Tech Trends

Apple: Never Say Never

The folks at Cupertino believed that the average customer does not know what he wants. You create something new, establish a standard, create marketing hype and rake in the moolah. This worked well for several years - the iPod, iPhone, iPad all successfully created generations of iFans. Steve Jobs even said that there would never be a smaller iPad - thats what the iPhone was for. Want a tablet with a stylus? What the hell is a stylus? And the iPhone would never have a screen larger than 3.5" - it was impossible to use a device with a larger screen single handedly. They took it to the extent of openly criticizing the larger size of the Samsung Galaxy S(II) when it launched. Today the world has changed and the customer has spoken - Samsung has sold millions of units of the stylus sporting, 5.3" sized Galaxy Note. Google's Nexus 7 tablet is sold out for months! Now the iDesigners are slowly chalking out plans for a smaller iPad and the iPhone 5 is rumoured to have atleast a 4" screen. Steve Jobs might be turning in his grave. Only time will tell if the new iDevices will be a success story for Apple or dilute their product positioning. But it is clear that there are no hard and fast rules or stances taken in business.

Samsung lawyers don the design mantle

Anybody who isn't living under a rock would know that Apple and Samsung are embroiled in a catfight over copyright infringement. Apple alleges that Samsung copied their iPhone and iPad design and should be penalized. While the verdict still hangs and the Judges yawn, Samsung doesn't want to take any chances with the newer devices they design. The result is that you have phones and tablets that look like they were designed by a lawyer - anything that remotely resembles an iDevice is thrown out of the window. What we end up with is the array of new flagship devices - The Galaxy S(III), Galaxy Note(II) and Galaxy Note 10.1 that are built out of putty like plastic, rounded out and made to be buck ugly! (Ok, the S3 is not really that ugly, but the other two sure look that way from the leaks that are doing the rounds!) What is the world coming to? Build your own original looking device that is functional and beautiful Samsung. Else, I'll have to look elsewhere for my next device phone or tablet.

What is interesting to note in this Apple-Samsung controvery is that the latter is a key component supplier to the former. The relationship seems to be taking a hit now as LG is rumoured to be making the displays for the iPhone 5.

Random thoughts revisited

     I wrote this sometime in 2008. Now as I look back being older and (hopefully) wiser, the words still ring true to me. So thought I'd share it on my blog

    These are my personal thoughts and I dont wish to impose on or warp your own belief or ideas in anyway. Please do feel free to write back to me with your thoughts, criticisms. Here we go..

    In my years of living, I have made the unassuming observation that our race, (homo sapiens, human beings, mankind, call it whatever you will), is one of what i would like to call "legacy creatures".


    Whilst pondering on that, I choose to substantiate the meaning of this terminology. We believe in the creation of objects and systems that are larger than life. That will go on and endure as our legacy far longer than the length of our own mortal lifetimes. Illustrations to this account can be drawn from the very beginning of our civilization: the pyramids that our pharoahs constructed, the Taj mahal, the eiffel tower, the birth of communism (russia, cuba, et al.) and capitalism (the mighty US of A), the Quit India Movement, the concept of "ahimsa", the wars fought over racial supremacy (the failed attempt of the nazis to establist the aryan race). We are all part of legacy systems in some way or the other. They might be positive or negative, but we are part of it nevertheless. At a more biological level this can be seen from the very fact that we procreate. We believe in a lineage that we call our own and wish to preserve. For this reason society looks down upon inter-caste, inter-religion marriages. As also we look down upon the "forced" conversion of faith that is such a topic of political debate these days. We do all this and more for legacy. In a way, we look at life's purpose as the creation of legacy! (to take the liberty of extending an extreme metaphor)


     But what is the purpose of life in reality? We all seem to be part of a bigger plan where we would like to believe that we play a crucial role. But are we aware of the purpose that this plan stands for? Is it the creation of wealth? Is it the furtherance of our civilization's technological conquests? Is it simply to spread love and humanity or is it, to preserve nature?
No,  I believe, that in the end, Life is about the pursuit of happiness. A lot of people would agree. This answers a lot of questions. It explains why people do what they do, its because they think that it will make them happy, right? But then, why isnt everybody happy?
Well, there is another crucial link to this purpose. Life is about the pursuit of personal happiness, without infringing upon other people's right to happiness.
This might seem awfully simple, but it fits the bill and explains every situation that we apply it to.


