Ravichandran Kandadai Raghavan

Microsoft Student Lounge!

2009-08-13T10:53:00.001-07:00

Microsoft Student Partners Launch their Exclusive Student oriented website, The MS Student Lounge- The world of Microsoft Student Partners.

Student Partners Can post their Content in the Channels available. Each post can be commented and also be rated. If a post gets rated more than 4 stars by 25 or more people, it becomes a Rockstar post!!

Students with Rockstar posts get cool Rewards :)

Time to get Posting!!!

Ciao

Ravi

Deployment of MSDN AA @ College

2009-08-13T10:39:00.000-07:00

The Deployment of the MSDN Academic Alliance is finally completed in my college – Amrita School of Engineering .All the students who are a part of the College campus Club “Tech{know}logy” will be given their access to the college portal soon.

Launch Date 20/08/09 4:30 pm

Wish me Luck :)

Cheers

Ravi

MCTS

2009-06-30T01:04:00.000-07:00

Hi

I am happy to share some news..I have successfully finished a Microsoft Certification.

I am a Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist..(MCTS)
I am an MCTS :Windows Vista ;)

Cheers

Ravi

Mozilla

2009-06-29T01:07:00.000-07:00

Hi Guys..
Good to be back blogging
so here is what i have been upto...
I have been made the Mozilla campus Rep. Regional Leader -TamilNadu,India

The Mozilla Campus Rep is similar to the MSP program ,but on a smaller scale.
I am indeed very happy to be involved in so many campus ambassado programs as they give me a wider horizon and help me converse with lots of people..

Will be back soon
Regards

Ravi

Deepzoom Project !!!

2009-04-10T05:40:00.000-07:00

Hi guys..

Its been a while since i last blogged..

I was on the team which was working on a Photochain of MSPs using DeepZoom and Tag ..
The project was Leandro's branchild ( Redmond ,Microsoft ) .

We officially Kick started the project on 30 January and finally completed it today!! (10th april) .

We were a small team and the members were Leandro, Kris, Chris,Aneet , Robin and me..
Many others also helped us by giving inputs at various stages..

It was a wonderful experience working with all of them. I learnt a lot and it was fun!!!

My First Project as a Microsoft Student Partner.......and yeah I loved it...

Checkout the Photochain at Microsoft Student Partners Website

MSP PHOTOCHAIN

My best wishes and Kudos to all the people who worked and helped this project..Special appreciation to Kris who made it possible.!!!

ciao
Ravi

Awesome Bootcamp Experience

2009-03-11T10:02:00.000-07:00

Wow.. wow wow
No better word i could use than "Awesome"
The Boot camp at Microsoft IDC in Hyderabad was the biggest ever such event in the world so far. Three fun filled days ,countless hours of fun and ,lots and lots to learn. Around 150 MSPs all over India came to Hyderabad to be a part of this once in a lifetime opportunity. Many freshers including me got the opportunity to network with the best in the business at IDC . We made a lot of new friends and yeah as i said earlier, we learnt a lot.
For the day wise details continue reading!!

Day 1-- 6th March 2009 Friday

The MSPs reported at Ellaa Suites, a star hotel , located very near to the Microsoft IDC campus. At around 4 pm a shuttle bus took us to the IDC campus. After the security clearance we were taken to the auditorium , it was like the whole MSP army in one single room. We had some introductory address by the Microsoft India Campus Rec. Team members and some quick notes on the internship test for the pre-final year students which was due in some time .
The internship test was taken by the pre-final year students while we(i m in ma second yr) were
asked to go to the amphitheatre where we came to know each other when we were asked to do a fun filled creative skit on any technology. this went on till 7 30 pm . Then was the Dinner time at the IDC campus. Food was something everyone enjoyed during their stay. After dinner we returned back to the hotel. We were asked to report to the IDC campus the next day by 7 30am.

