Get an Android phone, install apps for internet radio.. like Pandora, TuneIn radio, spotify etc.,
On some services like Pandora (my fav) you can create an account and filter genre's of music and save. you can click on a genre, and you hear streaming-audio, non-stop random music (of your genre) that keeps playing forever. Assuming, you go on a long drive, have charged your phone, and have an unlimited internet data plan, you are all set. Don't buy that iPhone and pay for music on iTunes.. unless you want to limit yourself to a particular sub-set of music.

In my opinion: If you get to limited music through purchases, you should actually not be bothered about marketing phrases like "1 billion songs to choose from".. because you are not going to be able to buy all of that.

Yes, internet free radio won't play new music very often since they pay a broadcasting fee to the creator. but they do play new music sometimes.

And ah! there will be ads in between music playlists.. and also onscreen popup ads, to make up for the money the radio loses when you hear it for free. But I think its very tolerable ad-time compared to FM radio.

And here's a good graphic on comparison between Spotify and Pandora. The comparison though seems to be outdated on the cost part.. because my Spotify is free only for 3 days... unlike what the graphic mentions.
http://www.themusicvoid.com/2013/02/spotify-vs-pandora-which-is-better/

Because of the perspective, the Metro UI and the way windows UI is redesigned, in Windows 8, the basic stuff you are used to doing is difficult in Windows 8. If you are reading this blog for such a thing, don't be worried, I once had to google to understand how to open the box in which Windows Vista DVDs were shipped.. it was a complex design for a DVD box.

Method 1:

Go to Command Prompt in Administrator mode, type LUSRMGR.MSC (small case) / COMPMGMT.MSC (small case)

Local user management or Computer management snap-ins

On windows 8, to open command prompt, move your mouse pointer over to the top right edge of the screen (as if you are pushing it outside the screen.. if you have dual monitors you have to probably push to the top right edge of the other monitor)

click on search icon, type cmd, you see a tile, right click on it, add it to startup (so you dont have to search for it next time).. right click on tile and 'open as administrator'

type lusrmgr.msc

This will open up the local users manager console.. and if you have windows 8 professional or ultimate editions you will be able to use it to add, manage users and groups.

Method 2:
If you are using Home premium edition... like me, lusrmgr.msc will not be available for use.

press 'windows' key to shift to normal windows ui ... the abnormal one is the metro UI :)

press 'windows' key + d to see the desktop.. right click here and click 'personalize'

aha.. now you see the control panel.. open user accounts from it.. and you want to manage users now.

note: while doing any of this, if you dont see something that is mentioned here.. it means your windows 8 is protecting the administrator account and it is disabled.. to enable it type below command in a command prompt windows opened with 'run as administrator' mode

net user administrator /active:yes

Now. once on controlpanel > user accounts with Administrator account activated, you will see your user accounts, and a hidden 'administrator' account also will be visible.

By default, since this account is hidden and disabled, windows doesn't have a password set for it.. this could be a problem in future when you have a virus on this hole, so lets plug it.. click on it and set a password to it.. no password rules so set something you will remember and easy.

next up, add users you need,.. all will be added by default as 'local user'.
Now adding a user also is something new now. As proof of Microsoft's worry about google and chrome i guess, they have now a choice 'add a user with microsoft account' or 'add a user with local account'.. the former simply being a user with a microsoft passport identity.. like a hotmail account.

I added a 'local account' user.. and on the control panel > user accounts, modified the user's account type to 'Administrator'

Reliance, keeps a low entry cost and quick welcome package delivery. but ensures the exit cost is high, and slow.

If you are taking their service, at the same moment, they will allow you test the connection and take you smoothly to your purchase transaction on the day of the signup. They will give you welcome offers like 100 rupees discount every month for 12 months and all.

Once you have signed up.. they will jack up the service tax cost from first month.. then they will wait till your first year is over and they will see if they can convince you from continuing the service paying higher. if you look like leaving already, they will continue the offer for another year, but they will ensure you are pained in the process and atleast pay one month in higher charges.

When you have used for a few years and try to cancel.. they will give you a cancellation process.. which is the exit process.. which is slow and costly. Even if you cancel on first week of a month.. they will charge you for the whole month.. even though they suspend the account in 7 days as they claim. They will say this is the process and we can't help you and all that.. since you have signed an agreement (usually without reading) saying you will abide by almost any process reliance will decide on the services.

In India, the definition of a good manager, more lies with being an old, wise Guy.. and not doing the above 2 didn't make a considerable difference.

In the US, they both are considered the minimum requirements to call yourself part of management in atleast the software and services industry. Validating skills with certifications, or having a considerable amount of testimonials from customers and collegues on your linked in, what I come to understand, are basic determinants of validating your managerial skills. Of course, it helps get jobs may be.. but more than that, it helps your customers respect you.

