When ‘personal’ becomes public

CCTV and Delhi Metro are trending on Twitter as I write this. There was shock and surprise that the videos had managed to find their way to porn sites. I wasn’t. There is a dispute whether the clips are from CCTVs or mobiles. Whatever may be the source, the clips are available online.

I wasn’t surprised because it is not difficult to find Indian porn clips on the net. It is not confirmed who uploaded the Delhi Metro clips. May be it was the security guys or Delhi Metro employees, but what it shows is how lax we are with our data, especially…(Read more)

Moving from Shozu to Pixelpipe

Sometimes, companies take decisions that are downright stupid. The latest to join the bandwagon is Shozu. It is now a paid app and can be downloaded only from mobile stores such as Nokia’s iPhone’s and Blackberry’s official stores. In India, the app costs 7 euros at the Ovi store.

Why is Shozu’s move stupid? Suppose you have a phone in which you have installed Shozu. If you change the phone or lose the Shozu application, you will have to pay 7 euros to get it again.

I keep flashing my Nokia E71 to get the latest firmware. Every time I do it, I lose most of the apps and install them again, including Shozu. But after I flashed my mobile on Saturday, I have re-installed almost all my apps, except Shozu, because I will have to shell out 7 euros to get Shozu from the Nokia OVI store.

I emailed Shozu from their contact form in their Web site, but Shozu has preferred to keep quiet.

So I have decided not to use Shozu. I have found an excellent alternative: Pixelpipe.

It integrates with Nokia Share Online app and offers almost all the functionalities of Shozu. As you use it through Nokia Share, you don’t have to run an app in the background as you have to if you use Shozu.

And it’s free!

LiveJournal Tags: ShoZu,Pixelpipe,Nokia,Nokia E71,app store,Ovi store,iPhone store,Blackberry store,paid app,moving to Pixelpipe

Technorati Tags: ShoZu,Pixelpipe,Nokia,Nokia E71,app store,Ovi store,iPhone store,Blackberry store,paid app,moving to Pixelpipe

Sloppy launch

The Tata DoCoMo service was launched in Chennai on Saturday. There were full-page advertisements in The Hindu on Friday and Saturday.

But even till evening, the DoCoMo retail packs were not available anywhere in the city except with a handful of retailers.

What is the point in ‘launching’ a service with fanfare if the product is not going to be available at the stores? Shouldn’t have Tata DoCoMo sent out the retail packs to dealers and then advertised?

Moreover, the retail packs are just cards and do not require huge logistics support.

The customer care was not also helpful. I asked if I could get it anywhere in Mount Road. After a minute’s search, the customer care asked me: “Sir is it St. Thomas Mount?”. I said, No, Mount Road. Or try Anna Salai.” “No sir, any other area?”. Did she want me to go around Chennai looking for retailers?

After five full minutes, I got the names of three retailers. They were small non-descript shops. How do I find them? Does Tata DoCoMO have phone numbers of the retailers so that I can contact them? “No sir. We don’t have it.” Very helpful indeed.

There was a small surprise in store after two hours. I thought I would ask for another area near my house. I rang up customer care and asked, “Any shop in Gopalapuram?” “No, sir. There are a few in Teynampet. There are a couple of them in Anna Salai.” Anna Salai? Just an hour ago, I was told there were none. She gave me two addresses. Again no phone numbers to contact the shops. For those who don’t know much of Chennai, Anna Salai is one of the main arterial roads that stretches for almost 10 km.

I now have to go and hunt for them. Can marketing and customer service get so sloppy?

Technorati Tags: Tata DoCoMo,launch,Chennai,marketing

How Nokia replaces chargers

My post on the delay by Nokia for replacing a charger during warranty period.

Saddam video footage

A video filmed by someone watching the execution of Saddam Hussein has spread like wildfire on the Net and has embarassed the US and the authorities in Baghdad.

In the grainy video, Saddam is taunted by one of those present at the execution by shouting, "Moqtada! Moqtada! Moqtada!" for Shia militia leader Moqtada-al-Sadr.

Saddam by contrast looks dignified on the gallows and replies, "Is this what you call manhood?"

The footage ends with Saddam falling through the trap-door and dying amid shouts from the crowd.

This has angered Sunnis and embarassed moderate Shias and Turks. Iraq has launched a probe into the video.

The British Deputy Prime Minister, Mr John Prescott, has condemed the manner of execution and called for action against whoever was responsible for it. He told the BBC, "I think the manner was quite deplorable relly." Asked if he held the Iraqi Government responsible, Mr Prescott said whoever was behind it should be "ashamed". "I don't think anyone can endorse it whatever your view on capital punishment," he said.

Here is the footage of the video: