On Startup Engineering Courses

Of late I have seen a lot of online courses about Startup Engineering that have the agenda of helping the class-takers bootstrap their business. Also, there are a lot of philosophies about Lean-Startup, tips to run a successful startup and so on. I seem to see a pattern in all pieces of advice given in these courses and articles.

Aside all the common instructions like Start early, Fail early and so on, people tend to be dramatic about this whole idea of start-up and that they don't offer practical realistic advice.

I am starting to wonder if taking all these courses is worth taking them at all ? - Somehow I feel that we are missing the point by giving importance to these courses.

I don't know why, but these days I am beginning to say no to classes and lectures; may be the reason behind this post. 

Different ways of setting up a repo on github

Its often the case that we would have worked on different projects and never really uploaded our work to github. There are 2 different scenarios that I often found myself in. 

1. .git repo present locally that is not yet added to github 
2. code that is not yet added to github

Effectively I am going to talk about solving 1 only. I will point out a way in which scenario 2 can be reduced to scenario 1 and therefore the solution applies for both the cases. 

Scenario 1: .git repo present locally

Firstly we need the repo to have a github remote. To list the remote destinations for a git repo,

$> git remote -v

[Remember to type this command from within the git repo directory - as git command looks up .git folder in the current directory for its operations]

Secondly, create and initialize an empty repo in github and get the Clone URL for the repo. Here I will talk only about HTTP clone URL, for simplicity. [Note that it is actually https:// URL]

Thirdly, do the following:

$> git remote add <remote name> HTTP clone URL

$> git push <remote name> master  #for pushing master branch on to the remote

We are all set. We have uploaded our git repo onto github. 

Scenario 2: code (without local git repo) that is not yet added to github

To create a git repo locally, we can do the following:

$> git init

$> git add required files

$> git commit -m"sample message"

Now, we have reduced scenario 2 to scenario 1 and we will be able to upload our code to github.

References:

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/10573957/how-to-push-from-my-local-repository-to-my-github-repository
http://caiustheory.com/adding-a-remote-to-existing-git-repo

Formalism in Network Security and a note on WEP's limitations

Initially I had not chosen Network Security as one of my courses; but I had to pick this course because the other course turned out to be uninteresting, to say the least. There I was in the Network Security class and I had to deal with different perspectives given by people about how difficult the course can be and how difficult it is to follow the instructor's lectures.

I thoroughly enjoyed this course and the lectures turned out to be really interesting; true that it was different from the courses instructed in a conventional way - All lectures involved a lot of discussion and the instructor took great care in explaining the required aspects within the scope of the course, very clearly.

One of the interesting topics I liked to read in this course was the Indistinguishability test introduced in formalizing the definition of security. It draws parallel from the Turing test and talks about distinguishability between truly Random world and the real world. The idea behing Shannon's perfect secrecy (One-Time-Pad), transitivity of Indistinguishability, building an Attacker for a given system (Proof by contra-positive argument), Rabin Miller primality test (Randomized algorithms - Monte-carlo algorithm for Primality test), Fermat's little theorem, Modular arithmetic ... the course when I look back looks very impressive and I will highly recommend this course for anyone, just to listen to the instructors lectures. [To give credit and to avoid confusion for those who would read it at a later point of time - the instructor during Spring 13 was Prof. Rob Johnson]

All the topics that I listed in the previous paragraph was merely the first section of the course; the second section was when the course became even more interesting with Protocols, PKI, DNSSEC, Secure-BGP, SSL, XSS, XSRF, HTML 5 POST message, Same Origin Policy - and the icing on the cake was the final exam. It was a short paper and it required us to apply all that we learnt during the semester, aptly, to devise best-possible solutions in a practical scenario. Not to forget the cool project that we got to work on - building an apache module that would add CSP1.1 script-nonce support as part of apache itself. source

And now I move on to the second part of the post:

WEP : I have come across many house-hold routers making use of WEP, still. There is even a documented demo about how aircrack-ng can be used to break a network using WEP.

For those interested in theory behind how WEP is insecure, I referenced a post written here

- Well written, brief and to the point.

The bottom line is we should never configure WEP in our wireless router setup. And I think by default all the routers are using WPA or WPA2 by default to secure the wireless network. I wanted to throw a word of caution about WEP! - RIP to WEP!

GT

One more about Love!!!

What is Love ? 

One moment you tell me to stay strong

One moment you tell me to yield

One moment you tell me to be weak

What exactly is Love, God!

