The Other Sun

Hi, All!

During my first week here at the University, I did myself a huge favour by signing up with the Computer Society. I thus got the opportunity to attend several interesting seminars on a variety of tech topics and interact with different people in different capacities. But I was most pleased about the prospect of a visit to the main UK campus of Sun Microsystems.

Jenya, my enterprising friend and Computer Society founder, thought of and planned the whole trip. She was ably supported by the new president of the society, Bogdan Suvar, a dear friend of mine and a real genuine guy.

Early morning on 25th March, a bunch of us from the Computer Society set off for the Sun Microsystems campus at Camberley, Surrey. It was nice of our fellow society member David Snow to drive us there and back.

Welcome to the Sun

The campus was quite impressive... sleek orange-brown-silver buildings contrasting nicely with the lush greenery. We spent the day at one such cool location, Solaris House. After getting our visitor badges, Senior Staff Engineer Tim Graves welcomed us and explained to us our agenda for the day. Kim Austin, the university co-ordinator, also spoke to us about Sun's interaction and involvement with universities across the UK. Sustaining Engineer, John, told us about the workings of this particular Sun campus... attempting to fix significant errors in their clients' systems by reproducing their configurations and mimicking the systems' workings in real time. He also explained to us this awesome piece of smart card-based technology, Sun Ray, which allows Sun employees to work from anywhere without having to actually carry their work around. Pretty cool, eh?


The Future is here

Next, Services Lab Engineer David Cole showed us around the lab. Now, this place totally blew me away! To be honest, computer hardware is not exactly my strong point. But the moment we entered the lab, that didn't matter any more. It was like entering a futuristic science fiction movie... like being on a spaceship... blinking lights, miles of cables, walls and racks lined with shiny speedy machines ... an out-of-this-world experience indeed!

Sun Lunch

After that blast from the future, we all went to the cafeteria for lunch, complimentary from Sun. We got to choose our meals from a colourful array of foods and desserts. It sure was good fun.

Sun's colourful cafeteria

Expert Voices

We then spent a better part of the rainy afternoon listening to talks from experts. First up, Chief Technologist, David Levy, spoke to us about the power of open source software. Then, MySQL's Mark Baker told us about just how big this little database product had become. Next, Jarod Nash let us in on some secrets of the Solaris operating system. Finally, Dave Walker gave us an in-depth talk on a variety of security issues and how Solaris combats them.

Expert Voices: (Clockwise, from top left)
Tim Graves, John, David Levy, Mark Baker, Jarod Nash, Dave Walker

CSoc, Sun, and Rainbow

In the span of a single day, we had seen and heard very many cool and interesting things... about Sun as a company, and also about its technologies in general. But above and beyond that, we bonded as a group and had a really nice time hanging out. All too soon, it was time for us to head home... and on the drive back, as if to top off the day, we saw a rainbow!



***

It's been a fair few years since I've been associated with the field of IT and computers. It's been just as many years that I've known of and been fascinated by Java and Sun. To then be able to visit the Sun campus, that too, one in the UK was a very big deal to me. This day will thus go down as one of the more significant days of my professional life. A big thank you to Jenya, to Bogdan, to David, and all the CSoc members for adding another memorable day to my growing collection.

Signing off,

Kay

Spring Sunshine

Hi, all!

Here's a recap of the ten weeks that made up my very interesting Spring term here...

The Spring term began in the second half of a fairly chilly, snowy winter. The term was to comprise of two study modules, one group project, and the all-important MSc project proposal. I knew from the outset that it was going to be a heavy term, and I have never been proven more right!

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Project matters

Preparing the project proposal was a very important part of this term. Not only would it form the basis of my MSc dissertation project, but it was also excellent preparation for formal report writing.

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Go, G7!!!!!

One of the most significant things that happened this term was the group project. It is what made my Spring term very special. There are eight of us here at the Uni of Essex who have undertaken MSc in Advanced Web Application Programming (AWAP as we call it), and we were banded together for the purpose of the group project. We were to work on developing a web-based nursing staff allocation system. For this purpose, we held official (and inofficial) meetings, did all the required groundwork, spent endless hours in the lab working on the application, put together all the required documentation, and did our best to submit everything on time. Finally, we presented the application to our assessors and gave them what I think was an unbelievably good demonstration of the system.

In a matter of a few weeks, we went from being mere acquaintances and classmates to becoming colleagues and finally, friends. Initially, it was a challenge coordinating eight different mindsets and work styles, not to mention, timetables! But somehow, over time, everything came together rather nicely. So evident was the positive chemistry and camaraderie in the group that even the assessors and our fellow classmates could not miss it.

As for me personally, I had spent about three years working by myself before this. So, the prospect of a 'group' project made me apprehensive initially. But then as we started on this journey together, everything fell into place so perfectly that the apprehension melted away before I knew it. The whole experience was made up of these little and big moments... burning the midnight oil with Tony over scheduling algorithms... working with Laurence for hours and hours on the scheduling code... Ali bringing us piping hot evening tea as we struggled through some tricky bits of the system... Jane managing work, family, kids et al to make a contribution to the system... brainstorming with Andreas, Maria and Demetra over a million issues we came across ... Andreas' trademark opening statement "Tell me, Kay..." ... Demetra and Maria saying "Kay, breathe!" and randomly checking on me to make sure I wasn't in a state of utter panic :D

It was a pleasure working with this group of wonderful people, getting to know them better, sharing those 'eureka' moments, laughing and joking around with them, and also learning from them. Life will probably take us in different directions from here on. But we will always have this incredible experience that binds us.

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Spring Sunshine

As the spring term progressed, the weather changed too. While we were all toiling away indoors, lush sunshine fell on the campus, and the greenery that had disappeared in winter began to return ever so quietly. Pretty daffodils sprung up all over the place, as did tiny white and yellow flowers all over the lawns. By the end of March, the spring term came to a close, but it seemed like the spring season was only just getting started.

***

Sleep deprivation, anxiety, utter exhaustion, and complete satisfaction... these terms characterised my spring term. I learned a host of new things and made a bunch of new friends. Towards the end, there were moments of sheer desperation as the submission deadlines grew closer and closer. I was more than satisfied with how it all turned out eventually. Also, thanks to the concluding group project presentation, my spring term ended on an excellent, unforgettable, heartwarming high.

Thus, in the honour of our amazing G7 Group Project..... my dear team members - Ali, Laurence, Jane, Maria, Tony, Andreas, and Demetra - I dedicate this blog post to you!!!

Signing off,

Kay

Back to the Blog

Hi, all!

Time for me to come out of hibernation : )

The last time I blogged was at the start of my spring term, some time at the beginning of this year... and lo and behold, half the year has disappeared already! So let me start by briefly listing my goings-on here since then:

• Spring term was super-hectic, tiring, and very special
• I visited the Sun Microsystems campus with the Computer Society
  
• My mum visited me for two weeks!!!!! (woohoo!!!!)
• My best friend Trupta got married!!!! (woohoo!!!!)
• My exams came and went in a whirlwind
• I am now embarking on my final MSc project
• Also, my friends and I took a trip to Norwich in December, which I never blogged about
  

So there... that's what I have been up to in all these past months.

In my subsequent blog entries, I will elaborate on these goings-on. Rather than cram everything into one giant, endless blog post (that puts my cousin Akshay to sleep :D), I'm putting up multiple, relatively small posts this time.

Till then, adios!

Signing off,
Kay