O'Reilly is one word that one can almost expect to hear in response to any question on computers, languages and obscure technologies, just as we now are used to the all obvious answer, "google it! n00b!".

Tim O'Reilly is the personality behind that phenomenon that saw thousands of manuals, books, guides, how-to's, reports on every possible title being printed and reached to the hands of those who wanted to learn them.

Wired ran a very interesting behind the facade profile of this great man.

His own Blog has many interesting study material

Here, he expresses his views on piracy and P2P networks.

His views are fresh, frank and authoritative.

Jagan.

Oh, this piece of News would have been much Blogged, but yet, it should not be forgotten that this great Soul of India, Vardhan Kabra, a graduate of IIM- A who has opted to start a novel School in India instead of chasing Greenbacks, WILL BE FORGOTTEN in a few days, months and years, While we will be busy showering praises on Tendulkar and Arundhati Roy.! Such is fate. Read from Source

This week, two Opinions share the honour of being Open and True:

1. Farrukh Saleem's 'Time to Strike a Deal is Now'

Time is on India’s side. Economic disparity between India and Pakistan is going to be much greater a few years down the road than it is today. India’s military-strategic superiority is going to be much greater a few years down the road than it is today. Using America’s leverage in the interest of Pakistan may be possible now it surely won’t be a few years down the road. The overall power-gap is going to be much wider a few years down the road than it is today. Our negotiating position, with the passage of time, is bound to weaken not strengthen. Time to strike a deal with India is now.

Equally fraught with danger is the mushy sentimentalism that seems to accompany Vajpayee's bid to effect a rapprochement with Pakistan. What the prime minister does or does not achieve during his visit to Islamabad is important. However, it is monstrously stupid to imagine that a neighbour whose existence is premised on unwavering hostility to India and its civilisation is going to have an overnight change of heart. Indians may believe that the future of South Asia will be built on economics and the establishment of a South Asia free trade regime is a step in that direction. But in Pakistan where jihad is a motivating force, this is a minority view that is not shared by the divergent custodians of the Islamic state. There is a naive Indian view that those across the border are just like us. This may have been true a century ago but the past 50 years has witnessed a revolutionary change in the mindset of Pakistan.

Vajpayee was right to alert the country of this formidable obstacle before he left for Islamabad. Unfortunately, the warning was drowned in another burst of irrational exuberance. Of course Vajpayee was right to interact with General Musharraf and other important Pakistani decision-makers. Anything else would have been plain discourteous and unbecoming of a leader of his stature. Of course he shouldn 't miss out on an important opportunity to engage with the Pakistani establishment. Such moves would not only be courteous but pragmatic. But to believe that the exchange of pleasantries will bring down the level of terrorism is to tempt fate. Pakistan is a signatory to most of the international agreements against terrorism. Has that made the slightest difference to how the Pakistani state operates on the ground?

The Land of Goddesses of Wealth, Power and Education, India is now a proud host to Five Women Chief Ministers. While participation of the farer sex is not upto the mark in grassroot levels of politics, the recent election witnessed the truth that in India, Sex is not a barrier to politics. Beling a women has many disadvantages, but the picture that Indian traditional society is somehow biased against women just received a huge blow.
Regal formal Diva, Jayalalithaa in Tamil Nadu, The meek and homely, rustic Rabri Devi in Bihar and now, Motherly Shila Dixit in Delhi, the Sanyassin Uma Bharati in Madhya Pradesh, and the Royal Vasundhara Raje of Scindia family in Rajasthan: Five women of different hues, all in power. India is getting into good hands, don't you agree?

In a hugely Significant move, which was not given due recognition in our Press, India has decided to invest both Money and Expertise in Galileo, the European Union's answer to US Defense Department run Global Positioning System. The Galileo Satellite Navigation System will be essential in the coming era of interconnected and geographically positioned electronic elements everywhere, from cars to remote aerial vehicles used for monitoring and tracking huge herds of domestic animals!

India, instead of buying services of such satellites at a later stage or trying to launch independent indegenous versions, has wisely and timely decided to forge a partnership with the EU initiative. The joint statement by India and EU mentioned 'India's EQUITABLE PARTICIPATION in the Galileo programme'. The Key is 'equitable', else it would have been just another service provider-customer relationship. Kudos.

EU Business Directory Article Link

An exploring article which seems to make understanding the US-EU growing distance, simple and straightforward caught my eye as the Author explains the differences in American and European outlooks on Democracy, Human Utopia and a staggy explaination of France-German behavior in opposing US war in Iraq, he makes a point that US should try to push India or Japan into the Security Council, for its own sake, as a counterweight to the EU. He puts down this sentence which dignified, justified the whole rest of his article and qualified it as 'nicely written' opinion from me.

The permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, for example, should include India and Japan, countries that by all measures of population, economic power, and military potential warrant parity with current permanent member France.

Vir Sanghvi drives home the point that We are all alone in our moralistic and righteous struggle against Pakistan. US has its own interests to mind and presently, it cannot afford to antogonise Pakistan, for such a move would jeopadize all its 'war on terror' moves. Therefore US is willing to sacrifice the goat of Kashmir at the altar of Musharaff, to applease this demigod and to win his all too mighty help to keep Taliban under control in Afghanistan and to keep chasing Osama around. Vir Sanghvi spells the all too obvious, but he narrates the facts to drive home the point that even though India might enjoy growing better relations with the US, it would not be of any significance in our lonely battle. We have to do the job ourselves of defeating Fascism, Terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism in our part of the world

Time reports on a surprise development: US's first Indian-American Governor might become an reality soon. Bobby Jindal of the Republican party is fighting hard for the Louisiana's Governor seat. As the population of Indian Americans grows more richer, more visible and much more politically aware, we shall be seeing more Indian Americans seeking to cash on their other successes in the American society Full Story Here, or Just read more for the whole article mirrored here.

AT the UN, Vajpayee called Musharaff's speech earlier as 'Blackmail', the very words I used to describe Musharaff's diatribe. Great Minds THink alike... isn't it?? well, not really. The thing is that it was really a blackmail which Musharaff indulged in and any baby can tell that!
All Media are going Hogohoga over our PM's speech. It was a fitting reply and a nose-cut to the General who forgot his 'aukat' or real place. Becoming a leader through a coup is not the same as getting elected to the highest post of the world's largest Democracy. Musharaff must be realising that!