For all those who know me and my brother know us to be crazy about the Mac, Apple and all things Steve Jobs (this may well change after reading iCon sent to me by my brother). We had collectively corned, cajoled and pushed would be converts into buying macs at every opportunity that we got. We were so fervent that people often wondered if we were on the take from Apple. But I think we successfully shrugged off that accusation and settled with "just plain loons".
I had never spent more than $600 ever for a laptop. All of mine were stupid Toshibas and Compaqs and all based on that silly excuse for an operating system, Windows. So when I made the momentous decision to spend my hard-earned money on a dual core intel based MacBook Pro, I was extremely excited about it as you can well understand. But I had finally reached the saturation point after having wanted one so badly for so long. And the fact that I was going for the best of the best computers out there was even more thrilling.
But I don't think Steve and the rest of the gang at Apple knew about my love for the company. Because buying the computer was when I touched skin to skin with Apple. Before that it was just infatuation. They seemed to have built that computer to look good from afar but it was a whole another story when I started using it.
My first computer got so hot that I could make an omlette right on top. And no matter how I tried to convince myself, I couldn't convince myself that the all knowing Apple would design a computer with a hot plate built right in to keep your food warm. My first impression was "Hmm, novel idea but completely impractical..." So I called Apple Tech Support to inquire about the heat and whether it was normal. The first person to answer my call was completely evading the issue by saying "No it's within spec and it's really because the newer processors we are 'providing' you with are so fast and because of that they tend to get really hot. And therefore the bottom of the computer gets really hot." I have three problems with that statement - one, they're not doing me a favor by giving me a super fast computer. I paid for it. Two, it's not the freaking bottom of the computer I am talking about, its the damn keyboard! And three, I don't care to know why it's giving off so much heat. Knowing the reason will not let me fingers cool off magically.
So when I emphasized that it was not the bottom and that the temperature was really high, they put me to the second line of support - the super geniuses. This guy came on the phone and started off with a bunch of questions, some of which were really frightening and disturbing. Things like "Did you suffer any burns? Did anything around the area burn? Did you notice sparks coming out of the computer?" Jesus Christ! No, but are you telling me that there IS such a possibility? And then I saw the video of the iBook that caught fire! And it all made sense!
Apparently Apple has stopped making laptops! Did you know that? So I asked the tech person on the phone what those things they were advertising was and he informed me that it was a 'portable' computer. Hmmm. Does it sound like someone is trying to hide behind some legalese? I THINK so! And it's true, you can go to Apples website and see that there is no mention of a laptop anywhere on the site. And it's a mistake to even think of doing so as I have seen rumors about constant exposure to heat in the groin region causing men to become sterile!
So I take this computer back to the store where I bought it and quickly enough got an exchange. But she had also mysteriously never heard of anyone having any heat trouble with the Macbook Pro which was surprising to me because their own website has so many reports of it and across the web there are forums after forums with users complaining of heat coming from the computers. The users also had planned a massive coordinated attack on Apple's support department by making all the calls related to heating issues on June 20th. So how was it that this store manager had never heard about it? Hmmmm!
It was not long before I was back in the store asking for an exchange once again. This time it was the heat, the noise coming from the keyboard area, and the wireless connectivity dropping every now and then. Tech support wondered whether it was a loud noise or a soft noise and whether it was becoming louder when you turn up the brightness of the screen. And does it stop when you turn on 'PhotoBooth'? It's funny, it DOES stop when you turn on PhotoBooth or are using the built-in camera? Hmmm. Apparently they had logic board issues on all early edition Macbook Pro's until week 12 of production.
So I got my exchange and this time I got a computer produced in week 14. Same problem, so went back, got the exchange but was warned by the manager that I shouldn't come back for an exchange with the same problems. What did she want me to do cook up some new ones? Apparently she couldn't guarantee that the computer I had in my hand was not going to have the same issues but wanted to guarantee herself that I wasn't going to go back there with the same issue.
