Category Archives: General

HindustanTimes: All fun and no sex for Indian cyber addicts?

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Published on 25th September, 2009, HindustanTimes Homepage

My story on HindustanTimes Home Page

My story on HindustanTimes Home Page

Orkut Zeitgeist tells us what Indians are doing online. And the word is that Indians are having fun. While sex rules a substantial portion of web traffic, surprisingly social networking in India seems to be on a higher energy level and carnal desires figure no where.

Lies, damned lies and statistics. That’s how I have usually treated statistics. Before you jump I do have valid reasons. A sample size of or 2000 or 4000 or even 200000 can in no way predict or tell what over 40 million people are doing. It is almost impossible to predict trends when the market is so large. And lastly I am a firm believer that just because somebody says something it means nothing. If it did we would still have 484 kb memory laptops (Bill Gates famous quote “484 kb memory should be enough”), Fax machines would have 10 world wide users and Computers still processing in acre big institutional lands.

Having said that recently I came across an interesting research that truly did seem interesting. Social networking is in and that’s where the majority of web users are these days. Social networking is also the single largest generators of Indian web traffic are the best place to check out what India’s youth are up to online. I always wondered what are Indians doing on social networking sites? While sex rules the search market and a substantial portion of web traffic, surprisingly social networking in India seems to be on a higher energy level and carnal desires figure no where.

The study I am referring to is Orkut Zeitgeist, which was released by Google recently. The credibility of the study is relevant because Orkut is India’s no. 1 web property with over 19 million active users (users who login at least once a month). This is 48% of India’s online population. Now 48% certainly is some sample size and certainly the biggest to study and research trends.

The Pulse of Indians

Consider the case of the Top National Communities on Orkut. The features communities like ‘Stylish people’, ‘India’, ‘Chocolate’, ‘MTV’, ‘Tom and Jerry’ and even communities like “I hate to wake up early!” Sex directly or indirectly doesn’t figure anywhere in the top communities.

Regionally while Delhi is not only the Style capital of India it also turned out to the sweet center with its Chocolate community.

The study goes to the microscopic level of “Geri route” in Chandigarh. Now anyone who has been to Chandigarh knows about the “geri” and something as regional and microscopic as this finds a mention in this study of 48% of Indians online. This is perhaps one of the reasons it is definitely one of the best studies ever done on online Indians.

Accessibility

Most marketers have been very keen to know how are Indians accessing the internet. Well according to the study Orkut (read 48% of India’s online population) is accessed from everywhere: more and more users logging from their mobiles.

Corporate Indians gets hooked to Social Networking

Sony Ericsson, MTV, TCS, Bollywood all seemed to be hooked to social networking. Take the case of MTV Roadies. The application allows the users of Orkut to play an online version of the game and at the end any one person is chosen the winner who then gets a direct entry to the auditions round of the next MTV Roadies. With over 3 lac users registered to the Battleground 2, it surely is a big hit.

Or take the case of Cadburys. Cadburys now synonymous with festivals like Rakhi, Eid and Diwali is seen as the best gift amongst youngsters. With this application, in a very subtle way Cadburys has further rubbed in that a gift pack of chocolates from Cadburys is indeed the top in anyone’s wish list. This application on Orkut invites users to create their own wish list, share it with friends ask their friends to create their wish list and then mutually try and fulfill any one of these.

The Last Word

Orkut Zeitgeist is probably the best study available on what Indians are doing online. 48% on India’s online population are active users on Orkut and that’s probably the closest one can get to reality. Indians are having fun. Social networking in India is about forging bonds, about self expression and coming together on causes and topics that bind people together.

(Puneet Mehrotra writes on technology www.thebusinessedition.com
You can write to him at puneet@tbe.in)

HindustanTimes: Cloud Computing Politics

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Published in HindustanTimes on March 30th 2009


The Standard Excuse

As competition between technology companies gets heated organizations like IBM, Microsoft, Google, Sun and many more leave no stone unturned in their quest to dominate the market. In a free market everything seems fine as long as your customers are happy with the value you are delivering. Yet in this mayhem of corporate battleground there is something called a “standard” and it seems to be the latest missile tech giants are using against each other.

