Awesome software tools for Windows

Over the years, I've found some totally awesome software tools that are usually quite low profile but really improve productivity. There are a number of sources for discovering these tools - word of mouth, accidentally seeing someone else use it, LifeHacker, etc.
Everytime I switched computers/jobs, I'd end up losing the list. This here is just my effort to keep a reference list that I can use in the future and if anyone else finds it useful, more power to you.
So here we go...

General Tools

• Windows Add/Remove Program alternative: If you find Windows Add/Remove program to slow and cumbersome, try using SafarP (http://wistinga.online.fr/safarp).
• File Sync Utility: Using multiple computers and devices? The biggest headache is keeping tab of changed/new files. New photos, changed password lists, etc. Dropbox (http://www.getdropbox.com) promises to reduce some of these pains. Upto 2GB free data sync and pay-for-use plans for larger quantities of data. Winner of Lifehacker's Sync Utility comparison. Plus they have an iPhone app too.
• Damaged CD Recovery: If you have a scratched/damaged cd with important data, your last resort should be CD Recovery Toolbox (http://www.oemailrecovery.com/cd_recovery.html) - it reads even scratched/damaged CD's.
  
• Screen capture: Windows offers the Print Screen, Ctrl+Print_Screen at best. Install Wisdom Soft's Screen Hunter and you won't remember Print Screen again. Quick to launch and use AND customize. (http://wisdom-soft.com/products/screenhunter.htm)
  
• Delete a locked file: Ever tried deleting a file only to have Windows come back and give you a mysterious (file is locked) message? This usually happens to leftover files when you uninstall, or log files. The only way around is to reboot. Or? Think again - think Unlocker (http://ccollomb.free.fr/unlocker) the awesome little utility tells you immediately who is locking the file and let's you unlock + delete without having to reboot.
  
• Awesome windows utilities: LifeHacker (www.lifehacker.com) - Utilities for one and all, software and day-to-day life tips to improve productivity, etc. My week is incomplete without visiting LifeHacker at least once a week or more.
• Uninstaller that actually uninstalls: If you are tired of failed software uninstallations, half-baked UnInstallers that leave behind a lot of junk in your windows registry and/or undeletable dll's/directories/etc. Revo Uninstaller (www.revouninstaller.com) is for you. You'll never use the application's uninstaller ever again.
• Keystroke based application launching:
  
  Launchy - Simply the star of the show
  Never used "Start - Programs - ....." again. Simply install Launchy (www.launchy.net). Using a windows shortcut (Ctrl + Space, for ex) opens a little textbox - just type "Excel" or "Firefox" and launch the program. No more fumbling with the mouse.
• Download fast - and how: There are a number of free Download assistants out there - but Orbit Downloader (www.orbitdownloader.com) rules the roost. Easy to use and F*A*S*T !!! Just a note of caution - after installation/upgrade, I usually delete the exe file orbitnet.exe - this makes your machine a P2P client by default.
• Archiving software (Zip/Tar/...): Winzip is nice but if you use 7-Zip (www.7-zip.org), you'll never go back. Free, easy to use windows explorer type user interface (so you actually KNOW where in the zip hierarchy your file is located), in-zip-editing, etc.
• Defragment your drive: Someone who does the job better than your default Windows defragmenter (Surprise??) - Defraggler (www.piriform.com/defraggler)
• Recover deleted files: Deleted a file last week and just realized you need it? Recuva (www.piriform.com/recuva) is for you. Nice, easy and free.
• Spring cleaning Windows: So you delete unused files, defrag your drive and so on. But do you know how much gunk is left behind by all the uninstalled programs, temp files, etc? Could run into a few MB's of valuable disk space. Let CCleaner (http://www.ccleaner.com) show you the way.
• Recover data from damaged CD's: CD Recovery Toolbox (www.oemailrecovery.com/cd_recovery.html) or RoadKil's Unstoppable Copier (http://roadkil.net/program.php/P29/Unstoppable%20Copier) - slow but works.
  

Firefox Plugins and Tools

• Speed up Firefox startup: The usual complaint about Firefox is the slow startup - Firefox Preloader (http://sourceforge.net/projects/ffpreloader) takes care of this by preloading FF into memory - starting up FF after that is simply a piece of cake after that.
• SiteLauncher plugin: Easy to configure and use shortcuts to reach websites that you go to regularly - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/10127
• Privacy Intact: If you are paranoid about privacy like me (and you should be - why??? Google up "flash cookies" - big brother is watching you !!!) - use BetterPrivacy plugin (https://addons.mozilla.org/addon/6623)
  
• Backup/Sync your bookmarks: With multiple computers/browsers, bookmarks management is now a classic problem - no one solves it like XMarks (http://www.xmarks.com)
• Video downloading: Nice tool to download videos and convert them on the fly - DownloadHelper (https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/3006)
• Hate IE? Don't use it: Use IE-Tab instead (https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/1419) - allows you to view *.asp based pages within FF using the IE rendering engine - you can mark websites so that they will opened by default using the IE rendering engine.
  
