I know if I am asking this question and if you are a teenager who has access to the internet and is "tuned in"(or whatever the heck these kids call "cool" today) you are going to ask "Dude, I think you should go back under your rock as the world has moved on." I definitely don't know FB as well as them but I do know that Microsoft invested 240 mills in it which got them around 3% of the company which was valued at 15 billions dollars last year. Okay, now couple of things in this deal that yanked my chains then and are yanking at it since. How the heck do you come with this number? Is it your revenue? Is it just profit? I know that to value a company at X dollars there has to be some revenue, some assets, something tangible, which can be assigned some monetary value. In this case it was neither(assets may be but I doubt that number is close to 15 bill), so I think it came out of someones a$$. Mark Zuckerberg may be or someone from FB.
Now all the cool kids are on F.B, they have tons of things that they can do(guess what, we could chat and search for other cool kids on ICQ as well, the damn thing didnt make money then.)
There are somewhere around 120 millions users on FB around the world. Now lets say each one of them is active and spends $10, that comes to 1.2 billion(if my math is correct). Now I need to make this number realistic, so lets say 20 mill users are inactive(like me, I do have FB account but it is only used for reading Sports Illustrateds hot models page) so this brings our revenue down to 1 billion. So 3% of this is 30 million(just revenue). Lets also put in a 100 million in ad revenue. this gives me 33 million for MSFT(microsoft)..Hmmm I think MSFT just got shafted.
Talking about 100 mill ad revenue, How is FB earning that? Ads on the user page depending on their profile? I am not sure if this is the case. Is it through apps that you have to pay for? If it is then, are people that MacCrazy about F.B that they are paying money for apps? This means that I can start a site and have shit free on it and I can get people on it as people on the internet dont like to pay for crap that they use for social networking. This web 2.0 shit is turning out to be like web 1.0 where people were giving money away for literaly doing nothing(Anyone remember Alladvantage.com).ISP's were free, lots of other crap like shipping on $0.50 item was free.
Now the likes of FB give away server space + applications developed by paid programmers for free in return for ad revenue. I am not sure if this is going to work in the tough economic times we are in or even in the long run. This is not really a business model. If you provide some service to people So does FB have another business model? NO. http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/10/zuckerberg-facebook-will-have-a-business-plan-in-three-years
So the idea is FB gets money from VC's burns it on server space and other shit, but generates shit is return? Damn must be nice to get paid to produce nothing. I have to pay for groceries/junk food, spend time to cook them, effort to chew them and then only do I produce shit, compare that to FB business model. Life is just not fair.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
The role of technology in mumbai attacks
As someone from the tech field(Computer related technology), I was trying to figure out what hi tech equipment the Indian forces used during the operation Cyclone. I got my answer recently through this article in Times of India.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Mumbai/Mumbai_attackers_more_tech_savvy_than_the_police/articleshow/3838336.cms
From the story above.
There is this whole angle of should we allow tech in the hands of average people which can be misused or start tracking people who use certain services(for e.g if I look at the some sensitive s ite on google maps, my IP is recorded) If India was China this would be fine but we are not so it wont fly. Any discussion on this topic will automatically lead to a discussion of online sensorship which will lead to nowwhere.
The second angle-
The attackers uses technology to their advantage(for e.g following the new coverage on their mobile, using phones to get direction from handleres in pakistan and using GPS to get to Mumbai)
I dont think they used GPS once they were in Mumbai as it would just be easier to ask for directions once in the city and the sites they hit were huge landmarks. They used taxis to get to their targets. Once they were in, a GPS wouldnt help much as a civil gps will not give them a higher resolution to help them figure out where they were. by resolution I mean, if they moved form one room of the Taj hotel to the other, the GPS signal would still be the same, so their screen would still show them as being in the same location as before. Infact I think in the interior of the hotel, they will not get any signal so it is completely useless.
Cell-phones and Sat phone would be extremely useful once they are in. The key to survive in a closed location is to communicate and keep tabs on the location of other team members(happens all the time in Counter strike)
They were a step ahead in terms of technology usage compared to even the NSG who(as I had predicted or questioned in my previous posts) had no night vision google, no Thermal sensors, to fight these shit stains. I think this operation would have been concluded without loss to the NSG if they had better equipment(they have guns but thats about it)
So what equipment can we provide the NSG(not just NSG but a strike force that should be placed in each major city of counter terrorists ops) just like the SWAT teams of U.S.
1. Thermal sensors, night vision googles for each commando
2. Each commando should have a communication set built into this helmet so he can communicate with his team members during an operation
3. The signal for such communication should be scrambles so the bad guys cant listen to it.
4. There should be a command and control centre set up within radio limit of the building where the mission commanders can overview the mission.
5. Each commando should also have beacon emiiter which can pin point there location on an electronic map. Now where do we get maps for all locations like this. It is impossible, but for location of strategic importance(Parliament, President' house, airports, BIG hotels, Govt buildings should be created and loaded into a database from where counter terrorists agencies can access it)
6. The men on the field should be able to move freely so we dont want to weigh them down but we still need to recon when planning a move(for e.g a corridor and dont know if this is being watched), In such a case, we need to come up a solution of tiny cameras mounted on some sort of a flying device which can then be either sent out into the said area to collect information about the location of bad guys, location of doors(whatever that is needed). All this can be watched on a screen(at the command and control centre and on the screen of the handler of such device) Too science fictioney? How about this
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-447317/The-flying-saucer-snapped-US-army.html
Now it is the daily mail but it can be done(Whip your IITians to get on it, Its time they pay back for their expensive education by doing some real work)
7. Basic protection for the body- I saw just bullet proof vests and helmets on NSG. How about tigh guards, if not those then Knee guards(like the ones skaters use)
Now along with this, how about Cell-phone jammers, cell-phone interceptors on mobile so if a situation like this arises we are able to listen to what is going on, if interceports are way to much then, just get jammers so there is no signal around the building.
Obviously now everyone is talking about this in the govt circles. So this is what is going to happen. A committe will be setup to make recommendations for future(oh goody, it is already setup), the committe will give its report 2 years later, the new govt (if there are not attacks will start moving slowly on the recommendations). There will be some visits by babus' netas to France, israel, UK to evaluate technology. This will be followed by visits by security related officials to evaluate technology. The company that bribes the most will be given the contract. The equipment will then be imported and deployed, rejected by the field ops on the first try but the ministry incharge will issue a no objection report by testing agency and it will go back to the Field where it will be used with a grudge( By this time, in 7 years we will probably have another incident and the cycle will follow). If there isnt any incident, then it will present an opportunity for babus to keep eating bribes for maintainance(this is imported, so all replacement parts need to be bought, so another opportunity to fill the coffers)
Next time, the role of the media in this shit.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Mumbai/Mumbai_attackers_more_tech_savvy_than_the_police/articleshow/3838336.cms
From the story above.
There is this whole angle of should we allow tech in the hands of average people which can be misused or start tracking people who use certain services(for e.g if I look at the some sensitive s ite on google maps, my IP is recorded) If India was China this would be fine but we are not so it wont fly. Any discussion on this topic will automatically lead to a discussion of online sensorship which will lead to nowwhere.
The second angle-
The attackers uses technology to their advantage(for e.g following the new coverage on their mobile, using phones to get direction from handleres in pakistan and using GPS to get to Mumbai)
I dont think they used GPS once they were in Mumbai as it would just be easier to ask for directions once in the city and the sites they hit were huge landmarks. They used taxis to get to their targets. Once they were in, a GPS wouldnt help much as a civil gps will not give them a higher resolution to help them figure out where they were. by resolution I mean, if they moved form one room of the Taj hotel to the other, the GPS signal would still be the same, so their screen would still show them as being in the same location as before. Infact I think in the interior of the hotel, they will not get any signal so it is completely useless.
Cell-phones and Sat phone would be extremely useful once they are in. The key to survive in a closed location is to communicate and keep tabs on the location of other team members(happens all the time in Counter strike)
They were a step ahead in terms of technology usage compared to even the NSG who(as I had predicted or questioned in my previous posts) had no night vision google, no Thermal sensors, to fight these shit stains. I think this operation would have been concluded without loss to the NSG if they had better equipment(they have guns but thats about it)
So what equipment can we provide the NSG(not just NSG but a strike force that should be placed in each major city of counter terrorists ops) just like the SWAT teams of U.S.
