My predictions on the much anticipated Apple iTV

Perhaps, the most difficult thing is to predict what Apple is up to. Over the last 2-3 years, I have become a fan of Apple as a company - driven by its innovative products and management lessons from arguably the best CEO the world has seen. This post is though not about Steve Jobs. Instead, it is about the product legacy he has left behind. As an outside-in observer, I am trying to predict what could be in store for Apple beyond Steve Job's era. I am taking a wild shot at what I think the much anticipated Apple TV could be like. The odds are that I will get it absolutely wrong! Never-the-less, it is still exciting to think how the team at Apple would probably be thinking about possibly the most challenging product to crack - the Television. 


As we start to think about the Television, I would like to firstly make a few base-line assumptions and outside-in observations about Apple's guiding principles when it comes to developing new products:

• Target to remain extremely focused on a few products only (unlike Google for example) I see a maximum of 1 new product category every 2-3 years and the Television/Apple TV is most likely to be the next big product category.
• Target to remain in price range that will help them gain volumes - e.g. the iPad wasn't launched for $1,500 but for $500 and the visible cost of iPhone to the customer was much lower due to Telecom tie-ups and resulting subsidies
• Maintain extremely high margins irrespective of the product - they will target 40-50% gross margins for all products - e.g. when iPad 2 was recently priced down to $399 with the launch of the new iPad, many analysts projected a significant "margin dilution" - but from their latest quarterly results, I see no margin dilution at all. In my view, Apple tracks the margins very closely and maintains the high margins by bringing in new versions every year and letting the ASP decline of components help keep margins of the old products high, despite decline in their overall pricing

So, now to the meat of this post. What would the much anticipated Apple iTV be? Here are my wild predictions about this product, looking outside-in:

iTV or Apple TV

As far as I am concerned, I don't think Apple would launch a full-blown TV alone per se. It doesn't make sense to get into a low-margin LED TV business where other big competitors are struggling big-time. To earn the target higher margins, Apple will need to price it twice that of Sony and Samsung. At these price-points, I wonder if they will get to sufficient volumes, irrespective of how great and intuitive the interface and the product is. 

In my view, Apple would go ahead with one of the following two options:

Option 1: Hyper-enhanced Apple TV box

• Offer everything that one would want from Apple TV minus the HD screen. 
• In other words, a significantly hyper-enhanced version of the current Apple TV that could be placed right next to your existing TV in the living room 
• It would offer all great features with high degree of interactivity - Siri, Konnect-like movement detection, built-in camera for facetime and video-conference, enhanced Video Airplay and similar capabilities (e.g. screen mirroring, etc) from iPad and iPhone, Internet video streaming, remote control being a smart phone/ tablet, etc
• Further, this Apple TV box would probably have all the elements of a basic PC less the monitor - including storage, games, great Apps and access to App Store. 
• My sense is that Apple will offer the enhanced Apple TV for about $300-$500

Option 2: Full-fledged TV changing the structure of the Television Industry

• Offer all the above features under Option-1 PLUS the HD TV screen to make it a "one-product" TV
• Pricing - 45 inch for $2,000 or so, 55 inch for $3,000 or so, but to the customer it will cost a fraction of this cost while making the purchase
• Instead, make this TV available by signing up for a 2-year "Cable Television" contract with existing Cable TV Players (e.g. Starhub in Singapore). This would be very similar to the way we all buy iPhones and how telecoms are made to pay the subsidy instead.
• With the above subscription, all channels that you subscribe to would be on-Demand. You can watch, what you want, when you want and you do not need to stick to the broad-casting schedule of the channels
• These channels could be "Apps" that one would pay a monthly subscription for
• As another completely different alternative within this, Apple could offer specific television "Programmes" and Series as Apps, as opposed to specific channels. This would completely kill the television broad-casting industry - instead our favorite programmes would be free or paid Apps and Apple will earn the advertising and subscription revenue on these over the life-time of the television set.

I personally think the above are the only two viable alternatives for Apple. Between these two options where should I put my money? What is Apple more likely to launch in the near future? As excited I am about option-2, I am not sure if Apple would go for it at this stage. I am therefore betting my money on Option 1 - an enhanced super duper version of the Apple TV Box. In my view, option-2 requires Apple to set-up a huge media business as the back-end. More importantly, they would need to go country-by-country and sometimes region-by-region trying to get sufficient content before you and me decide to buy the product. And even if they get all this going, TV is a costly product with much longer life-cycle of 4-7 years. It would be too long a battle to fight and I think at this stage, they might be better off sticking to Option -1 and gradually start offering "Television Programme Apps" to step-by-step bye-pass the broad-casting industry.

I am eagerly waiting for WWDC Conference next Monday where we might get a view on where things are headed. Till then, I stick to option-1, though I remain optimistic about being pleasantly surprised! :-)

Road trip

Road trip main

India Road Trip Update 9th September

A quick update from us - sorry for not blogging regularly. First 7 days of the road trip have been very hectic leaving me with little time to blog.

