Archive for July 2005

Image from phone camera.
Image from phone camera.
My 6681, courtesy [info]chetan‘s K750i, which has a real, fixed focal length auto focus lens. And here’s the K750i itself. Notice it has dedicated zoom buttons on top. They work both when taking and viewing an image.

Anthill in Jayanagar, covered with vermilion and garlands. Whatever snake was in there must be dead by now, if there was one in the first place.
Image from phone camera.

My new cellphone number is +91 99452 35123

The Hutch number will continue to remain active for the rest of today. Tomorrow I’m on Airtel. The number is 99452 35123. Yes, 99, not 98. Must be Airtel’s new countrywide numbering scheme, in the line of 93 and 94 for Reliance and BSNL.

My new phone is a Nokia 6681. More on that later.

Out the platter, across to the projector (see top). Pulleys set into the walls allow the same reel to be taken from projector to projector, so the same movie can be shown in all halls.
Image from phone camera.

Film winding out, into the projector. It’s nearly the end of the movie.
Image from phone camera.

[info]basrya showed us around the projector room at INOX. These platters hold the reel being projected. The middle one’s covered because it’s not in use. These platters can hold three full movies (not just individual reels) for quick changing through the day.
Image from phone camera.

Image from phone camera.
The unfinished side of a mall stands out in stark contrast to the new glitz, like stepping out of a luxury hotel into a shady street. Grim reminder of what this is built on.

Roald Dahl: “They have long pointed toes and green breath coming out of their nose.” Witches day out at Health & Glow. (Words by [info]latelyontime.)
Image from phone camera.

[info]latelyontime says “I wouldn’t want to meet that kid in a dark alley.”
Image from phone camera.

INOX multiplex is doing a trial run today, so they’re giving fake currency for moviewatchers to “spend”.
Image from phone camera.

You know a platform has gone mainstream when it needs an anti-virus.

As kids we played skating and catching in the apartment block’s parking area. I was never very good at it, but loved it thoroughly. Can’t help but wonder, they may be learning well, but are these kids having fun?
Image from phone camera.

Two hoardings. The upper one is covered with dirt, and presumably the rain and wind are responsible. Yet the lower one is clean. How come? Is someone giving it a regular wash, or is the material used non-sticky?
Image from phone camera.

This otherwise unremarkable house has a compound wall covered in non-matching ceramic tiles. Very curious.
Image from phone camera.

Airtel GPRS vs Hutch GPRS

I was about to ditch Hutch for Airtel, primarily because of nation-wide GPRS coverage, but thought I should check first.

Is Airtel still providing a flat data rate? Is the throughput decent? My primary interest these days is in applications running off the phone itself, which rules out Reliance. Basically, the question is this:

Does Airtel have enough of an edge over to Hutch to dump a number I’ve been using a few years and go through the pain of updating everyone?

This aging fellow is suffering from a bad flea infection. Regular shampooing and flea-killing powder isn’t helping. He spends all day scratching himself silly and looking at me mournfully. Does anyone know what can be done to help him?
Image from phone camera.

Let’s see if I can sneak in a full size image now.
Image from phone camera.

This sucks. I can shoot megapixel images, but I can’t send them.
Image from phone camera.

There’s a new store dedicated to magazines on Church Street. What a brilliant idea! The magazine racks at bookstores are always impoverished.

My Nokia is dead. Long live my Nokia.
Image from phone camera.

IRCTC spam

Since last evening IRCTC has been spamming me about once an hour with blank messages titled “PRS Auto Cancel”.

Anyone else hit?

How to confuse a customer

From: Kiran Jonnalagadda <jace@pobox.com>
Subject: Re: Initiation of refund against order # 150720050195
Date: 21 July 2005 6:23:04 PM GMT+05:30
To: customerservice@fabmall.com

Dear Sir/Madam,

Could you please clarify what this refund is for? Your website continues to state that my order #150720050195 for Rs 875 is "Ready to Ship". Am I getting a discount, or is the order being cancelled?

If it is being cancelled, could you please explain why only a fraction is being refunded?

Thank you.

Kiran


On 21-Jul-05, at 6:14 PM, <customerservice@fabmall.com> wrote:

Dear Kiran Jonnalagadda,

This is to confirm that we have initiated a refund of Rs. 393 against order # 150720050195 paid using CreditCard on Line

The refund should reflect in your account within 2-3 days. We request you to check your CreditCard on Line account on the same after 2-3 days We sincerely thank you for shopping on Fabmall and look forward to having you shop with us regularly.

Warm regards,
Fabmall Customer Service

Shop at www.fabmall.com
India’s finest virtual supermarket

Loud cellphone user at the next table: “How do I put photos on my 6600?”
And then I was grateful for where my income comes from.

I need a new phone

The folks at Brightpoint—Nokia’s service centre near Dairy Circle—regretfully informed me today that my 6600 is beyond repair, and since it’s past the one year warranty period, I’m not getting a replacement. The instrument has been in their possession for nearly two months now.

However, since Nokia thankfully provides insurance for the second year, I’m told I can file a claim and expect to get back about 75%. I’ve been phoneless and enjoying the peace all this while, but the pressures of a working life demand I be more accessible.

Ergo, I’m in the market for a new phone. I want a smartphone, user extensible, no stylus, should have a reasonably functional calendar, to do list manager and notepad. Budget 20±5k. I hear the 6630 6680 finally gets it right. Any recommendations?

To focus or not

To rephrase as a question: Assuming that specialisation is a necessary ingredient to greatness, is it possible for a specialist to stay focused in a market lacking strong competition?

Should the specialist attempt to dominate the market instead of focusing on a single aspect, or continue specialising and build a reputation that is easily transplanted to other markets?

Think of ‘specialist’ and ‘market’ in various scenarios: the individual and the organisation or profession, the consultancy and their clientele, or the non-profit alliance and their supported cause.