Sunday, October 18, 2009

10.6.0

Got the Snow Leopard Upgrade yesterday but was it ferocious! Upgrading through the interface was supposed to be a cakewalk, but what would you do if the DVD is ejected as soon as you put it in the drive?

Well, tried some really weird solutions like changing the internationalization language to simple one's like booting options. Even safe boot, remote install, image burning on another comp failed.

What actually worked was a simple Superdrive lens cleaner through a cleaning CD.

The disk mounted smoothly after that and the install took a little more than an hour. Feels good to see that around 10GB of HDD space was recovered :D .

Haven't really seen an overwhelming change in the look and feel yet. But then it's been just a couple of hours. Performance seems to have improved a bit in terms of speed of applications opening up.

Well, I'll let the leopard prowl silently on the snow for a while and watch the elegance ;-)

Monday, October 12, 2009

2 States

He's back and with a bang.
His latest novel is filled with the characteristic humour that one is used to; it is unputdownable; the characters are extremely real as always and one does gets engrossed completely once you start reading. Yes, Chetan Bhagat is back with his new story: '2 States-The story of my Marriage'
What's different is that, this time the protagonist is an extension of the hero from 5.someone (Another snippet of Chetan's life).
The story is so real that everyone of us would identify with it. You would have definitely seen those things happen to yourself or a friend or a relative for sure.
Chetan's youth oriented themes coated with reality makes the characters so likeable. I am sure, everyone of his books are compared to 5.someone which has become a benchmark of sorts and has inspired dozens of similar themed novels which all but failed to achieve that cult status. Chetan himself is no exception. People have trashed ON@TCC and 3-mistakes as below par, but loyal fans will love 2-states for sure. This one is a must read and recommended!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Long Time No Writing...

Been quite a while since I wrote...and I don't just mean blog posts...
Had an exam today for a part time Law course I joined some time back. The difficult part wasn't studying for the paper; rather it was the actual writing the exam.
The IT world has made us so dependant on computers and the keyboard that most of us have probably forgotten what it feels like to put pen to paper and write non-stop for 2-3 hrs. I realized this today when after the first 20 mins I had to literally put down the pen and flex my hands to let the blood flow before resuming writing. Damn those MCQ's and CBT's!
Apart from that, the actual experience of re-living those academic moments came flooding back into the mind. Students with books and notes in their hands and strolling outside the examination room. The notice board with the seating arrangements. Examination room with your roll no written on the desks. Those uncomfortable seats, the feeling of which disappears as the bell rings for the start of time. The feeling of the smooth answer sheets. The flow of ink on paper as the tip of the pen touches paper and after that there is no stopping. You don't feel anything. The surrounding noise, the room, everything just disappears and you realize that it's time to go.
Felt good after all these years! Surprising, never thought that an exam would be something likeable.

Thursday, January 08, 2009

Ramalinga Raju's (A)Satyam!

Well, the new year has begun and what a way to start the year with. Tremendous news from the corporate world. Chairman of Satyam Computers resigned yesterday following a confession to a fraud of nearly 7000Crores! Come to think of it, it really wasn't all that surprising was it? With the World Bank revelations and the Maytas deal going bust...in hindsight, this seems more like expected news. What is surprising though is the extent to which the roots go and the way the scam has been pulled off over God knows how many years!

Received a scanned, FAX copy of Mr.Raju's resignation letter by mail yesterday. The text of the same is as below.

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To the Board of Directors,

Satyam Computer Services Ltd.

