The end of the year is time for resolutions, introspection and top-10 lists. We too got swept up in the wave, and here is our top-11 list of the most popular articles on PuneTech in the last year. PuneTech started on 6th March, 2008 and at that time, we were not sure of what directions it will take, and whether we’ll be able to sustain or grow it. It has exceeded our expectations in terms of impact and interesting new directions. But we have been a little disappointed with the amount of community-contributed content – most of the content is still put up by just one or two people – I was hoping that there would be at least 10 people contributing regularly by now. If you would like to contribute articles to PuneTech, please get in touch with us.

In any case, here are the most popular pages on PuneTech as measured by the number of people who viewed them:

1. Building Eka, the world’s fastest privately funded supercomputer: This was one of the first articles I wrote, and has hit the #1 spot because it got picked up by slashdot. I’m fairly proud of the fact that my server survived the slashdotting without going down or even slowing down. The related page announcing this event, and the PuneTech wiki page for CRL managed to get other spots on this list due to spillover traffic, but since they are pretty much the same, I’ve not included it in the list.
2. The PuneTech Blog main page: Not surprisingly, the main page – which essentially holds the PuneTech blog – is the second most visited page on PuneTech.  I would still prefer that people subscribe to PuneTech instead of visiting the main page – that way, there’s less chance of missing any articles.
3. The PuneTech wiki: This page is unfortunately a distant third – I was hoping that over time this would become the “main page”, but we are still some way away from that. The problem partially is that it doesn’t get much prominence on the main page. Also, the content there needs some work. Amit Paranjape is working on a new improved categorized list of companies to spruce up the wiki, so expect more prominence for it in this year.
4. About PuneTech: Have you read that page? If not, maybe you should look at it, to get an idea of the how any why of PuneTech.
5. Categorized List of Companies on the wiki: While this is very far from where it should be, it is still a useful resource – and expect it to become better. Please note, you too can add your company to this list. It’s easy and free.
6. The list of all company overview articles on the PuneTech blog: The PuneTech blog has categorized listing pages that you can browse by clicking on the “More Links” bar at the top.
7. Badmash.tv: Pune-based Animation Studio: To be frank, I have no idea why this one is so high up on the list. In any case, animation is a hot and happening area for tech in Pune, and I am hoping that one of these days, someone will write an nice in-depth article on this area, covering the important technologies, companies and organizations in Pune in this area. Anyone up for the challenge?
8. Vision for Pune – 2015: Specific projects – This page, and the companion article giving the broader, longer-term Vision for Pune was written by Anupam Saraph, CIO of Pune, at the insistence of PuneTech. I’m glad to report Anupam has found some collaborators for some of these projects due to the appearance of these articles and at least one pilot project is under way already.
9. Data Leakage Prevention overview: While it might not be obvious from this list, overview articles like this one, which introduce our readers to a new technology area are some of our most popular articles – and they do form a bulk of the #11 to #20 on the most popular list. One of my favorite such articles is the overview of SCM, (which is not on the list possibly because it is “too young”). I’m hoping for more such articles this year. Look out for overviews of CAD, CAM, CAE, life sciences, animation, etc. Suggest your own areas for an overview like this. Or best, write one such article.
10. Narendra Karmarkar’s recent research: Karmarkar revolutionized linear programming by his Interior Point Method. After this, he worked on a new architecture for supercomputing, based on concepts from projective geometry. Currently, he is based in Pune and is synthesizing these concepts with some new ideas he calls sculpturing free space (a non-linear analogue of what has has popularly been described as folding the perfect corner). This approach allows him to extend this work to the physical design of machines. This article on PuneTech and the corresponding PDF represent the first public disclosure of his new ideas.
11. Category:Events: I had to extend this list to 11 instead of 10 because I could bear to leave out the events page. PuneTech has easily become the most comprehensive source of information about interesting technology events happening in the city. There are various different ways in which you can keep track. All tech events that we find interesting are added to the PuneTech calendar. You can subscribe to the RSS feed or email alerts. Additionally, we’ve found that people prefer to be reminded of events by SMS, hence we’ve started the (free) PuneTech SMS reminder service. And, of course, if you are aware of an event that is not listed, please let us know.

There is much more in store for 2009, so stay tuned.