NOT SO THUNDERBOLT

For all phone aficionados, I'm not talking about the hTC 4G LTE phone. I'm talking about the 10Gbps copper version of the 20Gbps optical transport standard called LightPeak.

We went to buy a spanking new MacBook Pro the other day at the Apple Store. While I'm there - I must admit that God did not give me enough strength to resist buying the first gen iPAD. Not only that, God made us fight over the 1 iPAD we first bought, enough to make us buy another one. Now - each one of us has one. Oh well...

So, this MacBook Pro - amazing piece of technology, could do with a better keyboard - had the brand new Thunderbolt port. Remember this symbol?

Now - I started asking the Apple geeks at the store, if there are any accessories available. I knew the answer, but what surprised me was that the TB cable was not included in the box and you can't buy it anywhere. No Thunderbolt cable is available today. This was confusing to say the least.

The idea behind TB we were told was to be able to transfer atleast 2x faster than USB. However, it seemed more like a strategy to not put HDMI. The only thing you can do with the TB port today is to add a DisplayPort monitor to it. There were rumors after TB was released that the USB IF did not allow Apple to use the USB footprint, but IMO thats a bunch of bologna. Apple just wanted a better display port. If you can add USB 3.0 speeds, and release something before Intel supports it natively, why not work with some group of people inside Intel to create this science project. Kudos to the VP at Intel who negotiated to keep some of this credit - allowing Intel to brag about LightPeak in IDF 2009.

The TB architecture inside a MAC is like this:

For a 3D picture of the same:

It is actually quite nice. I personally am not a big fan of HDMI. DisplayPort - is a niche, but if you add it with fast transfer speeds, the resulting technology does have a potential to revolutionize. However, I'm not sure it is being promoted right. First, it comes at a time where a simple Thunderbolt search on the web will give you the hTC phone. Second, no-one can use it right now. Third - for system designers, it is not "open".. Intel still owns the rights to the Thunderbolt accessories. I've heard that this expires by this quarter - but who knows what happens next.

In the meantime, the USB 3.0 train has picked up speed. HP announced that they'll not put TB, Lenovo is backing USB 3.0 and Dell has USB 3.0 in their roadmap. The article that caught my eye recently talked about Thunderbolt being dead in the water. I am not this pessimistic, but it does not seem to me that Apple is doing anything differently from the Firewire days.. Still remember the first iPOD release video by Steve Jobs where he said - "And guess what, this iPOD comes with a FIREWIRE port". Sigh.

http://techgage.com/news/is_intels_thunderbolt_dead_in_the_water/

TRIVIA OF THE PAST WEEK

Just to keep the blog going..

- hTC pays MSOFT $5 for every Android phone shipped

- There are more people going to the Apple store these days than at a MLB game

- It takes $14.65 for every 100 miles driven on a gas powered car like the Altima, but only $2.80 on the fully electric Nissan Leaf

- The unemployment rate of people between 16 and 24 years here in the US is 18%

- 3 million died in the great famine of Bengal in 1943 - the ration was 400 calories worth rice, the same given to inmates at Buchenwald

- Zuckerberg kills the meat he eats, by himself

Why I will not buy the first gen iPAD

First of all - apologize for the hiatus. Have been meaning to write for quite some time, but never managed to. Hoping I can be a little more regular with these now.

Back to the subject of this post. I have read enough on the iPAD and have made up my mind now - I will not buy this particular Apple. Infact, I don't believe this first gen iPAD will sell more than a few million units which is definitely much less than what is needed to set this market ablaze.

Here are the things that irritate me:

1) No multi-tasking: Its a well known fact that the iPAD is nothing but a bigger iPod Touch. If Apple really wanted to create a market that fills the gap between a phone and a notebook, and wanted to replace the netbooks (coz "they dont' differntiate much") - this is certainly not something you compromise on

2) No Adobe Flash support: I was irriated to hell this weekend when I tried watching some of my favorite shows on my iPod Touch while running. Lack of Flash support was very frustrating. I understand that Steve Jobs feels that Adobe is lazy and not doing the right things, but what about the users? Shows that can't be watched online include Jobs' favorite Daily Show.

3) E-Book: I can understand how Kindle would be worried but not too much (hence the "we've sold millions in the press release" by Mr. Bozos or is it Bezos). Apparently the iPad screen is not too reader friendly in daylight. I still remember the culture shock when we saw hundreds of sun bathing students doing their studies on the USC lawns. Can't imagine them to be frustrated while trying to read from their iPads

4) Price: For all broke people like me, shelling out another $700 for the iPAD (thats the price of the one with AT&T connection folks - don't be fooled with the $500 price point) vs buying a Acer netbook for under $300 is a no brainer. Its the # 2 computer company in the world now!

So - there it goes. Its almost a rant. But this will be my final decision the iPAD. God - please give me strength to stand by my decision. :)

DIDGERIDOO !!