One moment it feels everything is together

One moment seems everything is torn apart

One moment all the memories come back and haunt you

Where exactly is Love, God!

One moment I decide to move on

One moment I feel all alone

One moment I feel the desire to get back

Why is it so confusing, God!

One moment I believe that I can

One moment I feel that I wouldn't 

One moment I think that I shouldn't 

What do I do, God!

After all the questions, I persist

Only to realize that all the persistence 

Is only making me weaker, by the day

Wishing I have shoulders to lean on! 

Aargh! Not again, God!

So many people have written so many times about Love, but yet it is so important to being Human, that people keep writing about it.

This was written in 10 minutes. It is short and sweet, I think; not a kind of work that will make people ponder over the content, but that which people will love to read at times, for its simplicity.

GT

Blocking in-video Ads - Youtube and Live streaming Part 2

You may want to take a look at the Part 1 of the article before resuming reading here.

Typically  the ad-blocking browser extensions available so far are working as follows:
1. Filter Addresses
2. Hide stylesheet elements

How do they filter addresses ?
Ref:  Ad Block Plus Internals
It seems that we can configure something called as "Content policies" for the browser engines. It can be done  programmatically (by implementing certain interfaces) as explained in the reference provided above.

So, it comes down to the extension providers maintaining a list of addresses which they deem to be sources for in-video ads. [Let us not worry about how they maintain the list, here - It could be a topic for another blogpost]

This means that it is very important to keep our ad-blocking extensions up to date, as and when an update is available.

Why Hiding Style sheet elements is important ?
Its not going to be enough if we simply block the HTTP requests for loading ads, in periodic intervals. It is sometimes necessary to clean the style sheet elements that may appear to be present in-video. Looks like there are APIs available to unregister style sheets (APIs to interact with the browser engine). By doing so, we can do away with the  loosely hanging style sheets from the webpage.

In the next post - I will try to show a demo (video or screenshots) on how to do this ourselves without relying on a browser extension.

References :
[The links listed below all refer to Adblock plus; they appeared first on my G! result set and hence using them here]
Ad Block Plus Internals
Ad Block Plus in Chrome - How it works ?
Ad Block Plus landing page

To be continued...

Blocking in-video Ads - Youtube and Live streaming Part 1

Part 1:

Now a days, one seems to be having a torrid time watching videos on Youtube; ever since Youtube started playing in-video ads, Youtube experience has almost become nightmarish for the impatient users.
Solution :
AdBlock Extension

Search for this popular browser extension and get it installed in your browser to get rid of the in-video youtube ads.


Part 2:
In this part I will try to demonstrate how AdBlock may have been built and the hacks we can employ in blocking in-video ads ourselves, without relying on extensions like AdBlock.

2 reasons why we may not want to rely on AdBlock alone :
1. May not work on all sites
2. Knowing what is under the hood is fun.

If any of the above 2 points brought a smile on your face, check the Part 2 of this series here

Cheers!

Process (pain) of availing educational loan in India (Specific to MS in the US)

[Please feel free to skip the first 3 paragraphs - I chose to use this space to express my emotions; But the essay after the first 3 paragraphs may prove to be informative for you]

I hate to say this myself. I am a firm believer that there is no point in complaining about a system in place - I believe that if there is anything wrong with a system, one should offer some constructive suggestion to improve the system rather than complaining about it.

But this loan application process totally befuddled me. It's not the statutory underpinnings of an educational loan - I am fine with it - since I got a chance to know about some of the laws, rules, regulations as per the Indian Penal Code; It's the lethargy with which the government organizations (Bank staff, Registrar office Staff, Tamil Nadu Housing Board Staff) are run that is disappointing.

I have seen the attitude of the government employees portrayed in movies and even heard about the same from my parents and friends; but to see and experience it for myself is a different thing. What hurts me the most is the situation has remained the same all these 10-15 years. I have always felt that majority in India believe that working for a government organization is primarily to have a carefree workplace environment and a guaranteed job apart from the numerous benefits that any government employee is entitled to. I don't know how the situation is in government organizations in other countries. There is something that we need to correct in the way we are being introduced to a government job and a government run organization.

Whining for another day. Let me get to the steps involved :

Startling Fact : I got to know that of all the loans, interest rate is the highest for availing educational loans, in India. However, the thing I liked about this is the fact that in State Bank of India and Central Bank of India, a student is exempted from paying any interest on the loan amount up to 6 months after the stipulated course is completed. Typically a student availing loan for a MS program in the US of A, can take 2 years and 6 months before initiating the re-payment process. I don't know if this is the reasoning behind the highest interest rates on educational loans. I am no finance expert - I shall leave it to the experts to comment on that.

