Category Archives: General

One liner to convert Maildir/ to mbox using mutt

Posted on January 7, 2009 by Sandip Bhattacharya

If .news/ is the maildir that you want to convert to the mbox news, this one-liner will do the job for you. mutt -f .news/ -e ‘set confirmcreate=no; set delete=no; push “T.*<enter>;snews<enter><quit>”‘ (Gleaned from this mailing list post )

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Apple is as big a threat to FOSS as Microsoft

Posted on October 24, 2008 by Sandip Bhattacharya

Many FOSS enthusiasts do not realize is that Apple is as, if not more, significant threat than Microsoft in the war for software freedom. Most of the technical arguments that FOSS evangelists have, fall apart when you are talking about … Continue reading →

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Discussing Paul Graham’s essay on software patents

Posted on October 23, 2008 by Sandip Bhattacharya

Thanks to Saurabh’s mail on ILUGD, found out about this nice essay by Paul Graham on software patents. Not being much of a lawyer or an expert on these things, but nevertheless having a conviction that software patents are evil, … Continue reading →

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Catching up with Python

Posted on October 20, 2008 by Sandip Bhattacharya

Am trying to catch up with Python where I left off years ago. <rant> What have they done to the language when I was gone? It is no longer the simple language as before. The decorator syntax looks so .. … Continue reading →

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Blog split

Posted on October 13, 2008 by Sandip Bhattacharya

For some (probably conceited ) reason, I felt that my blog was getting overrun (or about to really get overrun) with non-technical babble arising from my frustration about where this country is headed. So before I turn off those three … Continue reading →

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Using ffmpeg on Ubuntu to convert DV videos for video sharing websites

Posted on September 21, 2008 by Sandip Bhattacharya

To begin with, this is the problem that I had. I had recorded a short clip using my Panasonic NV-GS330 camcorder. I had to upload it to Vimeo, my video sharing website of choice. From the camcorder to the computer … Continue reading →

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Not tougher but unfairer laws

Posted on September 18, 2008 by Sandip Bhattacharya

For some unknown reason, I occasionally waste my time reading comments on news stories at ToI (Times of India). For all those waiting to pounce upon me for reading a virtual tabloid … I know, I know. The only reason … Continue reading →

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Draft of Indian Government’s policy on Open Standards in e-governance released

Posted on September 4, 2008 by Sandip Bhattacharya

Thanks to Vinay Sreenivasa for letting us know on the ILUGD list: The government has released a draft version of a Policy on Open standards for e-Governance. It is presently open for Public review. Please find the policy at the … Continue reading →

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A. R. Rahman on the future of music

Posted on August 18, 2008 by Sandip Bhattacharya

It is indeed heartening to know that one of the finest composers in India has such a progressive outlook about the future of music. Excerpt from Hindustan Times. Music companies must recognise the changing ground reality. Today the conventional outlets … Continue reading →

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Banks penalizing cash payments for credit cards

Posted on August 10, 2008 by Sandip Bhattacharya

In another ridiculously anti-customer move, banks like ICICI and Standard Chartered are charging Rs. 100 for any cash payments made for credit card dues. This move is ostensibly for reducing footfalls at branches but seems like another revenue stream adding … Continue reading →

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