TJ's Kaleidoscope

BlackBerry Bold: The Bold That Isn't

First, I will state that I love my BlackBerry, in fact, I'm glued to it. It goes everywhere I go, I even go to bed with it. I started using my Titanium curve back in February, and it already feels like I've had it forever. Never mind it cost me couple of hundred to get one, not to mention the unlimited data plan, I'm spending significant amount of my limited monthly income to be always on, always connected.

Now, in my search for a truly smart phone, I will admit I was very very tempted by the Apple iPhone. From the hip factor to its amazingly intuitive interface, it is a great buy, but I found that the BlackBerry was better for the simple reason of a QWERTY keyboard, push email that is phenomenally fast and an OS that is by far the leader in mobile computing. Having said that, I was looking forward to the next generation BlackBerry, the one that would be the Apple killer, the one that would tell Apple, "Welcome Kiddo, Mobile computing doesn't come easy, let me show you how its done!". The new BlackBerry Bold I must say is very disappointing. Instead of breaking new ground in innovation and technology, instead of redefining the market segment it has come to dominate, it got stuck in the "me too" race. Let's see their feature highlights:

1. Bluetooth 2.0 Support: The Curve and the 8830 already had that.
2. Full-Function Browser: Nothing Opera Mini couldn't do.
3. GPS: The Peal, the 8830, the Curve all have that.
4. BlackBerry Maps: Free download of Google Maps has been available for months!
5. Multimedia: iTunes sync. This may be a good feature, but still too little too late.
6. Wi Fi Integration: No biggie, most email clients can be configured to do so.
7. Razor Sharp Display: So a brand new product launch for a new display? No touch screen?

All in all, the BlackBerry Bold isn't so bold at all. Let's hope the next generation comes by fast. For now I'll continue my love affair with the Curve Titanium.

Quote of the Day

I look at my BlackBerry to get a sense of my life.

                                                 --Quoted in Forbes

And How the Dots Connect

One of the more frequent commentators on my blog other than Dan (who by far has the most comments on my blog) is Kartik Agaram. Kartik and I go way back when we were nerdy geeks at our high-school: K.V. Picket. In addition to being army brats, we had quite a bit in common, from our affinity for gathering nerdy information to playing chess during breaks. Kartik was a bigger chess fan than I, for unlike me, he could play entire games by simply using chess notation. This skill came in very handy during class for while the teachers thought he was taking notes, he was in fact plotting out entire strategies.

We also were suckers for good prose, though I would suggest that he's better with the pen than me. One time both our contributions to the school journal got published the same month. My poem barely made it to the last page while his entire essay length piece was a featured article.

We went our ways  until I stumbled upon him finishing his PhD at University of Texas Austin. He has since gone on to reject a job offer from Google to co-found VentureHacks about the same time that I left a promising career at IBM to join Callfire. Looking forward back when we were fifteen, I would never have guessed that life would lead us to somewhat similar points in life fifteen years later. Yet here we are, in the land of opportunity, two geeky kids, with similar backgrounds, trying to make meaning in this world, in somewhat similar ways.

 Quote of the Day

As you journey through life take a minute every now and then to give a thought for the other fellow. He could be plotting something.

                                                                  --Hagar The Horrible

Apple Retail Experience

Even though I'm a Windows user and I've found my way to Mac stores a couple of times in the past years and what I've consistently noticed is that they have consciously worked to both simplify the buying and browsing process and yet keep the Apple brand hip, which as a seller of Callfire, I can tell you is not easy.

For example, I walked in knowing exactly what I wanted, so I went looking for the cash register only to realize there were none. Each Apple employee carries a wireless card reader, and my sales person just rang me up, gave me my product, and even offered to email my receipt. Which brings me to my second point--their people. The hip and cool apple image would not be complete without its employees. I am convinced that each and every Apple employee is in fact an Apple fan. My salesperson swore by her MacbookPro, and it showed (it could also be that I was enamored by her considerable personal charm, but I'd like to think I'm a logical person).

I have now three friends who own Macbooks and I have seen them rave more about their Macs than I have heard all my friends on Windows complain about theirs. I am convinced, my next laptop will be a Mac, unless of course Microsoft shapes up and gets rid of the OS known as Vista.

Quote of the Day

Everyone wants a MacBook Pro because they are so bitchin'.