For those of you who have actually read all these lines above, you know what's going to happen next - yes, the computer had the same problems. So I called in this time frustrated that I was not getting a quality computer for the amount I paid and I refused to travel an hour each way to Delaware where I bought the computer. Why not some local Apple store you ask - well you see Apple's good with the creative stuff but when it comes to Accounting, they have no idea. They won't simply process a computer as a return/exchange, they will mark the original computer as a return, but will actually SELL the replacement computer. And you know when you sell something you are taxed for it right? But maybe it's that Apple's not being dumb about numbers but are actually being extra creative here and skimming something in such transactions. But who knows. Hmmm. My only problem with the whole thing is that it is being done at my cost.
Anyway, I mailed this one and they were good enough to send me back another computer by mail. This time they upgraded my memory too. But the whole thing took three days longer than was promised by the manager. However, I think the exchange wouldn't have happened if I was actually in the store. If that manager saw me there again, she probably would have chased me out the door.
Take a break here if you want to because we are at computer #4 and it's only the middle of the story!
Back from the break - so when this computer also caused problems, I decided that it was time to stop with the Macbook Pro's and switch to plastic non-conductive Macbooks. As I didn't really need the power being offered, I decided this would be a good decision. Also I hadn't seen any reports of these computers having problems. So I decided this was a good decision. But hey, what do I know right?
I have now been through three macbooks and am on the fourth. Two of them had high heat and a clicking sound coming because a fan motor was getting stuck or something, one started scratching the CD's I put in and the third had an even worse symptom - it started drawing colored vertical lines on the screen when I started the computer. Hey don't get me wrong, I appreciate art, and this one was apparently original too as no one had programed it to do that, but I need my computer to also fetch my email you know. So with a sigh I had to go back to the store to return it and get it exchanged.
I am now sitting here with my latest Macbook - portable computer #8. I am extremely frightened about what may cause this to break and have turned the AC on high just so as to keep it cool. But this computer also is causing enough heat on the left part of the keyboard to feel discomfort. But I have resigned to the fact that this will be the mac I keep. However I will never refer anyone ever to a mac again.
I know this blog is going to get lost and people will begin to think that I am but one single case as the rest are happy. But I'd like to mention that I have had the experience of 8 laptops, er, portables and have been a mac fan for the longest time and that I run a software company, and that I am providing an educated, unbiased, opinion. I have exprienced the tech support people, some were nice some ridiculed me and blamed me for making their computers hot. Some managers told me not to go back to the store, some looked at the number of times I had exchanged computers and looked at me with accusing eyes and treated me like I was there to thieve from them. I have seen the improper accounting practices in these stores. I have seen the buying experience in five stores total and I have THEN formed an opinion. I don't think it gets any more thorough than this. Don't buy a Mac portable. The desktops are fine and the OS is something so cool it blows Windows away.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Religious cries, name changes and the good old days
India is a land that has experienced invasions one after another. It has been one conqueror after another that has come to India in search of natural wealth, treasure and a place to live. This may not be news to any one of you, but I'd like to bring to view India's chronology. You may find this fascinating and surprising.
It began with the settling of the Indus Valley about 3000 B.C.E. This civilization flourished for about a 1000 years after which it was invaded by an Aryan race in approximately 2000 B.C.E. These civilizations moved further east and south towards the Ganges plains where these Indo-Aryan races met with the original inhabitants - the Dravidians and possibly another civilization called the Mundas. The birth of the Vedas, Upanishads and eventually Hinduism and the assimilation of the Dravidian culture into the Aryan culture took place there. It is possible that the cast system was also born during this time to segregate the Aryan race (brahmans) from the Dravidian (sudras) which as you all know took a life of its own later on. But back to the invasions thing. Alexander came to India around 327 B.C.E., then came the Kushans (1 C.E.), the Huns (5 C.E.), the Mughals (712 C.E.) and the Mongols (1221 C.E.). The Persian Zoroastrians, came to India around 10 C.E. fleeing religious persecution in Persia. And just so that they shouldn't miss the party which everyone was invited to, the Portugese, the French and the British came around the late 17th century. The rest of the story you guys all know.