We are doing good, having covered more than 4,500 kms on the trip. However, we are a day behind from our original schedule - a number of factors have contributed to this. We knew that first 4-5 days would be tough, but congested highways in Kerala really did put us behind by a lot and we are now running a day late.

Will try to update the blog again if I can. We are currently in Jaisalmer and there is tons of planning required tonite. Heavy railfall and chances of Yamuna flooding have added some logistical complexities for us. All ritee... btw, Swift rocks! :-)

10,000 Kms Drive

Hi All,

We are just about to leave for a 10,000 kms road trip.

Starting from Chennai, our planned route is:

Chennai - Rameswaram - Kanyakumari - Kerala - Mangalore - Pune - Dwarka - Jaisalmer - Amritsar - Manali - Agra - Kanpur - Dhanbad - Gangtok and places in Sikkim - Kolkata - Puri - Vishakapatnam - Chennai.

As much as possible, we will try to blog about the trip and post snaps and updates from our end. As for now, the car has been repaired and serviced and the drivers are gearing up and landing in Chennai tomorrow.

Wish us luck and we promise to keep you posted!

Tossing between 9 and 81 :-)

Glad that we made it to top-100, the next stage is a lot more competitive. Though we do think, we are probably just as good as anyone else, it finally comes down to luck here, I guess.

The jury is fair - they are clearly not picking 9 names from a lucky draw. However, this is the stage where the criteria used, the preference of individual jury members, what they consider good, etc start to become a lot more important. From our point of view, we have given our best and we have absoluely no regrets as far as our application is concerned - the eventual quality, the effort that has gone in to it and more than anything else the enjoyment we have had in this process.

Top-9 is a tough call - and we will be extremely glad if we make it. If we don't, we have the option of doing the same drive all by ourselves! OR plan a drive to Leh, which was not possible within the rules of this competition.

Choose your pick - is it 9 or is it 91? :-)

Our travel plan for The Great Driving Challenge

Summary of our plan

Our plan for The Great Driving Challenge is to create what we call the “Mitsubishi Constellation". Just as our forefathers saw the stars in a dark starry night and joined them by imaginary lines to form shapes and symbols and called them constellations, we intend to visit various places in Dakshin Bharat which when joined by imaginary lines across the map transform into an insignia of Mitsubishi. The route plan is: Mumbai-Goa-North Kerala-Alleppy-Munnar-Coimbotore-Mysore-Bangalore-Chitoor-Hampi-Belum Caves-Pune-Mumbai. The whole itinerary maintains the maximum limit of 350 kms and minimum of 300 kms on all 12 days. And to top it all, the “stars” on our constellation have been painstakingly chosen to bring out the best perspectives that India has to offer… (We will be exploring India from 15 different perspectives to give you a complete package!)


DAY-1

Route : Mumbai-NH-4a-NH17-Chandoli National Park
Key attractions : Chandoli National park, Mumbai Sea Link
Perspectives : National park, Modern Infrastructure
Distance travelled : 300kms + a few kms inside National Park, easily within 350 km limit

On the first day, we plan to drive from Mumbai to Chandoli National Park, covering a total distance of 300 kms (50 spare kms left to explore Chandoli National Park and buffer for Mumbai travel). We will start off in the morning, driving across the new Sea Link in Mumbai and then head towards Vashi, going through Panvel creek to join NH-4c. After traveling for about 10 kms on NNH-4C, we will take the Pen bypass and join NH-17 to drive down south to Chandoli National park. We plan to visit the following places inside the national park: Kandhardoh, the Kandhardoh Falls, Tanali Falls and Vasant Sagar Reservoir. Would have been a long day by then- we plan to check-in to the guest house inside Chandoli National Park to blog, upload photos and share our travelling experiences on the day-1 of our journey.


DAY-2

Route : Chandoli National Park- NH17-South Goa
Key attractions : Goa beaches
Perspectives : Beaches, Architecture, Cuisine, Education
Distance travelled : 301kms + a few kms within Goa, easily within 350 km limit

We will get up relatively earlier (i.e. before 9am!) to explore Chandoli National Park a bit more, before heading off to Goa. The idea today is to get to Goa as early as possible to give ourselves maximum time to enjoy the beaches at Goa. We will head south from Chandoli National Park on NH-17 all the way to Goa. We will explore the key spots in Goa – e.g. Arjuna beach, Mapusa, etc. Other than the beaches, we will look to explore the cuisine of Goa and understand the intermingled Portuguese architecture and remains in Goa. We will be staying at one of the resorts by the beach in South Goa. We will also visit the BITS-Pilani Goa Campus – a testimonial to modern India’s education systems. As an Alumni of BITS-Pilani, Anupam is really looking forward to visiting Goa campus.


