iPhone3GS is on its way!! Go sign up Now!!!

And Apple seems to have sealed every hole in the iPhone with the Apple 3GS.

Its got everything you always wanted:

1. Cut, Copy and Paste

2. Video Recording

3. 3 Megapixel Camera with Autofocus.

4. A search feature to search through everything on your phone: Apps, Contacts, Msgs and mails...

And its touted to be atleast 2.5 times faster. Get to you apple store before the queues get too long..

The Palm Pre is out

I wanted this phone to come out so badly, simply because the iPhone was locked to AT&T.
Thats not the case anymore, the iphone is available unlocked. But now the question is, is it good enough? Certainly Not!! is what the Palm pre would retort to that.

Palm has finally cracked open what has been Apple's exclusive domain for the last 2 years.
And they seem to have figured a way to do it all better, setting a whole new standard for touch phones.

Let me summarize the key pros and cons and leave you with cnn's detailed review of the product:

Pro's:
1) Multitasking : You can run more than one app simultaneously.
2) Physical full QWERTY Keyboard that slides out
3) Cut, Copy and Paste. It is rumoured that an Apple release this year will bring this feature to the iphone as well. But for now its something iphone users can only hope for.
4) Multi touch screen - You can pinch to zoom in and out just like the iphone. Its really amazing how its taken so long for others to catch with Apple. But they seem to have finally. It almost seemed like an impossible task at one point. :)
5) Search : For applications or contacts or mails. Thats a cool feature i wish the iphone also had.
6) Integrated GPS
7) You can use the phone as a usb device. This can be painful on the iphone.
to list a few...

Con's:
1) Battery life isn't the greatest
2) No Onscreen keyboard yet.
3) Application catalog is still in beta. Not comparable to iTunes.
4) No video recording. Not yet available on the iphone either.
5) No Support for flash yet.
6) Only 8Gb of storage at present.

Apple likes to place themselves way ahead of competition. So it will be interesting to see what they turn up with. For us its great news!! :)

Where 2 Tech waves in Google wave

Found this interesting link on the google blog from the brains behind google wave..
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/went-walkabout-brought-back-google-wave.html

Mashable also has a few interesting links on google wave.

Techcrunch has this exciting article as well.

Well.. atleast its creating a lotta noise.. enough to counter all the Bing noise i suppose..

Time for the next Wave..

If you did begin wondering why you need to have so many different logins for your email, web messenger, social networking, instant messaging, blogging, micro-blogging etc. I guess its time somebody wrapped all this up for you in a single login.

And who better than Google to do it for you. Welcome Google Wave!! Googles biggest launch in a long time.

Google wave is an open source based real-time communication platform, that will bring everything you will ever need onto a single platform from project management to micro-blogging.
Like facebook, it will allow users to develop their own applications which can be embedded freely on any page.
It will be real time, so you can see the message being typed by another user as he types it.
Sounds pretty exciting..
We will have to wait and see if Google will give us a radically new interface experience, getting rid of the "usual" google feel for once.

Carnatic Music : Understanding it

I have enjoyed carnatic classical music ever since i can remember. Having learnt both violin and vocal for several years it has always been something that has been close to heart and something that I have enjoyed immensely. Having learnt an instrument, decoding the music into its component swaras(musical notes) came naturally to me. And I never really did bother to learn the theory behind this form of music and how it has been structured.

When i was discussing this recently with a friend I realized how much more enjoyable it would be to listen to a concert, if one had the basic understanding even if one had not studied music.

So i decided to go one level deeper, and as i do so put my learnings down here for anyone interested in carnatic music. And hopefully I will learn a little more from some of you the more knowledgeable readers of this blog.

The Basics

The 2 main components of Carnatic music are the Raaga or Melody and the Thaala or the Rhythm/beat.

Raagas are built on top of the 7 basic swaras : Sa, Ri ,Ga, Ma, Pa, Da, Ni denoted in this article by S, R, G, M , P, D, N respectively. These are the western equivalents of Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La & Ti respectively.

S and P are prakruti swaras and have no variations.

The rest of the swaras have many variations, some overlapping over each other as shown below.

