A list of films, that matter

Posted in Life, Movies with tags , , , on February 5, 2010 by Saquib

I am thankful to all those great writers and directors for making films that has changed the way I perceived the concept of movie industry. In many ways movies and music impact our lives, having a lot to do in what we become. I was blessed with the opportunity to watch this many films in my life, a lot more than the number of books I read. So I decided today to share with you guys this list of incredible films that can and will make a difference. Do consider this as a huge giveaway!

  • Crash
  • The Air I Breathe
  • The Pursuit of Happyness
  • Lions for Lambs
  • Coach Carter
  • Almost Famous
  • Seabiscuit
  • American History X
  • 25th Hour
  • Definitely Maybe
  • Love Actually
  • Cast Away
  • My Life Without Me
  • Sideways
  • Mystic River
  • Seven Pounds
  • The Forest Gump
  • Big Fish
  • Closer
  • Freedom Writers
  • Things We Lost In The Fire
  • Grace is Gone
  • Life or Something Like It
  • Freedom Writers
  • Beyond Borders
  • The Lord of The Rings
  • Cloverfield

Yes, many of these movies you might have watched already but even if you come across one film here that you didn’t watch, you missed out something big.

Is the Kindle’s approach to iPad clever?

Posted in Gadgets with tags , , , , , on February 2, 2010 by Saquib

Product Marketing always finds its challenges. And that’s no different for Amazon’s Kindle. Now facing competition from Apple’s iPad, Amazon has worked out a different kind of game plan.

On hardware perspective, I would say the Kindle gives me the feeling of a eBook reader device dedicated to do this job well, while the iPad still feels like a bit of everything but not that perfect for the sole purpose of best experience for eBook readers. As you know, Amazon is also cutting the price to their product.

However, they are not going for an approach solely based on price war, this time there are also working with the pricing for the content – the eBooks that is. But that doesn’t mean they are making the eBooks cheaper for Kindle users, rather they are increasing the price –  to give greater margin benefits to publishers and provide some space for the publishers to let them play their own game.

Of course this isn’t a good news for the end users, but does benefit the publishers. Now this is very interesting: would publishers rather prefer this platform more based on the fact of more profit or control over pricing and actually result in a larger library? Or would customers react to the higher pricing and rather go for Apple’s collections, where books are priced better.

If you ask me, and if I wasn’t referring to any academic books, I clearly don’t see why I should pay almost the same price for a digital book (PDF version) over a printed one, not to mention I also do not understand why the eBooks should be this expensive when there’s so much less of a cost involved in publishing them?

While it’s too early to take a side, this is going to be an interesting competition to watch.

2009: Erratic, eventful, and imperative

Posted in Life with tags , , , on December 31, 2009 by Saquib
So I take my foot off the gas and put attention to the rear view mirror.  It’s amazing how you find another year in your life passing away, and where you stand from your resolution. The year 2009 – the year when I didn’t plan for too much; yet it’s been one of the most remarkable years of my life, in fact, I would also say it’s been the busiest year of my life yet. That sort of makes sense when I question how did this year go by so fast, and what did I do exactly?

There are couple of very interesting and promising things that did take place for me. The most significant part of this year has been my new job. I didn’t plan, although I did send out my resume just about this time last year, only to see this becoming such a huge part of my life. And most of my 2009 has been around my work life. Call me workaholic if you will, but work definitely helps me. I think in the recent years I have started to think a bit too much, over analyzing and trying to find meaning to everything. And work has helped me stay focused and busy so that I don’t have to deal with the fact of being lonely or the grievance of the society where I grew up.

My new job helped in many ways in my pre-MBA career. I’ve had the opportunity to learn, lead, make decisions, develop strategies, and produce results. I had to make my way through many problems and issues I couldn’t forecast, and I had to deal with the stain of corporate world, I had to be at work till 2am, travelled to locations all over the country, dealing with people I never thought I had to deal with, pushing my reasons and fighting for my team, and in the end coming up with the highest growth in market share for the major products. That being said, this year was also the landmark for me to be annoyed by people more than ever. I have come across some of the most aggravating people of my life – many whom I met this year, and some who I knew but turned like this now.  Even when it’s not been the dream job, I still found many employees nationwide who respect me for what I do, believe in me, wants my opinion, and listens when I have something to say. I really feel I have finally stated to do things in 2009 that greatly impact people’s lives.  These are the things you cannot value with money; after all, this is how you make your mark as being different, to show the true essence of leadership. And when I look back and see everything I did to help those people whose work depend on my decisions, I feel good, I feel honest, and I feel it couldn’t have been without their support. And that’s why even when I have some of the worst days of my life; I come back next day for those people, and to do things that truly benefit my company – not just to impress the management team members.

