tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38708389098667677922024-02-18T18:59:14.994-08:00MusingsSandeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10790280703409659627noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870838909866767792.post-2522478095096924142014-01-06T18:36:00.002-08:002014-01-15T15:29:19.210-08:00Changing the way nonprofits ask for money...<div class="p1">
You may have heard about the untimely demise of the Fast and Furious actor Paul Walker recently. Paul died in a horrific car crash after returning from an event related to his nonprofit organization <a href="https://www.roww.org/">Reach Out WorldWide</a>.</div>
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From what I read online Paul was a great guy -- he anonymously paid for engagement ring for a war veteran and then founding Reach Out Worldwide to help people that have been affected with a natural disaster. I was moved by his efforts and was about to donate money to his charity when I came across following statistic -- <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/05/showbiz/celebrity-news-gossip/paul-walker-death-notoriety/">only 35 cents on the dollar goes towards the cause</a>; the rest is spent on administrative expenses and fund raising efforts. Now that didn't sit well with me. </div>
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I suppose most people will like to donate their money to organizations where majority of the money (preferably at least 75 cents on the dollar) towards the cause. I spent time on charity navigator to find this number for popular nonprofits that we know of and here are the results:</div>
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<b>Charity Name % of Funds going to Programs</b></div>
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American Red Cross<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span> <a href="http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=3277#.Usthg2RDutI">90.7%</a></div>
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Livestrong Foundation <a href="http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=13379#.Ustg5mRDutI">83.5%</a><span class="Apple-tab-span"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span"></span></div>
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The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society <a href="http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=3993#.UstiMWRDutI">73%</a></div>
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St. Judes Children's Research Hospital <a href="http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=12847">70%</a></div>
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Reach Out WorldWide was <i>not</i> covered on charity navigator as of the date of publishing this blog.</div>
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If I were to guess, most if not all people do not look at such metric before donating their money.</div>
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I would like to propose a new law where any nonprofit trying to raise money online or otherwise is required to indicate roughly how much of the donation will be spent towards the cause. By doing this, the donor becomes more informed and a good side affect will be that the donation money will be channeled more towards efficient organizations.</div>
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Thoughts?</div>
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Did you know <a href="http://www.tampabay.com/topics/specials/worst-charities1.page">one appalling statistic that top 50 worst charities earn about $1B from corporate fundraising</a>. Wow.</div>
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Sandeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10790280703409659627noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870838909866767792.post-67742365389316045702013-08-14T17:07:00.000-07:002013-08-14T17:08:45.110-07:00Idea #1: Organizing Belts in a Store<div class="p1">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">(From now on, I will tag my product idea/suggestion posts with a number for easier tracking)</span></i></div>
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What do you observe about the image below? It was taken at a nearby Banana Republic store but I have found almost stores arranging the belts this way only.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoWeL7wNdeeP3_diLnUAmEFWWn2OypCf9zCxUUA1LQo5vKbkyyuTXlicFBtSqDAqtR6SLWD009dx0d_ryiL8vNkG6UnZNF3SF8lqxolkf-stDgI9w2tSySM24Vn9_EEfJ8kD-i2llAS_yP/s1600/photo+(10).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoWeL7wNdeeP3_diLnUAmEFWWn2OypCf9zCxUUA1LQo5vKbkyyuTXlicFBtSqDAqtR6SLWD009dx0d_ryiL8vNkG6UnZNF3SF8lqxolkf-stDgI9w2tSySM24Vn9_EEfJ8kD-i2llAS_yP/s640/photo+(10).JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Belts at a nearby Banana Republic store</td></tr>
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Existing arrangement of belts seems to be based on the type of the belt (with the occasional misplacement done by perhaps confused customers). Now, it would be reasonable to assume that anyone shopping for belts is looking for a certain size belt only, lets say 32. Finding a 32 size belt in above arrangement is actually quite challenging. I have to reach back into the line of the belts to find a size 32 only to realize I don't like the type.</div>
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IDEA:</div>
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Why not organize the belts based on just the size. That way, customers only have to look through one aisle of belts and can decide which design they like. </div>
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Now should that be extended to other items in the store: jeans/trousers/shirts etc. ? Thinking some more on this topic, I feel that if the items are hanging in a rack with decent inter-item space (and not crammed up like what you see for items on sale), that organizing by size could be efficient. However, if items are placed one above another on a table, then organizing by type makes most sense.</div>
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What do <i>you</i> think?</div>
Sandeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10790280703409659627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870838909866767792.post-35198359596842503102012-07-09T22:26:00.003-07:002012-07-09T22:27:06.592-07:00Web UE: Keypoint vs AllyThought of sharing this small observation for 2 online banking sites:<br />
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<a href="https://www.keypointcu-secure.com/onlineserv/HB/ForgottenPW.cgi" target="_blank">Keypoint Credit Union Forgotten Password:</a></div>
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Notice the phone number listed here. However, I don't know whether</div>
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a) this is a 24/7 line or 8-5pm line (I logged in at ~10pm PST)</div>
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b) "Chat with us Now" is not a hyperlink... may be "Now" is a hyperlink that lights up during business hours.</div>
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However, to my surprise I called and it was picked up within 30 sec. I loved this service... but I was almost tempted to not call (remember those </div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">1-800 service numbers where you dial in, enter your account information, spend 5 mins and are later told that the offices are closed at this time). </span></div>
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Net result.... <i><u>excellent service but not so well marketed.</u></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHuKquVRpNGh5kC_PvVHX3YDTXMhbsjQDrWdHD5cfjofXqGKYgzMC9OSuQrTJteQ6Ntnyt3YJ5IINb_19BzxJ_Y_bVkIGe0fD6ZkCb0i4mzaFd1rW_B1JpZp7y4l4V16uyxXIYhpEaeVyu/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-07-09+at+10.03.03+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHuKquVRpNGh5kC_PvVHX3YDTXMhbsjQDrWdHD5cfjofXqGKYgzMC9OSuQrTJteQ6Ntnyt3YJ5IINb_19BzxJ_Y_bVkIGe0fD6ZkCb0i4mzaFd1rW_B1JpZp7y4l4V16uyxXIYhpEaeVyu/s400/Screen+Shot+2012-07-09+at+10.03.03+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Now, let's take a look at another bank... <a href="http://www.ally.com/" target="_blank">Ally Bank.</a></div>
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Now, note what they have on their main web page</div>
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a) tells me 1-877 is 24/7 right away</div>
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b) this is best-in-class!!! it tells me my <u>current wait time.</u><b> Wow!</b></div>
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This is awesome. If you bank with Ally, there are more awesome features in their website. Now one wonders why keypoint or wells fargo or bank of america or name-your-bank website is not as awesome as that of Ally Bank.... may be because the website is the ONLY face of ally bank to its customers (Ally is an online only bank) and as such they spend more time on the website than any other bank!</div>
