The impending Age Of Abundance was prophecied in the scriptures thousands of years ago.
Showing posts with label India. Show all posts
Showing posts with label India. Show all posts
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Google+ Can't Die, I Have Posted Too Many Pictures
Geocities died and I lost a lot of my articles I had published there. Google Video died and I lost hundreds of my videos, most of them hour long. And now this rumor is unnerving me. I have thousands upon thousands of pictures on Google+. Not only that, it is my favorite photo sharing app. I really like its tight integration with my phone. I am squarely in the Android camp. ("I am a man of the people!" -- Laloo Yadav) Why would Google even think of killing Google+? Not only is it my favorite photo sharing app (I really like how photos from my phone upload themselves) I also greatly like the Google+ Communities.
Google+ Is Dying. What's Your Exit Strategy?
Wait, I did a search on "paramendra bhagat geocities" and look what I was able to dig up.
About Paramendra Bhagat (my first website)
Paramendra Bhagat
Writings by Parmendra Bhagat
I guess they are still there. Now if I only I could find my Google Video videos. But I doubt it. At the time I remember opting for Google Videos over the newly launched YouTube. I figured Google is a company that will still be around decades from now, and so my videos will be "safe!"
google video and nepal movement for democracy
Monday, October 13, 2014
Trade Agreements Bring Peace
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| English: Red (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
India and Pakistan, take heed.
Network Theory Reveals The Hidden Link Between Trade And Military Alliances That Leads to Conflict-Free Stability
There was a time when historians focused largely on events as the be all and end all of history. But in recent years, there has been a growing understanding that a complex network of links, alliances, trade agreements and so on play a hugely important role in creating an environment in which conflict (or peace) can spread. ..... “The pressure to economize on alliances conflicts with stability against the formation of new alliances, which leads to instability and would suggest chaotic dynamics,” they say. “This instability provides insights into the constantly shifting structures and recurring wars that occurred throughout the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth centuries.” ...... Between 1820 and 1959, there were 10 times as many wars per year on average between each possible pair of countries than between 1960 and 2000 ..... it is the formation of trade links between countries that has created the stability that has prevented wars. ..... there has been a rapid increase in global trade since World War II, not least because of the advent of container shipping in the 1960s. ..... trade provides a reason to maintain an alliance .... these economic considerations reduce the incentive to attack another country since trade will be disrupted ......... a rich family of stable networks ...... the initiating event is a poor predictor of the eventual size of an epidemic, fashion or war.
Saturday, April 05, 2014
India
I'm at Karma (New York, NY) w/ 2 others http://t.co/FZC6Z4hDFR pic.twitter.com/BA7Uc9jqdB
— Paramendra Bhagat (@paramendra) April 5, 2014Front seat at stand up comedy, one comedian made a point to say "I don't give a f__k about India!"
— Paramendra Bhagat (@paramendra) April 5, 2014Friday, March 07, 2014
Public WiFi In India's Poorest State
This is monumental. Nitish has built many roads and many bridges to help Bihar catch up with the rest of India. But he needs to build public WiFi to help Bihar catch up with the rest of the world. And he is doing it. I am proud.
The entire city of Patna has to be turned into one free public WiFi zone. Bihar has to be turned into a world class knowledge economy.
There is no internet without electricity, and just like the Yellow River was turned from being the sorrow of China to a boon for China, Bihar and Delhi have to work in concert with Nepal to turn Kosi from being the sorrow of Bihar to a boon for Bihar and Nepal. All of Nepal's 200,000 MW hydroelectric potential has to be tapped for the benefit of Nepal and India. That would be the best long term solution to Bihar's energy needs.
I find Nitish endlessly inspiring. To those who say if democracy is the superior form of government, why is China growing so much faster, Nitish is the answer. Nitish Kumar's Bihar is growing much faster than China clocking at 14%.
