Tuesday, January 18, 2011

A man is known by the apps he keeps

So I have the iPhone4(in the US), in effect I also own a bulky iPod Touch in India. How you ask? Yes, please do because as mere consumers all we can do is ask. I am in a non-negotiable 2 year relationship with ATT which like any other relationship, makes me happy but never looses its leash on me. I cant deny my love for all things apple but you've got to hate it for a lot of reasons too, good reasons I've learnt but we'll come to that in a bit. Why does it happen that the iPhone has the best screen on a mobile phone ever, even to the effect of making you stare at your worst photographs, such a flawless user interface, just the right amount of battery backup, a goddamn iPod on it! and yet be a slave to the rules laid down by Apple? Just like most users, I've been frustrated about this but guess what? Isn't that the difference between iOS and the Android? Isn't that why iPhone is still the most desirable Princess in the mobile world while Android is out to be its Robin Hood?

Apple I now believe is the one company I can trust. Why? Look at the phones around you today or most electronic products for that matter, aren't they all infected with product differentiation? Don't they make money out of ever so slowly introducing features and forcing you to buy upgrades? But how come then the iPhone has undoubtedly the best touch interface ever on a phone? Because it genuinely wants to give its customers the best there is. Quality over quantity is exemplified by this company. But then there are geeks out there who will not be told what to do even if it was worth it and so Jailbreaking the iPhone was made legal. Well its your phone after all, do what you will with it. Not me though, months of trolling the net for dope on Jailbreaking the iPhone has me convinced that Apple would've done it if they could. There's a price you pay for top quality and Apple cannot say this any better than yanking you off its warranty for being "brave". "How difficult can it possibly be for them to let me tether data to other devices", cries a friend of mine to which an android-loving-iPhone-trash talking-yet-using-the-iPhone friend of mine says, "Ah... you know how it is with Steve Jobs, he's always after money and the only way he knows how to earn is consumer enslavement". Not true people! You can't do certain things on the iPhone because if you did, you would be jeopardizing other crucial functionality like battery backup for instance. Don't believe me? Go ahead, be a rebel, jailbreak your iPhone and let's see if you can resist regretting it. May be you think I'm just trying to make myself feel better about chickening out on Jailbreaking, but I'm convinced, you gotta trust Apple.

Having chosen to trust Apple, I must add: I have used the Droid X and its great but I'll just say this, get the iPhone if you want only the best. But if you're the complaining type, get the Android and keep dreaming about what could have been :-P.

Monday, January 10, 2011

How many souls to a body?

I'm just a kiddo
My folks wonder what i'll grow to be
There's space for some ambition, we live not in a ghetto
I have no inhibitions, a million paths i see
Not so for them, they fret a little more
They said, a poet goes hungry
First learn to fetch your food, or so says the lore
So be worldly i shall, to please all and sundry
Don't be part of a crowd/Don't get left out either
Preached a great Indian poet
I'll do what I have to do, but won't let my dreams wither
Wouldn't it be surreal? To be as real as real can get
And a colorful dreamer? To live life in a duet?
Let life takes its due course
While I try a few different hats
No regrets, no remorse
Even if I just travel, or almost fly on the flats
I can't fit in an exact science, please don't fuss about detail
Paint like a painter, dance like a dancer
May be just once, but try it, give it your all and the feeling shall prevail.
Several hats to cherish, not always devoid of strife
Yay! am on top of the world... Or may be not
I'm happy being a regular guy, living a regular life
But guess what, it feels great to occasionally be someone you're not

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Lonely Santa

What a pleasure it is to rhyme,
To do it more often, one needs time.

I'm home alone for Christmas, I have to pass time!
If you don't fear the dark, a little holiday with yourself is not a crime.

An indulgent to-do list with privacy so sublime,
After ages, I even have the courage to clear out my den's slime.

Its even cold outside, I've got no hills to climb,
I fancy treating myself to Maggi, but with a touch of thyme!

Just like my den, my mind needed ridding of its grime,
I'm sure this will help me, get closer to my prime!

De-fragmenting your thoughts, I realize, doesn't cost a dime,
Ah, what bliss is traffic-gazing, sipping soda and lime.

So take a few days, this experience you should mime,
While I try to better this rhyme, may be by giving it a chime!

Monday, December 6, 2010

RIP Gutenberg

Now this changes everything, yet again! Technology is advancing at eye blink speed, what exciting times these indeed are! It's official now! Google eBooks is here and Amazon, although at the top of their game right now, might have to soon bow down to the giant. While the publishing people world over were still waiting to see the right direction their industry would take, Google very quietly kept scanning every damn book they could get hold of. Seemed like such a waste back then, because face it, with all the legal problems and not great quality how many of us really used Google Books? Not many I am guessing. There were number of factors for that, the main being lack of a readable device! It was just not possible to stare at a computer screen and read the Lord of the Rings(oh heck, the sheer size of its paperback version itself would scare me away). But all that is set to change and what I firmly believe is probably the most important invention of this century in many many ways, E-Ink Technology would pave the way forward. When I first saw an E-Ink screen a few years ago, it seemed quite drab and also the content wasn't there yet, but that is not the case now. Google has entered the eBooks market when the time is ripe. A million tablets and eReaders cropping up all over demanded access to one giant central source of content and Google will certainly cater to that. Although Amazon still remains the preferred eBook vendor for most publishers, Google's bigger collection could soon change that. The beauty of it all lies in the cloud! Any book you ever buy will be accessible from any device of your choice and you can start reading from where you left off last.