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I was trying to find out who created the website... was it outsourced or developed inhouse... than I though wait-a-minute, an online bank company shouldn't outsource its key component of go-to-market and lo and behold... LinkedIn indicates that they have a big UE team. No wonder... :-) </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBN8-SFXHmfO1_ejsyaLr1dTyzhzRIUJDvV6B2IOLg5yIDplHMB3uKlx8uUV8MSSyTt1tidUIUNrjdytiYmLv7JABssyFzcz9IrvHq-kIvV-2MjxUO3xM-Tuj1mPV_K2WgkM6ELhqg2spF/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-07-09+at+10.03.44+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBN8-SFXHmfO1_ejsyaLr1dTyzhzRIUJDvV6B2IOLg5yIDplHMB3uKlx8uUV8MSSyTt1tidUIUNrjdytiYmLv7JABssyFzcz9IrvHq-kIvV-2MjxUO3xM-Tuj1mPV_K2WgkM6ELhqg2spF/s400/Screen+Shot+2012-07-09+at+10.03.44+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>Sandeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10790280703409659627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870838909866767792.post-67091947951511261182012-06-12T00:47:00.003-07:002012-06-12T00:47:31.560-07:00Blockbuster vs Netflix (How IMDB can help)<br />
I have been a Netflix customer for many customers. I am also a frustrated customer -- reason being its becoming harder and harder to find the movies that I like to watch and that have a good rating as well. My biggest pain point is that Netflix doesn't allow me to search movies by rating. Moreover, I think their collection no longer rocks. My frustration causes me naturally to look sideways for alternatives.<br />
<br />Welcome Blockbuster (willing to give them another chance).<br />
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To me, collection of good movies is the top criteria but sadly there is no quick and easy way to find out which company has more collection and also that of good movies. To qualify what is a good movie, I think IMDB movie rating can serve as a good indicator. So I am trying to find out following:<br />
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1) How many % of IMDB movies does Netflix and Blockbuster have (Coverage)<br />
2) How many % of IMDB movies with rating > 6 does Netflix and Blockbuster have (Good movie coverage)<br />
3) How many 2012 movies Netflix/Blockbuster have (New movie coverage)<br />
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Simple questions but to find the answers, I will have to resort to my favorite past time programming -- web scripting using wget/perl/grep/ etc.<br />
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Let me know what you think of this problem and if you are interested to see the results,<br />
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Cheers,Sandeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10790280703409659627noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870838909866767792.post-58898743131871621822012-06-12T00:28:00.001-07:002012-06-12T00:28:41.419-07:00I-know-if-you-have-an-iphone-iOS5To find out what cell phone and what OS/browser one is using, typically one resorts to looking at the browser user-agent (check <a href="http://whatsmyuseragent.com/" target="_blank">whats-my-user-agent</a>) that the browser on the phone will send out in any web transaction, but that would require the user to do some browser activity on their phone. Note that hackers require this information to find out what viruses/malware they should throw at your phone.<br />
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Well, Apple with iOS 5 made their job a heck lot easier.<br />
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The hackers can now find that out by just sending a text message.<br />
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Welcome, iMessage.<br />
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As you may have noticed, if you send text to anyone who has iPhone and is using iOS 5, the message automatically turns "blue" indicating the message was sent using Apple's internal servers and NOT through the service provider. It also <i>indirectly</i> (and may be inadvertently?) informs the sender that the recipient has an iPhone with iOS 5.<br />
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Do you think this information helps hackers? Do you think its a privacy concern? Or just a topic for someone to blog about :-)<br />
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I for one think its fodder for hackers.<br />
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<br />Sandeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10790280703409659627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870838909866767792.post-20825681657604823232011-01-30T23:06:00.000-08:002011-01-30T23:06:50.090-08:00People's Revolution: Why Iran failed and Why Egypt is SucceedingHearing dramatic events happening in Egypt, I couldn’t help but wonder why certain “people revolutions” go further than others. I was reminded of a similar revolution in Iran recently which even though seemed to be gaining momentum by the day quickly fell apart. However, protests in Egypt seem to be taking a different turn and Husni Mubarak’s position seems to be increasingly marginalized.<br />
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To come to streets despite the threat of being shot down by government-backed armed personnel takes a lot of courage... a lot. But let’s not kid ourselves. A bullet is a bullet. Initially, when people turn to streets, local law enforcement is used to contain the crowd. Now, it is reasonable to assume that the local law enforcement has strong ties with the community they operate in and as such turning guns on them is not a choice many would like to make. As such, almost in all cases military is eventually called to contain the situation – army has no local ties and all armies are trained to strictly follow orders of their superiors (As a side note, I’ve heard that in Uttar Pradesh (a State in India), if protesters belong to largely one religion (Hindus or Muslims), the policemen sent to contain them are chosen from the other religion). This is where a make or break can occur for any people’s revolution and it resides mostly on a single person – Chief of Army. If the Army Chief chooses to side with the public, then the dictator can for all practical purposes pack the bags.<br />
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A couple of years back in <b>Iran</b>, where protestors lay siege of Tehran disputing the election results in which Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won, army chose to side with the government. The threat of the bullet in that case becomes very real and sure enough the protest quickly got dismantled. Similar situation unfolded in Myanmar in 2007 when army quelled the protest by Buddhist monks (<b>Myanmar </b>is ruled by the army). <b>China’s </b>Tiananmen Square revolution was similarly silenced two decades back.<br />
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However, a different situation emerged in <b>Thailand </b>few years back when protestors took siege of Bangkok International Airport against the policies of ruling government. The protest apparently had the blessings of the King of Thailand, most revered person in Thailand. As such, the army didn’t use a heavy hand in stopping the protest and eventually the Prime Minister of Thailand had to resign. I am seeing a similar situation unfold in Egypt where army seems to be taking more of an observer role rather than dealing with protestors heavily. So ultimately it boils to down one person or a group of individuals who control the army. If the generals decide that Mubarak is more of a liability then Mubarak is gone. I am sure Mubarak is anxiously waiting to know.Sandeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10790280703409659627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870838909866767792.post-59648002664579463512011-01-20T15:45:00.000-08:002011-01-20T15:45:06.967-08:00How to play "Are you smarter than a 5th Grader"I have been watching this program for quite some time now and besides learning some cool basic stuff (e.g., How many states are in Mexico? I had guessed 6... but the answer is 31!!!!) I found that none of the participants played the game "strategically". My guess is if they had, their winnings would have been higher.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFaYSkMlXk7J4e35K9yO7Yi8yj2zg78DadbZ16NHed8eKWg6kbMD_b7DOUJEGqBQAxshqtVj3zMSTR-00Y9UZsjqy3Yr1hE7eSmVBUbkNdk8Hb7q4Riqsp0bCaf-0okMKJmZd0dKcp1DzC/s1600/IMG_0734.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFaYSkMlXk7J4e35K9yO7Yi8yj2zg78DadbZ16NHed8eKWg6kbMD_b7DOUJEGqBQAxshqtVj3zMSTR-00Y9UZsjqy3Yr1hE7eSmVBUbkNdk8Hb7q4Riqsp0bCaf-0okMKJmZd0dKcp1DzC/s320/IMG_0734.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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Let me first explain how the game show works: There are 8 questions in total, each belonging to a different subject and there are 2 questions for each grade.. see above image.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLW-ZjFY5F9gG6swA8rxkVyw9_4di_bzU5M89QH8SvSh3e5sicVjVGtzh4r1LQyh2pKmyJtDeBI9GLGIYI0zgy5MyMrEn4BYzKRGSmOXDNkY8mnB57iEyco6A2XOJ1Uk3KuXvdlW5ScpDl/s1600/IMG_0735.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLW-ZjFY5F9gG6swA8rxkVyw9_4di_bzU5M89QH8SvSh3e5sicVjVGtzh4r1LQyh2pKmyJtDeBI9GLGIYI0zgy5MyMrEn4BYzKRGSmOXDNkY8mnB57iEyco6A2XOJ1Uk3KuXvdlW5ScpDl/s320/IMG_0735.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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Payout is proportional to the grade level i.e.,<br />