So is it any wonder I ask, that today, when you look around you in India you find people who look so different from you? I have been to a club in San Francisco and hit on an East Asian looking girl only to learn that she spoke Kanada and is from Bangalore! I have seen women with blue eyes, green eyes and some have light brown eyes and not just the ones that wear contacts mind you. I have seen skin colors that are just white, pinkish white, light brown, dark brown and black. I have seen straight hair, curly hair and frizzy hair. Mind you that I have noticed all of these things just amongst my Indian friends, and not across different races! In fact, there are 4,635 anthropologically well defined populations in India, incuding Mongoloids, Australoids and Caucasians, of which 72 are from a primitive population.
So it's easy to see that all of these invasions have, over these great amounts of time, assimilated people and cultures into our own. Even our religions, Hinduism in particular is an example of this nature of our country. The religion has assimilated Gods of every kind so that everyone can identify themselves within it. Much like the Romans who invented equivalent Gods of their own so that the conquered Greek would adapt to it (for example, the Greek goddess of love Aphrodite, is the Roman Venus), Hinduism also had an assimilating mechanism that made all the Gods of all the sub-cultures that it came by, a part of the greater Hinduism and thus brought everyone under a unified religion. That's why you find white Gods with blue eyes like Indra, Vishnu and Brahma as well as dark Gods like Krishna, Shiva and Rama (no, they weren't "blue", that's just the PC way of saying they were dark) and you find an explanation for all their existences through a convenient mechanism called 'avataars'.
This has been happening over such a long time, that the definition of who "we" are today is a blurry one now. Many of the invaders didn't come to plunder and loot alone, they settled here and made this their home as well. They have built, contributed their knowledge, art, literature and language to the greater society, bred and included themselves in our gene pool. So when people in India make efforts to get rid of the "outsiders" I wonder who they are talking about. When they make efforts to remove all traces of external influence by changing the names of our cities to 'Mumbai', 'Chennai' and 'Bendakalooru', I wonder what they are talking about. When they say that they would like to break down the Babri Masjid and revert back to the 'original' state, I wonder how far back they want to go in time.
India today is an assimilated mixture of everything that has happened to it over the very long time it has taken. We are a people of multiple influences. And it has served us well. From the art and culture brought in by persians and mughals we have monuments today like the Taj Mahal. Through the religions they brought including Islam, Christianity as well as the indigenous religions like Buddhism and Jainism, the persecution of the untouchables, who converted at the drop of a hat, greatly reduced. Through the fact that we traded with them, we have the railroads that traverse India and also the mastery of the English language which we all know has had such a tremendous positive influence on our society today. Moreover, Bangalore, which was initially a British Cantonment, and India's hotspot for all things IT, completely owes it's birth to the British. And because of the genetic diversity available in one location, India is going to be the epicenter of clinical research for medical companies in the future. We owe all of the good fortune we enjoy today to the past that made us.
And we're never going to enjoy the fruit of our past if we keep bickering over whose land this belongs to and who we should get rid of from our land. The only logical point in time when we can draw the line and agree to as the starting point is the time of the birth of our nation, 1947. What happened before we should just consider it as our glorious past and not try to rectify it. We don't need to relive another Ram Janm Bhoomi/Babri Masjid issue ever again. It doesn't make sense.
It began with the settling of the Indus Valley about 3000 B.C.E. This civilization flourished for about a 1000 years after which it was invaded by an Aryan race in approximately 2000 B.C.E. These civilizations moved further east and south towards the Ganges plains where these Indo-Aryan races met with the original inhabitants - the Dravidians and possibly another civilization called the Mundas. The birth of the Vedas, Upanishads and eventually Hinduism and the assimilation of the Dravidian culture into the Aryan culture took place there. It is possible that the cast system was also born during this time to segregate the Aryan race (brahmans) from the Dravidian (sudras) which as you all know took a life of its own later on. But back to the invasions thing. Alexander came to India around 327 B.C.E., then came the Kushans (1 C.E.), the Huns (5 C.E.), the Mughals (712 C.E.) and the Mongols (1221 C.E.). The Persian Zoroastrians, came to India around 10 C.E. fleeing religious persecution in Persia. And just so that they shouldn't miss the party which everyone was invited to, the Portugese, the French and the British came around the late 17th century. The rest of the story you guys all know.
