The Sovereignty of the Story: Reclaiming the Narrative from AI Content Farms

If you have scrolled through any social media feed recently, you have likely been bombarded by a highly aggressive form of synthetic entertainment. It features amateur actors or AI-generated avatars, over-the-top voiceovers shouting at maximum volume, and scenarios designed to maximize outrage rather than tell a coherent story.

We have entered the era of the algorithmic micro-drama. It is a digital assembly line where massive, cloud-based content farms churn out thousands of synthetic episodes a day. This system is entirely extractive. It strips the humanity, pacing, and nuance from storytelling, replacing it with a hyper-optimized dopamine trap. The result is a cultural void where viewers are force-fed the exact same recycled, logic-defying tropes, just with different character names swapped in to trick the algorithm.

To understand just how formulaic this has become, look at the master plots currently suffocating our feeds:

• The Hidden Billionaire's Humiliation: A seemingly useless, pauper-like husband spends years living a life of intense public humiliation, only for a fleet of luxury cars to pull up, revealing him to be the city's wealthiest CEO.
• The "CEO Girlfriend" Betrayal: A man works his fingers to the bone to support his partner's rise to power. The moment she becomes a wealthy executive, she cruelly dumps him, completely unaware he is the hidden benefactor who built her company.
• The Room-Temperature IQ Mistaken Identity: A plot relying entirely on characters being oblivious. A powerful savior rescues someone, but due to a ridiculous misunderstanding, credit is stolen by a malicious rival. The cast spends 60 episodes completely unable to read the room or ask a single logical question.
• The Alpha/Luna Werewolf Fantasy: Relying on cheap AI imagery, this trope features a "weak" girl rejected by her pack, who is immediately discovered to possess an ultra-rare magical bloodline or is the fated mate of an Alpha King.

These aren't stories; they are data points. They are engineered to exploit human psychology to extract a $20 micro-transaction.

Upgrading the Author: The Narrative Engineer

The solution is not to try and beat these content farms at their own high-volume game. The solution is to completely bypass their cloud-based rentier ecosystem.

For creators who care about grounded character dynamics and logical world-building, the future lies in standardizing a new format. We need to transition from writing traditional prose to creating structured, machine-readable narrative frameworks. Let's call it the AIPUB (Generative Narrative Markup).

Writing an AIPUB is less about flowery descriptions and more akin to drafting comprehensive documentation for a complex software project. You are building a robust, logical framework that a local AI can render on the fly. A standard AIPUB file would act as a software repository containing:

• The Character Dictionary: A structured database defining physical traits, voice parameters, and base image seeds for absolute consistency.
• Environmental Logic: Tags that define the physics, lighting, and emotional mood of the world.
• Action Matrices: Precise cinematography commands and dialogue branching logic that direct the AI on how to frame the scene.

Escaping Rentier Capitalism

Right now, cloud providers and app platforms own everything. If an author writes a brilliant story, the platform takes the lion's share of the profit, while the user rents the compute power via subscriptions.

By pushing for a standardized, Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) format that users run on their own local hardware, we remove the middleman entirely. Authors sell an encrypted AIPUB file directly to the consumer. The user loads it into a local app, and their own hardware renders a custom, interactive movie. This creates a truly sovereign income stream for creators that cannot be throttled, censored, or demonetized by a central platform.

The Architecture of the AIPUB

To make this a reality, we need to understand the hardware and software stack required to compile and run these localized narratives.

Component	Creator Setup (The Compiler)	Consumer Setup (The Renderer)
Hardware	32GB+ System RAM, 16GB+ VRAM GPU	High-TOPS NPU, 12GB-16GB Unified RAM
Software Base	Linux-based OS, ComfyUI, Local LLMs	FLOSS App (e.g., Godot or Ren'Py fork)
Role	Structuring assets, defining logic, encoding rules	Real-time audio/visual rendering via prompts

The Creator's Workstation: Compiling an AIPUB requires heavy lifting. To run localized video generation and test the narrative logic, a creator needs serious local hardware—plenty of system RAM and a high-VRAM GPU to prevent out-of-memory crashes while running models like Stable Diffusion or lightweight local LLMs (like Qwen or Llama).

The Consumer's Smartphone: Generating video is fundamentally memory-heavy, which is currently the major bottleneck for smartphones. However, the next generation of mobile SoCs features dedicated Neural Processing Units (NPUs) designed specifically for tensor operations.

To bridge the gap before mobile hardware can handle full photorealism, the software can utilize a crucial optimization: The 2D / Cel-Shaded Bypass. By restricting the visual output of the AIPUB to a stylized, flat-color comic book or Samurai Jack aesthetic, we drastically reduce the mathematical complexity. The AI doesn't have to calculate complex lighting physics or realistic textures, and the framerate can be dropped to 12fps. This allows the local NPU to generate the visual narrative smoothly without melting the phone's battery.

The Sovereign Standard

The technology is already here; it just needs to be organized. Establishing an open AIPUB standard ensures that the future of storytelling remains decentralized. It guarantees a format that can execute on anything from mainstream hardware today to a fully sovereign, indigenous RISC-V hardware stack tomorrow.

We don't need another cloud-based app feeding us algorithmic junk. We need local tools that empower authors to engineer their own worlds and users to render them on their own terms.

The DIY Offline AI Tutor: Turning an 8GB Smartphone into a Sovereign Learning Powerhouse

In the high-stakes world of Indian education—where 10th-standard boards and competitive exams like NEET and JEE dominate the landscape—the "AI Tutor" is the new frontier. But most parents and students are tethered to expensive, distraction-filled cloud platforms like ChatGPT or Gemini.

What if you could cut the cord? What if you could have a high-IQ tutor that lives entirely offline on a mid-range, 8GB RAM smartphone? No internet, no subscriptions, no data privacy concerns, and—most importantly—zero distractions.

Here is how to build a Sovereign AI Tutor using the hardware you already own.

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The Hardware: The "8GB RAM" Sweet Spot

You don't need a flagship phone. An 8GB RAM Android device is the perfect "workstation."

• The OS: Android (or even a local Linux setup like Linux Mint on a laptop).
• The Engine: MNN Chat (Mobile Neural Network). It’s an ultra-fast inference engine designed to squeeze maximum performance out of mobile chips.
• The Brain: Qwen 3.5-2B (MNN Edition). This model is small enough to run smoothly in the available RAM but smart enough to master 12th-standard science and logic.

