The Real Competition

Micromax, most urbanites would recall this name as cheap low cost phone manufacturer in India.

Well actually speaking everything above is true, except one big change. And the biggest change is we have dropped the world low quality completely. There was a time when people would buy those cheap Chinese phones at about 3-5 k (less than 100$) for various features like big screen, touch screen and analog TV and of course ultra-loud speakers. This was a thriving business back then. But there was no android and no iPhone at that point in time. But one thing was very clear, and that is nobody expected quality out of it.

Now moving ahead few months the mobile industry saw a paradigm shift when apple launched its brand new iPhone ( I too bought one ). Quality had a new definition. Quality not only meant a durable hardware pencil Nokia was a champion. Quality also meant world class OS. Yes, I said OS and not just software. Apple changed the whole definition of operating systems on phone. Later they reinvented it with an AppStore. This change actually changed the way people looked at phones and they started expecting more.....and more from their software.

And as we know it just wiped out those cheap low quality Chinese phone which will be even hard to find in china now days. It also wiped a large market share from Nokia, blackberry and many more.

This led to a big opportunity which google grabbed and launched android. Again I must say I was one of the early bird to use it. Android became the life saver and this led to rise of a new generation of phones.

This again brings us to Micromax. Recently there has been a big war between Apple, Samsung and Nokia. And we seem to ask who will be the winner in India. Well my answer is you have forgotten the micromaxes of the world. Manufactures are offering great products. And trust me these product offer great value for money. For instance you can get a Micromax Bolt for abt 4k I.e less than 80$, which is an excellent device for the price what your are paying.  With andriod on it, you are free to buy and use any app. And this is gonna really eat into the bigger pie from inside.

Hope ppl at apple, Samsung and Nokia are listening and keeping their guards up against these manufacturers.and once again it's the OS which is making the big difference. As they say history repeats

Time will tell the actual outcome, till then bye.

The Decade.

As i sit down to write this piece of blog time seems to fly by. I still remember the day when we entered the new Millennium. But this decade has been a great one.

As i am more close to technology i will prefer to talk about them as there was a huge change and we took a generation leap when its comes to gadgets around us. This was the decade we went digital in true sense. Be it the cars which we drive or the mobiles which we use.

The most Imp milestones of the decade when it comes to technology was Google....google bought to us a huge array of products which are being used by each one of us. And going into the next decade they are carrying a weapon called Android which virtually puts google in everybody's hand. My estimate is that 1 in every 3 person on this planet will come in contact with a google product by early 2012. that's a huge number and here normal market theories don't work. Google has become a huge monster which we are feeding.

The other most imp discovery was Facebook, never thought a simple website connecting ppl will be such a  huge success. Mark zuckerbrg became the youngest billionaire and at the time of writing this article Facebook was valued at $50 Bn. Frankly speaking i personally feel facebook with current set of products is a big hype. The next decade will be a big challenge for them.

Not to forget wikileaks as it has changed the way world looks at the art of whistle blowing.

When it comes to hardware i guess the only few company to have top of the mind recall would be Apple, Sony and Nintendo.

Apple not only came up with ipod and iphone and finally the Ipad, here we can safely call them the most successful product in our history.
By launching Iphone we took the first step towards amalgamating human feelings with a machine. and what a successfully product it was. kudos to apple for using their bandwidth to bring a product which was so far from competition that it took them 3 years and some support from google in the form of android to come up with a product whcih we can call a worthy competitor.

Sony on the other hand gave gamers their ultimate machine. With the launch of PS3 the possibilities in a game opened up exponentially. by the end of 2010 they launched Playstation Move. A motion sensor gaming platform. This is simply going to change the way we play games in future. And how can we forget Kinect from Microsoft, well lot of ppl praising it. with this we can be sure that gaming in next decade with be a lot different.

So many changes happened in this decade which are worth the mention but lack of time keeps it aways.

As far as i am concerned i am writing on this blog after 2 years. And i hope to write more on specific topics related to technology and other things of my interest.

Adios.

Paragliding at kamshet with Nirvana Adventures

"We can go for paragliding at kamshet" i asked. All agreed unanimously.

