Leisure!

This poem is one of my childhood favourites. I think i was in the 3rd or 4th standard when i first read it....brings back a lot of good memories of my school days....!
I am dedicating this lovely poem to my busy husband who has no time to stand and stare at me...-:):)
(PS- i know that was a bad one...;)..)

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

Nokia's Strategy in India

Finland based Nokia commands a 70% market share for mobile phones in India.How did Nokia take the lead?What were the other mobile giants doing?What was Nokia's strategy to win the Indian market?

Well, here are some of the answers ->

a) The company was completely focused on two core businesses - mobile phones and telecommunications networks.It exited from all it's other business domains. This gave it an edge over others who had consumer electronics, home appliances etc to take care of!

b) It made an early investment in the brand, people, infrastructure, manufacturing, distribution, design and R&D of the handset domain. Nokia entered the Indian market in 1994. The first ever GSM call in India was made on a Nokia 2110 mobile phone on its own network in 1995.

c) It was successful in utilizing the fundamental consumer differences between India and other countries.In other words it started thinking locally.Some of the examples::
1) It came up with tunes like Sare jahan se achcha in its 5110 model in 1998.
2) In 2000, its first Hindi user interface in the 3210 model gave it the confidence to target its product development efforts at the Hindi-speaking population.
3) It introduced the Hindi text messsaging facility in the 3610 in the year 2001.
4) The Nokia 1100, the first made-for-india phone was a huge success.It incorporated a flashlight, a sheath-covered keypad for dust protection and a slip-free grip.

d) It established several R&D centres, labs and manufacturing facilities in India before it's competitors. The $150 million handset manufacturing facility established by Nokia in Chennai in the year 2005 has a total production of over 25 million handsets!!!

e) It took care of building it's brand in India.With great marketing skills and promoting each platform(like the E and N series) rather than each product, there was no looking back!

Well,that summarizes Nokia's strategy for success in India.I might have missed out some stuff so do let me know in case anyone has a point to be added to this list!

For those who know me well, do not worry, i am still a hard core Motorola fan :)
As someone has rightly said -
“You have to like math. You need to learn it and be able to apply it to the problem in front of you, and some of it is just learning from other competitions.”

Law of Unintended Consequences

I am sure every software engineer must have browsed through Pressman's software engineering bible at least once.I know it is too detailed and can get boring at times but it's worth a read for all the inspiring software engineers/managers.
Pressman starts the book(the 6th edition) by mentioning the "Law of Unintended Consequences". This law as it relates to software(it is applicable to economics and politics too) is the phenomenon where the invention of one technology can have profound and unexpected effects on other seemingly unrelated technologies, people or even cultures.

Today computer software is the single most important technology in the world. One cannot imagine a life without it.The development of software has made life easier and comfortable for the average individual.It is an essential ingredient of all of his day to day activities.
Starting from mainframes to embedded devices, software is found everywhere but it has hampered some other industries unknowingly.


I will take an example of the cell/mobile phone here.Cellular phones have taken the landline's position.The concept of being "Connected everywhere" or "Seamless Mobility" has made cell phones very popular.Besides this, a modern cell phone incorporates a calculator, watch, calendar, alarm, mp3 player, games etc. One would obviously prefer a cell phone to spending money on the individual items. As the Nokia N95 ad goes ..."There is a thing in my pocket, but it is not one thing, its many..."
The software industry is filled with many such examples like online newspapers, faster emails, chat sessions with data sharing, free mp3 and video downloads.......the list goes on....each affecting a traditional industry in some way...


It's strange and thought provoking how an innocent innovation can have such an unpredictable impact on the unrelated fields.I am sure we will soon have a technology that will make the software look useless and futile!!!

Rescue Animals!!!

Click on this link to fund food for needy animals - http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces;jsessionid=06A24666328894A1F054D151E1D6CE63.ctgProd03

Every click provides the value of .6 bowls of food and care to a rescued animal in a shelter or sanctuary. You could also send e-cards or buy products from their pet store.

So, click now...it's FREE!!!