Gray Smoke

In 1933, Bell Labs engineer Karl Jansky was investigating the static interfering with transatlantic radio communications. Rather than simply filtering out the unwanted noise, Jansky methodically studied its patterns. What he discovered in that static revolutionized our understanding of the universe—the noise was actually radio waves from the center of the Milky Way galaxy. His investigation of "unwanted" interference founded the field of radio astronomy and led to discoveries that would eventually earn Nobel Prizes and fundamentally expand human knowledge of cosmic phenomena. Jansky's story illustrates a principle we often overlook in our need for certainty and clarity: noise is not merely an impediment to understanding—it is an intrinsic component of authentic signals. When we encounter suspiciously "clean" information, we should question not just its content, but the filtering mechanisms that produced such artificial clarity. The Physics of Imperfection The ...

On Thursday morning I woke up to the news that Facebook has brought Whatsapp for $19B. My first reaction was 'Holy Cow'. I was more shocked at the sheer amount, than the fact if 'Whatsapp' is worth the money. The whole discussion about the purchase has been limited to two topics 1. What else could be bought for $19B ? 2. Is Whatsapp useful at all ? (Especially by Americans who have never heard of this application before) The first looks at different companies that have less market cap which include iconic companies like Harley Davidson, Airline company etc. All these comparisons are stupid as we are talking about apples and eggs. Facebook is in a business of connecting people online. Whatsapp does precisely that at costs which are very low and is making profits. For example it charges $1 per year after an year. Even if 25% of the 450M users have paid, it would mean more than a $100M of revenue. With a 55 member team and basic servers (remember it does not ...

With Satya Nadella as CEO, it is time for fresh and radical ideas.  One of the most installed OS is Windows 95 and with Microsoft losing its traditional base to tablets and mobiles, Windows 95 should not only be made free but also Open Source. This will kill Linux for desktops to large extent and consolidate MS hold over the desktop space. Out of the 4 major OS in todays date (Android, OSX, Linux and Windows) only MS charges for the OS. The same should be done for .NET and  windows development software. None of the other development software is charged. Developers are suckers for free tools. For Window 8, the OS should itself be free and charge $20-$30 per year for support. MS should start focusing on Apps, Servers and Services. Also this will stamp Nadella establish authority on MS, once and for all.

It was pretty clear to anyone who follows technology that the next battle will be in the mobile computing space. Microsoft, Nokia's Symbian and even Linux had been in this space for some time but Apple with its visionary finger base touch pad really revolutionized this market space. iPhone was so popular that though it started as a consumer device it soon took a huge market from blackberry's business class users. However this was not sufficient for Apple and they came out with the iPad. Though it did not seem revolutionary at the launch, the fact that 3.5 Million in 6 months speaks for the success of the device. If u travel any flight today, you will find as many users of iPad as u will of laptops. I do not have data but I am sure the iPad has eaten away a significant share of the Net-book market. This does not mean that competition has been sitting idle. Almost all major manufactures came out with finger-touch phones but none has been successful and iPhone is still the gol...

I have been a very happy user of iPhone since 2007. I had bought a locked iPhone 2G for $400 from US in 2007 and hacked it so I could use it in India. I am so used to the phone now, that when I use any other phone, I find myself clumsy pawing it trying to figure what to do. I have never been a extravagant spender on a cell phone and the iPhone was my first major investment on a cell phone. So the question is, will I buy a new iPhone if I loose or break my present iPhone. After much contemplating, I would now without hesitation say YES. Even though it costs $34K in India ($750) Why ? Because iPhone is so much more than a simple Phone. Yes, it also has the integrated phone functionality but I use it very extensively for so many other things. I mail, I facebook, I Kindle, I expense, I Skype, I blog, I Map, I listen to ITuneU. From my 3 year old son, he plays games, he learns phonetics, he has his flash cards, he solves puzzles, he sketches, he even is learning to take photos. For folks wh...