DAY-3

Route : Goa-NH17-NH 206 to Jog Falls from Manki-get back on NH-17-Bhatkali
Key attractions : Jog Falls
Perspectives : Waterfalls,
Distance travelled : 320kms includes travel to and from Jog Falls, easily within 350 km limit

After strolling on the beach in the morning, we will get into our Mitsubishi Cedia, fasten our seat-belts and vroom we go J We will head down South on NH-17, passing through Nagorcem, Karwar, Ankola, Kumta to Manki. At Manki, we will take turn left to NH 206, driving to Jog Falls (at a distance of 50 kms or so). After enjoying our time at Jog falls, we will head back on NH-206, reach Manki again and head southwards on NH-17 to Bhatkali for the night stay.


DAY-4

Route : Bhatkali-NH17-Mangalore-Mahe
Key attractions : Cannore beaches, Bekal Fort
Perspectives : Beaches, Forts
Distance travelled : 325kms

We will drive down from Bhatkali on NH-17, passing through Mangalore. Our first point to visit would be Bekal Fort - spreading over 40 acres, Bekal Fort is the largest and best preserved fort in Kerala with an alluring view of the sea shore. We would then drive down south further to visit Muzhappilangad Beach which is a long clean beach. Its Kerala’s only drive-in beach, one could drive the entire length-4 kms. Driving Mitsubishi Cedia sports model on a beach, would be yet another innovative way to test drive the car! J The next place to visit would be another beach nearby called the Meenkunnu Beach. This beach is a tourist’s paradise with golden sand & surf. We will continue driving south on NH17 to reach Mahe for our night stay.


DAY-5

Route : Mahe-NH17-Kozhikide-Kodungallur-Join NH47 at Cochin-Alleppy
Key attractions : Kodungallur (first Mosque, Church, temple), Cochin, Alleppy
Perspectives : Secular India, Back waters
Distance travelled : 320kms

We will start from Mahe and head south wards on NH-17 all the way, enjoying the green beauty of Kerala, along the coast. We will visit Kodungallur – which has the first mosque and church in India and has a temple also in close vicinity. This stands as a true testimony to “Secular India”. After that, we will drive further south on NH-17, joining NH-47 at Cochin. We will visit key attractions of Cochin (e.g. Fort Cochin) and then head to Alleppy. We would stay in a houseboat at Alleppy (Aditi is damn excited about it!). There will be plenty to blog today – though it will be a tough balance to strike – should we blog and update for the benefit of the avid followers of GDC or enjoy the scenery around, which would add to the overall experience for everyone! Can’t wait to get there!


DAY-6

Route : Alleppy-NH47 to Cochin-right turn on NH49-Kotamangalam- Munnar-Udumalaipettai-NH209 to Coimbatore
Key attractions : Munnar, Eravikulam National Park, Indira Gandhi National Park
Perspectives : Hill stations, water falls, National parks
Distance travelled : 300kms – enough room to visit places in Munnar

Its time to get up early again, Day-6 has a lot in store for us! We will start from Alleppy and head northwards on NH-47 to Cochin. We would need to turn right on NH 49, at Cochin and then head all the way to Munnar – enjoying the fabulous drive on the serpentine roads all uphill. At Munnar, we will visit waterfalls, the highest peak in South India, tea plantations and other key attractions. At around 3pm, we will head out of Munnar all along NH49 to Udumalaipettai through the lush green forests of Indira Gandhi and Eravikulam National Parks, where we will take left on NH 209 and drive down to Coimbatore for night stay.


DAY-7

Route : Coimbotore-NH67 to Gundalpet - then NH 212 to Mysore- Bangalore
Key attractions : Mysore Palaces (e.g. Ambavillas, etc), Brindavan gardens
Perspectives : Palaces, Gardens
Distance travelled : 335kms

We will drive down from Coimbatore, taking NH67 to Gundalpet, where we will join NH 212 and drive down to Mysore. At Mysore, we will visit the key attractions of Mysore – Ambavillas Palace and other palaces of historical significance. The theme at Mysore will be “Historical Heritage” as we explore the great forts and palaces at Mysore. Towards the evening, we plan to visit Brindavan Gardens, and see the fountains post sunset. Later, we will head off to Bangalore for night stay.


DAY-8

Route : Bangalore-NH4 to Chitoor- then NH 18 to Rayachoti
Key attractions : Bangalore, Koral Mines, IT Park
Perspectives : Mines, Information Technology
Distance travelled : 310kms – room to go around Bangalore

On day-8, we will start with exploring the great attractions of Bangalore, the garden city of India visiting one of the key gardens (e.g. Lalbag). We also plan to visit ISKCON - A blend of modern and traditional south Indian temple architecture, the ISKCON temple houses a multi-vision cinema theatre, computer aided presentation theatres, vedic library and a preaching library. We also plan to visit one of the IT Tech parks in Bangalore – (e.g. International Tech Park) to showcase the IT industry of Bangalore. Any perspective to Bangalore would be incomplete without mention of IT industry that has transformed India in general and Bangalore in particular. We will then drive down on NH-4, visit Kolar Gold Mines (just in case, we don’t win the gold medal in this competition, gold dust from Kolar is all we will need to be content with J ). We will further keep driving down on NH-4 till Chitoor (which is one of the vertices of our Mitsubishi Constellation). From there, we will take NH-18 to drive down and halt for night at Rayachoti.


