A group created at promoting reduced usage of news consumption through the Paper media. Now is the time to switch and move.

FAQs below:

How will it help? This group is just a medium to promote the idea. The idea that we CAN stop reading the physical newspaper. It is possible to change a habit that we had put on since our school days. The real change comes when we stop subscribing to physical Newspapers. When a lot of us do that and switch to online media, the change will force the Newspaper agencies to stop delivering news through that medium. That is when we will have far less number of trees to be cut down. Eventually we can be in a position where the rate of cutting down trees will be lesser than their growth and plantation. We can regain a greener and cleaner world. Newspapers are just the first step, but a big one at that.

Why only Newsapers? Why not magazines, books, textbooks, office printouts, advertising pamphlets etc? Because the quantum of paper used to publish Newspapers is higher than most of those. To add to that, it has the least long-term value.

Why now? Because we have alternatives now.

What are those alternatives?
1) Internet Access “Haves” : Can read online versions of the same newspapers or read one of the many thousands of news portals.
2) Electronic Devices: Once you find a product that is affordable and likeable to you(mobile smartphones, e-readers), invest in it. I am sure all Newspaper companies will soon have custom displays to suit these readers. Within two years, we may see very light foldable plastic sheets as our e-readers.

What about our Moms and Dads, who are not tech-enabled?
1) Encourage them to start using computers and get online. Age is never a bar to learn anything new, more-so true for technology.
2) Wait for the the foldable plastic sheet e-readers. That will surely be easy for them.

What happens to those who dont have enough internet access? They may continue to get the paper format till they log on. But once the “haves” will switch to alternatives, the “have-nots” will create enough pressure on the government and private sector to cater to their “byte” needs.

We will still be using up natural resources to create those Electronic Devices. We are just shifting the consumption from trees to metals. Isn’t the netgain zero? Saving trees is a major priority, as they will help us fight climate change to a large extent. Though the ideal world will have no mining required for the metals, we can bear with that for a while. Additionaly, most electronic devices that we use will last for a couple of years on an average. That will not require so much consumption of natural resources.

But people dependant on the paper industry will loose jobs, Won’t they? The world that we live in continues to grow on “Creative Destruction”. It will be sad to see jobs of people in the entire chain (from newspaper delivery boys, vendors to people working in the paper creation and recycling) getting affected for a short-term, but they will surely regain their livelihoods through alternative forms of employment. Most of them are as such extremely agile. They do not have constraints like “I am a programmer, I cannot do data entry”.

First of, after reading all goodie goodie stuff about this movie, I am glad to read a different opinion. However, I find it to be a one-way analysis of the movie. I think Sagarika Ghose has got it incorrect. The movie doesn’t say “Don’t Study”, it says “Do what you love to”. If she thinks a movie, however powerful it is, can make India a nation of idiots, her entire career as a journalist understanding India has gone for a toss.

Many of us have not been part of those “elite schools – the IITs,IIMs, AIIMS, NIFTs, Design, Mass media and Architecture schools”, and have seen first hand, how rote learning in our regular engineering, science or arts colleges diminish our ability to learn the subject, whereas creativity and innovation go for a bounce.

We have seen the effects of complying to what teachers say as god’s word and textbooks as religious scriptures. They suppressed our ability to question and stand on our own. Remember the hysteria of writing the incorrect year for a historical event because our faulty text book said so. We did that to get marks, we killed factual truth to obtain success.

Those elite schools I mentioned above are certainly better off then the rest of the system, but if 3 idiots is a reflection on our larger education system, it has certainly struck a point. After all in a democracy, “masses are always right”.

Of course Rancho is a super human, but that is what most Indian movies are about “escapism”, and we love escapism, so that we can get back to the grind of our daily reality refueled with more determination.

The bigger message of the movie was “Purse excellence, Success will follow”. It doesn’t say pressure is bad, but one that leads to student suicide is certainly not worth it, wherever it comes from. Student suicide rates are way too high in India. Though this is also a problem in East Asia (South Korea and Japan especially).

