A Dayout with Techies

When I first heard of this competition 'SYNCHRONIZE '08', it sounded like a battle of techies waiting to exploit their knowledge of the silly machines (may not be silly for you) and get out with a few shields to their name. I had the same intentions (what do you think I am here for?). I, being one of them, is trying to stick my neck out like a tortoise to move on with this contest and survive (I stole these words from the Principal's speach during the inaugration) among these nerds. Frankly speaking, when I entered the Bishop Cottons Boy's School, my heart was sinking, i was running out of oxygen(probably it was too much) and felt like a stumbling foot. I ran my eyes here and there to capture the beautiful campus and school building. Later I realised it was the last time a captured something real(later it was computers and a lots and lots of techies).
Looking at some of the bests, certainly it brings my nerves out. Today I experienced the meaning of "Survival of the Fittest"(not in terms of bicheps or muscles). It was really facinating to see two guys guiding our group to the main campus area. There we had a yellow looking fluid. whatever it may me, i badly needed some fluid.

We were asked to enter into the audotorium, for a briefing of the competions ahead of us and also to have the last few moments of cheer. But that also not so easy. Definitely, "Good things don't come easy". We sat chit chatting, going through the threatening brouchure, and hearing some sort of music (Don't ask me the lyrics). Then came the hosting Principal (Funny, we were waiting for the host). Then came a series of standing ovations (then, why were they asking us to sit down after every standing?), a very cute song from the small boys singing in choras. At that age, I could also sing like that, but that doesn't steal credit from those tiny creatures. They were really good. And yeh, the hall went dark and then appeared some aliens with a guitar looking thing in their hands. One of them started shouting with this 'SYNCRONIZE' slogan. Don't know about others, I could only understand this slogan. Well, it was really impressive and the croud went mad with them (literally). And now, the most common thing of an inaugration ceremony, comes the speech of the principal (never mind, it was short). The IT captain, Thomas, better

known as Tom in the campus ( seems like a very popular man, may be the Youth Icon ) who I know a bit, showed his skills with some mind blowing presentations.

And then came the annoucement of the Event X theme, an event kept secret till date. Those who participated were randomly given any of the seven events ( discussed later). There is a guy from my school participating in this event, on whom not many are putting their money. Well when he appeared on the stage, we cheered him up (or made fun of his situation).

And all of us (our school group) seperated to achieve our goals. There was only one blogger allowed from each school. So, I had to go alone on my jouney. Well, lets face it. Bloggers were supposed to report at a hall for briefing. We were made to sit around a conference table, each trying to guess the skill level of others from their gesture. And many looked jobless guys (no job but blogging). After the briefing, we set out to capture some of the best competions in our blogs. I didn't know where to go in that alien school, and in fact, followed a few bloggers. But as the time passed I was used to the situation I was put into. This job gave me a feeling of proffessional journalist.

Now let me take you to the battlefield.






















As the name suggests, the event attracted some of the most witty minds in the tech space. But, WIT, my friend is not enough for this IT quiz competition at Synchronize '08. I occupied one of the reserved seats for bloggers with my notebook ( don't confuse it to be a laptop), pen and camera. I think, I was the most fortunate person in the hall, just sit back and enjoy the show (sorry, there was nothing to enjoy as such). Although I bothered to take a look at some of the questions, they never bothered me ( but did to many). They were the typical seven generation questions (let me explain - The questions which even my seven generation can't solve). But, my friend, there was a very confident person in the hall (other than me), and that was the quiz master. His was the only voice I could hear in that hall untill I was there (and probably till the end). There were some out of the world question ( I take the my guarantee). They were all about Tech Companies, their history, the Burning News in the IT Industry, (which you won't get in Aaj Tak).
It required the participants to be upto date with their knowledge, along with history ( I hate history) of everything under the sun in IT.

