3G

These days we are all inundated with 2G scams and 3G ads. Ironic that the scam was in a technology that’s already outdated. And in spite of the ads, or maybe because of the ads, most people are confused. What exactly is 3G ? And what does it do that my current plan and phone don’t.

In this blog I’ll try and simplify 3G. Basically 3G stands for 3rd generation. The first generation of mobile technology was analog. The 2nd was digital. And 3G is enhanced digital. Simply put it’s a much, much faster version of 2G.

This short video gives a pretty good idea of 3G.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Em0bvWHyaYw

So what can 3G do that my current mobile phone or technology cannot. The simple answer is “Nothing”. However, 3G makes it practical and realistic to attempt to do stuff you can’t currently. Think of your current phone as similar to the internet dial up connection you had a few years ago. And 3G as your current broadband connection. And what 3G can do well is exactly what your broadband connection can do well.

The most important applications of 3G are those that require large download and hence high speeds. 4 of the commonest applications that 3G is likely to be used for  are
a.    Video Telephony
b.    Web Surfing (including social networking)
c.    Video Playback (Downloads as well as streaming)
d.    IP TV (TV on the phone)

 

And so the question that begs to be asked is. Do I need 3G ? And the simple answer is that, if you had to ask this question, chances are you don’t need it. Whilst 3G is likely to be the default standard in a couple of years, if not even earlier, its currently expensive. Both the 3G compatible cell phones as well as the services. As an example, 2G service that costs Rs. 99 per month, costs around Rs. 999 on 3G. Of course you get more data, et al, but I guess you could wait till you get home or reach office and download it using your broadband connection.

I do believe that the 3G technology will play a large role in our lives after a couple of years, it needs to get a lot cheaper before that happens. And I’m willing to bet that’s likely to happen in 2012, when 4G technology which has already been released will start making waves.

Web Access Annual Day, Oops Week !

Last night was the Web Access Annual Day Celebration. It was the culmination of 1 week of plain, unadulterated fun, by the WA Team for the WA Team. The celebrations started on Monday, itself. There were several competitions.

Some traditional. Many not so traditional. So the events started with the  company being divided into 4 teams. The points gained by each team would be added together to come up with a final winning team.

Some of the traditional competitions were Carom, Table-tennis, Sudoku. The not so traditional included Team Theme, where each team members had to dress up in a theme. The judges made the event even more exciting by asking the teams to spontaneously perform .

Twins, an event where people had to come dressed similarly. Some of them were so good that I mistook one for the other, and wondered how someone who was quite tall in the morning became short in the afternoon.

Mis-match where people dressed up as badly as they could. And most who are normally well dressed showed us just how creatively badly dressed they could be. It might be appropriate to mention that I managed to become the WA Table Tennis champ. Thanks to Deepak who beat me every year, but was away in the US and luckily (for me) came in the next day.

There were the usual suspect competitions, such as Poetry Writing, Story Writing and Painting. I was amazed at the amount of talent unearthed and was left wondering what these artists were doing at WA.
The eve of the Annual Day has a Krazy Awards. Unfortunately I missed it, but I was given to understand that they were hilarious and brilliant. And no one was spared. Especially not me. On second thoughts maybe it was good I missed them.

The Annual Day was held at a scenic open air garden restaurant in Thane. The ambience was good, and the atmosphere electric. There were several performances put up by various groups. Considering the limited time that was available for practice, most performances were awesome.

The dance by the girls group of Anum, Ashwini  P, Ashwini R, Meenakshi, & Priyanka, deserves a special mention. It was Bollywood quality.

The highlight of the event was the awards ceremony. Hosted by Priyanka and the amazingly talented Deepak. His deadpan faced humor is subtle, classy and funny. I’d pay to see Deepak perform. The surprise was when the Debutante of the Year, the most awaited award was announced. And it was surprising to see that not 1, not 2, but 3 people won it. Pravin, Anum, and Jignesh.

And this in itself tells a story. A story of the number of talented people, I have the privilege of calling “Colleagues”.

The man who awakened the Nation

As a country most Indians have accepted the notion that corruption is a fact of life. And nothing can be done. Most indulge in it, in most cases to gain some advantage or benefit, and then blame it on the system. So when a old, frail man said he’s going to go on a hunger strike to get the government to take some action to reduce corruption, everyone, especially those in power gave it exactly 1 day before a sweet deal was made and we continued the way we did. And pretended that nothing had happened. And that’s when a strange unexplainable wave took over the country.