Our target should be to develop as a nation, coz once we reduce poverty and inequity, population is under control and in harmony with nature, we will be able to say “Alll izzz well”

This website, www.gujaratriots.com, represents the “state of denial” of many of my folks in Gujarat. This website looks to be created with the agenda of “rewriting the history” probably funded by well-wishers of the “honourable CM”. I certainly admire him for his non-corrupt, pro-development leadership style, which some like Nandy see as a dangerous trend. Everyone knows the truth about what the CM did in 2002

I have a clear message to owners of this website: “Have some shame……….Don’t deny what the murderers did. Every single resident of gujarat knows the truth. Whom are you trying to fool? There is absolutely no difference between the Pakistanis, who are in a continuous state of denial of their own terrorist activities and you. Do a little service to humanity by bringing the actual “real truth” instead of the truth that you are trying to create through this website. Atleast fear God and Karma, if you believe in it.”

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that India is a civilization where impossible things happen; who still wonders if the dreams of the great men, who once wandered on this land are alive in our times; who still question the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It’s the answer told by people waiting for dozens of minutes on their computer screens, watching the timer, to cast their online vote; by people who touched the computer screens for first time in their lives in order to vote; by people who spent their pre-paid balances to cast their vote, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.

It’s the answer spoken by men and women, rich and poor, young and old, rural and urban, hindus and muslims, brahmins and dalits, software engineers and farmers, south Indians and north Indians, north-easterners, Kashmiris, refugees, atheists, communists, socialists, gandhians, secularists and religious conservatives – Indians who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of various smaller nations: we are, and always will be one united nation, the Secular, Democratic, Republic of India.

It’s the answer that brings us all together to regain the glory that India once was. A melting pot of world cultures, a collection of people who are deeply rooted in their cultures but dynamic enough to accept newer ones. A set of people who are ready to lead the world and thus putting us back on a path to mould the history and create a better tomorrow.

It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to India.

Today, I received very gracious calls from Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, CM of Gujarat, Narendra Modi; CM of UP, Mayawati; Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and Comrade, Sitaram Yechury. They fought long and hard in this campaign that decided the next Prime – Minister, and they have fought even longer and harder for the country they love. They endured sacrifices for India that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by these “brave and selfless leaders”. I congratulate them and their party members for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation’s promise in the months ahead.

I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friends and well-wishers, PM Manmohan Singh, Former President Abdul Kalam, Amitabh Bachaan, Kapil Dev, Shahrukh Khan, Sachin Tendulkar and Mr. Ratan Tata. But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to – it belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this chair. We had no money to start. Our campaign was not hatched in the gardens of Lutyens, Delhi. It began on the streets of Mumbai, the pubs of Bangalore as well the chai kitlis of rural India and the dhabas of national highways.

It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five rupees and ten rupees and twenty rupees to this cause. It grew strength from the y-generation, who rejected the notions of their parents India; who left their homes and their families for this cause that offered them only abuse from all sections; from the not-so-young people who braved the scorching heat and thunderous rains to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Indians who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than six decades later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.

I know you didn’t do this just to win an election and I know you didn’t do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime – over-population, education, poverty and hunger, droughts and floods, terrorism and religious intolerance, global financial crisis and a rapidly changing society. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Indians protecting our borders and our motherland from the opportunist neighbours and risking their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they’ll make the living for the next day, or manage to send them to the schools, or save enough for their marriage. There are new industries to be harnessed and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and outside threats to meet and alliances to make.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but India – I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you – we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won’t agree with every decision or policy I make as Prime-Minister, and we know that government can’t solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it’s been done in India for ten thousand years – block by block, brick by brick, religion by religion.

This victory alone is not the change we seek – it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it’s that we cannot have a thriving Dalal Street while rural roads starve for – in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who once carried the banner of the Congress Party in his struggle against the British – a party founded on the values of tolerance, patriotism and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while my new party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Gandhi said to a nation more religious than ours, “I always though that god is the only truth; but have realized afterall that truth is the only god” – And to those Indians whose support I have yet to earn – I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your Prime-Minister too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world – our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of Indian leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this country down – we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security – we support you. And to all those who have wondered if India’s beacon still burns as bright – tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not just from the riches of our culture, or the diversity of our people, but also from the enduring power of our national ideals: secularism, democracy, freedom and an unyielding hope to heal wounded souls.