I have travelled a lot throughout Bangladesh this year. I had the opportunity to learn from my colleagues and taste life in all corners of the country. I had been to Khulna for the first time, had excellent time in Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar, and got to learn a lot about national markets and lifestyle; from a business perspective, that is. I also had the fabulous Sundarban trip, where I literally experienced every corner of the South-West; from the huge seaports, to deep rainforests, beach, clear nights in the river with the stars, and then the incredible sea. This has been the year when I have travelled the most countrywide.

But work aside, my 2009 also includes the point of listening to the highest number of new artists. My life and bond with music has grown; with 1106 artists and 1643 albums now stored in my prestigious music collection, I am quickly growing that “show-off factor” of having an anthology of some of the most promising and uncommon artists of my time that none of my friends can even come close to. Music helped me just like every year, whenever I was lost, confused, broken, or happy – it all just works with music. The words and melodies, the sense, and the vibe – nothing else makes more sense to me. And I am growing a stronger addiction for it every second of every day. So yes, 2009 has been an important year for music to me. I have not only discovered more albums than before, but the industry did come up with some immense releases of existing bands. People have asked if I’m turning bitter, but Train’s “Save me Francisco” is my favorite album for 2009 – so you know I still do have that soul alive! Self titled album of the Fray and “Battle Studies” by John Mayer are also worth mentioning. I had big hopes for Natalie Imbruglia and Norah Jone’s new albums, but they just didn’t make me feel what I was looking for.

Work has taken away all of my hanging out and being on concerts thing, something I do plan to fix in near future. I have also been playing lesser video games – which is not a good sign for a free soul, but I have been on Businessweek and BNET sites more than ever. I have grown a feeling of disconnection with the society, and you can easily spot that from my Facebook page, which I’m increasingly finding to be useless. But that hasn’t stopped me from watching more of downloaded TV shows. This year I finally started watching One Tree Hill, and completed six seasons in 5 months to finally catch up (it doesn’t come close to the OC though). And great shows like Dexter and HEROES still keep me busy – so I barely make time for the real world.

You can’t also deny the fantastic come back of our cricket team in 2009. Sure the change of captain changed the whole way the game was played, more wins and more hopes. These days when the tigers go out there, I have started to believe they can fight the odds.

And yes I continue to be single, three years now. But I am getting more used to it than before. I do feel left out, but I try to keep facing life and deal with a lot of stress on my own. I’m not into alcohol or cigarettes, and that makes it obscure. It’s been tough but I would say I didn’t do that bad after all. There’s just a lot more to do out there, and I have made choices for what’s important to me.

So that’s pretty much my 2009. Here’s me looking forward for a bigger and better 2010, a new decade with new hopes. What happens in the next ten years will be how I leave my mark on this planet. Happy New Year!

Missing the vibe of Alternative Rock?

Posted in Music with tags on December 15, 2009 by Saquib

It’s about that time of the month when I put up another artist review on my irritating blog. I don’t know where all my emotions are heading, because this blog is totally out of theme (not that it ever had one).

So what I’ve been hooked up to? They ain’t new, but if you haven’t heard of them, it’s probably because they are one of the most underrated bands on this planet. The band is Angels and Airwaves, and they are superbly fabulous. When you put together the masterminds from bands like Blink-182, Box Car Racer, and The Offspring – there’s really no reason not to expect such greatness. But don’t have the wrong impression fool you, this band is really grown up from their ancestors. They are awesome with both music and lyrics, although some of their songs from the first album do feel the same. Nevertheless, it’s what alternative rock fans would love to live for. Their tunes have that instant fix-it capability.

Here’s a list of my favorite songs from AVA:

  1. Lifeline
  2. The Adventure
  3. Heaven
  4. True Love
  5. Breathe
  6. Secret Crowds
  7. Good Day

They are the kind of band that really rock you in concerts and makes you feel connected right on. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Angels and Airwaves, and they have some damn good stuff to share.  I can’t wait for their next album, LOVE, expected to be out on Valentine’s Day 2010.

“Any type of love it will be showed
Like every single tree reach for the sky
If you’re gonna fall
I’ll let you know
That I will pick you up
Like you for I
I felt this thing
I can’t replace
When everyone was working for this goal
Where all the children left without a trace
Only to come back as pure as gold
To recite this all”

Copenhagen matters!

Posted in Life on December 9, 2009 by Saquib

Yes, I do care, and yes, this is a big deal. I’m proud that we too, as a nation, are participating in the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. I do look forward to see the developed world taking a more important role in taking responsibility, and for some reason I think it will work this time.  Do note, it’s not just another conference, we will witness the historic Copenhagen Treaty, which wont just impact the world of today, but all our future generations.

But I would also like to see how our industrial sector, especially the garments industry taking a step to set examples. If international trade standards effectively empower watchdogs to ensure the environmental safety standards are being followed.

It’s about time all of us take a step and stop being selfish. This matters! And we, as consumers, need to show it through the choices we make. It’s not about us, it’s about our future generation, it’ about the existence of our being.