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The Secret Sauce: Local RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)

A generic AI is just a chatbot. An AI Tutor needs your specific textbooks. By using Local RAG, we "ground" the AI in your actual syllabus.

1. Create a 'School AI' Folder: Download the PDF versions of your NCERT or State Board textbooks.
2. Index the Knowledge: Within the MNN Chat app, point the "Knowledge Base" or "Local Doc" setting to this folder.
3. The Result: The AI now "sees" your specific chapters. When you ask about "Covalent Bonds," it doesn't give a generic Wikipedia answer; it gives the answer from your page 42.

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The 2-Hour Study Protocol

Running AI locally is computationally heavy. To make it work for a daily 2-hour session, follow the "Clean Desk" Philosophy:

1. The "Activation" Prompt

Don't just say "Teach me." Start the chat by defining the scope. For example:

"I want to study Chapter 4: Carbon and its Compounds. Based on the textbook in my folder, give me an outline of the 5 most important topics so we can cover them one by one."

2. The "New Chat" Rule

RAM is a finite resource. If you move from Physics to Biology, Start a New Chat. This clears the "mental clutter" (Context Window) of the phone, ensuring the AI stays fast and doesn't become sluggish or forgetful.

3. Airplane Mode is Your Best Friend

The beauty of an offline model is that it works in Airplane Mode. This physically prevents social media notifications from breaking the student's focus. It turns the phone from a "toy" into a "tool."

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Why This Matters: The Sovereign Angle

As we move toward a future of indigenous hardware—think Shakti processors and RISC-V architecture—having the ability to run education models locally is about more than just convenience. It’s about Educational Sovereignty.

• Privacy: Your child’s learning gaps and "stupid questions" stay on the device, not on a server in Silicon Valley.
• Equality: A student in a village with zero 5G connectivity can have the same quality of tutoring as a student in a metro city.
• Cost: Once the model is downloaded, the cost of tutoring is exactly zero.

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Final Thoughts for Parents

The DIY Offline AI Tutor is a "Plan B" that should probably be your "Plan A." It teaches the student two things at once: the subject matter (Physics/Math) and the future-ready skill of AI Prompt Engineering. In 2026, the best students won't just be the ones who know the answers—they’ll be the ones who know how to direct the machine to find them.

Note: Running a 2B parameter model for 2 hours will drain significant battery (approx. 30-40%). Keep a charger handy and ensure all other background apps are closed for the smoothest experience.

The 16GB Threshold: Why RAM is the New Gold for Offline AI in India

In the tech-forward circles of cities like Ahmedabad, a quiet revolution is happening inside our pockets. We are moving away from "Cloud-only" AI—which requires constant data and subscriptions—toward Local LLMs (Large Language Models) that run entirely on smartphone hardware.

However, as many early adopters are discovering, not all "smart" phones are created equal. If you are a knowledge worker, a developer, or a parent looking for an offline tutor, the choice between an 8GB and a 16GB device is no longer about gaming—it is about "Thinking Time."

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The Benchmark Reality Check

Recent tests using the MNN Chat app (a high-performance mobile inference engine) reveal a stark reality about hardware limitations:

• The 8GB Trap: Running a Qwen 2B-VL (Vision-Language) model on an 8GB RAM device can result in a "thinking time" of nearly 11 minutes for a basic 9th-grade question. This happens because the system lacks the memory to hold the model weights and the conversation history simultaneously, forcing the phone to "swap" data to slow internal storage.
• The 1.8B Sweet Spot: Stepping down to a lighter 1.8B Instruct model drops the wait time to around 90 seconds. Better, but still not fast enough for a fluid workflow.
• The 16GB Advantage: Devices like the Motorola Edge 60 Pro (16GB RAM) allow these models to breathe. With 16GB, the model stays entirely within the high-speed RAM, allowing for near-instant responses.

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Why 16GB RAM is the "India Fit"

In the Indian market, we often prioritize value-for-money. While a budget 8GB device at ₹22,000 is an excellent entry point, a 16GB device at ~₹38,000 is a superior "AI Workstation."

For the price difference, you gain the ability to run:

1. Offline Coding Assistants: Developers can run DeepSeek-Coder models locally, allowing for secure, private coding sessions without an internet connection.
2. AI Tutors for Kids: A 16GB device can handle "Thinking Models" (like the Qwen 2.5 series) which don't just give an answer but explain the logic step-by-step in real-time.
3. Local Image Generation: Running Stable Diffusion to create visuals for presentations or school projects requires heavy lifting that 8GB devices simply cannot sustain without crashing.

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Hardware Checklist for Responsive AI

Component	Minimum (Experimental)	Recommended (Professional)
RAM	8GB (LPDDR4X)	12GB - 16GB (LPDDR5X)
Storage	128GB (UFS 2.2)	256GB - 512GB (UFS 4.0)
Processor	Snapdragon 6 Series	Snapdragon 8 Gen 2/3 or Dimensity 8000+

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Pro-Tips for Optimizing MNN Chat

If you are currently experimenting with the MNN Chat app (utilizing the HuggingFace or ModelScope repos), follow these steps to increase responsiveness:

• Use 4-bit Quantization: Never run "Full Precision" models. Look for quantized versions (GGUF/MNN) which reduce the RAM footprint by 50-70% with negligible loss in intelligence.
• Adjust Thread Count: In the app settings, set your thread count to 4 or 6 instead of 8. This prevents the phone from overheating and "throttling" (slowing down) during long reasoning tasks.
• Manage Background Apps: Before starting a session, clear your recent apps. On 8GB devices, even having a messaging app open in the background can steal the memory needed for the AI to process.

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Conclusion

Offline AI is the ultimate tool for productivity and privacy. While entry-level 8GB smartphones are opening the door, the 16GB "Pro" tier is where the technology becomes truly usable for daily knowledge work. For the Indian professional, investing in that extra RAM is an investment in a private, responsive, and always-available digital brain.

The Great Burnout: Why India Must Choose Families Over 70-Hour Weeks

In the boardrooms of India’s top conglomerates, a dangerous consensus is forming. Influential CEOs have begun publicly advocating for a "Chinese Model" of hyper-productivity—envisioning a workforce that grinds for 12 hours a day, six or seven days a week. The logic is simple: to "catch up" with the West and surpass China, India must outwork the world.

But this logic contains a fatal flaw. It treats India’s greatest economic moat—its young, vibrant population—as an infinite resource rather than a delicate ecosystem. If we follow the path of 12-hour workdays, we aren't just building an economy; we are engineering a demographic collapse.

