In 3054 on December 18, 2009 by polishedcrap
In 3054 on December 16, 2009 by polishedcrap
In 3054 on December 15, 2009 by polishedcrap
As we waited for the known TED Fellows to some by at the Bangalore International Airport, we bumped into Pranav Mistry, the Indian MIT geek superhero, responsible for the Sixth Sense device that may hit us soon. Recollected the TED Video of Pattie Maes I saw a few days back showcasing the remarkable device.
Also exchanged Smiles with Kabir Bedi as he was rushing for his flight, with a quick "Hi" shoutout!
Then came @gauravonomics, @sanjuktha, @dina, @labnol, @amitverma, Pat, Parmesh (editor Vogue Magazine), and a few lovely friends. [Will update this list with the appropriate names soon. Will ask Lord @dhempe.]
Same memorable snaps with the Stalwarts, right here.
Posted via email from Event XP
In 3054 on December 15, 2009 by polishedcrap
Thanks to Songita and Hrish, I was invited to the Forum Nokia Bloggers Meet. A small entrant among the experienced biggies, I walked in late as I missed my way.
Promptly greeted by Praveen Karoshi from the Nokia Developers team was introduced to the app 'WeMeet' by his friend. Pretty cool app, especially for the college kids and SMS freaks, one can send as many SMSes as possible to a group of Nokia Mobile users among friends and still be charged for just one SMS. As strange as it sounded, I did realize that t was all courtesy Nokia's relentless research on this Java app and it was a Pilot release of the beta version.
I waded my way through a few small groups catching up, shaking hands and exchanging smiles with everyone who smiled back. I reached the big man and star of the event Mohammed. Very charming guy as he was, he was patiently listening to all the WOWs and Brickbats with the same enthusiasm.
With ideas brimming my braincells, I started a conversation with Mohammed, about how we could tag all the Social Networking IDs together to one's 'WeMeet' ID and when updated the message could go to all their friends on either networks. It also would mean one did not have to reveal his Mobile number and yet welcome incoming messages. Another advantage, I saw was of employing a unification tool online which would link all the Social Networking Unique IDs / Vanity URLs to one's WeMeet account and enable conversations and planning among fiends, colleagues and group mates. This would help coordinate and plan trips, events, meetings and even casual get-together via just a couple of messages and reach out to one and all on one's friend list.
After the gyaan and chat was a impromptu photo session, whose results are herewith. In all a cheerful meeting of smiley ideas.
Posted via email from Event XP
In 3054 on December 15, 2009 by polishedcrap
In 3054 on December 15, 2009 by polishedcrap
Comfortably numb after a few drinks, and out to check about Twestival payments with Kyra, we (@dhempe and @brandbull) chose to take the walk bridge at Indiranagar 100ft Rd entrance. Camera in hand was quite a temptation to take snaps and here is what we could manage to click. Hic!
Posted via email from Event XP
In 3054 on December 15, 2009 by polishedcrap
One of the first Tweetups, I discovered hanks to Hrish (@dhempe) and was at. Was visiting the 13th Floor after quite a time. Seated in open air and a corner table for comfortable commotion generation, the place was absolutely amazing with delicious short-eats and beer flowing by.
@gauravonomics, @pkjohn, @plasmadog, @chikodi, @NetikaR, @fossiloflife, @dhempe, @santoshp, @brandbull, Rachael (the TEDIndia chief's secretary), and a couple more friends, I fail to recollect names or handles of, all enjoyed the gala and chatter amidst our varied choice of drinks and eats.
The view from the 13th Floor was awesome with everything getting so tiny and toy-like. At least after those few beers rolled down the throat, it was!
Posted via email from Event XP
In 3054 on November 24, 2009 by polishedcrap
Yes. The Concept of a Mobile Monday when brought together with a Tweetup, is a bunch of Geeks and Users coming together on one platform and discussing nuances of how and what Mobile apps can do to their lifestyles. Thanks to Amit Singh (@abeoye) and the Mobile Monday staff, we Tweeps were exposed to a few new apps on the Mobile platform, and they had our opinions to record.
WeMeet, Nokia's new Java Platform to send one SMS to many and still be costed at one message, was cool! Then there was Way2Goals demonstrating the use of their app, helping people making informed decisions on what's the best Fixed Deposit we could invest in.
The most exciting news of the afternoon was that,
Forum Nokia Developers Conference 2009 had sponsored our food and made us happy.
The food spread at
Kyra was good, however what left me wanting for more was their Gulab Jamun and Strawberry Mousse. Lip-Smacking, I say! That alerts me, that the next time on, I should start and end with the deserts.
Posted via email from Shyam Says
In Point Of View on November 19, 2009 by polishedcrap Tagged: Windows7, Antivirus, Download, FREE for Life, Secure
All delighted after I saw the refreshing new Windows7 on my friend’s system, I understood why even Mac and Unix lovers did not detest it, as opposed to the pompous Vista that made no sense. Very soon I would have Windows7 on my system (upgrading from WinXP). I was not sure whats the hardware I required to have and if I would like Win7, however there is lot left to discover yet and thankfully I have my WinXP CD to reinstall if I dont like Win7.
To save myself from the regret for lack of support and software, I was looking around to see if I am going to be safe on Win7. And the first, as most Windows users would, was my search for Antivirus. The Good News is even AVG and Avast free Antivirus programs had started supporting Win7. However, the best ranked Antivirus was Microsoft’s Security Essentials. WOW! Microsoft seemed to have learnt its lesson and acted real fast and well. I will settle down with Avast and Threatfire (if they have the Win7 version) to stop “zero-day” threats. I found the lists on the best FREE Antivirus for Win7 at howtogeek, Taragana’s Blog and downloadsquad.
Even more interesting was Windows giving out the
Tips and Tricks for Win7 on their website as download. And while searching for more articles for my appetite, I found we had ways to remove the unwanted softwares Windows installed by default (I mean the Trial versions and the less used shortcuts and softwares) and choose “FREE for Life” alternatives at
DownloadSquad with
PC Decrapifier and
Ninite. I prefer to install the free bunch of:
Google Chrome for a browser,
7Zip for a file compressor,
Paint.Net for image editing,
Revo for an uninstaller and
CCleaner to keep my system clean of cache and registry leftovers.
Will meet you soon on the other side of Windows7, with more on if Microsoft really kept to their promise of “Your PC, simplified”.
Posted via email from Shyam Says
In Made in INDIA, Point Of View on November 19, 2009 by polishedcrap Tagged: delusion, emotions, Empathetic Delusion, empathy, feelings, I Empathize, illusion, Varun
As you all know I get my inspirations for my poems from things I read, see, hear or do. And today I was reading, http://vrun.wordpress.com/2009/11/10/i-empathise/ and wondered. This is my response opinion:
Deluding yet Demystifying,
Dreadful yet Timid,
The feeling of the mind, BEHOLD
In emotions is lipid.
Once thought this sounded toothsome,
And now its burning within,
Why do I feel like a sack of smileys?
Am I not made of Flesh n Skin?
In 3054 on November 13, 2009 by polishedcrap
Hey Folks! Many of us (including me) feel that famous artists are
fussy about meeting new people et all. Maybe some are. However, I did
not find that with Shibani Kashyap, who I met at Kyra, Bangalore. Just
just managed to reach when she was about to render her last song for
the evening. “Alvida” as aptly named, was a wonderful song, and
Shibani’s voice just spelt magic.
After that Agnelo, my friend, introduced me to Naveen (the manager of
Shibani) and Shibani. And we chatted on. About Twitter and online and
exchanged a few smiles too. Strangely enough, found that Shibani’s
brother was one of the key guys instrumental in the birth of ibibo,
the social talent platform.
Here are a few pics I clicked with the Melody Queen.
In 3054 on October 29, 2009 by polishedcrap
My sister sent me an email which read, “FW: Shocking News”, and had a
scanned letter attached. This letter in the image read that if you
receive a call from someone asking to enter #09 or #90 cut the call as
this is a Terrorist initiative to use your phone to make outgoing
calls. What intrigued me was that the Letter was just signed by
someone and scanned and did not look original. It also said CNN has
this news online. Curious to know the truth, I did a Google search and
found no relevant supporting information, except this website which
helped decipher the rumor. It also lists AT&T’s response to this
rumor.
http://www.hoaxbusters.org/faq.html . Turns out that the #90 phone
scam is a Big Bully Joke! LOL!
Like the long list of hoaxes HoaxBusters.org has enlisted on their
FAQs with valid explanation and trackbacks.
Thanks Hoax Buster!
In 3054 on October 25, 2009 by polishedcrap
And corporates haven't stop there. They are harnessing various technologies to make thier connect-to-consumer a better experince now including building B2B platforms.
[Keep reading... more to follow...]
In 3054 on October 17, 2009 by polishedcrap
Bright like the Sunshine, Moon and Stars,
Wish your life shines like a spark,
With Energy and Excitement and Happiness Galore,
And loads of opportunities to Explore.
May your days and nights hereon,
Be filled with Smiles and Cheers, a ton.
A Very Happy Deepavali (Diwali) to you, your family and your friends.
Smile
always
In 3054 on October 8, 2009 by polishedcrap
The sleep without dreams,
The Barrel without Beer,
The feeling of loneliness,
Sorrow without the tear,
Leaves me pondering,
Is this what I’ve got in store?
Will life give another territory,
For me to explore?
In 3054 on October 7, 2009 by polishedcrap
While I was pondering about what's so great about October 7, apart from the fact that this day is special to me, I discovered a few more things, I could flaunt.
When I went to google for the same, I found Google is celebrating the anniversary of the bar code which was patented on 7th of October 1952. The BarCode which is the method of automatic identification and data collection, thanks to its inventors, Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver, looked like a "bull's eye" symbol, made up of a series of concentric circles. The BarCode was first used commercially in 1966.
And further googling I found that it was also this day of 1975 that Ysidro M. Martinez was granted the Patent (#3,909,854) for the knee implant prosthesis.
Some of the other links that came to my attention were:
All these might not make relevant sense to many, however, it was just a way I choose to flaunt the importance of this day.
Thanks (in advance) for all you wishes and comments!
In 3054 on October 4, 2009 by polishedcrap
In spite of all the nags and the lags, I should admit, Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), is doing a great job by adapting the new, pretty fast.
A couple or more years earlier, what were a few Black numbered and a few Red numbered buses plying city and off-city routes, are now a plethora of luxury and semi-luxury options, with Volvos, BIG10s and Air Suspension Vehicles hitting the roads and easing the stress of everyday commuters. With long route buses and Airport Transfers redefined, people who earlier struggled with demanding Auto-Rickshaws, expensive City Taxis and other modes of transport are feeling great shifting onto Public Transport.
Kudos BMTC! Thanks to your adaptability to innovation, you have made a lot more smiles happen!
In 3054 on September 23, 2009 by polishedcrap
Blowing my windpipe with all the nicotine,
Flowing with the air, breathing it in,
Filling my lungs with the cloud of smoke,
And drowning it in with a dash of coke.
Then again it burns deep inside,
I drink alcohol for the blaze to subside,
For a while I feel cool and calm,
Then the liquor starts its charm.
As time passes by, water I need,
In litres and bottles, lots indeed,
Still my thrist is far from quench,
A lot I drink, a throat to drench.
And when I start floating high on life,
Cutting my own wings with an invisible knife,
I am bothered not, of anything at all,
As I beleive I live it, when I die bit by bit.
[Special thanks to Shaba, Solo and Vrun for their valuable inspirations and contributions]
In 3054 on September 17, 2009 by polishedcrap
In 3054 on September 16, 2009 by polishedcrap
Companies splurge their marketing money on gambles they make on suggestions from Media Planners to recommendations by business friends and so called “experts”. However, at the end of all, they fail to pin point one publication or spend that made business sense to them. The question remains, what did the spend translate to? The response, at most times ends at “we did a great branding exercise”; and the bosses are bound to sit and listen.
Most businesses do not understand, what Branding is. And they even argue, “my Brand is well-known, now tell me how will you sell my product”? Strange yet true, Branding is not just about increasing the product’s perceived value as the maker of the product perceives, it is the value add that the customer acknowledges and promotes as word-of-mouth.
I always quote “Branding is by Word-of-mouth alone, everything else is advertising”. Considering the fact that what sells a product is the trust that a buyer/consumer has on the product he/she is investing in, anything from a classified listing in a newspaper to a TV commercial ad, is designed to influence the perception of the audience of which some may turn consumers of the product. e.g. When the ZooZoo (Vodaphone characters) ad was made, everyone discussed about how innovative or different the ad was and enjoyed the characters. Did it mean everyone seeing the ad bought a Vodaphone connection? Thanks. That would be euphoric. On the other hand, everyone who saw and likes or disliked the ad, talked about it. There were comments ranging from “Vodaphone’s ZooZoo ads are innovative and funny” to “Has Vodaphone gone nuts? They could have invested the same money in building towers instead”. What we can’t ignore in the whole scheme of things is that, Vodaphone and ZooZoos were the most discussed and googled of all, for a stretch of time. Vodaphone en-cashed on that and created communities and evangelists on every Social / Web Media Network. This brought them closer to their loyal followers, and people who perceived value in associating with them. And that’s exactly the difference Branding made to their product.
So the next time you are doing a Branding exercise, explore how you can connect to your Target Audience and not how many “pieces” you sold.
Read on for more.