So is it any wonder I ask, that today, when you look around you in India you find people who look so different from you? I have been to a club in San Francisco and hit on an East Asian looking girl only to learn that she spoke Kanada and is from Bangalore! I have seen women with blue eyes, green eyes and some have light brown eyes and not just the ones that wear contacts mind you. I have seen skin colors that are just white, pinkish white, light brown, dark brown and black. I have seen straight hair, curly hair and frizzy hair. Mind you that I have noticed all of these things just amongst my Indian friends, and not across different races! In fact, there are 4,635 anthropologically well defined populations in India, incuding Mongoloids, Australoids and Caucasians, of which 72 are from a primitive population.
So it's easy to see that all of these invasions have, over these great amounts of time, assimilated people and cultures into our own. Even our religions, Hinduism in particular is an example of this nature of our country. The religion has assimilated Gods of every kind so that everyone can identify themselves within it. Much like the Romans who invented equivalent Gods of their own so that the conquered Greek would adapt to it (for example, the Greek goddess of love Aphrodite, is the Roman Venus), Hinduism also had an assimilating mechanism that made all the Gods of all the sub-cultures that it came by, a part of the greater Hinduism and thus brought everyone under a unified religion. That's why you find white Gods with blue eyes like Indra, Vishnu and Brahma as well as dark Gods like Krishna, Shiva and Rama (no, they weren't "blue", that's just the PC way of saying they were dark) and you find an explanation for all their existences through a convenient mechanism called 'avataars'.
This has been happening over such a long time, that the definition of who "we" are today is a blurry one now. Many of the invaders didn't come to plunder and loot alone, they settled here and made this their home as well. They have built, contributed their knowledge, art, literature and language to the greater society, bred and included themselves in our gene pool. So when people in India make efforts to get rid of the "outsiders" I wonder who they are talking about. When they make efforts to remove all traces of external influence by changing the names of our cities to 'Mumbai', 'Chennai' and 'Bendakalooru', I wonder what they are talking about. When they say that they would like to break down the Babri Masjid and revert back to the 'original' state, I wonder how far back they want to go in time.
India today is an assimilated mixture of everything that has happened to it over the very long time it has taken. We are a people of multiple influences. And it has served us well. From the art and culture brought in by persians and mughals we have monuments today like the Taj Mahal. Through the religions they brought including Islam, Christianity as well as the indigenous religions like Buddhism and Jainism, the persecution of the untouchables, who converted at the drop of a hat, greatly reduced. Through the fact that we traded with them, we have the railroads that traverse India and also the mastery of the English language which we all know has had such a tremendous positive influence on our society today. Moreover, Bangalore, which was initially a British Cantonment, and India's hotspot for all things IT, completely owes it's birth to the British. And because of the genetic diversity available in one location, India is going to be the epicenter of clinical research for medical companies in the future. We owe all of the good fortune we enjoy today to the past that made us.
And we're never going to enjoy the fruit of our past if we keep bickering over whose land this belongs to and who we should get rid of from our land. The only logical point in time when we can draw the line and agree to as the starting point is the time of the birth of our nation, 1947. What happened before we should just consider it as our glorious past and not try to rectify it. We don't need to relive another Ram Janm Bhoomi/Babri Masjid issue ever again. It doesn't make sense.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
The Bastard
Born of Mother Earth, the Bastard walked her surface trying to search for his father.
With no one to look to for support, and no one to answer his queries, the Bastard had become overly curious about his existence. He wanted to know who his father was. Who was it that had played the critical role in his birth? Whose sperm was it that had raped his mother’s womb and and burst forth an abortion such as him out onto her bosom? Who had committed the unforgivable sin and summoned his life into existence against his will, against every last ounce of effort in him?
Was he the blue heaven? Was he the green sea? Was he the red sun? Were they all involved in this criminal conspiracy? What were their reasons? Was he an accident? Was he the evidence of a crime? Or worse still, an experiment designed to appease their senses of curiosity?
“Let’s see what he does.”
“Let’s see how he walks around aimlessly.”
“Let’s see how he tears his eye out of his skull trying to find the answer to ‘Why’”
With no one to look to for support, and no one to answer his queries, the Bastard had become overly curious about his existence. He wanted to know who his father was. Who was it that had played the critical role in his birth? Whose sperm was it that had raped his mother’s womb and and burst forth an abortion such as him out onto her bosom? Who had committed the unforgivable sin and summoned his life into existence against his will, against every last ounce of effort in him?
