TiECon Delhi from Sept 18 to Sept 19

(This Post is also Mirrored on VentureWoods )
TiECon Delhi is about to happen at Taj Palace Hotel, SP Marg, Chanakyapuri, Delhi, Sept 18-19, sessions from 9:00am onwards and networking dinner/cocktails at 7:30 pm.

Is it worthwhile to show up at TieCon and pay Rs.8500/ (Rs.8000/- online) for a 2-day event ?

That's the question I've always been hit by, when I see a banner for a event like this-- no matter that I've already paid-for and attended dozens of events like this after over a decade in the industry.

I'm therefore going to throw up the possibilities-- for folks that're thinking OR for folks that cross out such a conference the moment they read the price-tag.

Also, I'll touch upon some background information about what is Tie ? And why it may be a good idea to spend Rs.8500 even if you're already a solution architect at a top tier company earning better than your peers and as far away from being a struggling entrepreneur as anyone can imagine.

Also, even if you're wondering about not getting discounts or waiting tll next time-- it may just be the best possible value for money to show up at the venue with your credit card and ready to pay your way in.

What is TiE ?

Ever heard about how Sabeer Bhatia found Hotmail ? And how he now wants to help ther Indian startups as a mentor and investor ? Or about how a Indian called Raj Jaswa built a outsourced non-label chipset company of silicon valley in the 1980s by doing deals with Taiwanese chipset manufacturers... and set the stage for many totally new ways of doing hardware and chipset businesses, which werent common earlier ?

And if you've heard of these and even if you havent heard of these, then surely there would be a part of you which would say that some things happen mainly because of the technology markets and entrepreneurial ecosystems that exist in the silicon valley-- and there would be a part of you that would wonder just how difficult it would be to hop right in and become a part of those ecosystems.

TiE stands for "The Indus Entrepreneurs"-- and TieCon is TiE's annual convention.

TiE is a NGO which as founded to promote entrepreneurs from the Indian subcontinent-- and it has people like:--
-- Sabeer Bhatia- founder of Hotmail.com.

-- Kanwal Rekhi (one of the early Indian success stories in silicon valley- in the 1980s, he built a networking company was acquired by Novell- and as one-time CTO of Novell he was one of the first Indian success stories in the Silicon valley).

-- Vinod Khosla-- if you've heard of Java, you'd have heard of Sun Microsystems- but not many know that Vinod Khosla co-founded Sun Microsystems at age 25-- and after that went on to found and also finance many more companies in different areas; some of which shook their respective areas even more than Sun Microsystems or Java did.

-- Gururaj 'Desh' Deshpande-- he's NR Narayanmurthy's brother-in-law who founded and funded optical networking companies before the world had heard of optical networking-- and the speed at which some of these companies grew-- and the prices at which they were acquired-- would make everything seem small.

And definitely, when one hears such stuff it's obvious that the views one would hear from the horse's mouth would be far different from what the cost-cuttng middle-managers of mature companies growing out of India say.

If you are a entrepreneur, you have no reason to miss this.

And, If you are a currently working professional-- wondering if this is worth Rs.8500/- (or Rs.8000/- online) you should go there to see and hear-- what's cutting edge- and what the guys who shaped the technology landscape over the last few decades are saying-- and hear them, even ask them first-hand-- "Next is what ?".

I just got home from a pre-event Blogger-meet-- and I was listening to some prominent and senior guys discuss the benefits-- and some ways to promote the TiECon 2009.

Suggestions came... including: Lets give out a 20% discount ? Lets give out free passes ? Lets do...But then, there was also voices which said-- hey... for a entrepreneur or a potential entrepreneur.. lets instead offer:

Best Lucky draw prize for any attendee- whether a professional who's currently employed or for someone who has already taken the entrepreneurial plunge would be "15 minutes with Mr.[name of a world famous entrepreneur]"--

and that's when Mr.Ashish Gupta and Mr.Mahendra Swaroop chipped in and added-- "with the number of sessions and networking events and accessibility... if the topic is of mutual professional interest a person can easily spend as much time as they want speaking to their favorite mentors or entrepreneurs"; though ofcourse that's something that cant be promised as a lucky draw prize.