• Download - and fast...: Orbit downloader is of course the way to go (read above) - but Orbit Downloader for FF (www.orbitdownloader.com/Download-All-in-FireFox.htm) completes the job.
  

iPhone/iPod Touch apps

• Backup data on your iPhone/iPod Touch: This is the biggest grouse of all iPhone/iPod Touch users - all that flash drive space going waste and the inability to easily backup data using iTunes. Looks like someone has heard your prayers. Check out DiskAid (http://www.digidna.net/diskaid) - free for a month but easily makes your iPhone a sweet backup device. What I use now is iPhoneExplorer (http://www.iphone-explorer.com) - Free and under development - nice, nice tool to use your iPhone/Touch as a backup device.
  

Windows and browser security

• Use Firefox - period !!!!
  
• Privacy Intact: If you are paranoid about privacy like me (and you should be - why??? Google up "flash cookies" - big brother is watching you !!!) - use BetterPrivacy plugin (https://addons.mozilla.org/addon/6623)
• Delete - completely: Everytime you delete a file, even though you've cleared it from the recycle bin - all you've done (most cases) is remove the ui reference to it. The file is still sitting somewhere on your hard-drive - this is the logic used by data-recovery software. However, sometimes you want to delete a file - kaboom!!! Blast it to teeny-toony bits so no data-recovery - NOTHING - can retrieve it. Eraser (http://eraser.heidi.ie) will help you cleanly erase files completely, thoroughly.
• Ghostery - block peeping toms: Everytime you even read a news website, someone is tracking you. Inspite of your efforts to block out popup windows and restrict cookies, there are arcane javascripts running in the background picking up stats about you and sending them surreptitiously to their masters. Use Ghostery (http://www.ghostery.com) to check who is spying on your browsing habits and stop them in their tracks.
• No Scripts: Well - the name says it all. NoScript (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/722) is a powerful Firefox Plugin that just stops all unnecessary javascript in its track. It is intelligent enough to let javascript required on common sites like GMail, Yahoo, FB, etc do their job but stops others. Awesome !!!
  

A bit of sun, a few elephants and a lot of percussion

Yesterday, on the last day of my few days off at Kerala - to be precise, at Thiruvambady, Thrissur I found myself in the late afternoon walking towards the Thiruvambady temple entrance. It was nice pleasant winter morning - probably a cool 28 deg C (80 deg F?) in the shade with a touch of humidity. The crowds were gradually gathering in anticipation and i was myself not quite sure, for what.

As the train passed by a few minutes past its scheduled time and the railway crossing was opened, there came a revelation - and boy, did it make the wait worth. Five magnificent tuskers - gigantic pachyderms, probably in the prime of their youth grandly walking in single file towards the temple. Each one decked up in his finest jewelry (nettipattom), they entered the temple and assembled inside.

Aaaah - now it struck me. What better way to spend a nice Sunday afternoon than to watch these magnificent beasts walk around decorated so skilfully? But someone had a better idea - so there, waiting for them at the temple entrance was a posse of a few dozen musicians, including some of the more famous names all over Kerala. They were the panchavadyam team - a group of skilled musicians, highly specialized in the synchronized performance of some of the most phenomenal percussion sounds one can here on this side of the Equator. It surprised me how these gentle giants allowed themselves to be handled so seemingly easily by their mahouts, gently kneeling down to permit the priests and their assistants to clamber up their broad backs with the deity of the temple, then circumambulate before the party began. While all five pachyderms lined themselves up on one side, the beats began in a gentle sway. Gradually, the drums picked up their pace and the cymbals and trumpets raised the crescendo. The beats grew faster by the second, with an occasional pause to let a single player belt out a tune on his instrument - suddenly being picked up by the dozens of other players around. Not once did they miss the beat or skip the sync.

The performance was incredible. After what seemed like too short a time, the performance slowed down to let the elephants move on to their next destination, a temple further down the road.

I bid these marvellous mounts of Thiruvambady Sri Krishna goodbye as they lined up on the road. As they departed in their stately trot, the devotion people show these elephants seemed rather appropriate if not funny - the musicians led the procession barefoot on the hot afternoon asphalt.
But behind them came a tanker pouring water on the road to ensure that these gentle beasts walked on a cool ground - now isn't that nice?