For that is the true genius of India – that India can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This country has seen so much. Sages that founded religion in the ages before Ramayana and Mahabharata to the pragmatism of Buddha, self-control of Mahavira and the change that Mahatma Gandhi dream of; from the Akhand Bharata of Asoka to the Hindustan of Akbar to India of Today, India has continuously transformed.

From that day in August 1947, when modern India was born to those many days in last 60 years when its integrity was challenged. Everytime a bomb blasted in an Indian city, mobs ran riots, and extremists made religion the hostage, intellectuals of the world challenged the idea of India. India as a nation stood firm and told the world we are capable of facing any storm. Yes, can too.

A farmer committed suicide in Maharastra, plants closed in Bengal, dollar reserves plummeted to collapsing levels, protectionism and license Raj hijacked the entrepreneurial spirits, India fought back and gave the world a green revolution in Punjab, a white revolution in Gujarat, a technology revolution in the south and the Indian entrepreneurs started buying the world. In a common voice, India said, Yes, we can fight fight the economic perils of a country changing. Yes, we can too.

Widowed women were put on fire; birth of girl child abhorred; Indira Gandhi became the PM of India. The world knew India can change. Yes, we can too.

We were attacked from east and we lost a war. But we defeated others and liberated a nation. Yes, we can learn too.

And this year, in this election, you clicked the finger on that mouse, and have cast your vote, because after 60 years in India, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, you know how India can change. Yes we can too.

India, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves – if our children should live to see the next century; if the children be so lucky to live 100 years, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time – to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to generate prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the Indian Nation and reaffirm that fundamental truth – that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes We Can.

Thank you. May Ishwar, Allah and God bless this great nation.

1907 – Detroit, USA ——— Ford Model T

2008 – Delhi, India ——– Tata Nano

The world’s cheapest non-stripped down petrol run, Tata Nano was unveiled a couple of hours back by Ratan Tata silencing all critics. The launch has forced me back to blogging after a break of several months. It has been given the attributes like cute, bold and radical, revolutionary, breaking boundaries. A truly People’s Car, this time is from India. Though the dealer price is Rs. 1 lakh, the price on road, when it will be launched, will reach around Rs. 1,25,00 but it will be still more affordable and will be more eco-friendly than most other cars giving a mileage of around 23km/liters. The price of the car is such that a lot of rich and HNIs, if interested, can buy the car just by a single swipe of their credit cards.

Specs:
Engine: 624 cc / 33 bhp
4 door, 5 seater (and yes 4 Wheeled too)
Rear Engine
Weight: 600 kgs
Mileage – 22-23 km/litre

Safety Standards:
Meets frontal crash norms
Designed to meet side crash norms too

Emission Norms Met:
Euro 4 & Bharat 3 Compliant

Variants:
Standard
Deluxe (with AC)

Future:
Diesel Variant
Exports outside India or assembly plants outside

Comparison
8% less in length (bumper to bumper) with respect to Maruti 800
21% more in inner space with respect to Maruti 800
(Info for westerners: Maruti 800 is the benchmark small car currently available and has been in India for about 25 years. It is much more popular and reliable then those Chinese Cherry cars)

Looks:
Front side looks more like Matiz (or Spark as we now call it)
Back side looks more like Indica with those long tail lights.

Insight:
People often criticize something that is making waves everywhere. This has also been the case with Tata Nano. Competitors, safety regulators, environmentalists and most others conceived the problems that India will face, when such a car is available, much before the actual launch of the car.

The Tata’s have always been clear that the car is not going to compete with M800 or others, but it is made for those who would rather buy a motorbike or a scooter. It is made to have a safer 4-5 people family outing for the middle classes. However, a lot of those buyers who can buy a scooter on a loan will not be able to afford the 1 lakh car so easily. First of all, it is still twice or thrice the price of the hero hondas or bajajs. Either the loan duration gets elongated or they will have to shell out much more EMI each month if they want to buy the Nano instead of a Scooter. And of course, the high oil prices dont help either. It is still no match for the 40-60 km/litre Motorbikes or Scooters. The biggest benefit is for those people, who can now realize their dream of owning a brand new car at an affordable price, but can use the car wisely and economically.