You may learn about our country’s approach in Copenhagen and the affect of Climate Change from here.

Microsoft Direct2D API and the future of browsing

Posted in Windows with tags , , , , , on November 30, 2009 by Saquib

If you’ve been thinking, what could possibly be left out in the making of new browsers, the answer would certainly amaze you. Because both Microsoft and Mozilla has been trying to bring Microsoft’s Direct2D API into use.

That’s right, the new enhancement would enable your browser to render using your GPU’s massive power in parallel. This means the expensive pixel processing will be done away from the CPU, and as a whole would really improve performance and optimize the most of our idle yet powerful graphics cards. We’ve already found something similar in a few recent applications.

Here’s a comparison of Mozilla’s trial using this new technology. Microsoft seems to be adding it to their next IE 9 browser as well.

Winter’s on time?

Posted in Life with tags on November 27, 2009 by Saquib

All of us has been talking about the Global Warming, and how it’s messing up the entire ecology. I can’t recall a season in the last few years that was on time, or may be the whole season thing got screwed up. But I would say that the winter is surprisingly on time this year. In fact, it’s sudden, colder, and well in-balance with the invasion of mosquitoes. Is Obama’s plan really working?

But I was hoping to skip a year when I actually don’t get a cold. It didn’t happen in last 24 years, and it didn’t work this time either. I wasn’t being stupid, I kept my cooler off, and I did take good amount of coffee in the morning. I also kept the temp setting high on the car. But I had the cold even before the winter came in. It starts with a soar throat, and then all of it comes down to a nasty cold and ends with a long and absolutely annoying problem of coughing. But the weird part is, even after all of that, it’s my favorite season of the year.

Well there are reasons why this season really works for me. I like the whole cold and quite part of it, somehow this syncs well with me. It’s chilling, it makes me feel like hanging out with friends more often. And I have to count the fact that it keeps all my precious electronics gadgets cool, I get to wear jackets, and don’t have to think about sweating. It also is a much better time to try out spicy food – I would say they even taste better. And probably one of the best part is the fact that it’s around the end of an year and towards a beginning of a new one. There are lot of things to look back and then there’s working with the resolution. It also feels pretty festive somehow. And you probably can’t underestimate all the super cool clearance sale going around in shops. I also had my longest holidays coming around this time back in high school and probably the whole winter and happiness started working well for each other since then. Whatever reason I try to put together, it’s that time of the year I like the most.

What if I told you…

Posted in Life on November 13, 2009 by Saquib

Did you ever find that person, who, even for once, made you see the reason to be yourself? And what if your life seemed abundant to that person even before you had the chance to tell her how much she meant to you?

There are moments in our lives that makes us see so much we couldn’t, and it’s in those moments we realize how to find strength and move ahead. Because only in such times, no matter how broken we are, we still getup and fight back, believing what that special someone helped us see.

Maybe the sad part is, you never get to tell them about it; or there’s never a way to know how much they mean to you. While they drift away, your life gets empty again. So I ask myself, what was the purpose of that momentary happiness, and why, even when we know it’s short-lived, become so happy with that hope? Or maybe it’s just human nature to look for someone to believe in, even if they give hope for such short times. But do you ever wonder if it would make any difference, if they had the chance to know?

Can’t help but to hate

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , on November 6, 2009 by Saquib

The recent incident at NSU puts a huge burden on a student body which was once known for setting the standards higher. But the absolutely terrible “preventive measure” taken by the authority to put a notice board up asking girls to be careful about what they wear is not only stupid, but an example of how awfully the management of this university are misleading the most prominent future power of this nation. Right now, I would have been ashamed of, if only I didn’t have the chance to hate, the authority’s reaction this much.

I’m not trying to point what we couldn’t do to prevent it, neither am I pointing fingers at anyone for what happened; but I’m trying to understand how we could actually think that message was going to help. Someone let me know if I’ve actually become this stupid not to figure this out, because this sure doesn’t make any sense.

Together

Posted in Life on October 23, 2009 by Saquib

Sometimes we look back, and don’t talk about
What we used to be and what we have become
Where we left each other, where we lost our dreams
Forgetting our way, becoming what we made each other to be

And then we look into the dreams we had
The times when we held hands together and stared at the sky
Why we couldn’t figure it out, why does it still ache?

Maybe I’m just proud to be ashamed of
But it still aches
You’d just never know, it still aches inside

And sometimes we look back, just to see if we had done it differently
Where we had the chance, but never saw it coming
When we hurt each other, but still believing on today
Only to realize, forever is too long to be

The hopes we gave each other, the storms we made through
The tears that had meaning, the warmth that gave us hope
Why can’t we still figure it out, why do we run away?

Maybe I’m just proud to be ashamed of
But it still aches
You’d just never know, it still aches inside