January 2012
2 posts
Your movie will return in 20 seconds!
I think this is pretty old news now but many of you might have seen this message on your TV. “Movie will return in 20:00 seconds” This is so brilliant!Whoever came up with this idea must be rewarded by all the TV channels! It is earning them millions. When you see this message chances are that you will stop switching the channels and you will see all the ads for those 20 seconds. I am...
2012: Either it is a doomsday or a high class...
I recently came across a very interesting TED talk shared by a colleague.
Simon Sinek on How great leaders inspire action
The gist of the talk is:
“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it?”
It made me ask “Why?” to myself, for everything I do in life and especially it made me ask:
“Why am I running Digicorp?”
When we started, one...
December 2011
2 posts
Steve Jobs street art
I know it’s a terrible painting but having Steve Jobs on the walls of Ahmedabad is something in itself. Sent from my iPhone Posted via email from abhishek desai’s posterous | Comment »
Indian Programmers: Let's prove this guy wrong
I came across a very interesting article few days back. It talks about why the author who is a US based programmer is not afraid of Indian programmers. I don’t agree with him over all but he does have couple of points worth mentioning. 1) “Sure they’re only being charged $14/hour for that work, but I think the Indian firm is, as the saying goes, making up for it in volume. And that’s...
November 2011
1 post
What we can learn from Dan Lewis' "Now I Know"...
Dan Lewis runs a successful newsletter called “Now I Know”. I came across it from this article on avc.com. This newsletter is one of the very few I have subscribed and I must say it is pretty cool. Dan is doing an amazing job and we can learn a lot from the way he is running it.Let’s see what he is doing right: He comes up with interesting things to share always. Without doubt...
October 2011
5 posts
Do you know Photoshop?
A recent article written by Mahesh Murthy has become one of my favorite articles because following lines struck me and they struck me hard. This was brought home to me some time ago when one of the managers at a company I’d invested in—a bloke who studied at an IIT and worked at one of these IT giants—hired some graphic designers for his team whose work turned out to be ugly crap. After...
Do you know programming?
A recent article written by Mahesh Murthy has become one of my favorite articles because following lines struck me and they struck me hard. This was brought home to me some time ago when one of the managers at a company I’d invested in—a bloke who studied at an IIT and worked at one of these IT giants—hired some graphic designers for his team whose work turned out to be ugly crap. After repeated...
Indian Internet Era?
I am amazed by the number of .com commercials on TV. All of them are in buying and selling things online. Some of the commercials I see are of flipkart.com olx.comQuickr.comLetsbuy.comBestylish.com I am just wondering, is this the start of Internet Era in India or an upcoming bust? I am sure flipkart.com is here to stay but not sure about others. Remember similar trend happend few years back with...
Are you living someone else's life?
The demise of Steve Jobs was kind of a shocker for me. He was too precious human being to die this soon. But it made me ask this question to myself. “Am I living someone else’s life?” Because if I am, it is too sad as life is short and unpredictable and you get only one shot at it. If you don’t know what I am talking about, you need to watch this video: For those of you,...
Options
I am reading Personal MBA by Josh Kaufman to improve my business skills (hopefully!). I am liking the book so far because for the first time in my life I understood what is the “Option”! Well at least conceptually. The simplest example for understanding option is a “Movie Ticket”.Yes, “Movie ticket is an option!” So when you buy a movie ticket, you reserve your...
September 2011
2 posts
Is Facebook Bigger Than I Thought?
I was losing interest in using Facebook. I really thought Facebook is going to disappear very soon and will be replaced by smaller but niche social networks eventually. But one interesting observation in my recent trip to Orlando made me think about Facebook all over again. The hotel I was in Orlando had a computer in the reception area. It was open for all guests for browsing Internet. Now...
What sort of things you should write on a blog?
Today a young aspiring blogger created his blog on posterous and asked me what sort of thing he should blog about. Well instead of giving any advise of my own, I just shared following article with him. How To Achieve Ultimate Blog Success In One Easy Step According to me this is the best article ever written on the topic of not knowing the topics to blog! Go read it and achieve success without...
