An Adobe Insider’s thoughts on the Apple-Flash Controversy

Steve Jobs public tirade (read here) against the ineffectiveness of Adobe Flash is probably the hottest thing on the web right now and rightfully so. For the millions of Apple “i” devices users it is utterly frustrating to see the message that the device requires the Adobe Flash plugin to make the website that you want to visit work, especially if the homepage itself is completely flash based (a very poor strategy to have from a technology point of view as of today). Thus, it was great to see some explanation on this issue by none other than Steve Jobs himself. While a lot of different people have different opinions on this, even the harshest of critics would agree that Adobe Flash technology is buggy and is the number one reason why a lot of browsers especially Microsoft Internet Explorer crash ( even Microsoft sided with Apple on this, read here).

However let’s be rational and non-biased. What does Adobe have to say in their defense to Apple’s bashing of their technology ? Not a lot actually, their CEO doesn’t really care about making a statement and neither is he that well known, their CTO, Mr. Kevin Lynch responds to Mr. Jobs 1700 word explanation with a 200 word response on the Adobe corporate blog (read here), steering clear of a number of issues like why Adobe has been so slow in showcasing their technology to Apple and convincing them that it is good enough to run on iPhone like devices.

Again to get into the heart of the matter, we talked to an Adobe Insider on the technical side to get their thoughts on the whole debate. Here’s what one of them had to say:

yes, Flash is a bit closed than usual web technologies…but not as closed as Apple’s whole eco-system. whether Jobs admits or not, he has his (company’s) own interest in pushing a Flash-less web…its the first step towards “monopolization“, and frankly, I won’t blame him. His company creates products that people buy (and services that ppl use - read iTunes); he’s surely in a definitive position to dictate what runs on his devices and what not…his mileage may vary, though.

and no, HTML5 is fraught from issues in its current form (although, in its defence, many of them are teething issues) and is very likely to change significantly before wide-spread adoption kicks-in…so Jobs is not right when he claims that he’s avoiding Flash as it is “past“…Flash may not be the future in the form it currently exists, but it is very much the present; in my opinion, he has no right to deny his users the present all the while hailing the future that may not exist (not due to lack of willingness in its adaptation, but for the lack of proper standardization, read here) in the form it is being proposed today - not to mention the fact that even the “present” support for the “future” is rather limited (sites like facebook are using workarounds - rather than using HTML5 - to run on Apple devices; just to make sure that ppl don’t stop using their site due to Apple obstinance)…but, a lot also depends upon the crowd’s willingness to accept Flash-less Apple devices.

Let’s accept that it’ll take a number of years before HTML 5 becomes as pervasive as Apple wants and till then it’ll be interesting to see whether there would be any change in consumer loyalty to Apple’s amazing products.

Traveling to Israel - Leave Your iPad at Home

Probably comes as a big surprise but it so happens that it’s highly risky and expensive to carry in iPad into Israel, one of world’s most technologically advanced countries. Apparently, Israel has been confiscating all iPads that enter the country because Israel’s Ministry of Communications believes that the iPad’s Wi-Fi system (802.11a/b/g/n) is configured for US standards and is not designed to conform to European standards.

The ministry officials argue that the iPad’s Wi-Fi operates at higher power levels and is liable to cause interference on the wireless frequency. Technologists however argue that the iPad uses the same Wi-Fi chip as the iPhone 3GS and it doesn’t make sense to allow one type of Apple device while banning the other. As an Apple devotee I doubt that Steve Jobs engineers would have missed out on any kind of specification that renders the iPad unusable in any country (read here to get an idea of their perfection).

It is interesting to note however that there has been some negative news regarding the iPad’s Wi-Fi capabilities ever since it came out and Israel is not the only place which has banned the iPad from entering their shores. Supposedly, Princeton University in New Jersey and the George Washington University in Washington D.C have also banned Apple’s latest gizmo from their campuses because it causes interference with the rest of the systems. Now compare this to an initiative by Rutgers university which is going to use the iPad to transform its MBA program with courses tailor-made for use on the iPad.

One things for sure, we definitely live in a world of extremes.

Stay tuned for more articles on the gadget of the year.