So folks, if you're interested show up-- buy yourself a pass-- and check out TiECon Delhi 2009 at Hotel Taj Palace on dates 18th Sept 2009 and 19th Sept 2009.

Also, please feel free to contact TieDelhi at
+91-120-4066500 (Tie Office) email: info@tienewdelhi.org
or RSVP Krithi +91-98101-27290 krithi@tienewdelhi.org


ps:
I incidentally just got back from a pre-event blogger-meet, where I had the pleasure of listening to Mr.Ashish Gupta (Organizing Chair TieCon) and Mr.Mahendra Swaroop, President Indian Venture Capital Association and chief mentor at Smile Interactive, and where we had the chance to understand some of the benefits and possibilities. The Photos were taken at the same gathering.

Photo-1:

Photo: (Left to Right: Ms.Mary Joyce, Mr.Mahendra Swaroop, President IVCA, Mr.Ashish Gupta Country Head Evalueserve, Co-Chair Organizing Comittee TieCon 2009, Mr.LD Sharma )


Photo-2:


Photo: (Left to Right): Gerard (gerard@the-practice.net), Ajay Jain (Blogger, President of IBNMS www.ajayjain.com )

Photo-3:

Photo: (Standing Tall: Akshay (akshay@the-practice.net )

350- Tiger

What do tigers and thousands of school children in India have in common? They can both roar extremely loudly, and they both need desparately for the world to get back below 350 ppm CO2. 

Yesterday over 1,000 school kids from across Delhi, India, braved sitting (or lying) in completely drenched grass and under a hot, hot sun for an hour to form a giant Tiger-350 aerial image with their bodies. Photographers and media climbed up on top of Teen Murti Bhavan, the home of Jawaharla Nehru, the first prime minister of India -- not quite as tall as the crane that was intended to be there, but enough for a beautiful image and call to action for sure... (time lapse video below)

Image and video credit: Spectral Q / Shiv Ahuja

And the image wasn't the entire festivity for the day. Organized in collaboration with our good friends at Kids for Tigers, Delhi Greens, the Indian Youth Climate Network, and Spectral Q, the school children and a fun-filled morning of face-painiting, art and poster-making -- all as part of an effort to send a powerful message to Indian an world leaders: we need interenational action to get the world back below 350 ppm CO2, protecting tigers, the forrests in which they live, and humanity. 

And some of those same leaders they wished to influence were just inside at the same venue attending the 5th National Bengal Tiger Consultation organized by Santuary Asia and The Wildife Conservation Trust.

Giant Tiger-350 aerial art image in Delhi

The Indian Youth Climate Network, Delhi Greens, Sanctuary Asia, Nehru Memorial Museum & Library, The Shri Ram School, The Climate Project-India, Nature First, Green India States Trust (GIST), Center for Social Markets, Wildlife Conversation Trust, Bengal Tiger Campaign, National Tiger Conservation Authority, and 350.org, are all coming together for a Rally and a Tiger Consultation - of what is perhaps the LAST CALL FOR SAVING THE TIGER AND HUMANITY.

Please join us on 28 July for a historic aerial art demonstration for tigers, 350, and action on climate change. And be inspired by visiting speaker, Bill McKibben, co-founder of 350.org.

We are coming together for a demonstration demanding the Right of the Tiger to Live, taking action to protect tiger and forest habitats, and tackle the climate crisis setting the world on course to 350 ppm CO2, the safe upper limit of CO2 in the atmosphere. Some 3,000 school children from across Delhi and the NCR are joining us in the call to action, forming a giant Tiger-350 aerial art image.

The Tiger Consultation will take place in Teen Murti Bhavan and will include among others the Union Environment Minister, all tiger experts in the country, Dr. Karan Singh and a series of eminent personalities from the country.

