Next Gen DVDs & their Early Adopters!

This aspect, is to my surprise and I'm not sure if my knowledge on the US market is a bit hazy. Check this out.

I had already put a post on Toshiba's HD DVD and its early entry into the market against Blu Ray. And I do understand, that there are going to be some early adopters for HD DVD. But what diverted my attention on this article is, the ages of people (early adopters) who have been asked for their opinions - 20 to 30. Wow - I know they are just out of the cool age group and my thinking is, they would like to build up their career, save, analyze before they buy products etc. But, it looks like the age group I'm talking about are THE tech geeks of US, who are ready to invest & experiment. At the same time, I'm not sure how a 22 year old gets 500 bucks to buy the high tech DVD player and the respective DVDs, which from my perspective, is not mere pocket money for someone who might have hardly started making his/her career!

I guess, (may be) I'm still in Indian mind set where the 20's age group really starts to think about future investments. There is a whole new topic in this because the Indian youth mind set is in transition. They do think about future life & investments, well, not via the regular means - daily office visits and monthly salaries, but via some new risky investments - start businesses with the help of angels & ventures. A research pinpoints, India is in 3rd spot for start ups. Something, that is going to revolutionize the world!

Atleast from the DVD player product perspective, I would wait for blu ray to come out, wait for some reviews and then finalize.

BabelFish!, why not Indian?

Well, have you ever heard about BabelFish in one of the online segments? Till now, I haven't. The interesting fact is, this is from Yahoo!. So, I made a visit to Babelfish and its a cool website for translating texts from/to languages.

I know Google has one service and there had been email forwards which makes things show up funny at the website. So, my first curiosity as being an Indian is to see the listing of Indian languages in the dropdown. Oh no! There is not even Hindi! I mean, Hindi is the national language of India and India is one of the biggest markets in the technology world in terms of development of softwares/websites, internet browsing etc. So, Indians as part of different consultancy firms, travel to various countries and they sure need some place to look for translations. And I just don't understand how Yahoo didn't consider this biggest market for its BabelFish!

Yahoo! You better start doing your market research and accordingly add features. There are billions who look forward to your service!

Double 'i' Trend!

So, now everyone is aware of Viiv (like re'vive') with 2 i's. So, are we creating a trend of names? Nintendo's new name for the next gen game console is Wii (like We). So, is this a new trend for new products? I'm guessing, Viiv would have played a major role in deciding the name Wii.

With XBox 360, already around the market and PS3 awaiting its time to market, Nintendo can't stop. I have never been a big follower of Nintendo's consoles & their news making. But, this new name Wii has created hypes for past 3 days and obviously that has made me write this. So, Nintendo has got a lot of publicity, attention, marketing on this new product without any kind of investment.

A 3 letter word has created ripples against the other 3 letter words 360 & PS3 for the past 3 days and now, is the time to look for how those 3 products are going to perform against one another. From this point onwards, I'll for sure be watching the progress of MS, Sony & Nintendo game consoles. I hope you all will be with me.

Millions With 'No Business'!!

Just by seeing the topic, do you think I'm talking about people who are not having jobs or who are not running a business? I'm taking about people who have 'No Business' but are making millions!

You should have heard about RIM (Research In Motion) paying like $612.5 Million to retain its BlackBerry product & their market to NTP. Also, eBay has paid like around $25 million to MercXchange. Who are NTP & MercXchange?

NTP has never done anything in querying & reading emails over a cell phone like BlackBerry. All they have done is create a Patent for that market and now they have made millions. Likewise, MercXchange didn't even start an online auction or retailing market. But, all they did is file a patent for 'Buy It Now' option. Isn't it great to make millions of dollars not by running some plant & assembly lines but just by filing a patent?

I already wrote about 'Search With Voice'. This patent has been created by Google and so, you know, who has advantage. Google will wait for Yahoo, MSN and other search leaders to get permissions from them, for using this technology in their search sites. BTW, is Subway's toasted subs breaching some patent of Quiznos'?

So, if you have an idea and if you are sure, that idea is going to revolutionize some future business market, why don't you right away run for patenting the same?

Spanking - Whose Fault?

So, an American woman gets awarded $1.7 Million in damages & compensation for she was Spanked. I'm not going to argue on the way the case got settled, but the way the case got started.

Now, everyone has to understand that the company (whichever is involved) has some team building practices - Eat baby food, wear diapers & get spanked on butt - (officially or unofficially) if a sales team loses. Everyone in the teams should understand this and should take this sportively. If at all, there is an objection to it, shouldn't we raise the same on the first place? This lady, if she is feeling so uncomfortable, she should have put her opinion forward and if things still happen, then she has all rights to take up this issue with court.
--Referred

As a side note, I'm not sure about the actual history of this issue, but these things do surprise me. The way these kind of issues are handled in developed countries. People have all the time and money in the world to put up a case against a company stating mental agony, sexual harassment etc, for which the court takes like one or two years to settle with millions & millions of dollars.
Like last year, I guess, someone had called up the producers of 'Fear Factor' into a court case, because the 'someone' went on puking after seeing people eat rat in the show. Now, who asked you to see that?

Inside Intel '06 :(

Its something unbelievable, but I just got to digest this news I just read. Intel is ready for LayOffs. What has gone wrong?
There can be reduction in PC sales but Apple has started using Intel processors for its Mac. The Macs are also making revolutions after Apple started supporting Windows XP in its systems. So, what went wrong?
Intel's strategic change has really made the difference - it did lose market to may be AMD, which has also eventually lead to building up Intel's inventory of microprocessors. At the same time, my guess is Intel has too many human skills for its x-core business (PC Processors) which has to be restructured. The company needs a fresh set of skilled personnel for its change in direction and it is not left out with any other choice but to send some people home. Till now, I'm somewhat not happy with CEO Paul Otellini and his moves into Viiv...

In the consumer electronics market where Viiv devices will be positioned as an all-in-one DVD player, game console, TiVo, and music jukebox, ...

- BusinessWeek
I just hope, Intel won't be continuing this negative slope of profit for the future quarters to come. Whatever happens, you hearing me Intel, don't layoff your employees. They are your heart & soul!
Referred

Personal Flight...

Did you ever wish to have a flight for yourself, just to fly you from one place to another - Just like a flight ride for you and your family alone over Grand Canyon? Are you one of those persons who hate flying just because of all the hassles we have to undergo for flying in a plane - the early arrivals to the airport, the check in procedures, the long waiting security queues, the boarding procedure, the take off? Oh My God! Is there an escape route?

Yes! You are cleared to take off and be up in the air within 15 minutes of your arrival at the airport. DayJet & Linear Air are already into the market of VLJs - Very Light Jets and soon they'll be flying us in Air Taxis. A Taxi service to fly us between places around 1000 miles apart for a rate of $2/- per mile. Sweet! So, the vantage is people will like to fly and the flight time will be less by on an average of say may be like 60 minutes - 45 minutes before boarding and 15 minutes after landing.
Any cons?
May be the unavailability of restrooms in these jets!
May be more bankruptcy from Airlines and Jet Manufacturers!

Any Questions? A lot -
What about safety settings inside the flight?
How can the jet handle turbulances?
Will the price be comparable to that of a regular flight?
How will flights & passengers get security clearance?
Won't there be too much of Air Taxis rushing around in the skies?
Is the price going to be charged based on a passenger like a flight or like a taxi on distance based?

Like everyone, I'll wait to hear the answers for these. But, my gut feeling is, this market is going to succeed, only on word of mouth. Are there going to be enough jets to spread the word? I'm sure, there shouldn't be any problem for both DayJet & LinearAir to fly lots of Taxis - $1.5 Million Per Jet is not that much big of an investment! What say, ahnn?

StarBucks' Dreams!!

Coffee! That sounds so good especially when you think of 2 different cultures. France & StarBucks (SB)! (well, don't know if I can call SB has made a culture for coffee, but its American, established World Wide & has its own taste for coffee, a different culture of its own). French coffee doesn't need a mention. The taste itself talks. If you haven't tasted one, you may want to think about stopping at Cafe Du Monde, the next time you visit New Orleans. Its just not the taste, but the French culture to define a coffee shop is to have a crowded dim lit place where people smoke.
So, where do SB blend into this French culture? I doubt if SB ever had a blend in. SB is like making a high class fashion statement - Bright Lights, not too much of crowd, no smoking shops. So, why is SB opening like 23 stores in France? Who does it count on?
My take is the tourist segment. Once it can pull in the American & Asian tourists, it'll eventually make impressions on the French market to stop by & take a look; French Market, I mean, the middle & upper middle class. Then comes the point where French people want to have the coffee as they always do. They end up 'to go' or outside the shop 'coffeeing' where they have the freedom to light a cigarette.

Now, coming to the interview with Howard Schultz in 60 Minutes
Opening 5 stores every day looks like an over kill on investment. I just wonder how SB is really making a return on all those investments. Likewise, why to open multiple stores across the streets - Does this have any kind of business strategy - To avoid long queues? Around my house, I have 3 SBs and the status quo of this area is lower middle class. I'm not sure if the stores around me are really making that much business. If people have come for StarBucks and if they like it, they are going to wait for it. But, understandably, people who come to StarBucks are the upper class who don't want to wait, don't want to waste time but to make worthy of the time they spend in SB & at the same time, make the 'fashion' statement.
At the same time, people don't hesitate to come to SB. You know why? Because, customers know that the major part of the money they give goes for good cause - The employees health insurance (even for those who work only 20 hours per week), stock options, the price money for farmers (which is never a bargained rate) who grow coffee beans and much more. Isn't it great, WalMart?
I just can't accept the idea behind 'Tall'. If people order a TALL, they are satisfied with the drink before they have had it. But the word 'Small' & 'Medium' will make them have more. Its just a mind set based on the word used at that instance. Make business out of people's mind set. I guess that will sure make a difference. Also, I'm not sure about the whooping number of 55,000 - the possible combination of drinks. My goodness! When do customers get time to analyze & order the specific drink they want.
'Akeelah & Bee' - What a way to market this movie on 60 minutes just before it is getting released. I have seen trailors but never realized that its from SB. After knowing that its from SB, my heart has a small inclination to watch it. (Lets See!)
The concept behind this business is always a marvel to me. The idea that Howard Schultz from Projects in Brooklyn, is behind this $29Million company really makes me think about me & my status. Hats off to you, Schultz. Your secrets, mysteries & magics have worked out miracles.

MS & Anti Trust Stunts!

Well, MS is fighting again against the European Commission on Anti Trust issue. Why should Windows strip itself off Windows Media Player - So that users can have a choice between different players? Who has the rights to decide what goes in a product? I guess MS has all the rights to preinstall & send Windows Media Player with its Windows. If, such restrictions & constraints as stated by the Anti Trust cases are added, then any company can fall into such a category - where they can't build their own products according to their choice.

But, as the issue states, WMP should be given as a choice. So, when a PC or NoteBook is bought, WMP should be one of the choices to be selected in the configuration so that its users' discretion to have WMP or not. But, its always good to check the add on softwares MS is going to include with its Windows OS, because that shouldn't ruin the other businesses, who don't have a choice but to rely on Windows.

With the Europe case still on this week, its high time to start thinking about Vista. That OS is going to come with in built Search Options (Big G & Y!, are you listening? Scared of losing some market?). MS Office is going to work more closer with the OS than the present times (Big G! Your online word document writer may not be useful.). Security is getting the highest attention (Who knows the whole Anti Virus, Adware, Spyware Market may lose their business).

So, who is going to check Vista before it gets public? Are other companies arranging a Watch Dog?

Mandal? Not Again!

Does anyone in India need another Mandal Commission? No, is the answer anyone will get. So, why don't the politicians understand this? Why do they always look for vote banks and do whatever they want? I just don't understand, why out of the air, Indian HRD Minister, Arjun Singh wants to pull out this publicity stunt of 27.5% more reservation for Other Backward Castes (OBC) in 20 universities, IIMs, IITs & Government funded instituitions.
This is ridiculous. In this modern world, I feel people should be judged by their knowledge & skills instead of some age old customs and casteism. Indian Politics is submerged in casteism and the politicians will take advantage of such fanaticism if they get the oppurtunity.
According to me, reservations should be only based on economic status. No one is in backward status especially in terms of education, schooling & knowledge. I just wish & hope that the current protests by the students will be immediately heard by the government, properly acknowledged and settle the issue in favor of the public educational system. No! I don't want another Mandal Commission! I believe, Dr.ManMohan Singh is capable enough to nip this issue in the bud instead of taking to a dead end and then resigning quoting Moral Responsibility.

Talented Driving

Ever thought that driving in US needs talent? If so, I guess you are in the bottom of the scale for driving, because what you are about to witness now is something, which not only needs driving skills & talents but also luck all the time with you. A single second of concentration loss could mean tragic.
But, this is how things happen daily in the biggest democracy of the world. Driving In India.
I have always wanted to see Indian traffic, maintain some sort of lane discipline and I know, when things are like the way you have seen, it'll take a long long time to get to where US now is.
Once again, things just keep happening & the 'system' works in India. People, happy or not, do find workarounds.

Disgrace from Chennai to Harvard...

Have you read 'How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life'? I'm not a great reader of novels and haven't tried reading that book. But the name of the author does made the story interesting for me - Kaavya Viswanathan. For sure, she is from Tamil Nadu. So, just peeked into the story and I end up reading an article on how her book is a sample of plagiarism.
Ohh... not a story I want to read - bringing a disgrace on Indians by an Indian, especially by a Tamilian:(
If this plagiarism is creating ripples, it sure should be having a big backstage. Well, the article pointed out that Miss.Kaavya has already made a deal for $500,000/- for this & another book. Adding to that - she is just a 19 year old sophomore at Harvard doing course on Investment Banking. So, why won't this become big?
But, I sure appreciate Miss. Kaavya coming out in public & apologizing. Well, giving to the benefit of doubt - it sure is a possibility that people read lots of novels when they are young and they would like to write down a different story with similar plots. So, they end up writing 'unconciously & unintentionally' a plagiarized novel.
The publishers can sure make a worth out of this present publicity by altering the required sections in the novel & re-releasing the book.

Fox in Fire...

Mozilla FireFox is getting too much attention lately. It already has a big user base and I heard that Big G is literally firing it to increase the number to a lot more. It seems G is literally asking people to download Firefox which is bundled with Google Toobar. May be, G has taken its motto of 'No Evil to customers' one step further saying 'Great Evil for Competitors' and especially the biggest Software giant MS. MS IE has already been feeling the heat, as it has lost 4% of its Market Share in the last one year itself. So, no wonder MS is coming up with Internet Explorer 7 - This is already for download as a beta version. Wonder, if this is the right opponent for FireFox!
There was a day in GMail homepage when it read, it doesn't worry too much that GMail is just standing 2nd to FireFox as the New Revolutionizing Software for 2005. Now, G is backing Firefox! So, where is the value for G? More searches, more user accounts, more AdSense accounts. Got any idea why AdSense is coming into picture?
Hear this! If you are thinking about making some green$, just start referring people to FireFox. How to do it? Haven't you heard about 'Explorer Destroyer' yet? Just check it out and you may end up joining hands with Google in backing FireFox.

Bay on Amazon!

Why has eBay got into direct customer retailing directly taking a competition from Online Retailers like Amazon? I haven't been tracking the performance of eBay lately, but my assumption is this bidding market is a never ending business cycle. Everyone has stuffs which they want to sell for a cheaper price and so my guess is, eBay can never get down from profit.
So, once again - Why has eBay shifted gears or rather, has added a new gear? Well, this is a right move because the concept is exactly inside the ring of company philosophy, policy & theme. But is it because eBay has been seeing people ending up not buying anything in their site and eventually buying at some other online retail store? There can be 2 more reasons. Increasing number of individuals are buying brand new products online instead of walking into stores. Also, buying all gift products online is the latest style & fashion. I feel, this move by eBay sure threatens some market share off of Amazon & other online retailers.
Is this the right time to start eBay express? If it is going to be profitable, starting at any time doesn't matter. But, has this been started well ahead during the holiday season, eBay Express would sure have made a difference in its 05 Last Quarter & 06 Starting Quarter financial performance. Once it has had a good start, then it is going to sustain. SO, lets see how this performs during the Spring Quarter of 2006.