DAY-9

Route : Rayachoti-NH18 to Mydukur, then turn left and head to Belum Caves continue and join NH 63 to Bellary
Key attractions : Belum Caves
Perspectives : Caves, Natural Beauty
Distance travelled : 320kms

On day-9, we will start from Rayachoti and drive up north in NH-18 till Mydukur. From there, we will take left on a less important highway and drive through Proddatur, Gollapalle and then reach Kolimigundala. This is where Belum Caves are located. It is the 2nd largest cave in the Indian sub-continent with a length of 3.3kms! We will spend a major part of our day-9 exploring Belum caves. After exploring the caves, we will drive through Tadpatri, towards Gooty and then take NH-63 to Bellary. Bellary would be our night stop.


DAY-10

Route : Bellary-NH63 – take detour to Hampi and join NH63 at Hosapette – NH 13 to Hungund, Left to Pattakadal and then to Bagalkot
Key attractions : Hampi, Tunga Bhandra Dam, Pattakadal
Perspectives : Temples, Monuments, Dam
Distance travelled : 300kms – inclusive of detours

On day-10, we will start from Bellary and our first stop would be Hampi to explore various monuments of the mighty Vijaynagara empire in ruins. This is a UNESCO world Heritgate site. Our next stop would be at Hosapette, where we will visit Tunga Bhandra Dam – which is the largest dam in Karnataka. From there, we will get back to NH-13 and head towards Hungund. At Hungund we will take a left to Gudur and then reach Pattakadal. Pattadakal is another UNESCO world Heritage Center, it has 10 major temples representing early Chalukyan architecture. From there, we will drive to Bagalkot for the night halt.


DAY-11

Route : Bagalkot-NH218 to Bijapur- NH13 to Sholapur-NH9 to Indapur
Key attractions : Bijapur (Gol Gumbuz), Kollur (Malik-e-Maidan), Sholapur
Perspectives : Architecture, Palaces, Canon
Distance travelled : 300kms

On day-11, we will start from Bagalkot, take NH 218 to Bijapur. The key attraction at Bijapur is Gol Gumbuz which is the 2nd largest dome in the world (nearly 44m in diameter). The other attractions at Bijapur include Malik-e-Maidan, which is the world’s largest medieval canon, Jumma Masjid and Ibrahim Roza which is said to have inspired Taj Mahal. Clearly, we would have a lot to do in Bijapur and we look forward to covering as many of these great structures as possible. Bijapur is famous for hand woven sarees as well. After spending nearly the entire day in Bijapur, we will head off to Sholapur and then to Indapur for night stay.


DAY-12

Route : Indarpur-NH-9 – Pune – Expressway- Mumbai
Key attractions : Expressway, Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum, NDA
Perspectives : Museum, Modern India Infrastructure, Defence
Distance travelled : 320kms

The last and final day of the trip, we will start with a visit to Ujani dam in Indarpur and then head off to Pune. At Pune we plan to visit Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum. We also plan to visit National Defense Academy – the only academy in the world where all three forces are trained together. We will then drive through on Mumbai-Pune express way, a testimony to India’s great infrastructure. We plan to reach Mumbai at a time preferred by the trip organizers for the closing ceremony of the drive.

Why we are the best? - 5 key reasons!

Typically, it is sufficient to have one of the following to succeed at a task: Skill, passion, dedication, experience, great idea, support from friends and relatives. What if we try and combine all these factors? The resulting combination would be unbeatable. This is precisely the reason why we are the best candidates! Lets us describe each of the above reasons to you:

1. We have a great idea and a great plan – our route plan “Mitsubishi Constellation” is not just an innovative idea, but also our unique way to highlight the myriad threads that form the richly interwoven tapestry that's India. Yes friends, we have managed to pull through the toughest route challenge! We have made a route plan that showcases India from 15 different perspectives, is all within the daily limits set by the TGDC guidelines and still manages to draw a Mitsubishi insignia when plotted on a map! Please refer to our travel plan and the google map for more details. What’s the point we are making? Well…it proves beyond doubt that when you are in India, it just doesn’t matter what direction you decide to travel in, coz India is sure to surprise you with its beauty at each corner! Nothing else could have brought out India’s richness any better! To be honest, to design the route within the parameters of the daily kilometers limit plus the self-imposed constraint of forming the “Mitsubishi Constellation” was like solving a complex puzzle- the moment you increase or decrease the kilometers here, there goes the aesthetic appeal of the insignia, and the moment you pin down the end-points of the constellation, you realize suddenly that the kilometers got exceeded! Phew! Despite the constraints, we designed the route (a whopping 50-60 man-hours spent on that!) and as is evident from the testimonials, the efforts haven’t gone in vain!
   
2. We're Traveloholics! We have visited 17 countries worldwide and enjoy traveling immensely. So much so that we’ve decided to set up home at one of the world’s favourite tourist destinations- Singapore! The last we heard, the visa offices of the world (and environmentalists the world over) have been pretty unhappy with us…thanks to the rate at which we’ve been using up the pages in our passports! That’s why we believe that this contest is tailor made for us- an exact fit with our travel passion!
   