Bihar Beats Beijing As World’s Longest Free WiFi Zone Opens In Patna
If you are travelling from Patna to Danapur, then between NIT-Patna on Ashok Rajpath to Danapur you can get absolutely free Wi-Fi connectivity. This 20 Kms stretch is the longest free Wi-Fi zone, anywhere in the world. ...... Recently, Bangalore became the first city in India to have free Wi-Fi zones. Named “Namma WiFi”, free Wi-Fi is available at MG Road, Brigade Road, CMH Road, and around the bus stations of Yeshwantpur, Koramangala and Shanthinagar. ..... Narendra Modi has promised that Ahmedabad will also have its own free Wi-Fi zones so has Delhi government assured us of this luxury. Before this, China’s 3.5 Kms long Wi-Fi zone was considered the longest but Patna has now overtaken this achievement. ...... eBihar summit where CM Nitish Kumar also inaugurated ‘Dial 100’ and ‘City Surveillance’ services wherein hundreds of CCTV cameras would be installed all over the city for better safety and security. A dedicated data center has been opened as well, which will store the data captured by these CCTVs all over the city. ........ a bid to make Patna crime-free. In a first of its kind, this project will enable CCTVs to capture vehicle numbers and person’s identity instantly, which would be shared all over the network to nab any criminal. Every vehicle entering or exiting the city would be monitored this way. ..... the state is rich in natural resources and human talent (maximum number of IAS officers are from Bihar) ..... CM Nitish Kumar is now forcing everyone to take notice of the new Bihar.Bangalore Gets Free Wi-Fi , Starts With MG Rd & Brigade Rd
After ‘Namma Metro’ meaning ‘Our Metro’, Bangalore is all set to get something we all are dreaming of but never got - free Wifi, the first such service in the country, branded as ‘Namma Wifi’. ...... To access free wifi in the hotspots, users will have to open their browser, which will take them to the “Namma Wifi” page. They have to key in their mobile phone number to which a password would be sent. Once the password is keyed in, the user can browse the net free for 30 minutes in 24 hours. Users can expect internet speeds of about 512 kbps. ...... Plans are also afoot to provide similar service in Mysore, Mangalore, Hubli-Dharwad and some other towns in north Karnataka in the coming months. ..... One would have expected such services to start in Mumbai or Delhi first but this is a good move by the Government.Maharashtra State Transport Buses to Offer Free Wi-Fi!
MSRTC will be installing wi-fi sets in around 100 Shivneri Volvo buses connecting Mumbai and Pune that will enable bus passengers to access internet completely free of cost. ..... Not only will these buses have Wi-fi, but will also be fitted with CCTV cameras and GPS tracking that will help in monitoring movement of buses from central control room as well as deter bag-lifters and thefts that are quite common on these buses. ..... MSRTC will cover the expenses of these extra features by offering advertising on these AC buses. ..... Internet will come to these Shivneri buses via direct satellite link-up.Outernet: Free Internet to the World Via Satellites!
A New York based non-profit organization called Media Development Investment Fund (MDIF) has announced its intention to build an “Outernet”—a global network of cube satellites broadcasting Internet data to virtually any person on the planet—for free. The idea is to offer free Internet access to all people, regardless of location, bypassing filtering or other means of censorship. ...... Around 40% of the people in the world today are still not able to connect to the Internet— not just because of restrictive governments such as North Korea or China —also due to the high cost of bringing this service to remote areas. ...... An Outernet would allow people from Siberia to parts of the western United States to remote islands or villages in Latin-America or Africa to receive the same news as those in Los Angeles, New Delhi, Tokyo or Sydney. ...... In today’s digital age, the Internet has grown in size and importance – human rights organizations and others promoting freedom of expression propose that access to the information that the Internet can provide, is a basic human right. What they suggest is that restricting access to the Internet is a violation of human rights. ...... MDIF is proposing that hundreds of cube satellites be built and launched to create a constellation of sorts in the sky, allowing absolutely anyone with a phone or computer to access Internet data sent to the satellites by several hundred ground stations! ........ Project Lead of Outernet Syed Karim says: ‘We have a very solid understand of the costs involved, as well as experience working on numerous spacecraft. There isn’t a lot of raw research that is being done here; much of what is being described has already been proven by other small satellite programs and experiments. There’s really nothing that is technically impossible to this.’ ...... Such satellites typically run $100,000 to $300,000 each to build and launch. ...... deploying the initial CubeSats can be as early as mid-2015. Outernet project also aims to ask NASA for permission to test the technology on the International Space Station. ....... In this era of Edward Snowden, the veil of secrecy and shackles of capitalism should be atleast shaken, if not broken!Now Free Internet access and Satellite television on Indian Rails
