Entries from October 2006 ↓

“By now we know that OS X uses encrypted binaries for some critical apps like Dock, Finder and LoginWindow. Amit Singh explains the implementation of this protection scheme which makes use of the AES crypto algorithm and a special memory pager in Mach. The so called Do Not Steal Mac OS X (DSMOS) kernel extension helps along the way by decrypting things for the special pager when apps get executed. A funny thing is that if you print the pointer at address 0xFFFF1600 in your own app you get as output Apple’s karma poem for crackers! According to the article there are 8 protected binaries in OSX including Rosetta and Spotlight meta data demon. Interestingly Apple’s window server is NOT one of those.”

via slashdot

It was Ashok’s (my best friend and partner) birthday on 29th October. And we celebrated it with full energy! Gave him a surprise by showing up on his door at midnight and then went for a drive. Drove around till 4 in the morning - saw airplanes closely, lied on the Juhu beach, strolled around Band Stand and grabbed some good near the Airport. And yes, drove at full speed with some great music and a superb bunch of friends!

We didn’t have a birthday card either, so did some “collage” work on a BusinessWorld magazine supplement and gave words and visuals to our wishes ;-)  The truffle cake was delicious. I was gladly surprised to see so many beautiful women in those 24 hours. (there are tertiary benefits of being out of office with friends!).

Went to Cream Center in Bandra on 29th evening. Had loads of fun - pulling each other’s leg and playing with Shlok (Pratik’s one year old). The food was ok, ice creams were better and the company great. Here are a few pictures from the treat.

After a long time, we finally started the Utkarsh - GujaratiLexicon blog. Meenaben Chheda and Kartik have posted some good content already and I am sure it will take off well.

Here’s an excerpt from a post about Unicode.

યુનિકોડ એટલે યુનિવર્સલ કોડ. ISO ની જેમ યુનિકોડ એક સ્ટાન્ડર્ડ છે. અને આ સ્ટાન્ડર્ડ છે - કમ્પ્યુટરમાં વપરાતાં ફોન્ટસ માટે. હવે, પહેલાં એવું થતું કે દરેક કંપની અને સ્વત્રંત રીતે સોફ્ટવેર ડેવલપર પોતાની રીતે ફોન્ટસ બનાવતાં અને પોતાની અનુકુળતા મુજબ અંગ્રેજી કી-બોર્ડ પર પોતાની ભાષાનાં અક્ષરોનું મેપિંગ કરતાં. થોડા સમય પછી એવું થયું કે ઘણાં બધા કી-બોર્ડ લેઆઉટ (દા.ત. ટાઇપરાઇટર, ઇન્સ્ક્રિપ્ટ..) અને ફોન્ટસ નીકળ્યા. દરેક ફોન્ટને પોતાનું અલગ કી-બોર્ડ લેઆઉટ હતું. અને છેવટે કમ્પ્યુટર પર ગુજરાતી શીખવા માંગતાં, મારાં તમારાં જેવા સામાન્ય વ્યક્તિઓને બહુ લોચા થવા લાગ્યા.

Wishing everyone a very happy diwali and a prosperous new year!

The last year was amazing for us, and I am sure this one is going to be better. Personally and professionally, I have learned many new things. Seen the ups and downs. Witnessed triumphs and let-downs. Looking back, thinking about it, this was one of the best years in life actually!

Wish you a lot of light!

I was in Pune the other day and saw a few battery powered motor bikes. Ace Motors was the company selling them, and it looked like a good deal.

• Charge it for 6 hours, and it will run 70 kilometers.
• It can take upto 160 kilos of weight.
• Does not need number plate / license / RTO approvals.
• No maintenance - almost.
• And they are eco-friendly!

My sister told me earlier that there are many Yo-Bikes in Ahmedabad. And that it’s a good alternative to a bike if your needs are limited. These bikes don’t run that fast and have their limitations, but are excellent for students and people who do not travel often.
Reva - the electric car is doing well too. I saw many electric cars in Germany a few years ago, and have spotted a couple here as well. Reva introduced a new model today, and by the looks of it, it feels good!