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Each 1st grade question gives $500<br />
Each 2nd grade question gives $1000<br />
Each 3rd grade question gives $3500<br />
Each 4th grade question gives $7500<br />
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Since there are 2 questions for each grade, possible winnings are $25,000 (2*(500+1000+3500+7500)).<br />
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A contestant has to answer all the questions; he/she can only choose the order of answering questions. If a contestant fails to answer any question correctly then all amount earned till that point is forfeited. And here's where a contestant needs to be smart in choosing the "right" order for picking questions.<br />
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Most of the contestants start with 1st grade questions (most easy ones) possibly to experience a good start. But strategically speaking, <i>they should start with the hardest question (i.e. 4th grade question) FIRST</i> so that even if they miss it, they do not lose any money they may have earned till that point had they picked the 4th grade question later. Also, since there are 2 questions for each grade, within a grade, the contestant is better off choosing the hardest subject first. With this order, I think a candidate will end up earning more (of course above logic assumes that the candidate is more likely to correctly answer lower grade questions correctly than<br />
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What do you think?Sandeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10790280703409659627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870838909866767792.post-79347645580053165582011-01-19T11:17:00.000-08:002011-01-19T11:17:23.264-08:00PottyMouth! update<a href="http://tinyurl.com/pottymouthapp">PottyMouth!</a> is a funny app that translates cuss words (including audio translations) in 8 languages (Spanish, Italian, German, French, Chinese, Russian and Hindi). We launched the paid version of the app on July 31 2010 and lite (free) version around Nov 15 2010. Here's a quick update on the app...<br />
<ul><li>Downloaded in 60+ countries. Our top downloading countries are USA, UK, Canada and Australia in that order. </li>
<li>Rated as top <a href="http://bit.ly/aCt2Ly">NFL App</a> on Appolicious</li>
<li><a href="http://bit.ly/dVXkjU">Highest Rated App</a> on Appsafari</li>
<li>Downloaded by Timothy Jay, a renowned expert on swearing and a professor of psychology at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. </li>
</ul><div>We will be shortly launching an NFL football sweepstakes (gift cards valued at $100 each) in order to celebrate colorful cussing by Rex Ryan and Anthony Cromartie! :-)</div><div><br />
</div><div>--- PottyMouth! supports healthy and playful cussing ---- </div><div><br />
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</div>Sandeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10790280703409659627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870838909866767792.post-25868174946340050772011-01-05T15:08:00.000-08:002011-01-05T15:08:55.431-08:00Cross-selling iPhone AppsAs some of you may know, I created an iPhone app last year, <a href="http://tinyurl.com/pottymouthapp">PottyMouth!</a> The app translates popular cuss words in different languages along with the audio rendition. The app has been downloaded in 60+ countries and continues to grow. Now, the only way to buy the app is through app store run by Apple Inc. <div><br />
</div><div>While thinking about marketing strategy for PottyMouth!, I got an idea: Wouldn't it be good to package this app along with a similar product and sell it as a "bundle" e.g., there are several books on cussing on Amazon e.g., <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Cursing-Match-Profanity-Generator/dp/0762435755/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1294266999&sr=1-9">Creative Cussing </a>and many others. It is very likely that the person buying this book could also be interested in buying PottyMouth! app. This would benefit all stakeholders: Apple (additional channel coverage), Amazon (more sales plus increasing stickiness with every increasing mobile apps users) and App developers (more sales). </div><div><br />
</div><div>How can this scheme be implemented?</div><div><br />
</div><div>For paid apps, upon app launch in the app store, Apple currently provides a certain number of download coders to app developer so that the developer can distribute these codes to people who may be interested in reviewing the app and who don't want to pay for the app. </div><div><br />
</div><div>There are 2 ways these codes can be used for cross-selling apps on a different website:</div><div><br />
</div><div>1. Apple has a tie-up with these online retailers and provides them with its database of apps. Online retailers can use "match-making" technology to find out which of their existing products match-up with the apps (e.g., most online retailers suggest similar products on a product webpage... Amazon recommends buying a group of books together at a discount). If the online customer is interested, he/she buys the app as well and gets a download code which can then be used to download the app. Today, revenue sharing model between Apple and Developer is 30% and 70% respectively. With introduction of another channel member, I'd recommend following share: 25% (apple), 15% (online retailer), 60% (app developer).</div><div><br />
</div><div>Pros:</div><div> . Doesn't require intervention of app owner. </div><div> . Allows simultaneous release of an app on Apple's app store and multiple online retailers. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Cons:</div><div> . Search & Mgmt. Overhead: Apple needs to have tie-ups with these vendors.</div><div> </div><div> </div><div>2. Developer buys the codes from Apple (at a discount) and then partners with online retailers to sell them to end customers e.g., app developer pays apple 25% of selling price of the app and then later shares the remaining with the online retailer: 15% (online retailer) and 60% (app developer); revenue sharing is essentially same as in previous case.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Pros:</div><div> . App owners are not restricted by Apple's online partners.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Cons:</div><div> . App developer needs to spend capital in buying the app codes and there is no guarantee that all these codes will ultimately be sold. To mitigate this, Apple can choose to forego revenue until the app is purchased by end customer although this could be difficult to implement.</div><div><br />
</div><div> . Managing several online retailers could be challenging for the app developer... in this case, I suppose a new syndicating entity may come which creates syndicating infrastructure; in this case it increases channel members by 1 i.e., App Developer, Apple, Syndicate Agency, Online Retailer, Customer.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Thoughts? </div><div><br />
</div>Sandeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10790280703409659627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870838909866767792.post-90203761256258718052010-12-23T15:51:00.000-08:002010-12-23T15:53:08.180-08:00Chicago Fire: Lives that could have been saved...Yesterday, two of <a href="http://chicagoist.com/2010/12/23/fire_department_mourns_loss_of_two.php">Chicago's firefighters perished</a> when the walls of an "abandoned" warehouse caved in on them while they were looking for possibility of any humans (homeless people) that could have taken shelter in the building. I wonder if human detection technology can be used by firefighters to detect human presence in a building without entering the building. Similar technology is already being used for following purposes:<br />
. Detecting humans (being smuggled) in shipping containers<br />
. Detecting trapped humans in collapsed buildings due to earthquake<br />
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For example, check.. http://www.dklabs.com/<br />