Sources: Time.com, Worldcorrespondents.com, ITwire.com, NJ.com

A case of Hostile - Mind Takeover Marketing by Aircel

Today morning one got up to a slightly different news paper. The Front page of the newspaper instead of saying “The Times of India“, said “Move On India“. As the day progressed one realized what was “Ambush Marketing” taken to the next level, which I have referred to as “Hostile Mind Takeover Marketing“.

On my way to work, I generally switch on the radio and navigate through the peak hour traffic listening to the Radio. However today all I heard on Radio were Aircel Commercials. Long boring commercials, which were playing more frequently then music (read here). Switch from one channel to another and what do you hear there, the same commercial. Aircel had completely hijacked all Radio Stations.

The day went on and I got busy with work. On my way back home, near the media display outside the elevator, Aircel had put a long sticker tape on the border of each display. I reach home and switch on the Television, what do I see. Aircel ads being played on every channel on every commercial break. Great so by now I was starting to understand this strategy very well. In any case I switch on the news channel and there is a Aircel ticker on every news channel too. Phew talk about a brand overdose.

What are we talking about here. Aircel is one if India’s telecom operators launched it’s operations in Delhi and NCR. For once I felt that spamming had reached a new level. I was also trying to do the numbers on how much all this marketing would have cost them. I believe that in these troubled times where advertising fees has been cut by almost 50%, Aircel made a killing. I still invite guesses on what all this Hostile - Mind Takeover Marketing costed Aircel.

India’s burgeoning, mobile wielding generation got yet another service provide in Aircel. Hope all of this leads to a healthier competition between the Telecom giants of India. We already have Airtel, Idea, BPL Mobile, Spice, Vodafone, BSNL, MTNL amongst the leading telecom operators in the country. We just got another Aircel.

Catch These Flicks In ‘009, Part 2

As we approach the final stages of the year, people are getting ready to say goodbye to 2008 and welcome 2009. Everyone hopes that the new year would change a lot of things that have gone wrong in this year. While the last few months of 2008 have spelt doom in a lot of ways it has been a good time for Bollywood. Reports indicate that Rab Ne Bana De Jodi and Ghajini are both Super Hits with Ghajini having grossed in excess of 20 crores in only 2 days of it’s opening. Both these movies together have contributed to more than 20% of the earnings of all the movies this year.

The current economic downturn is expected to grow and then die in 2009 and it in all probability means that the Entertainment industry would enjoy a good year. So following up with Part 1 of our series we take a look at some more movies to watch out for in ‘009.

3 Idiots

After the super success of Ghajini, Aamir will be seen next in 3 Idiots. It’s been a long time since Aamir has worked in a multi starrer movie or a movie that hasn’t been produced by him. 3 Idiots is loosely based on Chetan Bhagat’s best-selling novel Five Point Someone and will star Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan and Sharman Joshi along with Kareena Kapoor.

Surely a film to watch out for as it is set in an Engineering college. It will attract the entire youth audience and given the fact that a good script is a pre-requisite for Aamir to work in it, the film will most likely do well.

My Name Is Khan

2009 would see SRK in 2 movies namely, Billu Barber and My Name Is Khan. While the trailers for Billu Barber are already out , My Name Is Khan would most likely be released in towards the end of 2009. Directed by Karan Johar it will once again star SRK and Kajol. As per reports Shahrukh Khan is playing the role of a man who suffers from milder form of autism and the film is based on the true story of a couple in the US.

Well it looks like Karan Johar has some strange fascination with shooting in the US, as most of his past movies have been based there.

Apart from these, viewers would also be able to enjoy the third installment of the Munnabhai series called Munnabhai Chale America, which promises to be quite hilarious again. (Catch the promo below).

Catch These Flicks in ‘009, Part 1

The Year 2009 is just 2 weeks away and this time the celebrations are going to be much less extravagant and toned down as compared to any of the previous years of the 21^st century. The past few months of 2008 have left the world in a state that very few people have ever seen. The economy is reeling, lay offs are on the rise and after the recent terror attacks in mumbai there isn’t too much of a feel good factor around. People are therefore celebrating the old-fashioned way by spending more time with parents and are enjoying themselves with less expensive pass times like watching movies, taking short trips close to home etc.