Tech Companies and the standards’ politics

Wikipedia defines a technical standard as an established norm or requirement. It is usually a formal document that establishes uniform engineering or technical criteria, methods, processes and practices. For example when you buy an ISI product you can be sure of the quality or an ISO standard means a certain set criteria are being observed in manufacturing. Similarly the tech industry has its own standards. Call it the maturity of the technology industry that it has reached a stage when companies are pushing for Open Standards where formats are available and developers can add applications or maybe even modify and do many other innovations.

Microsoft versus IBM, Sun and others

In the last few years it is the politics of standards that is being witnessed. Top tech giants fighting it out. Two years ago I covered the much heated OXML standards debate when Microsoft was pushing its docx against stiff competition from IBM, Sun, Google and many more. From Governments to standard bodies to ISO and many other international bodies everyone got embroiled in one of the most heated standards debate. Ofcourse Microsoft had the last word and oxml is indeed a standard now. Now it’s the turn of cloud computing and the players are IBM, Microsoft, Google, Amazon and more.

Cloud Computing and its importance

Cloud computing, said to be the next big thing in the tech industry is the latest target of bad politics. Let’s understand what really makes it so big. Cloud computing means services and software can be accessed over a network. So while the “real” software resides on a cloud, you are able to access it on your computer and work on it as if it was on your computer.

In the last couple of years cloud computing has turned into a huge money runner. Take the case of ERP. Earlier if an organization wanted an ERP solution the starting cost was Rs.10 lac upwards. Now you can get an ERP solution for as less as Rs.3,000 and that too from the biggest tech giants like Oracle, Microsoft, Sap and more. Oracle calls it On Demand, Microsoft calls it software plus services. Companies like Salesforce have had this software as a service model from their start. Most of Google’s ammunition is fired around this model and noteworthy is within 9 years of its start this startup has become the biggest competitor for the world’s biggest technology company Microsoft.

The point is cloud computing is the future, cloud computing is where a lot of future tech developments depend. Imagine if tomorrow we actually have a cloud computing based model for an operating system! If that sounds laughable do watch out for this space in the coming weeks with some really great information around this.

The Politics of Cloud Computing

This time it was IBM which supposedly led a coalition of trying to push something called a “Open Cloud Manifesto.” Microsoft’s Steve Martin supposedly “prematurely revealed” this manifesto and the coalition it termed as “shadowy group of IT industry companies.” Amazon too joined forces and rejected it. Amazon rejection is understandable considering Amazon’s EC2 and S3 APIs are almost like defacto standards. Google and Salesforce, perhaps the biggest players in cloud computing also joined Microsoft and Amazon.

The Cloud Computing Manifesto contains a “public declaration of principles and intentions” for cloud computing providers and vendors, annotated as “a call to action for the worldwide cloud community” and “dedicated belief that the cloud should be open”. It follows the earlier development of the Cloud Computing Bill of Rights which addresses similar issues from the users’ point of view.

The Last Word

Rising above the politics its absolutely great news that the industry finally agrees on “open” standards. Microsoft which for long was a packaged software company has transformed itself well for the next technology wave. Microsoft opening its .doc standards was a step in the positive direction and perhaps so was the OXML standard. The current “manifestogate” controversy will soon subside. Sooner of later the industry will have to agree on a set of standards for something that can redefine the biggest tech wave of this decade. It’s great to see Google and Microsoft on the same side.

Puneet Mehrotra writes on business and technology for HindustanTimes email: puneet@tbe.in

HindustanTimes: The MS Office Power

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The MS Office Power- Hindustan Times - www_hindustantimes_com_News_business_The-MS-Office-Power_Article1-416963_aspxPublished in HindustanTimes.com on June 01, 2009

Almost 90% computers in the world have an MS Office yet how many of us have realized the possibility of creating a multi million dollar empire from a mundane Word or Excel or PowerPoint. We use these applications daily on an open it, use it, shut it basis. Has it ever occurred these very applications could also the stepping stone to one’s financial independence and maybe even a foundation of a huge business?

