Android. Why it feels so awesome?

A Cellphone. We used to dial some digits on it and talk. Well, then started to send msgs. Ok, some music there too. What you mean, we got a camera also? Phew, look he is opening the damned bookmyshow on his cell! 2002 to 2010. 8 years. A dozen or more phones. None as beautiful as this one. This one awesome powerful lean mean machine of a mobile - the world knows as Android.

To set the context, everyone who started using a cellphone a few years after the start of the millennium, knows where we used to be, and where we are. An ugly box full of nokia sh*t (read crappy tunes, an awesome 15-msg storage, and 1 sq inch of mono display) was all that was there in 2002. For a majestic 10k bucks that i still remember, i got my first fricking cell phone. It was good to make and receive calls. Period. No music, no videos, no cam, not even mms, nothing extra. I remember coding creepy alphabets to create a tune that remotely resembled "hotel california" thing! Don't recall the model no. but it was 8250 by the best guess. And it was supposed to be a hot one in market :). This was my first phone and it cud warm my pockets for free ;)

Without wasting pages on my rest of mobile flirtings, i straight way zoom to 2005. I had a phone which had it all - a 1.3 mp camera, music space for 50 songs, played videos, sent mmses (which were hot in this time :p) - but did all this theoretically. Nokia decided that the living souls of 2005 are only worth a symbian - a mobile operating system which could even put a Windows ME to shame (windows ME was a crappy release of windows even by microsoft standards). So, this symbian thing used to respond to a button click after maybe 3 seconds. If you wanted to scroll thru your list of music files and play one of selected ones, you should start good 60 seconds before you want it to listen. And video - well just imagine a tiny nano running over a speedbreaker every 10 meters. So the overall experience was slow and jittery! And forget browsing the net on this thing - you could be lucky if you would get a Y of Yahoo shown on your screen without the connection or the browser hanging up. Data speeds, as usual with india, were slow and the symbian's browser did its best to kill the experience totally. Okay, there might be a few better phones out there, but either they were too costly or too dorkish. Nokia ruled these mediocre times!!

2010. A lot of things change in 5 years. One of them is that it is a good amount of time for a research-driven, agile and "we-live-to-innovate" company to produce a mobile OS that worked - that just frickin' worked as wow. No creeps. No gaps. No shortcuts. The company was Google - and the OS it came out with - Android. Dictionaries throw all kind of meanings for this word, but mine says just one - Awesome! (For mobile manufacturers, it has another meaning - "free":) )

So today, after like 8 yrs of holding my first cell in hand, i can say am free of cells now - i have a mobile computer in my hands that actually works some, if not all, of a comp's fantacies...i do net on it all the time...i ask it for directions thru its supercool GPS on delhi roads...i make it count my beats as i jog...i scan barcodes too :p....i have a wonderful pics and video gallery...which actually plays glitch-lessly...all in all - it does things for me on the move, which others tried hard to - but never did it so well.

Yes, iPhone showed the way, but unlike Microsoft who are the masters of the copying universe, Google actually got inspired to bring out something beautiful, utterly usable and powerful. Did i mention cool?

Recently wrote something on my FB, which i will put here as well (its an original writeup afterall):

main aur mera Android...aksar ye baatein karte hain...Microsoft tujhe banata to tu aisa banta ...waisa banta...kabhi

hang hota kabhi rota...kabhi khud hi restart hota ya kabhi start hi nahi hota...kabhi blue kabhi yellow screen dikhata...kabhi ek word doc kholne me 5 min lagata...aur jis din kabhi flawlessly chalta bhi to...ek virus aake sab f#*% kar deta...and then, as i turn my phone to its back, i read these golden words ..."created by Google"...n i thank God :)

And God wud say..."Thank Google baba!"

The day I landed in America

Nothing big. Nothing fancy. Not even a special achievement. Just a writeup of my emotions preceding and on a day that was memorable, atleast for me.

@ Brooklyn bridge

Its a big world!

Once upon a time, when I was still a kiddo (not that I am not one rite now, just a bit grown up though)...there used to be a dream called the US of A, a country which just felt like indestructible, unfathomable and purely majestic. It was the dream of dreams, where everything was in-order, where there was no crime, where everyone had a big car, where roads were swanky clean (i remember there was this funny thing which our class of 3rd knew - no one spits on roads in america, as he is arrested if he does so...lolz). And i guess most of middleclass Indian households of early 90s with children growing up had this kind of impression of the west, specially of the US.

