Driving without a Driver
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
This is what they have been showing on Aaj Tak (a 24x7 news channel in India) now-a-days. This is just a sample but crazy stuff like this has been going on ever since they went 24x7 'cause they run outta news and topics to discuss :P
This Video and related interviews and all were discussed throughout the day until they found out the truth - that its just another camera trick. Sigh !!
Archived in: Media India Aaj-Tak News Trick
Posted by Rajesh @ 2:43 PM; PERMALINK,
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SIFY Broadband Sucks
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
They claim that they have the best connectivity in the city but a SIFY broadband connection is nothing but the worst. I pray everyday before attempting to make a connection just so that I am able to get connected to the www world. Although it has been only less than a week since I've started using it, I already have found a broken connection and was internetless for 2 days.
The 256 kbps connection that we have, gets disconnected frequently and even the network connection is broken some time. I think they have been impressed by Murphy's Law, like whenever I need to use it urgent - voila its down. Had to call the customer rep. twice to report the issue.
Mind you the CReps are of no use, all they say is that it would be resolved in 24 hours. Are you kidding me ? 24 hours in a city like Mumbai ? And then they say that its 'cause of the heavy rains yesterday night. I say Good !!! Heavy rains means no connectivity for the whole week.
Sigh! I dont know how they plan to go forward when its gonna get crazy soon with broadband connections becoming common in a year or two. BSNL offers a better service I heard but then am yet to try that. If this thing continues, I bet I would have to switch over.
Or is it 'cause things in India dont work if you dont start screaming on top of your voice and tell them that you are discontinuing the service? I think so ... the very moment I tell that, they start framing up answers and start rolling the dice ... "Woh Engineer nikala hai Sir kuch hi der pehele. Ek Do Ghante mein thik ho jaayega" ( The engineer has left to resolve the issue. It should get resolved in 1-2 hours time).
I have been obliged with a better connectivity after that (knock on the wood) and hope I dont find it to be the same as I found out coupla days ago. Disconnected automatically at 1:00 AM. Whom do I call then right ?
Posted by Rajesh @ 2:22 PM; PERMALINK,
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Of call centers and 1800 numbers
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
The Call Center phenomena is really gearing up out here in India; having a call center out here is the norm for many global companies today. Most of it is due to an effort by them to meet the growing intl. demand for cost-effective, customer oriented call centers. Though we may have had one or two bad experiences, India still is an attractive option for them.
A look into the strengths that we possess reveals -
* The largest English-speaking population after USA
* A booming IT industry with its IT strengths recognized all over the world.
* Cost effective manpower.
* A Vast workforce of educated, tech savvy personnel.
It shouldn't come as a surprise to me but dunno why. Day one, I stare outside the window of my apt I see the building outside all lit up @ 10 O'clock in the night. An enquiry reveals that its a Call Center. I'm like what ? It wasn't there anout 2.5 years back. To which my brother answers and so wasn't the IT boom.
Oh man!! This is just one of the surprises that's in store for you if you havent paid a visit to home-land in the last 2-3 years. Youngsters all lined up at the gate for various shifts, Motorbikes parked left,right and on the footpaths are a common sight in front of the building. A leading telesystems firm decided to grab the location for its Domestic call center some 2 years ago and now boasts of about 3000 employees !!
Clicked a snap today - wondering whether 3 Sintex tanks are enuf for them ??? ;-)
Archived in : Call Centers, Toll Free, India, Mumbai, US
Posted by Rajesh @ 6:21 AM; PERMALINK,
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Heights of Litter
Saturday, September 16, 2006
It was year 1965 when US astrounaut Ed White lost a spare glove when he went outside his spaceship for the first time. From that time, astrounauts have accidentally added some of the more unusual items to the 100,000 pieces of space trash.
NASA says it has spotted debris hits of dried-up urine, toothpaste, and shaving cream, in an experiment placed outside of the Russian space station Mir. In fact an Indonesian satellite was struck by urine and fecal matter.
Although it may sound funny, its a serious issue and a dangerous one too. Not only can space junk damage or kill, you can get sued, too. There are lawyers who monitor space junk because there's a complex legal treaty about who is responsible when the man-made debris cripples a satellite worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
In the 1960s, America launched bunches of copper needles into Earth's orbit in an ill-conceived plan for post-nuclear war communications. Many of those needles are still up there. Other intentionally jettisoned space junk once included bags of trash thrown overboard from the Russian space station Mir and pieces of equipment pitched into orbit from spacewalkers fixing the Hubble Space Telescope.
Actually there are much bigger objects to worry about, including giant rocket bodies from launches dating back to 1958. Travelling at such high velocities, even a small body could cause trouble. Imagine a particle hitting you while you are out there inspecting your spaceshuttle.
Delta 2nd stage cylindrical propellant tank that landed in Georgetown, TX
News courtsey AP
Posted by Rajesh @ 2:45 PM; PERMALINK,
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