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Moreover, the building had a known history of building code violations. If firefighters can be given this information at the time of the emergency call or on their way to the building (using a on-vehicle computer as cops cars do), then the fire chief can make a call whether to send in the guys inside the building or on the roof.Sandeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10790280703409659627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870838909866767792.post-53639749966945145182010-12-07T14:50:00.000-08:002010-12-07T14:50:27.951-08:00Business Idea - Automate Sending Birthday GiftsMy wife and I don't have any kids so far but we go to (on average) one birthday party of our friends' kids every month. I am assuming for couples with kids this number would be at least 2 to 3. Now with every party, one needs to shop for a gift. You drive to a store, you try to find a gift suited for kid's age in the budget you set up.... moreover, we are not even sure which toys are "most popular" for kids of a particular age group. In all, I feel its the most tedious part of going to a party. I realize that for some people it may be a joy shopping for gifts but I suspect it will be a small percentage of gift shoppers. I verified the "tedious" nature of this task with a couples with kids. So here's a business idea...<div><br />
</div><div>How about you get a gift (nicely wrapped) <i>"automatically selected and shipped"</i> at your house a couple or so days before you have to go the birthday party? No driving to shops and hassle of finding something in your budget!</div><div><br />
</div><div>Here's one suggested way on how it could work:</div><div><br />
</div><div>1. Let's say an online toy vendor (amazon?) starts this "free" service in which you enroll.</div><div>2. You provide logistics information: shipping address, credit card, and a default budget for gifts.</div><div>3. Amazon also provides an online calendar. </div><div>4. Anytime you are invited to a birthday party, you add an event on the calendar which includes date of event, sex and age of birthday kid. You may also optionally set a different budget for that kid (let's say he/she is the kid of your best friend etc.)</div><div>5. Amazon figures out the "most popular" toy for the kid in that age range and ships it to you a few days before the party. This is the step that saves you a lot of trouble!</div><div>6. Since the calendar is stored with Amazon, it already has the data populated for the next year. Voila!</div><div><br />
</div><div>I think this presents significant value proposition for both end customers and Amazon and here is how:</div><div><br />
</div><div>Amazon: </div><div> . creates brand stickiness</div><div> . allows them to capture a "new" market segment (parents who otherwise would have shopped at a local store for a gift)</div><div><br />
</div><div>End customers: </div><div> . makes their life easy AT NO ADDED COST! </div><div> . Considering amazon does not charge state tax (for california at least for now...though this could change in future) at least customers in California enjoy a cool ~10% discount.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Thoughts/comments welcome... I am most curious to know if birthday gift shopping is a hassle or not for you. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Thanks,</div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div>Sandeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10790280703409659627noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870838909866767792.post-55669355194109574002010-10-11T13:40:00.000-07:002010-10-14T22:58:31.476-07:00Order of retrieval of Chile miners...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I am sure most of you (if not everyone) is aware of Chile miners situation... they have been stranded more than 2000 feet below earth's surface for about 2 months now and will be rescued this week by using a special capsule. Now the catch is that the capsule can hold one person at a time... so given that there are 33 miners what should be the order of evacuation... note that these folks have been down there for 2 months now so they must be in an emotionally fragile condition and moreover there is always a possibility of things going wrong between the first and the last retrieval. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
Given all of the above, if you were in charge of figuring out the order of retrieval, how would you do it?</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">After you have thought of your approach, check theirs at:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/10/11/chile.trapped.miners/index.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/10/11/chile.trapped.miners/index.html</a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">(I think their approach is very practical... this could very likely be due to consulting from NASA folks).<br />
<br />
In case you are wondering how important is order of evacuation, watch the movie "The Great Escape"...<br />
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Comments welcome...</div>Sandeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10790280703409659627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870838909866767792.post-10297453505192761302010-06-26T14:31:00.000-07:002010-06-26T14:31:37.214-07:00Problem with USB thumb drives...... is that you don't find them when you need'em. So when do you really need the thumb drives... it is when you have to transfer data from your laptop/desktop/notebook to another computer. Then, why not put pre-package the machines with a thumb drive so that you always them by your side when you need them. I am pretty sure that at least desktop and laptop have enough real estate to house a thumb drive.<br />
<br />
Thoughts?Sandeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10790280703409659627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870838909866767792.post-91365010444253397322010-05-27T22:24:00.000-07:002010-05-27T22:39:06.089-07:00MediaFLONot sure if you have heard of this company before... at least I hadn't until it was mentioned in a course on strategy in my MBA classes. <a href="http://www.mediaflo.com/">MediaFLO</a> is a <a href="http://www.investopedia.com/terms/w/whollyownedsubsidiary.asp">wholly-owned subsidiary</a> of Qualcomm. Below I present a quick overview of the technology and my view on their current strategy.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>TECHNOLOGY SUMMARY</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">FloTV is a technology that enables "broadcast" of TV channels to mobile devices (similar to channels you receive on your TV through DirecTV or Dish). Unless you have signed up with <a href="http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/messaging-internet/mobile-tv/">ATT</a> or <a href="http://products.verizonwireless.com/index.aspx?id=fnd_mobileTV">Verizon</a> FloTV service, today you cannot "browse" TV channels on your mobile and then watch a channel you like. FloTV enables this. Even though current 3G technologies permit broadcast of video, it is a non-optimal solution i.e., it uses substantial air resources. Given that cell tower load has increased substantially in recent years primarily due to popularity of smartphones, service providers like ATT can barely maintain their voice/data quality and as such using the airwaves for "always-on" transmission of video is clearly not an option.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Note that FloTV is designed to work on a "separate" spectrum altogether (which is owned by Qualcomm of course) and as such FloTV will not impact voice/data quality on existing spectrum for service providers. This is the key advantage. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>WHAT PRODUCT/SERVICE DOES MediaFLO SELL</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
MediaFLO markets their product as a "platform" that enables video content-delivery over air to be eventually seen on mobile devices (which is not only limited to cell phones - it could be purpose-built devices in your car to watch video etc.).</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>US ROLLOUT</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Verizon (April 2007)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">ATT (May 2008)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>WHY FLO TV IS NOT MUCH OF A SUCCESS SO FAR </b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">1. Marketing (red)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Its interesting to see how little ATT/Verizon spend on MediaFLO marketing even though this could be a revenue generating service for them. To me it seems, they jumped into this technology a little too early (peer-pressure?).</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">2. Coverage (red)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">As a subscriber, I'll not be happy if I paid $30/month for this service and it stops working when I travel to other cities.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">3. Cell phone manufactures (red)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">For reasons mentioned earlier, only limited phones have MediaFLO technology (iPhone for one does not have it).</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>COMPETITION</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Several…</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">DVB-H (European standard, backed by Nokia)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">IMB (Integrated Mobile Broadcast; Endorsed by Vodafone, T-mobile, Orange, SingTel).</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">ATSC/NH (Advanced Television Systems Committee - Mobile/Handheld). </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">ISDB-T (Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting - Terrestrial)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">[I'm not including pros and cons of each here; if you are interested in knowing about this, please let me know]</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>STRATEGY OVERVIEW</b><br />