By comparison, using the common tonic "C" for a western musician

Carnatic		Hindustani	Western E.T.
Sa		Sa	"C"
Shuddha Ri	"Ri 1"	Komal Re	"D♭"
Chatusruti Ri	"Ri 2"	Shuddha Re	"D"
Shatsruti Ri	"Ri 3"	(Komal Ga)	"D♯"
Shuddha Ga	"Ga 1"	(Shuddha Re)	"D"
Sadharana Ga	"Ga 2"	Komal Ga	"E♭"
Antara Ga	"Ga 3"	Shuddha Ga	"E"
Shuddha Ma	"Ma 1"	Shuddha Ma	"F"
Prati Ma	"Ma 2"	Teevra Ma	"F♯"
Pa		Pa	"G"
Shuddha Dha	"Dha 1"	Komal Dha	"A♭"
Chatusruti Dha	"Dha 2"	Shuddha Dha	"A"
Shatsruti Dha	"Dha 3"	(Komal Ni)	"A♯"
Shuddha Ni	"Ni 1"	(Shuddha Dha)	"A"
Kaisika Ni	"Ni 2"	Komal Ni	"B♭"
Kakali Ni	"Ni 3"	Shuddha Ni	"B"

Source: Wikipedia

As shown above, the swaras R,G, D and N have 3 variations and the swara M has 2 variations.

Raagas are essentially combinations of these swaras and their variations. Each raaga is represented by an Aarohanam(ascending sequence) and Avarohanam(descending sequence).

There are 72 ragas where the Avarohanam when reversed will give us the Aarohanam. Or the Avarohanam traces the steps back from the Aarohanam.

For ex:

Aarohanam = SRGMPDNS

Avarohanam = SNDPMGRS

These 72 ragas are called Melakarta Ragas. I will explain how we arrive at this number 72 in my next post.

Answer in no more than 4 tweets...

The wired features a very interesting article today: Tweet the new size of thought?.

Twitters success has been a much debated topic in the tech circles. And I am yet to see a convincing argument in favour ot twitter. The way we have kept in touch with our friends and family has seen dramatic changes in the last decade.

From email to chatting to social networks to micro blogging. Yet what is it that twitter has that none of the above can offer?

The thought that a twit could be the new size of thought is at the same time a very scary thought indeed. The pessimists would view this as the beginning of the end of coherent thought. And they would seem right, if you were to look at the seemingly pointless twits that people seem to be sending. However there is an opportunity here.

Historically all our published works have been coherent sets of thoughts that have concluded something based on a lot of serious thinking. However, what about all those incomplete thoughts that do not get published or discussed as they have not been taken to a logical conclusion? Are they lost for ever?

What if these could be taken to completion by someone else? This is what twitter has the potential to do.

The silliest of ideas that would normally not be talked about could become serious discussions on twitter.

However will it go down that path? Will twitter result in the next great invention? I guess only time will tell. But we are ready to capture every thought that occurs to people. Go send that twit out people!!

Its time for IT IN India...

For long this country has earned its name for the high quality IT Services delivered FROM its shores. Its time some of these are delivered IN its shores now.

The global recession has expectedly had its impact on the Indian IT Services industry as well. With the IT Budgets being slashed across the US and Europe, the industry is looking to reinvent itself.

The huge IT Talent pool in the country needs to continue to be productive. What better time than now to deploy this talent pool to develop a NATIONAL IT INFRASTRUCTURE.

Its time we think about Centralized Identities to track citizens. i.e linking licenses, PAN Cards, Bank Accounts, Property documents, Insurance etc to a single identity.

The absence of this ability to track has been the root cause for most of the problems our country faces today. The basic premise that one can get away easily, even if one does not follow a rule, even if it is the smallest or most insignificant like parking in a No Parking Zone, has given us a Freedom thats more akin to what animals experience in the wild.

It is not that we lack discipline. Its just that when we defined "Freedom" for ourselves in this country, we seemed to have forgotten the duties to our fellow citizens that this freedom demands. For 60 years now we have experienced "Freedom" in the truest and wildest sense of the word.

This can change if every action has a consequence, even if it is minimal. And this is not rocket science, it has been done elsewhere. Yes, we do have challenges in terms of scale of implementation and we have to keep this in mind when try to solve this problem.

National Identity Cards with chips in it that store everything from one's DNA are probably not the best solutions for us. Is it feasible to deploy such a solution to a billion people?

What we need is a simple, clean solution. For example, Assign a number to every citizen and make sure that number is mandated on every legal document like a license, property, bank account, PAN Number or insurance.

This solution, in whatever form, if scalable, will be an investment whose ROI can be boundless.

The Bangalore Buzz...

My association with Bangalore dates back to the early 1980's, a quaint lazy little city, a pensioner's paradise. For the futcha's in Bangalore, you may be wondering if I am talking about our Bangalore.

Indeed the city has exploded in the last 10 years. This unprecedented growth coupled with our city planner's myopic vision and bureaucracy have brought the city down to its knees.

This city is still capable of attracting millions of visitors, immigrants and businessmen, with its delectable mix of great weather, great cultural mix and snazzy new businesses, offering something that meets every taste.

However, this may not be for too long. The effects of this growth are beginning to show. And unless we take this seriously, it will not be too long before the damage becomes irreparable.