The way we deliver content for education is set to change completely and this time for a long time to come unless we find some way to just download wisdom from somewhere in the near future. With increasing maturity of eReaders the day is not far when school kids wont have to lug heavy backpacks anymore, instead just one interactive E-Ink based device and it makes so much sense! No matter how many saplings green initiatives have planted, a shift to E-Ink is what will save our trees ultimately. Everyone will own a library on the cloud! The last decade saw the shift from paper based teaching and learning with the onset of the laptops and this shall culminate with touch based eReaders becoming a worldwide standard, doing away completely with paper, stationery and printers! RIP Gutenberg.

So do yourself a favor and go buy that really expensive hard cover you always wanted to own, it might fetch you quite a sum in pawn shops half a century from today.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

I am slave, bitch.


So you must have heard, facebook is said to take over the world, facebook will be the new internet. But did'nt we say similar things about the Internet itself at its inception? I assume we did. Postal departments all over the world protested the wrath of the e-mail and now the way we look at e-mail itself is said to change. Fmail seems like the most logical next step, I am continued to be impressed by this Harvard dropout. Just like most Indians my generation, I've always been loyal to Google and its million services and could've never imagined a life without my gmail id. My work email apart, there's no denying that most of the people using gmail today as a personal mail tool, have their inboxes cluttered with Facebook notifications. So where do you share photos? ideas? kickass quotes you come up with on the potty? an amazing article you have to share with friends? latest updates from your favorite product manufacturer? get together with old friends in various groups? Chat? Pretty much every part of your personal life which you would want to keep public, is on Facebook. So what do you use Gmail for again? err... umm... *awkward silence indeed*

I am guessing just a few tweaks like video chat, google docs and other services sync and a little time getting used to the idea in general is all it will take for Facebook to quite literally take over our lives. Do I mind it? Not really, because it makes perfect sense. As long as I am in control of my privacy settings and not being pushed into anything, it'll make life very convenient. Facebook certainly has become a default for finding people, you can't do that on Gmail. Quite ironical that you might still 'Google' the person in question and Google itself would direct you to the said person's Facebook page. Websites for small time manufacturers, marketing promotions, event promotions, wedding invitations, birthday parties etc etc which used to be such a fad back in the day is so passe now. What's the point of going through the hassle of creating a website and ultimately marketing that one link on Facebook? The audience does not want to be directed to a million different webpages which basically hold the same damn information! Solution: Facebook Page! From Madhuri Dixit to Ferrai, whatever interests you is on facebook. All you gotta do is 'like' the page! No more bookmarking URL's. Simple, plain and effective why? 500 million active users! You dont need to be a marketing guru to figure out where to make noise. It is sad how Google did not foresee this. To me personally, this definitely marks the downfall of the Search Giant, at least from the personal lives of the internet population. But I must say, Google has tremendous promise in becoming the most preferred client for professional mail, not anytime soon though what with the cloud still being 'not safe'.

All this got me thinking, what the hell? Ultimately I am being told what to do! I don't have a choice now, do I? Can I afford to not be on Facebook? No way! But why are we allowing it then? Because we asked for it. Because we asked for one genius to clear out the chaos and show us the right path. Corporate Anarchy I firmly believe is how all these giant wars are going to end. Just imagine what the world would be like if we had just a handful of companies, say four or five which would make everything for us, "simplifying" our lives. Corporate Governance would not be far either in that case. I am not saying one way is better over the other. Its merely an observation that Anarchy made perfect sense to man once upon a time, he fought wars for it and then realized Democracy is what makes more sense. Moving on, although Democracy did give us a lot... it created the chaos we are in today and that will continue to increase. Two Hundred years from today, all men will be equal, in race, religion, etc etc and how are we gonna get there? Anarchy it is! And if we survive, I guess the cycle of struggling for freedom shall prevail once more. Matrix, anyone?

P.S. For the uninitiated on the title, Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook was prudent(?) enough to carry around a business card which read, "I'm CEO, bitch".

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Bright Monday Morning


Six months it took for me to fix my creaky door,
I wonder why I was ok with so many mornings going sore.

A few drops of oil and a state of mind to mend it,
That's all it took and I am glad I could end it.

Since that day, my door keeps venting,
How he could hear me creak as well and how I needed mending.

Funny how times change, how six months an unbearable pain,
Becomes just a flash in the pan, when reminiscing it stroking your mane!

Facial hair, scattered although it might be,
Growing it with care is the only chore that now...keeps me even slightly.

Just when its time to turn another page,
To fall into slumber giving rest to my rage.

I see the colors so vivid, the sun begins shining,
Alas its time to go to sleep, on a Bright Monday Morning.

Sweet Weekend

Weekend o sweet weekend
Why is it so that thy have to end?

Two days is all u can afford
And thats the only time i have left to wash and fold!

Why do come and why do u go?
Why dont u just stay and take it slow?

Why do u let a million plans flow
Why cant we just lay and play cello?

I wish you visited after every hard day
then be more productive, I may!

I guess i'll just have to live with u for now
unfair u r and how!
I shall now get back to the usual pound
well I guess I'll see you around.

Older Posts

Blogger Template by Blogcrowds