August 2011
3 posts
Copy too... (in Google Docs)
Google Docs are becoming better and better. I came across this feature today which can be a great time saver for many! I was trying to copy paste a well formatted worksheet from one spreadsheet to another. When I tried pasting the contents in a new spreadsheet, all the formatting was getting lost. I was disappointed. Fortunately I saw this “Copy too…” option and bingo! It did...
I am nothing, and so I am finally free to be...
“By returning to zero expectations, by accepting that I am nothing, it is easier to see the truth.” “True self improvement requires becoming a better version of our selves, not a lesser version of someone else.” An article worth reading by Paul Buchheit. Posted via email from abhishek desai’s posterous | Comment »
Weekend reading for you
Well I have something really good for your weekend reading and motivation. Couple of articles from an America entrepreneur and billionaire Marc Cuban.For those who don’t know him, here is some introduction from his Wikipedia page: Mark Cuban (born July 31, 1958)[3] is an American entrepreneur and the owner of the National Basketball Association’s Dallas Mavericks,[4] Landmark Theatres,...
July 2011
5 posts
The old code is a mess, Please let me rewrite it...
For a programmer what is the most dreaded thing on earth?To work on somebody else’s code! I am sure all programmers would agree with me. It is very hard to work on somebody else’s code and you always think you can do a much better job if given a choice to write the code from scratch. But it seems YOU ARE WRONG! Why? Well to say it in one line… “It’s harder to read code...
My version of "Getting Your Résumé Read"
I get lot of résumés via email on a daily basis. Mostly they come from our website or people just know my email address from some random database.I almost immediately hit “Delete” in most cases. Why? Well, here are some of the reasons in that particular order: It is sent to 100 HR email addresses at once. It is written using poor English. It has spelling mistakes. It is written in a...
Make it possible for people to work
Peopleware is the classic and a must read book for anyone who has anything to do with Software Development. Especially for the managers.I was just going through it and came across following: In my early years as a developer, I was privileged to work on a project managed by Sharon Weinberg, now president of the Codd and Date Consulting Group. She was a walking example of much of what I now think...
College Advices Compilation
Once again I have something to share with you all Computer Science students (CE, IT, MCA, BCA, MSc IT etc).I recently stumbled up on an old article while reading “Smart and Get Things Done” from Joel Spolsky. http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/CollegeAdvice.html Joel on Software is one of the best blogs for programmers. His blog and this article is a must read for you. And yes if...
10000 things CE and IT students do before...
Computer Engineering or IT students of Indian engineering colleges, this list should help you a lot during your graduation years. http://tagide.com/blog/2011/06/things-ics-students-should-do-before-graduating/ Make sure you do at least some of it if not all before you come out of college. All the best. Posted via email from abhishek desai’s posterous | Comment »
June 2011
8 posts
Software Products: A Highly Gratifying Business
Developing software products is an amazing business. It is a very risky business with potential of huge profits or losses. As per Nassim Nicolas Taleb, it is a scalable profession. But if your product is good it can be highly gratifying too because nothing beats the appreciation you get from the user of your product. I just received one such amazing appreciation from a user for Sign in Style. I...
iA Inc : You have a new fan!
I have to admit, I am in love with one more company I recently discovered. Let me explain how it happened.I came across following article via my google reader feeds http://37signals.com/svn/posts/2961-really-well-done-ia-writer-video Nothing new, I read the article, watched the video and loved it. But what struck me the most was this sentence in the article. “I aspire to be able to produce...
Bible for Software Engineering Students
Following book should be your bible for developing useful software.“Getting Real” by 37Signals Read it as many times as you can before doing any kind of software development.Yes it is free to read online and it is priceless! Posted via email from abhishek desai’s posterous | Comment »
Computer Engineering Students: Get ready for the...
Recently I interacted with 3 bright students who are just about to start their 7th Semester of Computer Engineering. They have to do a year long industry project. GTU (Gujarat Technical University) provides this weird guideline on how they should do the project. Students have to just understand the project definition in their 7th Semester and do the actual coding in 8th Semester. Its really...
