Cornell Blog: An unofficial blog about Cornell University

If you take any of the Shortline buses from Ithaca to NYC, be sure to keep close eye on your luggage, as anyone can pick it up and walk off with it. Coach USA should really implement a check in/check out policy.

Why do I write this warning? Because on my return from NYC to Ithaca the other day, someone took my suitcase by mistake. We pulled into the Ithaca station, and the people getting off there got off. From the corner of my eye, I thought I saw a lady walking off with my suitcase. Aaaaahhhh!! I ran off the bus to find her and verify, but she was out of sight, so I just got back on the bus, thinking, “no one would steal my suitcase.” But, when I got the collegetown stop it was gone.

My thief returned it the next day, but you might not be so lucky!

Azhar Khan, a cornell engineering alumni (’92) who is Co-founder and VP of Engineering at Ojos-Inc., has been communicating with me about this old repost of a job advertisment that I got from the CAANC mailing list a while ago. He says it’s not for public consumption, but you can find the contents of the email floating around in quite a few different places:

• In the mailing list archives: groups.yahoo.com/group/CAANC-Connect/
• On the stanford job board: bases.stanford.edu/site/login/job_view_company.jsp?coid=4193
• On a forum list: www.suntzureport.com/v-web/bulletin/bb/viewtopic.php?t=80&
• On their own website: www.ojos-inc.com/

In short, Ojos-inc was looking for coders to write windows/internet applications to hack “the JPEG” or “inside JPEG,” led by a PhD in computer vision from Stanford University. Their goal was to “change the way consumers surf and search the web.” Their job-hunting press release suggested that qualified applicants send their resumes to resumes@ojos-inc.com, or to Azhar Khan himself.

So why would a company that’s developing what seems to be intuitive image search technology have their VP insist that I remove the job posting? Why would their website suddenly disappear? At first I received an email that said, “please call me at once about this website.” I responded to that ridiculous demand with “no, of course not. If you have something to say, email me or leave a comment on the post.” Then Azhar emailed me back with a story of woe, of how he keeps receiving scores of junk resumes and telephone calls from recruiters, and wants to get away from it all. I felt sorry, so I removed his email address and telephone number that were in his release, and replaced it with the resume address from their now-defunct website.

At this point you would assume that we’d be done. I satisfied his problem, right? No. I got a call this morning at 11 AM, insisting that I remove the post. I told him I’d think about it. He told me the release wasn’t for “general consumption,” but wouldn’t say anything more specific. This leads me to believe one of two things. Either (a) the company is in some kind of trouble and is trying to erase all record of itself or (b) Ojos-inc is trying to cover up some secret plan they have. In other words, when Azhar Khan told me that I should remove what used to be this post because he was getting spam, he lied to me, because that wasn’t enough for him.

Spurred and irritated, I did some additional internet research, and this is what I found:

At least two old Craiglist postings, requesting digital photos and software devs. There is no cache.

$100 for your digital photos
… You can learn more about us at www.ojos-inc.com We need these photos as soon as possible and … Munjal Shah. CEO – Ojos, Inc. www.ojos-inc.com …

…Lead Developer/Application Architect (redwood shores) Reply to: azhar@ojos-inc.com. Date: 2005-03-28, 2:19PM PST. The Company…

Information about the VP of Ojos-inc from Cornell University:

Azhar Khan and via Google

A statement from Midas Capital that they are funding Ojos-inc:

Ojos, Inc. – Currently in stealth mode while they “hack the JPEG”

www.3clickx.com , a possible mirror of their main website. It is registered with the following information:

Registrant:
Azhar Khan
174 Hartford Street
San Francisco, California 94114
United States

Registered through: GoDaddy.com (www.godaddy.com)
Domain Name: 3CLICKX.COM
Created on: 17-Jan-05
Expires on: 17-Jan-06
Last Updated on: 17-Jan-05

Administrative Contact:
Khan, Azhar azhar.khan@att.net
174 Hartford Street
San Francisco, California 94114
United States
4152156881
Technical Contact:
Khan, Azhar azhar.khan@att.net
174 Hartford Street
San Francisco, California 94114
United States
4152156881

Domain servers in listed order:
PARK19.SECURESERVER.NET
PARK20.SECURESERVER.NET

Currently, it is down, but the yahoo cache reads:

OJOS Is Hiring!

We are building an elite team of engineers and researchers who will be hacking “The JPEG” with a technology team led by a Stanford PhD in computer vision with a strong foreign accent. But you do not need to have an accent to work with him…;-) We are a recently funded consumer software startup that received multiple term sheets from Sand Hill VCs within just 48 hours of pitching the idea. Our team is made up of a CEO who built and led his last company to profitability providing services to eBay sellers, a Vice President of Engineering who sold his last company for $25M, and a CTO with 15 patents and 30 papers. All three founders are graduates of Stanford University and believe smart guys who work hard do change the world (at least the tech world..;-). We have an exclusive license from UCLA for key technology and a disruptive idea that will change the web. We believe our market opportunity is significant. We are funded by Peter Rip of Leapfrog Ventures (www.leapfrogventures.com) – a brilliant VC who invested in many successful Internet companies such as Vxtreme (acquired by MSFT) and Cadabra (acquired by Goto); and John Malloy of Blue Run Ventures (formerly Nokia Ventures – www.brv.com) the first investor in Paypal (acquired by eBay) and head of Nokia’s US operations for years.