Epilogue: The water tanker cooling down the road for the pachyderms was owned a company called "Godly water company".

Coincidence, wot?

The nefarious jsp "parametrized types" error

Ever used JBoss (or any other similar server that wraps around Tomcat) and when you try something related to Java 5.0 in your jsp scriptlet like
<% java.util.Map map = java.util.Set<java.util.Map.Entry><String, String="">> Set = map.entrySet();
%>

The whole thing bombs giving you an arcane description saying:
"Syntax error, parameterized types are only available if source level is 5.0"

JBoss uses the Apache Jasper JSP Compiler internally.
Jasper compiler settings (inspite of what your JVM settings may dictate) internally has runtime and compile time jvm settings which conveniently default to Java 1.4 .

A newbie or someone who hasn't looked at JBoss settings beyond the usual jboss-service.xml, is left scratching his or her scalp (after all, by this time you'd have lost most of your hair) as to what's going on.

To put it simply, move to
<jboss_install>\server\<jboss_app_folder>\deploy\jboss-web.deployer\conf\web.xml

Look for
<servlet-class>
org.apache.jasper.servlet.JspServlet
</servlet-class>

This is the place where you specify the Jasper jsp compiler and runtime settings.
Simply add the following lines to any existing "init-param" settings

<init-param>
<param-name>compilerTargetVM</param-name>
<param-value>1.5</param-value>
</init-param>
<init-param>
<param-name>compilerSourceVM</param-name>
<param-value>1.5</param-value>
</init-param>

Restart your jboss instance and voila !!! The problem disappears.

Architecture devotion and Cosmic Singularity

This post is more related to a trip we made to a few temples near Bangalore rather than to provide a channel for self-realization or moksha - never mind the title :) - So here goes:

Yesterday we visited the beautiful temple town of Thiruvannamalai. Read: "beautiful temple" separate from town. The town (that is - human habitation outside the temple) can barely pass for anything related to civilization. Pretty dirty, crowded and filled with complete chaos.

Thiruvannamalai - Lord Shiva as Shri Arunachaleshwarar
But the grand temple complex more than makes up for it. 25 acres in size, the main temple is walled in like a fort with four entrances in the four cardinal directions, each highlighted by a grand gopuram nearly 15 floors high. This structure has been erected in part by King Krishnadevaraya - fortunately for us that he did that, else the post-independence "secular" Indian Government would have gobbled up this land as well to offer others for free to enable them to build mosques and churches.

Anyways, after the awe-inspiring entrance, one is floored literally by the plethora of artwork on granite. The thresholds, staffs and mainly the numerous pillars everywhere are etched with the work of endless hours, days and years of labour of hundreds of artisans.

The delicacy of various dancers, people, animals and scenes worked on the rock and erected as 10-15 feet tall pillars are amazing. Granite slabs for the roof, 15 storey Gopurams, 10 foot pillars.... All this at a time (that we think) there was little or no mechanization. Strikes me as if we're missing something here !!!

However - we took the Rs.20 "Special Darshanam". The main idol (vigraham) of Shri Arunachaleshwarar was fabulous and beautifully decorated (alankaaram).

The drive from Bangalore to Thiruvannamalai was 200km long.
The first 100km upto Krishnagiri was smooth as a baby's bottom. From there we turned Left (Eastwards) towards Pondicherry (NH66). The road started off on a promising note but proceeded to become a horrible nightmare until Chengam.. At least until Uthangarai, 20km before Chengam. After that the drive was peaceful.

Thirukkoilur - Lord Vishnu as Ulagalandha Perumal (the one who measured the world).
After a very satisfying Darshanam at Thiruvannamalai we proceeded to Thirukkoilur, a town 35km South of Thiruvannamalai. It was a straight road, unbelievably smooth with very little traffic. Dotted by fields of paddy and sugarcane on both sides, this was my first tryst with the real rural India. It was beautiful to say the least. The temple is ancient. Lord Vishnu is manifested as Trivikrama (or Vamana). His right leg points at the Heavens and is worshipped by Brahma. His left leg points downwards and is worshipped by Mahabali. Every point of the grand idol decorated beautifully was explained by the Gurukkal. Ambal (devi) is present in a different temple.
This temple also happens to be one of the 108 Divya Deshams for Vaishnavas.
Ample evidence of the destructive mentality of Muslim invaders is visible in the damage inflicted upon various parts of the temple architecture. However, these barbaric hordes could fortunately not destroy too much - most of the original temple remains, except perhaps for its original riches. What they may have left behind has probably been looted by the Indian Government.