While most people and industries have been affected by the current economic climate, some industries have also benefited. The Movie industry for instance would be one such industry which would do well in 2009. So if you’re a movie buff looking forward to the movies that are gonna be out next year, then you have something to feel good about. Bollywood is lining up a couple of movies that everyone is looking forward to in the next year and all them seem to have innovative and interesting plot lines. So let’s have a look at what’s in store in 2009.

New York

As the trailer and the name of the movie suggests, New York is a story of three friends studying in NYC. They seem to be living their dreams till 9/11 happens and their world is turned around. New York will be YRF’s first release in 2009 and this theatrical trailer was released with the release of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi on 12^th December,2008. The film is directed by National Award-winning director Kabir Khan whio had earlier worked with John Abraham in Kabul Express.

Well, the trailer looks quite interesting and it will surely draw the educated Indians in India and other countries to it as they would be eager to see an Indian interpretation of the 9/11 attacks.

Delhi 6

After the immense success of Rang De Basanti, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra is back with a movie that showcases Delhi from the eye of an NRI. New York is again present in this movie as is visible from the trailer. The film stars Abhishek Bachchan and Sonam Kapoor, and the movie is about Roshan Mehra, who travels to India with his ailing grandmother. Little does he realise that this short trip will turn into the longest journey of his life a journey where he discovers India and himself. The story is told against the backdrop of the walled city of old Delhi. And the number 6 in the title is the postal pin code of the area. It is anticipated that the movie would again carry some kind of social message.

Rakeysh Mehra along with Aamir Khan are 2 of bollywood’s most intelligent filmmakers and the audiences would definitely be eager to know what Delhi-6 is about. The Delhites in particular would love to discover the splendor of Old Delhi on film after a long time. The film is slated to release in late February, 2009.

In the next part we’ll cover 2 more movies with even bigger star casts and fascinating storylines, so stay tuned.

Sms,Email,Twitter etc - Technologies That Save Lives

In the days of yore(upto the late 80’s) when there used to be a war in any part of the world or even in your own country, the only way to know about what was happening was through newspapers and radio. Indian parents who grow up during the 1960’s and 1970’s and witnessed numerous wars in the country, still narrate incidents of how they used dive into huge pits and bunkers that were dug at various places whenever they heard a plane pass by or any other loud sound.

Today, as we approach the end of the first decade of the 21^st century it is interesting to see the manner in which our lives have been transformed thanks to some amazing innovations and technologies. When Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in the 19^th century he would not have imagined that it would one day evolve into something that would enable a doctor working in the Democratic Republic Of Congo(DRC) to successfully complete an operation with detailed instructions from his colleague in London.

Vascular surgeon David Nott(who volunteers for Medicins Sans Frantieres for a month each year in Africa’s troubled Democratic Republic of Congo) had a 16 year-old patient whose arm had been ripped off, causing a wound that had become infected and gangrenous, leaving the teenage boy with just days to live. Nott realised that in order to save the child he would have to perform an operation called a forequarter amputation, involving the removal of the shoulder and collar bone; an operation that he had never before undertaken. So he texted a colleague back in London, who had previously carried out the procedure, and received step by step instructions back over SMS.

The cause of the child’s injuries was not clear, with some suggesting he had been bitten by a hippopotamus and other reports claiming he had been caught in the gun fighting that riddles the nation. 1,200 people die each day in the DRC from the conflict, according to the BBC, more than half of them children. Happily, the teenager on whom David Nott performed his first forequarter amputation made a full recovery. An interesting fact associated with DRC is that it has a very close relationship with the cellular industry, home as it is to significant quantities of coltan, an ore used to produce tantalum, which is used in the production of mobile phones.

Another case in point are the recent terror attacks in Mumbai. Mr. Shanbhag, who lives in Boston but happened to be in Mumbai when the attacks began on 26^th November, Wednesday, described the gunfire on his Twitter feed the thud, thud, thud of shotguns and the short bursts of automatic weapons. At the peak of the mumbai violence, more than one message per second with the word Mumbai in it was being posted onto Twitter, a short-message service that has evolved from an oddity to a full-fledged news platform in just two years. Those descriptions and others on Web sites and photo-sharing sites served as a chaotic but critically important link among people across the world whether they be Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn tracking the fate of a rabbi held hostage at the Nariman House or students in Britain with loved ones back in India or people hanging on every twist and turn in the standoff while visiting relatives for Thanksgiving dinner.