And we all met on a Saturday morning at vashi to leave for Kamshet. we all had decided rather than dozing off and having a dull weekend back at home lets leave for mumbai for some adventure.

We reached "Native Place" at about 1 pm in the afternoon after some rough ride through the patchy and kuccha roads of kamshet...which i got to know the actual name is Karmashetra...the land of your karmaa.....well karmaa....i have some liking for this word.

To start of....... let me introduce the crew.....

Kunal
Girish
Anish daniel.....or should i say jack daniel....or maybe anish mallya....
Avinash
Kamlendra
Toj
& Me.....Vivek

After reaching Native place we had a good home made lunch consisting of Chicken Gravy, Dal and some veggie stuff....it was home....prepared in complete home style......

We were told that we would be leaving at 2.30 pm to take off site.....we had to drive ourselves....and the roads.....ah we ahd a good off road challenge....our cars were tested to their limits....inally after driving for 30-40 min we reached Shelar tekdi...the take off site.
we had to walk for about 30 min to reach launch pad at about 200 feets above.....

Exhausted at the top we were craving for water up there...and our unhealthy lifestyle was being shown.....we climbed 200 feet as if we had climbed he everest......

Huffing and puffing we waited till the preparations were done for the launch.....

Finally the wait was over and the rest of the story you can see through the snaps and video below.....







Peace BlissNirvana at 900 ftBirds Eye View

Adios

Vivek Kiranji

ONE BEDROOM FLAT

ONE BEDROOM FLAT... WRITTEN BY AN INDIAN SOFTWARE
ENGINEER..- A Bitter Reality

As the dream of most parents I had acquired a degree in Software
Engineer and joined a company based in USA, the land of braves and
opportunity.
When I arrived in the USA, it was as if a dream had come true.

Here at last I was in the place where I want to be. I decided I would be
staying in this country for about Five years in which time I would have
earned enough money to settle down in India.

My father was a government employee and after his retirement, the only
asset he could acquire was a decent one bedroom flat.

I wanted to do some thing more than him. I started feeling homesick and
lonely as the time passed. I used to call home and speak to my parents
every week using cheap international phone cards. Two years passed, two
years of Burgers at McDonald's and pizzas and discos and 2 years
watching the foreign exchange rate getting happy whenever the Rupee
value went down.

Finally I decided to get married. Told my parents that I have only 10
days of holidays and everything must be done within these 10 days. I got
my ticket booked in the cheapest flight. Was jubilant and was actually
enjoying hopping for gifts for all my friends back home. If I miss
anyone then there will be talks. After reaching home I spent home one
week going through all the photographs of girls and as the time was
getting shorter I was forced to select one candidate.

In-laws told me, to my surprise, that I would have to get married in 2-3
days, as I will not get anymore holidays. After the marriage, it was
time to return to USA, after giving some money to my parents and telling
the neighbors to look after them, we returned to USA.

My wife enjoyed this country for about two months and then she started
feeling lonely. The frequency of calling India increased to twice in a
week sometimes 3 times a week. Our savings started diminishing.
After two more
years we started to have kids. Two lovely kids, a boy and a girl, were
gifted to us by the almighty. Every time I spoke to my parents, they
asked me to come to India so that they can see their grand-children.

Every year I decide to go to India. But part work part monetary
conditions prevented it. Years went by and visiting India was a distant
dream. Then suddenly one day I got a message that my parents were
seriously sick. I tried but I couldn't get any holidays and thus could
not go to India. The next message I got was my parents had passed away
and as there was no one to do the last rights the society members had
done whatever they could. I was depressed. My parents had passed away
without seeing their grand children.

After couple more years passed away, much to my children's dislike and
my wife's joy we returned to India to settle down. I started to look for
a suitable property, but to my dismay my savings were short and the
property prices had gone up during all these years. I had to return to
the USA.

My wife refused to come back with me and my children refused to stay in
India. My 2 children and I returned to USA after promising my wife I
would be back for good after two years.

Time passed by, my daughter decided to get married to an American and y
son was happy living in USA. I decided that had enough and wound-up every
thing and returned to India. I had just enough money to buy a
decent 02 bedroom flat in a well-developed locality.

Now I am 60 years old and the only time I go out of the flat is for the
routine visit to the nearby temple. My faithful wife has also left me
and gone to the holy abode.