Thirukkoilur - Lord Shiva as Veerateshwarar
Very close by to the Ulagalandha Perumal temple is another even more ancient Shiva temple - Shiva known as Veerateshwarar is worshipped in the form of a Swayambhu Lingam. The temple commemorates His victory of Anthakasura. Also the hallowed grounds of this temple are the birth-place of "Vaasthu Purusha" who is worshipped before occupying a new house in India.
Additionally, legend has it that the Arumugam Murugan and Shri Ganapathy have been worshipped by Avvayar herself. Avvayar reached Kailas directly from here by the aid of Ganapathy Himself.


Thus three wonderful temples that should be a must for people living in/around Bangalore or Chennai.

One more point - there was one temple we missed due to lack of time.
Manalurpettai - Shri Ranganathaswamy temple also known as Thiruvarangam. This is just 10km from Thirukkoyilur. Hopefully we will have the opportunity to offer our respects here the next time.

After many many envious readings of other travelogues and cancellations of my own plans for a trip, finally we did the drive to Shravanabelagola on Sunday 29th October 2007.
It was a "Let's go!" moment at 10 in the morning, while having our post-breakfast chai that we decided we would go.

So with five adults, one kid and a hastily prepared lunch with all the necessary accessories (puke bags for kiddo, umbrellas, snacks, curd rice, etc) we headed off at 11:15 am from Indiranagar, Bangalore.

The route:
We left Indiranagar at 11:15 am. Drove down via Mekhri Circle – Yeshwantpur Circle to Tumkur Road. Kept on this until Neelamangala where we turned left into NH48. Until this point, we took 1 hour and covered only about 35km.

After that it was a straight drive for most ways. The road was not the dream ride I had really anticipated but it wasn’t too bad anyways. There was light traffic (Sunday afternoon). The asphalt surface was gone in numerous places due to the rains probably. The drive was fairly uneventful until we passed Neligere where we found a fork. One has to stick to the right – however, I took the left and had to turn back after about 4km. Beyond that was a peaceful drive until Hirisave – sharp turn there to the left (well marked) for a further 18km to Shravanabelagola. Once there, the road ends, you turn left and see the entrance to the main Vindhyagiri hill as a huge white arch. Turn right there and you can park on the right side of the road, next to the tank.

We reached here at precisely 2:30pm – that is 3 hours after departure.

The drive/car:
This should probably be under a different section but I won’t go long about it. The car was my new (less than 2 months old) Hyundai Getz Prime GLS 1.3. Drove like a dream with five adults (and one kid). There was a bit of drag with a/c – however, the weather being nice, we didn’t need the a/c at all. I just crossed 1000km on the odo when we returned.


Everything else:

Having packed our lunch, we ate at a park nearby. However, there are some Veggie hotels. Also, one can eat near the entrance (inside) of Vindhyagiri. There are toilets and good drinking/washing water available also.

One has to leave one’s footwear at the base of Vindhyagiri and start the trek to the top. Fortunately we seemed to have picked the perfect day. It was cloudy enough that the steps were not hot, so we did not need the socks we brought. However, visibility was good and it did not rain either.

So we started the trek up the 550 odd steps to the top to offer our respects to one of the most alluring architectural beauty of Karnakata – the Gomateshwara statue. The slow climb up actually gets tougher – the steps become harder (it doesn’t just seem that way – the riser of the steps towards the top is more) as one goes on. However, at periodic stops, the view around is just amazing. No camera – I believe – can really do justice. On reaching near the top, we start getting an idea of how simply breathtaking the work done by the artisans is. I have never traveled much in India – but I was simply taken aback by the beautiful carvings on the various Basadi’s (monasteries) near the top. Periodically one can sight some young jain muni’s silently sitting around or studying. Some of the carvings are intelligently protected by glass shields.

As one enters the main monument, things get even better. Every pillar is a work of art. Even the threshold of the temple has a beautiful flower carving on the granite. Every moment – I was awe struck, imagining the patience and labour of love created by the numerous unknown artisans, chiseling away at the unyielding stone to reveal this marvel of beauty inside it. Once inside, the first view of Gomateshwara leaves one gaping. That someone could carve something so massive, yet delicately beautiful leaves one’s mouth gaping. Every feature of the monolith is visible. The delicacy fo the fingernails, the proportions of the toes, the slight fold of skin around the navel, the hint of a smile around the lips, the calm expression of the face. I was simply left humbled and dumb-founded by Him. Offering my respects I walked around to find little nuggets of treasure in every pillar and stone around.

