When you are celebrating your birthday with your parents in the warmth of your home, there might be a cousin there who is struggling for life…

When you are sitting comfortably in front of your PC watching a movie, a friend out there might be lying wounded on the floor, after a car accident, breathing his last…

When a father is watching his daughter grow, become someone successful in life, another father there is seeing his child losing grip of life day after day…

When you are sharing few moments of love with your dear ones, there are people out there who are waiting for their closed ones to come back home…

And this is how life goes, happiness and sorrow, smiles and tears, relief and regrets…

It teaches us only one thing: cherish the past and grasp the present, to better face the future. Life is the lesson to learn to appreciate what we have. It’s easy to get lost but it always strikes us with particular events that make us ponder more about it and realise its preciousness.

“Live high, live mighty, live righteously…” J.Mraz

If you are aspiring a career in software development, there are a few things you should realise before really stepping into this adventure…

I might be working as web developer for less than one year but I’ve learnt quite a lot in those last months. The first and foremost advice is to really like programming else it’s all gonna be hell!

Besides having an affinity for the job, certain skills are also important among which are analytical skills, patience (loads of it), a well -structured way of working and be well organised.

A developer , I believe, should also be sharing – for his/her own benefit (yeah true). Of course claiming your work is important but here the main idea is to share your experience and knowledge with your colleagues. Not only do you stand to gain more but you also get to introspect how you work and maybe find out how to improve it.

Deciding about becoming a developer will also bring about changes in how you view life. Development brings you to think methodically, relate things to others, find out the possible outcomes, the different conditions that could alter your results and so on. Soon this way of thinking will start to reflect on your everyday life.You might end up finding yourself calculating every outcomes of one single decision (side effects of if/else control structures?).

However, being a developer is the best thing that could happen to me. I used to look in awe at softwares and think of those peeps who had actually coded these as crazy. Today, I just feel like they are not only crazy but geniuses who have made of a computer a living entity

As you aspire to step into a developer’s career, I’d advise you to sincerely ‘feel’ it than just ‘choose’ it. As someone once told me: Since we are to make money to live, why not find a job that’s going to bring both money and self-satisfaction…

Photo montage by Sou

To every Mauritian, the 12th March means not only the Independence day but also a special time to think about our nation, our daily lives in our country and also the different cultures present in our little island.

Far from all the political aspects of the event, the 12th March for us is, according to me, a time to rejoice about our Mauritian culture. Yes, we should be grateful that today we are free and independent but I believe more emphasis should now be put on the new generations. A bigger focus on how we are to live this freedom together, how we are to bring this nation forward on the world map.

Above all, I believe it should be a day where we celebrate each and every Mauritians. A day where we really enjoy the fact that we live in this little paradise. A day where we try to pay a tribute to our special Mauritian culture…In short it should be more of some big celebration among ourselves, fellow Mauritians – maybe on the beach, at sunset with grilled chicken and beer

We are to at least realise our luck of living in our little island in the sun and therefore to really grasp this, why not go out, discover it, enjoy it and appreciate it to its true value?

Also, it’s a time to ponder about how to make our nation progress because mind you politicians are not to be relied on. If we want to go further, we will have to bring our own contributions. And it all demands some effort from us all – some sincerity in our work, for example, would really help us all in improving our quality of life! If each and every Mauritian employee (specially in the public sector) could show some dedication to their job, we could reach better quality of service and therefore happier clients and healthier businesses.

Those are of course things to think about. And since I’m talking about ways of making our island a better place, have a look at this Google Moderator website - Ideas to make Mauritius better! – where fellow Mauritians have posted their ideas of how to improve things in our country. Together, we could really make a difference so let’s just take some time to think about what we can do at individual level…

I’ll thus wish all of Mauritians a happy national day and may our cultures always flourish together!

Cheers to Mauritius!

Cheers to all Mauritians!!!

Yes, this has become the latest trend – finding your boss online on either a social community site like Facebook or a blog!

Recently, I was reading a blog post (click here to view it) where a vacancy at Vinivi was kind of being announced by a third party but still where comments were being answered enthusiastically by the company’s founder. This stands as some good example of how technology, specially the internet, has completely altered the communication between the boss and the employee.

Though this might be more of a reality for ICT companies, I believe it’s also becoming so for other businesses. Why is it so? Well first of all because the boss is also a human being (yes yes) and like any other person following internet trends, he\she has a profile on a social community site or even has a blog. So, there’s some huge possibility that you meet each other online isn’t it?