                                                                   --Steve Jobs

Gauging Risk

A salient part of personal growth and living a life of 'ands' is risk taking. The only way to grow is to continue to push yourself physically, mentally, and emotionally. It is very tough, and it is risky. How much we grow is dependent on our individual appetite for risk. While every person has their own motivation and risk-o-meters, I've always looked at a major decision by saying to myself, "Many men, a lot greater than me have sacrificed a lot more for a lot less, what I'm doing can't be that risky". One of the reasons why I use that test is because I have lived all my life in the shadow of a man who risked his life, stared death at the face multiple times, all for the power of an idea and a $2000 life insurance policy. Anything I do with my still-young life, be it to try and make something of Callfire, or do a triathlon, is not going to match his experiences. This man--my father--by my age, had served in the highest and toughest battlefields, commanded 100s of men in the most trying of situations, and yet had found the time to be a up and coming career officer, start a family, despite living the nomadic life of an army man. Whenever I'm low on courage--and risk taking requires lots of it--all I have to do is think of the man sitting two doors down from my room still chugging away at his work late into the night, and yet finding time to passionately pursue music, and use that to kick my butt out of inertia. What's your method to gauge risk?

Quote of the Day

My heroes had the heart to lose their lives out on a limb
And all I remember is thinking, I want to be like them.

                                             --- Gnarls Barkley "Crazy"

Of Principles and Technology

I am a contributor to the ICS alumni blog, my latest post is about computing principles and their timelessness.

On a side note, the vista problems I was having (the random locking up) was it seems, a hardware problem, or should I say a user problem. Turns out, it was locking up because of heat from the processor. The heat of the processor was because the vents were blocked by dust from all the Southern California commuting. I blew air through them to clean it out, and so far the laptop hasn't gotten any hotter than warm, and my OS hasn't crashed yet. So that's my story so far, and I hope I can stick to it. As for all that angst against Vista, most of it is still justified ;-)

Vista Blues

Quote of the Day

A great car (Thinkpad) when matched with a stupido, idiotic, dodo-like, moronic, dumbkoff, bevkoof driver (Vista) will invariably crash.

                                                            --TJ Thinakaran

UCI Flashback

My friend Chad bugged me to publish a paper I wrote for my Biomorphic computing class from my Masters program at UCI. It was the first class I took that morphed the worlds of arts, computers, and engineering into one subject, and stretched my imagination to levels I had not experienced since my undergrad philosophy course.

While there classes in the Masters program I enjoyed, that one was a singularly amazing experience. It was taught by Bill Tomlinson, formerly of the MIT media lab. The whole class was filled with theory and programming challenges on replicating life-like behavior in software systems. One week we would learn flocking theory and how birds and fish seem to instinctually flock, and the next week we had to implement it in a virtual world. I'll put up the code for that later. It certainly wasn't the best implementation in the class, but from a personal perspective, still a hugely rewarding experience. For now, I'll just link to the a paper I wrote titled Perceptual Narrowing: Enhancing Realism in Autonomous Character Interactions. It is about the very human emotion of panic and chocking and outlines a way to implement it for the Virtual Raft Project.

I must point out that I was novice in the field of experts, so I approached this class a sprinter trying to better his personal best rather than get the gold medal. So Chad, I hope you enjoy reading the paper as much as I loved researching and writing it.

Ok, enough of reminiscing, back to my current pursuit.

 

Quote of the Day

I would like to thank flocks. herds. and schools for existing; nature is the ultimate source of inspiration for computer graphics and animation.

                                                           --Craig W. Reynolds

Shoutouts to Friends

Two of my buddies started blogs of their own. I would like to think that I was their inspiration, and would like them to emulate the tremendous success that I have had in the blogosphere.

The first one is Dinesh with his DET blog. Dinesh is what I call the Bill Clinton type, he's smart, intelligent, and you just know up to no good, and yet, you invite him for lunch. Dinesh also serves as the de facto CEO and Sales lead for CallFire, and is responsible for our sales, relationships with VCs and general business development.

The second friend is Vijesh. Vijesh and I go way back when we were teaching assistants for the introductory class in UC Irvine's school (then department) of ICS. Fast forward to seven years later, and here we are in the same fox hole, trying to make something of our lives by creating value in the VOIP phase. Vijesh is the CTO of Callfire. Vijesh's blog reflects his passion, he is a technologist at heart, loves being around people who know what they are doing and has little tolerance of BS or BSers. 

Let the popularity wars begin!

Quote of the Day

Popularity? It is glory's small change.

                                             --Victor Hugo

But Bard, what did you mean?

I've been lucky to have many mentors in my life who have shared with me their wisdom and insights. One such mentor, as a way to help me with my decision making, re-acquainted me with something William Shakespeare penned many years ago. It ends with the following:

This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.