3. Driving, Driving, And Driving!! We love driving and we love cars, and also anything and everything that comes with being in love with driving and cars. We have driven across 4 different continents, and been on several long road trips world over (in 8 countries). In fact, saying that Anupam loves cars is an understatement- he lives them! What else would you say about the guy whose Mom asks her prospective daughter-in-law if she is prepared to live out of a car after marriage! And Aditi? Well, she has decent driving credentials too although she prefers to enjoy watching the scenery and contemplating on life’s philosophies while Anupam drives! ;) But despite what writers Allan & Barbara Pease may tell you, this woman is out to prove that “Women can read maps”! For us, driving is not just about passion, but it is something that needs the right mix of technique, experience, endurance and passion! Check out our blog for more details on our driving trips
   
4. We love to Jog… err…we mean Hog….oops…apologies, we meant We love to Blog! We’ve been blogging since 2004- about travel, driving, auto, cricket, self improvement, and everything else under the sun. But humour is our forte (or so we like to think!!) and we derive immense pleasure out of unleashing our PJs on the world! Check out our latest attempt at doing that- The Car-toon series called “Puncture ke Car-namey!” on our blog, which we intend to continue publishing while on the drive as well, deriving inspiration from the life-on-the-road. Please also see our Flickr album to get a flavour of our photography skills. Aditi is an artist at heart and some of her shots portray just that- an eye for detail and an eye for beauty in the mundane….
   
5. They say rolling stones gather no moss, but it seems rolling stones do gather a lot of votes! We’ve gathered almost 750 votes so far and we are seriously overwhelmed with the support that our family, extended family, friends and even people who don’t know us have extended to us. It feels really nice to have 750 odd people backing up your application…and we can’t wait to thank each and everyone of them by sharing the stories from our experiences on the drive!

All-in-all, we are not just the best candidates with required "skills and experience", but we will also ensure that all the avid followers of Great Driving Challenge have fun reading our blog posts, photo essays and updates. In short, Entertainment Guaranteed!

We are the best candidates for The Great Driving Challenge! - Our Video

Please see our video for The Great Driving Challenge! We are the best! :-)

Puncture ke Car-namey

A funny sketch from Aditi to help you get a flavour of what our puncture is like! Enjoy!

What's your route plan? Is there something special happening guys?

12 hours and 15 minutes left, before we submit our final application to the great driving challenge.

"So, whats your route plan? Is Mitsubishi Constellation happening guys? We haven't seen it as yet... " - we have heard many such queries over the last couple of days.

Wait a little while longer. Our route plan, credentials and something-very-very special will be uploaded on this blog (and in the application too) in the next 12 hours.

Please continue voting for us, and thanks so very much for your support. Today is the last day - please give us your support!

http://www.greatdrivingchallenge.com/application/1246425248799124

A walk down our driving experiences! :-)

Aditi and I have been on several drives. We are vastly experienced at driving trips - a reflection of our true passion. Firstly, let me start off with listing our key achievements:

1. Driven in 4 continents: Asia, Europe, Australia, Africa
2. Driven in 8 coutries: India, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Switzerland
3. Been on several long road trips. Going by distance, the two longest ones are the 3,630 km trip through Chennai - Bangalore - Goa - Mumbai - Pune - Hyderabad - Chennai and the 3,200 kms trip touching Chennai-Hyderabad-Mumbai-Vijaywada-Chennai
4. Achieved "1000 kms of driving in a day" twice. Once in South Africa and once in Malaysia.
5. Maximum distance in a day in India is ~900 kms from Vishakapatnam to Chennai... and many more in 800-900kms range in a day

Having highlighted key achievements, we would like to now highlight, some of our most memorable drives:

1. Auckland to Rotorua, New Zealand
2. Capetown to Cape of Good Hope, in South Africa
3. Stutgart (Germany) to Interlaken (Switzerland) and back, through Alps
4. Singapore to Cherating Malaysia - 2 trips
5. Several trips from Chennai to Ooty, Kodaikalan, Kerala (each ~1,500 kms or more)
6. Chennai to Dandeli Water Rafting, via Bangalore (trip of ~2,000 kms)
7. Separate trips from Singapore to Pangkor Island, Tioman Islands, Penang (in Malaysia) with each trip being ~1500 kms long8)
8. Atleast 15 trips from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur
9. Capetown to Knysna, South Africa (Garden Route)
10. Perth to Margaret River, Australia.
11. .. and numerous others....

Please check this blog for more details on a few of these. I have another blog for the longest trip I have been to: http://wimwi-road-trip.blogspot.com/

Introducing to you "Puncture"

The Great Driving Challenge is an amazing concept. It has been designed in such a way to get everyone excited. While I am kicked about driving and blogging, Aditi has let her creative side take-over.