Secondly, the internet is becoming an important communication tool for any type of businesses and so it helps in keeping contact with not only clients but also employees. And what’s the best way to reach people on the net other than having a profile on a social network or having a blog? Let’s just take Facebook as example, its population of users is such that you can always expect to find your colleagues there including your boss!

However, the complexity of the matter starts here – are you going to accept/send a friend request from/to your boss on professional basis or personal ones? Though limited profiles do exist, it’s always somewhat confusing at times to really judge what’s allowed and what’s not. It’s maybe a big disadvantage of the Web 2.0 – where everything and everyone becomes one single community – where your personal life gets mingled with your professional life…

It’s not such a bad thing though – well depending on the way your boss keeps his relations with his employees – it helps in getting to know your boss and colleagues in a different light. It’s also easier to get an overview of how the people are, in the company you are about to join. Besides if you have a young and open-minded boss (like we do at Netgroup), such situations do not really seem awkward.

I believe this trend cannot be stopped, we shall see more proximity between employers and employees, thanks to such social networks. However, the question of how to handle such proximity lies with us. We are all to take our responsibilities of how to handle our relationships. Communicating over the net with colleagues and bosses is really beneficial for the company itself – it helps in enhancing the relationship between them. So, let’s not mess up all this and let’s learn to be sensible and responsible on the net. It’s not about imposing limits but it’s about knowing how to use the freedom being offered online….

Ever since man has been on this Earth, he has been establishing rules,regulations,structured systems that are meant to bring some standards or guidelines for others to follow.

However, it has also been in human nature to go against those restrictions – students who’d rather bunk classes, drivers who’d invent new laws on the roads, workers who’d rather rebel against the company’s policy, a lawyer who’d find his client some way to escape from law by manipulating it…

Why is man so fickle? Because the human being is an ever changing organism with a brain that keeps on thinking and that will always find a flaw somewhere in the established system or that’ll shrewdly devise a way to avoid restrictions. In other words, the human mind can never bind itself to rules. It’s inborn for any human being to develop some resistance to any kind of limitations presented to him/her. It’s somewhat some kind of self defense because we all love our freedom.

I don’t believe it’s some flaw in human nature though. Had we been mere receptive puppets, the world would’ve stayed unchanged. The French Revolution, Ghandi’s non-violent fight for independence and more recently Obama’s victory for the United States Presidential Elections (to name a few) – none of these would’ve happened if man hadn’t been of changing and rebellious nature. We all want the best and we all have our limits of tolerance.

When I said rules in my title, I didn’t imply legal rules or any institutional rule in particular, I was pointing out at any type of limitations being put upon humans, may it be man-made or natural. Man has and will always strive for his freedom even if it means going against any authority. At times it might be a huge outrage of anger and frustration, that has been kept for too long, or it might also be some wise thoughts and calculated actions but in the end it would only result in man trying to pull down the walls of restrictions and that’s why there will always be laws and law breakers…

P.S: The accompanying picture is quite evocative of restrictions and freedom both right there so close yet so far Enjoy !

The True Businessman by Peter Geo

Today the Central Electricity Board (C.E.B) was supposed to carry out some works on our electric lines during the day and the supply of electricity was cut as from 08.30 a.m. to 3.30 p.m. However, when we got back home we saw that we were still without electricity and that our neighbours had already got back theirs… Something was definitely wrong in our connections then. So, the very first step to take is of course to call C.E.B’s hotline number – which my mum did THRICE (the first time being at around 6.30p.m. and the third time being at around 09.30 p.m.).

Meanwhile my dad phoned a friend who’s got a relative working at the C.E.B who in turn called an advisor at the Ministry of Public Utilities who then phoned a press officer of the same ministry ( wait it still goes on) who theeen phoned the C.E.B to dispatch some technicians at our place…

All this to point out that in our little-island-in-the-sun, if you have no contacts (and here I mean of course top level employees) in whatsoever public institution, you might end up calling endlessly at customer care offices ( wonder what kind of care that is)…

The same thing happened to a friend of mine who kept phoning at Orange (Mauritius Telecom) Customer Care to troubleshoot a problem he’s been having with his SIM card. It’s still under process… While my mum had her SIM card upgraded in one single day thanks to some acquaintance there!!!