     If for a second, we all would forget about creating legacies that would out last our lifetimes and instead focus on achieving happiness for ourself within our lifetimes without hurting others in the bargain, then I believe that would the single most significant event in the history of our planet.


Hence I present my thought for today: Grow bigger than being part of the plan, Be the plan!

Bigger Stores, Finer Navigation

Brick and mortar stores have seen consolidation and growth in leaps and bounds over the years. Today it is quite easy for a shopper to step into a store or a mall and feel lost. Luckily technology is not far behind and is finding innovative ways to lend a helping hand.

Google Maps walking directions
The latest version of Google Maps (v 6.7) for Android adds indoor navigation and integrates Google Offers to show you nearby deals. Indoor maps and walking directions of select businesses and venues are available now in the US and Japan. You can also get 360-degree panoramic photos of the insides of some of the businesses as well. This should be useful when you plan to go out and want to find some deals that you can use right away.


MST Smartsense by Fraunhofer
The new system allows for in-store (or in-mall) navigation using simple sensors to assess where you are at any given point in time. Rather than relying on GPS, the MTS Smartsense system, which has its own build in processor, uses a combination of a Pedometer (tells how fast you are walking) and a Compass (gives direction) to provide easy and accurate navigation. This should work easily with a wide range of mobile devices like phones and tablets. While the system is still proof-of-concept, the application cases are many and future phones could even see this technology being built in!


Here are a few use cases for in-store navigation systems that benefit shoppers and retailers:

• You walk into a mall and look for a layout map at the entrance. Find the store you want to go to and scan its QR Code using your phone. The navigation system can then guide you right to it! For retailers this provides valuable information on what the shopper is likely looking for and allows them to tailor offers and suggest alternatives.
• Taking things one step further, retailers can "push" their store layout onto your device when you walk in. Then, you could just talk to your phone and say "where is the milk?" and let the navigation system take you straight to it!
• An app that manages your shopping list and works with the navigation time can save you time and money. You simply feed in items from your grocery list before you go shopping and once you are at the store the app can use the navigation system to take you aisle by aisle to pick the stuff you need. All you need to do is add items to your basket and check them off your list!

Sources: TechCrunch, Lifehacker

Random thoughts

"Living in the shallow bubble
Thy name is narcissism
Fooled by the haters of vain
Tension that lurks beneath the surface
Hides neither misery nor pain"

My First Century - Cycle Ride From Bangalore To Mysore

After I began cycling about 6 months ago, I had pledged to do a long ride before the end of the year. In the months that ensued, I built my stamina by commuting to work, covering about 100kms a week. I even climbed the Nandi Hills once in October. As December came in I planned to ride to Mysore between Christmas and New Years. I increased my weekly commute rides to 150+kms. Did a few 40km rides (a round trip to Decathlon from my home). A couple of my friends Vishnu and Shashi promised me company for the ride. 

But alas, just before Christmas I came down with a viral flu and was bed ridden for a couple of days! The thought of not being able to make the ride pushed me towards a speedy recovery. On the 26th, after being confined to home for 3 days and still dizzy from my medication, I took my hybrid out for a 3.5km ride around my house. The next day, wanting to build up some strength, I made a visit to Vishnu's house on my roadbike - a 36km round trip. 2 things happened: Vishnu informed me that he had done a bike ride to Bandipur with another friend and doubted that he would be able to join us to Mysore. And I realized that though  I was through with my course of medication, I still had a lot of congestion and found it hard to breathe while riding in the cold. I thought about the situation for a while and decided I'd not push myself lest the viral flu relapse. The next day, Wednesday the 28th Dec, I did nothing and just rested at home. I started planning for the ride - read ride stories on BikesZone and Bangalore Bikers Club. Folks at BBC suggested that I avoid the Bangalore-Mysore highway unless I wanted to bake in the sun and get mauled by traffic. They suggested the Kanakapura Rd route which is more scenic, with tree cover and a lot less traffic. I checked the elevation on the route at MapMyRide and figured the first 100kms would be downhill with climbs towards the last 45 odd kms. Before going to bed I called Shashi and told him that we'd definitely attempt the ride the next day, 29th Dec and see how far we could ride. I asked him to give me a wake up call and hit the bed.