For our trip, Aditi has designed a new cartoon character - "Puncture"! Puncture is purely Aditi's brain child. As she puts it, "Puncture is a little dumb... recent medical reports suggests that Puncture is suffering from Carotitis - a mental disorder, leaving the patient with the ability to only understand things that are in anyway related to cars.. for rest of worldly matters, our Puncture is totally dumb!"

Ladies and Gentlemen, Unveiling to you, "Puncture" (back ground music goes tain tain, tain tain toden tain, tain tain toden tain tain)

1) This is our "Dumb Puncture" - the natural pose!

2) If you discuss anything other than cars, this is his usual reaction:

3) All you need to do is to mention the word "car" and this is the reaction you get to see!

Mitsubishi Constellation - what's that?

We are all geared up for The Great Driving Challenge. By 17th, we all need to submit our final route plans, our driving history/ credentials and to define why are we the best candidates?

Our route plan is unique - we are creating the Mitsubishi Constellation - what's this? Well, it will all be unveiled shortly - this blog would have all the information by 17th evening. Till then, its all under wraps!

Please keep voting for us at The Great Driving Challenge. We need you support:

http://www.greatdrivingchallenge.com/application/1246425248799124/

Great Driving Challenge!

Aditi and me are participating in the great driving challenge contest. Please vote for us (link on this blog)!

Starting from today, we will be regularly updating you with our plans for the great driving challenge. You can read our profile and our travel plan at this link:

http://www.greatdrivingchallenge.com/application/1246425248799124

We will be updating our profile till 17th July. Please do keep checking - would be fantastic if you could help us get more votes. Please forward to your friends.

Do keep checking this blog... there will be quite a few posts in the coming days!

What can be done?

Mumbai terror attach has again brought up the biggest question that the world faces - how can terrorism be tackled? Any views - sorry - this post doesn't help us get anywhere, but would love to discuss further

Parallel Algorithm for Quick Sort!

It's been a while since I last logged on to Blogger. Over the last few days, I have tried to justify this temporary sabbatical attributing all possible reasons ranging from global warming to crude oil prices, but after extruding these set of reasons through a truth-funnel, the same age old problem emerged as the primary reason - my struggle with blogging topics! This time, it was a problem of plenty. I was confused with tons of topics to blog on - Tata Nano, about my latest challenging drive to highest peak at Cameron Highlands, aircraft technology and the airline industry, IPL business model, Sachin's statistical comparison with other greats, da da da...

I then did the mistake of again asking Ninja for a topic to blog on - and this is what Ninja the geek came up with. So, I thought, well why not? After all this blog was started to enlighten the world! :-)

At first glance, the topic looked fairly okay - "Parallel Algorithm For Quick Sort". Within first few minutes, I realised that I had understood all 5 words listed within the quotes - so should be a no brainer! Little did I know that the phrase that once appeared is one of my finance books would hold true here as well - "the whole is greater than the sum of parts"

Since then, I have spent the last 3 hours trying to figure out what this topic could mean before getting down to blog on it. These are the possible interpretations that I could come up with:

1. At all points, it is equi-distant from algorithm for quick sort
2. Logical sequence of steps (algorithm), parallel to each other, quick to compute in some ways (sorta)
3. Parallel algorithm that fast bowlers in cricket (quicks) could use to sort opposition batting order
4. You type in 4 words in excel - "parallel", "algorithm", "for", "quick" and then use data sort function
5. Parallel algorithm to kick start a scooter?
6. On par with allege rhythm for quick sort?
7. Pyare Lal agle road pe quick sutta!

... yesss... I think, I cracked it! :-)

Tata Nano – the most amazing thing to have happened to auto industry!

All through the post medieval history, any technological advancement has caught human attention – be it Wright Brother’s first flight, invention of internal combustion engine, the first super computer, the discovery of antibiotics, the decoding of human DNA – needless to say, one theme links it all - “technological advancement’. Lately, a new dimension to ‘innovation’ has emerged. Over the past decade or so, ‘cost’ and ‘affordability’ have started to drive changes. A lot of changes are now focused on bringing on redesigned products at much lower cost – be it the $100 laptop, a low-cost mobile phone or an ultra-cheap car. Yes, this post is about Tata Nano, priced at Rs. 1-Lakh or $2,500, it has halved the entry price for a car.

Ever since Mr. Ratan Tata first declared in public to manufacture the 1-lakh car, I have nearly followed every possible news article on this car. To me, this is the most amazing thing to have happened to auto industry, particularly for developing economies and will possibly impact entry level sedan segment world over. Before going in to details of the car and its impact, let me provide the views of a distant observer, from the day the plan became public (~4 years back) till today (just after the official launch of the car)

• Announcement of 1-lakh car project (~4 years back): I thought “hmmm… interesting, but not sure if they can pull it off” I was excited, but didn’t have too much confidence if this would be ever possible!

