Wireless Broadband Freedom

It would be an understatement if I say I have been anxiously waiting to get logged on to wireless broadband in India. I am no gizmo freak and prefer the touch of mud to plastic any day. But technology is different and wireless broadband for me means a life of freedom I could only dream of till a few years ago. Like me millions of surfers are waiting with anticipated breath to logon to wireless broadband so that they can access information on the move at speeds over 400 kbps.

The smell of rain

the scorched sand

quenched by

a drop of rain

I am not good at haikus and just made it up. But imagine if I could just sit on the beach in Goa, in the mountains in my absolutely beautiful hometown in Uttaranchal, or just about anywhere and do all the things I ever dreamt of and also run my business. Of course with wireless broadband it is very much possible. But before that another haiku. (I am pretty excited about the prospect of shifting to the mountains and running operations wirelessly. )

cool mountain breeze

caressing my face

soothing my soul

How to run your business sitting on a mountain top?

I bet it can be the title of a bestseller. But in the next few months or perhaps even weeks it can be a reality. First technically what exactly is wireless broadband? Read more

It’s raining money

“Money is like manure. You have to spread it around or it smells.” Jean Paul Getty (American Industrialist and Founder of the Getty Oil Company, 1892-1976)

It’s a material world and money speaks. Besides linguistics money probably is the raison d'etre for I guess almost the entire working population. India has never had it so good. Money, money and more money. Just ask for it and it is there. A biotech company or an IT corporation, a startup, or just about anything. You need money and it’s there. India has never had it so easy and so good. Read more

Microsoft Vista - Stepping into the future

Codenamed Longhorn, five years in the making, packed with hundreds of new features, Microsoft's latest labor was released on January 30th 2007. A rather special day for the software giant which has probably given it all it can. First about Vista and after that if it's really worth the upgrade.

Stepping into the Digital Lifestyle

Windows Vista represents the highest-quality and most responsive Microsoft operating system release ever.

According to Microsoft, Vista has been a collaboration between Microsoft and its customers and industry partners. Windows Vista is the focal point for a huge wave of new PCs, applications, hardware and devices. Users can tap into this ecosystem and experience personal computing like never before. Read more

The need for speed

"I feel the need. The need for speed!" Tom Cruise in Top Gun

Speed is a relative term. Much like desire the need for speed is insatiable. Take it whichever way you want I am an eternal optimist and believe there are no speed limits on the road to excellence. The glass is half full and yet being filled. In our electronic civilization being built byte by byte, what was a highway is now a street.

From the initial govt. owned VSNL dialup to the current GPRS/Edge, DSL it’s been an interesting journey. But that was about the past. The future is bright and sunny and thanks to the initiatives of the Telecom Ministry and organizations like Qualcomm we are soon about to get an expressway that will fulfill our present and future need for speed. Read more

Make way for Microsoft. Microsoft is at work and this time it's for real. Just a month ago I wrote about the change at Microsoft in my column titled "Microsoft Stepping into the Future" on how the soul of Microsoft is undergoing a transformation. More on that later but first about the latest milestone of Microsoft. Read more

Less than two months ago in the same place, the same column I had written about the IPhone buzz. Tuesday 21st November 2006. Apple Computer Inc shares touch an all time high of $87.95. The reason for speculation besides the obvious IPod sales in the holiday season is the belief that Apple is getting closer to launching its new masterpiece. The mobile phone from Apple, the iPhone. Nothing was confirmed but there was buzz that Apple was upto something. It's the 10th January of a new year for a company that seems to be on its path of reinvention. First about the latest offering from Apple and then about the reinvention of Apple. Read more

I have never really been a Microsoft fan. For me Google always meant enterprise and the benchmark for an organization in the world of technology. Google also enabled me to make decent amounts of money through their advertising program, Adsense, when times were exactly as rosy as today. Besides Google's "intellectual" and "more open" image attracted me more towards it than Microsoft. Page won over Gates any day.

But all that was old. Things now seem very different in Microsoft. Maybe it's the Ballmer effect or maybe an overall change in strategy but this organization is making news for all the right reasons. Read more

Tuesday 21st November 2006. Apple Computer Inc shares touch an all time high of $87.95. The reason for speculation besides the obvious IPod sales in the holiday season is the belief that Apple is getting closer to launching its new masterpiece. The mobile phone from Apple, the iPhone. Read more

A question for all you Internet and technology geeks. Which is going to be the second city in the world to be fully Wi-Max enabled? Not sure. Ok, let's make this a multiple-choice question.

Choose one from these:

The Silicon Valley, California, USA, the original technology paradise

Shanghai, China, the citadel of the world's new economic order

London, the seat of the erstwhile rulers of the world and as Wikipedia describes it as "one of the world's most important business and financial centres"

Bangalore or Bengaluru in Kannada, the Silicon Valley of the east and as Wikipedia describes it as a city that "continues to struggle with problems such as air pollution, traffic congestion, and crime." Wikipedia, pollution and traffic congestion and much more notwithstanding. The answer remains Bangalore.

Yes folks, that's correct. Bangalore is going to be the second city in the world to be fully Wi-Max enabled, something even the Silicon Valley can't boast of. According to news magazine Outlook, "In early 2007, when Wi-Max is introduced to Bangalore city - in the final plan it'll cover 696 Km of the city and 470 Km in the surrounding town and municipal regions - it will be only the second city in the world to be fully Wi-Max enabled, after Taipei." Read more

Talk about the killing of IPod to an IPod lover and chances of blood being spilt are high. I am an IPod lover myself but no biases here. Innovation needs a chance and even if innovation is from a company that hasn't always believed in it, it still needs a chance. Is Zune the new wonder from Microsoft threatening IPod? Is Zune the IPod killer? Has Microsoft finally found a new "soul"? Lots more questions and lots to explore but first a little background. Read more