Call it fixation on Apple products, I do not mind. But, Apple has emerged a clear winner in the competition for the product of tomorrow. Yes, I am talking about MP3 player.
Not long before, Sony was very popular for its invention of the walkman. In fact, Sony was called one of the companies that produced products with very novel features. But Sony could not keep up with times and now it stands in a peculiar position.The reason could be many. But some of the striking reasons are the business decisions of Sony. It has a culture of supporting their custom technology, while the rest of the world followed a seperate trend. For example, some of the Sony MP3 players support music in ATRAC formats only. To make it compatible with MP3, an additional sum has to be spent. All this makes it difficult for the consumer to percieve.
While all these has been happening, Apple has emerged a clear winner with its iPod range of products. The advantage is that the iPod has brought in more brand recognition for Apple that even its iBooks sales are increasing. The high end iPods are very convenient to use. I would rather call it a feature packed product with the best ease of use.
Recently, I found that Sony has redesigned one of its MP3 players to look like iPods. Looks are almost similar to iPOds. The only difference seem to be the control.
It shows that Sony is desperately trying to catch up with the trends and as a result following the footsteps of Apple!
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
The changes I would love to see.....
It has been a refreshing experience to be outside India for a good part of the year. That too when one gets to stay in a place like Stockholm, I bet people fall in love with its practices!
Based on whatever I have been experiencing in Stockholm, these are some of the constructive changes that I would like to see in our Indian society:
1. School kids carry less than 1 KG with them to the school. The school provides lockers for the children. The lavatories have the best facilities so that the kids drop in for a shower after a "wild" games period. There is an outstanding amount of individual attention given for each kid, meaning the strength in each class is optimal. The kids are taught to be flexible. The kids are made to play outdoor games for 1 hour each day, irrespective of the weather.
2. People are made to imbibe the culture of queuing at public places.
3. Public utility services are offered with the best interests of the people. A bus driver and a conductor is responsible for the vehicle they drive when they are in duty. Responsibility should span a variety of chores like cleaning the bus, reporting any problems in time and being hospitable.
4. Any hoardings that distract the attention of drivers are removed. No posters in public places.
5. When the public transportation runs late or breaks down, the authorities should provide the people using the system with allowance to use any alternative mode of transport.
6. Have the infrastructure to meet the challenges of extreme weather like floods.
7. The newspapers are flashed with progressive and constructive stories. There are more advertisements about the latest products and services, signifying the fact that the economy is healthy.
8. There is a timetable available for the public transportation and the time is maintained with less than 5% delta. The government should provide a public transport access point to any location at maximum of 200 metres walk.
9. Working hours do not extend beyond 5 pm. Five days work should be emphasised across all industries and sectors.
10. The government provides sufficient social security for even people working in private companies. This could be (a) a legislation that gives an insurance policy for all the working professionals, insulating them from job insecurities (b) a legislation that gives the spouses a long vacation during maternity periods (c) A subsidised health care for at least the underprivileged. This should be a foolproof system!
11. Each Indian has a unique identification number. This should make him identifiable for all purposes, be it passport, driving license, ration card, health care and public libraries.
12. A single taxation system. One should be able to drive peacefully from Kanyakumari to Kashmir without the hassles of check post!
13. Promotion of waterways as viable passenger transportation. This could also be used from an entertainment perspective. For example, there could be a ferry plying between Vizag and Mumbai on weekends that provides superior weekend holiday.
14. Make the place tourist friendly! When I say friendly, I want the real implementation of the meaning of the word "FRIENDLY"
ummmmm....what a wonderful society I am talking about. If I were to talk about these to a common man in India, one could expect a standard reply saying such a thing is possible only in an ideal world and is simply not practical. But I am talking about something that is happening thousands of miles from India!
And yes, it is not a dream but a practical approach to an ideal society.