Was he the blue heaven? Was he the green sea? Was he the red sun? Were they all involved in this criminal conspiracy? What were their reasons? Was he an accident? Was he the evidence of a crime? Or worse still, an experiment designed to appease their senses of curiosity?
“Let’s see what he does.”
“Let’s see how he walks around aimlessly.”
“Let’s see how he tears his eye out of his skull trying to find the answer to ‘Why’”
Monday, May 08, 2006
Golf Movie
This is another installment of movies that I will be producing in order to enhance my skills with video editing/direction/production. For those of you who saw the previous movies, you will see a definite improvement over the previous one, primarily in the editing - look at the flow between shots and the overall tempo of the movie. And to give credit where it's due, 2/3 of the used footage was shot by Gauri - look at the amazing action shot of the ball being struck. Let me know your thoughts on this movie, both the good parts and the parts where I can improve.
[Broadband] http://www.redd.in/sharan/GolfMovie%20CD.mov
[Narrowband] http://www.redd.in/sharan/GolfMovie.mov
As for upcoming features, I am presently working on a movie that I hope to shoot this weekend. That will be a bigger production effort than these "home movies". Look for it at your closest theater.... :)
Adios.
[Broadband] http://www.redd.in/sharan/GolfMovie%20CD.mov
[Narrowband] http://www.redd.in/sharan/GolfMovie.mov
As for upcoming features, I am presently working on a movie that I hope to shoot this weekend. That will be a bigger production effort than these "home movies". Look for it at your closest theater.... :)
Adios.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Credit and Maturity
I was talking to Sriram the other day over lunch about this concept and it occurred to me that the concept is valid and worth a mention here. Later on I was reading the book "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" and it added more support to my argument.
As it goes, one of the definitions that describe a 'mature' person is his or her ability to accept a greater delayed gratification over a lesser immediate gratification. In other words, immature people are far more inclined to making impulsive decisions than the mature. I feel that this concept is valid because it highlights the age-defying principles that say that you should work for your rewards and that's the only way you will appreciate it.
But in today's society, something quite contrary is taking place and taking place in a huge manner - the whole credit cards and credit in general. It's allowing people to act impulsively and thereby immaturely and get suckered into the "buy now, pay later" principle. It's inducing whole generations to behave more childishly. It's not surprising then that there are so many of us in the US and soon to be in India are drowing in debt caused by expenses incurred without careful thought and consideration and greatly aided by things like credit cards. What "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" was saying was also simple - spend what you can within the limit of your earnings, which to me is just plain common sense, but this thought seems radical to many today.
I think all of us should also take into consideration this fact and prevent ourselves from buying things excessively on credit. Things like iPods, computers, phones, etc. - the non-essentials are first rate candidates for not buying on credit. Regarding buying a house, a car, etc. I would suggest that you read the book first. I have it if anyone wants to borrow it.
Your thoughts?
As it goes, one of the definitions that describe a 'mature' person is his or her ability to accept a greater delayed gratification over a lesser immediate gratification. In other words, immature people are far more inclined to making impulsive decisions than the mature. I feel that this concept is valid because it highlights the age-defying principles that say that you should work for your rewards and that's the only way you will appreciate it.
But in today's society, something quite contrary is taking place and taking place in a huge manner - the whole credit cards and credit in general. It's allowing people to act impulsively and thereby immaturely and get suckered into the "buy now, pay later" principle. It's inducing whole generations to behave more childishly. It's not surprising then that there are so many of us in the US and soon to be in India are drowing in debt caused by expenses incurred without careful thought and consideration and greatly aided by things like credit cards. What "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" was saying was also simple - spend what you can within the limit of your earnings, which to me is just plain common sense, but this thought seems radical to many today.
I think all of us should also take into consideration this fact and prevent ourselves from buying things excessively on credit. Things like iPods, computers, phones, etc. - the non-essentials are first rate candidates for not buying on credit. Regarding buying a house, a car, etc. I would suggest that you read the book first. I have it if anyone wants to borrow it.
Your thoughts?
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