1991. Despite being a kiddo, I was forced, by my curiosity-driven senses, to know this world had a place called 'gulf', and that a war had started there with elements of kuwait and iraq and saddam mixed together. That was the year of the Gulf war and our school bus had kids of all sizes taking their morning dig at whats going on there. I was a big fan of thrillers (watched T2 some 5 times till the rented tape finally did a suicide inside our VCR) and the Gulf war just provided the proverbial adrenalin to my fantasies...like strategising like saddam or americans, trying to remember all the missile vocab being thrown in evening news, and putting it together to tell other kids how its done! Anyways, 90s started with US showing the world what it was - the boss! It crushed the Iraqi army and liberated Kuwait. Oblivious to the political significance of Kuwait's oil and reasons behind America being so proactive in saving it, I, along with most of our school bus, and rest of planet earth, got to knew one thing - US is the most powerful country in the world. Period. The dream inside me grew stronger, to be on the soil of this amazing nation, to see how it feels to be inside there.

Inside there. Wow. When was that gonna happen.

It was five in the morning. Slightly cold even inside the airport. I, anxious and excited, stepped out of the Boeing airliner that just landed after being 15.5 hrs in air. Delhi to Chicago. A theoretically veggie diet, a dozen soft drinks and 2 movies later, I was finally going to enter the gates of nirvana. With a slight problem - my date of arrival.

11th September

I was supposed to land in that wow country, ironically, on the same date on which many years back, some lunatics consumed innocent lives in WTC. Ironic because I, at that time, adored US, but because God chose to give us indians the kind of faces which aren't too different from pakis or mid-easterners, it seemed US and its ignorant citizens didn't adore us that much (those guys did shit and we, indians, are looked as if we are next in line to blow up). So I was bit anxious initially with all those immigration officers, who unlike their indian counterparts, look menacingly professional, walking around in hawk mode. And while they looked courteous, the date and first timer status was making me anxious. What if they ask some weird questions, what if they misunderstand the punjabi written on my T-Shirt, what it..? Was i sweating, No. But was i worried, a bit of Yes. But fortunately the immigration officer turned out to be pretty cool, though he asked twice - so u r an IT guy...i tried telling him "consultant", "process improvement meetings", "requirement gathering stuff" (a line fresh techies say so that we dont get labelled as working on B1 :), but he didnt care, or maybe didnt care to understand. He was sure that he knew that every indian coming thru that terminal is an IT guy and what they gonna do, probably he repeated the question to make sure that if i really had some grander vision for New York's remaining towers, i might say my true intentions the 2nd time :-) . On a serious note though, the sardar ahead of me was grilled by a couple of well built skinnies. Again a case of mistaken identities. Pity.

Once inside, I was like - dumbfounded. Call it lack of my experience in seeing worlds best airports at that time, but Chicago's O'Hare would please even the most demanding. Huge. Magnanimous. Awe-inspiring. Dunno if am repeating the same word thrice but I was so thrilled. Add to it the feeling of being inside the land of dreams (at that time), I was twice thrilled! 40 foot windows were aligned in the waiting area from where I cud see long line of parked AA planes. With some drops of morning september rain, 6:45 am on O'Hare felt like just the right time for a first timer to enter this country. An IBMer, she was also coming for the first time to US and we met on the plane, was there to share my excitement. We would look at each other with sparkles, containing it though since we were supposedly grown ups, and blemish the pure joy this moment was bringing upon us. Her eyes had even more sparkle than me and am sure had it not been our respective connecting flights, we could have spent one whole day savoring the airport, its lounges, its shops and its very respectable restaurants. Her flight was in next 45 minutes so she went off her way; bidding a pleasant ending to a great start.

My next connecting flight was 3 hours later and I managed some of airport action; though being a first time desi, didnt spent too may dimes. Just a trip to Burger king and a souvenir of the Windy city was all where O'Hare could extract some change out of me. But I rue the fact that I hesitated going for the choco shop, which was lined by visitors even during the morning hours. Discovered it late during the stroll, and by the time I could decide which delicacy to taste, it was already time. Time to fly Newark. (Yup, i went opposite - Delhi to Chicago, then back to Newark - all due to lack of imagination, or maybe direct tickets, with our company's travel desk). Goodbye Chicago. Welcome to New Jersey. A tiny AA plane, with most of us wondering how they could fit their stuff or their bums in such a cramped space, took to air to take us to the fabulous East Coast, some to the New York City, some to New Jersey, and in my case, Connecticut, the final destination.

The cab took around an hour to transport me from Newark to Stamford. This sunshine hour introduced me to the the eclectic maze of US freeways, the 140 kmph average speeds, beautiful trees on this stretch of New England, a self-help gas station, and even if all these things sound so redundant, then beat this one - a desi driver who gave a running commentary in hinglish, telling all about what this place could offer me.

I had arrived. And I was loving it.

Rats are seldom so interesting!

Disclaimer: This is not a review. This is a typical fanboy behavior exhibited by a movie lover for a film so fan-tabulous! Though a little late considering that the movie is almost 3 yrs old, still, better late than never.