In the rural areas, it is likely to do what cell phones did, where a few people buy the technology and then sell the services to others who cannot afford it and make a living out of it. There will be small time entrepreneurs in those villages, who will run taxi services in villages using this car. Don’t be surprised, if one of those guys invents a way to run the same car on an alternative fuel.

Infact, the most excited lot of people for this car are those like me, young professionals, who can afford a 60k bike, but not a car by our own money. We will be excited to tell our dad’s, I dont need his car keys as I have my own. I also think that Nano type of cars should be used more and more by those people, who would otherwise use a long car for going on single or double rides, which will give 8-10 km /litre, for their daily activies. Now, if that happens, then Nano is actually going to help the cause of environment. In metros, those carpoolers, who are not enjoying their pools of 4 can now get onto a tag team of 2, without worrying about the environment. Instead, if it is used more and more by people who migrate from scooters, as expected, it will still have a small percentage of total vehicle population in India (Tata claims that will barely reach 2.5%). Remember that, if there is no Nano, people will still buy cars, and may be old second-hand cars, which will be guzzling more gas than Nano. So the roads are still going to be crowded and the air polluted.

The distribution system is also supposed to be ground breaking. It is rumoured that the final layer of assembly will happen at the dealer’s end or atleast it will be fragmented. So the cost of transporting it from Singur plant to elsewhere in India will be reduced substantially. Well, are we going to see some “Open Platform” in Car making too? Guess, Not yet!!!! But I will wait for that day, when we can customise our cars more easily just like we can do it with our software.

I have one more angle to look at Nano. I think it is world’s most hyped about gadget after the iPhone. Did I just say “gadget”. Well, yes Tata Nano is not just a car, one can also look at it like an expensive gadget which also gives us mobility. One of the very few cute looking gadgets that all us geeks will love, who would generally be interested in stuff that is sleek and powerful. I am also hopeful that Tata will launch FCV and alternative fuel cars soon. If Nano is also ported to that platform, it is going to kick the a*s out of all car makers.

My fingers are tightly crossed for the day, when it will be on road.

About the Movie: The movie is about a moderate, progressive Pakistani family residing in Lahore and their brush with fundamentalism in Islam. It does carry forward an important message about how a common Muslim is equally affected by “Religious Fundamentalism”, just as in other religions. Mansoor and Sarmat are two musician brothers, caught in the perils of time. Samrat turns into a Taliban guy, whereas Mansoor, who is pursuing a degree in music in USA, is suspected of being a terrorist. Cousin Marry(Mariam), who is wanting to marry her gora boyfriend, is deceived by her father Hussain Khan to join him for a trip to Pakistan to see his long lost family and in turn she is forcibly married to Sarmat. Somethings dont change, and some people are determined to make that change. Marry returns to the village where she was forced to stay up and decides to educate the women there. Sarmat returns to the music and also starts praying everyday. Extremist Shershah brings his daughters to the school. A blend of progressives upholding their religion is a winner in the end. More about the Plot, Cast and Background at the Movie’s Official Site or Wikipedia or IMDB. The movie also has a good soundtrack and some fantastic visuals of areas bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan. The acting has been fairly good, however Mansoor and Shershah are the characters that have been acted best along with our very own Naseerudin.

It is amazing how director Shahid Mansoor has intertwined multiple stories into a single movie. Within 2.5 hours, he has touched upon the issues of Islamic Fundamentalism and its web of converting moderates into extremists, the rift in Pakistani Society between the progressive and the fundamentalists, 9/11 and its consequential effects for Pakistani Americans, the mistaken identity killing of Sardars, status of women in contemporary Islam, male hypocrisy on issues of marrying “goras” as well as forceful arranged marriages prevalent in South Asia. To me it is a Pakistani Swades of sorts. Real issues have been touched upon and in a truely South Asian style, comman man fights them bravely making waves of revolution in the society. Eventually the message he gives out is that “All Muslims are not terrorists. Most of them want to live a life where they can work, have a family and be proud of their indentity”. The move is fairly matured, as one can clearly see that the director does not try and go bang-bang-patriotic, does not put either all Indians or Americans in bad light in general. Infact, he even shows that Taliban also has a family and a heart. To me this is the reality: There is no clear villain in real life (unlike bollywood of 70s and 80s). Some movie reviewer very aptly said that Khuda Kay Liye answers most questions that the “Kafir” world has about the position of progressive moderate muslims in this war on terrorism.