Day 2 --7th March 2009 Saturday

The day started with Breakfast at Microsoft Campus immediately as we came by the shuttle bus. After a good breakfast the Technical sessions began. The Keynote of the day was given by Pratima Amonkar (Director Academia, Microsoft) at around 9 am. This was followed by the first Technical session fr about 1 hr on "Sql Server 2008" by the" MSIT Business Intelligence Team" comprising Fayaz, Swapna and Preetha. They explained about Sql Server 2008 and its advantages over the previous versions and competitors. This session was followed by Windows Mobile App Dev. by Abhinav Gujjar (MGSI) . The session was very interactive and on a lighter note nut very informative.
After the two sessions we had a small Photoshoot at the Amphitheatre where all the MSPs were included in one photo .
This was followed by lunch which included the networking session where we got to interact with the FTEs at Microsoft from various divisions of Microsoft. They were really kind in interacting with us and also mentored us suggesting future plans as so on.
PS. The Lunch was good!
The Lunch was followed by Application Security by Varun Sharma ( ACE team) . He discussed about the "Top 5 App. Security bugs in custom Code" and suggested ways to overcome them.
The sessions was an eye opener to many MSPs present there .The next session was on "Cloud computing" by Archis Gore (Windows Live Core Team) . As Cloud computing is still under development he could share much on the topic but he did give us a basic idea about Live Mesh and Azure.
The tech sessions were followe by some lighter sessions on Windows 7 by Siddarth Prakash , IE 8 by Mohammed Reza and a WPF presentation by Mark D Souza. Then was the time when the MSPs received their goodies and stuff. New MSPs got their visiting cards . Those who deployed Live @edu and MSDNAA were given some special rewards too.
Till now was the Work part of the day . Then we had a get together and a Disco party arranged exclusively for us near our hotel. The night was wonderful at the disco and followed by a pool side dinner . The experience was awesome . The night was too long for many of us who even stayed up till 3 am .

Day 3--8th March 2009 Sunday

At around 8 am in the morning we checked out of the hotel and headed towards the Microsoft Campus. Once again started the day with breakfast at the campus . We then witnessed technology where our fellow MSPs showcased some cool apps and demos. They were on Robotics studio , Visual Programming Language and Microsoft Popfly . This was followed by some adresses by the senior MSPs who wanted to share their experience with us . Then came the parting time. We had to leave the campus towards the airport and railway stations . We left the Microsoft campus around 3 pm and started towards our stations.

Some MSPs including me had some time , so we went sight-seeing Hyderabad in the evening and bade goodbye to each other. It was a painful thing as we had formed a bond so strong so soon, but thanks to technology that we could still remain in touch with each other!!

The entire Boot Camp was a wonderful experience that i hope each one of us would remember for years to come

for some photos
Ravichandran's Skydrive

ciao
Ravi

On Probation No More !!!

2009-02-18T06:50:00.000-08:00

I m back!!!

It has been a nice time till now being a Microsoft Student Partner. Probation period is now over. successfully achieved the stipulated number of activity points.

Going to attend Microsoft Boot Camp in Hyderabad during Mar 6th to 8th..

New holographic technology

2008-11-27T18:54:00.000-08:00

Current methods of holographic photography might turn redundant in a few years time if the researchers at a Tokyo institute manage to fine tune their latest holographic image creation technique.
Current technology warrants the use of lasers and darkrooms for the production of holographic images because it is required to shoot the subject separately with red, green and blue laser beams before all the images can be "superimposed" to give that holographic effect.

The new technology is based on integral photography. This procedure in creating the hologram includes taking pictures of the subjects in normal lighting conditions. A video camera is used for this purpose. This camera has a "fly-eye" lens composed of a number of micro lenses. The same fly-eye lens is used to display 3D images.

A computer decodes the images shot by the camera and processes them into a 3D image with separate processing units for RGB colors. Each of these units can be processed separately and then merged together again and synthesized. The result is a real-time live holographic video.

The technique is limited only to small images right now - however, it is expected that the technology will evolve over the next couple of years to display larger holographic images.

Source: Techtree.com

Microsoft Student Partner...

2008-11-11T09:26:00.000-08:00

I am a MICROSOFT Student Partner(MSP) now..
An official confirmation and intimation from microsoft finally came today.
As a MSP i get to do a lot in the college. It is basically something like a campus ambassador, where i have to introduce my peers about the various technologies and solutions pioneered by Microsoft and its partners, thereby persuading my student community in the college to explore the world of technology....

As of now i m on a probation for 3 months. This will be my time to impress upon the people in Microsoft .I hope i ll make it through. Wish me luck

Signing off..
Ravi..

DreamSpark

2008-11-08T02:01:00.000-08:00

On 5^th November 2008, Microsoft unveiled DreamSpark - a software giveaway for an estimated 10 million eligible students in India. DreamSpark will provide students access to the latest Microsoft developer and designer tools at no charge.