SO my question is : what’s in the saying – the customer is a king??? It isn’t , specially for public facilities! They boast about being at the service of customers, about training their staff for better customer service but what for if in the end it’s some contact that you need?

It might also appear as some kind of corruption BUT face the damn truth if you ever think of going the straight way – it’s going to take you more time, more energy ( because you’re sure to steam up) and more patience (because of course your case will have to be viewed and reviewed).

Some pretty sad reality of how our public facilities go about… If we all could just be true to ourselves and true to our work, this world would have been much a more pleasant place to live! So, you out there when you’re at work do think of how you would feel as the customer and do try to give your best in your job because it would not only benefit you but all those who depend on it also…

The video below is very evocative about the fast (in fact SUPER RAPID) evolution of information technology worldwide. Have a look before going further with this post

While it might sound a bit freaky, the video is quite indicative about the big influence of information technology on our existence. I don’t know if all of us do realise it or even feel it but indeed the big evolution in the field of information technology totally changed our lifestyles and habits! Who would have thought that Facebook – a site initially meant for Harvard students only – would gain so much popularity in such a little time?

So, of course, what does it all mean? What do all these figures mean? It all depends, according to my humble opinion, on our understanding and vision of things. Some might say we are being dominated by technology while others would just ravel at the news.

As for me, it means that we are living in the information technology era where the most important asset is information. But of course, information alone is not enough. It needs to be given the appropriate structure for more efficient use. So there it is – information technology brought about new jobs and a new sense to knowledge in itself.

How come a new sense to knowledge? If today blogs are gaining in popularity it’s mainly because it is believed now that it’s not only what experts have to share that counts but public opinion also! THIS is the new sense to knowledge – an opening to the public, an opportunity to let people share their opinions and beliefs which eventually becomes a pool of information rich enough to enhance your knowledge as well as understand others.

Information technology has eventually brought up a real new aspect to business management and the internet (combined with all telecommunications devices) brought about the best way to leverage information resources. However, it also brought new challenges like how to keep up with its rapid pace of evolution; because eventually it’s like a race where the fastest is the winner.

This also means that only part of the world is into this incredible evolution while another part is still struggling with famine, civil war and other calamities… It’s the modern “natural selection” altogether.

Still information technology is really fascinating and more inventions are to come because it’s like going round a circle: you think you’ve reached the end but it might very well be another start…

As some of you already know, I’ve been appointed as Web Developer at Netgroup for a bit more than 4 months now. Though the name might not ring a bell like Accenture, Netgroup offers great opportunity to young developers specially in developing some experience in web development. And again though we are no big multinational, the team spirit is what is the big strength of the company as well as the culture it has adapted. Here is an interview of the director, Mr Vincent Duval Latreille , published in Emploi Mag magazine , which unveils more information about Netgroup.

“And celebrate the malleable reality nothing is ever as it seems this life is but a dream” Jason Mraz

Sky 32 by Peace of Art

Don’t you wish you could soar up the sky
Watching the rest of the world as it goes by?

Don’t you wish to sail on the deep blue sea,
Feel the openness of the ocean and sense the real meaning of being free?

Don’t you wish to lie down by the shore, the cool waters running at your feet
And their sound playing in your mind, so sweet?

So tell me don’t you wish dreams could come true?

$öU;)

I am not spending that much by mydeadpony

My title might appear quite evocative specially that we are in the festive period and the shopping frenzy is at its peak. The fact is that after all my trips to shopping centers, back home, when piling up my receipts, I started to wonder how much we tend to spend during these days. It seems quite incredible specially that we are supposed to be in a world financial crisis! Yet this end of year shopping craze is like a tradition…

And then it made me think of discussions we’ve been having among friends about money saving – a very great challenge for us all! It’s hardly like we can save much from our salary. Money really rules in this world and the more you get the more you feel like spending it! It’s the worst evil on Earth I’d say! Are we too young to feel like saving? Or is it that the way of living is such now that saving has become too difficult?

The matter I believe involves just too many factors and it is different for each and everyone. Some of us have big dreams and big wants while others have habits to cater for… But most of all we live in a world where medias are being fully exploited for marketing products adding to this an ever evolving world of technology…The outcome from this is quite clear then – the spending process is never going to stop.

And how about saving? It seems very hard indeed! I believe it all comes from ourselves – self discipline and all that. Maybe some new year resolution then

All the best to all of you peeps out there (including me) and have nice feasts !