In my last blog, I said that I was going to reflect and write about my experience at MIT this weekend. After some thoughts and writing, I decided to hold off on posting it on the blog. I think it would be more appropriate if I complete my thesis first before talking about the experience.

I am, however, intrigued by Yoav's recent post on his blog about his retrospective of the SDM experience. I am going to write a similar post this week.

Last but not least, Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to all (or if you are politically-correct, happy holidays).

12/24/2006 5:26:30 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [2]

Personal

This is it. I am done with all my course requirements at MIT with the completion of today's final. There is still the thesis left to do; but, I am feeling really liberated right now. No more cramming for finals, late night greasy Chinese take-out, sleep depravation, rushing from one thing to another, and the constant burden of worrying and catching up with classes.

I have a lot of thoughts and things to reflect on right now; but I am going to wait till the weekend to blog all about it. For now, I just want to have a homemade meal, smell the flowers, and enjoy my well-deserved break!!!

12/21/2006 9:02:52 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [8]

School

Last friday, I succumbed to the allure of the latest game console and bought myself a Christmas present in the form of an Xbox 360. I was going to wait for another week so that I won't be distracted by video games as I still have one more final to go; but last Friday was the last day to receive a $100 rebate for the product. I simply cannot pass on a good deal. I also used my thesis research, which actually has something to do with game consoles, to justify for the purchase.

The Xbox 360 is incredibly easy to set up. The package comes with everything that one needs to get the machine running. It comes with a component/composite video cable and a wireless controller, including batteries. Yes, all 7th generation game consoles support wireless controllers. Next, I signed up for a gaming profile on Xbox Live, an online multiplayer gaming and content delivery system designed specifically for the Xbox 360, to download patches needed for updating the hardware. After 20 minutes of initial setup, I was ready to see what my game machine can do. I don't know much about gaming these days; but I have been told by several sources that Gears of War is one game that every Xbox 360 owner should get as it pushes the game console to its limits. Based on that claim, I bought Gears of War as my first Xbox 360 game. As the game appears on my screen, it became clear why Gears of War is the current killer app on the Xbox 360. The graphics is stunningly photorealistic. There is no lag in animation even at resolution of 1080i - the game runs very smoothly. Typically, I am not a fan of third-person shooting game genre because of its mindless brute-force tactical gameplay. Gears of war take on a different approach to third-person shooting, emphasizing on team work and cover-and-conceal tactics. Patience and sound tactical sense are rewarded in this game. Actually, playing this game reminds me of my military training where cover-and-conceal and suppressive firing to support the advancement of my teammates were drilled to our very soul. I am still not very comfortable with the controls. I seem to keep pressing the wrong keys at the wrong time.

Surprisingly, I have been exercising abstinence by not playing video games in the last 3 days instead focusing on studying for my finals and working on other pertinent activities. But I am counting down to the last day of school - just two more days.

12/19/2006 10:43:11 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [2]

Computers

With the exception of finals, this semester is pretty much over. This means that I have completed all course work for my program at MIT. I had my final exam for microeconomics last Friday and will the final exam for my political economy class this coming Thursday (yes, my very last one as a student). After next week, the only thing that gets between me and degree is the thesis.

So far I have been dragging my feet with my thesis. Yes, I have the thesis problem statement and hypothesis defined. The scope of the thesis, however, was really beyond what is minimally required by a master student. No, don't get me wrong, I am more than happy to do a PhD-minus or master-plus thesis; but I am constrained by one thing: time. I still want to do a good thesis but I only have till May to complete the thesis. I was originally scheduled to complete everything by February but with the stress and workload that I have this semester this goal has proven unproductive. I simply don't have the time; but even if I did, I found it very distracting to switch between thesis work and coursework.

Fortunately, I found a new direction to completing my thesis without compromising the quality. I am loving this new novel approach. and confident of completing by mid-March while still offering new insights to the problem I am trying to solve. I don't want to divulge the details of my thesis at this point; but let's just say that it has something to do with disruptive technology, management of technology, microeconomics using the seventh generation game consoles (Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii) as a case study. Oh yeah, this new direction in my thesis work will fun.

12/18/2006 12:24:46 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [0]

School

It has been a while since I last blogged and there is a good reason for it. So what have I been doing the last month or so? Personally, I would prefer not to talk about it on a blog. Let's just say that I prefer to operate on an in a mode where information is asymmetric, believing that not all information especially the personal ones should be shared in public especially in this point in my life.