The Myth of the "Chinese Miracle"

China’s rapid ascent was fueled by a culture of extreme overwork. Today, China is paying the price. Their birth rate has plummeted to record lows, and their workforce is aging faster than their economy is maturing. They are becoming "old before they get rich."

India is currently staring at the same cliff. While our national fertility rate remains near replacement levels, our most economically productive states are already seeing dramatic declines. When citizens are too exhausted to maintain a family, they stop having them. The "DINK" (Double Income, No Kids) phenomenon isn't just a lifestyle choice; it’s a survival response to time poverty.

The "Free Labour" Era is Over

For decades, India’s population moat was subsidized by the unpaid labor of women. They managed the home, raised the children, and cared for the elderly, allowing men to focus entirely on the market. Now, both men and women have rightfully entered the job market, but the corporate structure hasn't adapted.

Without time to raise children, we are tempted to outsource the next generation to "AI Nannies." This is a mistake. An AI is designed to be accommodative; it lacks the social friction and emotional nuance required to raise resilient humans who can handle rejection and think critically.

The Radical Solution: The 6-Hour Mandate

To save the "moat," we must pivot from "Billing by the Hour" to "Billing by the Outcome." In an era where AI can automate the grunt work of software documentation and administration, a human’s value lies in high-intent decision-making—not desk time.

The Proposal: A national mandate for a 6-hour workday, 5 days a week.

• Shift-Based Growth: Companies can run two 6-hour shifts, hiring more people and solving underemployment while maintaining 12-hour operational windows.
• AI & Robotics as Liberators: AI and domestic robots must be used to absorb the "chore load," freeing parents to actually parent.
• The "Near Yet Far" Formula: We must redesign urban living. Young couples need separate accommodation for intimacy and autonomy, but close enough to the parental home to allow for a multi-generational support system.

People Over Corporations

The true moat of a nation is not its GDP, but its people. A corporation’s horizon is the next fiscal quarter; a nation’s horizon is the next century. If we allow the "70-hour week" to become the law of the land, we will watch our population decline dramatically and lose the very scale that makes India a global power.

To remain sovereign, we must stop viewing Indian citizens as "inputs" for corporate machinery and start viewing them as the architects of a future that requires time, rest, and family to flourish.

The pulse of the nation beats in the home, not just the office. It’s time we legislated like we believe it.

Why Strangers Make Us Smarter (And Neighbors Make Us Lazy)

I have been observing a strange phenomenon lately.

Having lived in the hyper-diverse chaos of Mumbai and now spending time in more community-driven cities like Pune and Ahmedabad, I noticed a shift in "cognitive difficulty."

In Mumbai, the people I interacted with—from the local train commuters to business contacts—projected a certain sharpness. They seemed intelligent, adaptable, and composed. But when I travel to places where people share similar backgrounds, dialects, and histories, I often sense a rise in what I can only call "problematic behaviors."

It led me to a counter-intuitive realization: We behave better when we are surrounded by strangers, and we regress when we are surrounded by people just like us.

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The Illusion of Intelligence

My first assumption was that the "big city" simply attracts smarter people. But after deeper reflection, I realized it wasn't about IQ—it was about Social Friction.

In a city like Mumbai, you are constantly on the "Front Stage." You are surrounded by millions of strangers who owe you nothing. If you act out, break a queue, or lose your temper, the social consequences are immediate and harsh. You have to be "smart" to survive. The diversity of the crowd forces you to code-switch, adapt, and keep your flaws hidden.

We mistake this survival instinct for intelligence.

The Homogeneity Trap

Contrast this with a homogeneous community. In cities where everyone speaks the same language, shares the same background, and perhaps even knows someone you know, the dynamic shifts. You aren't on a stage anymore; you are in a living room.

This familiarity breeds a specific kind of laziness.

I’ve watched drivers in these communities collide, scream at each other, and then drive away as if nothing happened. It is "Ritualized Aggression." In a diverse city, screaming at a stranger is dangerous because you don’t know who they are. In a homogeneous community, it’s just a way to vent. It’s safe.

The "problematic behavior" arises because the community acts like a comfortable cushion. When everyone thinks alike, no one challenges the status quo. I’ve seen crowds "pool together" to bully an outsider or demand money, not because they reasoned through the logic, but because they instinctively joined the hive mind. It is a form of cognitive laziness—it is easier to join the mob than to think for yourself.

The Pillar and The Acrobat

This observation forced me to look at my own life to understand the solution.

I am someone who believes in waiting. I don't like to rush into things; I prefer to let the "mud settle" until the water is clear before I act. My wife, on the other hand, is an "Acrobat." She moves fast, takes risks, and occasionally makes mistakes that cost us money.

In a homogeneous society, we would be told to stick to our own kind. All the "waiters" should live together, and all the "doers" should live together. But that is exactly why those communities fail.

• If a society is full of only Pillars (like me), it stagnates. Nothing ever gets built.
• If a society is full of only Acrobats (like her), it crashes. There is no safety net.

My marriage works precisely because we are different. She can fly high in her career because she knows I am the stationary pillar she can return to. My stability has value only because her motion drives us forward.

The Middle Path

The "cognitive difficulty" I feel in homogeneous cities isn't because the people are "bad." It’s because the environment lacks the necessary friction of diversity.

When we surround ourselves only with "neighbors"—people who look, think, and act like us—we lose our moral agency. We become lazy. We need the "strangers"—the people who think differently, act differently, and challenge our assumptions—to keep us honest.

We don't need everyone to be the same. We need the friction. We need the Acrobat to scare the Pillar, and the Pillar to ground the Acrobat. That balance, I’ve realized, is where true intelligence lives.

Bitter Mangoes: A Heroic Tale Now Available!

Bitter Mangoes: A Heroic Indian Village Tale Now Live!

Welcome to the journey of Bitter Mangoes, a heartfelt novella co-authored by Jagdish Dadyal and his son Kamaljit Dadyal. Originally penned in broken Hindi by Jagdish, this Second Edition brings a refined story of courage, family, and mysticism to life, perfect for readers aged 13 and up. Set in the vibrant Mogra village, it follows Ramu as he battles corruption and a cursed forest to secure a fair price for his community’s golden mangoes.

What’s New in the Second Edition?

This updated version, now live on Amazon KDP, expands on the original with richer family scenes—think tulsi-lit courtyards and emotional farewells—and deepens the forest’s mystical allure with the wavy *Nagin* sword and a haunting beast. The narrative shines with Indian cultural touches, from mango farming to village assemblies, making it a must-read for lovers of rural Indian tales.