Sometimes I wondered was it worth all this? My father, even after
staying in India, had a house to his name and I too have the same
nothing more.

I lost my parents and children for just ONE EXTRA BEDROOM.

Looking out from the window I see a lot of children dancing.
This damned
cable TV has spoiled our new generation and these children are losing
their values and culture because of it. I get occasional cards from my
children asking I am alright. Well at least they remember me.

Now perhaps after I die it will be the neighbors again who will be
performing my last rights, God Bless them. But the question still
remains 'was all this worth it?'
I am still searching for an answer................!!!!

26th Jan Republic Day.

Actually the title of the blog has nothing to do with Republic Day...26th Jan is the important part of it. The reason why that title has been penned is just because i felt i should write something which i did on that day...finally after 48 full hrs here i am sitting down finally to punch some sense.

Early in morning there was patriotism in air as i attended the flag hoisting ceremony on our building terrace. There were speeches and performances by small kids less than half of my age. i was amazed at their brevity, i mean we at their age were literally kids....but these small advanced homo sapiens would be disgraced if we call them kids.

I came home and was happy to hear that their would be no load shedding today as this would be the govt's gift to us on republic day....good decision i thought...whoever might have thought, unknowingly i blessed him. Turned on my world space, took the book which was to be read. actually i should mention something about this book " Five Point Something" well its more about the life which an engg spends during his college days and by each and every page which i consumed reminded me of my college days....nostalgic haan....

It was afternoon...had my heavy lunch...was feeling sleepy...and there was this movie which i had to watch Rang De Basanti...so i thought i would slide in a cosy lil nap so that i am fresh in the evening....

My eyes wide opened...mom staring at me....."its 5 you dumbo" she said. and i was up on my feet...shit the its just 30 mins away from meeting my friends....then followed the RBM (rapid body movement) actually its a ritual which is followed every morning before i leave to my work place....but today is holiday...anyways i was already late. somehow i made it...probably i was fresh after that nap.

As i was walking with my friends to watch this latest Amir Khan flick...i just recollected the beautiful dream which came to me in the afternoon....suddenly there was this jerk....i cycle had just brushed me...i thought ...dreams are better remember on bed and not on roads...

Reached the theatre, met my friends, the movie started....we enjoyed...there was interval....we drank and ate....then tears rolled during some of the patriotic scenes...(of course i was not crying)...then the movie ended and it was a rocking experience....a good movie...worth the time spent.

Came home....only to know that there is this pathetic sabzi which mom had made....ate my chapatis with dal.....i thought i should have a look at the book "FPS"...as i was curious too know wat happens int he next chapter....though i finished the stuff i wanted to read...i was sure that i have to read it again the next day as i was almost on the brink of going asleep while reading.....i dont remember how did i reach my bed....but my mom says i walked on my own....boy oh boy was i inebriated....gosh this sleep has more power than "Chivas Regal".

26th jan ended.
Vande Mataram

Viki

WISHES>>>>>>

I would like to climb Mount Everest one day
I would like to land on Mars one day....and see my little blue planet from there
I would like to make a movie much more grand than LOTR
I would like to write a book which would sell more copies than all volumes of Harry Potter put together
I would like to be the president of a company one day
I would like to own a Island in the Hawaii
I would like to Fly
I would like to reach the deepest part of Ocean where no man has gone
I would like to swim with the dolphins
I would like to Eat all the delicasies available in the world
I would like to taste all the different types of alcohols in the world
I would like to Climb the tallest tree on this planet
I would like to like to kiss a girl on a lonely Island under the open sky at night
I would like to drive a bike at 350 Km/Hr
I would like to have alladins lamp

I would love if any one of the above wishes becomes a reality.....i have given GOD enough choices...now its his turn to choose .....

I think its our right to dream big....and each one of us should.....