Those were some great words written by the bard. Like many things simple, it is very tough to follow. What does it mean to be true to yourself? Is there a self? Can I really take decisions in a vacuum? When can I make the distinction between being slave to ego or committed to principle? How can I distinguish between being self-centered and serving others? Some questions, I think can only be answered by taking action. Hypothesizing scenarios only leads you into a tower so isolated that it locks you in a maze of indecision. So decide, to the best of your ability and intentions, and let the chips fall where they may.  I guess I know what I have to do. For the rest of you, I'll let the entire act from Hamlet be the quote of the day.

Quote of the Day:

And these few precepts in thy memory
Look thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue,
Nor any unproportion’d thought his act.
Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar;
The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel;
But do not dull thy palm with entertainment
Of each new-hatch’d, unfledg’d comrade. Beware
Of entrance to a quarrel; but, being in,
Bear’t that th’ opposed may beware of thee.
Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice;
Take each man’s censure, but reserve thy judgement.
Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,
But not express’d in fancy; rich, not gaudy;
For the apparel oft proclaims the man,
And they in France of the best rank and station
Are most select and generous, chief in that.
Neither a borrower, nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry,
This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.

                    --Shakespeare: Hamlet Act I, Scene iii, Polonius advice to Laertes

The Benefits of a Good Work Environment

A couple of updates on Lucky, the VoIP dog. He's progressing along just fine, in fact, he's getting quite an attitude! He keeps us at work focused and yet entertained.

 

 

Quote of the Day

Early to bed, early to rise Work like hell and advertise.

                                                   --Ted Turner

Update on the Google Reader Flap

Well, it turns out the flap was because of TypePad messing up its feeds. They have since fixed the issue and life is back to its happy self.

Many thanks to Kartik and Dan for offering their insights into this problem.

Quote of the Day:

A refund for defective software might be nice, except it would bankrupt the entire software industry in the first year.

                                                                        -- Andrew Tanenbaum

Help! Google Reader's Got My Feed Messed Up

Like many people, I use Google Reader to check all my feeds, and it does a pretty good job of it. But I got a shock, when I saw feeds tagged as coming from my blog but had nothing to do with me:

 

First I thought someone had broken into my account, but I saw that my web site was good, then I thought someone had hacked into my feed, but I added my feed to my Google homepage, and that too was fine:

 

To have a sanity check, I subscribed to my feed via Outlook 2007, and it too got the correct feed:

 

I cleared the cache of my browser, and yet the same feeds show up. I am at a loss, I'm going to start knocking some virtual doors, and let's see if something turns up.  For those of you who subscribe to my feed, rest assured, those posts are not mine, nor am I endorsing them in anyway.

Quote of the Day:

We are stuck with technology when what we really want is just stuff that works.

                                                               --Douglas Adams

To Break the Silence

Given that this day won't appear for another four years, I managed to overcome my perennial state of busy-ness and write on this blog. What I'm going to write about is a bit more serious.

I am lucky to have friends and acquaintances from every walk of life with different viewpoints. In fact I have friends at diametrically opposite viewpoints. Viewpoints so strong that they would find each other's beliefs incomprehensible. These are smart, rational people with sound intellect. Now how can they have these antagonistic views from what seems like a staid set of facts?

The answer lies I think in the diversity of this world we live in. With six billion people with at least as many viewpoints, I think it is easy for anybody to cherry pick specific facts to build a world view that is to their liking. I think this is the reason why we get stereotypes. For example, you could argue that the color blue is the secret to life, and I can bet you could find evidence that supports precisely that. The key is to respect the person, even if you don't particularly care for their views, and while being open to debate and exchange of ideas, let's not forget to be humane.

So friend, the next time you see me responding politely to your passionate tirade, or have a distant smile, its not because I'm paying attention, but probably because I'm picturing you debating with some other friend I know with views entirely opposite to yours.

 

Quote of the Day

Think wrongly, if you please, but in all cases think for yourself.

                                                                       --Doris Lessing

The Secret of Success

I've been quiet on this blog, mainly because I've been trying to make a lot of noise in the real world and find ways to be successful. However, I came across this TED talk by Ben Dunlap, that I think is worthy of sharing with everybody.

 

I'll let his closing remarks be the quote of the day:

 

The insatiable curiosity, that irrepressible desire to know, no matter what the subject no matter what the cost. Even at a time when the keepers of the doomsday clock are willing to be even money that the human race won't be around to imagine anything in the year 2100, a scant 93 years from now. Live each day as if your last, said Mahatma Gandhi, learn like you live for each other.

.....it is this inextinguishable undaunted appetite for learning an experience no matter how visible no matter how esoteric, no matter how seditious, it might seem.

Belated Merry Christmas

Just got back from Vegas, and have been balancing work and play so couldn't get around continue my "The Year That Was" series nor could I wish everyone reading this, a merry Christmas.

Below, our house Christmas Tree: