Going Green !!! Going Android!!!

Mundaneness is a common enemy to most people. We frown on anything that's become a routine, somehow things start to lose it's shine over a period of time. This analogy comes in handy for my long awaited review on Google Android vs Apple iOS. Apple and I have had a fairly long relationship, one which has hurt my pocket more than once. But it was the user interface that you are hooked onto. The way the company made newer generations of products and dint give customers any heads up on the time of release however makes them what they are now, "Apple - we like you provided you like us". What I mean by this, Apple has always been one of those companies which has made more money with even accessories which are in other company products comes as a default part. But people have never been bothered about Apples strategy,coz they are that good at what they make.

Lately however one cannot avoid noticing the backlog in technology voluntarily followed by Apple. No HDMI out, separate adapter for VGA connection, no blurry disc when you pay 2500$ for a laptop. Anyone who thinks Facetime and front camera is new, let's go back in history. Nokia in 2006 had dual cameras and phones had better cameras and it took apple a whopping 3 years to get these implemented. I agree that face time was a breakthrough in making people to stay connected and not missing those precious moments. But restricting this service to wifi and only to apple iPhone 4 only is the issue I had.

It just feels like yesterday when I was so excited for getting my hands on the iPhone 4. I must admit, first time to pre order any gadget was fun. It was turning out to be a great phone until those recurring proximity sensors failed on me. Then you start analyzing the product which I did since I am a tech buff. Granted people found the antenna gate to be an issue and those videos that went viral about losing bars by holding phone with that DEATH GRIP was a warning for Apple, yet they were not concerned. Their press conference spin off to show most smart phones were faulty dint prove anything at least not well received by general public. Since I was directly affected by their new product, I was more than watchful for Apples credibility and integrity in dealing with this new product.

So since lot of things dint feel good at Apple, after giving iPhone 4 a chance by getting it replaced one time so that the proximity sensor is not an issue. But the recurring problem pushed my limit. Returning an iPhone is still a hard thing to do, because you see how many users go crazy over it. Then again you need to stand up for what you believe in. iPhone lost it's lust factor and that's when I realized the power of being open source.

Welcome to the world of android where they studied customers and made sure people can synchronize phone contacts through their email account into the phone without using cables, no specific software. Custom made home screens and multiple widgets made it more enjoyable for users to feel unique although the devices may be ubiquitous. Actual multitasking capabilities, friend stream for social networking, separate news feeds based on your interest and video conferencing even over your wireless network redefined value for money.

It's finally great to choose between different models , different companies competing to give the best products, yet the experience is custom made to be satisfactory. When you are bored with your home page, your mood shifts from work to social, when you want your phone to ring in different tone, you don't need to make your own or buy it. Android understands these simple needs and have users like us contribute to one another. This makes any Android phone having multiple facets to be an ever addictive user interface and a growing community where consumers will always be the primary importance. Any company which does not keep the consumers first and just treats them as customers who help them become rich might profit for a short term, but is bound to lose it's respect from the users who make them big.

Think of a politician who helps people, becomes famous gets higher accolades and gets even greater positions to represent the people. If he forgets to do good to people, you know all too well how that road ends. So always remember your roots, priorities, values and stand up for what you believe in.

Fate / Faith

On my second trip to japan, I was as enthusiastic as when I took my first, for I was expecting how my perspectives about this beautiful country is going to change, since now I have been living in a country where opportunities are endless - United States of America. Being in the US for the last 4 years has definitely broadened my way of thinking and made me more receptive to new encounters in life.

Japan which I admired for it's technological advances incorporated in everyday life has a flavor of humility, compassion and humbleness all over it. The ever clean streets albeit there are no trash receptacles on the street, watches put to test for the timely and efficient subway system, 'Rashaima Sen' chants when you enter any store which meant welcome and bowing down saying 'Arigatho Gosai Mas', to thank you for whatever the value of the product you might have bought are some of the experiences that will stay with you upon travelling to Japan. If i were to recommend a place that is like the Mecca to a Muslim then it would include Kyoto, Hiroshima, Miyajima and Tokyo.

Walking through the Hiroshima memorial museum and the Atomic Dome made me revisit history, August 6th 1945, 8:15 AM. (Hiroshima was attacked by an atomic bomb). Going through every scene after this horrific episode, how many people got injured, killed, burnt alive and how the subway resumed service the very next day taught me a new meaning to the word 'Resilience'. Walking out of the museum made me understand and analyse more about a fundamental topic, Fate / Faith. We are in the 21st century, there are advances in field of science, technology that is simply breathtaking and yet i had a chance to meet people who believe in palmistry and which is the best time to move into a new home. On my return to the US i was rather still shocked by the fact that how a country like US could not maintain its infrastructure. Cleaner streets/ efficient transportation/ Safe neighborhood are all pre-requisites to any developed nation and i had to look at this nation objectively although US was the place that gave me a breakthrough in my life. There are people who would believe in fate and those who believe, FAITH. Unlike the mid 20th century atomic adversity that Japan faced, not a lot of countries have had any earth shattering disasters. So what made japanese people think about developing, evolving and be resilient. The faith they had in themselves and in their cultural disciplines. In an innate nature to work hard, putting society first, forgetting individualism for the team, Japanese people were equipped to face even a nuclear attack and learnt from their mistakes which they showcased it even in the War memorial in Hiroshima teaching the upcoming generation to learn from your past mistakes. On that note, there are certain attributes that we as a society have to shed. Some dogmas, superstition, horoscope, sun signs, stereotypes that make us not experience life and have preconceived notion of what it could be. This is not so different from what scientists have acknowledged about Personalized Medicine wherein individuals reaction to medicine cannot be generalized and results in iatrogenic diseases.