Grab It Now—Special Offers!

• Free on Amazon KDP Select: From October 4, 1:30 PM to October 9, 2:29 PM IST, download it free! Get it here.

Don’t miss out—these offers end soon!

Why Read Bitter Mangoes?

This tale blends action and adventure as Ramu, with his trusty bulls Boofa and Soofa, faces supernatural challenges and local thugs. It’s a story of justice over greed, wrapped in the warmth of family bonds and the scent of ripe mangoes. Ideal for young adults and anyone who cherishes Indian heritage stories.

About the Authors

Jagdish Dadyal’s handwritten legacy, brought to life by Kamaljit Dadyal, reflects a father-son bond as enduring as Mogra’s orchards. This Second Edition honors that vision with added depth and polish.

Call to Action

Download Bitter Mangoes today and embark on Ramu’s quest! After reading, leave a review to share your thoughts. Follow this blog for more updates on our literary journey!

The SevaForge Protocol: A Cyber-Vedic Sci-Fi Journey

In the neon-drenched streets of Varanasi, 2075, where quantum ghats pulse with Vedic chants and AR temples replay epic battles, a new kind of story unfolds. *The SevaForge Protocol*, a captivating 25-page (22-25 page range across platforms) sci-fi novelette by Kamaljit Dadyal, blends India’s ancient dharma with cutting-edge simulation theory. This isn’t just a tale of technology—it’s a moral odyssey where every choice shapes reality itself.

A Hacker’s Quest in a Simulated World

Meet Priya, a young hacker raised on BR Chopra’s *Mahabharata* TV series, who sees the world through a lens of code and karma. The *SevaForge* app, a global phenomenon tracking Seva Points for acts like teaching kids or auditing corruption, hides a secret: a backdoor to n+1, the next tier of a nested simulation run by AI admins and mythic avatars. When rival Vikram, a Ravana-like coder, threatens a digital purge, Priya must decide—upload her consciousness, sacrificing her body and senses, or let her city crash into oblivion.

With snappy dialogue and techy grit inspired by Igor Ljubuncic’s *The Lost Words*, the story weaves *Mahabharata*-style prompts—/Heal_Village, /Dharma_Shield—into a Kurukshetra of moral dilemmas. From neon prayer flags to glitchy drones, Varanasi’s chaos sets the stage for a cultural showdown, positioning India’s dharma-tech as a global force.

Availability: Get Your Copy Now

*The SevaForge Protocol* is now live across multiple platforms. Dive into the sim and start your ascent today!

• Amazon: Available as an eBook. Get it here (₹49).
• Google Play Books: Download the eBook. Grab it here (₹49).
• Pothi.com: Access the PDF eBook. Buy it here (₹49).

Why Read It?

Perfect for fans of cyberpunk (*Neuromancer*), mythological epics (*The Mahabharata*), and tech-driven tales, this novelette offers a fresh take on ascension and sacrifice. With themes of dharma, identity, and the intersection of code and karma, it’s a must-read for those intrigued by India’s emerging *MythHallyu*—a cultural export rivaling global trends.

So, grab your copy, hack the sim, and join Priya on her journey. Will you ascend to n+1, or will the purge reset it all? The choice is yours—starting today!

Best Platforms for Viewing Public Domain Content in 2025: Legal and Free

In a previous post (https://aajkyakiya.blogspot.com/2016/07/classic-popeye-cartoons-are-in-public.html), I casually mentioned how many classic Popeye episodes had entered the public domain, opening up a world of guilt-free nostalgia. Fast-forward to 2025, and the public domain keeps growing—works from 1929 (like early Mickey Mouse shorts and The Cocoanuts by the Marx Brothers) are now freely accessible in the U.S. Public domain content means these creative works are no longer under copyright, so you can view, share, or even remix them without infringing on creators' rights (as long as you respect any remaining trademarks). The key is sticking to reputable platforms that verify PD status to avoid accidental piracy. Below, I've curated the top websites for viewing PD movies/cartoons, books, music, and images/art in 2025. These focus on legal, user-friendly sources with high-quality collections, often curated by libraries or archives.

Top Platforms for PD Movies and Cartoons

These sites host verified public domain films, animations, and shorts, ensuring you're not stepping on any toes. Many include classics from the silent era to early talkies.

1. Internet Archive (archive.org)
   Why It's Top: A massive digital library with over 40,000 PD movies and cartoons, including Popeye shorts, Steamboat Willie, and Hitchcock's Blackmail (1929). Streams and downloads are free, with community-verified PD status.
   Legal Angle: Works are scanned for copyright lapses; only confirmed PD items are hosted.
   Access: Free streaming/downloads at archive.org/details/movies. Search by year or title for easy navigation.
2. Public Domain Movies (publicdomainmovies.info)
   Why It's Top: Curated lists of PD films and cartoons by category (e.g., animation, comedy), featuring Popeye, Buster Keaton's Spite Marriage (1929), and more. Simple interface for quick finds.
   Legal Angle: Focuses exclusively on PD content with clear labeling to respect original creators.
   Access: Free at publicdomainmovies.info.
3. The Public Domain Review (publicdomainreview.org)
   Why It's Top: Highlights notable PD works entering in 2025, like The Skeleton Dance (Disney, 1929), with high-quality streams and historical context. Great for discovering mass-appeal cartoons and films.
   Legal Angle: Curates only expired copyrights or dedicated PD works, promoting ethical reuse.
   Access: Free at publicdomainreview.org.
4. Prelinger Archives (archive.org/details/prelinger)
   Why It's Top: A subset of Internet Archive focused on vintage films, including PD cartoons and educational shorts from the 1920s–1950s.
   Legal Angle: All content is PD or cleared for public use.
   Access: Free at archive.org/details/prelinger.
5. National Screening Room (loc.gov)
   Why It's Top: From the Library of Congress, offers PD films like early animations and historical footage.
   Legal Angle: Government-curated PD collection.
   Access: Free at loc.gov/collections/national-screening-room.

Top Platforms for PD Books

For literature lovers, these sites provide scans or texts of PD books, like 1929 novels entering this year (e.g., A Farewell to Arms by Hemingway).

1. Project Gutenberg (gutenberg.org)
   Why It's Top: Over 70,000 free eBooks, focusing on PD classics. Easy to read online or download.
   Legal Angle: Volunteers verify PD status before uploading.
   Access: Free at gutenberg.org.
2. HathiTrust Digital Library (hathitrust.org)
   Why It's Top: Millions of digitized books, searchable with "full view" for PD items.
   Legal Angle: Partners with libraries to ensure only PD or permitted works are fully accessible.
   Access: Free at hathitrust.org.

