Volume 1 Issue 2

1st March, 2007

THE BITS HERALD

An English Press Club Presentation

Waves and Quark 07 : A Preview

Waves 07, the second edition of our annual inter college cultural festival, is around the corner and we just couldnt help ourselves to a sneak peek at what we have in store. The preparation for the mega event has been meticulous. The various clubs and committees were formed well in advance and have since been working overtime. Most of them look set to meet their respective targets and even exceed them. Kudos to everyone involved. This time too, like the last, only Goan colleges will be invited. However, the number has more than doubled to 14. Apart from that, the event will be open to students from other colleges too. Over 4000 students are expected to attend, making last year's impressive turnout look measly. There are a host of events lined up throughout the 3 day event. Care has been taken to ensure that the events are diverse enough to cater to everybody's interest. The main attractions at Waves, Soon after an exhilarating Waves 07, itll be time to get Funda MenTrace Route and Battle of Bots tal. (under the Roboficial category) Quark 07 is going to be the first are expected to be the focal point national event to be held in our of our tech fest. Other events like college. It promises to be a tech- Open Showcase, Paper Presentanological extravaganza and an tion, Dexters lab and Scion are exciting battlefield for some of also being looked forward to by a the smartest students in the lot of students. A few workshops country, whilst still retaining the and a series of guest lectures are exuberant spirit that charactergoing to be conducted during the izes a college festival. fest. The tech fest encompasses an A gamut of events under the banassortment of events categorized ner School Bag are specially beinto $bash, Elixir, e-phasor, ing arranged for school kids. Roboficial, Mechagi, Corporate A star gazing party has been and Chaos. as most will agree, are the DJ Nite and the Pro Nite. For the former, talks are on with DJ Sasha from Blore and a couple of Goas best DJs. The bands in contention for the Pro Nite include Mother Jane (Cochin), Bhayanak Maut (Mumbai), F*** The Name (Delhi) and a few others. Waves 07 is predicted to be bigger than any other event our campus has witnessed. This may eventually prove to be an understatement, as our college fest seems well on its way to becoming the biggest one Goa has ever seen. One thing is for sure though. We are all in for the time of our lives. I can't wait...

planned for the geeks to relax after a day of brain-storming sessions. A pro-nite and a movie-nite are also on the cards. For those who are keen on testing their knowledge, a set of questions has been put up on the website www.quark07.org. With a large number of students participating, Quark 07, ably buoyed by sponsors with deep pockets, is sure to inscribe a success story as never seen before at BITS.

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EDITORIAL
Dear reader After the success of the first issue, we present to you the second edition loaded with the latest happenings in our buzzing campus. This time, with better print quality and a QUIZ Contest with prizes to be won, its bound to be even more interesting. You dont have to take our word for it. Read on.

The Team: Alok V Ankit C Ankit G Girish M Kavya M Krishna B Pratik M Vivek G Dr. Joy Anuradha
The recordings of interviews can be taken from dc nick Ankit Any ideas/ information/ comments can be shared with EPC team on the following mail ids:

Next year, many of our present 3rd year students will be busy preparing for and answering a slew of entrance tests. Its quite incredible that even after going through 4 long years of graduation some would want to add a two year long feather a Masters degree to their cap. Well, we all want to lay our hands on that dream car (or home, or whatever). And it seems worth the sacrifice. A post-graduation degree can be done in various streams. As far as our preferences go, however, management and technology rule the roost. But then, isnt that one choice too many? Which one to choose? Most people prefer to sidestep that question. They answer entrance tests for both courses and wait for the results before deciding. Why these courses only? An MTech or an MS if done abroad helps to specialize in a field which the student is already familiar with. An engineer who has a post graduation degree is valued far more than one who has merely graduated. This translates into a better job read more money and better opportunities. Thus, an MTech is a natural choice for BTech students wanting to pursue higher studies. The second choice is a little more complex. Why would an engineering student want to do a degree in management? Wouldnt that undermine the time and effort put into the engineering course? There surely is no dearth for commerce students in the country, is there? My mom threw these questions at me the last time we had a dinner table conversation about higher education. After a lot of pondering, yours truly arrived at some vague conclusions that may seem obvious to most but I hope would interest others. Firstly, in India, most students do not really choose to do engineering. They just do it. This is a sad consequence of our herd mentality. As a result, there are just too many engineering students and too few jobs, many of which are not financially rewarding. And most of these students never really wanted to be engineers in the first place. So they naturally start looking elsewhere. Thats when an MBA seems the best bet, for at least two reasons. 1) The obscene pay packages. 2) The fact that everyone else is doing it. There are others however, who have always had the IIMs in their sights. The engineering degree, for these budding managers, was just an incidental. This article was never meant to decide a winner among the two degrees. There is no winner. It is up to you to decide what you want to do an MBA or an MTech? Either way, good luck.