<b><br />
</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i>Would MediaFLO be more valuable </i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i>(a) as a division of Qualcomm vs. a standalone company vs. a division of a cellular network operator vs. a division of a cable/satellite operator vs. ???</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">My answer: For now, being a division of Qualcomm and later maybe as an independent company (my initial answer was an independent company but I changed it while typing my answer :-)).</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">First, lets look at who is included in the ecosystem of MediaFLO -- content-providers, wireless service providers, cell phone manufacturers and end-users (in that order).</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Content is _the_ key in the current media world. As the margins on delivery medium (cable, satellite) are thinning out, the cable/satellite operators are moving towards owning the content (vertical integration). This was evident by Comcast's recent acquisition of NBC.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">ISPs - they would love to enable any revenue generating service. Question for them is at what cost and how would it affect (if at all) the quality of their existing data/voice services.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Cell phone manufacturers could care less what technology they are embedding in the cell phone to enable mobile video as long as the technology is not expensive (could affect the manufacturer margin) and makes cell phone bulky. An exception to above is when cell phone manufactures have their own favorites (i.e., Nokia for DVB-H, a European standard). Amidst competing technologies, device manufacturers don't really know which technology to include in their product. This has been the biggest challenge IMHO so far in promoting broadcast video over cell phones and as such, I think this is the critical link in the value chain. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">End users could also care less whether the live feed they receive on their cell phone is by using MediaFLO technology or something else (similar to the way we don't care how the wireless TV signal comes to our home). All they care about is following 3 things: content (which channels etc.), quality and price. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Given above, ...</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">1. MediaFLO cannot be part of cable operators like Comcast. Even though it would give access to content, it won't work well with existing customers like ATT/Verizon. (Comcast/ATT/Verizon compete on Internet/Voice front). Similar argument holds for MediaFLO being part of satellite operators like DirecTV or DISH.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">2. MediaFLO cannot be a division of any cellular network operator as then pretty much it cannot sell its technology to a competing cellular network operator.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">3. MediaFLO is best not part of Qualcomm as then it may not be able to have its technology embedded in cell phones made by world's largest cell phone manufacturers -- Nokia/Samsung/Motorola who are clearly against Qualcomm's monopoly. [I contradict myself here but I'll explain why I decided to go with Qualcomm later].</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">4. I do not see advantages for MediaFLO being an independent company. The only advantage perhaps is the delinking from Qualcomm (which is seen as the bully in town). Another advantage could be more subtle though important, is that of culture. Qualcomm is a company with strong licensing bent and having a strong engineering and litigation culture… I am wondering what options are off the table due to this association (I do not have any evidence to support my claim).</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">On a related note, MediaFLO announced recently (see their 2009 10K excerpt at the end) that it will be marketing directly to the consumer (presumably due to lack of marketing by ATT/Verizon). To me this strategy seems flawed, as I see MediaFLO as just an infrastructure service and it does not currently fall into customer criteria (content, quality and price) for using any broadcast video service. Quality perhaps. One can, however, argue the very successful "intel inside" marketing campaign -- a criterion that was used by consumers to buy intel-chipset based computers. But that situation was different in the sense that Intel had the bargaining power (vis-a-vis computer manufactures) whereas in this case arguably the cell phone manufacturers have the bargaining power (vis-a-vis MediaFLO). </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">5. This leaves us with following choice -- part of another company (couple of more options here: cell phone manufacturers or content providers). </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">First, I'll explore on the MediaFLO and cell phone manufacture angle…</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">As mentioned earlier, I strongly believe cell phone manufacturers are critical part of the value chain. Now, I don't know how feasible it is to package a "combination" of broadcast technologies in one device (my suspicion is that this choice is not feasible) and as such, in absence of a de-facto standard, most of the cell phones being shipped today do not have any such technology embedded in them. Moreover, certain manufactures may have personal preferences (e.g., Nokia for a non-qualcomm standard) which may be impeding growth of MediaFLO. To address this issue, MediaFLO could partner with Taiwanese cell phone companies such that it is able to put its technology on some of the best selling devices on each of ATT or Verizon networks. This implies partnering with iPhone (ATT), HTC (Verizon) and may be even Blackberry (both ATT and Verizon). This synergy will be most valuable for MediaFLO. This strategy can be executed best IMHO being as part of Qualcomm i.e., by leveraging Qualcomm's leadership in wireless space -- one option is to reduce the licensing fees charged to cell phone manufacturers). Very likely, cell phone manufacturers will jump at this offer as now their margins will improve. This, along with working with ATT/Verizon on pricing will very likely result in surge in customer uptake. With customers now considering support for ATT and Verizon's video service (aka MediaFLO) while buying new cell phones, it will put considerable pressure on Nokia/Motorola/Samsung who may then have to concede to this technology otherwise it will impact their cell phone sales in US.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The only reason it may make sense for MediaFLO to partner with content providers is that it would increase value proposition of MediaFLO solution. I believe that is best done outside Qualcomm rather than within Qualcomm (I do not have strong reasons to support this claim though).</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i>(b) selling a bundle of device + transport + service direct to consumers vs. wholesale bundles to existing network operators (cellular or cable/satellite)?</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Based on my argument above that MediaFLO is an infrastructure service, I believe they should not sell directly to consumers. I think they should focus on getting their technology be included in cell phones first.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i><br />
</i><br />