When you look at TV, you see one channel at a time, then you go to another channel, said Dina Mehta, an ethnographer and social media consultant in Mumbai. On Twitter, you get feeds from many different people at the same time.Citizen journalists avoided some of the bureaucratic headaches faced by media organizations (As reported by NYTimes, read here for more).

The above just goes to show the power of the Mobile Phone today. So a big thumbs up for all the Cell Phone manufacturers who have used their expertise and skill to create such products. Perhaps the government can learn from this and equip their critical forces with such technologies, cause in today’s world technology can be used to save lives and avert crisis.

The Strugglers From The South Or The Deccan Mujahideen - Did The Government Ignore Previous Warnings

The sequence of events that has unfolded since 2100 hours on Wednesday, 26^th has left the nation shocked and stunned. Conferences, Academic Events, Cricket Matches have all been canceled and there is a heightened sense of fear among people in the major cities of the country. More than 120 people have been killed and more than 350 have been wounded. Tragic stories are gradually coming out, with some people having lost their entire families in these senseless attacks. There is fear and anger in the minds of the people and 26/27^th November, 2008 is being termed as India’s 9/11. The NSG, Army, Navy and Police have played an amazing role in bringing things under control in a manner similar to heroic efforts of the firefighters during September 11, 2001.

While these government agencies have done an amazing job, the country’s establishment and leadership is being seriously questioned. Was this a case of a severe Intelligence failure ? DelhiPlanet quotes a report that was published in the India Today about two and a half months back, “The Indian Mujahideen, which has claimed the responsibility for the serial terror blasts in Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Jaipur, which killed at least 130 people in a span of four months, has now threatened to carry out attacks in India’s financial capital - Mumbai. Accusing Mumbai Police’s Anti-Terrorism Squad of harassing Muslims, the Indian Mujahideen, believed to be a front strike unit of the banned Students’ Islamic Movement of India , said in its email that it was closely watching the ATS. You should know that your acts are not at all left unnoticed; rather we are closely keeping an eye on you and just waiting for the proper time to execute your bloodshed. We are aware of your recent night raids at Ansarnagar, Mograpada in Andheri and the harassment and trouble you created there for the Muslims,” the group said in the email (Source).

The email was sent to various media houses when five synchronised explosions at popular markets and business hubs in New Delhi claimed 26 lives. Whether or not there is a group called Deccan Mujahideen or Indian Mujahideen, the fact is that if this India Today report is true than there was a serious Intelligence failure on the part of the agencies and the government was just caught napping. The voices of Educated India are slowly coming out and everyone hopes that this would be a defining moment for the country and that new and strict regulations would be put in place to prevent such acts of terror from happening again. It is astonishing to see that a group of 20-25 terrorists have been able to barge into a city as big and busy as Mumbai and bring it down on it’s knees in what was an extremely well planned attack.

Out thoughts and prayers go out to the people who have been affected in this tragic event. We do hope that the Indian Government along with assistance from other world powers would be able to deliver justice and create an initiative to weed out terrorism once and for all.

Tags: mumbai, india, intelligence, authorities, failure, taj, trident, hotels, nariman, battle, guns

Yes They Did - Stories From An Election Where Every Vote Counted

It’s Obama, so screamed the headlines of many a newspaper in the United States Of America after it was announced that Barack Hussein Obama had won the 2008 US Elections and would be the 44^th President of USA. People waited till the dawn of midnight for the African-American President of the US to make his acceptance and victory speech and a crowd of more than 150,000 gathered at Chicago’s Grant Park to welcome their new President.

Obama’s victory speech was the finest that one could ever get to hear and it’s amazing to see that the Democrats always have in their ranks some excellent orators who exude tremendous confidence and leadership ability. This election will certainly go down in the history books as one of many firsts and also for it’s high voter turnout. As per UsaToday the percentage of Americans who voted in this year’s historic presidential campaign appeared to reach the highest level in four decades.

“About 133.3 million people cast ballots — or about 62.5% of the electorate“, said Michael McDonald, a leading voter-turnout expert at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. That percentage, an estimate based on results tallied across the USA and projected absentee ballots, would equal the turnout rate in 1968, when the nation was torn by the Vietnam War. It could go higher, once all the ballots are counted and officially certified, McDonald said. He said turnout could equal or surpass 1964 when Americans elected Democrat Lyndon Johnson in a landslide less than a year after John F. Kennedy’s assassination (Source).