Even the roof of the temple has wonderful carvings on it. Every bit alluring are the statuettes and frescoes of various women/goddesses everywhere.

There were carvings of games on some of the stones – possibly Pachisi played by artisans in their spare times.

There are idols of various Teerthankara’s in some of the grotto like parts of the monument. Some parts, lit only by a dim bulb with natural water seepage add to a slightly mystic environment. It is enough to cause one’s imagination to run amok – with visions of the 100’s if not thousands of skilled pairs of hands creating this work for future generations. A legacy of love and devotion.

After seeking the blessings of the priest, I went around on a shooting spree with my digital camera with the results for all to see.

Here are the results - the real work is of course far superior to anything that my poor pictures can convey.










(Please ignore the erroneous date on the photos, btw).

But:
The undesirable side of our society was amply visible in some places. Empty Bisleri bottles, plastic covers, etc. Even worse, graffiti like “Pinky loves Bittu”, etc. It was heartbreaking – how could any human being in his/her senses allow such a defiling to happen in such a sacred place?

However:
We returned, our hearts full of love and respect for those who created this wonderful place for us to visit, appreciate and cherish. My three-year-old did the steps all the way up and back down by herself, albeit some of the steps were as high as her little legs.

An idea for senior citizens that helped my mother a lot – while climbing down, walk backwards as much as possible. Reduces the strain on your knees big-time. Also, better that someone younger walks in front of them JUST in case....

I realized there is no way one cannot have an emotional feeling when visiting such a marvel of architectural beauty.

The return:
We left SBG at 5:40 precisely. The return was simple and straight. We hit the junction of NH48 and Tumkur Road at Neelamangala at 7:30 (approx 110km). I did not go beyond 80kmph since this is a new car. However, at Neelamangala, we ended up waiting for nearly 45min to enter Bangalore thanks to the unyielding and chaotic truck traffic. Back home by 9pm.


Epilogue:
I was burning with irritation at the casual irresponsibility and scant respect shown by our society towards such a priceless legacy when - on our way down - there was a group of four adults (2 men, 2 women) who simply opened a chocolate and threw the wrapper aside on the steps. This - when a rubbish bin was just sitting on the right side of the steps at that point.
That was the last straw. I picked up the wrapper and went down to them and in Hindi (my Kannada leaves a lot to be desired) asked "Why don't you have some basic civic sense - there is a trash can on your right. Why do you litter this beautiful place". They gave me a cold glare but then took the wrapper and put it in the right place. Hopefully at least this one family will think twice before littering again...

In any case, berating them offered a slight solace to my irritation and I again happily dwelt on the beauty offered by the wonderous architects of Vindhyagiri.

I certainly hope to add more travelogues in the coming months.

Cheers

Ravi

Its Here !!!!!!!!!!

My brand new Hyundai Getz Prime 1.3 GLS

• Awesome gearshift
• LOADS of space inside
• Comfortable driving - footrest, handrest, tilt steering, huge windshield, etc.
• Headlight tilt adjustment - cool feature
• Digital Trip meter - nice
• Nice quiet engine

Car(e) to make a choice

The start:
Having just entered the new car market after having a faithful pre-owned M800 earlier, the choices (like in every other aspect of life these days) have been mind-boggling. I've jotted down the salient points leading to my car purchase - maybe someone else might find it useful. This is in no way a technical evaluation of various cars in the market today - there are more than enough of these available out there.

NOTE - ALL DETAILS MENTIONED BELOW ARE STRICTLY THE OPINION OF THIS AUTHOR AND DO NOT HAVE THE BACKING OF ANY SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH. TAKE IT FOR WHAT IT IS - AN OPINION - AND NOTHING MORE.

The internet has been the starting point for my research - having discovered fairly useful sites.

• www.indiacar.com - one of the first auto portals, they seem to have wasted their lead in the market with an EXTREMELY poorly designed site with most links (comparisons, quotes, etc) leading to non-existent information
• www.carazoo.com
• www.indiaautomobile.com
• www.carwale.com
• www.driveinside.com

Most of these sites have fairly the same amount of information - some presenting it better than the others. The best part about it is having the ability to compare information effortlessly that was earlier available only after numerous trips to various dealers.

Of course, the quantity of information is fairly overwhelming, especially to an auto - newbie like yours truly, but the usefulness cannot be discounted.

Two other websites that are VERY useful in terms of reviews and feedback would be:

• www.team-bhp.com/forum - awesome forum of car crazy chaps, fantastic source of deep information
• www.mouthshut.com - fairly layman feedback/reviews/ownership reports about cars

How I went about it:
My parameters for buying were:

• Budget - roughly Rs.5-6 lakhs, though somewhat flexible
  
• Size - I wanted to graduate beyond the Maruti 800/Alto/Santro zone at this time
• Size again - I was sure I didn't want (read - can't afford) a Merc, Sonata, Accord, etc - neither the purchase nor the maintenance :)
• Maintenance - should be fairly trouble free and not too pricey parts
• Mileage - should be decent
• Performance - While a good pickup, torque and smooth acceleration/braking are definitely a plus point, these weren't the ONLY driving factors for a weekend driver like me.
  

Narrowing down choices

Mostly, I used the above websites for:

• Comparing cars - price, features, performance, etc.
• Cost details
• Reviews, feedback, reports, etc.
  

Even with the above parameters it was fairly straight forward to narrow down my choices. Or rather, cancel out options I DID NOT want to consider.

• Logan - new entrant, too risky - not many reality checks to go by
• Chevy U-VA, Ford Fusion - never a fan of American cars. Resale value doesn't seem to be great and parts are known to be not too cheap.
• Indica - hmmm, not sure but the looks aren't appealing enough - probably because there's too many of them out there :)
• Palio - mileage, maintenance headaches... Never mind..

Having knocked the above cars off the list, that left behind the first choice:

Maruti Swift VDi
This was the obvious choice - price below 6lakhs (on the road), awesome performance, great owner feedback. Almost no negative points. Except a BIG ONE from Maruti itself which caused me to move on. The car wouldn't be available before 8 months after booking.
Having made up my mind to buy a car, I certainly did not relish waiting that long. So I thought of moving to the next best in the category - the petrol version

Maruti Swift VXi
I went ahead and booked the car paying the steep booking charges of Rs.50,000. However, a couple of weeks later, I realized even the 2+ months wait for this car was too annoying and requested the dealer (Bimal) to refund my deposit which he kindly agreed to. Thus Maruti lost one more customer to competition.

So finally..... (let the drumrolls begin)
Hyundai Getz Prime 1.3 GLS
I actually went by to the Hyundai showroom (Trident - Indiranagar) simply because it was really close to my house. I intended to test drive the 1.3 Getz because a friend of mine had just bought it and was all praise.
Strangely, none of the above listed sites have too much review/feedback information to offer about this car apart from its lack of mileage.

Anywas, once there, I test drove the Accent and was almost taken up by it - costing just 10k more the Getz GLX (on the road - Bangalore - 6.2lakhs), here was a "BIG" car, a tried and tested workhorse.
And then I test drove the Getz Prime 1.3 with my wife.

What pretty much closed the deal was:

• Gearshift - The most amazing gearbox. Changing gears felt like a baby's bottom. Smooth as satin Has to be tried to believe. No other car I have driven has given this kind of feedback.
• Mileage - Just below the Swift. For a primarily weekend driver like me, that is not an issue. In fact, Getz Prime is not really that bad.
  
• Feedback from other Hyundai car owners - decent service, fairly widespread service network. Also, with this car requiring normal service once in 6 months/10k km. its not such a bad deal
• Space - For the people behind, more than even Accent. Made the Swift rear seating feel like a Mumbai local train at peak hour. For us with our frisky 3 year old who actually refuses to enter cars, this is a HUGE bonus. Plus, the additional 60-40 folding, etc. make the car REALLY spacious.
  
• What little feedback I did read from the owners was quite positive. Also, it did start appealing to me that one might pay extra for quality (GLS is certainly priced on the higher side). Besides, every other car on the road these days is a Swift (no exaggeration in Bangalore). The same is not true for Getz Prime.

Overall, this is more of a family car rather than just a driver's car.

It would lend itself well to long drives with many people, all enjoying the trip rather than just the driver.

Thus - a Hyundai Getz Prime 1.3 GLS it is :)

We (as in - my wife) has selected the dark blue option (Deep Pearl Blue). Hoping to get the car by the first week of Septemer. (Maruti Suzuki - note: waiting period < 2 weeks)

More REAL feedback to be added later.

Peace, calm and Yercaud

Yercaud - Gyaan, Route Map and Opinion

Yercaud was a name that - to me - was rarely heard, yet synonymous with some cozy little town nestled amidst some small corner between a couple of branches somewhere, floating on a cloud.
Theoretically only 230km from Bangalore, yet seemed miles away in reality. Why else would I not have thought of visiting this little town on a hill in the past five years I have been in B'lore?