<i>(c) offering standalone mobile devices vs. converged mobile devices vs. targeting the automotive market?</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I'd say for now its best if MediaFLO focuses on cell phones -- needless to say, more and more services are being provided through cell phone (email, browser, games) and as such it will be a natural extension to be able to see TV on such devices. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Borrowing from a Forrester Report in 2005 on the topic of mobile TV, the problem with MediaFLO is - </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">"misalignment of the service launch, handset availability, and user uptake." </div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>WHO _MAY BE_ GETTING UNDER THE BUS </b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">900 or so television stations (part of <a href="http://www.openmobilevideo.com/">Open Mobile Video Coalition</a>) that implemented ATSC mobile TV standard instead of FloTV. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Well, the fight is still on. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>EXCERPT FROM QUALCOMM's 2009 10K</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">----</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Our FLO TV Business. Our subsidiary, FLO TV Incorporated (FLO TV), formerly MediaFLO USA, Inc., offers its service over our nationwide multicast network based on our MediaFLO Media Distribution System (MDS) and MediaFLO technology, which leverages the Forward Link Only (FLO) air interface standard. This network is utilized as a shared resource for wireless operators and their customers in the United States. The commercial availability of the FLO TV network and service on wireless operator devices will continue, in part, to be determined by our wireless operator partners. FLO TV’s network uses the 700 MHz spectrum for which we hold licenses nationwide. Additionally, FLO TV has and will continue to procure, aggregate and distribute content in service packages, which we will continue to make available on a wholesale basis to our wireless operator customers (whether they operate on CDMA, WCDMA or GSM) in the United States. In fiscal 2010, FLO TV expects to offer the FLO TV service on a subscription basis directly to consumers in the United States. FLO TV plans to provide the services for use in personal television devices, automotive devices and other portable device accessories. These devices are expected to be sold through various retail and distribution channels.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Our MediaFLO Technologies (MFT) division is developing MediaFLO technology and marketing it for deployment outside of the United States. The market for mobile TV remains nascent with numerous competing technologies and standards.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">----</div>Sandeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10790280703409659627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870838909866767792.post-88632277882794129352010-04-09T01:33:00.000-07:002010-04-09T02:15:33.895-07:00MacPro Design<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9PSU1QyXmIkLK0H74Npwr9OL2gGSUJlsbEWxImDEESfnNUvU0sWitBpEe3kUKxgieLdm7pF7ichVtTAzJ4Qz1xuRc2e6NykZ6_jPGF16Ulfe3QSP_OafTytsxZr3CFTcrNsaEJvRMI3NB/s1600/laptop_latch.jpg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; ">MacBook Pro - features that can be improved</span></a><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I recently got MacBook Pro laptop at my new job. Following are some aspects of the product that I believe could use a makeover:</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRCkQ0kvTJit5AWk53tVio5wpq6bMfUoRX0Z7IY6sAOinGZwx5u4GbCfpomv90fC6ZZCKoZ9dvhqU-Od8uWEzx8CQCVEA6sI0jwTx9kpKP5tKoEICGnobcFAk_srjSSMRApv5sgNmxJ77n/s320/laptop_latch.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458063239537979682" /></div><div><br /></div><div>1. Get rid of (very) sharp edges in the closing latch (see figure on right). Really, this is product design 101..</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH4iGNJEXrd14TeaKen92mAYFdab3j4E4NPdi_LTelCIkG0kvxlKXOTU5oL5yRww9obgGRIVrG8Kq6piDpkGbf6nNnPf_LdM2O2SCNxYayAh1BuvV_qFK7M-TQILurcMR_6C-OK6sGz_23/s320/export.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458056990770548466" /></div><div>2. Make power button prominent…(it may be visible in the image on the side due to the special lighting in this image) but in normal lighting it is not that visibile; not sure if this is a marketing ploy to suggest that Macs don't need a power shutdown? :-)</div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>3. Increase the length of power cord (this seems to be a no-brainer as currently the cord is too short) and reduce the size of the bulky adaptor at the end of the cord. Of all the design innovations happening at Apple, I wonder if someone is looking at the adaptor design... it seems it has been the same old bulky design since day 1 (I could be wrong though).</div><div><br /></div><div>4. Provide standard DB-9/DE-9 VGA port on the laptop (for being able to connect laptop to standard monitors). Currently, one needs to carry a separate dongle to convert from Apple's proprietary DisplayPort interface to the DB-9 and believe me its a pain especially when you are about to start a customer preso and....</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYJBOVJcqajknT3v821MUe4bR5TEmOePpSS1CjvjoEp_a84iDiQoyzeiFTuGzKfacW-GTIcQnZWy2hWEFayZaWY16ti4tWayNXjQYz04wZDg8c4GA-PTWvaAUKwC-fTpw-RKNJqY6vam_y/s320/keyboard.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458062612387334226" /></div><div><br /></div><div>5. This problem is a unique one and may affect only certain people :-) I wear a metal strap wrist watch and typically wear it at the end of my wrist. Now, since MacBook Pro's shell is made of metal, typing on the keyboard causes the two metals to rub against each other and that is not pretty. To avoid this, I either have to take out my wrist watch or move it up the hand a bit so that it does not interfere with my typing. The usual Dell/IBMs have a plastic shell that used to work well with my wrist watch but oh well !</div>Sandeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10790280703409659627noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870838909866767792.post-66196042330460100542010-01-31T10:35:00.000-08:002010-02-19T00:29:08.064-08:00Saving energy costs by a simple design change<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWZ91XylMNAt2rrBlE5VWO1AFzChoVUMSzJS1G3FV29iRZBTYJqNyw0v3y715hrDeRfswpSHWOCOqhB5vSLPk_4-zlef6n-o7Vreggxcx8yPfaXqyhNPvSOY8RhSLn6jBARSQtKIZ-U0A8/s1600-h/sink.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWZ91XylMNAt2rrBlE5VWO1AFzChoVUMSzJS1G3FV29iRZBTYJqNyw0v3y715hrDeRfswpSHWOCOqhB5vSLPk_4-zlef6n-o7Vreggxcx8yPfaXqyhNPvSOY8RhSLn6jBARSQtKIZ-U0A8/s320/sink.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432974617207782466" /></a><br /><br /><br />Think of the last time when you operated a 2-handle faucet. Which handle did you turn first? Was it the left handle or the one on the right? Chances are that if you are right-handed, you turned the left tap first and if you are left-handed you turned the one on the right first. If this was any different, please let me know; I'd be curious to know.<br /><br />Based on quick internet-based research, it seems that the installation instructions for most 2-handle faucet systems indicate that hot water be connected to the left handle and cold water be connected with the right one.<br /><br />Given that almost 80% of population is right-handed, what that means is 80% of the times when a faucet is operated, the left handle is operated first, which delivers hot water. Now, I do not have data on whether people prefer hot water when they first operate the faucet but I'd guess that there is a significant combined percentage of people who either prefer cold water or who don't care versus the ones who prefer hot water at the first go.<br /><br />Given above, to reduce energy costs one may want to interchange the hot and cold water connections at the time of installation i.e., connecting hot water to the right handle and cold to the left handle. This of course can be interchanged if the premise has predominantly left-handed folks. Better yet, with a simple design change, this configuration choice can be made dynamically by having a knob that controls the flow of the water to either handle.<br /><br />The savings achieved at a single premise due to this change depends on several factors - frequency of opening tap, percentage of left-handed/right-handed people using a particular tap etc and may not be significant however economies of scale can be achieved if the modified faucet was used by a large population.Sandeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10790280703409659627noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870838909866767792.post-30894726025716457042009-08-10T13:31:00.001-07:002009-08-10T13:42:31.384-07:00Canceling Vonage phone...Vonage... the name conjures up so many good things in life. 1 low flat monthly fee, the ability to take your phone anywhere, no hidden charges...really! <br /><br />However, for the last one year we have had trouble with the service. If we are downloading data from Internet, voice quality on Vonage phone goes south (well I realize that both data and voice are sharing same Internet link to the home). And sometimes, the voice quality will go bad for no reason (we have all read news reports about cable operators and ISPs giving some special treatment to Vonage ;-)). <br /><br />Anyhow, I finally did cancel the Vonage service due to it being not compatible with the home security system we just installed. When I called 800 number, I was quickly transferred to a customer representative who very politely handled the call. Upon mentioning my reason, he referred to a website "alarm.com" which provided home security service/products that are compatible with Vonage (interesting!). Anyhow, when I asked how much I will be returned back for the service I did not use for this month (Vonage takes payment at the beginning of the month for the service to be provided for that month)... he told me zero! Vonage does not pro-rate the monthly charges and may be it is mentioned in their not-so-brief contract (an industry standard BTW). Now the amount owed to me was insignificant but I found it a little odd that a company will charge for a service that it did not really provide. So much for good things in life.Sandeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10790280703409659627noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870838909866767792.post-69690377634238706412009-08-06T15:04:00.001-07:002009-08-06T15:15:51.989-07:00Chrome enhancementIn an earlier blog, I had mentioned about a Chrome enhancement: To be able to view the content from 2 or multiple tabs simultaneously. This would be helpful if you need to compare data from multiple Chrome windows.