• My first impression: As more information started to come in, I thought this car would be without doors, possibly with a basic 2-wheeler engine and suspension system, possibly a cloth cover on top instead of a metal roof, no dashboard panel, wooden seats – in short, a car, but possibly not meeting the basic safety requirements and comfort

• My first inference: But even with the above description, 1-lakh car seemed attractive – it would be the same value for money that a Maruti 800 is at Rs. 2 Lakhs. It might have been a success, but Tata would have probably struggled to sell half a million units a year

• At the half way stage: Once Tata announced that it would indeed be a “proper car”, with a cute design, I really got excited about it. For this was not cost cutting, but a complete new invention of "traditional car". In one of the recent interviews, team at Tata Motors described their experience working on 1-lakh car – “we worked towards cutting almost 50-60% of costs for most parts”. Kudos to the team and the leadership – they would have pushed for 1-lakh price tag from seemingly impossible situations at many stages all through the development of this car

• The day before the official launch: The day before the Auto Expo Launch, I was betting my money on the following specifications – a price tag of 1.25 lakh, a boxy design, high proportion of plastics esp. with doors, a basic rear engine not meeting environment norms, two doors with seats folding to access the rear seats, etc

• Tata Nano launch: … and then, you get to see a much better car than a Maruti-800, meeting Euro-IV emission norms (I think engine sensors are a must for this), a killer design, plenty of space to seat 4-5 people, etc, etc – in short, a super car! In my books, if I was to benchmark this car with existing models on the road, it is worth at least Rs. 2 Lakhs

… well, at price tag of Rs 1.Lakh, it is a killer product! A pure market share eater!

Congratulations again to the team at Tata Motors, they have really redefined car designing and manufacturing. With the success that Tata Indica and other models have been, I am confident Tata has the operational capability to put the design to assembly line and manage the entire supply chain from suppliers to dealers producing a consistent good quality product. A big thanks to Tata Motors Team!

Harbhajan ban: time for us to set things right...

Sydney test had been a fantastic great test match - for the fight that Indian team put it, I seriously don't mind the result. However, Australian team, umpires and the match referee deserve no respect what-so-ever.

It's been 3-4 days since Aussie's first complained against Harbhajan - for apparently calling Symonds a 'monkey'! I just can't believe it. This is just stupid. You don't need a masters degree in lip reading to understand the kind of language Australians use on the field - apparently all that is absolutely normal stuff for them. The world's best performing team "yes", but one seriosuly needs to question the way they are playing cricket. I would instead watch an ethical Kenya team defeated by most teams by an innings and 450 runs play cricket as opposed to the current Australian lot.

That's not the end of the story - the umpires and the match referee join the party as well. The number of decisions that have gone against India cannot be defined as 'errors' even by the probability corresponding to the long tail of a normal distribution function. Statistically, it is impossible to be at the receiving end of the umpire goof ups so often. Steve Bucknor should be sent out of the game right away - this is not the first time this has happened.

Match referee deserves a spot light as well - what a decision to suspend Harbhajan for 3 tests. If this ban is to be enforced, lets set the whole system right. Suspending the entire Australian team wouldn't be enough. ICC would need to invent a time machine, go back in time and suspend all current and retired players from 1995 or so.

I am a bit worked up - this is not an issue of "just a game of cricket". There is more to it. This is racism at its peak. Team India is representing India the nation as well. There is a narrow line that separates "Well, lets just take the crap" and "compromising on self-respect"... and the line has been crossed. Irrespective of the fine (I hear it is $2.3Mn), team India should call off the tour - no matter what it is, BCCI has sufficient corpus to take the hit. It is a situation far from "for sake of the game and the relationship between the two nations, lets get on with cricket" - India should pack up and leave Oz land right away.

There are millions of viewers world over who are crazy about cricket, just as I am. We watch the game under the assumption that it is fair for one and all. We respect umpire's decisions, assuming that it is a simple case of human error, never for once doubting the "intent". We assume that match referees are there to make sure that things go in the spirit of the game and are the match is fair to one and all. When that basic assumption goes for a toss, I seriously wonder why we have woken up at 3am to watch a test match irrespective of anything else for over two decades - be it long work hours, board exams, etc, etc - just about anything on this planet.

Some very strong and serious measures need to be taken here. This is simply not done - unless the ban is revoked, the umpires/ match referee changed and punished, a few Australian players banned, I refuse to watch the scheduled 3rd test match at Perth. There is absolutely no need to be diplomatic anymore.

... may be, I will chill down in sometime, but I don't think I am gonna edit this post very much even after my head gets down to its STP (standard temperate and pressure)

Experiencing lateral inversion!

If I was to rewind back to school days, my NCERT science text book would have defined lateral inversion as “The effect produced by a mirror in reversing images from left to right”. In Kerala, I experienced “Lateral Inversion” in a somewhat different way – for some fuzzy reason, in a statistically significant way, most people got ‘left’ and ‘right’ wrong on most occasions. With time, I understood that ‘left’ is ‘left’ and ‘right’ is ‘right’ only as a matter of ‘convention’ and probably there is no strong logic behind that. On the contrary, with ‘up’ and ‘down’ there is some bit of ‘gravity’ rationale that comes into the picture.