1. For availing loan up to 4 Lakh INR, it is enough if we have a guarantor for our loan application. If we are applying for an amount greater than 4 Lakh INR, we need to submit a property as a collateral. What I was told is the fact that the banks are readily accepting only a land with a construction in place as a collateral. The evaluator from the bank will evaluate the worth of the property and will give a report. I was told that the collateral property must be worth at least 150% of the total loan amount sought.

2. Central Bank of India offers  loan up to 20 Lakhs. State Bank of India offers loan up to 30 Lakhs.

3. Regarding the House Property as a Collateral : [This list is specific to Central Bank of India - and may not be exhaustive]

• Encumbrance Certificate (E.C) - Original copy for the last 30 years. If we apply for E.C, the registrar office will take at least 3 working days to provide you with one. 
• Property  tax receipts, Water consumption bill receipts, Electricity bill receipts [better to have these receipts for 3 months (water and electricity receipts, I mean) ]
• Original/Certified Copy of the sale/transfer deed by which your guarantor/co-applicant got rights to the property that you are submitting as collateral for the loan.
• Photo copies of the historical documents ( From the Mother document of the property to the document mentioned in the above listed point ) - This can be a big list of documents in itself.

Once we have the following documents, we can get the documents scrutinized by a member of the panel of advocates associated with a bank to provide a legal opinion. Only upon getting an affirmative response from one of the panel advocates could the property be accepted as a collateral.

4. It is mandatory to have I20 when we apply for the loan (That is what I am told by the Bank Managers). [What I do not understand is how will people manage to get I20 from the University. AFAIK, the students are using the loan sanction letter only during the Visa interview. Initially upon receiving the admission from the University, the university asks for financial proof documents - they do a initial screening and then only courier the I20 document to the students - This means that the Loan cannot be given as a financial proof to the University while requesting for the I20 document]

I hope you guys get the flavor of the procedures involved in availing an educational loan. This is NOT exhaustive compendium. This is just a post to share my experiences which I believe will aid the souls looking for information. Talking to advocates, Bank officers (who were very helpful in clarifying about the processes involved) will help you cross the bridge. Be warned that the loan application process may take a month's time at least. So PLAN ahead. 

Good Luck!

F1 - US Visa Application Process

After a month long hiatus, it feels good to be writing again. I wanted to share with the world, how streamlined the F-1 Visa application process is. The US consulate announcement on Sept 5th    US Consulate's announcement about the streamlined VISA application process has details about the changes in the process.

In short, following are the changes I found most-welcomed:

• All the fee payments are done online. DS-160 Fees and SEVIS fee - both can be played online. ( Earlier, the DS-160 fee had to be paid in one of the designated bank branches - Although this option is still available, we have an additional option of paying the fee online, which makes the process very convenient ) [It was 160 USD during December 2012]
• 2 Appointments - 1 for providing biometrics data at the US consulate and the second one for the Visa interview itself. First appointment has to be scheduled at least one day prior to the Visa interview appointment. - more importantly, both the appointments need not be at the same consulate office. This is a convenient option, especially for those people on the move and/or working.

I will summarize the steps involved in applying for F-1 Visa

1. Complete the DS-160 form - Keep a digital photograph that meets US Visa photograph requirements handy to complete the form. ( Fill and submit DS-160 here )
2. Fix the appointments - 1 for biometrics and the 2nd for Visa interview
3. Pay the SEVIS fee here [SEVIS fee was 200 USD during Dec 2012]

SEVIS - Students/Exchange Visitors Information System - SEVIS fee is towards maintenance of the SEVIS. If one gets an I20 from any of the Universities, the SEVIS will be updated. The Visa officer will have access to all the details regarding the I20s issued against one's name. So, during the Visa Interview, you might get occasional questions like 'Why are you applying for Visa for A eventhough you have I20s from A & B &...'. (Just a pointer)

Once the Visa is issued against a University name, if a student changes his/her mind to join a different University, he/she has to submit a fresh application for F-1 Visa.

My first post this new year. Wishing you all a very happy new year. I must say that the application process is much streamlined and it is just about following the steps, one by one. Happy New Year friends! - I hope to be active in this space this year. Fingers crossed. 

Ref: http://www.ustraveldocs.com/in/in-niv-visaapply.asp