We invite all of you to come to Teen Murti Bhavan on the 28th of July at 09:30 to demand justice for the tigers, humanity, and all generations to come. You will be able to take part in the first giant human-tiger image ever in India, sending a huge, beautiful call to action to Indian and world leaders.

And from 18:00 to 19:30 we invite you to join 350.org co-founder and US author and environmental visionary, Bill McKibben, speaking on building a global movement to fight climate change and get the world back below 350 ppm CO2. Bill McKibben wrote the first book on climate change for a public audience, The End of Nature, in 1989 and has been a visionary in the movement for technological, social, and political action to address the climate crisis. Please join us, be inspired, and join the movement!

Date - 28th July 2009
Time - 8 am - 11 am
Place - Teen Murti Bawan, New Delhi

http://www.iycn.in/node/83

Need more info/willing to volunteer : suren@iycn.in, 9990 7673 80

DataWind PocketSurfer Previewed– A first impression shared

It’s longer than a Nokia E61/E95/E71.
But it’s thinner than a Nokia E90 communicator.

But appearances apart; it’s faster at Net-access than your Dell - but with less multimedia than even the multi-ringtone basic phone used by our cleaner-woman; what is this ?.

It’s the DataWind PocketSurfer!!!

This is a device which has the potential to emerge as being in a class by itself.

It is'nt labelled as one-- but it works just like a PDA or Smartphone- which uses a SIM-card from a local mobile services provider (Airtel) to access the internet using a data-plan.

This is a device which has the potential to emerge as being in a class by itself.

It is not labelled as one-- but it works just like a PDA or Smartphone- which uses a SIM-card from a local mobile services provider (Airtel) to access the internet using a data-plan.

But that is where the similarity with smartphones ends—because it is minus the voice telephony, video, camera and sound features- and it brands itself as being in the category of “mobile internet access devices”.

When I first surfed to DataWind’s website after seeing the invitation to DataWind’s press conference- I was skeptical- and wondered- is this a scam ? or is this a average-to-mediocre product branded as the next big thing? Fortunately for me, it was a good product that came as a breath of fresh air.

Here’s why, the good, the bad and the ugly of the DataWind PocketSurfer: my overall impression, followed by photos and technical details- and finally the limitations- which I see as the stumbling blocks- that will make or break this product’s success in the market.

This product is perhaps one of the few come-up-from-behind products that really has the potential to kick the biggies out of their comfortable perches. If it evolves, it can give the iPhones and Nokia E90s of the world a run for their money (and I say this not as someone with any attachment to the PocketSurfer but as a user who has shelled out hard earned money first for a Nokia E61 and then for a Nokia E90).

This product needs to evolve a lot- to become as perfect or as mature as a iPhone.

But no matter what- one has to admit that DataWind, with it’s PocketSurfer product has the potential to shift and totally re-shape the SmartPhone and internet-access device landscape.

So, here goes- what follows is a lowdown on DataWind’s PocketSurfer product… as I saw it- and as it was related to me by DataWind’s very helpful team.

The Product:


What else sets the PocketSurfer apart ?

Form Factor:

The PocketSurfer is a 6 x 3.98 x 0.6-inch device, that’s got a flip-open form factor and a qwerty keyboard reminiscent of the Nokia E90 and the Nokia 9xxx series communicators- but it’s longer than a E61 and at the same time thinner and lighter than a Nokia E90.

GPS: That’s a awesome nice to have- atleast on paper- but we never did get a chance to see it NOR a chance to actually play with the PocketSurfer’s advertised GPS capability- so no comments on this.

Keyboard:

The Keys atleast 5-times bigger than the keys of a Nokia E90 Communicator or the Keys of a Nokia E61 or E71.

These are keys which are backlit, and can be pressed as you stand in a airport- checking for cheaply priced tickets.

The screen is BIG- 640x240 – that’s not as big as a laptop’s screen- but it’s definitely big enough to show most web-pages the way the designer intended you to see them.

And for those of us who want to check stock quotes and book tickets on pages designed for PCs-- these DataWind folks really have worked hard- on getting the ergonomics of showing webpages right- with a “scroll lock” key (lets you use the 4-way arrow keys to move around a webpage- without affecting the position of the nouse pointer.