Microsoft DreamSpark will be available to all students whose studies touch on technology, design, math, science and engineering. The software available to students will include:

Microsoft developer tools

Visual Studio 2005 Express

Visual Studio 2005 Professional

Visual Studio 2008 Professional
Visual Basic 2008 Express
Visual C++ 2008 Express
Visual C# 2008 Express
Visual Web Developer 2008 Express
XNA Game Studio 2.0
12-month free Academic membership in the XNA Creators Club

Microsoft designer tools

Expression Studio 2, including

o Expression Web

o Expression Blend

o Expression Design

o Expression Media

Microsoft platform resources

SQL Server 2008 Developer
SQL Server 2008 Express
Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition
Virtual PC 2007

Training Resources

IT Academy Student Pass

This broad range of professional-level software will be available both online via www.dreamsparkindia.com; and in offline format via DVDs distributed by program partners NIIT, Aptech and Hughes Net Fusion Centers. A student merely needs to offer a proof of identity at a branch of these institutes to avail of a DreamSpark DVD. There are 125 NIIT, 175 Aptech, and 200 Hughes Net Fusion Centers participating across the country.

These program partners will also provide technology training on the DreamSpark software tools at a nominal cost; as well as have the option of soft skills training in languages like English and Hindi. Microsoft India is also working with academic institutions, government bodies and student organizations across the country to ensure that all students get a chance to benefit from DreamSpark.

The DreamSpark program in India is tailor-made to join the dots between software access and employability - which means making training and enablement complement simple access to technology.

DreamSpark will also facilitate student participation in Microsoft’s annual marquee contest, Imagine Cup, through various contest categories such as software design, short films, photography etc. Students from India that qualify for the Imagine Cup 2009 World Finals will get to travel to Egypt. Selected teams will also get the opportunity to get mentored by the Centre for Innovation, Incubation & Entrepreneurship (CIIE) at IIM, Ahmedabad.

Addressing students and academicians at IIT Delhi – where the DreamSpark program was unveiled - Bill Gates, Chairman, Microsoft Corp, said, “We want to do everything we can to equip a new generation of technology leaders with the knowledge and tools they need to harness the magic of software to improve lives, solve problems and catalyze economic growth. Microsoft DreamSpark provides professional-level tools that we hope will inspire students like you to explore the power of software and encourage you to forge the next wave of software-driven breakthroughs.”

Electical Fault???

2008-10-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

CERN said that the powerful collider would not restart until spring 2009 due to the delay caused by the helium leak problem and related repair work..

After such great efforts put into the construction and setting up the collider, the discovery of a minor electrical fault is really heart-breaking to those who were involved in it.

Hopefully , the colliders starts soon.. I m very curious to know what happened instants after the "Big Bang"

High power chip from Bangalore

2008-10-02T18:33:00.000-07:00

The world's largest chip maker Intel Corp has unveiled its most powerful six core microprocessor designed and developed at its India development centre in Bangalore.
The 45-nanometre chip boasts of a whopping 1.9 billion transistors, six processing cores and 16MB of shared cache memory in the Xeon family.

"The most powerful chip in the 45 nanometre space has been designed, developed, tested and validated in our Bangalore facility by the Indian team in a record two years," Intel India president Praveen Vishakantaiah told reporters at a preview of the 'made-in-India' product.

The Xeon server processor on which a host of applications can be built for virtualised environments and data-demanding workloads such as databases, business intelligence and enterprise resource planning (ERP) enhances performance by 50 percent, consuming much less power than its earlier versions - quad core and dual core processors.

"Platforms based on this enterprise chip can be scaled up to 16 processor sockets to deliver servers with 96 processing cores inside, offering scalability, ample computing threads, extensive memory resources and reliability for enterprise data centres," Vishakantaiah said.

Intel has released seven 45 nanometre manufactured Xeon processor 7400 series products to about 50 global vendors (OEMs) such as Dell, Fujitsu, Hitachi, IBM, HP, NEC and Unisys and Indian vendors like HCL and Wipro for deployment in high-end enterprise servers.

End-products with the new chip will hit the market worldwide in a week.

The price of sequence processors range from $856-2729 for 1000 chips and can be deployed in the servers and CPUs (central processing units) of quad core or dual core versions.

"The new chip helps IT infrastructure to manage complex enterprise server environments, enhance performance of multi-thread applications. With new features such as additional cores, large shared caches and advanced virtualisation technologies," Intel South Asia sales director R. Ravichandran said.

Products with the new processor offer frequencies up to 2.66 GHz and consume just 11 watt power for each core, which is 50 watt less than quad core processors.

Codenamed Dunnington, Intel's first six-core 86 microprocessor was designed and developed two months ahead of its delivery schedule.

Intel India, set up a decade ago with over $1.7 billion investment, has also contributed to the development of Intel products such as Napa, Santa Rosa and Montevina mobile platforms, besides quad-core processors. It employs about 2,500 engineers.
Source: Indo-Asian News Service