The Excel Magic

What happens when there is a passionate relationship between man and software? Microsoft Excel is that mundane application we use daily to work on our work sheets. Have you ever thought of it as a revenue generator? Have it ever thought it could be “your friend”? Well here is a gentleman who made Excel his “best friend” and guess what Excel has too fallen in love with him and is showing this man features most us don’t even know.

Ashish Mathur (www.ashishmathur.com) made friends with Microsoft Excel in his trainee days at KPMG and the relationship grew at MDI, Gurgaon. At a conversation a while back Ashish spoke about his “special relationship” with Excel. His business model is imparting Excel gyan to organizations. The value he offers is sharing Excel solutions which are simply not available elsewhere. For an organization it means better efficiency, time saving and huge cost savings where vendors push database solutions which are not even required. Incidentally Ashish is not a software developer but a layman like any of us. With an approximate rate of around Rs.30,000 for a single workshop, it could well be estimated his revenues could easily touch a few crores in the next few years. All this from an application we all use yet none of us ever imagined it could actually be a revenue generator.

Powerpoint Power

A good presentation can make or break a deal we all know and everybody wants the best presentation. This drive to give the best has resulted in almost what can be termed as a ‘Powerpoint Economy’. If that sounds exaggerated try a search for Powerpoint Templates on Google and you get a whopping 1,010,000 results. While free templates do abound but the serious ones buy paid templates and thus an entire eco system of Powerpoint designers, content writers, 3D graphics experts has resulted in an economy of its own. You can order ready made templates of get yours custom made. Websites like www.presentationload.com and www.dreamtemplate.com offer a Powerpoint template subscription starting from a little as Rs.1500. www.presentationpro.com says it allows users to create “killer presentations” and you can even order a DVD of templates, 3D graphics and icons for around Rs.5000. If that sounds high here are yet more options like www.Ppted.com which offers templates for as less as Rs.1000. Started by Geetesh Bajaj in Hyderabad he also built an entire community of Powerpoint information sharing on indezine.com

Then there is more on the Powerpoint consulting front. For instance take Ellen Finkelstein Powerpoint workshop. An intensive 3 day workshop, the cost a whopping $395. Definitely for the serious ones, here she teaches about creating “outstanding presentation” along with design principles and tips on avoiding the “Death by PowerPoint” syndrome etc

Word’s Worth

In our generation probably the definition of literacy could easily be whether you can use Word or you can’t. Time, freebies, age, nothing seems to be able to dislodge the good ol’ Word as world’s most popular word processing software. Even in the times when Bill Gates was the most hated man probably Word was used to even write that content. It just keeps getting younger with a new version with each passing. The result an entire eco system is built around Word.

Word is template based, which means substantial time can be saved if the formatting is left to the template and users concentrate on content. According to Manish Sharma of Printo.in “Using Word for layouts of documents can save you from DTP charges of Rs.200 per hour.” Printo is a printing company which allows you to print just about anything from a calendar to a book or just about anything that can be typed. Simply type and go to their Kiosks and you will get it in print. Their relationship with Word is one by default. Says Manish “We have set up Service Terminals for SMB, wherever SSTs are installed (Self Service Terminals) almost 80% individuals choose Word over other platforms.”

What makes Word or for that matter Powerpoint so popular is perhaps the ease users find in sharing and collaborating data especially with formatting. Says Tarun Malik, Director, Product Marketing & Strategy, Microsoft India “Microsoft Office offers new tools to help users get better results faster, collaborate across boundaries, make more informed decisions, and work while mobile”

Office Scrap book

Over the years the good old Office has gone through changes. Some of which we like, the others just too gaudy for the ol’ timers. Apparently MS Office celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.

Here are a few you may find useful.

Simply blog

This is perhaps the easiest way to blog. Simply write and publish your blog from Word. The new Office menu allows you to publish from the Office menu and all your documents will be sent to a blog, a website or a document server.