epc@ bits-goa.ac.in editeam@ bits-goa.ac.in

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Direct. Speak
Our Director Prof. T.C.Goel, apart from handling administrative responsibilities has been very active in the social and academic scene of Goa. We talked to him about his involvement and contributions in these areas. Here is an excerpt from the interview :

The placements at both campuses will be managed by BITS Pilani and no difference will arise between the two.
EPC: Sir, Abhigyan, which is one amongst your many initiatives, has been around for over a year now. Has it met your expectations? Director: Abhigyan shouldnt be confined to BITS. Wherever I go, I ask students to undertake the task of teaching at least one illiterate person. The success of Abhigyan here has made me confident that this is the right way to address illiteracy. EPC: Sir, as the Director, what activities have you been involved in outside BITS? Director: Whenever any college or organization invites me to an event, I make it a point to attend. For example, recently I was in KHC for their inter college festival Phoenix. Whenever there is a Goa Agenda, the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry always invites me. The important thing is that all the high officials visiting Goa are realizing that there is an educational institute of national importance here. EPC: Sir, the first batch of this campus will soon be passing out? How do you feel? Director: Without doubt its true that Im very attached to the first batch since during their first year they were the only students here and all my time and energy was focused on them. But I have to accept the fact that they are leaving to pursue their own happiness and success. If they are happy, so am I. EPC: Sir, how is the institute preparing for its first placement sessions, next semester? Director: During placements, it is the performance of the student which matters most. The institute only provides them an opportunity to interact with the best firms. The placements at both campuses will be managed by BITS Pilani and no difference will arise between the two. So I have absolutely no worries and neither should the students.

EPC: Sir, what is your opinion on the current state of affairs of education in Goa? Director: In Goa, the literacy rate is very high. But I feel the quality of education is not very high. In the last three years, I have discussed this at various levels and found that there is an increasing awareness in the state about quality education.

EPC: Sir, what are your expectations from Quark and Waves this year? Director: For me, the only important aspect is that the students who are involved in the events should show and gain good organizing skills. Im not at all worried about the outcome.

A Note on ABHIGYAN
Abhigyan, the literary mission of our campus was started on Rajiv Gandhis birthday in the year 2005 by our Director with Sherin Kurian as the coordinator with the aim of teaching the three Rs- Reading, Writing & Arithmetic. It involves the labourers, their children, mess workers and hostel assistants as the students. The mission started with the support of Director but today it is being helped by various people. Be it in cash, kind or attracting more students. For example, a contractor who learned English, provided a kit to the children which contained essential commodities- soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, school bag etc.; sometimes faculty and students on special occasions sponsor snacks for learners; 14 students were vaccinated against polio on 11th February.

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TIDBITS
QUIZZING WITH

PHOENIX 07
Phoenix 07 was the inaugural edition of K.H.C s annual inter-college cultural festival. It was conducted on the 10th and 11th of last month. Our college took part and finished an overall 2nd. Very impressive considering that we didnt take part in all the events. In fact we finished in the top three in every event we did take part in. GMC, the winners of Waves 06, walked away with the title.

ACTIVITY
It seems quizzing in our campus has got a much needed boost in recent times. First, there was a business quiz, superbly conducted by WeQ. Then, the mechanical engineering students department, MAESTRO, organized an inter branch quiz on science and technology. Witnesses claim the quiz was unbelievably tough. EEE walked away with the 1st place and a well deserved cash award of Rs.500. Then the guys from RIT one guy and two girls actually conducted prelims for the Science and Technology Quiz, which will be held during Techtwister.

SHIP ARCHITECTURE
MAESTRO organized a lecture on Ship Design and Building Process, was delivered by two gentlemen from Goa Shipyard on the 26th February. An industrial visit by the P4 students to the shipyard is also being planned, we heard.

