Why adopting firefox matters

At present IE is the browser used by majority of the users around the world; infact its miles ahead of competition in terms of usage. 

Now any new browser related technology cannot be used widely until its implemented by IE. Lets take SVG for example, supported by both opera and firefox, it is a fomidable player that can to a great extent change the face of our UIs, but due to the non implementation by IE, it still cant become a defacto standard.

So the company that leads the browser race will always have a greater say in terms of the standards that it wants to push through in the web technology side. Say tommorow Mozilla comes up with a new way of doing animations on the browser, a new language like html which allows for richer UIs and may be 3d object rendering, it would not be widely accepted till IE implements it. 

I think google might has a similar plan with its chrome. Giving things for free to start with doent actually mean they are free. Eventually if you have a browser in the market that every one uses then you have a monopoly in defining how users will interact, how data will be trasmitted, what new things can be supported and all such other things.

So it really matters that Firefox win the browser wars, so that standards remain opensource and the power of decision lies with us, with the people.

Solution to Traffic : Serving close to the consumer

Isn't it cool that both, traffic on the roads (like bangalore) and the traffic on the internet have similar solutions.

"Serving close to the consumer"

One of the principle on which the CDNs (Content Delivery Networks) work is that closer is better, hence web caches store popular content closer to the user. This reduce bandwidth requirements, reduce server load, and improve the client response times for content stored in the cache.

Similarly city planner are now looking to create homes closer to offices and shopping malls closer to home, so that the whole ecosystem is nearby, thereby reducing the need for travel and hence the traffic.

VC scene in india

http://mitsloanblog.typepad.com/varun/2008/07/nothing-venture.html

Creativity in organizations

Bottom’s up innovation is best possible if there is an environment of freedom, where a lot of people believe and like to engage in the process of innovation. Once people start enjoying the process of thinking outwards, of thinking weird and of think beyond their constraints, that is when that collaborative innovation is best possible. Any creation, according to me, is an individualistic process. So for a team to be innovative, they need to function like our brain. We have different thoughts in our brain but in the end the brain is able to come to a outlook, confused or consistent, but an outlook, nonetheless. In team we have to function like that, believing that each member is part of the same whole (the brain), you agree, you disagree, but u cant run away, so in the end there has to be the final outlook which is the result of all the various directions that the individual members went into, and each thought needs to be see as a gust of wind that helped in reinforcing or hindering the direction of the outlook.

Start ups are the best place where people can be creative, because with less people to make decisions, there is a lot of freedom in terms of decision making.

What does America create?

The other day someone was discussing what is it that America creates, what is that when consumed benefits Americans themselves and not indians, chinese or taiwanese people. I think the answer would be movies, music and television serials.

Inroads into rural markets

For them its just a market, but they sure will revolutionize the access to villages. Mobile networks are creating inroads into areas where even electricity hasn't reached, which opens u a whole new market for vendors to sell goods to the rural population.

Two things can change the way goods are bought and sold. One, an excellent network and two, a good delivery sevice (like a post office).

Post offices need to leverage their amazing delivery network and need to tie up with vendors to create amazing employment and other opputunities for everyone in rural areas.

Mobile based ordering system and courier (or post office) based delivery system looks like a killer combo.

Soon Rural kiosks will be coming up in a lot of states. They wil have simple interfaces and allow people to buy things easily, online.

The possibilities in terms of education like shown in the IDEA ad are also immense.
What ever be the speed of the internet in villages, if the amount of browsing s limited to few specific task, then local storages can help a lot.

All that is need is each one of us, pick up atleast our own village and try to help it grow.

Lessons in understanding people

- Every one wants rewards, if he works hard .... give it

- No politics dude ... its more often than not explicitly evident ...

- Never judge a person by the company he keeps, and actually try not to hard judge a person at all ....

- Give people chances and once you do so ... believe in them ... give them confidence ... everyone has potential, the need is to find the key to unlocking it!!

Mass Collaboration

Wikinomics explores how some companies in the early 21st century have used mass collaboration (also called peer production) and open-source technology such as wikis to be successful.

Mass collaboration is the key word here. A large number of people coming together to share and create, each one doing his bit, to add to the creation of the final product.
This is what web 2.0 is about, the users being active part of content creation. The consumer is the producer.There is no central athourity, just a set of guiding rules, and beyond them is the magic of the crowds.

What does collaboration require?
A basic idea (a goal) to work on.
A protocol for interaction. (a set of rules to guide the individuals)
Means to share information and thoughts (the tools)

Once these things are in place, the crowds can work magic.

The output at each level of interaction should become the input for the next level of interaction, in order to create generations of ever evolving interactions.

Where enterpreneurs fail

Looking and thinking ahead and loosing sight of the present is a common trend among a lot of enterpreneurs wherein lies the recipe for disaster.

Rock Stars

Every company has its set of Rock Stars that make things happen there. These are the key people who can handle tough projects, show immense grit and dedication in the most testing of conditions, have the ability to motivate others and above all are excellent in delivering what is expected of them and more, at times singlehandedly.

Their best attribute is their ability to take initiative and belief in their abilty to deliver ... They can be called upon whenever there is a crisis.

Rock Stars, the pillar on which the company bases itself, the people who move the companies forward.

Merger problems

IMHO, the most important problem with mergers is that the most talented people might leave the company being bought, eroding its actual worth right after the takeover. I think its important in mergers that the two companies do not immediately try to impose their identities on each but rather let it be a gradual process.

Consider that some people might have been working in a company for a long time and would be extreeely passionate about the identiy of their company, which would tto a great extent be entwined into their own identity.

To take away that whole identity in a single shot can be blow to anybody's self esteem. Hence the buying company needs to be very care in the way it handles the merger. I would think that keeping the identity of the other company as a subidentity of the parent company still helps in lessening the impact.

BRIC

BRICs, the Goldman coined term for the 4 emerging economies that are going to have a huge impact on world economics. Currently they together account for 15% of the world's GDP.

Jim'o' Nile of GS mentions in his interview at http://www2.goldmansachs.com/ideas/brics/index.html, there is a need for the global policy making organizations to give a greater role to these countries and not doing so can render a lot of policies useless.

Tech news update

- Microsoft planning to buy FAST enterprise search search engine to probably add excellent search capabilities to Sharepoint.

- Feedburner being bought by Google for a $100 million. With an investment of only $10 million thats great going.

- Google out with an opensource mobile OS Android, wherein developers can build applications in JAVA. A move to counter Windows mobile, eh? Maybe.

- Open ID project is now being supported by Microsoft and Google among other. Way to go for a future of Single Sign on for everything on the net !!

Future Group IPO

Future Capital IPO gets clearance from SEBI and may hit the market soon if the news is true , this is considered one of the good ipo as its from the Future Group.The company is looking to raise Rs 400 crore through IPO.Future Capital Holdings is offering 64.2 lakh shares via IPO and diluting 10.16% of equity. Promoters holding will reduced to 74% from current 83%.Currently the listed Pantaloon holds 61%, which will come down to 55% post IPO. Kishore Biyani's stake will come down from 6.6% to 6% post IPO.
Source : CNBC