Top Platforms for PD Music

Sound recordings from 1924 entered PD in 2025, joining earlier jazz and classical tracks.

1. Free Music Archive (freemusicarchive.org)
   Why It's Top: Curated PD and CC-licensed music, including historical recordings.
   Legal Angle: Clear PD filters to avoid copyrighted material.
   Access: Free at freemusicarchive.org.
2. ccMixter (ccmixter.org)
   Why It's Top: PD audio for remixing, with vintage tracks.
   Legal Angle: Focuses on open licenses and PD.
   Access: Free at ccmixter.org.

Top Platforms for PD Images and Art

Great for visuals, including illustrations from PD books or photos.

1. Wikimedia Commons (commons.wikimedia.org)
   Why It's Top: Vast repository of PD images, art, and photos from historical sources.
   Legal Angle: Community-moderated for PD verification.
   Access: Free at commons.wikimedia.org.
2. Pixabay (pixabay.com)
   Why It's Top: High-res PD images and illustrations under CC0, including vintage art.
   Legal Angle: Explicit PD dedication.
   Access: Free at pixabay.com.
3. Old Book Illustrations (oldbookillustrations.com)
   Why It's Top: PD artwork from 18th–20th century books.
   Legal Angle: Curated PD scans.
   Access: Free at oldbookillustrations.com.

Final Thoughts

These platforms make it easy to enjoy public domain treasures legally in 2025, honoring creators by sticking to what's truly free. Whether revisiting Popeye-style cartoons or exploring new 1929 entries, start with Internet Archive or Public Domain Review for a seamless experience. If a work's status seems unclear, cross-check with tools like Creative Commons' PD markers. Happy exploring—share your finds!

LibreOffice Learning Resources: 2025 Update

In 2016 (https://aajkyakiya.blogspot.com/2016/09/three-of-best-learning-resources-on.html), I shared three excellent resources for learning LibreOffice: Full Circle Magazine, Designing With LibreOffice by Bruce Byfield, and TheFrugalComputerGuy.com video tutorials. With LibreOffice evolving (now at version 25.8 as of August 2025), I've revisited these to check their relevance and added new, free resources to help you master LibreOffice in 2025. Here's the update, focusing on free materials for beginners to advanced users.

Are the 2016 Resources Still Relevant?

1. Full Circle Magazine (Including LibreOffice Golden Jubilee Edition)
   Status: Still active and relevant! Full Circle Magazine continues to publish monthly issues covering Ubuntu and open-source tools like LibreOffice, with issue #220 released on August 29, 2025. The 2015 LibreOffice Golden Jubilee Edition (50 articles) remains available via their archives at fullcirclemagazine.org.
   Relevance in 2025: Great for foundational skills and practical use cases (e.g., document formatting, spreadsheets). While the special edition doesn't cover post-2015 features like adaptive toolbars or EPUB export, recent issues include updated LibreOffice tips.
   Access: Free PDFs at fullcirclemagazine.org. Search "LibreOffice Special Edition" for the Golden Jubilee compilation.
2. Designing With LibreOffice by Bruce Byfield
   Status: Highly relevant and updated! The second edition (2022, co-authored with Jean Hollis Weber) is freely available at designingwithlibreoffice.com under a Creative Commons license. It's tailored for LibreOffice 7.3 but still applies to 25.x, covering styles, templates, and new features like HarfBuzz font shaping and Zotero integration.
   Relevance in 2025: A must-read for professional document design and advanced workflows. Over 35,000 downloads of the first edition prove its value. Support the authors via donations or printed copies at Lulu.com.
   Access: Free PDF/ODT downloads at designingwithlibreoffice.com.
3. TheFrugalComputerGuy.com Video Tutorials
   Status: Active and useful! The YouTube channel (youtube.com/user/thefrugalcomputerguy) and website (thefrugalcomputerguy.com) offer embeddable LibreOffice tutorials on Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, and Base, with updates twice monthly.
   Relevance in 2025: Ideal for visual learners mastering basics like pivot tables or database creation. Lacks coverage of 2025-specific features (e.g., UI customization, AI extensions) but remains solid for core skills. Donations are encouraged.
   Access: Free videos at thefrugalcomputerguy.com or YouTube.

Verdict: None of these resources are "too old" for 2025. They cover core functionalities that haven't changed drastically, making them excellent starting points. However, to leverage newer features like collaborative editing or enhanced security, supplement with the resources below.

New Free Resources for Learning LibreOffice in 2025

To complement the 2016 picks, here are the top free resources for learning LibreOffice in 2025, emphasizing accessibility and coverage of recent updates (e.g., version 25.x enhancements like improved font rendering and mobile support). These are curated for beginners, intermediate users, and advanced learners.

1. Official LibreOffice Documentation & Bookshelf
   Why It's Great: Maintained by volunteers, this offers comprehensive guides for all LibreOffice apps (Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, Base, Math). Updated for 2025 with 650+ help page fixes, it covers new features like customizable toolbars, EPUB export, and migration from MS Office.
   Best For: All levels, especially those switching from proprietary software or exploring advanced features like macros.
   Access: Free at docs.libreoffice.org or books.libreoffice.org.
2. Class Central: Free LibreOffice Courses
   Why It's Great: Aggregates free YouTube and platform-based tutorials (e.g., Udemy free sections) on LibreOffice basics to advanced topics like Base databases and collaborative editing. Many courses reflect 2025 needs, such as AI-assisted publishing.
   Best For: Self-paced learners wanting structured video content.
   Access: Free at classcentral.com/subject/libre-office.
3. DigitalDefynd: 10 Free LibreOffice Courses
   Why It's Great: Curates free MOOCs tailored for home learners, covering productivity (e.g., Writer templates) to data analysis (e.g., Calc pivot tables). Flexible for 2025 job skills like remote collaboration.
   Best For: Beginners and intermediate users seeking practical, job-oriented skills.
   Access: Free at digitaldefynd.com/free-libreoffice-courses.
4. Ask LibreOffice Forum
   Why It's Great: An active community for Q&A, troubleshooting, and advanced topics like Python scripting or extension development. Regularly updated with solutions for 2025 features (e.g., Angry Reviewer for grammar checking).
   Best For: Intermediate to advanced users needing specific guidance or macro tips.
   Access: Free at ask.libreoffice.org.
5. LibreOffice YouTube Channel
   Why It's Great: Official tutorials and community webinars cover new features (e.g., 25.8's accessibility improvements) and practical tips for all apps. Short, focused videos are ideal for quick learning.
   Best For: Visual learners wanting bite-sized, up-to-date content.
   Access: Free at youtube.com/@LibreOfficeOrg.