I heard my phone buzz at 6AM and told Shashi I'll meet him down in an hour. My wife made me some tea and I munched on a breakfast bar and got myself and my bike ready. The KHS Flite 300 would be my steed of choice for the journey! I gave my wife a farewell hug and asked her if she thought I'd be able to finish the ride. She smiled at me in assurance and sent me off.

As I waited for Shashi, I saw the clear blue sky at dawn and hoped the great weather would hold up through the day. A few minutes later he was down with his white Cannondale SL3. 

We were out the gate by 7:30AM, a little later than we would have liked to, but atleast the sun was out and we'd escape riding in the December chill. We did our first rest stop at 20kms and snapped a few pics as we caught a breath.

 I was dressed in my fluorescent Btwin jersey for high visibility and protection from the cold. 

A couple of inquisitive kids posed with us for snaps.

We rode on and did another stop at 40kms - munched some energy bars, mixed some more Gatorade and kept going. We passed Harohalli, Anjanapura, crossed the Arkavathy river and reached Kanakapura. We stopped by at a darshini and had a breakfast of idli-vada-sambar. The next stop was at 65kms.  Till now the ride had been quite pleasant. The tree cover keeping us cool and the roads were good.

 We found a place where we could sit and did a few stretches and took a few more snaps.

I had stripped down to my T-shirt and Roadie Shorts.

This is where the climbs started. The sun kept getting a little stronger and the tree cover also thinned out a bit. We did get to appreciate the beauty of the surroundings as we rode on.

Shashi riding up one of the climbs.

This is where we started noticed the big difference between roadbikes and MTBs. Although I was not at my physical best, I was able to ride ahead of Shashi. My bike kept rolling smooth and fast keeping the effort to a minimum while his MTB gripped the tarmac on uphills. At one stretch a guy on a bike rode up to me and struck a conversation. I told him we were riding from Bangalore to Mysore. He asked me why? I said it was for the joy of riding. He said "you are great saar! Not married no?" I told him that I was in fact married and asked him why he thought a married guy would not do a ride like this? He smiled back and rode off after a while. At about 1:00PM I made my 5th stop. My cyclocomp showed 87kms. The last few kilometers of the ride had been tough with some extended climbs. I sought shade under a sort of makeshift timber post and waited for Shashi to catch up. We were about 9km from Malavalli. 

After riding for about half an hour we reached Malavalli. Again, Shashi had fallen behind and while I waited for him at an intersection, a couple of kids ran up and started asking me about the bike. They were fascinated by the thin tires and asked me how much the tires cost. I said I didn't know. They asked my how come I didn't find out while buying the bike! Then they asked me how many punctures I had so far. I said none and kept my fingers crossed, hoping I'd be flat free for the rest of this ride!

We entered the town and stopped to ask some locals for good places to get lunch. Couple of them guided us to a place called Utsav Hotel. They said that the week before, they had seen a big bunch of bikers and asked if we were with them. I told them that those guys were riding for the Tour of Nilgiris and we were a separate lot on a joy ride.

We found Utsav Hotel and had a couple of south indian veggie meals. All the water we had started with had run out by now. We picked up fresh bottles of Bisleri and continued on our ride. My cyclocomp showed 96kms. We were thrilled at the prospect of completing our first century and took off on the roads which were now more potholed and uphill. Very soon I saw the digits roll by and stopped to celebrate the moment with Shashi. :)

After this point, we knew the rest of the ride would be mostly uphill, but nothing could have prepared us for what was yet to come. After crossing the magic number, the will power was reduced and we started feeling the exhaustion of the ride. The tree cover was also quite sparse and the sun at its highest intensity. I developed a headache due to the heat and stopped to cool my head by pouring some water. At each climb we'd stop a while and try to inspire each other to keep going. I kept listening to music I'd carried along and tried not to think about the heat or the headache. Heavy metal kept my cadence going steady climb after climb! \m/

On one climb, 3 guys on a bike (yes they were triple riding) asked me why I was pedaling so hard but not moving fast. I told them it was a gear cycle and that on low gears, the bike moves smaller distances for each rotation of the pedal. They said their village cycles would go much farther for that kind of pedaling. I said yes, but it would be pretty hard for them to keep that kind of pedaling for long. They nodded their heads and rode off.

The roads were bad and the climbs steady to hard. We kept at it at under 15kmph. 

At around 5:30PM we crossed the Cauvery river. I saw flocks of sheep grazing. I heard some guys asking Shashi "why saar? you have money to buy car, bike, but why you ride cycle?"

