I look back at 2009 ...

Jan – New Year 2009 celebration was with my family at Tirupati joining my hands saying out prays… At that moment as I remember, I had nothing to ask but had received a lot so it was a Thanks giving prayer.

The year began with me working on a Project for ILO. I had made a come-back in Java development. This project was challenging and we were very close to deadline and used to reach home late night.

Feb – From this tight scheduled project my Manager approved my leave to attend Sun Tech days. That was my first visit to Tech city Hyderabad. Words are less to describe my lovely experience at this Charminarwala city.

March – We finally met the deadline of our project and there comes my appreciation letter from our client ILO for my security complying coding.

April – Got promoted as a Framework Architect. As a young developer I had many innovative ideas which were just budding in my minds, but this role gave me an opportunity to get these idea’s implemented. Working for this project in a new role was an amazing experience and that is where I had started taking baby steps in Web Application Security.

May –I attended “Security Testing Conference” as it appealed to my interest, where I met IBM AppScan Rational software Asia’s marketing head Randeep Chhabra. I learnt from this gentleman about IBM as an Organization. At my personal front my dad had decided to resign from his company where he served for 25 years and join us back in Pune from Delhi.

June – This month was like an offer season for my family. I got an offer to join IBM – Bangalore, my dad got the offer to join OIA and my sister had 3 offers in hand from Wipro, SONE, Avaya.

July – Mid year my family members and I were faced with a tough decision to move on in different directions to achieve career goals. Wasn’t easy for any one of us but it was per destined. I moved to Bangalore, Dad moved Ethiopia and sister stayed put with mom in Pune.

Taking the decision of relocating to Bangalore was easy but when I was packing my stuff, emptying my wardrobe, beautiful memories of pune flooded in my mind. Saying goodby to friends, relatives, family and Pune as a city was painful.

Aug – I was in my native place. My relatives, friends and cousins welcomed me with open arms. Joined project O2 UK and was made a proud member of eBPP. This was my first step in telecom domain. I organized the Bangalore tweetup and I met some really amazing people.

Sep – Settling in Bangalore was not an issue as I knew its local language and I had my relatives to take care of me. Every night before my eyes closed I had tears in my eyes … this soul was missing her family and the lovely place where she grew up as a kid, did her schooling and graduation, worked and built up some amazing relationships with many punekars. Professionally was growing more of as an IBMer. Attended IBM Rational software conference.

Oct – Learnt that this city is tech city by heart. I met many active user groups organizers and used to spend weekends in UG’s meetups and how to forget the funny part. I once told my uncle that I have never seen a Kannadiga’s marriage, and that’s it… Atleast once in 2 weeks I was there in a traditional outfit smiling at people at some1s marriage. At work I was in a Knowledge Transformation phase and there I got an opportunity to be Speaker at IBM developerWorks un-conference.

Nov – This month was where I had many crushes. First on Cloud computing, Web Services, SOA and finally Android. Being at IBM the plus point was I had opportunity to work in all these fields, but I had to make a pick. My dad one evening on a phone call just expressed “It’s my dream to have a home in Bangalore”.

Dec – My dad’s wish was somewhere echoing in my head and heart. Quote’s are always true “If U have a will and wish u always find a way” I found my way and fulfilled my dad’s wish “Finally I bought a 2 BHK flat of my own at Bannerghatta” which is 6 Km from my office. My year couldn’t have ended with more than this; I got an opportunity to be a part of IBM’s first GBS project on Android.

No one could have ever predicted my 2009 to be like this, so I believe that future is in our hands. We have to work towards it. Its not that I had a smooth and peaceful year. I did face lot of ups and downs but what I remember is the best that happened to me…this is how I have decided to live 2010 too.

I repeat…. I am living to witness miracles.

Rational Software Conference 09 - Day 2

Martin Nally addressed the audience about how to improve Software Economy & achieve agility at scale:

Introduced 2 framework to achieve the above

> RCA (Report Collaborate Automate) to complete the project 1 month early.

It is very much needed that the requirements are well defined

> MCIF (Measured Capability Improvement Framework) best practice for SDLC which tells us how to isolate the activities.

He adds that Software economy is balancing risk & opportunity

Neeraj Chandra:- Smart Product for Smart Planet

He started off his presentation with a saying “You can’t cut the way to success”

Innovation is more about solving a problem on ground reality and reducing complexity. Recession is a curse & this IT down turn will end and then we need to take up this opportunity. Future will see Smarter products like

Mobile Computing, Smart Transport, health care, energy & aero-scope. A products major failure is most of the time the embedded software. Concludes by saying that “Rational Software’s are Smart product existing in this yet to be - Smart Planet”

Session on Mashups: Defined as :-Lightweight web application created by combined contents from different app with some new insight. Eg being igoogle and Google Map. Helps in building Enterprise. WebTop is the first mashup application.

Best Practice in Mashup Application is to know what to combine & how to combine

WebSphere feature pack & RAD for Web 2.0 Application Development: This feature has SOA for web 2.0 + Ajax Messaging & Ajax Development feature, DOJO toolkit 1.0 to avoid browser behave differently.