Two premium trains of India – Shatabdi and Rajdhani – will now be boasting on-board free internet and direct-to-home (DTH) services....... The premium trains have been consistently loosing market share over past couple of years to low cost budget airlines offering very competitive rates. In a bid to stem this loosing streak, the Indian railway minister is expected to announce many new initiatives including Free Internet access and DTH services. ..... The tourism ministry has been exploring the idea with the railways for launching at least 5-7 tourist trains as a large number of foreign tourists visiting India do not visit places beyond select destinations like Goa, Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. ..... The upcoming railway budget may also open up advertising opportunities on select trains. Under this proposal, which has been successfully implemented in the southern part of the country, companies will pay a fixed fee for advertising on the trains. ...... I had not expected much from Lalu when he was named the union Railways minister, however, in last 5 years he bought a sea-change in Indian railway services and kudos to him for doing that!The 20-km free Wi-Fi zone in Patna is world's longest
I personally love train journeys, but one of the reasons why I have preferred low-cost airlines in recent past was long train journeys break you off completely from the world – no TV, no Internet.
Once known as a backward state, Bihar has made a strong bid for a mention on the world's infotech map as chief minister Nitish Kumar unveiled the 20km free Wi-Fi zone, the longest across the globe, at a function christened e-Bihar summit in Patna on Wednesday. Kumar also unveiled a 'city surveillance and dial 100' scheme under which at least 100 CCTV cameras installed in different localities of the state capital became operational. A state data centre has also been opened for storing of the 'data' collected by these cameras. ....... CM Kumar announced an IT City would be developed on a 200-acre plot at Rajgir. He also said the government has in principle approved an infotech building on a plot of one lakh sq ft and another on a plot of 5 lakh sq ft in Patna. Besides, an infotech park is coming up on the outskirts of the city....... "Our state should now be the IT industry's fave destination," he said. ...... The state's free Wi-Fi zone is the longest in the world since China's 3.5km zone was treated as the longest so far. The 'city surveillance and dial 100' project is first of its kind in the country as it integrates the surveillance of the city, vehicle tracking and dial 100 control centre schemes. An automated number plate recognition system has been installed on 11 roads, which will automatically note the registration number of the vehicles entering and exiting the city. "It was with this surveillance system's help that the Patna police rescued the son of a city-based trader from Ara within 24 hours of his kidnapping recently," CM Kumar said. ....... IT minister Shahid Ali Khan said free Wi-Fi facility would be provided at all the tourist spots in the state. Principal secretary (IT) N K Sinha said Bihar might be a late entrant to this sector but "we are on the cusp of IT revolution".BJP-LJP alliance 'unprincipled': Nitish Kumar
Nitish Kumar rules out possibility of JD(U), Congress alliance
Railways gearing up to run Shatabdi Express at 160 km per hour speed
For US high-speed rail, California project is bellwether
a route between San Francisco and Los Angeles will be a watershed moment for a transport concept that has yet to take off across America. ..... would race across California at up to 200 miles (320 kilometers) per hour ...... the 400-mile St. Paul-to-Chicago route takes a tedious eight hours and 16 minutes today, 90 minutes longer than in previous yearsCongress open to special status for Bihar, engages JD(U) in tie-up talks
Modi's Gujarat: AAP state leaders quit amid confused signal from Delhi
AAP, BJP neck-and-neck for Delhi Lok Sabha seats: Survey
Arvind Kejriwal attacks ‘Narendra Modi-Ambani link', says 'Modi wave' a media creation
"Apparently, he (Modi) spends Rs50 crore on each of his rallies. He uses (Mukesh) Ambani's helicopter to travel from one city to the other. Modi claims he will bring back black money. But how can we expect him to take actions against Ambani's bank accounts abroad when he has accepted so many favours?" ..... shot down reports of "Modi wave" as media hype and articulated his party's national ambition as "at least 100 seats" in the parliamentary elections. The next government at Centre, he said, would not be formed without AAP's support. Kejriwal plans to hold a four-day roadshow in Modi's Gujarat with a big rally in Ahmedabad on March 7. ...... While UP is central to Modi's PM project, so is it for AAP's national ambition. The party's approach in UP is to focus on 15 Lok Sabha seats — including Meerut, Ghaziabad, Agra, Lucknow, Kanpur, Banaras, Allahabad and Gorakhpur — which are relatively urban in geography and where there is a direct contest between Congress and BJP. "We have projected ourselves as an alternative to the Congress and the BJP. So the 15 urban seats in UP, where the two national parties usually perform well, will be our priority," said Adarsh Shastri, grandson of ex-PM Lal Bahadur Shastri, in charge of formulating the AAP's vision document for UP.
