Jun 18, 2011

The Apple Reign In Kuwait



There's a joke that's going round here in Kuwait ( Yep.. I'm in Middle East again for a 2 month consulting assignment ).. Whoever who sits with their heads up in a discussion room / gathering is a Nokia phone holder.. whoever who sits by looking down is an iPhone owner..because they will be fiddling around with the gadget in a perpetual manner :) .. I'm surprised at the level of popularity that this device has achieved over here.. iPhone & iPad are said to be perpetually running out of stock.. I checked couple of stores.. they keep only the latest version ( which is often exorbitantly priced ).. For eg: There is a huge price difference between iPad 2 with just wifi support & iPad 2 with wifi & 3G support.. And all the shops have only this wifi + 3G option available.. Smart sales strategy

Unlike the Western markets, the 'App-Culture' has not quite caught up here. But no matter, people keep playing on with this device for whatever reason.. And people like me who still sport a Nokia phone are like anachronisms in this part of world :)

Update:
Conversation overheard at an electronics shop
- A customer to a salesman ( pointing to an iPad ) - " I don't know how to use it..But I'll buy it if you teach me  to use it" (in broken English )
 Sigh!!! People have too much money here


Jun 3, 2011

Shouldn't Ramdev be Force-Fed ?



For a news-hungry media deprived of anything new in the post-IPL season, Baba Ramdev is set to give some good entertainment. All of us are fed up with corruption stories to varying extents. Whether it is the enormity of crores in the 2G scam or black money laundering, we have to agree with the fact that this needs to be curbed. However, Ramdev's demands are far fetched to be addressed even in a totalitarian regime, forget a liberal democracy like ours. These include pulling out 500/- & 1000/- notes, capital punishment for the corrupt & so on..

More than Ramdev's histrionics, the troublesome aspect is the authoritarian attitude creeping into ordinary people and the overdrive of emotions crowding any iota of logical thinking. The idea that an individual who has made his mark in Yoga can reform a parliamentary democracy with his absurd ideas is as preposterous as thinking Sachin Tendulkar can elevate Indian football to World Cup soccer level  because he's God of Cricket.

There is this term - 'Politiea' that was coined by Aristotle, Cicero & Plato in their works in different senses. Politiea is basically mixing up both Oligarchy & Democracy. i.e, restricting the right to vote to a set of people who would in the ideal sense, use their right to vote to elect the best possible rulers. Democracy / Universal franchise is derived out of that assuming that everyone would use their right to vote in the best possible way. A democracy in which people base their decisions on plain emotions or are swayed by unrealistic promises would lead to anarchy.. And if this Ramdev show is allowed to go on for a while, I fear that will happen in India..  To the best interest of the nation, I believe this guy should be force-fed and told to do what he knows best - Yoga

For a more insightful article on this, read http://www.indianexpress.com/news/playing-fast-and-loose/798740/