As If I Care..!

Dont be bothered about how you are doing ; focus on what you are doing and doing it the way you'd like it done.

© Zarine.

Cross posting from Desicritics

he rural sector has one more reason to smile. After ITC's e-choupals, here comes Intel's "Community PC" platform.

Intel has recently announced the Community PC as its offering to the rural Indian. Its part of the "Jagruti" initiative wherein Intel collaborates with businesses, governments and education institutes to provide their services through this platform.

The PC is designed to face the rough and tough conditions of the rural sector. It is a expandable and runs on shared access. It has a rugged chassis, Customized Power Supply Unit (CPSU), lower power consumption and Access Control. The Chassis can withstand harsh temperatures (upto 45 degree Celsius), high humidity levels(70 to 85 RH). It has an in built fan to cool the motherboard. The CPSU is a combination of the Integrated Power Supply and UPS. This protects the computer from abrupt power cuts. What's more, it takes less than 100W to run!

Rural India is a huge untapped market for the Big Tech guys. Internet kiosks have been increasing across the rural India providing access to services like e-governance, e-banking et al. Intel aims to position its PC for such kiosks thus not only providing the farmer with a rough and tough machine, but also promoting access to technology.

Be it FMCG or IT, Rural India is the place to be. But is this another monopoly in making?

© Zarine.

'They' didnt lemme kill this blog. So it stays. Albeit for a different reason. It'll be the 'official/professional' sorta thing. The 'unofficial/personal' exists here


© Zarine.

Cross posting it from Desicritics.


Can freedom and fear co-exist? Going by the recent cartoon controversy, apparently not. Freedom by definition is the ability to do think/ act/ speak without constraints and causing harm. Fear is something which stops you from doing the same because of the consequences.

In a democratic set-up like India and the US, fear has become a part of the national fabric. The US citizens are afraid of paedophiles, of been robbed on the roads at gun-point and after 9/11, the whole country is cautious. Is this the price one pays for freedom?

Rang De Basanti has been applauded by most of us. Like armchair missionaries we appreciate anything that represents the cause. But seldom do we take it up on ourselves to change the system. A Manjunath or Satyendra Dubey, upright citizens who died on duty, reaffirm the fear. We choose to keep quite because the consequences scare us. The Freedom of speech and expression may incite many to voice their concerns, but unless an Act to protect the Whistle Blower is firmly in place, they shall continue to clam up. India strongly needs a Whistle Blower Act as rightly stated here .This Act can assure citizens of protection from harmful forces but addresses only a part of the problem.

General feelings of insecurity and mistrust in a society cannot be dealt through Acts alone. Humans, by nature, are suspicious of their surroundings. This can be traced back to the Neanderthal times when we had to live amidst wild animals and safeguard ourselves against such environs. Locks, Double doors, encrypted passwords are all an extension of the same. We tend to think everyone is out to harm us.

Fear can also exist due to different value systems. In a democratic set-up, where more than one belief exists, differences can creep in. These differences can lead to conflicts which eventually lead to mistrust within the society. At some places like Afghanistan, fear was the direct result of the tyrant Taliban rule. When laws are guided by written word instead of human concern, misery is bound to exist. In both the cases, freedom of expression is affected by external constraints.

What then causes mistrust and insecurity to thrive? Why do the they give rise to fear which hampers harmonious relations? What can we do about it?

The country's coming together on the Jessica Lal case is an example of how the situation can be changed. When those in the 'system' know that they cant get away with anything and those outside it know that they have the power to change it, the fear of exercising freedom will eventually be curbed.




© Zarine.

One great thing about Blogosphere is Tags :)). When u dunno wht to blog abt,here comes a tag to ur rescue :D.

Surbhi, the lovely one, has tagged me. She's intrested in knowing 8 things I'd want in my "Partner in Crime" - P.I.C (tht's wht I prefer calling "him" ;) ).

1. Knows what to talk and when to talk! He should sense the situation and act accordingly.
2. Loves food and loves to cook/experiment with it. (Btw, I jus discovered Upma + Sauce and Butterscotch + Choc sauce are good combos. Infact, anything with Choc sauce on it is good, what say, LLVP? ;) )
3. We shouldn't have to seek permission from each other to do things. As in,if a pal is in town, I can invite him over without thinking what will my P.I.C think. If he feels like going for a trek, he can. No restrictions whatsoever. As long as we know abt each other's whereabouts, P.I.C can be in Honolulu for all I care..! :D
4. Should be able to deal with my mood swings using the right techniques ;).
5. Should tease, pull my leg, make my life difficult with his antics! :))
6. Simply hug and cry when he feels like. I'd always want him to share his anger, fraustrations, disappointments, failures with me.
7. Have no hangups when it comes to helping around with homely chores. Mil baatke kaam karenge :P
8. Shouldnt think twice before holding my hand infront of his pals. Rather introduce me as "Meet my Angel!" (Wow!!!)

Short and sweet na :)

Am really intrested in knowing abt P.I.C of the foll folks. Puneet,Ranj & Ranjan are already tagged, so remn:-

1. Vipul (u knew this was coming ;) )
2. Mike
   
3. Subbu (Gotcha!! :D)
4. Girish (Puhleez,blog!!!)
5. Hirdu
   

© Zarine.