The Jump from 1 2(to) 3 !!!

Sounds more like an oxymoron isn’t it?  These six syllables can actually make sense if one keeps in mind the shoddy performance of the Indian Cricket Team in the recently concluded Test Series in England. With a series win in both the ODIs and the Test matches in the “non-glamorous” Caribbean (in terms of TRP and revenue generated), the Indian team landed in England with the tag of world champions and a NUMERO UNO Test ranking. India being a cricket crazy nation, opinions have gone through the roof; some blame it on the players and some on the administration. To be precisely precise it has been a combined effect of both the actors. There has been a problem, a problem that has persisted through years, but we kept our heads buried in the sand and refused to acknowledge it. Moreover the success of the team in the World Cup and the emergence of the cash rich IPL has coaxed us to turn a deaf ear. The BCCI could have imagined that the number one tag, possibly a magic wand, is enough to claim the series in England, but sadly, it wasn’t to be. The tired and over confident Indians were up against a prepared England. Good teams do not tire, if they do, more often than not they end up as the losing side. Taking a look at the number of matches they play in a year, it is child’s play to conclude that it is easier for India to be on the top as compared to the other international teams. They also have all the money but if not administered well, there is no meaning to it. Preparation cannot happen overnight, it is a long drawn process, starting with identifying the right personnel and then taking it forward. You have to improve as a team with every match, if you are not, you become stagnant.

M.S.D. - bitter taste of his first series loss as captain

                             
Indians have always been admirers of skill and gave attitude a cold shoulder, not paying heed to the fact that it is the amalgamation that creates magic on the turf. It is actually the mentality of the subcontinent, Pakistan has produced some of the finest bowlers to have played the game, India is arguably the best batting side “on paper” in the world but both the teams are known to be highly inconsistent. Why cannot a sub continent team be tagged “The Invincibles”? It is because we are complacent; we do not care about the routine things that are an integral part of the game. Top teams like Australia and England were also infected with injuries, but they always had reserves. Imagine the plight of the Indian team had Zaheer pulled out during the World Cup. England’s Stuart Broad was immediately packed off home after a dismal performance in Sri Lanka to play for his county. The result is there for us to see.  It is time the BCCI put its head down and devise ways of utilising the monetary resources for better preparation back home. Creating a pool of reserve players in close co-ordination with N.C.A. should be the primary objective of the management. The demographics of the country give leverage to the administration to unearth talent and groom it for the future. Success speaks a lot more than failure but failure teaches you a lot more than success. India has the resources to bring about the change but it is not possible with the lousy attitude it carries. The cricket administration has some tough questions to answer in order to expedite India’s ascend and make their perch there, permanent.

Apple's gone JOBless !

“Lance Armstrong is to Tour De France as Steve Jobs is to Apple”, that is the stature of this phenomenon called Jobs. Although his stint as the CEO of Apple Inc has terminated, he is no way bidding adieu to the world of technology.  In his letter of resignation to the board of directors he mentioned that he would be “watching and contributing” to Apple’s success as the chairman. Battling pancreatic cancer and a liver transplant in a span of seven years can take its toll, but it was not to be with Jobs. Being on medical leave for nearly 45% of the time in the last two and a half years, Job’s passionate involvement ensured that Apple delivered products which changed the perspective of generations to come. The market value of Apple Inc. rose nearly four times, making it comparable to the GDP of some countries. From being deserted by the board of directors due to power struggle in 1984, who would have thought that Jobs would drive Apple Inc to be rated as the most admired company in the United States, consecutively for the last three years.

                                              

                                       A tribute to the legend by his fans

The social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook were inundated with messages, paying tribute to the visionary.  “What makes Steve Jobs particularly special is that it’s as if he has personally handed you an iPhone or an iPad. So it feels like a gift from a family member”, says J. Krosnick, a psychologist from Stanford. “Apple won’t change; I will not mess with the formula that has worked so well for years”, assured Tim Cook, successor to Jobs. John Sculley, the other half of the “dynamic duo” at Apple stated that Jobs timed his resignation to perfection.” It would not have been good for Apple had he stepped down before the launch of the iPhone and the iPad”, observed Sculley. He assured that Jobs has left Apple in a perfect state for the coming cloud and mobility era.