Wintery Flix

Isn't it common sense to understand that people prefer to sit inside house & spend their time rather than go out during a winter/a rainy season? So, isn't it easily predictable that business which entertains people inside their house are going to see some light during this season?
I'm not surprised to see NetFlix make lots of profit in Winter 06. Same is the case with Blockbuster mail rental too. The question is can it sustain the same growth for Spring & Summer? Spring will dampen the growth & summer will show a negative slope. Any guesses?

By the way, I guess I have been trying to write my blogs with complete words unlike my initial ones. Any idea why I'm doing this? Email me if you know me :)

'Cool' Snacks!!

Summer is getting really hot day by day. And a new way to hydrate yourself is available from Dryer's. Wow. Just see the concept of Dibs. Its so small in size like that of a peanut and is flavored ice cream. So, when people want to hydrate themselves like when they travel all they got to do is open this box & just take a few pieces out of it.
This is one great example of 'thinking outside the box'. Ice creams are no more in scoops, cups, cones or bowls. They are in the right size & shape to be thrown into our mouth. Though, I haven't tasted it yet, the TV ad i ran into yesterday just pulled my interest on, how this new concept has been put forward.
Well, on a side note, I also heard that this carries too much of saturated fat. So, I guess this product is only for an ice cream freak & not for someone who is very consious about their body shape & weight. Once again, I'm writing this on what I have heard. I haven't seen a box of Dibs yet!

Secure My Space!

Is it possible to get into the Space of the present day teens/preteens and make sure that they are safe & secure? I guess, 'possible' is no longer a question? The question is, how can we make their space a secured one. So, you got the idea of what I'm talking about?
Lately, MySpace is falling in the wrong side of the news for all reasons. The latest news today is, the site has been banned in a college. Well, after seeing the title my guess is like - for the protection of the college kids from pranks during the time, the kids are in campus. But the reasoning behind the ban is 'bandwidth' usage. My goodness, can you believe that the traffic to MySpace from the college, attributes to 40% of their network bandwidth. Hmm, no wonder MySpace has 72 million users and imagine the other traffic which keeps visiting without registration because of all these news makings. I haven't visited it yet but will do it once I start liking the news it makes.
So, this site has been pulling the teens, college kids, preteens & this has led to the pranksters posing as those kids. This is quite possible in any website like even yahoo users can be abusing its chat rooms & so on. Alright, without diverting much, lets just concentrate on MySpace and how it can regain the confidence of people. Lets think about how it can build some security measures to make sure the users who register are valid legitimate users.
1) Users below 14 shouldn't be allowed to register.
2) Photos posted should be scanned for decency.
3) Users below 18 can't (I mean the system should restrict) reveal their personal info. So, kids below 14 are going to pose as 18 year old and accordingly register or just move to other websites where they can register. How to verify? By making the address & phone numbers as required fields & verifying them for correctness. If its possible, IP address should also be recorded & verified. This will for sure reduce the number of misusers.
4) Educating more & more. Cautioning with more & more stories. Make the parents get more involved and teach them to watch their kids' internet traffic.
These few initial steps will carry the website a long way through, as a GOOD social website for kids & teens. Ain't it better to avoid bad news & pull more crowd?

Should v sign?

Whenever v swipe a credit card, v r asked to sign. So, now comes the ridiculous question, y v sign?
Well, how did i run into this Q? I signed a paper for my credit card swipe & the shop keeper took it. But, later i asked him for a credit card statement bill & all he did was, returned me the paper i signed. Doh!! I cudn't beleive wat i'm seeing. I q'ed him & the shop keeper is like no worries. u keep ur signed paper.
Now, at this point...Do v really need to sign the paper after the credit card swipe. Luks like it ain't reqd no more. But, where is the customer gaining vantage? Well, later the customer can always decline to the credit card comp saying tht the amount charged to his/her credit card is not a valid one & the shop keeper won't be able to prove, w/o the proof of the signed paper.
General policy for securit - V better be signing the paper if v r asked for. V also better be checkin our credit card statements to be sure tht v r not being over charged or tht ours is not being misused!!

Cheap 'Cell'ers

2 new wireless companies r making news for the past few weeks. Both r targeting a different set of niche (can be called i guess) markets.
Leap is really into business with rural ppl with unlimited calling minutes for jzz like $45 a month - the topmost rate. Consider this... These ppl are talking like 1500 minutes per month & tht too for such a low rate. I guess ne1 wud luv to use this service if they think they r the chatter box among their group. This comp is making a revenue of like 45 bucks per customer compared to that of like 65 per head from other biggies. And this is more interesting. Leap signs up a customer for say around 140 bucks (including phones, marketing, sales etc) while the biggies r luking into something like 375. And much more deeper - Other biggies r not into this market at all... Sweet!
Now consider this other comp. Well, it hasn't come into market yet but its prospects r gud. Xero Wireless - These guys r luking into the other cheaper market - college kids. Once again phones for free and too cheap services but the catch is, the customers have to look into some # of ads per day. Who else can be target market? College kids r here to save cheap pennies here & there for thier poket $s & cell phone is like kinda a disease among them. Check ne college kid in ne university & u can c a cell. So, a gr8 market to start with, with a gr8 plan for the business. I feel, this is sure a winner!! Wat ya say?

Voluntary Retirement!!

So, in the middle of legal battles going on with Merck & Vioxx, we hear about this Voluntary Recall by Bauch & Lomb (BL) of Renu MoistureLoc solution. So, is BL asking for some trouble? It sure is my guess.
So, lzz wait for a month for the FDA to conclude their R&A on some of the BL's plants. Once that comes out & if that turns out to be in the wrong side for BL... Jzz think about BL getting submerged in the quick sand of legal cases. They are gonna be all over BL like the Vioxx. So, is BL ready for all these? It better be, 'coz what v r talking abt is, blindness, compromising eye sight.
I hope BL's Renu is not the cause, but a small FishBone might show where the problems can be.
Direct Cuases - Lens, the lens box, lens cleaning solution
Lens - YEah! If thzz not a reliable product, not of gud quality or if its something specific to the lens maker.
Lens Box - Quite a possibility. The cleaning agents used for this box, can make a reaction. May not be cleaned properly. Or the box itself can be defective.
Lens Solution - Well, every1 knows it. Its always with the lens...

Worthy??

The way I feel now is like I just want to lie down and sleep for lengthy hours - something like i haven't slept for 2-3 days continuously. Its a feeling of accomplishment & a sense of satisfaction, of doing something that is of my own interest, helping some others who wanted to do something to our community is a different country, who are running out of options & i turn out to be one of the last alternatives & above all, something that kept my mind busy and occupied from the day of Tamil New Year.
Alrit! Let me explain what I'm talking about. I jzz luv singing Tamil Light Music songs & that, I can live with - Sing Tamil Songs for 24 hours a day. & I do also luv stage performances. I have enacted in Skits/Ad Ups/Variety Shows during my past days but haven't done much on that field out of my own. Like, I won't Market myself onto it. So, a month back, I got this email from one of my friends asking me, if I'm ready for doing some singing on stage for some Tamil New Year Celebrations. I know i have been making lots of compromises now a days & i really need to do something for me & my state of mind. The set of events that is happening around me is asking me to make lots of decisionsagainst my own wish, but I'm running out of alternatives in those respects.
I'm supposed to travel out to Dallas on Apr 22nd but I feel this event - The TamilNew year celebration - will sure give me a break. This is something though short term will help me feel the pride, cherish the moments now & forever. So, I made a choice to stay back for Apr 22 Weekend for this event.
I wasn't sure how much this is gonna be worthwhile, 'cos i started hearing that I'll get a chance for 5 minutes to sing a song. After some outward coordination from the organisers, I, the female Solo & the KeyBoard master met on April 15th. We jzz thought of different songs like 6 of them for 30 minutes. Not bad. I was glad, that things r turning up better.
& then, the same night, I get a call from one of the Organizers asking me to take a role in a drama. Well, without any idea I got committed. From that night onwards, its been practice for drama or light music till late night like 12 AM.
So, the saturday came when I got to wake up once again like 6 AM after sleeping around 2 AM, coz the drama gang wanted a practice again. & after all that tiresome weeknights, the 'performance' came out really very very gr8. There were like 150 poeple for the event and it was a gud success.
Feeling of accomplishment - Acting in a drama
A sense of satisfaction - I sing tamil songs in front of a big crowd in mic
Doing something of my own interest - The songs i like and have always luved the way they are written, expressed and pitched.
helping others for community - Tamil New Year Celebs as a grands event in US
Run out of options - Asking me to act in some drama in the eleventh hour
Last alternative - The only serious role in the drama

Built Tuf!

Yeah! Ford was built tuf for the roads, but jzz wonder how long its gonna maintain its tuf status in the auto world itself. Not long enuf, i guess. It has alredy started this year with a very bad note - $1.2Billion loss for the 1st quarter.
How does the remaining year look like? The 2nd & 3rd quarters don't look that great. Not good at all. Its the season of Spring & Summer - implies that the Gas rates are going up which is already at a record of $75/- per barrel. The whole of gas drinking SUV market is going down in US and Ford is going down with it - Escape, Explorer & Expedition. Its almost in the brink of breaking down on Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.

So, where is it turning to?
- Cars.
Yes. Ofcourse, they have to beat the asians (Toys & Hons) in that. 20 new models are coming out. Not sure if all of them are cars. Hybrid models will help it a lot.
- Markets
It should look towards the patriotic amaericans market. They sure are not looking for Asian & German autos. So, its going to be out of GM, Ford & Chrysler.
Also, Mustang has always been on the fav list for the college kids. The concept of 'Kewl'. Use that trend as a health drink. Put more funds for that market. But, the aesthetic of Honda Civic 06 model especially the Coupe, is just amazingly great. Mustang needs to look at its back.
- Cost Savings
Me too! Ofcourse, take any industry set up & talk about Auto industry, you should talk about Lean, Cost Savings, Kaizen, Continuos Improvements, Pull System, Zero Inventory, 5S concept, Supply Chain and what not. Well, for sure this should always be there! But, cost savings is not gonna give too much of cushion for losses like $1 billion. If you are already lean, then where to make the cost savings?
- Cost Cutting
The last alternative is to start cutting jobs & closing plants. Ford is already into it and is thinking about cutting like 34000 jobs this year. Its also stated that they are closing around 14 plants. That sure is a lot, in terms of cost cutting too.
But I just don't understand why it is closing plants which are into the best selling Truck business Ford F150. F150, according to me, should be used as a helping hand to stabilize and put forward the other new 20 models.
Any Biz school talk - Small & simple solutions can sometimes really help come out with big decisions. But, there are times when it is necessary to make hard & big decisions to atleast get into some solutions.

Type Talk!!

The number of small icons in the desktop tray has always increased & I just added one more to the list today. Got any idea what i'm talking abt? Ofcourse, u shd know from the subject itself. All my topics won't have pure english words. They wud convey the meaning with their sounds (aka sounds like) but they always have the 'typos'. Its nothin but 'Chatting' and my 'Chat Slangs'.
So, what got added today to my list of Yahoo, Msn, Windows, Skype? The 'Talk' version - from the big 'G'. So, one of my friends from Delhi India is in Yahoo window and said he wud like to talk to me over 'Y-Call'. I was eager too as i have had gr8 voice chat sessions with Y-Dial/Call. But, today it was totally out of sync - No clarity & quality, too much of lag & hiccups in the voice. I know of a workaround though - Mute the mic when u hear & ask the other person to mute his/her mic when (s)he is hearning me. Tried that too and it was in vein.
Now, comes the time when my friend tells me abt Google Talk. Well, I know there is this chat session i can start from my gmail. So, i logged into my gmail, added my friend and started pinging him. It is cool too, with the pop up window standing above the system tray. Well, but still v haven't achieved the talk. So, I ended up installing the 'G Talk' & there ends the problem. I was able to talk to my friend without any issue at all. It was a gr8 talk session for sure - Clear, no hiccups, no lag.
So, Is Google Talk more user friendly than Yahoo Chat? I mean, any math guy can say that a single sample can't stand for the whole population. But for sure, G Talk has gained my interest and I won't forget to try it out, when other sessions fail to deliver. But, is GTalk gonna be my 1st preference for chatting? No, atleast for now, 'cos all my established friends are Yahoos & Hotmails.
I can't atleast move away from the gr8 smileys & emoctions from Y! Too good & lovely representations!!

Fanning Lap!

This should be one of the most important factors people do consider when they buy Notebooks, which can't be otherwise termed as LapTop. Ofcourse, my previous topic made me write this topic.
So, what is the factor? Its not the configs & specs of the system. Its infact one of those aspects like the weight of the system. This is the FAN placement in the system. Ppl just keep on wondering why Dell, Toshiba, HP, Compaq & still some more brands make this inlet Fan to be in the bottom of the Notebook. Me too!
Well, I know all those reasons like, if the fan can be kept in the sides, then the book will become thick instead of becoming more & more thin. Or they may have to start using 2 smaller fans in the sides so that the spread of ventilation is balanced for the whole system. So, the fan is kept in the place where the manufacturers can find a place. No more importance for ergonomics! One of the most widely used product is a laptop and is no more user friendly. If you keep the notebook on ur lap inspite of knowing that its gonna get heated up, then u r taking the risk of getting burnt. Manufacturers r redy to make this tradeoff when selling their notebooks (not laptops).
This has become more of a concern when all those Desktop PC configs are put into a notebook like the P4. It just heats up the whole system like anything with very less help from the fan. What is the other reason that the fan fail in these? I can accept a fan kept in the bottom of the system but can't accept that it is placed in one corner which is obviously gonna be hindered by the lap - I mean in one of those corners instead of the center. Can a fan kept in the bottom center help? It can be much better than the case of being in a corner. In most cases when people wear the 2 legged pants, the bottom center is gonna have more open space. Also, the air is gonna be spread for the whole system evenly. Well, I hope the manufacturers start making better tradeoffs instead of hurting the customers physically.
Meanwhile, wazzup with this new Dell Gaming System XPS M1710. Is this hot, I mean literally?

Keep Re-Calling

Even though there are not too much of complaints from customers & consumers on HP notebooks, people r also not too much enthusiastic about the reliability of the product. When can v be sure that there will be lesser recalls from HP?

Especially the batteries. There were like 135000 batteries that were recalled in 2005. The recall news for batteries is already out for this year. Guess, its around like 16000. So, how far the Compaq merger has been helping HP notebook market? Well, such cheap quality/relibility issues have started taking both the markets down together. Ain't it?

Funny side note - PPl don't wanna call these 'laptops' no more. They r supposed to be called 'NoteBooks' and u r not supposed to complaint that the systems get over heated that u r not able to keep them on ur lap :)

Guilty Greens...

Where can v start a business? Do v have a niche market? - Sure we always do. Ofcourse we have lots of oppurtunities out here in the world.
Can we think on some humanitarian terms giving long term benefits to human-hood, but from the bad doings of human? - What r u talking about?
Why not build a business on the guilt of people that they are doing something wrong to the world, to the humanity, to the environment around them?
Global Warming has always been an area of talk for years and is gonna be there for years to come. & Humans are contributing to the same a lot & they know it. There!!!
There are so many people who know that they are guilty and they wanna compensate with something else. But is there a way to measure how much global warming a single individual or family is contributing to - Can v quantify to a dollar value? Just check out the link TerraPass
Thzz an excellent business model which quantifies global warming because of Car Driving (which almost every1 in US does). You not only make greener world but also green currency out of the guiltyness of humans.