<br /><br />Today, I'll mention another enhancement which I believe is equally powerful but on a priority scale I would give this one more priority.<br /><br />If anyone of you has gone through experience of crashed/malfunctioning hard-drive and have a new hard-drive installed or have an existing hard-drive reimaged, you would probably understand this pain point: you lose the bookmarks of your browser quite a few of which you very likely aggregated over a period of time.<br /><br />I know one can try to extract the bookmarks from the old hard drive... but how about the following:<br /><br />Since most people using Chrome anyways have a gmail account, how about Chrome having a facility to upload the bookmarks (could be done automagically as well) and have a facility to download them to Chrome as well. This has multiple benefits:<br /><br />1) In case of crash/reimage (as mentioned above), you can restore your bookmarks by literally doing one mouse click.<br /><br />2) Let's say you are working on a different computer and need to access your bookmarks, you would have them readily available. (provided there is an option to delete the bookmarks when you are done without interfering with existing bookmarks on the Chrome that your friend is using.<br /><br />3) (Google would be happy this)... Google already targets ads on gmail based on your personal emails. They could also target ads based on URLs (or their content) that you have bookmarked.<br /><br />Seems to be win-win....Sandeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10790280703409659627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870838909866767792.post-58264768297315407892009-08-05T22:40:00.000-07:002009-08-05T23:31:39.860-07:00Bluetooth for cordless phonesBy making driving while holding cellphone illegal in California, the lawmakers have obviously given a big push to the use of bluetooth headsets that have pretty much become a common sight now. And honestly even though some of us may gripe about spending money in buying a headset (including yours truly), the benefits of hands-free talking are almost instantly felt. So far so good.<br /><br />What happens when the same user is using a cordless phone at home? (As regards to why users may prefer using a cordless phone at home versus their cell phones should be a no-brainer; talk to anyone who ever dared to exceed their day-time minutes and thereby incurring the wrath of cell phone company's per minute charges). Coming back to the original question, the same user who is used to using a bluetooth headset while talking on cellphone would want the <span style="font-style: italic;">same </span>ease of use while talking on cordless phones. One would almost think that the cordless phone manufacturers would have incorporated Bluetooth in their gigantic (relative to a cell phone) handsets.<br /><br />Its time for a reality check....<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Panasonic (world #1 in cordless phone sales)</span><br /><br />None of its cordless phones have bluetooth capability. However, they do sell a model which allows one to "link" one's cell phone to the cordless phone over bluetooth so at home you would use only one phone ... your cordless phone. However, the phones handsets do not have bluetooth capability for pairing with a bluetooth handsfree.<br /><br />http://www.panasonic.com/consumer_electronics/telephones_central/bluetooth_phones/default.asp<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Vtech (World #2)</span><br /><br />They are doing much better with their high-end models having a bluetooth capability for both linking with cell phone and also pairing with a bluetooth headset. It seems as of now this feature is available in only 3 models (I am assuming that the cost of adding a bluetooth transciever in a cordless phone will only be marginal considering that the technology is fairly standardized and as such I'd expect bluetooth to be a must-have feature in all cordless phones). Vtech currently provides Bluetooth capability in <span style="font-style: italic;">only</span> 2 models:<br /><br />http://www.vtechphones.com/vtechui/store/dsp_products_list.cfm?parent=23644<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Gigaset aka Siemens (World #3)</span><br /><br />They seem to be doing the best of all by having multiple phones supporting Bluetooth but I must say that even though their phones look the sleekest, they ccompensate their strength in design by creating a technology confusion... have a look at their website and you will see acronyms like ECO DECT (I had heard DECT but what the heck is ECO DECT), HDSP, HSP....<br /><br />Though I am by no means a professional marketeer, how do they imagine the potential buyers of cordless phones understanding and appreciating this complex terminology. Even though the observation is definitely not new by any means, I fail to understand why companies fail to empathize with their customers.... please talk to us in a language that we speak, understand and appreciate and hey, we will reciprocate by making more money for you!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Uniden (World #4)</span><br /><br />Let's not go there....Sandeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10790280703409659627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870838909866767792.post-88127085473846758622009-07-06T02:17:00.000-07:002009-07-06T02:34:07.885-07:00How not to organize a retail storeIf you have visited Kenneth Cole store in Valley Fair Mall, San Jose you may probably know what I am talking about. Out of so many times I have visited the store, I have hardly bought anything. Why? For one, they do not seem to have any variety in any of the products they carry. There are so few designs, so few choices that even when my catches a unique design and I want to look for more, I see none which is a big disappointment. Second, the store is organized in a somewhat haphazard manner which confuses the customer. Women's clothes are at the entrance and then again at the back of the store, mixed with men's clothes. Then there is no clear section for trousers, full-sleeves or half-sleeves shirts and mostly clothes are hung so close together that they do not offer a quick sneak preview to the browsing customer. I love Kenneth Cole brand as I have been really happy with however many products I have purchased from them. The brand is strong but the product display really lacks character.<div><br /></div><div>On the contrary, the Armani Exchange store in the mall is a complete opposite. Even thouh AX has only roughly half of the space that KC has, AX store is organized in a much clearer and cleaner manner which provides for a good customer browsing (and hence customer purchase) experience. I have also noticed that AX store gets much more fashionable items (and replenishes them at a faster rate) as compared to KC.</div><div><br /></div><div>I am sure KC will do a turnaround some day.... at least if someone is keeping a watch on the store sales. As for me, I will continue visiting the store hoping to see a better KC.</div>Sandeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10790280703409659627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870838909866767792.post-41267721880148323172009-06-08T02:21:00.001-07:002009-06-08T02:30:15.062-07:00Unsympathetic news reader?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu6-fcvgh91jl1JfCB0BBQSoC7SLFE7YdpE8FjWfKr96hTz__gIfYFJx4zQXf7-RNCrE1kxS_Mt51-SQa12qZ3RhB5Jo1Q8Gc2TJUw9nlxqc5hNMDB2xp6o9VN6bzArJeVKs9Fq2jtmy5N/s1600-h/cnn.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 219px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu6-fcvgh91jl1JfCB0BBQSoC7SLFE7YdpE8FjWfKr96hTz__gIfYFJx4zQXf7-RNCrE1kxS_Mt51-SQa12qZ3RhB5Jo1Q8Gc2TJUw9nlxqc5hNMDB2xp6o9VN6bzArJeVKs9Fq2jtmy5N/s320/cnn.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344884619572591106" /></a>While watching report of Air France tragedy on CNN, I noticed an odd thing; the news reader on the left side seems to have a little smile on her face. I don't know what was running through her mind at that time but the expression on her face was quite disrespectful, to not only the people who lost their lives in this terrible tragedy but to their families and friends as well. I hope such behavior is not repeated.