NETWORKED
CEL of our campus has been included as the member of National Entrepreneurship Network, popularly known as NEN. In fact CEL Pilani is one of the founders of NEN. CEL has also in store a host of interesting activities for QUARK and before.

PS AUTOMATOR
The site is created by Prakhar Prakash to collect feedback and Practice School reports from 3rd year students and use it to facilitate the process for the next batch. The site basically asks the seniors FAQs like project details, accommodation details, availability of food, etc. This information can be used by the 2nd yearites to help choose a proper PS station.

SPREE 07
This year, unlike the last, Waves will be solely a cultural event. No. Its not the organizing committee playing spoilsport. This year we are going to have an exclusive inter college sports event called Spree 07. The event will be held alongside Waves but the organization will be separately handled. Guess all you sport fans out there have sufficient reason to expect a lot of action.

ST MICROELECTRONICS
ST Microelectronics, one of the world's largest semiconductor manufacturers, is setting up joint research and innovation labs at BITS Pilani and IIT Delhi. The partnership agreements aim to combine the best of ST's leading-edge electronic skills and capabilities with the educational and research talents of the two institutes. Both labs are expected to be operational by second quarter of 2007.

BITS 360.COM
Abhimanyu Vatsya and Abhinav Asthana developed this site to have a 3D views of the nooks and corners of the campus. They used the Corel Paint Shop pro, Adobe Photoshop to edit the snaps; Panorama to form 360 view; and Flash Actionscript, PHP and My SQL for web designing part.

QUIZZER
The EPC Plans a quiz in every issue with attractive prizes sponsored by PC Station.

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SPORTS THIS YEAR

Given below are the results of all the inter hostel sports events that took place this year :

B O Y S

GIRLS

BH7

VALENTINES DAY BLUES

In spite of the impending exams, we somehow managed to celebrate Valentines Day this time. The dress code for the day did confuse a few. (Some people wore yellow and started looking for like minded partners!!!) A hop was organized on BWing in the evening. A few contests for couples helped liven up the otherwise dull event.

Devaki Sanjana

Why didnt Arjun Singh ever think of reservation for girls. I m sure nobody would have protested.

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IIT B TECHFEST 007

IIT-Bombay successfully conducted their annual science and technology fair, "Techfest 007", on January 26th-28th, 2007. This spectacular celebration of technology was the largest such event in Asia. The budget, it was claimed, was around 90 lakh rupees. With as many as 600 participant colleges from all over Asia, the attendance was estimated to be around 15,000. The innovatively named events included Micro mouse, Void, Tremors, Interconnections, CRO 2.0 and Auctions. A robotics workshop was conducted by TRI (Yeah. They conducted a similar workshop in our campus too). Eminent personalities like Dr. John Nash (Remember A Beautiful Mind??), Prof. Kevin Warwick, and Dr. Jill Tarter gave inspiring and motivating lectures to the students. To make sure it wasnt just work and no play, there were some scintillating performances by performers from USA, UK, France and Australia. Our college too took part in this extravaganza. Abhishek Kumar won "Auctions", in which he had to write software that maximizes your profits while bidding. Shraddha Vartak, Abhishek Agarwal and Ganesh Vernekar came 2nd in "Radio Sport". They had to build their own receivers and search for certain radio transmitting sources. Sidhartha Agrawal, Rahul Parsani and Sharanyan came 2nd in "CRO 2.0 ". These guys had to design a game on an oscilloscope. Mandar Gokhale along with a friend from IIT-B finished 2nd in the "Apogee quiz". Techfest 007 ended on a happy note for our college as we finished a commendable 4th overall. And the experience gained will sure prove valuable as Quark goes national this year.

BITS gets SUN ny

A developers workshop was organized on 25th February in the campus by the professionals of the Sun Microsystems . The key areas addressed during the conference were future prospects of java, operating system Solaris and building applications for desktop, web and mobile devices. The workshop kicked off with Simon Ritter speaking about the history and future of the computer industry. After enthralling the crowd with some fascinating demonstrations Peter Karlsson took the charge of introducing the audience to Solaris, the operating system developed by Sun Microsystems. Mr. Jeevan Ramakrishna discussed about the essentiality and usage of Grid computing with providing insight about its future prospects. The workshop ended with a vote of thanks to the Sun Microsystems and the professionals who enlightened the students with their presentation.