The last few weeks have been very hectic. I've been in 4 countries and 3 continents after returning from India. China, Korea and obviously the good ole US of A. The APAC trip was so hectic that Deepa and I have a running joke that home was a transit spot for me in December. More on this later.

Okay, enough of talking abt things that have no relevance to the wierd sounding title of this blog. So here it goes:
We definitely needed a vacation after a hectic year and I wanted to up the ante on adventurous spots to go to for the chuttis.

There comes the third continent and the 4th country - AUSTRALIA ! (More on AU too later)

One of the coolest things in Sydney that I came across was this long hollow wooden pipe calling itself a musical instrument. Its called Didgerridoo. Trust me folks, the sound is just awesome. High in bass, it looks and sounds way too cool. The sound instantly reminded me of the Jaane Kyon song of Dil Chahta Hai. And a couple of Google searches later it was confirmed - the starting bit of the song that kind of stays on for the entire song - that incidentally is picturized in Australia - is indeed Didgeridoo. We saw a very cool show of Didgeridoo that I promise to take some videos during our trip here.

The instrument is made out of Eucalyptus trees that are eaten up by termites from the core. Termites can't penetrate the outside of the tree. Custom is that the aboriginals look at the yellow leaves to locate and tap the hollow trunk of these trees to find out if termites have left the tree.Some finishing touches later, Didgeridoo is ready.

Originally called the Yediki, Charles Darwin first named this the Didgeridoo based on the sound he perceived it created !

Now back to DCH. I noticed a similar sound in the Tanhahee song (the heavy bass rhythm that plays throughout the song). There were only two songs picturized in AU in the movie, so chances are high that its Didgeridoo. Let me know if someone knows for sure what that bass sound in the Tanhahee song is.

Anyways, Didgeridoo (and Sydney in general and AU so far) are super cool!

Need to run for my flight....

Metros, mega cities and places to live

In the last 2 weeks I've been to Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai and Udupi. Though I didn't spend more than 5 days at any given place, each place left me with a unique feeling.

Ahmedabad has always been special for me. Having grown up here, I am familiar with every knook and cranny of the city. I am very disturbed by the degrading air quality of the city though. Every year I come here, the air quality seems worse. I landed during Diwali taking off from a clear ocean view of SFO to a sky so polluted that only the haze of the million lights in Ahmedabad were showing through.

Bengaluru was a little light due to the holiday season. But with one of the worst traffic congestions in the country, the former Bangalore will always remain a place where many young 20 something Indians start their career. Bangalore still hasn't lost its allergens and the cold and chilly nights. I know of very few people who don't suffer from allergy attacks here.

I'd been to Chennai a few years ago - during college days. The sight of public transport buses jam packed with people and about 8 odd passengers hanging by the door with one hand and one foot hanging out is still very common in the old city. Life size cut outs of Jayalalitha and Karunanidhi are still sprawling. I stayed at the Niketana Guest House - situated at the posh Boat Club Road. This "home away from home" guest house is worth staying for anyone fond of some luxury in a traditional setting. The roads in this area are full of early morning walkers. Overall Chennai was a city worth exploring more. Nov is the best month to go. Otherwise there are only 3 seasons in Chennai - hot, hotter, hottest. The original Saravana Bhawan food is spicier and has Paneer Pasand, Hariyali Kabab (with aloo), Papri Chat and even Dhoklas amongst other "North Indian" dishes in 4 pages of a 5 page menu!!

Mumbai stay was very limited in scope, but much has been written abt it already. The highest density of people you'd ever see per sq inch anywhere in the world, worst traffic in the country and fashionable people with loads of attitude sums up the city. The city has a unique character and remains one of my fav on the country.

I spent most of my time in the serene and peaceful Udupi. Starkly different from the Amdavad landing; while landing at Mangalore's Bajpe airport you can see the lush green ground from the sky so clear that one can start counting the leaves in the trees below. After a tumultous NH17 journey we arrive at Udupi - the Krishna Math town. The 5 + 2 days I spent here were truly relaxing. Starting with the happy bird chirps in the morning, palm trees in every backyard, a well in every household, kritters in the night and some of the yummiest and healthiest foods anywhere, Udupi is what living on this planet should be like. Spending a lifetime here only comes to a lucky few.

I wish some of our metros and mega cities cared a little about preserving the ecosystem. As cities around the world show that its possible to have millions of people living together and still maintain an air quality that's not laden with dust, roads that actually last all 4 seasons, and noise created only through the passing ambulances or fire brigades.

Living in India is fun, with the culture, people, colors, and plenty of life around - but we deserve a cleaner air and a little less chaos outside the 4 walls of home.

