two books, one on randomized algorithms and another on theory of computation which have taught these two subjects to students all over the world.
Those in IIT Kanpur who knew Rajeev as an undergraduate, remember him not only for his academic brilliance but also for the good cheer that he always exuded. He was a very friendly person, and remained so all through his life. His office door at Stanford was ever open – to students, to young entrepreneurs, to academicians from all across the world, and to his friends from IIT Kanpur. Rajeev was also closely involved with the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at IIT Kanpur as a mentor in its research program. He was on the board of Research I Foundation of the department since 2003.
Rajeev possessed the rare genius of using the most abstract of theories to solve practical problems impacting society at large. For example, he made use of his expertise in randomized algorithms in building a drug design system for Pfizer. Rajeev was an early “unofficial mentor” of Google founders Sergei Brin and Larry Page. He helped them through the initial years when the basic page ranking algorithms were implemented and continued hand-holding the young company when they went in search of venture capitalists. Google founder, Brin, described Rajeev as his “friend and teacher” and said that “... his legacy and personality lives on in the students, projects, and companies he has touched. Today, whenever you use a piece of technology, there is a good chance a little bit of Rajeev Motwani is behind it.”
Remembering Rajeev Motwani, 1962-2009
IIT Kanpur deeply mourns the tragic and untimely demise of one of its most illustrious alumni: Rajeev Motwani. Rajeev did BTech in Computer Science and Engineering in 1983 from IIT Kanpur, after which he went to the University of California, Berkeley to do his PhD which he completed in 1988 under the supervision of Professor Richard Karp. Rajeev then joined the faculty of the department of Computer Science at Stanford University. He was awarded the IITK Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2006.
Rajeev was a brilliant researcher who made fundamental contributions to many areas: randomized algorithms, computational complexity, approximation algorithms, data mining, mathematical modelling of the world-wide web etc. Rajeev was one of the group of five researchers who gave the world the PCP theorem, one of the most stunningly beautiful and immensely deep results of the modern era. It is this contribution for which Rajeev was awarded the prestigious Godel Prize in 2001. Rajeev was a great teacher too; he has co-authored two books, one on randomized algorithms and another on theory of computation which have taught these two subjects to students all over the world.
Those in IIT Kanpur who knew Rajeev as an undergraduate, remember him not only for his academic brilliance but also for the good cheer that he always exuded. He was a very friendly person, and remained so all through his life. His office door at Stanford was ever open – to students, to young entrepreneurs, to academicians from all across the world, and to his friends from IIT Kanpur. Rajeev was also closely involved with the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at IIT Kanpur as a mentor in its research program. He was on the board of Research I Foundation of the department since 2003.
Rajeev possessed the rare genius of using the most abstract of theories to solve practical problems impacting society at large. For example, he made use of his expertise in randomized algorithms in building a drug design system for Pfizer. Rajeev was an early “unofficial mentor” of Google founders Sergei Brin and Larry Page. He helped them through the initial years when the basic page ranking algorithms were implemented and continued hand-holding the young company when they went in search of venture capitalists. Google founder, Brin, described Rajeev as his “friend and teacher” and said that “... his legacy and personality lives on in the students, projects, and companies he has touched. Today, whenever you use a piece of technology, there is a good chance a little bit of Rajeev Motwani is behind it.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)