Are you staying late or working on weekends to get...
Just came across this wonderful excerpt from excellent business book “Rework”, I thought I should share. If you are constantly staying late and working on weekends, it’s not because there is too much work to be done. It’s because you’re not getting enough done at work. And the reason is interruptions. You can set up a rule at work that half the day is set aside for alone time. A...
Two life changing advices
I have just finished reading “The Black Swan” from Nassim Nicholas Taleb (NNT). It’s a great book if you have the slightest inclination towards philosophy and understanding meaning of life. Let me warn you, language of the book is quite philosophical and technical at times. You may not understand the book in its entirety but you will get the gist of it. That was the case with me...
Infosys, TCS, or Wipro? (from Susam Pal)
I came across a very good blog post today from Susam Pal titled “Infosys, TCS or Wipro?” http://blog.susam.in/2011/05/infosys-tcs-or-wipro.html A must read for all the students reading my blog. There is also a very good discussion going on “Hacker News” (Don’t tell me you haven’t heard of it!!) http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2628318 Check it out and be part...
Newsletters worth subscribing
I am not a big fan of newsletters coming in emails. I mostly unsubscribe them as soon I receive but recently I am finding few newsletters worth my time. I recommend following 3 newsletters to people who are like me i.e. loves internet, technology and reading. Now I know (Daily) HackerNewsLetter (Weekly) Code Project Insider (Daily)Subscribe them and I guarantee you won’t regret it. Do you...
May 2011
3 posts
Do you really need a software?
Think hard before you make a decision to go for a custom made software.The first question you should ask is “Do you really need a software at all?” If your business can go on without any software, it’s the best case. Get it only after your life becomes miserable without one. Let’s say your life has become miserable without software and you really want to get one. Now ask...
Recommended books for Software Product Management...
My colleague Kuntal wanted to read some books related to software product development and team building. Just to give you a little background, he is heading a team of around 10 super cool developers in our company. His team is building arguably the best product so far developed by us for client. I did some quick “Stack Overflowing” instead of Googling and found two related links....
iPad - Nirvana for Small Businesses?
I can say, I am really lucky to be alive in this era. An era where Apple is dominating the tech world. Love it or hate it, you have to accept, Apple (and Google too) has changed the way we see technology. “Gadgets too can be sleek, smart, stylish and usable now!!”, Apple has proved that. We all are seeing lot of changes around us because of iPhones and iPads (Android, Blackberry are...
April 2011
1 post
Do Flowers Fly?
If you want to know what a school does to a child, check out this video on YouTube: Posted via email from abhishek desai’s posterous | Comment »
March 2011
3 posts
Do you really think you will be considered for a...
Dear Fresh Graduate, Do you really think you will be considered for a job, forget getting a job, when you send your resume to 100 HR emails so that every HR can see other 99 companies you have applied to? Are these companies so cheap that they will jump to get you? If they are, what is the point in joining them? Think what you are doing wrong here. Apply some common sense please. Yours truly, A...
Never say you don't have time...
Never say you don’t have time to accomplish something, always say it is not the priority right now Posted via email from abhishek desai’s posterous | Comment »
Thinking, Process and Philosophy behind the new...
I am really excited to break this news to you all.We launched a new Digicorp website on last Saturday!!! No wait…don’t go and check it out yet. I wanted to say something before you check it out. I wanted to explain thinking, process, philosophy behind it.I did some brainstorming about what we are as a company and where we are heading. Following are some points I came up with. They...
February 2011
2 posts
My digital life!
In my previous article, Paras commented following: “Hi Abhishek, i have been following your blog for quite a while now. i have just one complain: blog frequently please, if possible! The best thing about your blog posts are that they point to some of the best resources that one can leverage. Like in this post you have couple of book titles that prompts reader to try on their own. In your...