There are pros and cons in every country which i have to acknowledge is where my thoughts lead me. I felt wouldn't it be nice if subway system in NYC had a schedule and told us how long i have to wait. Upon entering the station to board a 6 train, i saw a prompter displaying '6 train arriving in 10 mins'. My faith continues to grow and i have a belief that as a society we will evolve learning from each other albeit respecting each others unique individuality for the collective good of human well being.

Our perceptions of things influences our experiences and others behaviour towards us and themselves. Inshort we are what we think we are, who we are is an infinite number of avatars.

Whats Missing?

Staying in school when you are 25 is a blessing. You get to come across a lot of interesting people belonging to different ends of the spectrum. Sitting around with young minds who has just begun their college life thinking about what they want to do with their life. My fellow scientists who are so excited about their research that sometimes its hard for them to leave their experiments; Ask any scientist, their experiments are there life. Professors with their hunt for grants and pressure to keep their labs running and yet dont lose focus on giving the time to answer questions pertaining to lectures to their students. Administrators who make it an efficient place to run such big universities, custodians who show delight in clearing our mess, facility personnel who are eager to fix my leaking sink.., etc.

Its only natural that i get amused by observing such diverse people with their unique skill sets. Yet its easy to notice some people who are just extraordinary in what they do. Having had a chance to meet quite a few of them i felt i could write some characteristics about these wonderful people.

1. Humility in understanding the basic fact; "you cant know it all". People get carried away with some amount of accomplishments and lose perspective on the adage "Known is a drop; unknown is an ocean". Stay Humble.

2. Being kind is natural. I have met a lot of people in school who are extremely kind and to them i sadly asked why?. Every time i got an almost unanimous answer "i am just like that". When i read the book on "The power of kindness" by Pierro Ferrucci, i was able to realize the most common mistakes that i was unconsciously committing in not being myself. Kindness was in me just like it is in all of us.

3. Time out. Not having such a great day, worn out, dont know when was the last time you had fun, missing people. If any of those had your head yelling out yes then you are probably not doing what you want to or at least not focussed in your work completely. These people who are always delightful are also people who take regular breaks, hobbies, vacations. We all could use a break from time to time, so have fun take that break. If not for yourself at least for your work.

4. The 'it' factor. He/She has 'it' in him/her. Sounds familiar. I have seen people with that drive in them to make them enjoy what they do and yet be successful. Its a small yet big thing called passion. Passion is an innate quality, unlike kindness people have clues to obviously realize it but yet is just simply afraid of being themselves.

5. Finally it brings us to my favorite quality. "Comfortable in your own skin". We all know who we are, sometimes it takes more out of you to admit to that rather than to live based on society based acceptable standard.

So enjoy what you do with your life for you never know what happens tomorrow nor can you get back what you did today. And if someone were to ask you a simple question "Whats Missing" you would be able to say "NOTHING".

Thoughts are things., Each one of them !!!

Life is a collection of Random events and it's execution has no dependence on your thought is something most of us are said to believe. An average Human being goes through a fair share of struggle, strain, obstacles followed by victory and success, be it any walk of life such as career, relationship, society and self-improvement or realization. It's almost as though we observe a pattern of sine wave in following the circle of life.

My perspective on this pattern is almost and entirely dependent on your own thoughts and mind. Yes we create our dramas in life, we create our own problems, and we achieve our own self-made goals and succeed in it. How? Human mind is one of the most powerful tools, which has not been truly understood it's fullest capability. Any thought that originates in the brain is surely to materialize, all thoughts materialize provided there is conviction in the thought and you allow time to be the variable. So when it will happen is what makes life interesting.

Now wait this also implies that when we fail or undergo a downfall we are responsible for it? Shocking, yet true. We set our own limits, we set the riches, we write the standards, and we are our own destiny. It’s fascinating why this habit is prevalent and almost without any acknowledgement by people who follow it the most... us. Life is short and during the time that we are given, we want to experience a wide array of emotions. So we have all adopted a strategy in which we inflict some suffering in our own lives and then recognize the value of things, people & life in general.

So where do we go from here? You would go wherever your mind takes you. My sincere recommendation is however to be conscious of your mind. Else you might fall into the "Niagara syndrome" totally unaware of what life has to offer since you can potentially change it.

In a spiritualistic or religious sense if you were to imagine that something superior to Humans exits and that's who writes your destiny. Think about this, if divine created you then you are part of divine, you just need to come to become aware of it, achieve consciousness of the divine inside of each one of us.

You are most likely going to have a lot of thoughts now, later and the rest of your life, just be aware of it since its going to happen and you could experience the fortune of writing your own destiny.

The power is within you.