This movie won 49 awards including 4 oscars.

It was rated at 92% on rotten tomatoes (those who follow this site know what 92% means)

It had 4 of the world's most amazing actors drowning neck deep in their characters.

But thats not all. It had one more achievement to its name.

It made rats look so interesting for the first time.

Welcome to The Departed!

When I was your age they would say we can become cops, or criminals. Today, what I'm saying to you is this: when you're facing a loaded gun, what's the difference?

Where else do one see a gangster deliver a punch of a line like this with such grit and amazing meanness. It could only be done by Jack Nicholson and it could only be thought by Martin Scorsese. A poem of violence sung in the backdrop of emotions.

Now agreed, Jack Nicholson is a truckload of talent. So one can expect that kind of brilliance from him. But what about Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, or even Mark Wahlberg...well, each one of 'em does justice to the position they have been placed - alongside other greats...and the eventual outcome is that you can see each one of them portraying the mean, mischievous and maverick characters so effortlessly.

This movie takes you to the underbelly of Boston. And takes you very authentically. Even the stills had the feel. See the above image, the skyline seen over the words "Departed" is that of Boston city. The attention to detail flows thruout the film. Born to an Irishi-American family in the Boston neighborhood, William Monahan (who adapted the screenplay for this movie) incorporates the culture and history of Boston heavily into the film. The first images are news clips from the busing riots the 1970s, over which Costello i.e. Nicholson muses about the city's troubled racial history. And the musing become unforgettable:

I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me. Years ago we had the church. That was only a way of saying - we had each other. The Knights of Columbus were real head-breakers; true guineas. They took over their piece of the city. Twenty years after an Irishman couldn't get a fucking job, we had the presidency. May he rest in peace. That's what the niggers don't realize. If I got one thing against the black chappies, it's this - no one gives it to you. You have to take it.

And then, the rats start moving. Damon is the rat in Mass. state police and Leonardo is a rat in Costello's empire. And one can easily see the tensions and the pains that rats have to endure to dig in. Be it the scene in which Costello breaks Caprio's already broken rib or where he is about to be identified by someone on Costello's side, the emotions are so natural, the environment so brutally tense and the creepiness of the whole thing so visible, that you might forgive ur brain for envisioning urself in a dingy boston bar and seeing the rats by ur own eyes.

And its not just the cinematography thats brilliant. The timed humour, the gritty authenticity, the constant tensions, the buried energy that keeps coming out at places, the ethnic slurs, the whole dynamics of voilence and the ensemble of emotions, the expansive canvas of brilliant actors...so much...so much makes this movie a compelling watch, a true entertainer seen rarely even in hollywood.

Popular critic James Berardinelli awarded the film four stars out of four, praising it as "an American epic tragedy." But this man was just a reviewer, watch it for yourself if you haven't, and you might become a fan of this legend of a movie, of the man who earlier gave us Goodfellas, and who unbelievably topped his golden work with a masterpiece like this, Martin Scorsese. Hats off!

The rocket of a car!

Which one can it be? Which car can be something inspired by the work that guys do at NASA? Most unsuspectingly, it is not the Hondas or Toyotas but FIAT which has tried to do the rocket stuff this time. Its engineers have managed to design and make a Deisel Car Engine as beautiful and powerful and mind blowing as they made the one we have in our Swift VDI (Yes, the engine in Swift VDI is made by Fiat, those same guys who cudnt get their own cars correct even once, but managed to do a wonderful job with this 1.3Ltr Engine, popular in many other cars). Which just makes me think that does someone in Fiat ever worked in Nasa before, coz for sure he started with a rocket engine, and ended up with this marvel of a machine.

And its not some fan-boy behaviour that am exhibiting, rather its a genuine appreciation of what I have been riding for last 1.5 yrs, its bowing to the sheer power of deisel which is so fruitiously and tastefully utilized in a hatchback, and its a standing ovation to those guys who helped me get ahead of other mortal souls (read santro, city etc.) who hardly manage to do a 0-40 in glorious 10 seconds after the light has turned green! So, today I thought to express my appreciation for the magic and the madness of this beauty which turns itself into a beast as soon as it feels a little touch of my right foot on its pedal. I love u for this honey...m sure even my gf wudnt have been so responsive to my feet's touch...and you manage to do so much with a leather shoe on!

This 1248 cc engine produces 75 bhp of raw power and still manages to remain almost as silent as its petrol sibling. End result is that you enjoy the comfort of petrol and the power of deisel at cost of deisel :). I have driven a friend's Verna and a City couple of times, and only Verna could try patching up to this engine. City, the NHC (even ANHC) can be seen as something trying to reach for the stars, just that honda loves putting a santro grade engine in a body that just looks like a rocket, so that their overexpensive wheelers can move 12.5 kms for a litre of petrol. VDI does 17, for a ltr of deisel. And you dont have to suffice with the sight of some auto overtaking you everytime the light turns green. Kewl!

