White Magic

Apple introduced their Intel based imacs and powerbooks today at the Macworld Expo.....6 months ahead of schedule. How the hell does Steve Jobs pull it off, time and time again? We design hi-tech products at SGI too, but this chip I am working on was supposed to ship on Nov 05, then slipped to Jan 06, and has now again slipped to March 06, and Im not even sure it will tape-out in March. I might be comparing apple(s) and oranges here-pun intended, but the industry is similar. While this probably explains why SGI has been in penny stock for almost a year, and got delisted from the NYSE, whereas Apple doubled its stock price in the last 3 months(from ~$40 to ~$80), I still know how easy it is for shipping dates to slip in this industry. Steve Jobs has a plan and his folks at Cupertino are all fired up.
iPod sales tripled this holiday season, compared to the last, iTunes sales is fast reaching a billion songs, and imac and ibook/powerbook sales have never been higher. Currently, Apple is the place to be, for a tech-worker like me. And, I so should have bought Apple shares at $45 3 months ago. I still know I should buy it now at $80, since I think it has potential to go upto $150, if not more. So people, if you have the money, I suggest you go for it.
Apple and Google are going to rule the world(atleast for the next few years). They are tommorrow's Microsoft and Yahoo.
Apple stunned the world a few months ago, with the introduction of the Nano, quickly followed by the iPod video and the iMac G5 with FrontRow. 3 amazing products released one after the other, right in time for the holiday season. iPod owners, are almost angry with the pace at which Apple churns out newer versions of the product. You buy an iPod now, and in 3 months, it will be "so last year". While some are angry, I for one, am personally awestruck by the pace of development at Apple, and admire them, and applaud them for the challenge they pose to their competition.
Apple Gear to crave for:
1) Ipod Video the 60 gb one, since it boasts 20hrs of music playback-6hrs more than the 30gb version. Video playback (a meagre 2hrs) leaves something to be desired, however. I also love the fact that it has composite out, so you can watch movies on tv. But I am going to wait for a version with a radio tuner/transmitter, bluetooth, and higher playback time, and I dont think I'll have to wait for long. Hopefully my 3rd gen holds out till then.
2) Imac (G5/Intel) - have u seen a cooler desktop. Unbeleivable design, all behind the screen, with a built in isight camera, wireless, and a remote. Arguably one of Apple's best products ever. Great Price too
3) Mac Book Pro - Intel Dual Core processor, supposedly 4-5 times faster on the spec_int and spec_fp benchmarks. Also has iSight built-in. A little pricey, and I would love to know their battery time, knowing how notoriously power hungry Intel processors are, and considering Apple has suspiciously not mentioned this anywhere on their spec sheet/site. I will however wait for a smaller, lighter laptop, with Intel Inside, since I love my 12" ibooks size, mobility and battery power(4-6hrs depending on apps).

The Crazy World of Formula One

McLaren just signed Alonso for 2007 ??!!?? Alonso is a great driver, but
you already have Montoya and Kimi, and thats two of the most talented
young drivers in the sport. What could possibly be wrong with Ron
Dennis, you may think? Kimi and Montoya have every reason to be really
pissed off. But Dennis might have a reason here, in blaming them for not
winning either of the 2005 championships. Neither of the two is
mentally strong enough to sustain at the highest level in this sport.
Kimi might, but he is quite the alcoholic, been on binge-drinking bouts,
and has been bounced out of a bar a couple of times(eventually showed up
late for work, obv). Not quite the cool Finn he appears to be, huh? He has some
growing up to do. And Montoya is just crazy and I hate him. I think he
is just plain stupid, and has the IQ of 3 month old donkey. And Alonso
managed to ward off the two McLarens although he didnt have as good a
car, for the 2nd half of last season. He did show that he was
level-headed, and won the championship. But I hear Flavio Briatore is
very pissed, since Alonso forgot to tell him, and he had to hear it
from the McLaren PRNewswire. That makes Dennis a very happy man (I hear they are sworn enemies).
I've heard rumors all of last year about Kimi succeeding Schumi at
Ferrari. But when thats going to happen is really an unknown. I think
Schumi still has atleast a couple of years left in him. And Felipe Massa
only has a 2006 contract with Ferrari. So what would be really
interesting, is if Ferrari has enough money to pay Kimi to drive
alongside Schumi in 2007. Now that would be a matchup, wouldnt it
(although there are rumors of Kimi in talks with Toyota. Also, Schumi's
contract expires with the 2006 season, and might leave Ferrari, if their
car does not perform. Lets keep our fingers crossed and hope we see some
real action in 2007 (hopefully Ferrari's new V8 will be upto speed by
then). Also 2007 will have a single tyre manufacturer, so that will
bring the drivers closer on the circuit. Maybe 2007 will be the year of
the drivers, and not so much the technology.
Narain Karthikeyan has no seat for 2006. Purportedly, he is trying to
pay Williams into making him their 4th test driver(give him a break,
he's an Indian after all....he's also a distant relative, but lets not
get into that). Wonder how much difference that would make.
Another matchup Im interested in is Button vs. Barichello. We'll get to
see what Button is really made of.
And Im keen on the new qualifying format. It will make a pretty
television show, I would say, but it would drive the cameramen nuts.
If the season plays out well for the first couple of months, I might
show up at Indy(boy, am I glad I decided not to go last year).

wtf is wishmad?

Well, I came up with that name in 10 seconds.....had no patience, really to think of a good name.....but in retrospect, im beginning to like it. lots of people call me wish(my gf included). I attended grad school at WISc-MAD(Univ. of Wisconsin-MADison). My undergraduate life was in MADras. I crazy about both cities and they are MAD towns. I was in a MAD mood when i started this blog. So there you go..... WISHMAD.

In my Numero Uno blog, i said that i didn't want anyone to read my blog. And here I am, explaining to readers, why I named my blog wishmad. So this makes my first blog total bullshit. I was crapping. Not that you should expect any of my other blogs to contain anything better than bullshit or crap........I should stop saying shit and go to sleep, right now.

Numero Uno

Source: Sandhya's Orkut Scrapbook (not bad, eh)

Vishnu: hey i like ur blogs.....maybe i shud start one too..the whole world seems to be doing it..altho i have no clue wat id write abt....not that im much of a writer either...it would be dumb and boring and would have no trace of any wit...but wtf, who cares, nobody has to read it....maybe this scrap should be my first blog....lets c if it materializes.....knowing me...probably not