• Support 3 tire architecture,
• JavaScript developer Editor
• JavaScript debugging – Firebug
• Eclipse integration in RAD
• DOJO project setup
• GWT integration not possible
• Exploring EJB as a REST is easy by just configuring it in RAD
• WebSphere feature can be used in Eclipse

John Burroughs on Web Security tool AppScan:

Security is recession proof. When market was down security went up. We see 75% Application attacks & 25% network attack. The latest version of Appscan can scan across SOA, DOJO & Flash application. We see only 20% of OS attacks and Web App attacks are 55%. SQL Injection is the No1 vulnerability. AppScan is

the tool which can detect vulnerability at production, build, development phase.

Ø AppScan coding test is integrated at IDE and supports all IDE’s

Ø AppScan for development level editing is a plug-in

Ø They acquired Ounce Labs so that they could do white box testing after which the next version of AppScan released in Oct 08 had code analysis tool.

2009 RoadMap

* Join ISS initiative

* AppScan ISS site Protector

* Solving Enterprise Security Challenge

* Jazz security Software delivery platform

Phase of Security Vulnerability: Coding, Build, QA Testing & Product

Stealing data & gaining popularity amongst pears are the major reason for cyber crime.

Growth in Complexity & Web 2.0 has made security more needed the solution to fight against would be to train the developers in security and more investment in security.

After those 2 days of lab & session packed knowledge bag made me feel proud of being an IBMer and believe that Rational tools need to be more in-use to get agility in place from real world to SDLC.

Rational Software Conference 09 - Day 1

Tools can make SDLC agile and economic, IBM Rational Software are the major players. Rational software Conference 09 witnessed 5000 registration for 2 days held at Leela palace on 13^th – 14^th Aug 09.

Steve Robinson - Real Insights, Real Results: Introduced the contribution of JAZZ an open source forum. He says if all project follow CAR (Collaborate – Automate – Report) framework they will be agile & scaleable

Heyden Lindsey – Driving innovation today: Rational innovation is Smart planet & smarter products. Success with innovation in any project can be achieved by understanding business goals then looking for collection of frameworks & available tools, knowing how to deploy them and lastly selecting meaningful matrix to measuring the performance.

We see lots of software innovations in the area of Electronics, Automation & Aerospace. Cloud computing has 2 sides - on cloud service and service for cloud

On cloud service is where software’s are installed in the cloud and many can access it.

Service for cloud is when a operation is exposed as a service.

Grady Booch – S/W a key to Smart Planet : UML author started with an example, A software which could before hand predict Cyclone or Katrina which will occur. We need technology to change, want it to be a bit smarter which could store huge data, share data and have competency in market.

Lab on Rhapsody 7.5: A tool which will translate UML model language to code.

Lab1: Hello world program by drawing a Class diagrams and writing only 1 line of code.

Lab 2: Build a stop watch

It’s a Model – Driven & UML development

Enables design level debugging having benefit of product & quality

Rational software Architecture is used to build Java based web application from a UML

Lab on AppScan 7.1: A tool to test Web Application Security.

OWASP reports SQL & XSS Injection the highest level of attacks

Lab 1: Hacking cookies information

Lab 2: SQL Injection

Lab 3: XSS Injection

It exposes the security vulnerabilities on URL basis, gives recommendations to resolve.

Session on JCAP: Java code Analyze Program

Developers can automatically inspect their Java source code and improve their Java programming skills as they write their programs via JCAP. It provides descriptive Java patterns explaining error prone code constructs and providing solutions for it.

It checks:

• conformance to coding standards,
• misuse of the Java language,
• best practice conformance
• code structure and
• potential bugs at the earliest stages of development.

Session on Ration Clear Case Remote Client 7.1: A software configuration management tool. Has atomic commit, scheduler for build and an option to pick the version of the file. Can share a branch, has bulk checking & checkout option, view update, find merge, new project changes, cross project changes,

Build type: - triggered, scheduled, nightly and build-forge

Give us work from home option, disconnected, can be used in LAN environment, supports web view, notification when the view is updated.

Day 2: Upcoming post....

What we wish in our lives is only true with the Keyboard

1. When we look at our past, we think it could have been much better, we wish there was 'undo (ctrl + Z)' in life!

2. We miss many things in our life and then we wish there was 'find tool (ctrl+F)' in life!

3. At times we mess up our relationship with others, we wish there was 'rebuild all' in life!

4. The conference room is full packed and you cannot get anywhere near that celebrity at the other end, we wish there was 'zoom & view full screen'in life!

5. We love someone and then we marry get married and later at a stage a realization that there is bound to be a mismatch, we wish there was a valuation period' or atleast a 'sample download' or a 'demo version'!

6. We get up early in the morning and see a pimple on the face, we wish there was 'cut and paste (ctrl + X)/ (ctrl + C)' in life!

And the best one is ..........

7. The best part of the keyboard is U & I are together which is not always there in life......

Why should I Live...

This is an answer to a question “Why should I live ?”

This is an answer to a question “Why do u live ?”