To remain attuned to rest of the world, I decided to mentally define ‘right’ as ‘right’ symbolized by a few subconscious, yet logical rules – I started off with “I eat with my right hand”, shifting gradually to “steering is at the right of a car”. Beyond that stage, I don’t quite remember ever having problems with left and right. So in all probability, “steering is at the right of a car” is the ‘internal rule’ that over the years my directional sense has been calibrated too!

Through my existence on planet earth over the last 2 decades and my experience with excel modelling errors, attempts at solving ‘limited-information-case-studies’, trying my luck with Sudoku puzzles and attending structured communication training workshops, I have come to the conclusion that ‘assumption’ is what determines the ‘outcome’!

This is exactly what I experienced on my trip to Europe. Till then, fate had almost cherry picked my driving experiences as purely ‘right-hand drives’ – India, South East Asia, South Africa and Australia. On my trip to U.S., I took a bus from Boston to Capecod. With the intention to experience the ‘left hand drive’, I went and sat next to the driver, in the front. I was left in a state of being ‘zapped’ in a few minutes – possibly a combination of jet-lag and ‘left to right’ transformation on the road left me in that state. It was strange weird feeling – I couldn’t get to terms with the fact that on-coming vehicles were passing-by at 100 miles an hour to our ‘left’!

This November, Maharaj and I rented an E-class from Stuttgart (Germany). Since I had a valid license, I was the one behind the steering wheel. Frankly, I was a bit apprehensive to driving on the right side of the road. I tried various things to convince myself of this transformation, most notably being – ‘driving on the right side of the road, should by definition be the right side of the road!’

My over-cautious side took over for sometime – I drove at the minimum possible speed, shut the music off, kept 100% of my focus on road and tried to follow the arrows on the road. It all looked very weird! Maharaj was trying to give some fundaes and vibes about driving in Germany. I shut him up and said “… and you rustic! Keep shut and utter only when you find me heading on the wrong side of the road!”

Well, it took me probably half an hour to get used to this left to right transformation – with no better phrase to describe this, I coined it as ‘lateral inversion’!

By day-2 of our drive, I had completely lost it all. I had lost the sense of left and right. There were many occasions when Maharaj told me to turn right and I peacefully took the left turn! Given the rusticity of the situation, Maharaj came to my rescue by putting some rustic vibes – finally, we found a reason to cover up this goof-up and blamed it all on the human brain in general. Apparently, human brain can’t distinguish between left and right without any frame of reference, while up and down is governed by gravity.

I am back to the driving convention world that I am comfortable with. Inverse lateral inversion was rather easy – I got my directional sense right on my Avante during the very first minute of the drive. But, wait a minute, is right the right way to look at it when I am myself not sure if right is right and not left? Would Wright Brothers have the right answer to this mystery? Why are right hand drive cars more suited for left side drive? Confusion prevails, so does lateral inversion!

Europe Trip: London, Paris

London

• Met Boopos at Underground station near his house. On Sunday, he was returning from office at 9:45pm, still early by his standards – senti scene followed as we were meeting after 2.5 years :-)


• Reached Boopos ka apartment, had dinner, gen random fundaes discussed, off to sleep


• Next morning, took a bit easy, Boopos left at 8am, I started after 10am


• Headed to Lords Cricket Ground, The home of cricket! – In the last 26 years, histroy has failed to impress me, but for once, it was interesting to know about the history of Ashes, Lara’s record innings, etc, etc


• Had lunch next to the cricket ground, headed to London eye – a fantastic view of the city and places nearby


• Took a few clicks at the Tower bridge (I thought it was the London Bridge, supposed to have been falling down - so said my nursery rhyme!)


• Caught up with friends for drinks and dinner- Challa, Buttler, Anta, Philip Boopos and Bharath


• Next day, got up at 5am or so and boarded the Eurostar to Paris.

Paris

• Toulouse trip cancelled due to non-availability of tickets.


• Checked-in to a hotel, took the day off and slept – It has been 5 days with very little sleep.
• Got up late at night, went for a walk at around 2am near Montparnasse. Enjoyed the chilly cold winter and the light wind that made it even chiller!
• Next morning, took the Metro to Eifel Tower
• Long queue at the tower, so took a city tour
• Went to ….Museum – I can’t appreciate art, just not inclined to any form of art. But, even for someone like me, this Museum was amazing.
• Saw the much-hyped painting Mosalisa. Must say, other painting and the colour combinations used impressed me a lot more
• Visited Notterdam saw from outside and had a good lunch at a typical French restaurant
• Visited another piece of architecture and the region around that. Saw Lido from outside, the show didn’t start till late at night.
• Got back to Eifel Tower – had a chance to go up right till the top (3rd floor) – the view was simply superb. Eifel tower is amazing – build only of iron trusses and it is rock solid, unshakeable!
• Eifel tower was now lighted and was looking fantastic – a true killer sight
• Took night train to Stuttgart – train journey was okay types, perhaps I had expected the train to be a bit better than what it really was