We want you to join our team provided you have a proven record of success (small or large) and an unquenchable thirst to succeed:

Server Architect
Search Engine Architect
Windows Application Architect

Email your resume (it will get a reply – we promise) to resumes@ojos-inc.com

www.ojos-inc.com/ , their main page. Currently it appears to be offline, and the content is identical to the mirror above. Its registration information is:

Registrant:
None
1687 Christina Dr
Los Altos, CA 94024
US

Domain name: OJOS-INC.COM

Administrative Contact:
Shah, Munjal domainreg@munjal.com
1687 Christina Dr
Los Altos, CA 94024
US
+1.6502782304
Technical Contact:
Shah, Munjal domainreg@munjal.com
1687 Christina Dr
Los Altos, CA 94024
US
+1.6502782304

Registration Service Provider:
Dynamic Network Services, Inc., support@dyndns.org
603-668-4998
603-668-6474 (fax)
www.dyndns.org/
Please login to your account at www.dyndns.org/+domains/ to
manage nameservers and contacts for your domain(s).

Registrar of Record: TUCOWS, INC.
Record last updated on 14-Feb-2005.
Record expires on 14-Feb-2006.
Record created on 14-Feb-2005.

Domain servers in listed order:
NS1.MYDYNDNS.ORG
NS2.MYDYNDNS.ORG
NS3.MYDYNDNS.ORG
NS4.MYDYNDNS.ORG
NS5.MYDYNDNS.ORG

Shah, Munjal is the former CEO of Andale systems.

Also, check out this tracert:

Tracing route to ojos-inc.com [69.3.89.251] over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 313 ms 294 ms 323 ms 10.102.192.1
2 10 ms 10 ms 11 ms gig5-2.syrcnyith-rtr01.nyroc.rr.com [24.92.225.169]
3 237 ms 390 ms 228 ms srp15-0.syrcnyspp-rtr04.nyroc.rr.com [24.92.228.65]
4 106 ms 28 ms 14 ms srp10-0.syrcnyspp-rtr01.nyroc.rr.com [24.92.224.137]
5 239 ms 224 ms 172 ms srp8-0.syrcnyspp-rtr02.nyroc.rr.com [24.92.224.138]
6 44 ms 19 ms 21 ms son2-0-1.albynywav-rtr03.nyroc.rr.com [24.92.224.170]
7 152 ms 144 ms 274 ms pop1-alb-P7-0.atdn.net [66.185.133.229]
8 275 ms 236 ms 370 ms bb1-alb-P0-1.atdn.net [66.185.148.100]
9 * 33 ms 25 ms bb2-nye-P3-0.atdn.net [66.185.152.71]
10 433 ms 459 ms 322 ms pop2-nye-P1-0.atdn.net [66.185.151.67]
11 301 ms 444 ms 432 ms so-7-0-0.gar1.NewYork1.Level3.net [66.185.137.210]
12 380 ms 351 ms 335 ms ae-1-54.bbr2.NewYork1.Level3.net [4.68.97.97]
13 327 ms 109 ms 212 ms as-0-0.bbr1.SanJose1.Level3.net [64.159.1.133]
14 498 ms 348 ms 485 ms ge-1-2-56.car1.SanJose1.Level3.net [4.68.123.164]
15 729 ms 619 ms 467 ms unknown.Level3.net [63.209.0.174]
16 448 ms 415 ms * 192.168.21.18
17 * 398 ms 302 ms 172.18.99.22
18 * * * Request timed out.
19 * * * Request timed out.
20 * * * Request timed out.
21 * * * Request timed out.
22 * * * Request timed out.
23 * * * Request timed out.
24 * * * Request timed out.
25 * * * Request timed out.
26 * * * Request timed out.
27 * * * Request timed out.
28 * * * Request timed out.
29 * * * Request timed out.
30 * * * Request timed out.

Trace complete.

I am baffled by the demands of Ojos-inc. In one sense, they have their way now–the original repost of their recruiting letter is completely gone. In another sense, they do not. Everything I am able to find about the company is here, and the things that I couldn’t find (patents, trademarks, press releases, a corporate address) are countless. All that I hope is that this information is useful to someone!

Or at least, they could be buying your soul when you sign their two-step proxy acceptance form. Rather than simply broker a deal between you and a company, and then leave the two of you to sort out the employment terms, the Engineering COOP office has an unusual policy that requires you to accept employment before you see the offer. Only after you agree to work for a company for 28 weeks will they release the offer letter, with its terms and conditions, to you.

Naturally, they are trying to prevent competition and decisions made over salaries, but that should be left to the student. Strangely enough, the COOP office offers a FAQ about salaries, suggesting that:

“In any case, you should know the prevailing salary statistics for your field and degree level and should negotiate only when you feel your offer is not competitive”

Apparently they feel that salary is a factor in choosing a job, but yet require COOP students at Cornell to choose 28 weeks of employment blindly. Whether you are walking into a minimum wage hell or not, you will only know after it’s too late.

Update: Director Mark Savage replies

Because Co-op students are pursuing university business when on assignment, and because they are registered in-absentia as fulltime students during the time they are on assignment, Co-Op is considered an academic program that allows students to apply what they have learned in the classroom. It is not intended to be a job that one does for monetary gain (that would be an internship or summer job). [...] Students may discuss housing options and other benefits with employers.

Actually, companies are told by your office not to discuss options with students until after they have accepted the offer, from what I’ve heard.

[...] However, we will likely review this policy with our employer partners in the near future, and may or may not recommend adjustments. [...] Average salary is in the range of $2,700/month, a reasonable salary for any student of Co-op age. Of course, should a company offer a salary that is not competitive, we would work with them to adjust their offers accordingly. This is why companies involved in the Co-op program must be approved before taking students.

Personally, I believe the policy will remain the same, unless there is a mass of student protests. If you’re an Engineering COOP student and hate the lack of transparency in the COOP offer process, please write Mark Savage and explain your opinion:

Mark Savage, Director
Engineering Co-Op & Career Services
Cornell University, 201 Carpenter Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853-2201