Amongst the millions of voters who voted in these elections 2 voters stood out, namely Susan Scott-Ker and Ann Nixon Cooper who was referred to by Obama himself. Let’s take a closer look at the stories of these two individuals who made sure that there vote counted.

She Traveled 9,300 Miles To Vote

Susan Scott-Ker and her husband are both US citizens who are both currently based in Bangalore, India since the Summer of 2008. They have been following the trends of the American election and had even requested for their absentee ballots to be sent to them well before election day. However, during the third week of October when they still didn’t receive the absentee ballot they realized that even if they received it anytime in the next few days, it would never be able to reach back on time so as to be counted.

They had saved up their money for a nice vacation but now they had to choose. In Susan’s own words “We had a long talk about it. We could go on holiday to a beach somewhere. Or we could come back here and vote. It was a long talk. We decided it was important to stand up and be counted. We bought the tickets that Friday, the 24th. ”

On Tuesday evening, she and her husband caught a flight from Bangalore to New Delhi, about 1,100 miles. The next leg of the journey, 7,500 miles, took them to Chicago. By 5:30 on Wednesday morning, they had cleared immigration and customs at O’Hare International Airport, and flew the last 700 miles to La Guardia. Their journey of 9,300 miles had taken 22 hours.

All of this so that they could cast their vote for a man whom they believed was the answer to the problems of the US. (Read more on this story here)

One Of The Oldest Voters In The Election

If Obama’s victory speech would be remembered for long then it is certain that people would always be eager to know about Ann Nixon Cooper, the 106 year old former socialite, mentioned by Obama in his speech. Cooper — who was born during a time when women and black people couldn’t vote — fully understands the significance of Obama’s victory.

“Things are changing, changing, changing, and I look for more change now that it’s the first black president in victory of faith over fear,” she says. “Don’t you know, that’s quite something to be proud of“. What would she tell Obama if she ever meets him? “I wouldn’t have anything special to say about Obama. I enjoyed listening to him, but that’s all,” she says. “I would be proud to meet him as anyone else” (Source).

If you were too busy working on the day that history was made in America, then checkout a portion of the Obama speech where he refers to Ms. Cooper, below.

Tags: obama, midnight, grant, park, president, barack, old, ann, nixon, susan, history, election, 2008

Finally, An End To The Mother Of All Saas-Bahu Soaps

It’s a television show that’s been running continuously for 8 years and has more than 1800 episodes shot till date. Just to give you another perspective of the magnanimity of this show, consider the following:

• The highly successful American show F.R.I.E.N.D.S ran for 10 years and only had 220 episodes. An American show needs to run for 75 years for it to have 1800 episodes.
• Each episode was 30 minutes long, with actual content telecast for only 15-18 minutes. That’s about 27000 - 32400 minutes of video content or an average of 500 hours of content.
• This show was one of the first of it’s kind and although the content was awful and a horrible depiction of Indian Society, it still managed to captivate the Indian audiences for many years and was a cash cow for the television channel that hosted it.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, then we’re talking about the Balaji Telefilms produced show “Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi” which managed changed the fortunes of Star Plus, Balaji Telefilms and a lot of television actors who found instant fame, recognition and wealth thanks to the show. Well, after reigning for more than eight years on television and pretty much dictating the way kitchen politics was played out in Indian homes, “Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi” is finally going off air.

KSBKBT as it was more popularly known was one of India’s longest running soaps, which chronicled the lives of the Virani family, and made superstars out of Smriti Irani and the humble Gujarati snack of thepla. It was also the harbinger of a whole new era in Indian television, that chronicled the lives of unbelievably evil mothers-in-law and unbelievably saintly daughters-in-law, scheming against the other for endless episodes(Source). Surprisingly the show enjoyed great success for many years and people across the country were always glued to the television from 10:30 pm to 11:00 pm from Monday to Thursday.

Now 8 years later, the show is all set to come to an end on 10^th November, 2008 as it’s ratings have significantly dropped. Hopefully this would signal the end to all shows of this kind and would result in more mature and sensible programming content.

Tags: saas, bahu, indian, television, kyunki, virani, star, balaji, smriti, irani, gujrati, thepla

Next Page »