Opening our minds....

Strange that I came across two videos that spoke about opening our minds, one to the different possibilities and another to the different problems in the society, both impacting me in different ways. Sharing them with you....
Video 1: Nescafe - open up!!


Video 2: Sunitha Krishnan on TEDIndia


Visit Sunitha's blog to know/help more.

Efficiency is the name!

One of my friends recently tweeted about a particular article. It was about a business in India. Some unique things about it were:

• it didn't need millions to start this business, just some ingenuity on the part of the entrepreneur
• it wasn't based on new products or inventions
• it was closely connected to people's lives
• it was uniquely Indian (where else would people wait to know when the water would come?)
• it was simple - simple enough that you don't need an MBA to figure it all out
• it doesn't need too much to run on, leaving the company to concentrate on expanding its business - lesser maintenance costs per customer
• it takes advantage of the perks of other companies - For eg, this company (in the current model) would fail if the cell phone companies decide to charge for incoming SMSes; but the cell phone companies wouldn't do it in the near future for their profits still depend on these freebies.
• it combines technology to what people basically need
• it uses local resources (read, finding local unemployed youth to run the franchise) - lesser relocation costs and upkeep costs; add to it happier employees (as they don't have to relocate without families) who come with their own network that they can put to immediate use (their personal network - family, friends, etc) and you've got a solid deal for so less.
• it doesn't need to train employees much (except for the basics)
• it is not dependent on finding employees with special talent or degrees - if one employee quits, they can always find another; finding an unemployed youth who is ready to do this in their own town/village for such less a cost is not too hard
• it fosters entrepreneurship - even if 1% of franchise owners decide to do more on their own, then entrepreneurship has grown - and that is something India needs!!

I could go on and on about this business, but I'll leave the rest to you guys! In one word, this business is effficient. They've taken care of the basics of any business, leading to a very successful business model. What are your thoughts on it?

Vanish away, can you?

Can someone really vanish in this digital world? Here is a link about a guy who tried to do exactly that, and his adventures while at it. I've read stories about how people walk out of one life and leave no trace. But I guess it would become harder and harder as digital life takes over more and more. Though I'm not sure what would cause someone to do it, I can't imagine myself doing it, even for the sake of trying it out. Would you? Atleast for the sake of trying it?

A note to Newyorkers

As you know, NYC is one of my favorite cities in the world. That city lives and breathes energy into anyone that comes in contact with it. This link would be of interest to Newyorkers where it displays the income level of people living in a particular area. I'm curious to see such maps for other cities, especially aamchi Mumbai or singara Chennai. It would throw light on the lives of people in a far more zoomed in manner. Now, that would be interesting!

PS: Been away finishing up stuff... now I'm safely back from the thin ice world. Hope everyone had a good Diwali and Karthigai and Thanksgiving!

Skating on thin ice

Its that time of the year again

When the world starts to slumber

And words fail to express life

The ice rink is beckoning

So pure and so undisturbed

And so silent with myriad mysteries

The skates are polished

The ropes are wrapped

And the picks are cleaned

And I, I skate on thin ice!!

Till I get back,

Have fun on the ice, folks!

Happy Fall :)

பச்சை பட்டாடையில் மஞ்சள் முத்துக்கள்
பவழ கொடியினிலே மல்லிகை மொட்டுக்கள்
தென்னாடன் குலமகள் பார்க்க
தென்றலது வீசி வர
இளம்குளிர் காலம் வந்ததம்மா!
இனிய சுகம் தந்ததம்மா!


மாய உலகில் மயங்கும் மான்கள்
மூடு பனியில் முகிழும் மலர்கள்
தீபங்கள் அலங்கரிக்க
தூபங்கள் கமழ்ந்திட
சில்லென்ற குளிர் காற்று வந்ததம்மா!
சிந்தையில் மகிழ்வு தந்ததம்மா!

PS: I wrote this one when waiting at a traffic signal. The drive from home to office is one of my favorites with trees turning yellow, golden and red. Its like an beautiful arch that the angels created just for us :) Fall is the best time with the world becoming colorful all at once. Happy fall times, everyone!

A look at Windows' history

This is a nice link about the history of Windows. The earliest I can remember using is Windows 3.1 in third grade... And minesweeper was my favorite game in the world! The feeling after beating the "computer" in guessing the mines was euphoric! I'm one of the few millions in the world who would NOT have studied computers if there was no graphical user interface. I still prefer clicking my way through to actually typing the commands, though the command-typing-green-lines-on-a-serious-looking-black-screen is cooler. Geeks may deride my admission but that is how it is! And I know that there are millions of others who are glad for the simple-to-use GUI. And all said and done, Windows with its GUI paved way for faster integration of computers into the lives of common man all through the world (I'm not talking about geeks who would've been happy typing commands into command line window with or without GUI) and made computers less fearful. The growth of Windows in all areas of computing(UI, power, performance, etc) has been impressive. And, I'm glad about Windows 7. :)

What is the earliest Windows that you have used?