A good book for Project / Program Managers
There is a great post on “How to be a program manager” written by author, blogger, entrepreneur and programmer Joel Spolsky. One of the few people I have utmost respect for. The post is excellent and a must read for wanna be Program Manager or Project Manager. But right now I am more interested in the books he has mentioned in it such as “Mythical Man Month” and “How...
December 2010
1 post
How to Get Internship in Software Companies
Computer Science students studying in most Indian Engineering Colleges have to do a project in their last semester. It should be a full time project of around 4 months and students have to do it in some software company. It is also called final semester project or industrial training etc etc. In short they have to build something real in those 4 months for that company. We get lot of requests,...
November 2010
1 post
How to use Basecamp for Project Management? (If...
We have recently started using Basecamp as a project management tool in our company. Before this we had our own project management system which was poorly followed! Well at least I am not afraid to accept that in public :) I personally know Basecamp as a product for quite sometime and have decent understanding of it. But it was not the case with my team so I started teaching them. I am doing it...
September 2010
1 post
This was India from 1947 (Independence) to 1991...
Interventionism (economic)A “mixed economy” is a society in the process of committing suicide. If a nation cannot survive half-slave, half-free, consider the condition of a nation in which every social group becomes both the slave and the enslaver of every other group. Ask yourself how long such a condition can last and what is its inevitable outcome. When government controls are introduced into a...
July 2010
1 post
Difference between a software developer and a good...
What is the difference between a software developer and a good software developer?A good developer: develops software keeping target audience in mind does not get attracted to include unnecessary features which clients may not need now releases often and puts it before client communicates clearly with clients and more often does not bother clients for small decisions, makes decisions for them...
June 2010
2 posts
Less is More. Say NO to Bloated Software.
As a Customized Software Development company, we have to build software as per client’s requirements. It is as simple as that. Due to popularity of Facebook, Twitter and all such Social Networking sites, many of my clients want features like them in their website or application. Now I am a big fan of social networking stuff as you might know but I am not a big fan of having these features...
Photos of World's Cheapest Car "Tata Nano" Factory...
TATA NANO Tata Nanos being built at Tata Motors’ plant for the Tata Nano at Sanand, Gujarat, inaugurated on June 2, 2010 Tata Nanos being built at Tata Motors’ plant for the Tata Nano at Sanand, Gujarat, inaugurated on June 2, 2010 The Assembly Line at Tata Motors’ plant for the Tata Nano at Sanand, Gujarat, inaugurated on June 2, 2010 See and...
May 2010
3 posts
Slow Down!
(I am not aware about the source of this article so don’t know whom to give credit but a nice one, I got it from my bank relationship manager!) “It’s been 18 years since I joined Volvo, a Swedish company. Working for them has proven to be an interesting experience. Any project here takes 2 years to be finalized, even if the idea is simple and brilliant. It’s a rule.”...
Single biggest advantage you may have over your...
Most important lesson for all the Entrepreneurs:Always be available for your customers. As an entrepreneur tough time will always be there for you. Customers will be yelling at you and they will lose confidence in you or your team at some point. This is all part and parcel of the game. But one thing which will keep you adorable always is “If you remain available always!” Yes when your...
Developers: Start Building Your Reputation Now...
A question to all the developers who may read this postHow many of you know stackoverflow.com? If you do not know it yet, it is a real shame because it is the best Q&A site out there in the market where you can get quick answers to your technical questions. Experts and some great developers are sitting there round the clock answering all the questions they can answer. You know why they are...
April 2010
1 post
Your invitation from Abhishek Desai is about to...
LinkedIn
March 2010
2 posts
Reminder about your invitation from Abhishek Desai
LinkedIn
Abhishek Desai wants to stay in touch on LinkedIn
LinkedIn
February 2010
2 posts
Bing iPhone Application Bug
If you are using Bing application for iPhone for searching good things on the internet :) (because of its lenient nature) then beware, clearing the search history from settings might not be good enough. Somebody can still catch your old search terms. Here is how it happens. 1) You clear the search history from settings.2) You get the confirmation. (You think you are done here! but not wait)3)...