Dual Screen

Dual screen in Powerpoint lets you do two things at a time! View the editing screen on a laptop, and have a projector showing the main presentation. Just use the ‘Show Presenter View’ option to view the presentation as it would be during the show, while you make your edits.

Picture show

Add hundreds of pictures to separate slides at one go! Just click the Photo Album option under the Insert tab. This summons a dialog box that lets you add hundreds of pictures to separate slides at one go – in less than a few minutes.

Formula Icons

Gone are the days when accountants have to use formulas keyed in and now it’s all in a jiffy with the Formula Icons. You no longer have to select a format or template and just dragging them makes you visualize the final output before selecting them.

Data Numbers

In Excel you can differentiate between different numbers and data. Just setup rules for data that are above or below a certain value, are duplicates, contain a certain value and so on. To quickly differentiate between the different values and the normal ones, you can setup colors, icons or graded scales that appear and change automatically.

Transferring docs thru Bluetooth

Ever heard of transferring your documents to a Bluetooth device from Word or Excel? Well, for that you need to know more about add-ins in Office 2007

Simply right click on the ribbon, select the ‘Customize quick access toolbar’ (quick access toolbar is what the ribbon is called). Here, click on the ‘Add Ins’ item on the left side menu. The ‘Manage Add Ins’ item at the bottom of that screen gives you access to a lot more options, through a dozen more screens.

One useful add-in that automatically turns on is the ‘Bluetooth’ which shows a nice little drop down allowing the user to send a document from any Office client (Word, Excel, etc) product to a Bluetooth device in range in a single click.

Perhaps the most interesting one is Google Desktop Office Add-in. I wonder if it was collaboration or submission that Microsoft had in mind when it designed this one!

The Last Word

Microsoft Office has been the undisputed leader with almost a 90% worldwide share. IBM, Sun and so many Open Offices have been able little difference to MS Office Suite. Even online office suites like ThinkFree, Zoho, Peepel have been hardly been able to make any dent in MS Office position. The result has been a huge eco system around this suite enabling thousands of people to earn and create businesses around this Office Suite. Did anyone ever imagine Word, Powerpoint or Excel could be the foundation of a multiple crore business?

(Puneet Mehrotra writes on technology www.thebusinessedition.com)

Business Week: Microsoft strips to seduce Linux

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This is my latest story that appeared in Business Week on 28th August 2009.  This was my 4th story on standards.

Aug. 28–NEW DELHI —

Microsoft strips to seduce Linux
Calls it Interoperability

“The distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion” said Mr.Albert Einstein. When we look at relationships and the course history takes the past seems like an illusion wondering if it ever existed. It was just the other day that Microsoft and Open Source were bitter enemies. One a packaged software corporate giant driven solely by profits. The other completely driven by passion by a group of geeks not even under the same roof. In 2001 Microsoft had said “Linux is cancer.” A few years MS started decided to apply balm to heal the cancer and mend its relationship with Linux through its Open Source initiatives. Its 2009 now and Microsoft, the once closely guarded organization is stripping its soul, literally, to woo Open Source by releasing 20,000 lines of Linux code to the Linux kernel community in the name of interoperability something not even Bill Gates could imagine 10 years ago!.

In Perspective
Imagine if one fine day India and Pakistan decide to get together and exchange their nuclear documents for the common good of the citizens of the sub-continent. Sounds unbelievable, right? Microsoft and Linux have been the same. Besides ideological differences in terms of software creation, ownership and distribution there must be rarely a common ground between them. Microsoft’s Chief Steve Ballmer in 2001 had said “Linux is a cancer that attaches itself in an intellectual property sense to everything it touches.” Linus Torvalds, father of Linux OS, on the other hand, led a one man army and created an entire guerilla front of geeks separated by geography but bound by passion that in time became the biggest threat for the biggest organization on earth, Microsoft.

Besides another major difference is the way the two create software. Microsoft’s model is solely driven by profits. Linux’s model is solely driven by passion. Microsoft writes 1 line of code and gets 1000 patents for it. Linux is written and distributed under the GNU General Public License which means that its source code is freely-distributed and available to the general public.

Microsoft – A confused organization

Around 4 years ago things changed at Microsoft through its Open Source initiatives. What can be termed as a late reaction from a confused company that till recently was all against Open Source and GPL. Whether Microsoft was for Open Source or against it perhaps not even Microsoft was very sure!

In July this year came the biggest shocker from Microsoft. The once closed and highly guarded Microsoft decided to open 20,000 lines of Linux code to the Linux kernel community in the name of interoperability. In addition Microsoft also highlighted the ongoing investment the company is making to optimize PHP on Windows Server and the Microsoft SQL Server database system.

What motivated Microsoft to do the unthinkable to get literally get into the heart of Linux kernel? Sam Ramji, senior director of Platform Strategy at Microsoft, in a statement said “The current economic climate has a lot of companies consolidating their hardware and software assets. Many companies are turning to Microsoft more frequently to help them succeed in a heterogeneous technology. So there’s mutual benefit for customers, for Microsoft, and for commercial and community distributions of Linux, to enhance the performance of Linux as a guest operating system where Windows Server is the host.”

And what was the objective of Microsoft doing this? Says Tom Hanrahan, director of Microsoft’s Open Source Technology Center, “Our initial goal in developing the code was to enable Linux to run as a virtual machine on top of Hyper-V, Microsoft’s hypervisor and implementation of virtualization.”

The Linux View
From Linux side Greg Kroah-Hartman, Linux Driver Project Lead, said “Microsoft’s contribution is a good move for Linux. I’m pleased to see Microsoft working to build a better relationship with the Linux community. I think that this will be good news for users and organizations who want to see better interoperability between Windows and Linux.”

If Microsoft opening was a surprise, the bigger surprise came from Linus Torvalds, the father of Linux, “Microsoft hatred is a disease” said he.

Microsoft’s Motivation – Greed or Interoperability
The big question is can Microsoft be trusted? What it couldn’t do to Open Source all these years is this a new way of finishing Linux and making it obsolete.

There is a possibility. On the macro level Microsoft’s Open Source could be to make Linux obsolete. Mary Jo in Zdnet says “Microsoft’s goal is to convince OSS vendors to port their software to Windows. But Microsoft doesn’t want OSS software to just sit on top of Windows; the company wants this software to be tied into the Windows ecosystem by integrating with Active Directory, Microsoft Office, Expression designer tools, System Center systems-management wares and SQL Server database.”

Linus Torvalds has so far been very confident of Open Source and doesn’t see Microsoft as a threat. Says he “I agree that it’s driven by selfish reasons, but that’s how all open source code gets written! We all “scratch our own itches”. So complaining about the fact that Microsoft picked a selfish area to work on is just silly. Of course they picked an area that helps them.” He goes on to add “Does anybody complain when hardware companies write drivers for the hardware they produce? No. That would be crazy. Does anybody complain when IBM funds all the POWER development, and works on enterprise features because they sell into the enterprise? No. That would be insane. So the people who complain about Microsoft writing drivers for their own virtualization model should take a long look in the mirror and ask themselves why they are being so hypocritical.”

Microsoft’s Interoperability Argument

It is also true the way business and governments are operating in mixed environments which include both Microsoft and open source applications. Interoperabilty does make increasing sense especially for enterprise customers.

The Last Word
Microsoft is a commercial organization and its objective solely is profit. Microsoft’s biggest worry right now is Google which it sees as its biggest enemy that maybe eating into its bottomline soon. Call it desperation but Microsoft urgently needs to get into newer markets and also tap cheaper talent pools. The Open Source may just be the right platform to piggyback and also get closer to a community IBM, SUN and Google have been wooing and using for years now. IBM, SUN and Google are also commercial organizations using Open Source talent pool. Will someone also question their motives on wooing Open Source?

Puneet Mehotra writes on technology
puneet@tbe.in