Cell-iberate the liberation

MercuryNews.com | 02/26/2007 | India's great leveler: cell phones

I, like Mr. Tharoor, have a favorite story on cellphone use in India. During my 2003 holiday I hired a cab (taxi) to take me from Madikeri to Mangalore. The driver had a cellphone with the ringtone set to the tune of the famous prayer - Venkatesha Suprabhatam. I thought that was bloody neat - to be remind of the Lord when someone called and to get your prayers done before you yak. During that whole trip I never was without a phone. Whenever I needed one I would use the nearest pay phone or borrow the driver's phone. In 2005 I went one better I bought myself a "lifetime prepaid" SIM card.

I still remember the day when my brother implored me to tell our dad that we do need to put the deposit for OYT (Own your telephone) and get the phone. This was probably in the late 80s. It feels like a long time. Today, there has been a leapfrog effect - people are skipping the landline or POTS completely and jumping on to mobile. And, I suspect something similar will happen in the Internet access area. I think there is a good chance that majority of the population will skip wired access and go straight to wireless.

It is not lost on me that the telecom revolution is in India is essentially a mobile phone revolution that had very little to do with the government. Yes, the government did not put spanner in the works but that is about it. It is likely the government's hands were tied due to the economic situation. I only hope the government continues to play the role of passive observer.

Media Madness

Media, these days, can be broadly categorized into two groups - the ones that give inordinate time and coverage of the antics of LiLo, Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and the death of Anna Nicole Smith, and then the ones that are more serious like NBC, Newsweek, BBC etc...

What is the difference between these two? - very little, I think. The first group reports the "celeb" happenings in real time while the other reports a little later and has usually two psychs / sociologists to analyze why we and the media spend time following these "celebs". The difference, if any, is the difference between "headline news" and "newsline". The reality is both spent time on the same "celeb" antics. One was brazen about it and other couched it in pseudo-sophistication. NBC, Newsweek and Beebs have spent time on the same topic.

The fact is these "celebs" and their followers will take any publicity/ reporting. And, media will take anything to make their numbers.

What is the value of the "Made for iPod" program

SI.com - 2007 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Photo Gallery - Marisa Miller

Well, I could not stop taking a dig at this photo. Looks like the iPod is off the dock/ cradle. And, I guess it is because the dock is not part of the "Made for iPod" program.

Rama...Rama.. this culture business...

Ok, this one is from the BBC website. They are running a series on India and its rise. And, see what they used as an image leadin to an article on Indian president's vision - Ravana, the demon king from Ramayana. I am not sure if they are trying to tell us that the Indian President is a demon or if he is smart enough to match the wits of ten people. BTW, Ravana is not even Indian. He was from Sri Lanka accroding to the myth.

This is not a pre-nup. it is a tree-ty

PIL against Aishwarya's marriage with tree:NewKerala.Com

A friend of mine sent me this article in an email with the following thoughts -
....a country that has nukes, a space program and is the largest exporter of software also has one of its premier citizens marrying a tree in order to guarantee marital bliss.....incredible!!!

Now there are some factually incorrect and subjective assertions in that paragraph - largest exporter of software (factually incorrect), "premier citizen" (subjecitve assertion) but that aside i found both the article and my friend's reaction funny.

What Aishwarya Rai or any other citizen in the country does is their business as long as it is not illegal and does not harm fellow citizens. As another friend pointed out marrying a tree is "vegiality" not "beastiality". But, we have this need to make sure that everyone thinks, acts and subscribes to same belief as we do that anything else is appaling.

Now, when did Aishwarya Rai marrying a tree become a matter of public interest and public interest litigation? Boy, that lawyer must be jobless or seeking attention or both. We have folks like LiLo, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears walking around without undies in public here in the US. Apparently, these women are the role models for today's teens. I don't see anyone filling public interest litigation against them in this litigious society.

Dell Hell

Where Dell went wrong | Perspectives | CNET News.com

Interesting article. Pretty much on the spot but for the consulting firm. At least in my experience a good number of folks at Dell were from the pain called Bain. Rollins was full of it (of course, I have only one data point - the one time I was in the same room as him, listening him talk to the Dell sales team). I remember him ranting "what has innovation got hp?" Of course, this was during the Carly days and everyone was having a go at hp. But, to be fair to him everyone was singing his praises when the numbers came in well. Things don't go bad overnight. Whatever actions brought in the numbers also resulted in the current mess. You have to innovate to succeed even if you innovate is new lies. You can't live with the same old lie - "low cost, great support" when the reality tells a different story.