This is an answer to everyone’s beautiful living

This is an answer to every breath that we take.

Live for what you are yet to receive

Live for the friends you will get

Live for the jokes you still wait to hear

Live for the beautiful travels you are still to make

Live for everything you are not sure about, as it will still challenge your being

Life for tomorrow’s sunrise

Live for the gifts you are yet to receive

Live for the riddles you haven’t yet solved

Live for all your unanswered questions

Live for all your lost battles, as they are your precious lessons

Live for your enemies, as they are there to give birth to you forgiveness

Live for all the ambitious goals you’ve set

Live for the smiles you get every day

Live for the smiles you give every day

Live for all the great ideas you will have tomorrow

Live for tomorrow’s surprises

Live for all the nice words you haven’t yet said to your loved ones

Live for all the books you haven’t yet read

Live for all the unborn challenges you still have to face

Live for all the stories you haven’t yet heard, written or imagined

Live for all your unfulfilled dreams

Live for every single second, as this is all you have, only this infinite second

I am living my life to witness miracles…

Upcoming Events : Headstart Summer and Pune Blog Camp 2009

Headstart Summer 2009

Headstart Summer is coming up on 20th June @ Nehru Center Mumbai. The event would bring together entrepreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs, Startups and professionals all under one roof along with industry leaders, VC's and experts.

Headstart features two separate threads: Exhibition and Conference.

* The exhibition thread will have an exhibition of 20 finalist startups from all over the country.

* The conference thread will have startup showcases, workshops and interactive panel discussions.

The conference thread will see the following ensemble of events:

1. Startup Showcase: The greatest learning for an entrepreneur is to learn from another entrepreneur's story. This will have three-way interaction between a startup, a panel of experts and the audience
2. Workshops: There is nothing like hands-on learning with an expert who can hand-hold you through the process. We shall see hands-on workshops on "Making One-Pager Business Plans" and "Early Stage Funding" by some of the Industry's leading people.
3. Interview with an entrepreneur: The last session will be an interaction with a leading entrepreneurial corporate figure who has made it BIG.

What to expect?

• 20 startup finalists - all going to the demo-pit
• 9 startups presenting themselves on stage
• Interaction with industry leaders, angels and early stage investors
• 100 investors, corporates, partners, organizers
• 150 startups, techies, entrepreneurs

For reference: http://network.headstart.in/projects/headstart2009/project-home

Pune Blog Camp 2

After 2 hugely successful blogcamps, BlogCampPune and BlogCampMumbaiStyle and a gap of 2 years Pune Blogger’s are back with the 2nd edition of BlogCampPune.

BlogCampPune is a FREE unconference focusing exclusively on blogging, organized by bloggers for bloggers. It‘s built upon t

he principles of the famous BarCamp (ad-hoc unconference) focused on sharing, learning and new ideas. This is going to be an intense event with discussions, demos and interaction between attendees.

Date: 27th June 2009

Time: 10:00AM to 5:00PM

Venue: SICSR (Symbiosis) 7th Floor Atur Center, Gokhale Cross Road, Model Colony Pu

ne Near the OM Super Market

So Pune blogger’s come and be a part of this event, where blogger’s are gonna share their thoughts on:

Why we blog, Way’s to make your blog popular, Web 3.0, blog for earning money and a best marketing tool.

And many more exciting and adventures topics revolving around the blogosphere.

Register at : http://blogcamppune.eventbrite.com/

Pass on the word to each and every blogger and also to people who wish to be a part of blogosphere but don’t know where and how to start.

**** "I Started Blogging after I attend the First edition of PuneBlogCamp, and I am sure many will have such stories to share after attendign the Second Editon where Pune is gonna Rock".****

Foster's party at Blue, Solaris Club

Kingfisher ruled Indian beer goers throughout the late eighties. Nineties, too, started with a bang for the makers of Kingfisher beer. And then there came a rival that divided the Kingfisher market.

FOSTER'S India Ltd, makers of Foster's beer.

"Foster's is the world's 7th largest international beer brand, but to date has been under-represented in India". Foster's, a leading Australian brand, has six per cent market in the mild beer India market.

What does this call for – Good Marketing strategy?

Foster's, which started operations in India in 1998, is rolling out a new initiative to emphasis the quality of its beer, apart from this they also believe "If we r the best lets show it".

Thus to promote their brand in Pune, they had organized a invite-only poolside party at Blue, Club Solaris, Koregoan park on 7th June 2009, Sunday at 12:30 PM.

I was invited by IndiBlogger along with some of known and popular Pune blogger’s to be a part of this event.

My camera has brought back some of the action !

Foster's Party had astonishing music by a famous DJ,

free Foster beer, models & media celebrities who sizzled around the Blue swimming pool.

Forget swimming and keeping fit. Your average pool can be your pond of fun, just like what we have here.

The party was a 'splashing success' with some models and celebrities hitting the venue to cool off.

Today, Foster's Lager is one of the fastest growing, truly global beer brands, available in more than 150 countries.

* Do you’ll still have a Question for me “U being a part of UB Group and a Non-Boozer

what were u doing at Foster’s Party?”.