A bridge across the Cauvery

We kept riding, counting down the number of kilometers that we had left to ride. After 6:00PM the sun started going down fast and the temprature even faster! The jerseys came back on. We took a few last shots before the sunset.

　

After we crossed the Chamundi Hills the worst of the climbs were over. We were less than 10kms from our destination. We quickened our pace and reached the Mysore Palace by 6:40PM. What a sight it was! We'd arrived at Mysore!

We cycled on towards our friends Ravi & Ramya's house in Kuvempu Nagara. When we arrived at their house we were in for a big surprise welcome - They had got garlands to welcome us and sprayed us with beer at the gate! We felt like some F1 racers who were at the podium after a race! :)

What a journey it had been! 148kms in all, traveled in a saddle time of 7 hours and 21 minutes. An average speed of 20.1kmph and a max speed of 52.8kmph. My body ached in places where I didn't know I had muscles! But it was all washed in the joy of getting our first century ride under the belt and making it all the way. This concluded a journey we had started about 11 hours ago. We had some beer followed by a good meal and hit the bed. This will definitely be a ride that I'm sure both Shashi and I will cherish for a long time to come!

Cycling - Falling in love all over again!

It has been a few months since my last post. And with good reason too; I've been busy with my newest interest - cycling!

Having chosen a great time to fall sick (the long Christmas weekend! [facepalm]), I decided I'd use my time to put down some thoughts. 

I'd been a runner on and off, to keep fit - hitting the nearby parks or the treadmill to clock in a couple of kilometers. But thanks to my bony feet, I'd develop pain in my heels if I ran too hard. I know, there are special shoes and soles designed for that; but right around then my dear friend of many years, Mr. Vishnu declared that he'd bought a bicycle. I thought, hey this might be a great idea to cross train along with running. The circular motion of pedaling takes away the impact and is easier on your feet. I started researching bikes and was initially shocked at how much imported bikes cost these days! A good entry level bike can set you back by 15-20 grand which is what I'd paid for my first motorcycle back when I was in college! When I heard this from Vishnu the first time, I thought he was mad to shell out so much for a bike. After much research and coaxing from Vishnu to up my budget (which I seriously dont regret now), sometime in June 2011, I got my Trek 7100. As you use one of these modern bikes and understand what goes into the their design and construction, you begin to appreciate what makes them cost so much. It would not be too much of a stretch to say that a modern bicycle is no less technical than a F1 car!

This was my first bike (leaving out the Hero Ranger and Hercules Top Gear that I had ridden in school days) and a Hybrid at that. Not to be confused with hybrid cars, there is no electricity involved here!  :P

So to talk more about the Trek 7100, 2011 Model 

This one is a Hybrid. Which means, it is built to roll smoothly on tarmac but at the same time can handle bumpy road and potholes and can also be used to ride on light off-road trails. It comes with suspension on the front fork and a spring loaded seatpost which make for a very smooth ride. The posture is very upright and the raised handle bars make for a laid back riding posture. I got mine from the FireFox Bike Station in Jayanagar 4th Block for about 21 grand without accessories. I was amazed by the comfort and the ease of riding. I had initially never intended to ride this thing it traffic. This was supposed to be my exercise bike. But I had built up stamina  by running and within a week I was able to do 15kms at a stretch. This is the one-way commute distance to my office. I decided to ride it to work! This was THE game-changing moment for me and I've never looked back. Today I cycle more days to the office than I take the car and clock upto 100kms a week on my bike. Thanks to a very supportive boss, Meher (who herself is a marathon runner) we now are a more bike friendly workplace with shower facilities. And to top it all, my commute time by bike is actually shorter than by car! In the months that I have been using this bike, I've put mudguards on it to ride it in the rain, had a bike rack and pannier bags installed to carry loads and even done a 60km ride with Vishnu down Kanakpura Road. An excellent source for all you want to know about commuting by cycle is this one. 

Vishnu owns a Trek 4300 which is a Mountain Bike (a.k.a MTB). On the Kanakapura ride we did a couple of off-road trails climbing hills and riding through villages where we realized the limitations of each bike. My 7100 was very comfortable on long rides but really struggled for grip on bad terrain. Vishnu's moutainbike hugged the rocks and felt very stable on off-roads but the saddle comfort on longer rides left a lot to be desired.