Getting Started in 2025

Start with Designing With LibreOffice (2nd edition) for a deep dive into professional document creation, then explore Class Central or DigitalDefynd for interactive courses. Use the Official Documentation for reference and the Ask LibreOffice Forum for specific queries. For visual learners, TheFrugalComputerGuy and the LibreOffice YouTube Channel are perfect. Full Circle Magazine remains a fun, broad supplement.

Have other resources or specific LibreOffice needs (e.g., Calc macros, Impress animations)? Share them, and I'll tailor more recommendations!

From Compassion to Collective Change: Bridging Humanity and Unity

In my earlier article (https://aajkyakiya.blogspot.com/2018/06/unity-vs-humanity.html), I explored the fundamental difference between Humanity and Unity. Humanity is personal compassion—a one-on-one act of kindness. Unity is a collective bond, an intentional connection of multiple groups or communities toward a shared purpose. I argued that while acts of Humanity are visible in India every day, true Unity remains rare and elusive, surfacing mostly during festivals or isolated events.

🌱 Humanity as the Seed of Unity

“Humanity is a necessary foundation.
Unity is a deliberate structure built on top of Humanity.”

Every act of personal kindness contributes, consciously or not, toward the gradual building of trust within a society. A person offering water to a striking farmer is Humanity in action. But if this small gesture is repeated by millions, it becomes something bigger—a culture of mutual respect.

Humanity by itself is spontaneous, emotional, and sometimes random. Unity requires intentional effort, organization, and shared vision. To build Unity, Humanity needs structure.

🧱 Building Blocks of Unity

1. Shared Narratives and Collective Identity

Unity forms when people see themselves as part of something bigger.
India’s slogan Unity in Diversity holds immense potential, but slogans are not enough.
We need to invest in shared narratives:

• Civic education that emphasizes common responsibility
• Stories of collaboration across communities
• Recognition of past struggles where Unity changed the course of history

2. Structured Platforms for Cooperation

Rather than waiting for festivals or spontaneous protests, structured platforms can encourage Unity:

• Local community councils
• Cross-group volunteer organizations
• National awareness drives focusing on collective challenges like climate change, public health, or education

These platforms allow individuals to contribute their Humanity in a way that joins forces toward a common goal.

3. Small Wins Build Big Unity

Revolutions are often seen as sudden and large-scale, but they start with small, persistent wins:

• A neighborhood resolving disputes collectively
• Farmers from different states coordinating practices, learning from each other
• Inter-community initiatives for education, sanitation, or digital literacy

These steps foster interdependence, trust, and ultimately, a true sense of Unity.

🔥 The Real Power of Unity

Why is Unity important beyond Humanity?
Because Unity creates resilience.

A nation bound by individual acts of kindness is fragile—it depends on goodwill alone.
But a nation united by shared purpose becomes capable of coordinated action, capable of handling crises without fracturing.

True Unity allows us to face large-scale challenges:

• Pandemics
• Economic inequality
• Environmental degradation

Unity turns isolated acts of Humanity into a collective force that reshapes society.

🌟 Conclusion – A Call to Action

In India today, we have abundant Humanity, but real Unity remains a work in progress.
It is not enough to help a neighbor in need.
Nor is it enough to celebrate festivals together.

Unity is forged when we consciously expand our circle of concern from the personal to the collective.
It requires structured platforms, shared narratives, and a vision of mutual progress.

Let us stop waiting for spontaneous revolutions or rare moments of solidarity.
Let us build Unity—brick by brick, story by story, action by action.

The path from Humanity to Unity is not automatic.
It is ours to build.

Electric Scooter Feasibility: 2017 vs 2025

🛵 Electric Scooter Feasibility in India: A 7-Year Comparison

In 2017 (https://aajkyakiya.blogspot.com/2017/09/electric-scooter-feasibility-in-india.html) (https://aajkyakiya.blogspot.com/2017/09/electric-scooter-feasibility-in-india_25.html), I explored the feasibility of electric scooters for Indian adults—not toys, but real civic mobility tools. The analysis was granular, skeptical, and grounded in lived economics. Now, in 2025, it’s time to revisit that vision and compare it with today’s reality—especially through the lens of low-speed scooters like the Joy e-bike Gen Next Nanu Eco.

🔍 2017 vs 2025: Feature-by-Feature Comparison

Factor	2017 Insight	2025 Reality (Joy Nanu Eco)	Status
Top Speed	25 km/h (license-free)	25 km/h	✅ Matches expectation
Battery Cost	₹20,000 every 2–3 years	₹18,000–₹22,000 every 3–4 years	✅ Slightly better
Battery Lifespan	~1000 cycles	~1500–2000 cycles	✅ Improved durability
Charging Cost (Home)	₹17–₹20 per charge	₹15–₹18 per charge	✅ Slightly cheaper
Charging Cost (Commercial)	₹400+ per charge (not viable)	Mostly irrelevant; home charging dominates	✅ Concern bypassed
Range (Initial)	60 km per charge	60–90 km per charge	✅ Improved range
Range (After 3 Years)	~30 km	~50–60 km	✅ Better retention
Motor Power	250W	250W BLDC	✅ Same category
Maintenance Cost	Minimal	Confirmed minimal	✅ Matches prediction
License & Registration	Not required	Not required	✅ Consistent
Economic Viability	₹8,595 savings over 3 years	₹20,000–₹30,000 savings over 3 years	✅ Stronger savings

💡 What Changed—and What Didn’t

• Battery tech matured faster than expected—better cycles, lower cost, longer life.
• Charging infrastructure for low-speed scooters remains home-based, which is ideal.
• Range degradation is slower thanks to better thermal management and BMS software.
• Smart features like GPS, anti-theft, and remote lock weren’t common in 2017 but are now standard.
• Economic savings have doubled, especially with fuel prices above ₹100/litre.

🧩 Civic Use Case

Low-speed scooters like the Joy Nanu Eco are perfect for:

• Students, senior citizens, and Seva volunteers
• Short commutes, errands, and club rituals
• District-level mobility without license barriers

🚀 Legacy Reflection

My 2017 article wasn’t just a feasibility study—it was a civic simulation. Seven years later, the vision holds. India has moved closer to electric sovereignty, and low-speed scooters are no longer fringe—they’re foundational.

