• Corporate mistakes, within market listed NGOs, must be made public.
• Board of Directors, of these market listed NGOs, involved in the decision making process must declare their stand and/or resolution to fix the problem that they have created.
• We have the concept of “Limited” companies, just in case a bunch of these failures show up in the face of public
• INVESTMENT IS SUBJECTED TO MARKET RISKS. Risk takers on poorly managed NGOs must not reap profits in the name of a bail-out.
• Letting a company die because of their failure, would correct the system that tries to abuse the government/public funds otherwise.

One thing is very clear in my mind, private lives and/or mistakes of the corporate citizens should not drain the economy without a celling point. And that celling point MUST be the loss of ownership and liquidation of the company.

Creating any lenience, in the name of a bail-out, would challenge our constitutional concepts such as laws enacted as well as on-par non-human entities participating, with equality, in the economic reality.

We can have Western outlook and even lifestyle, if we really want, but don’t have be too much of a CAPITALIST. DON’T FORGET THAT WE ARE DEMOCRATIC and are collectively responsible for the INDIA’s economic prosperity and its downfall.

I don’t think few elements (Citizens/NRIs/POIs/OCBs/any other FDI allowed investors) operating INDIAN NGOs should determine the downfall INDIAN economic wealth. We have experienced non-accountability over wealth/public funds being extorted in the interest of few in the INDIAN Political system. Why should we let such a thing happen in the NGOs as well?

We need some celebrity icons (like APJ, Anna and Bajaj) to influence change. The systems we have in place must be operated and evolved efficiently to increase our economic prosperity and global stance..PERIOD.

In INDIA making things happen through the politicians, with the kind of political climate we have, towards a nationalistic cause benefiting the INDIAN economy might be a humongous task. Would they at least sit back, relax and don’t work on this one (bail-out of NGOs operating in INDIA), if we yell and scream enough?

This is just my perspective (now, may be I am being too much of a nationalist than a politically correct commoner), but why would I have to hold it to my heart….hmm…

http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/08/nokia-ceo-stephen-elop-rallies-troops-in-brutally-honest-burnin/

Nokia’s CEO Stephen Elop is:

• Not a Nokia veteran
• Not Finnish
• Not a relaxed person within his company
• Headed the most profitable business unit of Microsoft (Of course, I am talking about Microsoft Office)
• Paints the reality to the rest of his Nokia team.
• Trying to regain market share of this giant 140 year old company

After reading the memo transcript, my thoughts got re-winded immediately to a note related to Microsoft’s Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie in 2008 (Wired Article: Ray Ozzie Wants to Push Microsoft Back Into Startup Mode).

Microsoft was set out to reach their customers, more often than their year long product update release cycle (whether the customer liked a new release or not). After couple of years this change, we are still paying more for two fat products that Microsoft is making most of its money (Windows and Office). So they haven’t been able to crack their problems with just software sales. They are now into the cloud and adding services as one of the key revenue generator.

Intel is trying to capture the growing mobile market and working hard to get its processors into the mobile phones. After being too complacent with the desktop/laptop market, it did realize that there will be more mobile phones than traditional computer systems. This recent statement “We must build, catalyze or join a competitive ecosystem” from Elop, after a year long partnership with Intel, could mean trouble with Intel alliance and a death to MeeGo, but that thought would get answered in due course.

I think both Nokia and Microsoft are working on the same problem. While Microsoft has taken this step couple of years ago, they are still working harder to get their market share in the Cloud, SaaS and the next generation models (mostly around social and convergent computing). A healthy and value-adding ecosystem of products (hardware and software) along with services (PaaS & SaaS) will eventually become a great pay-off to Microsoft and Nokia.

Coming from Microsoft, the Nokia’s CEO is trying to renew the partnership with Microsoft. I hope that they two do well together.

My thoughts:

• Core of Apple iOS and Google Android comes from Unix, which gets hidden by the ecosystem built around the same. So, in a way though these platforms are Linux variants, they don’t have the spirit of Linux in them.
• MeeGo on the other hand is a true Linux variant supporting native application development using the super fast and close to processor technologies (Of course, I am talking about the raw C/C++ power in the phone).
• Intel and Nokia have been working on MeeGo for a while now. Nokia must release a MeeGo based product as soon as possible (and before its too late for MeeGo to see the light).

Takeaways:

• Change is the only constant and knowing when to change is very important.
• Constant market study, agility and self-introspection without ego are crucial.
• Leadership is needed to push people out of their comfort zone and help them succeed in making the company grow.
• Transformation is not a easy task.
• It takes good engineering team, that takes advantage of customer insights and  minds, to turn-around a company selling Software and/or Consumer Electronics.
• It takes a team, willing to stick around, stay together, be bold and creative, to endure and get out of tough times.

Now we know that laws are man made. Lets look at this recent news “U.S. Tries to Make It Easier to Wiretap the Internet“.

Why would the government want to make sure that you don’t use encryption algorithms to secure our conversation, unless there is a backdoor entry for them to peek into?

• They want to know, if we are communicating anything that would harm the public interest
• Pre-emptively/Non-Intrusively monitor the communications, as if the messages are sent in “clear text”
• Don’t invest anything big, like computing farms and heavy duty super computers, to decode the messages being sent

Here is what I see as a problem and thereby an opportunity:

• Are we thinking that the security measures that the government is uses aren’t good enough to keep us secured?
• Blanket Judicial Approvals/Orders to start monitoring communications based on a BROAD classification of PREJUDICE, STEREOTYPES and DISCRIMINATION. I DON’T complain that this is unfair. We all have experiences to justify WHY this is a necessity or otherwise.
• Blanket approvals to monitor cause too much overhead for those who try to:
  • Monitor
  • Comply
  • Abide to the rules
• Huge rewrite of software applications that use encryption tools and techniques
• There is very little transparency on the systems that would try to use the backdoor entry points
• Would these initiatives come with the clauses where the backdoor entries are recorded and documented for future judiciary review, in an non-repudiation basis?
• A BIG UNKNOWN on how many new exploits would be targeted towards the backdoor entry points

All this reiterates my usual point

Security is a perception and its usually governed by factors beyond our control. In this case, “beyond” is a relative term, where few perceive it being finite while others don’t.

