This post is actually an extension of my comments on Vinni Mirchandani's thought that i-Pad could become the next big thing in an enterprise - http://dealarchitect.typepad.com/deal_architect/2010/03/how-liberating-the-ipad-will-be.html
So here are my 2 cents ...
How many presentations do we make in a day - now I don't mean 'Presentations' as in how many times we present an idea or a thought to a group of people. I mean how many .ppt / .pptx documents do we churn out in a day? How many .doc do we fill and how many .xls do we save on our laptops? Don't really keep a count do we? And how many of them do we recycle and reuse and rework in to newer versions? Ohh come on - We just care about the environment and that's why we recycle and reuse - don't We?
Just give it a thought - Microsoft has sold over 70 million copies of Office till 2007 and thats on top of some 60 million copies of vista. And I am not even speaking of the countless computers running on pirated copies.
How much value do we really add by creating documents after documents which anyone seldom reads let alone uses?
That gets me back to the iPad blog by Vinnie. In part I agree that maybe ipad or any tablet PC or any other such contraption may help in expressing ourselves more creatively / easily. After all - all one does on it is 'touch'.
But (yes, yes there is always a but) - what if we go the other way. Pundits had envisaged a paperless office with the advent of email and omnipresence of computers in offices - but what happened. Printing went out of the roof thanks cheaper printing options at the touch of a button.
What if we end out 'touching' a bit too much. And the 'touchy' species we have become - may be its not such a good idea. What happened to the good ol' whiteboard and markers I say ??
PS - Microsoft should start charging people on a 'pay-per-use' model. Then only one of the two things would happen - Microsoft will become bigger and more profitable than ever before or we would stop this nonsense of churning out garbage and wasting our company's money and get to work!!!
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Saturday, April 3, 2010
The modern torture machines
So who in his sane mind goes about paying people to strap oneself to a seat, listen to instructions like 'Don't let go of the safety guards' followed by insanely loud and incoherent music and then get violently thrown around at breakneck speed for a minute until one feels that his life should end there and then. Well many people do - last estimates some 3 million idiots - yearly. And I was one of those 3 million idiots today when I thought I was brave enough to ride a roller coaster. The monster in question - The 'Giant Dipper' in Santa Cruz, Ca.
But wait, this was not the stupidest thing I did. When someone wants to subject himself to such torture the least he / she does is make sure he is getting into a relatively new, technologically advanced and hence safer contraption. But no, what's the fun in that. Lets get in to a relic built in 1924 by a nut job in a mere 47 days and $50,000. ONLY 47 days - my god !!! And the US National Park Service has recognized this roller coaster as a National Historic Landmark status in 1987. Its the 6Th oldest roller coaster in the US, for heavens sake!!! Why then, I ask, are people still allowed to ride it. Why not just stand by the serene sea-shore and watch this monster in this complete glory. Light it up in the evenings maybe, throw in a couple of empty carriages rolling up and down. But we humans, we are funny creatures. We like to torture and torment and inflict excruciating pain on ourselves from time to time by subjecting ourselves to such monstrosities.
So there I was, a ticket in my hand, my knees barely able to hold the weight of my body, sweat oozing out of every pore, as the sweet lady (I swear, I could see her devil's horns and a striking resemblance to Cruella DeVille in her smile) monitoring the console signalled me to take a seat in one of the pods.
And then it started, and so did my palpitation. It said 1.52 minutes of run-time; but it felt like hours to me. Up and down, round and round, left and right, it just would not stop. And just about when I thought it was all over, the 'Grand Finale', the last slump, the final act (how fitting eh??), my rear side lost contact with my pod and that was it - I gave up. I don't know if I was unconscious or I was just reaching the gates of heaven. I don't really remember the next 3 - 4 or may be 10 minutes; all I could think of was - why the hell did I think I could do this?
Wiki Answers Says - There is 1 in 300 million chance of dying in a roller coaster accident. You have better chance of dying from from crossing the street. You know what - I'll take my chances on a street, when I don't have to pay and walk into a death trap.