Let’s keep building. Let’s keep simulating. The road ahead is electric—and sovereign.

Time, Money, and Control: Breaking Free from Subscription Sovereignty

Note: This post is a fictional civic reflection on digital autonomy, software ownership, and the emotional cost of convenience. It is not a technical guide, but a framework for rethinking control.

🧭 The Premise

As more apps and platforms shift to paid subscription models, users face a quiet dilemma: trade money for convenience, or reclaim control at the cost of time and effort. This isn’t just a pricing issue—it’s a sovereignty question.

💰 The Subscription Trap

Paid subscriptions offer clear benefits:

• Timely updates
• Fewer security issues
• Smoother transitions to new features
• Priority support and integrations

But the flipside is a constant leak—a percentage of your output, creativity, and income is siphoned off forever. With dozens of apps adopting this model, your wallet becomes a leaking pipe.

🔓 The Ownership Alternative

Open-source software and fixed-release proprietary tools offer a different path:

• You own the tool, not rent it
• You choose when and how to update
• You avoid forced transitions that disrupt your workflow
• You save money—but must invest time and awareness

This path demands responsibility. You must follow development threads, understand changelogs, and protect yourself. But you gain control.

⚖️ The Civic Question

What do you respect more—your time and effort, or your money?

This isn’t a binary choice. It’s a spectrum of sovereignty. Some users may choose subscriptions for peace of mind. Others may embrace open tools for legacy clarity and financial freedom.

🧠 Simulation Prompt

Title: Design Your Digital Sovereignty Ledger

Challenge:

• List the tools you use daily—note which are subscriptions and which are owned
• Score each tool on control, cost, and emotional disruption
• Draft your ideal balance between convenience and autonomy

💬 Final Thought

Software isn’t just code—it’s a civic contract. Every subscription is a vote for convenience. Every open-source install is a vote for control. What kind of citizen are you in the digital republic?

Quarto: The Sovereign Publishing Engine

In a world dominated by proprietary formats and institutional lock-in, Quarto emerges as a modular, open-source alternative to traditional word processors and presentation tools like Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. Built on top of Pandoc, Quarto empowers creators to write once and publish everywhere—with emotional clarity, technical precision, and civic resonance.

🧠 Why Quarto Outshines Proprietary Tools

• Markdown-first authoring: Write in plain text using .qmd files, with full support for headings, lists, tables, and embedded code.
• Multi-format publishing: Export to PDF, HTML, Word, slides, and even books—without changing your source file.
• Presentation support: Create beautiful slide decks using Reveal.js, PowerPoint, or LaTeX Beamer. Each ## heading becomes a slide.
• Mermaid diagrams: Visualize emotional flows, civic trust protocols, or migration rituals with native Mermaid support.
• Image embedding: Insert figures with captions, layout control, and cross-referencing for print-ready clarity.
• Code integration: Embed live code from Python, R, or Julia—ideal for reproducible civic metrics and Seva Point audits.
• Open-source sovereignty: No vendor lock-in, no hidden formatting traps. Your content remains yours.