There are also keys to temporarily zoom into or shrink parts of a webpage.

Selection and Mouse Pointer Motion:

There’s a key for mouse clicking and there’s a touch pad like those on laptops—for moving the mouse pointer around and just like a laptop, tapping the touch-pad has the effect of double-clicking the mouse pointer.

Download Speeds:

It can display webpages blazingly fast- like for example you can browse to- and open a 50 megabyte PDF file from a website- in under 5-seconds.

When I tried out the PocketSurfer- I saw that’s true; but when I heard it, that sounded crazy- even to me- the more I’d listen, the more exaggerated this claim would sound- so I spent the time, listening to these folks and figuring how exactly such blazingly fast speeds are possible.

So, for those of us that like to know it all—here’s how the PocketSurfer manages it’s speeds:


How ? Because it’s web-browser accesses the files through a intermediate server- which uses high speed server-to-server internet connections to “get” the file to the server- and then the server sends out pre-rendered versions of the heavy webpage to the user’s webbrowser running on the PocketSurfer.

It also has a host of advanced and patented file-compression technologies- through which DataWind’s servers and web-browsers get compressed versions of the files shrunk to far beyond what’s possible with standardized web-protocols.




Weight:

It’s much lighter than a Nokia E90 and it has keys that are atleast 5-times bigger than the Nokia-E90’s keys- which makes the keys easier to press- all the better for one-handed typing, while walking or standing.

External Connectivity:

As per script, Here’s DataWind’s take on PocketSurfer’s External Connectivity, the quotes and the emphasis is all mine (Delhi Voice Blogs’):

“Since the PocketSurfer is a Internet Access Device- and since each pocketSurfer device has 50 MB of space on DataWind’s Midstream server(see diagram), therefore, to stick to it’s planned positioning and to keep costs low, the PocketSurfer has only internet connectivity through a packet data enabled SIM card, and there is no Bluetooth, WiFi or USB connectivity between the PocketSurfer and any external PC or Laptop or Smartphone- all file transfers etc can be done through the internet- but uploading the file to the internet and downloading the file onto the PocketSurfer.”

Pricing:
The PocketSurfer costs Rs 11,995 suggested retail price- and the street price is expected to be lower… lets see, how low!

Limitations:

In this blogger’s view, external connectivity is the weakest part of PocketSurfer’s value proposition. That means:

Dependance on mobile network coverage: in a situation of limited or zero mobile network coverage, the PocketSurfer is limited to the point of being unusable- whereas, a normal smartphone or laptop could still do a lot—even without internet connectivity or mobile network coverage.

Data Access Charges: The PocketSurfer’s midstream servers can greatly use data usage- I feel that the offered “Free 35 hours a month for the first 12 months” would still prove to be a stumbling block.

Here’s why ? It’s just a unqualified opinion- but imagine this: read your mails and compose 4-5 mails—and poof!!! You’ve used maybe a hour of net access time; do that daily, and before the month is finished, you’ve completed your 35 hour quota.

Once the net access quota for the month is finished- what else is there to do ? nothing- nothing at all- no mp3 playing and no movie clip watching, not even a way to locally edit and draft documents without being connected to the internet.

- Getting Data Off the PocketSurfer: No Bluetooth, no wifi connectivity, and no USB cable to transfer files from the PocketSurfer to a PC/Laptop or other smartphone.

Will this affect most users ? Depends on the user- but to power-users like me, this is bad!!!

Beyond this first impression: Complaints ? Complaints ? Praise ?

Nopes… that’s it…

this is where the press conference ends.

Someday soon, the DelhiVoice will indeed get a chance to play with the PocketSurfer… maybe after buying one from the local market or borrowing one from a friend… and then; that’s when I guess the real story… praise and pitfalls will come out.

Till then… watch this space!!!

RefControl - Stop those thieves ;)

RefControl is the latest firefox addon. This control prevents the websites from peeping into our recent web history.