This also got me thinking about getting my next bike - the Giant Revel 1 D, 2011 model. 

This one is a proper MTB, and I bought it after much research, from RR Cycles in Ulsoor. The guy at the store was pretty helpful and gave me a good discount - I ended up paying a shade under 20 grand for this while the MRP was 23-24. The 2012 model has an MRP of almost 30 grand and IMHO has somewhat inferior components. So, looking back, I'm happy with my purchase. This bike came with mechanical disc brakes and big-a$$ Kenda MTB tires! The Alivio rear derailleur shifts gears like a dream and I have since used this bike to do a couple of off-road rides and climbed the Nandi Hills with Vishnu.

Over the months of riding I increased my appetite for longer rides and once joked that I'd ride to Mandya or Mysore before the year 2011 was through (100-150kms from where I live in Bangalore). I slowly began understanding the dynamics of bikes and the reason people use different types of bikes. On a visit to the BOTS store in Jayanagar, I got to test ride a Trek 1.1. This was my first experience of riding a roadbike and it left me wanting more. Roadbikes are essentially built for riding fast on good road surfaces. They are light and have skinny tires and have an aerodynamic riding posture with drop down handle bars. Because they are meant to be light they are designed with parts that are both strong and light. This is what makes Road Bikes more expensive than all other kinds of bikes. Like Keith Bontrager (who designs for bike components) once said "strong, cheap, light - pick two!". This summarizes that it is difficult if not impossible to design a bike component (or any other type of machinery) that is light, strong AND not expensive.

So, long story short, last week I made a new addition to my set of bikes - a KHS Flite 300 roadbike. 

At 26 grand for a bike with an MRP of 32 grand, this was the best deal I could get on a roadbike at this budget. More pics here. I got if from Venky at Wheelsports in Chamrajpet and am grateful to him for throwing in a free Cateye Velo 8 Cyclocomputer. Weighing in less than 10kgs, this is the lightest bike I have. The low weight is in part because of the carbon fiber fork on the front wheel and seatpost and the overall weight reduction on all other components such as frame, handles and wheels. I took just a day to get used to the posture of riding on drop down handle bars and started loving the effortlessness of going anywhere on this bike. In the first 5 days I clocked 100kms. I am now preparing for a ride to Mysore the coming week on the Flite 300 and realizing the dream of doing that in 2011. I shall write a ride report of my first century ride when I am back to Bangalore in 2012. Until then, be good, have fun and wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!! :)

Payment Schemes [Personal Finance]

Back in the days of yore, before plastic money was all the rage and banks were all over the place, people bought stuff in a straightforward way. You figured out what you wanted, saved up the money needed to pay for it, forked it out up-front and brought your newly acquired stuff home! Plain and simple.

Then came along the financial institutions with credit facilities. You didn't have to bother saving for what you wanted, just so long as you were “credit-worthy” enough for the goods you were looking to buy. All you had to do was make a down payment, a promise to pay the rest over a fixed number of installments and then you could take your new stuff home! This is popularly known as the EMI (Equated Monthly Installments) scheme.

Problem with this approach is that over a period of time, people started basing their expenses on their ability to pay the installments rather than being able to afford the actual price of the product. Combine that with the effect of increased imupulse purchases and soon you're paying for a house-full of mostly un-necessary crap.

Now comes the new trend of an even more ridiculous payment system. Pre-Orders! Essentially, you are not given a product (or in cases even shown a live product), but asked to pay full price for it upfront and wait for the manufacturer / dealer to ship / deliver the product in the weeks / months to come. This is IMHO the most stupid way to pay and is a conspiracy by manufacturers to take power away from the consumers. How do they do that you say? They take away your freedom of choice! What if, say a week after the pre-order I come across a better product? Can I cancel and get a full refund? What if I don't like the product when I finally receive it? Will it be worth the wait? Do I get to return it and claim a refund?

The ideal way to buy, my friends, is the old fashioned way. Save up and put your cash down up front and pick up your product of choice. Here are some of the key benefits:

1. The wait while you save up thwarts any impulse purchase tendencies

2. Having full cash for payment upfront might offer you leverage to bargain with the seller

3. You get to fully examine and try out the product before you part with your money.

4. The feeling of achievement that you get since you had to “work” towards your buy. :)

So there you have it... my 2 cents! Go forth and "spend it"! :P