Based on whatever I have been experiencing in Stockholm, these are some of the constructive changes that I would like to see in our Indian society:
1. School kids carry less than 1 KG with them to the school. The school provides lockers for the children. The lavatories have the best facilities so that the kids drop in for a shower after a "wild" games period. There is an outstanding amount of individual attention given for each kid, meaning the strength in each class is optimal. The kids are taught to be flexible. The kids are made to play outdoor games for 1 hour each day, irrespective of the weather.
2. People are made to imbibe the culture of queuing at public places.
3. Public utility services are offered with the best interests of the people. A bus driver and a conductor is responsible for the vehicle they drive when they are in duty. Responsibility should span a variety of chores like cleaning the bus, reporting any problems in time and being hospitable.
4. Any hoardings that distract the attention of drivers are removed. No posters in public places.
5. When the public transportation runs late or breaks down, the authorities should provide the people using the system with allowance to use any alternative mode of transport.
6. Have the infrastructure to meet the challenges of extreme weather like floods.
7. The newspapers are flashed with progressive and constructive stories. There are more advertisements about the latest products and services, signifying the fact that the economy is healthy.
8. There is a timetable available for the public transportation and the time is maintained with less than 5% delta. The government should provide a public transport access point to any location at maximum of 200 metres walk.
9. Working hours do not extend beyond 5 pm. Five days work should be emphasised across all industries and sectors.
10. The government provides sufficient social security for even people working in private companies. This could be (a) a legislation that gives an insurance policy for all the working professionals, insulating them from job insecurities (b) a legislation that gives the spouses a long vacation during maternity periods (c) A subsidised health care for at least the underprivileged. This should be a foolproof system!
11. Each Indian has a unique identification number. This should make him identifiable for all purposes, be it passport, driving license, ration card, health care and public libraries.
12. A single taxation system. One should be able to drive peacefully from Kanyakumari to Kashmir without the hassles of check post!
13. Promotion of waterways as viable passenger transportation. This could also be used from an entertainment perspective. For example, there could be a ferry plying between Vizag and Mumbai on weekends that provides superior weekend holiday.
14. Make the place tourist friendly! When I say friendly, I want the real implementation of the meaning of the word "FRIENDLY"
ummmmm....what a wonderful society I am talking about. If I were to talk about these to a common man in India, one could expect a standard reply saying such a thing is possible only in an ideal world and is simply not practical. But I am talking about something that is happening thousands of miles from India!
And yes, it is not a dream but a practical approach to an ideal society.
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Intelligent Jacket!
This is supposed to be summer time here in Sweden. I said "supposed to be". But I do not find any difference between October and now. Maybe it is October minus snow equal to June!
I never knew this equation earlier. Believing what the local people say, I have opted to wear normal jacket. But unfortunately, yesterday was one of those days when weather played spoil sport. On my way back from work, it was so cold that I was bitching my thought process for having chosen a normal jacket!
I was also pondering over the idea of an intelligent jacket. Imagine a jacket with the following features:
- It has a sensor to constantly monitor the outside temperature- The user should be able to set a threshold temperature. If the outside temperature drops below this, then a process starts- A process to convert the kinetic energy into temperature, that warms up the jacket and generates heat
I think this one is going to be of great use to people living in extreme temperatures! This also avoids the carrying of extra sweaters.
I never knew this equation earlier. Believing what the local people say, I have opted to wear normal jacket. But unfortunately, yesterday was one of those days when weather played spoil sport. On my way back from work, it was so cold that I was bitching my thought process for having chosen a normal jacket!
I was also pondering over the idea of an intelligent jacket. Imagine a jacket with the following features:
- It has a sensor to constantly monitor the outside temperature- The user should be able to set a threshold temperature. If the outside temperature drops below this, then a process starts- A process to convert the kinetic energy into temperature, that warms up the jacket and generates heat
I think this one is going to be of great use to people living in extreme temperatures! This also avoids the carrying of extra sweaters.
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