Rise and Fall of Sensex, and the 'analysts' in between

Circa 2008. January 10.

The world is falling flat at India's toes. Atleast this is what our great analysts on CNBC are talking. Sensex is floating above 20k (yes, that 'k' actually means thousand) and each jaggu, maggu and mallu (india's tom dick n harrys) are clamoring to put their new year salaries into the Grandest Circus on earth - the Indian Stock Market. Sensex touches 21000, and next target is 30000, 'announces' CNBC.

Same year. January 18.

Its hardly been a week that every warren buffet of the world wanted to invest in India...or so said our Anal-ysts! And the circus has played its trick...its magician jokers turned the tables and suddenly every new entrant in the circus has lost his shirt (or pants too...depending on the stock). Sensex closes at 19000. And this is just the beginning. Analysts predict a bounce back to atleast 25k in near term. Don't panic, hold your positions guys. What will FIIs earn if you too start selling, huh!

Same year. March 17.

2 months since the inevitable bounce-back was predicted, and the clouds just get gloomier. Sensex is 14.8k. Blame the 'global cues'...says - who else but- CNBC!

The story goes on till today, Oct 14, when we are floating in the range of 10-11k. And suddenly analysts have started to double check their script before reading it out on tv, coz maybe we are still 2 days away from bottom, and it might be too early to predict bounce back till 20k. Wait till Oct 16! :)

All this reminds me of an adage a read somewhere...

"...There are 2 golden rules of stock market...

Rule no. 1: For every analysis, there is equal and opposite analysis.

Rule no. 2: Both are wrong

..."

Enjoy trading. Its humor, if nothing else.

Whats a 'must buy' when you are in US on a B1

B1 visa i mean. If someone had an issue getting that (or took B1 as some WW-II fighter plane), very immodest to say, but you wont really find any value-add reading through rest of this post.

Anywhichway, crux of this post of mine to share my choice of electronics with all those gadget-freaks out there, who are on their 3-month dream-ish trip to the land of best gadgets on this planet. Just to clarify, I said B1 because mostly guys on short-term trip have the energy, excitement and early return plans which means the stuff they buy using their hard-saved dollars, wont go stale by the time they land up in India.

To start with, here are my picks:

Koss KSC75 Headsphones

http://www.amazon.com/Koss-KSC75-Portable-Stereophone-Headphones/dp/B0006B486K

You like music. You like quality sound. And you understand you should not be asked to rob a bank to get these together. If its so, you cannot go wrong with this pair of headphones. Costing some 11$, they are one of the cheapest (in terms of money) and *best* souding cans in the market. Believe me, you will feel new beats coming out of the same music you would have been listening for months now. I felt that. And hence got 2 of them with me, coz as u can guess, these are not yet available in India.

Sony 8-device Universal Remote

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-RM-VL600-8-DEVICE-Universal-Learning/dp/B000F7JCRA/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-5108594-5402263?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1190558161&sr=1-1


Though many people haven't experienced a universal remote...still its one thing which should be classified as one of the most useful gadget any house can use. It allows you to "make it learn" commands from various remotes and then allows you to - guess what - throw all of them, coz once this is in hand, you will switch your TV on an off, bring your dvd player and home theater to life, lesses the temp. of room AC etc., all through this one magic thing. Love it. Costing just 20$, love it even more!

More coming on later.........

Who is the boss!

Precisely at 14:15 hours Eastern-time on Sept. 18 in US of A, money.cnn.com representative announced - Fed cuts rate by 50 basis points. And behold, who got affected? Wall street nerds? Lehman Brothers' equity experts?? or maybe, around a million software developers back in India?? Say that again! Indian coders, who at 23:45 their time, normally would be having a drink at a bar or taking a hard night sleep, are eyes wide open for this dry a stuff (fed is not definitely non-boring)! Yup, today they were awake, desperately pressing F5 to get latest news on if Fed is going to do something to bail out US economy out of mortgage mess.

But why were they bothered?

Because US economy means jobs for atleast 65% of those million. It goes down, and the scarier-than-WW III clouds, something akin to 2001 recession, start filling minds of these nimble souls. But why blame them. Everyone from ugly Indian Left to weirdo european peace-nickers to lead-overdosed chinese manufacturers may frown upon the US, but any given day none of them could breathe comfortably without the financial engine of planet gushing in full speed. And in the process, continuing to tease the whole world with one single question - who is the boss!

I am sure the answer is not that tough to guess (unless ofcourse you are the president :-)