Prologue:
Trip to Yercaud on Friday the 13th (July 2007). Two couples with three sub-5 year olds between them. In a Maruti Alto. Has all the makings of an epic journey :)

Also - some of the experiences and artefacts (driving route map) may be of use to future trippers...

The drive to Yercaud: We started off from Bangalore at 1:30 pm. The idea was to try and reach Yercaud within 5 hours or sunset, whichever happened first. The route was planned well courtesy Google Maps and the kinds souls who have added the landmarks along the way. So off we went with the kids scattered on the back seats between the two mothers secured by child-lock doors - heading off towards Salem, Tamil Nadu, 200 km away.

It took about an hour to reach Hosur after passing the never-ending construction on Hosur Road/Electronics City and the truck mafia en route. After that the route was fairly straight forward. Most of the deviations were fairly intuitive and it was not too difficult to stay on the main road. Occasionally at places like Kaveripattinam (a little town on the way), it becomes hard to appreciate that one is on NH7 with the road being no wider than truck chassis and shops encroaching the highway - however, it is always reassuring to stop your friendly neighbourhood moped rider with his half-dozen kids packed in various positions, rather precariously, on his robust vaahan to validate that one is on the right track - towards Salem, TN.

Around 3 hours later, we rested at a nice veggie hotel at Dharmapuri. The snacks and coffee was really decent - not sure of the name of the hotel now but it was just on the left of the road @ Dharmapuri, with a rather large statue of a guy holding dosas and idlis on a plate.

Refreshed, we took off again - my daughter most cooperatively refusing to get back into the car, having thrown up twice already. Thanks to my alert wife holding plastic bags in the right place at the right time, the car did not stink that much :).

Once at Salem, NH7 becomes "Omalur Road" - and curiously all the sign boards on the road do not mention Salem anymore resulting in a bit of confusion. Finally, a split on the road comes up wherein all drivers to Yercaud are required to simply stay on the left fork.
This conveniently leads you to Salem's famed "Five Roads" - a junction as maddening as our beloved Begur Road junction on Hosur Road or even better, Trinity Circle minus cops and signals.
Here we took the immediate left which led to "Hastampatti", probably a suburb of Salem.

Hungry drivers would do well to simply go straight on Five Roads - within 1 km, you would find "Saravana Bhavan" hotel on the left (park on the left turn just before this hotel). The coffee (read - kaapi) there is fantastic.

Anyways, Hastampatti Circle came up quite soon - the identifier being a temple complex on the left.
Turning left, we passed a Central Jail and we were on Yercaud Road.
There was a slightly confusing junction (Gorumedu junction or something) where on stays on the right and then another fork with a pink house where one stays to the left.

Then the main drive uphill starts.

Yercaud is essentially a little town on top of a hill surrounded by forests.
The greenery was fantastic as was the road. Numerous hairpin bends - but the road was quite well maintained and the curves were rather well designed as well (anyone in BBMP listening?).
Also the truck drivers were (surprise?) quite courteous.

Along the route, upto about 5km before Yercaud one finds simian company all along the way (probably sighting their three little cousins in our car). They are very obviously used to handouts from tourists and can get rather aggressive so better not to have any food items on hand or visible - since the drive is rather slow, they would not hesitate to reach out and grab stuff from the car. 2-wheeler drivers, especially beware.

But the sight of tiny babies clutching their mother's tummies firmly even while the latter bounds up and down the rocks and trees is very endearing.

So finally, we reached our destination a bit late.
Our stay was booked in a Deluxe Cottage at Grange Resorts.
Yercaud Road takes one to the heart of the town which is the lake. From here, we asked for directions towards "Pagoda Point" (curiously known to locals as Pakoda Point) and went on.
The roads did not have any lights but there were quite a few sign boards and an occasional pedestrian - sufficient to get us to the resort without trouble.

About the resort:
Grange Resort has a website which makes it look quite appealing, but after two days of stay, I must say I was quite disappointed. For Rs.1350 a day, it was mostly not worth it. Reasons??

• The "Cottage" is basically just a bedroom with an attached bath.
• The rooms are not particularly clean and it is possibly to spot small cockroaches around.
• The bedsheets left a lot to be desired - one of them having a large hole in the center.
• Tea and coffee are not available until 7:30 am - so my idea of sitting up at 6:30am in the midst of the dense, lush greenery sipping fresh hot tea was rather washed out.
• The food at the resort is not great.
• Morning tea/coffee (when it is eventually available) is charged at Rs.12 per cup - so forget about having 2-3 cups at no cost if you are a tea addict like me.
• The swimming pool was non-functional.
• The main play area was derelict.
  
