Standing emptiness
Or Why I made a category called POEMS:
You really dont need a category
to write something serious, but
there can always be value
to silly things you write as well.
But the fact is just this,
I write here, right now
only to fill in the space.
I cant stand emptiness,
no matter how many advices
that I get say, “son,
be tactful and considerate”
Head turners
Filed under Gadgets
CRDi is making many petrol heads (including yours truly) look seriously into diesel as a more power at tap engine option. As with other fields, technology is taken for granted here as well. You will always find enough power under the hood, but it is another matter how you manage it. Many of the newer cars with CRDi plants come copper there — they are just cutting edge technology in rusted bodies.
Now, where would CRDi be a blast? SUV’s for sure. Imagine a Grand Vitara with a 1900cc JTD. But the cars to look out for (in your rear view mirror mainly) are the Elantras, Optras, Esteems. Do yourself a favor, give way 
Nailed, finally!
Filed under General
Read in the newspaper couple of weeks ago. The police nabbed a bunch of tyre shop owners operating on a particular road in Pune, for sprinkling nails on the road causing damage to many vehicles. Apparently they have been on it for about an year, and surely their businesses were flourishing. And police also recovered some nails from the suspects! That’s some definite evidence, I say.
Good design is good business
Filed under Design
Apple has proved it numerous times, but there are still peoplewho believe that if “it” works, and it sells, then it is sufficient.
Enterprise software products primarily were ahead of time, as in they solved one BIG technology problem that such customers were facing. It is like the local trains in Mumbai — they run on time all the time, and solves users biggest commute problem; so they dont care if everything else connected to the journey is raw, bad, or messy.
When two products come into the market with the same features solving the same BIG problem, that’s where the troubles begin. Because you are an early mover you get the advantage. But new customers might want to try something that is more productive and usable. Enterprise customers behave differently than consumers, but that “might” is a strong unseen element. When it hits real, many mighty #1 players have fallen.
I have worked in a company that had a 70% global market share and got too cushioned to move into adjacent markets only to fall down to a 5% market in 3 years, and shut shop later.
What do these succesful companies do? You look for new markets (adjacent or otherwise) with the same stuff, or make your stuff better so that you automatically becomes first choice in adjacent markets. The question that product management face all the time is how to make this better — add the missing or new features, or clean up the mess in the old ones, or both.
For the seemingly impossible scenario above, one needs to have the vision and patience to do it. And good design is a key element there. Coming back to the iPod: the technology — hdd, software, controls existed, so did others who played music, but it is the easy and most probable controls and making a legal music store - the overall user experience - that made it a hit.
Yes, technology innovation is very important and cool, but product innovations arent any different. In the end, the glory is the same, especially when the coffers are brimming with gold!
Good design is good business. Amen.
Untitled Post
Filed under General
Two months — lots of interesting things happened in the last two months. So many reams of paper were wasted writing about those. From the Oscars to the Cricket World Cup. From Shilpa Shetty (again) to the wedding of the year. From Reawakening of the Sensex to Global warming.
But I didnt write one word about any of these. Oscars were close to heart — Martin finally took one home. Infact, he took a couple home. Little Miss Sunshine, just like Sideways did a few years ago, took the best original screenplay. Lots of movies. As usual we sat down and covered all the movies running for Oscars. Lots of them.
Then India’s flop show in an equally flopped World Cup — goes on to prove that without the unpredictable India or Pakistan, cricket has no charm. Take that, Malcom Speed and the rest of the racisit pretenders that sit on the game.
Ah, racism! Shilpa Shetty’s backyard. She managed to get into the news again, this time planning a detailed hug and kiss scene (it looked like molestation to me) with Richard Gere. Moral police got into the streets, and got some warrants issued against Gere and the Sh*tty girl. And yes, Aaj Tak was there covering every bit of the angle and rerunning the scene assisting Bajarang Bal leaders to tell us what is right and what is not. (The character of a man is what he does when the lights are switched off. I would like to know what these leaders do/did to become leaders in the first place).
But then, luckily (not sure for whom), Ash and Abishek decided to get married. Thank god, some relief from the circus. Did I say that too soon? For, the circus just continued, in another form. As they say energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Janvi or Janki claimed that she is married to the boy but she didnt know his phone number or email address, some press folks who tried to shove their lenses into Bachchan’s gates (no pun intented) got beaten up, all pilgrims were asked to wait in 45C of heat outside the temple when Bachchans decided to visit Tirupati and more protests on that; And yes, Aaj Tak covered that all as well. Every inch of it.
Stock market in the country went to sleep, woke up, only to sleep again. Looks like it is waking up yet again. I shelved my plans of investing in the market. Well I tried earlier, but didnt get a single share in the Mindtree IPO. Damn. But good thing, I put that money into a property. Hopefully that will work out better in the long run. Touchwood.
More news: I quit smoking. Pune temperature hit 42C, highest in a long time. The road works started. Lets see if they survive the rains. I met a very old friend online, where else, Orkut.
But I never got to write. Not that what I write is unputdownable stuff. I guess it will atleast increase my typing speed. LOL. But the truth is, suddenly everything else became trivial. They still are, aint it? When will Shilpa or Janvi not be trivial? As someone said, “Dont sweat the small stuff, coz they are all small stuff”. But for one. But for one.
Girls say no to bearded men!
Filed under General
It seems, in a study done about facial hair on men, the researchers found that beard gives men a improper look which 80% of the girls between 18-25 do not like. They think that bearded men are not reliable and/or nice. There are some measurable terms used in the study, but I dont remember them. And to top of all this, even men think that bearded fellows are not exactly their fellows. The only respite was from women of older age groups (25-35) who thought that men with beard are no less proper than those without.
Reading the report, one might think that many top honchos must be reaching for their old razors, like Steve Jobs did. But I hear that most intelligent men have brushed the study aside. (For the record, I am keeping mine). If you want to know, it has nothing to do with the fact that the study was funded by a company called Gillette.
Automagazine Mafia
Filed under General
Was reading Autocar yesterday. There is a history of Renault in it, and how safe they are. This Renault saga of it being the safest car is so much like the Shilpa Shetty episode. The news is carefully planned and paid for. But if you overdo that wont people get suspicious? Doesnt appear so. The full page launch advts are based on the theme safety. And every story about Logan in any magazine just out of context talk about the history of safe cars from Renault.
But I dont see ONE magazine refering to the EuroNCAP crash test reports on Dacia Logan, where it failed to pass external safety tests, and got average rating for passengers. And it is a known fact that manufacturers shave the extra safety features off the car before selling in India. So imagine the crash test rating of the Logan without the airbag and those impact beams. Pathetic. But no one has said anything about it. Isnt the silence so obvious?
PS: I had great faith and used to promote BS Motoring, till they anounced the 2007 COTY as Chevy U-VA. Most of the mags and awards are backed by auto companies, but I thought BSM was not. It is obvious that GM paid thru their nose to get the U-VA launched just before the COTY deadline and get the best car award. U-VA is not bad car, but if you look at the other finalists you know why I am so upset.
Is design someone’s forte?
Filed under Design
These questions were taken from an HCI discussion group: Who can make a good designer? What is the process of making a designer? They were raised in connection with IITG’s Bachelor of Design program.
All of the members agree that artists and designers require a different aptitude than for technology. But then how can anyone clearing Joint Entrance Exam for IIT - a tough physics, chemistry, mathematics test - join a design program? Is BDes yet another degree? Some designers scoffed at this selection process. Some defended it sighting a name or two. I hope they dont take the flame bait
While there can always be exceptions (systems will always have some mavericks who fall through unhurt), this brought a good thought into play: The process determines the average value and the perception. This average can dip if the process is not in place, or is not right. We need to push for the right process, and not take exception for a rule.
This is true not just for design, but for anything else in life. I am not sure if you see it, but I do — for me after all, design in life.
Shilpa Sh*tty
Filed under Entertainment
I was not going to waste pixel space or my time on this so-called racist incident (and the aftermath). Any sane person can see that this was a gimmick. Who knew what Big Brother was before? Who cared where Shetty had disappeared (but for some front benchers who missed her supple hips and elastic waist)?
But it defenitely helped me gauge which are the better reporters, channels and newspapers. Something which I realised I always knew. It is an inherent human nature to be able to separate what is good and what is bad. Aaj Tak doesnt fall into either — they have created a new definition for ulterior trash, so far the worse of the lot. If you watched for the whole day the pictoral drawings depicting when and where Aishwarya and Abhishek got engaged, you would know what I am saying. The nation best news channel it seems! Bah! Oh, BTW, NDTV/Barkha, et tu?
Coming back to the Shetty girl. What tipped me off was her statement after winning the show (Yes, I am jelous that she made 5cr from the show; I am more jealous that the entire nation gave her one week of attention than 15 minutes, forget the book deal and movie offer from Fox). Anyways, she says:
“I really dont want to leave England putting anyone in trouble. This country has given me so much. I just want to thank all of Great Britain for giving me this fanfastic opportunity to make my country proud”
What? I dont believe this. What is this girl made of? What does she think of herself? England has given her so much? She made India proud? Can somebody put an end to this nonsense? She has made her millions, so has the show organizers, the whole of the nations were fooled, the mission accomplished. Now please stop this.
Thankfully, only Aaj Tak reported the proud winning moment. Was that a live feed? Probably. They anyway seem to have nothing good to do. I pity the guy who makes those animation graphics for Aaj Tak. Poor guy. When someone asks him, he has to say that I do trash for a living. Poor guy.
Taking my word back
Filed under Entertainment
Well, I take my word back. Leonardo may have acted pretty well in Blood Diamond. I just finished watching Half Nelson. Leo’s acting in Blood Diamond (or Departed) is almost nothing compared to Ryan Gosling’s lead role. It was simply awesome.
Makes my wait for the Last King of Scotland even more exciting. If Whitaker’s is *the* performance of 2006, I would like to see how he betters Ryan, for he was almost perfect. Full marks to the director, even a two scene character — the ex-girlfried — acted so well. What detailing!!
The movie was obviously shot with a minuscule budget, from the lighting and camera work it appears so. But in terms of content it is very rich. A must watch in any scale. BTW, it is about a peculiar friendship that develops between a school student and a drug-addicted teacher in a junior school.