Monday, February 03, 2014
An Opening For Microsoft: Supercheap Smartphones
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| Image via CrunchBase |
The large number of Android manufacturers are tough competition though. Android is free. And those hardware makers are doing their best to offer cheap phones. But I have a feeling Nokia knows a thing or two about cheap.
Gates Seen Taking Bigger Products Role at Microsoft
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Paul Graham Is Not That Innocent
Let me state the obvious first. I am a huge admirer of what Paul Graham has built in Y Combinator. And I have drawn enormous inspiration from many of his essays on tech startups. And it was an honor to once get featured in the same BBC article as Paul Graham and Brad Feld. (Paul Graham, Brad Feld, Me, BBC)
And now let me get to the topic at hand. Yes, Paul Graham was misquoted. But that does not change the fact that Paul Graham is guilty of sexism just like I am. I would not accuse him of extreme sexism. I might save that for a ton of men in India. But guilty he is. Why do I say that?
You were there when girls around you were 13. If you did not see sexism then, then you were willfully blind. You very well participated in it. Sexism starts early. Young girls feeding on sexist media do weird things with what they eat. That is sexism.
I don't think there is something fundamental about men and women that makes men head for STEM. Once girls get hit by the pot of sexism early on, they kind of lose their balance, and they end up making weird choices like not going towards STEM with greater gusto than they do.
Paul Graham wondering as to why 13 year old girls don't code more is not exactly like Newton wondering why the apple fell on his head. But sexism IS social gravity. It is all pervasive and all powerful, and all men participate in it, it is only a matter of degree, some more, some less, but we all do.
Sexism is really cutting edge, as is racism. It is as if not more cutting edge than the Internet itself, only the Internet is technology and communications and commerce, sexism and racism are social. It is like I am at this Internet Society event, Vint Cerf and Tim Berners-Lee on stage. And I was and am a huge admirer of the guys. I literally think of the Internet as a new country, a feeling further enforced by a recent Indian Supreme Court decision that is blatantly homophobic. (Homophobia is sick, okay?) And I ask my question of Tim. If the Internet is a country which of you is George Washington, which is Thomas Jefferson? Tim gets offended and says "different race" in an unpleasant way. And I am like, I don't believe this motherfucker. And I made a "mad scientist" remark. (Tim Berners-Lee: The Internet Is Not A Country)
Paul Graham said recently something about "heavy accents," and there he was not misquoted, and I thought that was a racist thing to be saying.
Fred Wilson: Girls Who Code
Paul Graham: What I Did Not Say
Taylor Rose: Girls Haven’t Been Hacking for the Last 10 Years
Paul Graham Is Not That Innocent http://t.co/fQ4lbDe3UM @paulg @fredwilson @rosetaylorm @bfeld @timberners_lee @vgcerf
— Paramendra Bhagat (@paramendra) December 31, 2013
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