1. Thermal sensors, night vision googles for each commando
2. Each commando should have a communication set built into this helmet so he can communicate with his team members during an operation
3. The signal for such communication should be scrambles so the bad guys cant listen to it.
4. There should be a command and control centre set up within radio limit of the building where the mission commanders can overview the mission.
5. Each commando should also have beacon emiiter which can pin point there location on an electronic map. Now where do we get maps for all locations like this. It is impossible, but for location of strategic importance(Parliament, President' house, airports, BIG hotels, Govt buildings should be created and loaded into a database from where counter terrorists agencies can access it)
6. The men on the field should be able to move freely so we dont want to weigh them down but we still need to recon when planning a move(for e.g a corridor and dont know if this is being watched), In such a case, we need to come up a solution of tiny cameras mounted on some sort of a flying device which can then be either sent out into the said area to collect information about the location of bad guys, location of doors(whatever that is needed). All this can be watched on a screen(at the command and control centre and on the screen of the handler of such device) Too science fictioney? How about this
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-447317/The-flying-saucer-snapped-US-army.html
Now it is the daily mail but it can be done(Whip your IITians to get on it, Its time they pay back for their expensive education by doing some real work)
7. Basic protection for the body- I saw just bullet proof vests and helmets on NSG. How about tigh guards, if not those then Knee guards(like the ones skaters use)
Now along with this, how about Cell-phone jammers, cell-phone interceptors on mobile so if a situation like this arises we are able to listen to what is going on, if interceports are way to much then, just get jammers so there is no signal around the building.
Obviously now everyone is talking about this in the govt circles. So this is what is going to happen. A committe will be setup to make recommendations for future(oh goody, it is already setup), the committe will give its report 2 years later, the new govt (if there are not attacks will start moving slowly on the recommendations). There will be some visits by babus' netas to France, israel, UK to evaluate technology. This will be followed by visits by security related officials to evaluate technology. The company that bribes the most will be given the contract. The equipment will then be imported and deployed, rejected by the field ops on the first try but the ministry incharge will issue a no objection report by testing agency and it will go back to the Field where it will be used with a grudge( By this time, in 7 years we will probably have another incident and the cycle will follow). If there isnt any incident, then it will present an opportunity for babus to keep eating bribes for maintainance(this is imported, so all replacement parts need to be bought, so another opportunity to fill the coffers)
Next time, the role of the media in this shit.
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Mumbai attacks
I was on a cruise ship when I found out about the attacks on Mumbai. Thanks to CNN I was partially informed and the images of the attacks shocked me. My first words after hearing the news were "We are under attack and the police has no clue"
Shit that followed after that was astounding in terms of the stupidity displayed by the fucking, stupid politicians. I would like to single out the ousted CM of Mahrashtra who after 5 hours was saying situaton in Taj under control. WTF dude? really? Then I heard some army general who was driving away declaring that they have to clean up the seen as they need to check for booby traps and shit like that. I understand that is std procedure in such ops but this implies you are under control of the situation.
After all this, the next two days were followed by constant breaking news of the attacks, gun fights and more and more rumours. CNN had the feed of CNN IBM, star news and I could see the Indian reporters were struggling to describe the scene.
I want to now vent over the whole fucking incident and say it like it is.
1. The country's politicial system is broken beyong repair, I sooooo wish the Dec 13 attacks had succeeded. We would have started with a clean slate. yeah I know the families of the politicians would have to go through a hard time but this the price we had to pay.
2. The attacks also showed how inept our Police is, The Anti TERROR Suprindent was freaking killed even though he was wearing a bullet proof jacket. The terrorists then hijacked the very vehicle he was in and moved to a different location.
3. The media for a special mention. Yo guys, get a clue about how to fucking report on incidents of this scale. Please stop spreading rumours, do check your resources(a guy standing on the road is not a credible source). The above mentioned reoport of the ATS chief's vehicle being hijacked is also reported by NDTV but I havent found other news sources say this.
4. When it comes to crisis management, eveyone wants to a piece of air time. There were 20 statements from 20 freaking agencies, 100's or moronic reporters saying "Terrorists are here and terrorists are there" WTF? Even now the picture is not clear. The media reported "Jewish center under attack" Terorirsts at Nariman point. SO does this mean they are at two different locations? How the fuck do I know they are the same location?