There are two bold scenes in the movie relating to India, which would be least expected from a Pakistani:
1) Mansoor is greeted in one scene by his Sardar neighbour and in the other scene, the Sardar infuriated by his brother’s killing in hate violence post 9/11, calls Mansoor a terrorist, because of his Pakistani origin. A freshly married Mansoor understands his grief and does not pick up a fight inspite of being called a terrorist. (Indians have never been treated with such an understanding by a Pakistani atleast in the popular media)
2) Mansoor, who is otherwise a peaceful progressive Muslim, picks up a bit of history in order to impress a gori and tells her how Muslims ruled over India for 1000 years and Spain for 800 years, and he being a Muslim is a part to that glorious heritage. The lady silences her by saying that, if the embassy people knew this, they would not have allowed him to come, as 800 is the minimum years they stay. (Self-mockery is difficult and requires courage. This director has done it well)

I am still waiting to see a time when movies, literature and thought-works emerge from the Islamic World that defy the norms. That will indeed be a true rebellion and will be worth the blood flown for freedom. To me, rational thinking is paramount. It is more sacrosend than any age old religious text or sayings of the Prophets/Deities of any religion. I am also waiting for a bollywood movie that can hit hard at the hypocrisy of the organisations and political parties of the Hindu-Right(Though these days the Left is also a 3-pin thorn). I believe very strongly, that the concepts of equality, liberty and fraternity are naturally logical for any society to move ahead. In the climax scene of the movie, Naseruddin Shah enlightens the audience by digging out his knowledge of Quran-e-sharif and Hadith and proves that music in valid in Islam, keeping beard for men is a matter of choice and women have a right to decide their own course of life. However, even then the only rationalisation is provided by the examples cited in the Holy Book and the events of 6-7th century. However, I have to admit that in the context of Pakistan and Islam, rationalisation of this issues itself is a brave move, the path of course will mature with passing years. People of the world need to shed off the baggage of the past and have the courage to look at things upfront.

This is the best Pakistani movie I have seen. Coincidentally, this is also the only Pakistani movie that I have seen!! HaHa!! Jokes apart, the movie certainly is well directed, well acted and I have no reservations to say that it can easily compete with many good bollywood movies. A must watch for all

Here is his profile, incase you wish to put in your condolences: http://www.orkut.com/Profile.aspx?uid=14160249575654797975

A community dedicated to him

http://www.orkut.com/CommMembers.aspx?cmm=38032969&tab=0&na=3&nst=16&nid=0

But I am not going to talk about Adnan here. I was instigated to write this when I was watching this show Face the Nation hosted by Sagarika Ghose on CNN-IBN (one of the better news channels in India). The discussion of course started of with the host quoting some random blog post titled that “Orkut killed Adnan”. Duh!!! When I heard things spoken by the host during the discussion like “Should Orkut be banned?”, I felt outrageous, annoyed and eventually laughed out at shallow insight that some of our well groomed journos have about the Internet. They also listed down some other crimes like a Dope Party in Pune being organised on Orkut. The “Hate India” community on Orkut got much more popularity in newspapers then it ever had on Orkut users.

Other media, it seems fails to accept Internet as a legitimate media. I see this mentality time and again displayed by the mainstream media (television and newspapers -vernacular as well as english both) to either raise an issue or just blame the technology, whenever something wrong happens in the society. In the case of Adnan, the latest accusation is that the kidnapper or the murderers made friends with Adnan on Orkut. I remember as a kid, in the 80s and 90s, a lot of cases happened, where the criminal originated the contact with his victim using the telephone. Did people say, lets ban telephone? May be victim and the criminal can became friends in some physical social club located in some prime downtown locality. Are the social clubs banned?

For god sake, Internet is just a medium, it is no killer. Fortunately, the panel in that discussion had Rashmi Bansal of JAM, who explained very rationally some basic ideas about how Internet is just similar to any other media or platform for interaction. It is upto the parties concerned in the interaction to validate each other. Infact, it is the malaise of the society, which is the root of all crime. Tech savvy scandinavian societies as well as countries like Canada and New Zealand always had low crime rates, before as well as after the advent of the Internet. Then why shall Orkut be blamed for the societal imperfections that exist in our nation and which are not just limited to tech savvy metro young. The same imbalances are found in rural Bihar, where hardly few people would be literate enough to even understand the word Internet .

Even today a lot of people in the mainstream media confuse people who frequent social networking sites, play online games and chat a lot to be loners. Guys, for god sake, grow up, it is not 90s anymore!!!!! A lot of people like me, spend time on Internet chatting, scrapping, working, reading, finding and at times even visiting the virtual world on second life, searching for good matches on dating sites and of course porn too. If we are loners, then 70% of America would be called loners and almost 50% of the young crowd in our big cities would be called loners too. Almost everyone, of our generation I know, my colleagues, my friends, cuzins, associates frequent social networking sites and that in no way means that all of us live in a virtual world.

The repeated attempts by many to blame virtual communities and are simply from the havenots of this technology era. Those people, who have not been comfortable or do not have resources to spend some time of their day in front of their computers to access the email, to join some social networking site or participate in some online forum, or simply speaking, those who have never done anything productive online are the ones, who mostly create such anti-Internet attitude. One thing that this people need to understand, is that even if the government takes the illogical options of banning a site, there will be 100s more for us to communicate. We have passed through the blogspot ban post Mumbai Blasts in 2006, we have Condemned Sabeel Ahmed of Glasgow Airport blast on his profile and we have extended our deepest condolences to the family of the Mumbai girl killed in Virginia Shootout. As a whole, we the netizens are equally responsible citizens of this nation and of the borderless world we envision.

On a lighter note, ofcourse Google would be laughing all the way to their databases, as the registrations would only increase for all the free publicity it gets after every such event.

Ofcourse I feel more comfortable attending barcamps when it concerns technology, but then this was in Ahmedabad itself, so I could not miss this one. Hopefully, we will soon have a barcamp in Ahmedabad.

The training sessions arranged in next 2 days were a total flop(atleast for me). I hardly learnt nething hands-on about Drupal or Redhat, but did some networking with guys from OSS Resource Centre based out of IIT Mumbai and fellow geekies.

Budding entrepreneurs, take a look at this:

http://www.proto.in/

The second version of this event is happening this weekend:
Dates: 21st and 22nd July.
Location: Chennai

I did come across this site sometime back, but only realised the power of it, when I heard about it from Atul Chitnis of Geodesic at the National Open Source Conference in Ahmedabad last weekend. Well am sad that I am unable to attend, as the bookings are over and the event is packed to full. I just wish some last minute capacity increments happen and I get a chance to receive a tank full of inspiration.

Best of Luck Startup Participants!!

No one will agree less, it’s a revolutionary product, especially because Steve Jobs did a brave job launching the world’s first no-keypad, 1-button touchscreen phone. (I know LG is there with Prada)

Suddenly, it seems all the Mobile Handset Majors (Read Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Motorola) were fools, in not taking this practical next step early on. I am sure they will launch their own models of touchscreen cellphones in next 6 months. A person like me, who is not a major Apple fan, would certainly go for a Nokia release of such a phone. So Apple really needs to speed up its entry. I thought they made a mistake showcasing the product 6 months before its availability, but looking at how things have gone, well I salute their marketing strategy.

Though, Apple will not be in a position to serve the Mass Market of Emerging Countries with the iPhone, but then does it really want that mass market? The MAC is certainly a fabulous product, but is ultimately is a niche product, when you compare it with the wholesome market. Even with its large popularity in the west and excellent functionality, iPod still remains an unaffordable luxury for vast majority of people on the planet. In a CNBC interview, Steve Jobs did wish that he could make it available at $100, but I dont trust his intentions to serve the mass market by compromising on the brand or styling or Profits. Apple products are for the classes and not the masses, globally speaking. I assume it will remain so for sometime to come.

Eventually, if Apple becomes a company for the masses, it will not happen because of companies efforts to create products for the BOP. It is more likely that the masses have reached Apple, which means the world will be a much richer and stylish place!!!!!