Nonetheless, I am feeling much relieved and upbeat now. So on a positive note, I am going to start blogging after a month-long hiatus. I have also been living a very sedentary, unhealthy lifestyle as of late. So another activity that I would like to resume after a month long suspension is exercise. Not surprisingly, I went for a run today and scheduled for squash with Dr. AJ tomorrow at MIT. Kat was right when she said: "I get bitchy when I don't exercise." I do feel less of a jerk after today's exercise. Can't wait to exercise again tomorrow.

12/16/2006 10:34:29 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [2]

Personal

On my last blog, I mentioned that the PS3 is overrated. I have not done any research on it, so my assertion is really based out of intuition, and online articles and forums on PS3 vs. Xbox 360. As a disclaimer, I own neither a PS3 nor Xbox 360 at the present - but I might reward myself with an Xbox 360 after I am done with school in a month.

In terms of sheer power, the PS3 beats Xbox 360 hands down (according to official technical specs). However, the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) on the Xbox 360 is quite powerful, which is further complemented by a shared memory architecture that boasts higher system bandwidth. This architecture should put the performance of the 360 on par with PS3. According to one report, the 360 is considerably more user-friendly and less buggy, while the PS3 is still marred by bugs. From a marketing perspective, the PS3 is released a year late and considerably more expensive than the 360. Usually, I am not a firm believer that first-in-market players will always emerge as winners (think of Google and Microsoft). But in this case, I think that a year is an eternity in a gaming world especially given that the Xbox 360 is a well-designed game console (rather unusual for Microsoft). Then there is the availability of software titles. What good is great hardware if there is a lack of good software? With a year head start, there are already considerable titles released for the 360 with many newer titles taking advantage of the Xbox 360 architecture although I suspect PS3 will eventually catch up. Also according to this article on Gamespot, for every PS3 sold Sony is losing from $240 to $300 depending on configuration. In contrast, Microsoft is losing $75 per Xbox 360 console now, down from $124 when the console was first released. The economist in me is now yelling that I should go buy a Sony PS3 since I will be getting more than what I pay for. Of course, finding a PS3 in the market is quite impossible at the moment unless I am will to shed a few thousand dollars for one on eBay. Unfortunately, Sony is still having problems on the manufacturing of PS3 and the console will likely remain sold out till the next quarter.

Enough said about game consoles.

11/21/2006 11:48:07 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [4]

Technology

It seems like people are going all out to get their hands on the highly anticipated (or I would say overrated) release of Sony Playstation 3 (PS3). Some even camped out for days for the PS3. There is certainly plenty of mayhem today with the official launch PS3 in America.

First, armed men robbed an Elk Grove Store of PS3. Next, a blogger's account of a smash n' grab incident at a Best Buy parking lot. In other another part of the country, police has to be called in to quell the rowdy crowd. Then there is a man who was shot while waiting for PS3. Last but not least, a bad case of the Mondays by going "Office Space" on the PS3 - this one is funny.

11/17/2006 4:15:39 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [1]

News

Due to the overwhelming number of students and the workload involved in grading the assignments in System Project Management, a required SDM course, I was offered the position of teaching assistant (or TA) for this course. Actually, Krishna, a fellow classmate, was the sole TA for the class before I joined; but he is simply overwhelmed. Hopefully, my presence will help reduce the workload. My appointment is only for the second half of the semester, which by the way has past the halfway point. I did the paperwork with Jeff yesterday and I am pleased to say that the financial payoff for this position is very good. It certainly makes economic sense.

The first order of business as the new TA was to attend class. I have to say that the view of the class in room in 1-390 from the first row - an area where TAs generally sit - looks very different. For the past year, I have been taking classes Sloan or TPP courses. I haven't attended an SDM core class for about a year. It was quite refreshing to sit through a core SDM class. Since I taking two economic courses at the moment, I tend to break everything down to economic terms these days. It was no surprise that I was thinking with an economist's mindset during project management class yesterday. When the professor asked: What makes a good project manager? The first thought in mind was: resource allocation. It is true, resource allocation is important but that was not the answer I thought of a year ago. It is interesting how certainly courses can really influence one's thinking and perspective. And I like thinking in economic terms. It certainly helps me in developing good analytical skills and a sharp, logical mindset.

11/15/2006 8:15:52 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [0]

School

Wow... Awesome pictures by some of the best photographers on Flickr. Check it out here.

11/3/2006 10:00:29 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)

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Internet