TWO OMs AND ONE SHANTI

Of the 90 odd channels broadcasted in a cable network in India about 50 of them are 24x7 news channels. On this day of Diwali 2007 – Nov 9^th, the top two news items being covered are Anil Kumble’s test captaincy and the release of two simultaneous Bollywood biggies – Om Shanti Om (OSO) and Saawariya. There is apparently nothing more important going on in the neighbourhood – maybe that’s good.

We just returned from being a part of one of this breaking news event. We watched the first day first show of Om Shanti Om at the Red Carpet in Ahmedabad. There are some movies that inspire me to write about them instantly, and I’m writing within the hour of returning. However this time, I left the theatre feeling something was amiss. And then Deepa described it perfectly; she likened watching OSO to chewing gum. “It feels good while you’re chewing, but once it’s out you feel like cleaning the after taste with a plain old glass of water”.

OSO is something like that. It’s a re-incarnation flick with the first half set in the 70s and feel-good rendition of the Bell Bottom days in Bollywood fashion. The first half is extremely hilarious with great sequences, one-liners, clichés and everything one loved in those old Hindi movies. Must watch sequences include SRK’s ‘South Ka Rising Star’, ‘Bhago’ sequence that is aired in the trailers and the visual effects in “Dhoom Tana” song. Big props to Sandeep Chowta for re-creating the 70s background sound during the sequences between SRK and Maaa (Kiron Kher).

In the second half, SRK returns to his own self, Deepika re-appears inviting the biggest cheers and whistles I’ve heard in a while, the ‘Deewangi’ song with 30 odd stars and then starts the revenge track. Both halves have enough funny moments, slapstick and quality humour, intense drama and lots of Ms Padukone. But, you’ll enjoy the movie while watching it, but many like me might return feeling that something was missing.

The problem lies in the parallel storylines. There are two tracks in the movie. Besides the re-incarnation track, there is Farah Khan’s tribute to Bollywood of the 70s and today. I feel that this movie-within-the-movie track is so dominating that the intensity of the re-incarnation is lost at times. The eerie sequences in the second half add to the intensity but again make you lose focus of the re-incarnation track. Plus, a lot of things have been shown in trailers, revealed in press and the Dastaan song of the movie already. This leaves very little surprise element in the movie except for the eerie track. They say don’t search for logic in this kinda movie and treat it as a Manmohan Desai film. However, some of the sequences don’t do justice even to the lack of logic. The ‘Jag Soona Soona’ track comes without the audience really feeling for the actor. The way Arjun Rampal / SRK sequence switches from song to final dialogues in the climax left me searching for a missing reel somewhere. SRK adds a lot of energy in the first half, and is par excellence. His energy is visible in every frame and that’s the reason he’s where he is today in Bollywood. The movie belongs to Deepika Padukone – who has a dream debut. Going by the whistles – she’s bound to have a long career in movies. Arjun Rampal is a good Pran. But, the movie left me asking for more. It’s worth watching for the fun but be prepared to look for a glass of water to freshen your taste buds after watching.

Nobel thought?

Last Friday the news shocked me. Al Gore, Mr. Global Warming himself, has won the 2007 nobel peace prize. A NY Times article wrote - The prize is a vindication for Mr. Gore, whose cautionary film about the consequences of climate change, “An Inconvenient Truth,” won the 2007 Academy Award for best documentary, even as conservatives in the United States denounced it as alarmist and exaggerated.

WHAT!???

Since when has the Nobel prize - remember Mother Teressa was one of the recepients of the peace prize - become a sympathy vote? !!

But this wasn't all. I also learned that day that Mahatma Gandhi has never been awarded a Nobel peace prize. To quote the Norwegian Nobel committee he could not be given the awar as he was "neither a real politician or a humanitarian relief worker".. Apparently, the Nobel committee saw the list and realized - "I think we are missing someone who really brought peace during tense times".. As the executive director of the Nobel Foundation in Sweden says "We missed a great laureate and thats Gandhi. It is a big regret". !!!

It gets better. Apparently Bapu was nominated 5 times (1937, 1938, 1939, 1947 and in 1948 - a few days before his death). In 1948, the Nobel Committee did not announce any winners because "ther was no suitable living candidate that year".. !!!!

And finally the clincher - in Feb 2007, when Al Gore's nomination was recommended, this is what one of the Norwegian lawmaker said - “A prerequisite for winning the Nobel Peace Prize is making a difference, and Al Gore has made a difference,” Conservative Member of Parliament Boerge Brende, a former minister of environment and then of trade, told The Associated Press. !!!!!!

Over the last few weeks, there has been a lot of coverage in the media about which Indian movie should make it to the Oscars. There was also a huge movement to make Taj Mahal as one of the "new" 7 wonders in the world. The entire country came to a standstill when 20-20 cricket winners returned, with 24/7 news channels airing this well, 24/7. I found this information on the 10th page in a small paragraph of the Indian Express. Is it that trivial??