It seems to be the case that if one doesn't possess a mobile phone, one doesn't exist. More or less. Or atleast you are not worthy enough to be a customer of a financial service provider. I learnt this the hard way. I happened to provide my contact info with Kotak Securities, to open a demat account. Contact number - office desk phone. No response.
My colleague provided the mobile phone number as contact. Few days later demat account open. The fact that my colleague is now having a torrid time with the customer rep coming to office every other day to get signature upon signature on some arbit documents is besides the point.
ICICI Direct was marginally better. I got a call and was informed that the customer service rep would get in touch with me in a couple of days. After that....nothing.
After this experience I can say one thing with supreme confidence: Customer service of both ICICI and Kotak SUCK!!!
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Cult of the DeadCow's simple parody of Google's censorship policies in China. One more link (Cafepress.com) on the same.
Monday, February 13, 2006
What next for Google?
Ok...So yesterday search monster Google decided to open up Gmail for domains. Supposedly one can use Google mail server clusters for their corporate email. (This service is not unlike (in spirit obviously) the Google Box that they started to provide to index intranet content). Well, details of how it works, pay or free is not my concern.
Just earlier, G had also announced that they are integrating G Talk with the Gmail application and one can chat from inside the browser window. Cool.
G has a calendaring application in the pipeline.
What does all this mean? To me it only seems that G is attempting to enter the groupware market. trying to take a bite out of Lotus Notes and MS Outlook's market share.
Prior to that G and Sun had announced a web based Office application suite. At least there was speculation. It hasn't materialised yet. It will defenitely not be as powerful as Office application installed on the box, but will be a 'poor man's' suite. More than enough to create documents and presentations.
So is G also looking into causing headaches to MS by developing a replacement to MS Sharepoint services? One that is independent of the OS underneath? All the technologies that i have listed so far being browser based, that is what it seems. All you need would be a browser with AJAX support. No ActiveX so no security hazard etc.....( lemme digress a little..what happened to GBrowser?)
Maybe this is also a replacement to Microsoft Office Live designed for real time collaboration across the globe.
Just earlier, G had also announced that they are integrating G Talk with the Gmail application and one can chat from inside the browser window. Cool.
G has a calendaring application in the pipeline.
What does all this mean? To me it only seems that G is attempting to enter the groupware market. trying to take a bite out of Lotus Notes and MS Outlook's market share.
Prior to that G and Sun had announced a web based Office application suite. At least there was speculation. It hasn't materialised yet. It will defenitely not be as powerful as Office application installed on the box, but will be a 'poor man's' suite. More than enough to create documents and presentations.
So is G also looking into causing headaches to MS by developing a replacement to MS Sharepoint services? One that is independent of the OS underneath? All the technologies that i have listed so far being browser based, that is what it seems. All you need would be a browser with AJAX support. No ActiveX so no security hazard etc.....( lemme digress a little..what happened to GBrowser?)
Maybe this is also a replacement to Microsoft Office Live designed for real time collaboration across the globe.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
All of my ESOPs are underwater. ALL OF THEM.
I can't believe that my ESOPs which could have given me $8 per stock as little as 3 months ago has fallen so steeply. The actual earning per share was less than the projected earning by 1 cent..and share prices dropped 5$ in a single day. I can't understand the stock market...
I can't believe that my ESOPs which could have given me $8 per stock as little as 3 months ago has fallen so steeply. The actual earning per share was less than the projected earning by 1 cent..and share prices dropped 5$ in a single day. I can't understand the stock market...
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Google YUCK!!!
Google talk...sucks!!
So I had a problem with my BIOS and accidentally set my date to 2007. And Google talk doesn't allow me to login. What SHIT is this?!!
Yahoo Messenger doesn't have any problem.
Friday, January 06, 2006
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Mobile phones have become ubiqitous. Rare to find a person without a mobile phone. And like email is the killer application on the Internet, SMS is the killer app on mobile phones, at times preferred to making a call. So much, that Yahoo Messenger IM client supports it.
SMS is pretty reliable, and delivery is not delayed..unless of course the receiving phone is off.
But has SMS usage been restricted to sending mostly silly forwards between friends? I feel SMS can be used for more. A simple example is a self monitoring and reporting mechanism. A device monitors itself...and if it detects a fault then a SMS message can be sent to the appropriate persons to take appropriate action.