<div><div><br /></div></div>Sandeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10790280703409659627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870838909866767792.post-75054169076881460042009-06-04T06:22:00.001-07:002009-06-04T06:31:09.796-07:00Air france tragedyAs we have all heard by now, Air France went down in Atlantic few days back on its way to Paris from Rio. 228 people all dead. Was it bad weather... complete failure of electrical systems, it seems no one will ever know as from the media reports it appears that it is highly unlikely to locate the black box considering that it may be at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean or stuck in the mountainous region in that part part of the Atlantic. This made me think why don't they make black box to be floatable. I googled it and came across the following:<div><a href="http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090603083335AAxBlmS">http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090603083335AAxBlmS</a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Particularly, I found following reply from a person named "propman" quite relevant:</div><div><br /></div><div>------</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; ">Cockpit Voice Recorders (CVR) and Flight Data Recorders (FDR) would certainly be easier to locate if they floated but there are serious engineering problems to overcome. The recorders are usually located in the rearmost compartment, near the centerline of the fuselage and as such is surrounded by the structure of the aircraft. This is done to provide the recorders with as much mechanical protection as possible in a crash. The recorders can also record up to several dozen (in the case of FDRs) channels of information. This means the electrical connectors are very large and require a bit of work sometimes to disconnect. The recorders are also big and heavy. <br /><br />In order to separate the recorder from the aircraft would require some mechanical means to eject the unit from the aircraft during the beginning of the impact event, before the tail structure became distorted. The “Launching Charge” must not present any danger of starting a fire and be powerful enough to push the recorder a safe distance from the plane. Think of an scaled down ejection seat, only pushing against a heavy steel box. The box would still be heavy since it would need to suvive the crash in case it didn't eject. The electrical connectors must also release instantly, completely and reliably. Perhaps just cutting the wires with a squib charge.<br /><br />Now we have to get the box to float. Floatation foam is simple enough, but the shear volume required would make an already unwieldy box even more difficult. Perhaps a self inflating bag, like a life vest? That may work. And if the box is floating, an Emergency Locator Beacon (ELT) would assist in locating it. The recorders are already fitted with a device for finding it if it sinks. This device is called an Underwater Locator Beacon (ULB) and is NOT part of the recorder but is separate and located on the outside of the recorder case attached by brackets.<br /><br />There we have it: Recorders that jettison from aircraft during impact and float.<br /><br />So why don’t we have them?<br /><br />The answer is MONEY.<br /><br />To design such a system and maintain it would not only cost a large amount of money, but that cost would provide a disproportionate cost-benefit. That is to say it’s not worth it. The purpose of the recorders is to assist in crash investigation but they are not the only source of information and as such are nice to have but not absolutely necessary.. Besides, there have been recorders that have been recoverable in water crashes by other means. Very few have been ‘lost’.<br /><br />Perhaps in the future we may have a palm sized combination CVR-FDR that weighs mere ounces and be mounted on top of the rudder under plastic film.... <br /><br />Hmmmm……Maybe……..But not today.</span><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">----------</span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Sandeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10790280703409659627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870838909866767792.post-69814949658964956612009-05-18T14:37:00.000-07:002009-05-19T00:14:51.328-07:00LTTE is gone. What Mahinda Rajapaksa must do now...It is time for the world to congratulate Sri Lankans for having taken out LTTE, a home grown group of separatists who had used terror and suicide killing to further their agenda. The approach of using terrorism as a means of achieving an independent state has seldom worked (it worked in case of Nepal Maoists whose main agenda was to give equal rights for lower-caste people). To understand more about Maoists and its movement refer to these (<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3573402.stm">BBC</a>, <a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1731248,00.html">Time</a>) links.<div><br /></div><div>In any case, at this juncture in Sri Lanka it is important that President Rajapaksa works towards providing a equitable life for Tamilians in Sri Lanka otherwise it could be a matter of time when someone fills in the shoes of Prabhakaran. </div><div><br /></div><div>Name of countries and the radical groups that are known to use violence</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Country </span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Radical Group </span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Why</span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Status</span></div><div>Peru<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Shining Path <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Marxism<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Ongoing</div><div>Nepal<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Maoists<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Marxism<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Currently form the official govt. of Nepal</div><div>Sri Lanka <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>LTTE<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Separate State<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Eradicated</div><div>Columbia ELN<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Marxism<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Ongoing</div><div>....</div><div><br /></div>Sandeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10790280703409659627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870838909866767792.post-38425749248725692692009-04-04T21:51:00.000-07:002009-04-04T21:54:51.780-07:00Popular phrases by profession...What do people belonging to a particular profession/situation say most often :-)<br /><br />A Witness: I don't recall...<br /><br />A Manager: It depends...<br /><br />A Lawyer: I object...Sandeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10790280703409659627noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3870838909866767792.post-21010219068491673412009-03-17T09:24:00.001-07:002009-03-19T21:24:22.523-07:00Design GotchasApple is known for its cool, innovative and user-friendly designs and rightly so: iPods and iPhones have revolutionized the otherwise lackluster electronic consumer product market. However, it is equally surprising when a design conscious company makes some very obvious design blunders. I recently bought an iMac and as much as I was amazed by the beauty of the product, I was disappointed to see the extra-ordinarily short keyboard and mouse wires. Even if I place the desktop at an arm length, the mouse wire comes really short. Sometimes I like to place the keyboard on the tray, in which case the keyboard wire falls short. Honestly, this is frustrating. Moreover, I was hoping to not get a laptop-sized keyboard with a Desktop computer. Maybe they could have packaged an ergonomically designed keyboard with Bluetooth (so that I can reduce the wire clutter on the table).<div><br /></div><div>I am reminded of another product design annoyance from an otherwise design conscious company - Ikea. Ikea never stops to amaze the new shopper setting a step in their store and even for the regular shoppers it is a pleasant experience looking at the diverse and beautifully arranged room settings. On my first visit several years back, while I was enjoying the unique experience, I remember almost feeling disoriented in the big showroom; easy navigation in a store with large real estate is a rare phenomenon. In any case, the design gotcha that was most glaringly obvious was when I went to the check-out counter. The conveyor belt was quite narrow and it was difficult to place even modestly small items on the belt. It could be a small thing but it was definitely a bit annoying to try manage putting all the products on the belt. If you have been to Ikea, I'd be interested in knowing your thoughts.</div>Sandeephttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10790280703409659627noreply@blogger.com0