Dear Board Members,

It is with deep regret, at tremendous burden that I am carrying on my conscience, that I would like to bring the following facts to your notice:
The Balance Sheet carries as of September 30, 2008
Inflated (non-existent) cash and bank balances of Rs.5,040 crore (as against Rs. 5361 crore reflected in the books)
An accrued interest of Rs. 376 crore which is non-existent
An understated liability of Rs. 1,230 crore on account of funds arranged by me
An over stated debtors position of Rs. 490 crore (as against Rs. 2651 [cr.] reflected in the books)
For the September quarter (02) we reported a revenue of Rs.2,700 crore and an operating margin of Rs. 649 crore (24% Of revenues) as against the actual revenues of Rs. 2,112 crore and an actual operating margin of Rs. 61 Crore ( 3% of revenues). This has resulted in artificial, cash and bank balances going up by Rs. 588 crore in Q2 alone.
The gap in the Balance Sheet has arisen purely on account of inflated profits over a period of last several years (limited only to Satyam standalone, books of subsidiaries reflecting true performance). What started as a marginal gap between actual operating profit and the one reflected in the books of accounts continued to grow over the years. It has attained unmanageable proportions as the size of company operations grew significantly (annualized revenue run rate of Rs. 11,276 crore in the September quarter, 2008 and official reserves of Rs. 8,392 crore). The differential in the real profits and the one reflected in the books was further accentuated by the fact that the company had to carry additional resources and assets to justify higher level of operations — thereby significantly increasing the costs.
Every attempt made to eliminate the gap failed. As the promoters held a small percentage of equity, the concern was that poor performance would result in a take-over; thereby exposing the gap. It was like riding a tiger, not knowing how to get off without being eaten.
The aborted Maytas acquisition deal was the last attempt to fill the fictitious assets with real ones. Maytas’ investors were convinced that this is a good divestment opportunity and a strategic fit. Once Satyam’s problem was solved, it was hoped that Maytas’ payments can be delayed. But that was not to be. What followed in the last several days is common knowledge.
I would like the Board to know:
1. That neither myself, nor the Managing Director (including our spouses) sold any shares in the last eight years — excepting for a small proportion declared and sold for philanthropic purposes.
2. That in the last two years a net amount of Rs. 1,230 crore was arranged to Satyam (not reflected in the books of Satyam) to keep the operations going by resorting to pledging all the promoter shares and raising funds from known sources by giving all kinds of assurances (Statement enclosed, only to the members of the board). Significant dividend payments, acquisitions, capital expenditure to provide for growth did not help matters. Every attempt was made to keep the wheel moving and to ensure prompt payment of salaries to the associates. The last straw was the selling of most of the pledged share[s] by the lenders on account of margin triggers.
3. That neither me, nor the Managing Director took even one rupee/dollar from the company and have not benefited in financial terms on account of the inflated results.
4. None of the board members, past or present, had any knowledge of the situation in which the company is placed. Even business leaders and senior executives in the company, such as, Ram Mynampati, Subu D, T.R. Anand, Keshab Panda, Virender Agarwal, A.S. Murthy, Han T, SV Krishnan, Vijay Prasad, Manish Mehta, Murali V. Sriram Papani, Kavale, Joe Lagioia, Ravindra Penumetsa, Jayaraman and Prabhakar Gupta are unaware of the real situation as against the books of accounts. None of my or Managing Director’s immediate or extended family members has any idea about these issues.
Having put these facts before you, I leave it to the wisdom of the board to take the matters forward. However, I am also taking the liberty to recommend the following steps:
1. A Task Force has been formed in the last few days to address the situation arising but of the failed Maytas acquisition attempt. This consists of some of the most accomplished leaders of Satyam; Subu D, T.R. Anand, Keshab Panda and Virender Agarwal , representing business functions; and A.S. Murthy, Han T and Murali V representing support functions. I suggest that Ram Mynampàti be made the Chairman of this Task Force to immediately address some of the operational matters on hand. Ram can also act as an interim CEO reporting to the board.
2. Merrill Lynch can be entrusted with the task of quickly exploring some Merger opportunities.
3. You may have a testatement of accounts’ prepared by the auditors in light of the facts that.I have placed before you.

I have promoted and have been associated with Satyam for well over twenty years now I have seen it grow from few people to 53,000 people, with 185 Fortune 500 companies as customers and operations in 66 countries. Satyam has established an excellent leadership and competency base at all levels. I sincerely apologize to all Satyamites and stakeholders, who have made Satyam a special organization, for the current situation. I am confident they will stand by the company in this hour of crisis.

In light of the above, I fervently appeal to the board to hold together to take some important steps Mr T R Prasad is well placed to mobilize support from the government at this crucial time. With the hope that members of the Task Force arid the financial advisor, Merrill Lynch (now Bank of America) will stand by the company at this crucial hour, I am marking copies of this statement to them as well.

Under the circumstances, I am tendering my resignation as the chairman of Satyam and shall continue in this position only till such time the current board is expanded. My continuance is just to ensure enhancement of the board over the next several days or as early as possible.

I am now prepared to subject myself to the laws of the land and face consequences thereof.
(B. Ramalinga Raju)

Copies marked to:

1. Chairman SEBI

2. Stock Exchanges

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