• Breakfast is over at 9:30 am so if you plan to get up late, prepare to go hungry.
  

On the positive side:

• Green Green Green - lot of trees
• Small play area in front of our "cottage"
  
• Sprightly young manager - quite a nice guy
• Complimentary breakfast is GOOD
  

Overall - there are better options for that price range. Grange is honestly not a very professionally run place - its a nice place with a chalta-hai types attitude.

We experienced lunch at the Grand Palace - it is on the way to "Kilyur Falls".
The food was fantastic - wide range of options and quite tasty - even for vegetarians.
4 adults and 3 kids ate well - all the way from soup to ice-cream and the tab was less than Rs.800.
Also, the place looked professionally run though I cannot really vouch for it since I have not stayed there.

Anyways - our Yercaud - things to do list ran as below:

• Pagoda Point - nice view point 4 km from the lake. Beautiful vista. However, not too well maintained.
• Parks - brought out the kids within us. We (adults) had a jolly time on the swings along with the little ones too. Lots of parks.
• Anna Park with the HUGE slide - Rs.2 entry fee
• Horticulture garden - Rs. 2 entry, Rs. 10 camera
  
• The park without a name and free entry - by the lake. Small zoo though mainteance leaves a bit to be desired. LOTS of swings for adults and kids there...
  

• The lake - nice lake though dirty in some corners. Rs.70 for a paddle boat for 30 min. Very nice and enjoyable.
• Kiliyur Falls - We didn't go there since there's not water at this time. If you got Yercaud in the late monsoon or December time frame, it will have water.
  

Food - Surprisingly if you are a veg Nazi like I am, there is only one real option - Hotel Malar, next to Shevaroys Hotel. They have a typical South Indian fare. Kaapi and ghee roast are really good. We had the South-Indian thali for lunch - pretty good.
There is a supermarket with Pizza, etc downstairs - haven't tried that though.

Shopping

• Bhavani Singh's Perfumery - I was obviously struck by the name. Apparently Bhavani Singh was a freedom fighter who settled down with family in Yercaud about 60 years ago. His family now run the business. They basically provide forestry products (honey, perfume, herbal extracts, etc). They have a shop and factory where one can see how things are done. This is on the way to Lady's Seat.

Nothing much else to shop around - uniquely at least.

Route Tips

• You can go to Hogenakkal. It is just off NH7 at Dharmapuri - take a left (on the way to Bangalore) - go 30km. Not very advisable if you have small kids with you.
• At Dharmapuri, the NH forks out - both forks go to Bangalore. The right fork is 25km longer but it is a NH with multi-lanes along the way.

  The left fork is a State Highway - 2 lanes all the way. But given it was a Sunday afternoon (this is the route we took), it was quite empty. Just a few trucks and buses here and there.

  The road is decently maintained but has quite a few undulations all along. The route is very scenic and passes through Palacode and Royakattai towns before merging with the NH at Hosur.

• If you change your mind, you can turn right at a junction and Palacode and join the NH earlier.
  

Learnings:
-- If you have kids below 5, keep lot of plastic covers when you travel by car.
-- Don't feed kids in the car. It messes up the car while feeding AND after as well.
-- Just because a resort charges you nearly Rs.1500 per day, it won't necessarily be 3-star.


Appendix:
Route map: Bangalore - Yercaud >>>> Download here <<<<

Prologue

Procrastination has never been an issue for me - pretty much over the last 32 years (almost) that I have been on this planet (since we haven't yet realized the Google dream of flying to Mars at a cost of $10-$20 per lb). However, having adapted to pretty much most aspects of modern life (internet, java, instant coffee, sms & missed calls, flight delays) and experienced most of them, "blogging" has been something I have been an extremely delayed entrant to. Yes - I've heard the term all over - cafe's, the post office, newspapers - everywhere except on toilet paper rolls. But somehow could never overcome the inertia to post my numerous thoughts on virtual bullettin boards, not wanting to atrophy precious brain nerves of any poor soul that happened to cyber-stumble into my virtual dwelling.

But eventually, it caught up with me (in the form of my wife's insistence, if I may) and here I am.

A software engineer by profession, working for India's software services behemoth - Infosys Technologies - and currently living in London but based in Bangalore, though being from Bombay (Mumbai), yet a Tamil speaking Keralite.... That's me. Though not usually as boring as I sound so far.

Currently, there're a million (or googol if you prefer) thoughts and themes I'd like to pen which, I'd like to follow up after.

So welcome and may the Power be with You.

Ravi