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WEEKEND DESTINATION
CABO-DE-RAM 1763 and was occupied by the British army between 1797-1813 . This fort until 1955 used to house a prison. There is a small church within the walls. There are Dhabas nearby for refreshment. A couple of kilometers before reaching the fort, just off to the right of the road, is a small cove with a patch of beach at the bottom of a steep, rocky cliff shaded by a few clinging palms. There's no fixed path, and its a matter of trial and error to get to the bottom. It can be accessed by taxi, motorbike, motor bike or cycle tours Its the same place where the Dil Chahta hai Trio parted ways and ultimately united along with their partners. Located in Goa's southern most Taluka Canacona, the fort takes its name from the name of Lord Rama , who had stayed in this place with Sita during his period of exile. The headland itself is a beautiful and wild landscape, with huge areas of terraced fields of the deep red earth common in Goa, and outcrops and cliffs of dark volcanic rock interspersed The fort was under Portuguese in Daily bus service available from Margao KTC bus stand to Cabo-de Ram. Journey will take about two-three hours along a splendid scenic route, ideal time to unnerve your senses. ! IDEAL DESTINATION FOR A HARDWORKING BITSIAN SOUL !

CARTOON CORNER

DC STARS ravemzsdin : Shubham Malhotra, BH3

He started the DC hub TITAN. He is notorious for kicking people at the slightest pretext.

LORD_dc: Ramanuj, BH6.

If u r wondering how the dude shares all those GBs; a 380 GB external is his secret.

KK : Kaustubh Kulkarni, BH4

He spent nearly 50 hours of online on dc which earned him an admin title on DC.

Sidius: Aravind Subramanian, BH8

Was the lord of dc before LORD_dc came along.

((((Full_of_life))) : Nita, GH4

Devaki Sanjana

Sole female admin in campus.

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MOVIE EKALAVYA

REVIEW

Ekalavya marks the return of Vidhu Vinod Chopra as a director after a 6 year long hiatus. His last movie was Mission Kashmir (2000). The star studded cast consists of Amitabh Bachhan, Boman Irani, Saif Ali Khan, Vidya Balan, Sanjay Dutt, Jackie Shroff, Sharmila Tagore and Raima Sen. Phew!! The story is a very different take on a tried and tested formula. The death of the head of a royal family is followed by a vicious battle for the throne and the legacy. The ageing Royal Guard, Ekalavya - played by Amitabh Bachhan, takes it upon himself to protect the rightful heir to the throne. The rightful heir, of course, is the prince played by Saif Ali Khan. The plot, however, gets thicker as the movie progresses. Amitabh Bacchan is at his usual best. Saif shines through too.

But sadly, most of the other performances are overshadowed. Technically, the movie is awesome. And as expected, the soundtrack is very good and blends well with the movie.

CROSSLANES !!
Across 2. Device used to control the movements and direction of a model airplane, a video-game character, etc. 7. A covered bundle of wires that carries electronic messages 10. a small device for controlling a pointer on screen. 11. A disk that holds up to 800k of information, but the information stored cannot be changed 12. a device attached to a computer, used for making paper copies of material produced on the computer 13. a place on the outside of a computer where you plug in a cable that connects the computer to other devices, such as a printer 14. an electronic device that takes in input, processes it and gives the desired output. 15. a computer diskette 16. Physical components of the computer, computer equipment Down 1. A thin flat circular plate 3. in a computer, a set of instructions that lets a person perform certain tasks, such as word processing, adding numbers, or reading information on the Internet. 4. an arrow, black line or other sign on a computer screen that shows where you are writing. 5. a screen, as on a television or computer, that displays information 6. the surface on which a computer monitors image is displayed 8. a small, portable device that computes 9. a row or rows of keys (on a piano, computer, etc.) 13. a set of coded instructions telling a computer how to process information
Solve this crossword and drop in your entries at PC Station, Shop No 9, Dr. Tarquinho Henriques Appartments, Near St Andrews Church, Opp. Dreamland Ice-cream Corner. The winners will be announced in the next issue. Dont miss this exciting opportunity of winning a 2GB PENDRIVE !!