In a career spanning nearly 35 years, Jobs had to take some tough decisions in order to ensure things went the way he wanted to, which invariably turned out to be the right choice. In the early 90s the industry giant looked fragile on account of mismanagement. The absence of Jobs made the organisation vulnerable to both external and internal forces. However with the launch of the PowerBook Series, Apple garnered nearly 21% of the market share in less than half a year. It was in the year 1996, when Jobs returned to Apple as the chief executive officer immediately decided to buy NeXt(USD 375 million), a company founded by Jobs when he was not a part of Apple. He also resorted to stern measures, shut plants, lay off thousands of workers and sold stock to arch rival Microsoft in order to receive a cash infusion of around USD 150 million. The organisation underwent some sweeping changes during the next two years. It was in 1998 when the iMac was launched, a blockbuster, resulting in 94% gains on net income, profits ballooned to USD 600 million and stock prices shot up 140% much to the delight of the investors.


                                                 

With a share price of USD 190 in May 2008 during the pre-recession period, the present share price of Apple Inc “stands out” at USD 384. It is a testimony to the fact that Jobs understood the customers’ needs and never compromised on quality. Although the fact that Jobs is no longer with the company may sound like music to the ears of rivals like Samsung, Tim Cook has his task cut out to maintain the legacy of his predecessor.

                                              

The Michelangelo of the digital industry revolutionised the music, mobile and the electronic industry and has set a benchmark that is difficult to maintain. A full day in Apple’s Cupertino headquarters during his last day as the CEO is a sign of his commitment.

                                                                                                                    

 As he fondly referred to Wayne Kretzky’s words “I skate to where the puck going to be, not where it has been”.

                                        

System-Architecture- A matter of social status !!

Jim and Mary

Jim : Hey Mary !! How are you ? How was your day?

Mary : Don't ask me Jim. I am really upset with the Mrs Jane (neighbour). She mocked at me saying I unaware of the famous client server model. Since then I have been waiting for you. I want to know the entire story today. That is it !!! You look tired by the way.

Jim : (Sighs) , Mary, give me five minutes and I'll be right back .

Mary : No way Jim, you have to enlighten me right here , right now !!

Jim : Since I have no option ...here you go. Lets go back 60 years in time. We had something called Data Structures(DS) and we had algorithms which is now popularly called database and applications respectively. DS described what is to be processed and the algorithms gave the logic behind the method of processing the DS.

Mary : Ok ...so ?

Jim : The basic objective was to separate the data from the applications, even though they were a part of the same hardware.

Mary : What is "Two Tier Client Server Architecture" ?

Jim : This is a modification of the single tier architecture, wherein the data is stored on a central server and is connected to different machines(clients) through TCP/IP protocols. The entire set up is called a LAN.

Mary : Big deal !!  Are there any positives out of this ?

Jim : Yeah !! The main idea is to place the data on a central server and place the presentation and business logic separately on each client. The positives are convenient graphics interface and the reduction of burden on the server when there are many users.

Mary : Interesting !! Did people stop there or were there any negatives to it ?

Jim : The biggest disadvantage was high usage of bandwidth which slowed down application speed on individual machines. Then there is always the problem of maintenance in case of distributed software.

Mary : Got it ....So they must have thought of a "Three tier architecture". Didn't they ?

Jim : (Sighs) Who says women are low on IQ ? Yes darling, then came the next edition- "Three tier architecture". Here the business logic was kept centrally, so that the changes in business logic can be done centrally at one location. The presentation logic resided on individual systems.

Mary : I am impressed. but Jim tell me one thing- Can we employ internet in this system ?

Jim : (In doubt) Have you read this somewhere?

Mary : (Laughs) No Jim, do you think I am a fool to ask you all over again ?

Jim : Nowadays every system has a default web browser. This can be connected to the centrally located internet server to access the presentation and the business logic along with the data from the database. This helps us in eliminating the installation of special software at each client location. We only need to make sure that the business logic server is web enabled.

Mary : Can you cite an example in the present times?

Jim : For example, any organisation would be having its - Sales Data in the Sales Server, Finance Data in the Finance Server and HR Data in the HR server with offices in different locations as different clients. An integrated database system would combine all the three servers into a single Corporate Database. The respective locations can access their respective data from the integrated corporate database.

 Mary : Ok !!  Mr. Jane works in the ERP department of his organisation. What is ERP ?

Jim : Enterprise Resource Planning , is an integrated  powerful software that combines various functional modules in a project and eliminates separate activity for synchronisation of data. There are various vendors of the ERP package - SAP & Oracle Apps. We can use this ERP Package in the example that I cited now. This package combines all the Finance Data, HR Data and Sales Data from the corporate database in a single ERP Server and eliminates the use of different software on each of the clients. We can simply use ERP client software on every client. It is easy to manage and maintain and also faster to implement.

I hope this works !!!

Mary : O Jim , that was so nice of you !!!  I am really tired Jim , can we go out for dinner ?

(Laughs)

Jim : (Sighs)  Women will always be women !!

Balajee Rao

11BM60042

http://www.som.iitkgp.ernet.in/