We will miss you, Moonwalker.

When I think of evolution of the music industry, MJ ain’t just the king; he is one of those very few sent to change the world, all of it. Though there are many stories that we have seen and heard of, at the end of the day I can’t deny the immense power and charisma of Michael that revolutionized the industry forever. His recklessness was perhaps a part of his image, a signature style of the “King”, a part of him that too stays with his memories. Michael redefined what being a “superstar” really meant. This is the saddest day for all music lovers since the death of Elvis.

I hope the world remembers Michael Jackson for what he really was, an artist that created a whole new generation of people and mastered what was once thought impossible.

“So, do you earn a lot of money?”

Okay this cute chick asked me the question few days back. And I, kind-a, sort of, changed the topic to something else.

But then it actually got me thinking, does any of us ever earn enough? And unless you earn enough, you can never earn a lot, right? Would it be a relative answer, or would it be the fact that I feel I’m seriously underpaid. Then again, I’m the dreamer kind, and very few people value dreamers – financially at least. Anyways, so going back to the original question, do I earn a lot of money? Well I know I keep myself happy, I know people around me love me for my work, I know I’m energetic in its truest sense, and I get to do some really cool things, and well I am looking out for a raise, just like anyone else. Of course I have some aspiration to be wealthy, not rich. But sometimes, it ain’t just striving for money, but having fun doing what you are doing, and having a lot of time to “live”.  Life experience is more than anything to me, and I work to live, don’t live to work.

I guess it still didn’t answered her question, but how much would would it matter if I didn’t?

A few words on IE/Windows bundling issue

So it seems a good number of people has been claiming Microsoft having an unfair advatnage with their browser as it’s pre-installed with Windows. But, oh well, since it’s the same company who’s making the OS too, that’s an advantage that should go to their credit right? I mean, what about Safari on Mac? Or even the browser that comes in iPhone? Toyota cars had stereo systems made by them built into the cars, but I doubt if that was considered as an unfair advantage. And if this allegation is right today, what stops another company to point the same about Windows Media Player, Outlook Express, Messenger – and pretty much every other application that comes with Windows? I have a lot to learn about business laws but I’m really confused on this: where do we actually draw the line for bundled apps anyway?

Beware of cheap, so-called, “Blu-Ray” movies in Dhaka

So you’ve been thinking what could be sweeter than getting Blu-Ray movies for 800 Taka? Well, think again.

What stores selling here are NOT Blu-Ray movies. Apparently Blu-Ray exact copies are still impossible, and even when stores are telling you these are “pirated” Blu-Ray movies, they themselves have very little idea what it is. The packaing is an exact copy of Blu-Ray movies, but nothing else is. These are just basic DVD9 discs that have some down converted video recorded in them. At best the resolution may get 720p – which is not Full HD. Besides these are not Blur-Ray discs either. A technology called AVCHD (used in High-Def personal cameras for video authoring) is being used to record DVD9 discs the down-sampled version. Because of the reduction in resolution, file sizes are smaller and can be burned to regular DVDs instead of the more costly Blu-Ray discs. So yes, it does not replace the Blu-Ray experience, especially for your Full HD based system. Rather spend on best quality DVD movies and up-scaling DVD player to save the cost and get something decent (not like AVCHD though). If HD is the thing you’re into, it doesn’t kill to buy 1 genuine Blu-Ray movie a month and keep a good collection for your A/V system.You are just being fooled buying DVD discs packaged in Blu-Ray boxes.

When it comes to the world of High Definition, every detail counts.

Metal Gear comes to Xbox, not Snake though

Hmm… what would I want to see more in Xbox 360: the Metal Gear Solid franchise, or a game that has Solid Snake in it? Being a die-hard fan for Metal Gear Solid (which is, by the way, exceptionally common), and as Hideo Kojima will always be one hell of a storyteller – I hope MGS would have something to offer even without Snake. My past experience with the 2nd installment (where we all terribly missed Snake) was pretty awful compared to all 3 other episodes. But somethign tells me that Kojima production would put up something sleek as they bring the ball to Xbox 360’s court. There’s just somethign about Snake that makes it all work in Metal Gear – there neeeds to be a lot in this game so we don’t miss Snake. I can’t recall if the second part was made by Kojima, or was is just a Konami production.

But at least we now have Metal Gear – Long Live Kojima!

Things to consider when writing your Resume

Okay, to first time job seekers to HR managers, I have seen also sorts of unnecessary creativity when it comes to working with Resumes. First of all, what most people I’ve known don’t know is: Resumes aren’t exactly the same thing as CV. When you are asked for a CV, it means a more in-depth information about yourself, while resume is more like a highlight. Usually resumes are better if they are just one page. CVs are good if you have some publications, research works, and other such stuff – in general they work well for academic purposes.

Next, it’s always a good thing to avoid family background, no matter how grand that is. I think an applicant’s quality shows in his/her willingness to prove him/herself as the right individual solely based on own accomplishments. Some worse mistakes are putting in biological information (such as: height/weight). You may want to put in your date of birth as it’s sometimes needed for evaluation. Unless explicitly asked for, I don’t think photographs are important. Although our country’s HR managers are just as much interested in the look of the applicant as they are about everything else – a unconscious selection criteria that hugely weakens the evaluation process.

Another common mistake is putting in information prior to college life. Unless you won medals in the Olympics, or somethign as such, it’s a good thing to keep away those stories before you were 20. These sort of things show immaturity in proving yourself. Furthermore, stuffs like SAT/GMAT/GRE scores are really not a part of a professional resume; even when applying for grad school, you have a separate place to put all that in. While use of CGPA still remains a debate, I guess it’s more about the society where you know better what people would look for. Unless you have some seriously bold points in your work experiences, you may want to keep your academic performance as an indicator of your ability to compete.

Lastly, when you show-off your extra curricular talents, make sure it is what you have really given time to. Just because you did scuba diving on a summer vacation, doesn’t really mean it needs to be indicated as one of the things you do. Also, instead of being generalized and having too many extra curricular activities, it’s better to point out fewer but focused interests. Trust me, it’s easy to figure out if you are just trying to boast yourself or being real.

In a nutshell, “Keep it simple, keep it real”.