WalMart's New Energy

Is it true that if all WalMart's (WM) in US are combined together including its employees, it becomes the 5th largest US city? Thzz just amazing to know and managing that daily, is in itself an achivement.
Alrit! Coming to the point - If this company thinks on serving the community, that sure is a great start. To all those Anti-WM people, who just can't stand near, ready to join the boycott-WM protest... Take a note!
I'm glad that WM has started doing such small scale initiatives besides the big supply chain change overs like the RFIDs. What are these initiatives I'm talking about? Well, everyone should be knowing this. The WM that uses & runs (I guess) the whole unit on Solar power saving the regularly generated power for the community. This is being prototyped in Texas which gets sufficient sun the whole year long. This store has much more energy saving technologies.

...The experimental design combines a host of renewable energy technologies including numerous solar PV arrays, two, small wind turbines, a bio-fuel boiler to recycle and burn recovered oil from store operations and a nearly endless list of energy-saving and sustainable design principles.

- RenewableEnergyAccess.com. The wind turbines will sure grab the attention of anyone going near this store!

Well, besides this seperate store, I just keep thinking about someother way they can help. Who can miss the sight of the whole fleet of WM trucks moving around in the roads and the numbers in the gas stations always in the upward slope? Do you see a relation?
- If by any means of engineering design, these trucks can start using the Gas more efficiently
- if the trucks are maintained very well
- if the trucks can get more aeordynamic design to just workaround some of the air resistance on the roads
- if the trucks can get a bit more of a mileage per gallon of gas
Thzz gonna serve the whole country and why not, will save lots (I mean in millions) of $s for WM. R u listening? Do some more changes in ur supply chain so that u make a difference in the community - serve humanity & stop the boycott'ers.

Writer's Choice

Have I started feeling more emotional now a days? More lonely lately? I guess so.
After those saddest moments in my life, some harmone has come out of its hibernation inside me. A new symptom - My heart beats a bit faster & my eyes become a bit watery when I see some emotional scenes in movies. Though am trying to get back to how I was before with regular TV, movies, music - nothing is helping. Tried driving along for long distances, but how long can I keep on driving.
I was never like this before & am not sure how long this is gonna continue. But I'm making my efforts to come out instead of feeling the feelings. I have tried reading a lot for past 3 months and still feel somewhat is missing. So, have restarted -
When I was at school during my Masters, I had so much of information falling through my way and hence, was very much into blogging. Then, was occupied with much better stuffs & forgot to write.
- blogging & it does has started helping me. Though this may have started at a bad time, hope this will take me long way into lot motre times to come...
In short - Reviving my enthu... - My Profile

Wrong Start!!

So, I wanna restart my blogging and my first choice for my URL is JagsWorld & the funny thing is Blogger allowed me, that the particular URL is available for use. Interesting. Well, you guys can check out what JagsWorld has been upto. It is some1's well established blog spot & I wonder how Blogger's search didn't catch that - so much to say that Blogger is part of Google!!:p:)

Well, Blogger didn't give me a gud start I guess. But I'm gonna continue... ;)

A War on DVD!!

Man... I guess this is the first time I'm witnessing a war on the electronic products. Some new technologies coming up with 2 different versions backed up by some big names in the electronics world and ofcourse, will all those Hollywood production studios going behind oneor the other.
With Toshiba's HD DVD already out in the US market too, does it have an advantage of capturing some percent of the market? My guess is No. Are people ready to spend 500 to 800 bucks on a product which is waiting to meet its competitor in a month? Blu Ray is waiting to knock on the same doors as that of HD DVD one month from now and everyone will have their doubt in mind - if blu ray turns out to be a better product? Blu Ray has a backing from Sony which is once again coming up with PS3.
I have my own personal friends who are waiting for a long time to grab one of the PS3's. Even though, Sony's announcement of PS3 coming only in November (for the holiday season) disheartening, people are still waiting.
The whole of PS3 market is waiting for Blu Ray and so, Blu Ray already has a user/customer group. So, Blu Ray - you better be good. What does the initial advantages sound like for Blu Ray? Its going to offer more than 25GB while HD DVD offers only 15GB. That sure is a favored look for people who consider DVD to be a data storage media.
With all these said, about Blu Ray, am I leaning towards Blu Ray? All I said is with an initial start of HD DVD into the market, it has very less advantage. But can HD DVD build its user group? Where can it do that from? Microsoft & XBox - This client, if can give a HD DVD fprmat supporting game player this Summer 06, then HD DVD has already started taking advantage way ahead of Blu Ray & PS3. If HD DVD can come up with the best movies from Universal & Warner Bros, those movies which people would really love to have as a treasure, retain as a copy in house (instead of just going for rentals), have the movies as the highest quality (aka HD DVD/Blu Ray) available at the current times, then HD DVD can sure gain advantage.
And what gave me the interest to write this. The war of the technologies and the way I'm witnessing it. I guess I'll be seeing the end of one of these technologies - Which I didn't see when VHS and whatever other format was knocking the doors for Video Tape formats.

Spineless Politicians!

Just count the number of politicians switching between the 2 big political parties in Tamil Nadu before the elections. It goes to hundreds. Does the 2 parties have different base? The 2 leaders are perfect opponents. But every1 else has no spine. They keep on criticizing the other party's leader when they are in one.
Take for instance Vaiko. Boneless. A guy who was kept arrested for around 18 months by JJ and now he joins her party. Sarath Kumar - A guy who had the status of RS MP from DMK & now joins ADMK.
What does all this mean? These politicians basically look for money & power, & take Tamilians for granted. Do something good to people to show that they are 'for people'. Thzz it. Then, crib about other politicians & opponents for what they have done wrong, corruptions etc, even though they are also of the same type & they were also part of the 'other family' before.

A Blend In Name

I was really excited, hap and surprised to see this name... Vishnu K. Mahmud An author for a news article in Jakarta Post.
When can Hindus & Muslims come together without any politics involved inbetween - Well, ofcourse anytime because its all about humanity & feelings.
But rare is to see a name having a blend of Hindu & Muslim Gods! I sure appreciate who ever gave this name to you - Vishnu Mahmud.

More Pod Woes!

I already wrote once what has happened with my songs in my iPod Shuffle. No adding more frustration to it.
All i did is put this iPod Shuffle in a different PC with iTunes. iTunes informs me that my iPod is synchronized with a differnt iTunes library and inorder to synchronized with the one in myt new PC, all the songs in my iPod will be deleted!!! Oops.
I have no way to just see the songs, delete only what i want, add only a set of songs into this iPod. Is this product worth a 100 bucks? Seriously!!

Experimetal Teams!

There was no collapse in Indian Batting Order at the game in Indore on April 15th 2006. Whoever batted got runs more than 50. Especially there was a great start for the batting - A worthful 166 run partnership between Dravid & Uthappa.
Uthappa - His batting is a classic. With all confidence his shots were perfect and playing under the guidance of Dravid as his partner in his debut his runs were in every way guiding him a way into the team for long term. Does this mean, we have a replacement for Gambhir? May be. Gambhir was never so confident. Also, Uthappa it seems is a keeper. Well, we really don't need a replacement for Dhoni at this point of time. But we do need some help in the place of lots of people like Sehwag (who is always expected to play but comes back to the pavillion with a single four), Agarkar, Bhajji, may be Sachin. We need all rounders like Pathan, who seems to have always got 1 or 2 wickets in his opening spell.
Lets see how much more experiments Dravid will do to find the best team for the upcoming world cup!

Sensors in PCs - Why not?

Why do we need an external sensor to recognize wireless keyboard & mice? Jzz make the sensor & driver configurable as part of any PC. Something that is in-built.

Like the remote control frequencies that can be configured with ease in the new Honda Odysseys. That sure is customer friendly. Almost every1 out here in US has remotes inside their car - open garages, open apt complex gates.

Like the cable remotes - Configure to play any DVD player. Makes things really ez.

'Shuffle' issues!!!

Wazzup with this!!! Songs in folders linked to iTunes library, uploaded into iPod Shuffle. Change songs to different folders and thzz it - All songs from iPod are deleted.
Man!! Tht sucks. Once I insert my iPod into USB, all songs are synchronized with the library which ends up in deleting the songs from iPod without my permission. What a crappy design! Atleast a warning? a request to the user!!!
I wish Apple makes this a bit more user friendly...

Feel 'The Negligible Probability'

What is the chance that some1 can really defy law of probability, Where some1 can really feel the smallest probability, Where 10^-10 becomes tangible?
Is it by doing a research on Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulations? No Way....

When some1 wins the Jackpot in a lottery. It seems the chance of winning is like 1 in 200,000,000. Wow. LUCK can make u really 'feel' the intangible probability.

I wish...

Past few years have been really bad... bad... & worse for me. I have tried to maintain a +ve spirit & keep ppl around me hap - I sure have succeeded in the same.
But the worse days became the worst in the month of January 2006. Are the bad days over for me? If I would have known that my bad days are gonna end by meeting 'that' worst, I would have lived with my bad days for many more years...
Anyways, I really wish the new year starting on April 14th 2006 will bring me back some peaceful & hap days. I wish U A Very Hap New Year 2...

Help Plzzz

If you ever think about charity & donation... helping handicapped mentally/physically, please check out AmarSeva. A gr8 initiative by an engineer, Mr. RamaKrishnan who can only move his head. Brain has no control on his remaining body parts.

If you are sooo much depressed in your life, U sure can get motivated just by seeing What Mr. Ramakrishnan has achieved and where his AmarSeva has come to.

I have always been trying to help amarseva GiveWorldis helping me achieve the same every month...

"Sorry I didn't Get that"

Well... Many people would have heard 'Sorry I didn't get that. Can you please mention your choice once again?' over the phone - those voice activated customer support service.
Now, I guess you'll soon read the same @ a google site.
Voice activated Search!
'Sorry! I didn't understand. Is this what you said - Vase Acted Such?' :)

Coffee Biz

I've always wondered how Star Bucks survived.
A coffee shop chain - the business model. Now, they build WiFi in it & pull ppl to do business in StarBucks. What a way to grab attention...
I'll be driving down in freeway & if i find a wireless signal of StarBucks I can make a stopover & send some reports/emails, refresh & back on my way... Sweet...

Chaiyya...Inside

Wow.... & Woooooooooo
Thzz a Gr8 Surprise for me.... Sitting in a theatre to watch Denzel's movie & hearing 'Jinke Sarga...' I really thought I'm sitting in the wrong theatre.
Sweet surprise to hear Chaiyya Chaiyya at the start & end of 'Inside Man'. A Nice Thriller...

Paritrana

Something which I'm really luking forward to.
Can this political party live up to all the expectations of the supposed to be Indian middle class to get India out of the clutches of corruption? a 'Yuva' on the making!!