The media gave this whole situation a grand old B.J. They sucked and swallowed every fucking thing they heard on the scene, without verifying it. Utter confusion. The 20 moronic agencies and all the jokers wanting airtime are partly to blame for this but the media should filters the shit out the B.S and just give us some bull.
I know the indian army did awesome job, saved people and shit(actually the NSG which was pressed into service 12 hours after this mess had started)WO didn't we learn this after our plane was hijacked in 1998 that NSG should be pressed into service asap?
The initial scence showed the police with their antiquated guns on the scene, then an army contingent showing up. I also read the Rapid action force was there too, so was the fire brigade.
Okay- Now here are the questions, i havent found answers for
1. What action did the police take when they reached the scene? How many police officers were there? Did they enter the building? did they engage the terrorists scums? What happened if they did? Dont give me shit like, they went in and saved people and came out as the army was coming.
2. Why did the RAF show up? What did they do? Did they secure the building exits, establish a secure perimeter? Did they enter the building? Did they engage the terrorists? How long after the incident started did the RAF show up? If they didnt engage the terrorists then what did they do?
3. If the army showed up, did they do the things mentioned above, if not then why not?
4. The naval commandos that were shown on TV were apparently a contignent of 25. I thought they cleared TAJ but the operation continued for a day after their interview on T.V. At this point we heard again,, "We are close" WTF does that mean? We are close to killing them, capturing the shit stains ? Why didn't the media ask this question to the ass hat who was saying we are close that you have been saying this for the last 12 freaking hours.. where is the result?
5. One of the statements made by the govt was they have a command and control centre inside the building.. okay then why didnt you get Cell-phone jammers around the building and jam the signal, The cable connection was cut but why not the cell-phones. I know people trapped inside were communicating but so were the bad guys.
6. Media- again, Hostages rescued. This means terrorists were holding people which were rescued either after negotiations or after a fire fight. If you are trapped and you escape, then you were just trapped, you were not a hostage.. Get the term right, I know it is in English but may be you speak that everyday.
7. The commando who sounded very much like Akshay Kumar said" We were fighting them in the dark and we couldnt't tell how many were there" Okay you are an elite commando, you are supposed to have night vision goggle.. oh wait I forgot, the army general dont think that is necesary to provide to the elite fighting force with proper equipment.
8. NSG -Bravo!! Even you guys dont have night vision nor do you have protective gear on your legs, something that protects your knees, nor do you have commincation devices on you which would help you to communicate inside the building, nor did you have the maps of the building but you got the job done.. True Indians and I salute you.
9. Pig govt machinery- I have seen a brothel run better than our govt. Burn in Hell mofos this all I can say.
Another question-
Why wasnt the NSG air dropped on top of the Taj, and then they could have secured the upper floors, moved down while the force from the basement moved up, thus trapping the cockraches in between and sqashing them in between.
We saw this happen at Nariman point but not at the Hotels, may be it did but I have seen anthing which says it did.
Why are the details of the attack so sketchy even now?
I have vented but I willl write more on this.
Shit that followed after that was astounding in terms of the stupidity displayed by the fucking, stupid politicians. I would like to single out the ousted CM of Mahrashtra who after 5 hours was saying situaton in Taj under control. WTF dude? really? Then I heard some army general who was driving away declaring that they have to clean up the seen as they need to check for booby traps and shit like that. I understand that is std procedure in such ops but this implies you are under control of the situation.
After all this, the next two days were followed by constant breaking news of the attacks, gun fights and more and more rumours. CNN had the feed of CNN IBM, star news and I could see the Indian reporters were struggling to describe the scene.
I want to now vent over the whole fucking incident and say it like it is.
1. The country's politicial system is broken beyong repair, I sooooo wish the Dec 13 attacks had succeeded. We would have started with a clean slate. yeah I know the families of the politicians would have to go through a hard time but this the price we had to pay.
2. The attacks also showed how inept our Police is, The Anti TERROR Suprindent was freaking killed even though he was wearing a bullet proof jacket. The terrorists then hijacked the very vehicle he was in and moved to a different location.