Viki

Nostalgia & Pepsi Cola

Hmmm....Now if i say Pepsi cola it doesnt mean the PEPSI which we drink today. It was a flavoured & Coloured liquid frozen in a plastic tube which we used to suck til the end...only to get our tongues painted in vivid colours. The most famous brand(U see thats wat education teaches u....BRANDS) those days, when i was a young boy aged 10 was LABELLA. It was for sure a royal treat when we used to get one of those. Irrespective of what our parents said about the ill effects of having one.....infact we never used to believe them.
25 Paise.....thats wat it used to cost...a princely sum for we small kids at that time...Cleverly used to take 50 Piase from mom...use one half to buy a samll pepsi cola....then save the other half as a treasure.
Today pepsi cola has almost died out.....has become the symbol of unhygiene.....kids dont have it anymore.....Still remember those day when we used to walk back from school to home sucking a pepsi cola....one in each hand.....hmmmmm...thats Pepsi cola....i wonder how it got its name.
It could have been coca cola also.....i think Pepsi had the upper hand those days.........
adios
viks

Quarter Life Crisis

For those in their twenty-something's...

They call it the "Quarter-life Crisis."

It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that there are a lot of things about yourself that you didn't know and may or may not like.

You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two, but then get scared because you barely know where you are now.

You start realizing that people are selfish and that, maybe, those friends that you thought you were so close to aren't exactly the greatest people you have ever met and the people you have lost touch with are some of the most important ones.

What you do not realize is that they are realizing that too and are not really cold or catty or mean or unsincere, but that they are as confused as you.

You look at your job. It is not even close to what you thought you would be doing or maybe you are looking for one and realizing that you are going to have to start at the bottom and are scared.

You miss the comforts of college, of groups, of socializing with the same people on a constant basis. But then you realize that maybe they weren't so great after all.

You are beginning to understand yourself and what you want and do not want.

Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see whatothers are doing and find yourself judging a bit more than usual because suddenly you realize that you have certain boundaries in your life and add things to your list of what is acceptable and what is not.

You are insecure and then secure.

You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life.

You feel alone and scared and confused.

Suddenly change is the enemy and you try and cling on to the past with dear life but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further away and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward.

You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do such damage to you or you lay in bed and wonder why you can't meet anyone decent
enough to get to know better.

You love someone but maybe love someone else too and cannot figure out why you are doing this because you are not a bad person.

You go through the same emotions and questions over and over and talk with your friends about the same topics because you cannot seem to make a decision.

You worry about loans and money and the future and making a life for yourself and while winning the race would be great, right now you'd just like to be a contender!

What you may not realize is that everyone reading this relates to it.

We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure this whole thing out.
......ENDS

Me Myself and My Oneliners

Life has always been a maze for me....and so many time it happens that i do find myself in situation...which can be est expressed in some one liners....

some go like this....

I like to walk in the rains ...coz then nobody would get to know i am crying.......

When u think u know someone....then soething happens...and changes everything....

U think about a person.....like that person.....only to know.....that was a waste of time....

A likes B...... B likes C...... but B never likes A and C never likes B....teehee...thats logic.

ahh...enough of it.....anyways lifes always a maze....And wat i learnt about it is to keep ur calm...it will get sorted on its own......adios.
viks

Burnout revenge

Bought this new game for my PS2..man this ones cool...a good upgrade from it predecessor....loved it....good one.

After Long time

Well Well Well.....i hadnt blogged for so many days....just realized this.....no time now.....hehehe

59

wondering wats 59....thats our 59th independence days today....so celebrating 59 years of happy and independent india..
adios
viki

Maze.......

Its really getting tough now......i am not able to recognize wat i am upto.....where am i leading.....am i going forward or backward.....i have lost my senses to gravity of situations in my life.

These labyrinths in my life are getting deeper, tougher, harder to get out....its like getting stuck in something which you cant see, feel or think about it....hmmm ...maybe its just a phase.....god knows....rest later.....
adios viki

UB40 Reasons

Listening to reggae is like walking in heaven......

anyways...just got across this beautiful song by UB40...named aptly " Reasons".....try to get that song from some one ....the kyrics are also very cool....here it goes....