All customer contacts or foreigners seem to google your name and research about you, if they want to be convinced you can manage their work.

I am reading Rita Mulcahy's PMP exam prep.. a wonderful book for any manager.. though it is fully written in context of the examination. Rita Mulcahy passed away due to cancer in 2011 having grown this book from a first edition to its 6th... and is considered one of the stars of globally known celebrity Project managers.

Speaker: Nirmalya Kumar

This was interesting because I shared almost all the negative opinion he brought out about India, as Myths.

He brings in an interesting concept of 'Invisible innovation'.. I could relate to seeing this innovation but still thinking this is not innovation.

The speaker also stressed on some notable quotes by people.. which were very interesting.. one was: "The idea against Free market in the US, is wrong.. because, it assumes that all the innovation that is needed is already invented and there is nothing else to innovate"

Open chrome browser,
Goto google.com..
you should see a microphone icon on the search input text box.
click on that microphone and speak what you want to search for.
as soon as you stop speaking google chrome recognizes your speech and if it can fetch results already it will show results page.

Thanks to Amit Agarwal of labnol.org for the help.. Amit: You have a very professional nice blog.. i initially misunderstood labnol.org to be a 3rd party site on which you have written one Article. :)

So far:
Ubuntu is 3 times faster on the internet.. my at&t connection used to be just 300kb/s max with a new windows 7 laptop. On my ubuntu laptop (which is 10+ yrs older .. years) does 1.5 mb/s.
ok, may be I didn't use or tune my window properly and saying that.. but to me, that's the idea.. the OS should know better to manage resources.. *important* to manage available resources.. windows always expects better resources.. more harddisk, more RAM like that.. in my experience

My Aptana and Java are finally 'running....'
I never ever was able to run Java or Aptana (java-based IDE) on any windows laptop.. new, old, xp, vista, 7.. whatever.. but on ubuntu, with an old laptop, my aptana and java are running like visual studio on a windows machine.

Discovery had a show today saying how recently some biologists and Genticists successfully created a fully artificially coded DNA - pushed it into a living cell - which replaced its original DNA and reproduced.. it was like thinking i read a science fiction novel and the next day watching a show which says it is proven possible..

good coincidence.

I have started believing Genetics, Programming, Biology are going to be inter-linked.. and going to seriously consider learning towards being a research programmer.. inspired, motivated.. may not be able to sleep today. feel like hitting some people. argggh.. nobody around.

Only thing was many things that were carried with surprise till the end of the novel.. were left incomplete for the second part of the novel releasing sometime this month... I had a hungry-puppy face at that spot of the last page of the book that it was incomplete .. though I was not surprised since have read some short stories of Archer and they all almost have surprises towards the end which you couldn't guess.

More shocking.. it is part of a 5 volume novel.. [more puppy face].

Only Time Will Tell is a first part of the five in Clifton Chronicles by Jeffrey Archer. The book was released worldwide in 2011. It was launched by Jeffrey Archer himself at Bangalore, India in March 2011, as the beginning of a global book tour.

Anna Hazare, who leads the protest, with all his strength and faith has achieved something...

I don't know whether this is the same with everyone, but at least for me, he has proved the Gandhian way is still something that works even in 2011.

And the recent reactions by some Indian politicians does seem to prove... majority of politicians in India want to see the country developed and corruption free... just like the rest of us. I always thought not more than a handful of them would want that for India.

Unfortunate for all the good politicians, we are stuck with the British colonization style of laws and government model, which were forced on us by the British to keep us weak... and changing a truck load of all that (importantly how government offices should work) is taking time.

I always believed current generation of Indians will bring in change, and the old-modellish generations will be replaced with the newer generation people, and India will have its day.

But, the change is already here. And the old generation of people seem to want it as much as the new ones. Probably everyone was waiting for a revolution.. very true there is always a time things happen. It is now.

Anna and the Lokpal.. just a beginning of things to come?

What are your thoughts?

On a side note: Sony pix played the film 'Gandhi' today.. to go with the timing of Anna Hazare's protest and recent developments I think, and the film which all these days looked only like a history film, today felt very different.

Later when learning about his involvement with Nehru, the constitution, and all, I got to understand he was actually a North-Indian, but his actions made him a celebrity around India... especially the idealogies of uplifting lower class by caste quota in education and employment policies... called "Reservation".. what is one of the chiefly argued topics even today.

I am still strangely surprised that there has been a person who is celebrated all around the country, and he never got something sort of a media attention or publicity... but only became a celebrity, due to fondness because of his thoughts and actions helping people later. Sir.Ambedkar seems to have had an interesting amount of Futuristic vision in law and political thought.

Even today, if somebody threw a stone on an Ambedkar statue there will be a riot. And people raise statues for him without thinking twice that he was not one of them or one of their caste.. etc., How is that?