📄 Example: A Civic Trust Slide

---
title: "Seva Points Ritual"
format: revealjs
---

## Emotional Stewardship

- Define Seva Points
- Track legacy impact

## Civic Trust Flow

```{mermaid}
flowchart TD
  A[Start] --> B{Trust Verified?}
  B -->|Yes| C[Issue Seva Visa]
  B -->|No| D[Redirect to Ritual]

Legacy Impact: Quarto transforms civic documentation into emotionally resonant, print-ready artifacts—without sacrificing modularity or sovereignty.

🔍 The Open Question

While Quarto clearly replaces proprietary word processors and presentation apps, one question remains:

What is the best standalone, open-source alternative to Microsoft Excel—one that embraces AI, supports advanced modeling, and respects sovereign formatting?

LibreOffice Calc covers most ground. Gnumeric offers precision. But the search for a truly sovereign spreadsheet engine continues.

What would a Seva Points dashboard look like in a post-Excel world?

He-Man Nostalgia - Part 2

Finally, I got around to making the paper crafts of He-Man and Skeletor from this website: http://minipapercraft.blogspot.com/search/label/Heman%20and%20the%20Masters%20of%20the%20universe

Have a look at my attempt:

Rising Sea Level - Solution is Desalination

There has been a spike in news articles on rising sea levels, its impact, solutions, and inevitability.
Well I cannot speak about inevitability because I am no Oracle or Seer; neither do I know the vast grand plan.

I can only give my limited solution, that too, if rising sea level is looked at as a problem and not a tool for new economy. Well, my solution may be seen as some sort of economy generator, lets see.

What I propose is to drastically expand desalination activity across all coast lines and to use the filtered water for agriculture and general use. The usage should be in the coastal areas that are at least 300 to 500 kilometers far away from the coast line.

This will reduce seal level and enrich the land's depleting ground water. This will also reduce the stress on rain water and help farmers invest in heavy water using crops that usually get more price than other crops.

Making LibreOffice documents look like Microsoft Word 2007 documents

Taking inspiration from my previous article "Making SoftMaker FreeOffice TextMaker documents look like Microsoft Word 2007 documents" at https://aajkyakiya.blogspot.com/2016/07/making-softmaker-freeoffice-textmaker.html, I have now tried to do the same in LibreOffice Writer v 6.1.6

Please read the above article to get a background for this post.

The LibreOffice document/template can be downloaded from the below location:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1DcAyEqidRf0K21C-mZ-_FpksJ4CzooHO

Again as in my previous post, this is an English language template. The template uses the default fonts used in Word 2007 - you may have to change the fonts if you do not have these installed on your system. For example, on modern Linux systems, the alternatives are available in the croscore fonts package. Also, the template uses the Letter page size.

Please leave a reply if this document/template worked for you.

Character based Society vs Law based Society

Every person wants to live in a Society that respects that person's ethos. Many have 'nice' ethos, no doubt, but many also want to do whatever they want without any consequences. For example, I have met with many people who want a strict law of the land for others but not for them. For them, they want the law to look the other way when they embezzle other people's funds, but want a very strict law on other people.

Why is this? Our present society has raised us to follow the "Law of the Land", and many of these "Laws" have loopholes, or we become smart/knowledgeable about the laws to maneuver our way through all the nooks and corners to ultimately get what we want.

Is this how we want our Society to function. Do we want the law to spell out each and every point of our lives. Do we want pages upon pages of laws to govern us. Do we really have to have people that are always ready to pounce upon us for even the smallest non-conforming thing.

Our forefathers, the enlightened beings that walked on earth and all the enlightened texts want us to become a Character Based society rather then a Law Based society. A character based society would be where each one of us would know the difference between right and wrong and not look for what the Law says.

For comparison, I think the Internet ecosystem (and technology in general) is becoming more of a Character Based society. People on social media give their inputs based on what they think is right rather then what the "Law" thinks is right. I even see the open source movement as a character based society where each individual contributes for the "greater good" of all.

But, can Character Based society remain intact in the absence of Law? This is the real question. I think that Law will still be required, but based on character and not punishment. The end result of Law should not be punishment but increase of Character.

Again, this is very similar to the Internet ecosystem. Where we see a technology infringing upon people's rights and then when Law (mostly, a uproar by Character) comes then the technology changes its track to conform with Character rather then getting Punished. This is what it should be.

Gyan | MindChow | Food for Thought | Steps to Smiles

The below text are taken from the 'Steps to Smile.pdf' by CA R.S.Kalra'. (Get this pdf from http://voiceofca.in/siteadmin/document/R_S_Kalra_stepstosmiles.pdf || https://drive.google.com/file/d/11QtLsdNnetf9ObDwtHb2R-UAR7_fIiom/view?usp=sharing)

As long as we do not forgive people who have hurt us, they occupy a rent-free space in our mind.

Negative attitude is like a punctured tyre. You cannot reach anywhere until you change it.

In the company of wind, even dust achieves great heights. But, when mixed with water, it becomes mud. Choose the right company to enhance your value.

A bird sitting on a branch is not afraid of the branch breaking or falling, because it trusts not the branch but its own wings.

We need everything 'permanent' in a 'temporary' life.

A hard fact to remember do something right, no one remembers. Do something wrong no one forgets.

It's not important to go to heaven after we leave, but it's important to create heaven in someone's heart, before we leave.

Maturity is not when we start speaking "Big Things" but actually it is when we start understanding "Small Things".

A man asked God I want happiness so God said first remove "I" that's ego, and then remove "Want" that's desire then see you are left with only "Happiness".

Never waste a minute of your precious life by squandering it thinking about people you don't like.

Four steps to live life:
1st - look back and thank God,
2nd - look forward and trust God,
3rd - look around and believe God,
4th - look within and find God

In order to have a comfortable journey of life, reduce the luggage of desires.

Containment Action, Corrective Action, Preventive Action, and PERT

This blog post uses the content from the https://www.8dreport.com/articles/difference-between-containment-corrective-and-preventive-actions-in-8d-report/ page and other informative websites.

In Problem Solving, after recognizing the problem, you are required to take the three actions: Containment Action, Corrective Action, and Preventive Action. (In some cases the Containment Action can overlap with the Corrective Action).

Many get confused between these three actions. Lets take a look at what these three actions are.

• Containment actions are the actions that try to limit a specific problem’s extent and establish normal operations.
• Corrective actions reveal and prevent the occurred problem from ever happening again by eliminating cause.
• Preventive actions are clear solutions to improve processes and products and prevent similar potential problems from ever happening.

Lets look at an example:

The Problem is of project running out of budget.
The very obvious Root Cause is determined: Incorrect Effort Estimation. (Why does this always happen ;)

In this case the three actions to be taken are:

Containment Action: The most immediate action that has to be taken is to discuss the budget estimation with the client and to get approval for Schedule or Cost Baseline Change (wherever required)

Corrective Action: The corrective measures to be taken would be to revise the schedule and the cost baseline by re-estimating the efforts required for remaining task completion by using 3-Point Effort Estimation Technique.

Preventive Action: The Preventive Action is/are the action(s) that will be taken from this time onward. In this case, the problem requires to use 3-Point Effort Estimation Technique for estimation of all future projects.

OK, so what is three point estimation technique. From Wikipedia, this is:

The three-point estimation technique is used in management and information systems applications for the construction of an approximate probability distribution representing the outcome of future events, based on very limited information.

PERT (Program Evaluation And Review Technique) is the most commonly used method in three point estimation technique. From Wikipedia:

The program (or project) evaluation and review technique (PERT) is a statistical tool used in project management, which was designed to analyze and represent the tasks involved in completing a given project.
First developed by the United States Navy in the 1950s, it is commonly used in conjunction with the critical path method (CPM).

The parameters in PERT:

• Most Likely Cost (Cm): This cost estimate considers everything goes as normal.
• Pessimistic Cost (Cp): This considers the worst case and it assumes that almost everything goes wrong. 
• Optimistic Cost (Co): This estimate considers the best case and assumes that everything goes better than planned.
• PERT Estimate formula is: Ce = (Co + 4Cm + Cp)/6 provide a more accurate estimate.
• Deviation: (Cp – Co)/6

Something is dangerously wrong with Microsoft products

Yesterday I was in need to have a Skype chat with a person and I am kind of new to the video chatting thing and also new to Skype.

So I went ahead and downloaded Skype on my mobile phone and tried to create an account. The options were to use an existing account, or use my mobile number, or create a new account.

I was previously thinking to create an Outlook.com account anyways to try out the new Microsoft backed email, so I decided to create a new Outlook.com account.

I created the new account, logged in using that account in Skype and successfully completed the Skype call. I must say that the Skype video call quality was quite good except for a little lag at the beginning.

After the Skype call, I decided to download the Microsoft Outlook app on my Android phone. I downloaded, logged in, but didn't have much time to test anything in it. I thought to leave it as it is and then come back to it today.

Today, the Outlook app automatically logged me out and asked me to sign in again. But, the account just won't let me in using my password. This was something that has happened to me for the very first time. No other service or product has just forgotten my password. So, I went to the app's "Forgot Password" option.

The "Forgot Password" link first asked me to input a different email address to get a security code. Which I did and got the security code. Then, the app tells to open a link in a browser to reset the password. The link opens a page that asks for a variety of things, like name, birth date, Skype details, etc. I inputted all details that I positively knew.

"Your information is not sufficient" -- This was the horrid message spewed back by Microsoft. Microsoft has made a point to not allow me to get back into my account. So now, I do not know what will happen with my Outlook account or my Skype account. Will the account be kept in cold storage? Will my account be used by fraudulent people or bots?

I have just one advice to all: Please STAY AWAY from Microsoft products.