May 14th, 2007 | Uncategorized | 2 Comments
Warning: This article is a bit Not-Safe-For-Work! 
The sordid relationship between the internet and pornography is a storied one. It’s a kinship that inpires thoughts of locked doors and closed blinds, the secret fulfillment of shameful lusts. That, and it makes a hell of a lot of money. - Good Magazine
This weekend Techcrunch, a site that reports mostly about Startups with main emphasis to the ones in Silicon Valley, startled its reader with some raunchy statistics of the Internet Pornography Industry.
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Apr 28th, 2007 | Uncategorized | No Comments
I’m 99% sure that India do not have a single TV Channel that is HDTV enabled! To enjoy your HDTV, one have to realized the fact that it needs a HD Cable or Satellite feed. Even most DVDs are common DVDs and not HD enabled. So, if most of the common visual quality that we encounter here in India are non-High-Definition, why should you look out for one or why should Shops sell one? Here are some fact that one should keep in mind to help decide if they should go for a HDTV or not. Of course, if you are a serious console gamer (PS3, Xbox 360), go for it.
HDTV needs an HD feed
Just plugging your regular cable or satellite box (Dish TV) into your new HD set won’t get you a high-def picture. You’ll need to contact your cable or satellite provider and ask for an HD set-top box (satellite subscribers may also have to upgrade their dishes), and you may want to sign up for an HD subscription plan, as well which are costlier.
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Apr 27th, 2007 | Uncategorized | No Comments
In a rather smart agreement by India, the United States finally agreed to import our Alphanso and Kesar mangoes in lieu of their Harley Davidson bikes for India. To mark the agreement, the first shipment of 150 boxes of mangoes acquired clearance from the Indian customs yesterday and will be on its export-bound to the Big Apple. This is the first of such mango shipment in 18 years.
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Mar 5th, 2007 | Uncategorized | No Comments
The Indian embassy in the US Capital, Washington D.C. is planning to outsource processing of Visas to a US company. The whole move “is really a man bites dog kind of story”, “It’s a small irony in an otherwise serious situation.” Without disclosing much details including lay-offs and designation structures, the head of political affairs at the embassy in Washington said that the work will include “outsourcing visa collection and delivery.”
Outsourcing of technology help-desks, accounting work and even medical procedures played a significant role in the $11.7 billion US Trade deficit with Indian last year. The rush of business people to India is one reason the Indian government needs to overhaul its visa processing service. The number of US residents applying for visas to Indian tripled between 2000 and 2006 to about 150,000.
Here in Mumbai (INDIA), the Visa processing, delivery is done by Indians except for the final granting of the Visa where the interviewers are Americans.
Dec 25th, 2006 | Uncategorized | 4 Comments
Couple of days back, news was that Reliance Communications was interested in Hutch-Essar. Being a Gold Member of Hutch (erstwhile Orange in Mumbai) since 2000, I was not really happy to hear the news and wish that Reliance Communications do not take it up on their stride.
Now, the news is of Vodafone’s interest and their talks for acquiring Hutchison Telecom’s stake in Hutch-Essar which is a much better news than the Reliance-Hutch one. It is also a good news to know that initial talks with Vodafone and equity funds led by TPG have advanced, while the discussion with others are still preliminary in nature. The Indian media is also abuzz with reports and speculation that Hutchison Telecommunications International Limited (HTIL) has received 5 bids - from Reliance Communications, Vodafone, Malaysia’s Maxis, Egypt’s Orascom and even Essar that holds 33% stake in the venture. HTIL has mandated Goldman Sachs for the sale of its stake in the India venture, whose enterprise value is being estimated about $18 billion.
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Dec 20th, 2006 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment
Mr. Narayana Murthy, Chairman of Infosys Technologies Limited, is known not just for building the biggest IT empire in India but also for his simplicity. He founded Infosys in 1981 along with six other software professionals. He is incidentally, one of the top 50 Influential people of Asia according to an Asiaweek publication and also the new IT Advisor to the Thailand Prime Minister.
Below is an excerpt from an interesting speech he delivered during an employee session with another IT company in India.
I know people who work 12 hours a day, six days a week, or more. Some people do so because of a work emergency where the long hours are only temporary. Other people I know have put in these hours for years. I don’t know if they are working all these hours, but I do know they are in the office this long. Others put in long office hours because they are addicted to the workplace.
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Oct 31st, 2006 | Uncategorized | No Comments
I was reading Avoid These 10 Interview Bloopers and I really liked most of the points. The special points that I want to emphasize are –
- Do not talk too much
- Do not talk bad about anybody
- Make good enough eye contact
However, if you were to totally avoid this and Kiss Corporate Life Goodbye, then start your own business.
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