Over the last 10 years there has been a lot of clamour from the media, the public, social welfare groups and the government about improving bangalore. Sadly though these voices dont seem to be complementing each other. Worse still, they seem to be detrimental to the overall growth of the city. There needs to be a holistic approach to city planning. Yes, there will be many issues and concerns and all steps taken will not benefit everybody, but so long as we make progress we have to push for these initiatives.

For example, we need infrastructure. There is no doubt about that. Now this will not come without losing some green cover. But at the same time, we need to make sure that we are compensating this loss with adequate planning for green cover going forward.

The challenges are immense on all fronts : education, public health, transportation, infrastructure, public amenities and even basics like water and electricity.
And we do not have a bottomless exchequer either. So this demands proper prioritization and planning so that our money is not wasted. We are not a rich nation like the united states. But we can still afford to leave our street lights on during the day time, while the Americans cannot do it still.

Its time we mend our ways. We, the citizens, the government, the bureaucrats, NGO's need to pull up our socks and back each other up to deliver.

Sea World - Orlando

Saturday Morning saw us heading towards Orlando, with tickets to the Sea World. Its a 2 Hour drive from jacksonville to Orlando. Florida can be so lush green that we were left wondering if this wasnt "Gods own Country!!".

Though this was my second trip to the Sea World, I still found it every bit as exciting as the first time. Its amazing to see how the trainers bond with the animals. Its evident that its not just a job for them, its a passion and a love for these animals that goes well beyond the calls of duty. And this is what makes these shows so special. Its simply a must visit place for anyone, kids especially.

We did see quite a few unexpected animals as well, a manatee - closest relative of an elephant apparently, an ant eater, a lemur , a koala, a kangaroo, a camel!!, foxes and cheetah's to name a few.

And ofcourse Shamu, sea lions and the dolphins. A fun day overall.

And do you know why Flamingo's are pink?

he he.. cos they eat shrimps.

It happens only in India 2

Its a rat race out here. And you are a part of it whether you want to accept it or not.

If you are a small electronics shop owner by the street, with no big brand backing you, you'd probably relate to this incident. But it simply left me speechless.

I walk into a store marked Nokia Priority Dealer, to replace my almost dead phone batteries. The man at the counter certainly knew his business and one look at my phone and he says "Battery badalna padega!!", confirming my suspicion. The Original Nokia battery replacement would come to Rs 750 he said. So then i asked for the cheapest, most basic handset that i could get and apparently i could get handsets for nearly Rs 1200.

Following my line of thought, the man said "Saab yeh handset kaafi accha hai! Aap Battery badal lo". I could get local batteries that would do the job, just for Rs 200, he said. He also went on to point me to the shop next door, where i could get the local batteries.

Thanking him for his help, I proceeded to the shop next door to see if that indeed was an option. A boy sat at the counter, and once i explained my problem to him, he said he'll be right back. A few minutes later, the man from the first store (the Nokia priority dealer, who had redirected me here) walked in. In one swift motion he slid across the counter. Without batting an eyelid, in the most solemn tone asked me "kya Problem hai sir". I was speechless. He did not even pretend that he had seen me a few minutes earlier. In his now familiar solemn voice, he went to explain that i needed a battery replacement!!.

Well!! You have to do what you have to do to survive. But this was the best i have seen. Certainly an "it happens only in india moment!!"

It Happens Only In India

India.. the land of mystics, the land of yoga, the land of meditation..

If this is the india you have read about and find intriguing, all you need to do is step onto one of our roads. In that single act you will have thrown yourself into the depths of indian mysticism, yoga and meditation...

After all after being thrown into the deep end of a pool, you have no choice but to learn how to swim.

Step onto an indian road and you would have learnt your first few lessons in Yoga. Ofcourse if you had bigger plans, it requires knowledge of extreme asanas and flexibility to navigate through the traffic on foot or a two wheeler. It is not surprising then that Yoga is given such importance in our country. Ofcourse the art of meditation and breath control are extremely essential to survive on a long term basis.

During one such session of yoga and meditation, stuck in an autorickshaw at a signal in Bangalore, I witnessed an act of extreme creativity and brilliance.
Ater about ten minutes of meditation at the signal, my auto walla got his turn to cross the road. To my dismay however, the signal did not seem to apply to anyone else on the road and vehicles kept coming in all directions. This is when it all happened. I saw my autorickshaw walla slip his hand into his pocket. A couple of seconds later i heard a shrill whistle, that caused the traffic on all sides to pause for a sec thinking it was a cop. My autorickshaw ofcourse continued and managed to cross the signal. And then i saw my auto walla pocket the whistle very calmly and continue as if nothing had happened. He must have slipped back to his meditation.
But he had me in splits for the rest of my journey. I am sure he had no clue why i was laughing.

Well, I suppose this is why we love this place so much, despite all the problems we have. This happens only in India!!