Reasons
by UB 40
album: Who You Fighting For? (2005),
Who You Fighting For? (2005)

Reasons why I love you - One,
You light my day, you are my sun
Reasons why I love you - Two,
I cannot get enough of you
Reasons why I love you - three,
I know that you'll be true to me
The reason I will stay with you,
I know you love me too

(CHORUS)
The reason I will stay with you
I know that you love me too!
Meno tere bina chain nah aveh
Oh soniyeh

Reasons why I love you - Four,
You keep me coming back for more
Reasons why I love you - Five,
You make my world come alive
Reasons why I love you - Six,
I'm addicted, you're my fix
The reason I will stay with you,
I know that you love me too

CHORUS

Reasons why I love you - Seven,
You are here and I'm in heaven
Reasons why I love you - Eight,
When it's good, you make it great
Reasons why I love you - Nine,
You turn my water into wine
The reason I will stay with you,
I know that you love me too

CHORUS



Happy listening.......
viks

effect of rains

I have been forced to stay at my friends place due to these rains....hmmm....PS@ time.....yipeeee
viks

Blog of Vivek Kiranji

hmmm.....

varsha ne kranti se dosti karli and shanti kahi nazar nahi aarahi hain...just penned down while chatting with my enemy..... :-)))

adios
viki

24 Hrs

Right now i am wondering how i should start this blog....so many things going in my mind. To start with i will just give the overview of wat had happened here in Mumbai.
Mumbai.....was struck by heavy showers on tuesday...so heavy heavy that it was a record breaking 94.4 cm rain.....never recorded before in indian history.....mumbai broke cherrapunji record of 83 cm. mumbai was bought to a complete standstill....no trains...no buses....no phone working....not even cell phones...no electricity...and to add that mumbai was flooded completely.....
as i stay in dombivli ...a distant suburb near mubai...and i work in andheri...reaching home was a big adventure....nothing short of a decathlon......after spending half of night in the office i decided to walk to my boss's House along with him as there was nothing in the office...no food no electricity....with a brave heart we...ventured into the torrential rains which was hitting he streets of mumbai.....as soon as i reached on the roads...i felt as if somebody is throwing buckets of water over my head.....its wrong to call it a shower......it was fun for some and worse for others ...but for me...this rain i would rate as at its worst best.....anyways after reaching my boss's place...prepared some food in the dark at about 2 in the night and then slept till the sun rose...it was still raining...i would say this was showers this time.....then just wondered wat i had seen while coming to this house from office...waist high waters ...cars floating all around...which were abandonded....long queues of buses standing with ppl sleeping in it....some the cars were right into the big gutter.....wat a loss that was....some how we had reached here wading through strong currents......
but this was not the end...the second innings was remaining.....10 o clock in the morning..i left that place so that i can reach dombivli....i was at marol.....then walked till saki vihar road....a 2 km walk....luuckily got a rick who took me to mulund...from there i some how got to Thane station.....then went to the station...only to know fron station master that there is no chance of trains starting till next morning.....but i was determined to reach home...i had two options walk from tahne to dombivli...thats another cool 25 km...or take a rick to kalyan....than walk for 10 km to reach home......i took the second option as it had less amount of walking....was a good as well bad decision......before reaching kalyan we came to a spot where the water was like 10 feet above the road level....trucks remained submerged......so i started walking backwards,....as i remembered i had seen some railway tracks some...few km back...so aftera walk of 45 min...i reached the tracks....om enquiry i found that these train tracks go to wards diva.....a city next to dombivli.....so i started my marathon walk....after walking for nearly 2hr i reached outskirts of dombivli......on my way over the tracks...i saw cows and Buffalo's floating and being swept away in water.........whole villages submergerd...thanks to the engg whoever had designed the track.....kept it elevated almost 5m above the land.....which really helped......reached home at about 6 in the evening.........its thursday....today...ppl have still not reached home as there is no road connecting dombivli and other part of the town..........theres lot more to write....but no time.....in my lifetime....this was the most adventurous 24 hrs of my life.....
viki

Nokia N series

Just checked the latest nokia N series....cool phones.

Nokia N series

Just checked the latest nokia N series....cool phones.

Memories from Down South.

Recently had been Banglore, the Garden city as they say. It was much cooler than Mumbai...and that was a relief.
It raines heavily the day we arrived, as if the city welcomed us, had to sleep with blankets in the month of may...the hottest month...wow that was an expirience.
Also had some close call with the city buses.....i could have easily succumbed to them...thanks to Honda activa....which i was fully utilizing to the max.
Will go again there on 14 of this month....