When we go to a website, the scripts in the page could easily find out the site from which we had visited the site or in short the referring website. This is an inbuilt functionality in the internet mechanism which lets the webmasters determine the source and then improve their commerce and business models.

But many consider this to be an infringement of their privacy and have been complaining. The RefControl addon may solve this predicament. It will block all the websites from reading the recent history. It can also be configured to send null value or a custom message.

It can be downloaded from here. Once installed, it will be reflected in under the tools menu. The interface looks like this and is very easy to work around.

By default, RefControl blocks all the sites from reading the data. It is very easy to use and can be
configured very easily.




One has to add the website and then select one of the three given options, whether to block, or send the null value or send a default message.

Offline Gmail

Reading your emails offline from the browsers itself seems to be a better option tha using the email clients mainly due to the fact that one gets to use the same email interface when done from the browser as against the complex interfaces some of the email clients offer.

Google is extending this offline feature in its Gmail with the help of Google gears. Gears is an open source browser extension that lets developers create web applications that can run offline. Gears is currently a beta product; moreover, it is currently considered to be a developer-only release. Gears extends browsers by making new APIs available to JavaScript code.

Gmail uses Gears to download a local cache of your mail. As long as you're connected to the network, that cache is synchronized with Gmail's servers. When you lose your connection, Gmail automatically switches to offline mode, and uses the data stored on your computer's hard drive instead of the information sent across the network. You can read messages, star and label them, and do all of the things you're used to doing while reading your webmail online. Any messages you send while offline will be placed in your outbox and automatically sent the next time Gmail detects a connection.

To use this feature, one has to install google gears first. It can be obtained from http://gears.google.com The setup file is a 500Kb file, which gets downloaded in a flash. The installer connects to the internet and downloads the gears application from the google servers after which one has to restart the browsers.

After logging into Gmail, navigate to the settings tab and select the labs option.



Select enable under the Offline section and click save changes button. This section displays all the applications from the google labs' vault which the user has enabled.





After your browser reloads, you'll see a new "Offline0.1" link in the upper righthand corner of your account, next to your username
.


When the link is clicked, gears starts synchronizing the mails and starts to store them in the local hard drive. The status message shows how many have been synchronized and the date till which mails have been backed up.



Once done, one can use it the same way the online version functions.

Everything said and done, this is still an experimental feature and users may send the glitches they come across, to google.

GMAIL DRIVE

GMAIL DRIVE

GMail Drive is a third party windows shell extension which allows one to map the storage space allocated for a gmail account on to a virtual drive that is mounted on the user's computer.

As it is clear from its name, in order to create this one has to have a gmail account.

The next step is to install the shell extension which will create this virtual drive. The Virtual Drive will appear in the user's My Computer. This new drive behaves like any other hard disk drive in one's computer and has the normal functionalities associated with the windows explorer(drag n drop, cut, copy, paste etc., the only difference being one needs to log on to the gmail account to see the contents of the directory. The Gmail Drive scans the gmail account once in a while and rebuilds the directory structures, if new files/folders are found in the account.

The GMail Drive works on top of the GMail File System, which is behind the google's mail service.
When a new file is added to the drive, the file is in turn uploaded to the google's storage through the Gmail Drive. A new mail is generated in which the uploaded file appears as an attachment. The file size limitation which is generally associated with a gmail account also apply to this too.

Though it seems a brilliant idea to use the storage space of google for our personal use, google's terms of conditions doesnt allow one to use this. The program policies do not ban the use of these, any immoderate use of Gmail's storage space may invite temporary suspension of the account.

One has to note that if there is a change in the GMAIL FileSystem, the whole idea of GMAIL Drive, in its present form, may be useless and also that the GMAIL Drive doesnt support the Google Apps account.

There are similar packages from other companies like Microsoft and AOL.

The GMAIL Drive shell extension can be found here. http://www.viksoe.dk/code/gmail.htm

Please use the GMAIL Drive at your own risk. It is an experimental package and NOT offered by Google as one of their services.