A wave of disgust at the state of affairs. And support for the 1 man army of Anna Hazare. Thousands of Indians spontaneously landed up at the venue of the hunger strike. Rallies that were filled with supporters of the movement were held all over the country. The social media was abuzz and inundated with support for the cause. Facebook conversations revolved around Anna and it became the no. 1 tweeted about subject.

The wave of support was reaching an intensity rarely seen before. And the Government started worrying. The spokespersons who were arrogant and blunt and trashing the fast suddenly disappeared. And the moderates started showing up at television studios for debates and interviews. And the tone took a U turn. The cause was just. Everyone, especially the government wanted exactly what Anna Hazare had wanted. And if he would break his fast, they could discuss and come to a mutual understanding.

But Anna Hazare happened to be not only a person who knew what he wanted, but knew the dangers of ambiguous assurances and empty promises. He had his list of demands. And nothing less would do. 4 days later, finally the Government caved in. And what was supposedly impossible because of legal complications happened overnight.

Today’s Newspapers ran this article
“Gandhian Anna Hazare on Saturday (April 9) called off his hunger strike bringing to an end his 98-hour protest after government issued a gazette notification constituting a 10-member Joint Committee of ministers and civil society activists, including him, to draft an effective Lok Pal Bill. Curtains were drawn on the anti-corruption campaign that drew instant nationwide support with a little girl giving the 73-year-old activist a glass of water at 10.45 am at Jantar Mantar, the nerve-centre of the agitation for a strong legislation to combat political and administrative graft. Earlier, Hazare offered water to some women, among the over 300 activists who had joined the fast. Social activists Swami Agnivesh, Medha Patkar and Kiran Bedi hailed Hazare's campaign as the Gandhian said he would to continue the fight for the "second struggle for independence".

Thus proving once again that in the land of Mahatma Gandhi, Gandhigiri’s principle of Satyagraha or non violent protest still works.

India – The World Champions ! Finally !!!

Late last night, India was crowned the champions of the most prestigious cricket tournament, the World Cup. Considering that this victory had come after 28 long years after our 1 and only cricket world cup, won by the legendary Kapil Dev’s Dare Devils.

That time around, we won when no one expected us to. This time around we were highly rated. Had a good world class team. And were favorites. We played well and deservedly won.

Several articles have been written about the great win and the greater celebrations. So I’ll pass. What I’d like to write about is the after effects, what happened on Day 1. And does any of it make sense. First up at the awards ceremony, an announcement was made. The BCCI awarded each of the players Rs. 10 million, and the coach Rs. 5 million.

So what’s wrong. 2 things. It seems cheap that the announcement should be made in public immediately after the win. Sort of sounds like the Big, Rich Uncle doling out sweets to kids for being well behaved. And then a distinction. You want to reward the coach. Be nice enough to make it similar to that of the team members. Not half. And whilst the act itself is fine, it could and should have been handled in a manner to make it nice for everybody.

And then all the state governments and cricket boards went into overdrive. To reward players. Those from their State, those who were popular. They were given cash prizes, most of the time Rs. 10 million each. Houses. Plots of land. And so on. They gave away or at least promised to give away a cumulative amount far in excess of Rs. 1000 million. And most of these States, Boards, … claim they have no money.

Interestingly the Indian Government Cabinet who seldom gets time to meet or discuss issues of national importance, took a strange decision at a meeting held a couple of weeks before the World Cup Final. To exempt the ICC from paying tax on the “Profits” generated by the World Cup. And the fact that Mr. Sharad Pawar is part of the Cabinet, also happens to be ICC President is pure coincidence.

As a nation, we tend to forget the basics. A victory is good. And needs to be celebrated. But giving away money to the cricketers who in any case earn 100’s of crores, just does not make any sense. Its not as if it makes a significant difference to any of them. But that money, used wisely could make a significant difference to not 1, or 10 or 100 or 1000 but tens of thousands of not financially sound Indians.

The Indian Cricket team has shown that sports wise they have what it takes. Maybe they can now show us that they are just as awesome human beings. And start by giving the public money that was doled out to them for charities that could use them to change many, many, many, many lives.