One example : The traffic lights fail at some place and the policemen who are currently around the place can be informed. They can then go to the spot and manually direct traffic till such time the lights are restored.
Well now one can say 'what if the person who received the message repudiates'. That is a lack of professionalism to say the least and that is not the point of discussion here.
Second: Consider the case of call centers, where employees are picked up from home. If there is a change in the driver, who is to do the pick up, then all people who are supposed to come in that vehicle can be immediately informed by SMS. Use a simple app on the PC to send the message to a distribution list and then the s/w can handle the rest. Infrastructure? May be needed..i dont know. Maybe this can prevent another Pratibha incident.
Third:Building on the previous one slightly. RFID the vehicles. And when it gets near a certain point the person to be picked up can be informed tht the vehicle is near, so he/she can go the the designated pick up spot.
Issues of privacy, security etc....i have no idea. Maybe there isnt something so critical for someone to be alarmed about.
Rambling over!!...now coffee time.
SMS is pretty reliable, and delivery is not delayed..unless of course the receiving phone is off.
But has SMS usage been restricted to sending mostly silly forwards between friends? I feel SMS can be used for more. A simple example is a self monitoring and reporting mechanism. A device monitors itself...and if it detects a fault then a SMS message can be sent to the appropriate persons to take appropriate action.
One example : The traffic lights fail at some place and the policemen who are currently around the place can be informed. They can then go to the spot and manually direct traffic till such time the lights are restored.
Well now one can say 'what if the person who received the message repudiates'. That is a lack of professionalism to say the least and that is not the point of discussion here.
Second: Consider the case of call centers, where employees are picked up from home. If there is a change in the driver, who is to do the pick up, then all people who are supposed to come in that vehicle can be immediately informed by SMS. Use a simple app on the PC to send the message to a distribution list and then the s/w can handle the rest. Infrastructure? May be needed..i dont know. Maybe this can prevent another Pratibha incident.
Third:Building on the previous one slightly. RFID the vehicles. And when it gets near a certain point the person to be picked up can be informed tht the vehicle is near, so he/she can go the the designated pick up spot.
Issues of privacy, security etc....i have no idea. Maybe there isnt something so critical for someone to be alarmed about.
Rambling over!!...now coffee time.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Happened to see the trailer of a new hindi movie called Fight Club. No idea what it shares in common with Brad Pitt starrer Fight Club (1999). Will it be half as good as the original?
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Just an arbitrary question.....Had this Manjunath, the whistle blower on the petrol adulteration menace, not been an IIM graduate...would there have been the same hue and cry over his death?
Same question on the IIT graduate Satyendra Dubey who exposed corruption in roadworks.
Is it that only IIT-ians and IIM-ians have the integrity in the world?
Would the same noise be generated if the whistle blower had been from some less known institute?
Same question on the IIT graduate Satyendra Dubey who exposed corruption in roadworks.
Is it that only IIT-ians and IIM-ians have the integrity in the world?
Would the same noise be generated if the whistle blower had been from some less known institute?
Monday, November 07, 2005
Happened to see The Lion King over the weekend. For some reason...whenever I see Pumbaa the warthog, I am reminded of only one person (no offence meant).
Update :
This person reminds me of Timon the meerkat.
Hakuna Matata!!
Update :
This person reminds me of Timon the meerkat.
Hakuna Matata!!
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Monday, July 25, 2005
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Book Tag Stuff
I got tagged 3 times over on this, by Sanket, Mandar and Ambar( All three were supposed to defend their Master's thesis yesterday. Hope this isn't an obit post to them :-D). So I finally decided to put up this book tag meme.
Number of books I own: I have no idea. Most of the books I have are those that I have borrowed.
Then there are Project Gutenberg, Univ. of Virginia online library and the Univ. of Adelide online library.
Why buy, when you can borrow or download.
First book ever: The first few books I read were the Hardy Boys stories in school. The first fiction novel I read must be Kane and Abel.
Last Book Read:
Fiction: Animal Farm.
Non-Fiction: Get better or get beaten. Something to do with Jack Welch strategies for GE's phenomenal success when he was heading the company.
Five Books which mean a lot to me: Hmmmmm.
This seems to be a question out of the movie High Fidelity. Anyways...
Collection of O'Henry short stories. Currently reading. Very good.
Animal Farm.
Calvin n Hobbes: Collection of all strips from 1985 to 95. Best timepass.