But wait, this was not the stupidest thing I did. When someone wants to subject himself to such torture the least he / she does is make sure he is getting into a relatively new, technologically advanced and hence safer contraption. But no, what's the fun in that. Lets get in to a relic built in 1924 by a nut job in a mere 47 days and $50,000. ONLY 47 days - my god !!! And the US National Park Service has recognized this roller coaster as a National Historic Landmark status in 1987. Its the 6Th oldest roller coaster in the US, for heavens sake!!! Why then, I ask, are people still allowed to ride it. Why not just stand by the serene sea-shore and watch this monster in this complete glory. Light it up in the evenings maybe, throw in a couple of empty carriages rolling up and down. But we humans, we are funny creatures. We like to torture and torment and inflict excruciating pain on ourselves from time to time by subjecting ourselves to such monstrosities.
So there I was, a ticket in my hand, my knees barely able to hold the weight of my body, sweat oozing out of every pore, as the sweet lady (I swear, I could see her devil's horns and a striking resemblance to Cruella DeVille in her smile) monitoring the console signalled me to take a seat in one of the pods.
And then it started, and so did my palpitation. It said 1.52 minutes of run-time; but it felt like hours to me. Up and down, round and round, left and right, it just would not stop. And just about when I thought it was all over, the 'Grand Finale', the last slump, the final act (how fitting eh??), my rear side lost contact with my pod and that was it - I gave up. I don't know if I was unconscious or I was just reaching the gates of heaven. I don't really remember the next 3 - 4 or may be 10 minutes; all I could think of was - why the hell did I think I could do this?
Wiki Answers Says - There is 1 in 300 million chance of dying in a roller coaster accident. You have better chance of dying from from crossing the street. You know what - I'll take my chances on a street, when I don't have to pay and walk into a death trap.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Cha-Cha-Cha'ing in San Francisco
The forecast said dull, moist, cloudy and rainy - and rainy it was. But free spirits that we were, a 'forecast' would not deter us. The plan was a drive 
through Half moon bay and have lunch at Cha Cha Cha on Haight Street in San Francisco. But as we got stuck on the north-bound freeway 101 we started having second thoughts. Until finally, we saw a sign on the road-side 'fresh strawberries and artichokes'. And fresh they were. The juiciest, sweetest strawberries freshly picked from the farms nearby were just perfect as the rains drizzled down on the country side roads.
And as we reached Cha Cha Cha on Haight street the heavens had opened up and it was raining quite briskly. As luck would have it, we got free parking - It was a good day.
The ambience was pretty rustic with tables arranged amongst large pots with tropical plants. But then just about the time when one may be tempted to write this off, the Sangria started flowing; and the table was filled with tapas plates - sauteed mushrooms with garlic, sherry and olive oil, fresh potatoes with chipotle sauce and Jamaican jerk chicken.
through Half moon bay and have lunch at Cha Cha Cha on Haight Street in San Francisco. But as we got stuck on the north-bound freeway 101 we started having second thoughts. Until finally, we saw a sign on the road-side 'fresh strawberries and artichokes'. And fresh they were. The juiciest, sweetest strawberries freshly picked from the farms nearby were just perfect as the rains drizzled down on the country side roads. 
And as we reached Cha Cha Cha on Haight street the heavens had opened up and it was raining quite briskly. As luck would have it, we got free parking - It was a good day. The ambience was pretty rustic with tables arranged amongst large pots with tropical plants. But then just about the time when one may be tempted to write this off, the Sangria started flowing; and the table was filled with tapas plates - sauteed mushrooms with garlic, sherry and olive oil, fresh potatoes with chipotle sauce and Jamaican jerk chicken.
And we understood what the big deal about this place was. The food was awesome, the service was courteous and most of all the Sangria was great. The day was made. The Cha Cha Cha had us dancing to its tunes from the first sip.
All in all - had a great 'rainy' day in San Francisco.
All in all - had a great 'rainy' day in San Francisco.
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