3. The media for a special mention. Yo guys, get a clue about how to fucking report on incidents of this scale. Please stop spreading rumours, do check your resources(a guy standing on the road is not a credible source). The above mentioned reoport of the ATS chief's vehicle being hijacked is also reported by NDTV but I havent found other news sources say this.
4. When it comes to crisis management, eveyone wants to a piece of air time. There were 20 statements from 20 freaking agencies, 100's or moronic reporters saying "Terrorists are here and terrorists are there" WTF? Even now the picture is not clear. The media reported "Jewish center under attack" Terorirsts at Nariman point. SO does this mean they are at two different locations? How the fuck do I know they are the same location?
The media gave this whole situation a grand old B.J. They sucked and swallowed every fucking thing they heard on the scene, without verifying it. Utter confusion. The 20 moronic agencies and all the jokers wanting airtime are partly to blame for this but the media should filters the shit out the B.S and just give us some bull.
I know the indian army did awesome job, saved people and shit(actually the NSG which was pressed into service 12 hours after this mess had started)WO didn't we learn this after our plane was hijacked in 1998 that NSG should be pressed into service asap?
The initial scence showed the police with their antiquated guns on the scene, then an army contingent showing up. I also read the Rapid action force was there too, so was the fire brigade.
Okay- Now here are the questions, i havent found answers for
1. What action did the police take when they reached the scene? How many police officers were there? Did they enter the building? did they engage the terrorists scums? What happened if they did? Dont give me shit like, they went in and saved people and came out as the army was coming.
2. Why did the RAF show up? What did they do? Did they secure the building exits, establish a secure perimeter? Did they enter the building? Did they engage the terrorists? How long after the incident started did the RAF show up? If they didnt engage the terrorists then what did they do?
3. If the army showed up, did they do the things mentioned above, if not then why not?
4. The naval commandos that were shown on TV were apparently a contignent of 25. I thought they cleared TAJ but the operation continued for a day after their interview on T.V. At this point we heard again,, "We are close" WTF does that mean? We are close to killing them, capturing the shit stains ? Why didn't the media ask this question to the ass hat who was saying we are close that you have been saying this for the last 12 freaking hours.. where is the result?
5. One of the statements made by the govt was they have a command and control centre inside the building.. okay then why didnt you get Cell-phone jammers around the building and jam the signal, The cable connection was cut but why not the cell-phones. I know people trapped inside were communicating but so were the bad guys.
6. Media- again, Hostages rescued. This means terrorists were holding people which were rescued either after negotiations or after a fire fight. If you are trapped and you escape, then you were just trapped, you were not a hostage.. Get the term right, I know it is in English but may be you speak that everyday.
7. The commando who sounded very much like Akshay Kumar said" We were fighting them in the dark and we couldnt't tell how many were there" Okay you are an elite commando, you are supposed to have night vision goggle.. oh wait I forgot, the army general dont think that is necesary to provide to the elite fighting force with proper equipment.
8. NSG -Bravo!! Even you guys dont have night vision nor do you have protective gear on your legs, something that protects your knees, nor do you have commincation devices on you which would help you to communicate inside the building, nor did you have the maps of the building but you got the job done.. True Indians and I salute you.
9. Pig govt machinery- I have seen a brothel run better than our govt. Burn in Hell mofos this all I can say.
Another question-
Why wasnt the NSG air dropped on top of the Taj, and then they could have secured the upper floors, moved down while the force from the basement moved up, thus trapping the cockraches in between and sqashing them in between.
We saw this happen at Nariman point but not at the Hotels, may be it did but I have seen anthing which says it did.
Why are the details of the attack so sketchy even now?
I have vented but I willl write more on this.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
The new "Landmark" in Pune
Recently visited India in Dec. Once of the places that I went to was Pune(love the city, it rocks!!)In the last one year, the shiv sainiks did what they do best and got hindi/marathi billboards along with the english one. So every sign should have an equivalent hindi/marathi name. Looks like someone forgot to run a spell check on this!
Even the friggin logo matches the name.. .Perfect!
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
I am back!! (sort of)
have been thinking of updating this blog for a while(kind of like a year).. still thinking but I thought I should first should just go ahead and write something first.. you know just do it
Thanks Nike for the motivation.
Happy new year to the only reader of this blog (me!)
Thanks Nike for the motivation.
Happy new year to the only reader of this blog (me!)
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