DAY II

The competition came down to 6 best team in the contest. And then started loads of screwing questions with the same old boring subject ( history, physics and Geography of IT industry and companies). There was not even a single question for me to answer. Don't ask how I spent my time there. There were questions and there were answers, and I, a poor blogger, was figuring out what to write about (everything went above my head to some back seat guys who were jumping to answer). I sat among the bloggers ( extinct species). The guy sitting with me, had most of the answers. He expected me to know some of them, while I was trying to figure out what the question was all about. I admit, blogging is the easiest job in the world. Coming back to the contest, there were a few very close contests, but the winners had the match by quite a margin.


























This competition witnessed some of the sharpest programming minds facing off against one another in a particularly electric environment. Here the battlefield is a bright hall filled with computers, at least 100-150 of them. A pair of students sitting in front of their computers, are sitting curious to mess with the lovely machines in front. My classmates, one of the participants, wave me smiling. Poor guys, don't know what they are upto.Best of the bests. But what can I give them? Just a witty smile But before the could fullfill their desires, they are asked to switch them off and are handed over some plain sheets, having little space to write. What could come there? An answer which even Happy Singh can solve. Probably, this is a competition, just made for me. But soon I was proved wrong. There are programming questions from JAVA and C++. As the participants went through the papers and started discussing with their partners, I managed to peep in. The questions went over my head. Probably, Blogging is a better job. Sitting and writing what comes to your mind ( who says "Good things don't come easy"?).I packed for the next destination.




























Clash of Titans? Titans, which can stick their tongue out and speak that nobody understands ( not even the judge). It is an Inter School debate competition. Participants form arguments on important IT topics. And a few selected ones will have the previlage to match their wits against some of the biggest names in IT. In the preliminary round, there was a moderated group discussion ( which helped me have a nap during my busy schedule) with each participant given 30 seconds to put forth their views (or rather put forth whatever cooks in their head). After that, another moderated group discussion took place (and another nap), in which the participants had to raise their place cards in order to present their views and were on the mercy of the moderator. Topic of the discussion was " The validity of the anti-trust cases filed against Microsoft's so-called monopoly Practices"(if you understand, explain me also please). Probably time for next destination.









































This was one of the biggest events at Synchronize '08. Wit and grit are one of the requisites for this competition. It was truly a technical test for any techie. Technocrat, I think is the most difficult of the lot.

The preliminary rounds are as below:

Base Camp (30 minutes)

The participants were given an encoded message by the logistics members. They were also given a program to decode it, written in both Java and C++, that contained sublte logical errors. The participants had to figure out the logic of the deocoder. Clues to fix the logic could be found in text files hidden somewhere on the system. They were required to feed the message into the program which will decode it. In this round, participants were given a set of numbers and alphabets to play with (the last thing I would like to play with). It was a coded message and the participants had to somehow decode it. Looks interesting, but I'll tell you it's not easy when so mainy brainies are around you, challenging your ability.

Codec(15 min)

The output of the programming section lead the participants to a media file. The participants had to find some way to play this audio file, which was not in a format playabe in common media players (totally screwing). As soon as the participant could play the file, there was clue to be found for the later stage (cool man).

The Pink Panther (20 min)

The audio played at the end of the previous section had a clue, without that survival was impossible. This tested te reasoning and analytical prowess of the participants.

Conviction Calling (30 min)

The participants reported to the next level for a panel discussion. This stage by stage thing is very much like playing a real game (Very interesting). Three topics were given to the participants to be discussed (each for 10 min). In that round, they sat on stage and discussed about - Piracy, methods to curb it, P2P sharing (can't explain this one), Yahoo being sold out to Google and its implications on the IT Industry. It tested the real technical knowledge of the techies, and I could see many participants missed out in this round. Well, if you are a real techie the stage was yours.

The Hare and the Tortoise (15 min)

An IT professional needs to be quick. And this came as a surprise. The participants played a racing game on the XBOX 360 for two and a half minutes against one anoter. The participants raced in batches of four (and they raced as if they need an ICU). The time taken to complete the race of recorded for each individual as it's the basis of points for this contest.

DAY II

Even after yesterday's test, don't mistake the life to be easy for these technocrats. To be a Technocrat, you should have something extraordinary in you. And today was the test of this extraordinary thing. It was completely a screwing competition for the participants (don't ask about me). They were asked everything, literally everything. 3 of the participants from the previous day competition, gave out whatever they had to be called that 'TECHNOCRAT'. First of all there was an IT quiz (and take it from me, it was really, really tough). How do they answer that? They seem totally allien (probably from some IT planet). That's stage I. And now a million dollar question. What were they asked to do in stage II? Leave it, you won't get it. They were asked to assemble a scrambled CPU. That's different thing, none of them could do it ( so how can you and I). That's what TECHNOCRAT is all about.

And comes the most entertaining part of SYNCHRONIZE '08 - GAMING. Quad damage is the ultimate gaming experience, with participants taking part in computer as well as Xbox gaming.

Don't ask me what the ultimate aim of the contes was. Put your finger on the trigger and Annihilate! (cool, man).There were some 80-120 gamers competing simultaneous and it was a treat to watch them play. There was separate arrangement for Xbox 360 gamers. The environment was electric. Two blood pumping, finger twiching games (one each for PC and Xbox) were arranged for the gamers. Many jobless people filled the hall, to witness this most hyped event. The game of offer was Unreal Tournament 2004 (for PC ) and Halo III (for Xbox). The concept appeared quit simple. You are given strange looking weapons and just asked to bang everything (just everything). And the Gamers really played their hearts out to conquer this virtual world. The competition was fierce, fighting was hard and survival was difficult. This was the time, I felt like quiting my job (of course, of a Blogger). What's there in blogging? I could have easily blown few of the guys(hmm, not very sure about that).

DAY II

A day of hardcore, mindblowing gaming. Participants from every event, sat back on their seat and watched this contest live. Nothing can be better than this in SYNCHRONIZE '08. Wittnessing some of the best Gamers playing the game of their life (till date), on two big Screens, gave me the feeling of a World Cup match. Loud music, electrifiying environment, charged up audience and of course, healthy contest. It had everything, just everything. This was the time, when I dropped my pen (remember, I am a blogger) and watched the whole match. I think, the players can make a living out of gaming ( though after 10 years or so).

SYNCHRONIZE '08 is not only about witty and gritty competitions, but also has a space for creativity. Brand Value is about creativity and innovation. Participants are given a brand, and are asked to come out with a 2 min advertisement. You see so many ads on your TV sets (and many irritating ones), but it is not easy to

come out with one (even the irritating
Ones). Humour, animation, cinematography, direction ,acting and conceptualising are the minimus requisites of this event. Paricipants struggled to get their concept right and their act right. Even if these didn't bother them, then also I could clearly see many messing up with their presentation ( and take it from me, it was a tough job). So, the moral of the story is - Commercial Breaks are meant to be seen (even those irritating ones).








































If you don't have any relation with Information Technology, no programming skills, gaming experience or creativity, but know how to hold a pen and write something rubbish, then you are on your way to SYNCHRONIZE '08. Bloggers are required to report the proceedings of SYNCHRONIZE '08 through their blogs ( and you might have guessed what am I doing here). The blogs are required to have crisp writing, a distinctive personality, inventive photography and inovative blog design. The event attracted quite a few bloggers, even some very professional looking. Few of them carrying a laptop, writing on the move, and a huge camera (appeared 20MP cameras) hung round their neck. Bloggers enjoyed all the privilages of a TV reporter. They had seats especially reserved for them in each and every event. They had the licence to enter the hall whenever they want, capture anything through any angle, roam around and write anything (even rubbish). I, as a blogger enjoyed each and every bit of it, may be the last time. Let me tell you, I have developed some interest towards Journalism through this event (who knows, you may see me running behind cars to get an interview).

DAY II

The feeling of a reporter, the enthusiasm to win, the competition. For me today was the end of all this crap. Today I feel like enjoying my last stay at Bishop Cotton's Boy's school ( truly, I am loving it), enjoying the events, see the competitive world around me and judging my abilities. Today I have grown a bit sentimental. I think, these 2 days were one of the most important days of my life, which will be there for long in my mind. Today I don't feel like running in the campus, to take a snap, but to spend some time enjoying every bit which is left. In a few hours, I'll be on my way to home, packing the experience, the joy and the competition in me. So, this is the end of the blog (and the event).