The Emperor's New Mind: On consciousness. Combines lots of fundas from Computer science, Quantum physics, Mathematics, Chaos, Biology, Psychology...etc.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. How can I forget this. This also total timepass reading. For the eternal inter-galactic explorer!!
Now, the five people I'm passing on the meme to:
One more High Fidelity question!!
I have no idea. Do I have to? If i decide the list, I will update the post. Till then the list is empty.
Number of books I own: I have no idea. Most of the books I have are those that I have borrowed.
Then there are Project Gutenberg, Univ. of Virginia online library and the Univ. of Adelide online library.
Why buy, when you can borrow or download.
First book ever: The first few books I read were the Hardy Boys stories in school. The first fiction novel I read must be Kane and Abel.
Last Book Read:
Fiction: Animal Farm.
Non-Fiction: Get better or get beaten. Something to do with Jack Welch strategies for GE's phenomenal success when he was heading the company.
Five Books which mean a lot to me: Hmmmmm.
This seems to be a question out of the movie High Fidelity. Anyways...
Collection of O'Henry short stories. Currently reading. Very good.
Animal Farm.
Calvin n Hobbes: Collection of all strips from 1985 to 95. Best timepass.
The Emperor's New Mind: On consciousness. Combines lots of fundas from Computer science, Quantum physics, Mathematics, Chaos, Biology, Psychology...etc.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. How can I forget this. This also total timepass reading. For the eternal inter-galactic explorer!!
Now, the five people I'm passing on the meme to:
One more High Fidelity question!!
I have no idea. Do I have to? If i decide the list, I will update the post. Till then the list is empty.
Thursday, June 09, 2005
Thursday, June 02, 2005
The Kasmiri Separatist "Leaders" are leaving for Muzaffarabad today. And apparently they also have been invited by Pakistan and plan to visit the country. And the separatists have been given Indian passports.
Good.
Let these fellows go and talk to the Pakistani government how to make Kashmir part of Pakistan. Once they come back, throw them in behind bars, charge them of treason (they are Indian citizens since they have Indian Passports and they are doing "desh drohi" activities) and then get them executed.
Kashmir Problem Resolved. Period.
Good.
Let these fellows go and talk to the Pakistani government how to make Kashmir part of Pakistan. Once they come back, throw them in behind bars, charge them of treason (they are Indian citizens since they have Indian Passports and they are doing "desh drohi" activities) and then get them executed.
Kashmir Problem Resolved. Period.
Thursday, May 26, 2005
No more Wintel, now for Mac-tel
A few days ago this Reuters article spoke about possible collaboration between chip giant Intel and Apple. Then came this Paul Otelini statement. Intel seems to be wooing Apple.
Why?
The last few Intel products for the desktop market have had a few problems resulting in recalls, the semi conductor industry seems to have hit "stable" or "diminishing returns" stage, MS Longhorn is asking too much from the hardware and integrated graphics can't provide it. In discrete graphics nVidia and ATI are leaders coming up with ever more powerful graphics processors, AMD is coming up with lower power laptop/desktop processors and higher performance in the server market. So the logical step....look for a new market.
We can extend this to take x86 processors + chipset instead of Intel alone. So in come AMD, Cyrix etc. x86 processors are most commonly used in desktops/laptops and Mac OS is touted as the best for end users (geeks prefer the command line of *nix clones, so they are not excluded).
So will we see the marriage of the two? Can an "Intel Inside" desktop have Mac OS X running on it? Lets see...
(Just hope it will be affordable if it does come up :-))
Why?
The last few Intel products for the desktop market have had a few problems resulting in recalls, the semi conductor industry seems to have hit "stable" or "diminishing returns" stage, MS Longhorn is asking too much from the hardware and integrated graphics can't provide it. In discrete graphics nVidia and ATI are leaders coming up with ever more powerful graphics processors, AMD is coming up with lower power laptop/desktop processors and higher performance in the server market. So the logical step....look for a new market.
We can extend this to take x86 processors + chipset instead of Intel alone. So in come AMD, Cyrix etc. x86 processors are most commonly used in desktops/laptops and Mac OS is touted as the best for end users (geeks prefer the command line of *nix clones, so they are not excluded).
So will we see the marriage of the two? Can an "Intel Inside" desktop have Mac OS X running on it? Lets see...
(Just hope it will be affordable if it does come up :-))
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