We all know that amount of effort went towards creating a SECURE infrastructure. The whole Trusted Computing Platform and Common Criteria Evaluation initiatives are now very much questionable. If privacy is not controlled by my choice (Opt-In/Opt-Out), why have a Trusted Platform/Products?

I know that commenting on these sensitive topics are taboo, since it is sometime to do with freedom of speech?

Being high endurance sport, it was great to run with more people around. Thanks for all those who ran with me, especially the ChennaiRunners.

Without any long runs this year, I am venturing this weekend on this Chennai Give a Life Half Marathon, assuming that my night walks have kept my appetite to run.

This week the mantra is:

Eat...Sleep...Run...REPEAT

If you are running this weekend, my best wishes to you…happy running.

OLPC Project is very jealous of this news post. Hail the INDIAN team work !!!

I will write about my experience in using it…when I get a chance.

Disruption to businesses due to an outage caused by Airtel Infrastructure today (8th April 2010) is just an example how much we depend on Internet Service. Fortunately, this service problem was only for Chennai, Tamil Nadu area. I just became a victim of it, since it pushed a scheduled demo with one of my overseas client.

http://beta.thehindu.com/business/article391966.ece
http://www.fonearena.com/blog/2010/04/08/airtel-broadband-internet-down.html

Telephony/Internet Services Provider market in INDIA is very lucrative and has attracted too many players (literally creating a dump of foreign direct investment to secure INDIA business). Business Continuity is a key for sustenance, with Number Portability in the radar, glitches like these would define customer loyalty.

Mobile Number Portability regulation has been approved. It will be in effect from 31st December 2009 (31/12/2009).

Now, moving from one Telecom Operator to the other would cost only INR 19.00. The only constraint in this regulation is that the mobile user (the consumer) has to use services from the Telecom Operator for ninety (90) days.

Pros

With MNP scheduled:

• Telecom Operators would be forced to think different to retain customers.
• Some of the unreasonable charges that are forced on us today must be reduced, if not removed completely.
• Telecom Operators are already looking for some other ways to get some out of our wallet. I am sure one of you reading this already would have Ringtones set, for your mobile phone number, and pay them some money, as if they are a music store.
• New service providers in the mobile area are coming-up to bust the mythical situation of “Telecom Operator should get paid for this”

Cons

We have already opened-up our country for OUTSIDERS TO RUN THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF OUR COUNTRY. Added to that regulations allow Overseas Corporate Bodies and Elements to own up to 72% of an INDIAN Telecom Company. Being a PRO-INDIAN paranoid of new “East India Companies” getting created, I am very much concerned.

In USA, it became a diplomatic issue some time back and due to the nature of the ownership take over transaction, National Security related agencies forced the government to get control over the situation. At last an USA based organization AIG made the real transaction, for an undisclosed amount (Ref.: Dubai Ports World controversy).

Our INDIAN Government has already allowed/floated way too many Foreign elements into the country in the name of Telecommunication Infrastructure Support. In one way, this law has given all the capabilities to Foreign elements to lure the current Mobile using citizens into their network.

Its only a matter of  time when we all get to a situation, where all the money collected in the name of Infrastructure goes as a profit for someone PAYING TAXES to an FOREIGN Government.

Finally

Some food for thought:

• Are you ready for the changing your operator (Backup your contacts, messages, photos, music, etc.,)?
• In case you have subscribed for Value Added Services (VAS) with your current operator, will the next operator give you the same/something similar ?
• As a patriotic Citizen sitting in INDIA, do you like the basic utility payments get outside of INDIA to enrich some other FOREIGN Government?
• Shouldn’t the repatriation clauses, for these non-INDIAN share holders, be revisited?
• Do you think External Affairs wing of our country has to do a little more to secure our national interests?
• Do you think someone outside the country could be watching us, because of the nature of FOREIGN stakes in these Telecom Operators?
• We have operators and other entities all over the world trying to take a piece of INDIA (business). Do you think we are seeing some more East India Company scenarios?

I have been working on this “INDIAN Telecom Infrastructure and East India Company” analogy for a while. I think I will post article on the same next month.

There were many Key Note sessions occupying the first half of the day, while speakers tried to engage everyone during the panel discussions. I liked the the Cool Applications Sessions after the lunch break. Around fourteen (14) exhibitors presented their applications along with some demonstrations using real devices.

I appreciate the leaders from Forum Nokia for the information and insights from Nokia’s prespective. Thanks for Forum Nokia and Sun Startup Essentials for sponsporing this conference. It goes without saying that SiliconIndia has done a very good job of pulling all of us together and orchestrating nicely.

VAS related discussions were very usefull. The discussions around direction/competition/approach by vendors and telcos to get/extract a share of what the the mobile application developer can earn was very interesting.

Big thanks to Nokia for leading the effort of bringing the Telcos together to solve some of the App Store issues we are facing today in INDIA. Prakash Sayini and Forum Nokia team were very helpful and gave us some good tips on INDIA scenario.

The conference was very usefull and I will visit again next year (as an exhibitor).

Pay a visit when you get a chance; its worth it. May be, in a short time, I can find a Mac User Group in Chennai; anyone interested?