December 29, 2012

Victimised or Martyred?

December 29, 2012 Posted by Vijay No comments
It pains to see a rape victim being given honours like a martyr killed in a war. Yes, personally it is no less than that for the close family of the gang raped girl who died today. But that does not call for undue attention. Yes, regrettably the cause for the death is ghastly to say the least. But there are many more out there in much smaller towns and villages in India which don't even get reported. The only reason it got reported was it being the national capital.

What has been alarming is the twist the entire episode took. Although the intent of the agitation and the protests was right, it became an entire farce through the two weeks. It was more a case of a nation supporting "a" rape victim, rather than collectively seeking an effective counter measure mechanism against such heinous crimes.

I am not sure how many families would like to know the traumatic narrative of the crime being repeated over zillions of channels. In fact, I personally feel this entire episode has put further fear into women's minds than emboldening them with reassurances. The repetitive nature of broadcasting the tragedy day in and day out serves to only add mental strain for women who would have otherwise been bold to step out late in the night.

Add to it the constable being killed in the protests against inaction on the accused, it became fodder for channels to ride on the incident and claim TPR points. It also gives people like me on social space to spend time bashing up the incompetent authorities or the over the top media channels. Most of the two weeks of sympathy, anger, protests was firstly - due to the incident ; and then the fact that the gang rape victim was struggling to live on. I seriously wonder if she had survived easily enough, if the nation would have seen so many protests.

The only good thing to have happened is, the extent of reach this incident has had. Will this result in any long term safety measures for women in India as a whole? Well, time will only tell. With the passing away of the victim today it may come as no surprise if the entire incident fades away in the New Year celebrations and India gets back to its notorious Chalta Hai attitude.

December 19, 2012

October 6, 2012

S(h)itting on Facebook

October 06, 2012 Posted by Vijay No comments
I sit on a chair, I squat on a chair. You know what? I feel a commode is like a chair too, since they all satisfy my s(h)itting needs. Oh well, did I just get robbed of my precious seating place by something which is intangible? Come on, what can Facebook replace? My chair? your chair?

One of the most absurd adjectives to project a brand, I am not sure what Facebook was thinking when creating its first ad. To treat Facebook as a chair, is akin to saying, I sit on Facebook the entire day. I even carry it to the restroom, for I sit on a commode. So why can Facebook not be a commode? I sit on the floor, so is Facebook a floor ?

What sense does Facebook's ad mean? Intentions are good, to convey like how we use chairs everyday, sit, relax, so do supposedly people use Facebook. But to me, it is impossible to digest how this even got envisaged. Honestly, this ad shows Facbook is out of ideas to grow its brand. 1 billion users is a landmark achievement, which has been so embarrassingly celebrated with a nonsensical ad.

September 10, 2012

Amazon's 'Open' Challenge to Android

September 10, 2012 Posted by Vijay No comments
Amazon's kindles announced last week, have bumped up the Wall Street's sentiments about the giant online retailer. Not only have the new Kindles been accepted wholeheartedly, it may also pose a challenge for tablet makers as a whole. Ironically, what Google built seems to be used against it. At a time when Google has acquired Motorola, and is looking to expand its own Android device business, Amazon has used Android, and put in so much of its own flavor, that the Android ecosystem is no longer a necessity for Amazon's tablets to survive.

Amazon's tablets have their own Silk browser, its own Android app store. That means, most of the web experience in Amazon products are not even a shadow of what Android is. Amazon is doing another Apple, just that it is using Android to do so. What works for Amazon is its media streaming options with Hulu and Netflix, as well as its book stores which are a hit anyway. Having used Android to build its tablet/mobile ecosystem, Amazon has posed a major threat to Google's own existence for mobile computing OS. Though Android continues to evolve through Sandwiches and Jelly Beans, it may have to compete with Amazon in more ways than one.

September 6, 2012

iPhone 5 - An Apple Gamble?

September 06, 2012 Posted by Vijay 2 comments
So Apple finally muscled its way and put Samsung into submission. The court verdict was for Samsung to cough up $1bn in damages for having copied Apple's iconic iPhone. A big blow for Samsung for sure, since it could lead to injunction of its other famed Galaxy line of phones. The latest and very impressive Galaxy S3 has been added to the list of Samsung phones Apple wants to be banned from sales across U.S. No doubt, there is no better form of flattery than to be copied, but Samsung's sales of its smartphones have leapt to such big highs, Apple could not ignore the potential dominance of the South Korean giant. The other way to look at it, if you are a Samsung supporter is - that Apple, the most valuable technology company in the world could not ignore Samsung's rapid rise to the top. If Apple had not intervened the copying innovation Samsung has been leading, Apple could be realistically threatened of its Smartphone crown.

The timing of the court order is very peculiar indeed. It happened just days before Samsung's event at IFA Berlin. It has also happened few weeks before a blockbuster launch of the next 'iconic' iPhone. And in this duration, Nokia announced its new Lumia series of Windows phones, and Amazon will be announcing new Kindles and a potential phone offering too. So what does all this mean to the launch of the iPhone 5 on September 12? Apple's gamble seems to be all on one device, the iPhone. While it has been an incredible device like all Apple products, and arguably copied a lot by Samsung (though it takes one thing to copy and another to do it right and better it!), this is the time of beckoning for Apple the company. Snapping at its heels are competitors who are aggressive, and innovative in their own unique ways.

August 22, 2012

Facebook to Phased Book

August 22, 2012 Posted by Vijay No comments
So why does FB irk me so much ? I can think of many reasons. Because - I don't have time, don't have the patience, don't have any interest at all. Just to name a few. Or I am falling behind the social media wave. Come to think of it, I access facebook out of peer pressure. Everyone's there, so I have to be there too. When I don't have anything else to do in life, I access FB. And it is not surprising that FB is slowly losing its charm. The age old human psyche is affecting FB too. Boredom ...

Facebook's stocks have taken a beating and the entire IPO seems like a farce now. Essentially FB is entirely relying on its users' time as capital for their stocks. As soon as boredom sets in, time spent on FB will vanish, and so will FB. Why is twitter still so tweet? Because its short and 140 sweet. It gives you a platform to be crisp, short, yet cryptic. While with FB, your whole life is out in the open. I don't use twitter myself a lot, but I prefer something shorter, lighter and faster. Its like the sms service on internet. Time spent is less, so boredom doesn't ever set in.

I still don't understand how it pays to reveal your life for everyone else to see. It invites trouble when you are not even aware. It is amusing, in the number of photos and humorous lines everyone shares. But when the shares and updates from everyone becomes a deluge, it becomes a burden to sift through them all. How many updates really matter? Do you care about updates from all your 500 friends? Or just the 100? Isn't social media just another way of shunning calls and even messaging?

August 20, 2012

What a hiatus ...

August 20, 2012 Posted by Vijay No comments
I was so used to blogging, it really feels astonishing how long I have been away from this activity. Well, all this for very many obvious reasons ... and the signs of which began in April 2010. The almost unthinkable (up until then atleast) happened. Yes, I was tied into a unison for life. And the yield of it came around in January this year. If its too cryptic, forgive me :)

By now the internet has been facebooked into submission. I have been so far away from real world, that I have been away from many spicy stories, news headlines, atleast from a detailing aspect. And of course, the responsibilities at home kept increasing, and has now become a full time activity. What with little fingers and all :)

Still, I need to make an extra effort to restart those fond activities - blogging, photography, etc. Have stayed too far away and inertia has set in badly. Here is a fresh attempt - all over again. Hopefully I can turnover quick enough to feel happy and satisified at my blogging efforts. Hopefully India's censorship standards are still not as strict as those in China!