Steve Jobs - dead and forgotten...

People say we shouldn't talk bad things about dead people. Maybe immediately after they die. But what about 1 full year after? I was mildly shocked to read on Slashdot that it's already 1 full year since the so-called genius of i is no more.

 Personally I feel, Apple in general, and Jobs in particular, never cared for the customer's freedom, nor for the environment. All the company wanted and still wants, is just more and more money, and now that they have large amounts of money; they're using that to beat up competition in the courts instead of the marketplace.

Apple to me, has been the worst influence in the tech World, and I feel it is creating more and more idiots in the tech World. None of their so-called innovations were conceived inhouse, they were borrowed or stolen from elsewhere. There are fools who believe that Apple made the first tablet, the first touch device, etc. In India we have some folks who rush to watch the first day first show movie of their favorite actor. Understandable.

But people, so-called educated people, purposely throwing money at a company who doesn't care for their rights or freedoms - but just wants their money? I find it hard to understand. I saw a small report on the iPhone5 on NDTV, and it seems it has a new connector that is not compatible with iPhone4S, and is not yet available!! So much for innovation and standards.

 Personally, I feel even Bill Gates has done quite a bit for the advancement of tech. Linus Torvalds, Stallman and many more have likewise done far far more than Jobs and his friends. I have no tears or respect for the latter bunch. Sorry. I don't intend to be rude - but they can all go to hell. Literally.

Cook can serve some crow!!

Sweet revenge for the Men in Blue after drawing a blank on the England tour. I expected India would win the series, but not the whitewash; or the thumping wins in 3 of the games.

The Poms were in complete disarray; their batting being the worst of 3 disciplines. Cook, Bell, Trott - none of them would belong in the top order of any self-respecting ODI team.

Summary changes are called for in the England squad - I never understood why Strauss wasn't good enough to play ODIs but Cook was okay, and as skipper!!! Totally clueless bunch of selectors. For some reason it appears Strauss is out of favour with the bosses in the ECB.

A drubbing in the T20 tomorrow would be a fitting send-off. I find it difficult to sympathise with a bunch of ill-behaved blokes who can't conduct themselves with a bit more of decency. And they say Cricket is a gentleman's game!!!

F1 and driving in India...

I fail to see where's the thrill in a race where all precautions have been taken and drivers all drive in the same direction. David Goodger gave the keynote presentation at the Python Conference and he said his experience on being ferried across Bangalore in an auto-rickshaw, minus sseatbelt at 70+ kmph was totally out-of-the-world. He still hadn't recovered from the experience a full hour after landing up in the conference venue safe and sound.

People who come to India from abroad go through similar experiences on their first day.... the first few days would seem very long and very thrilling indeed.

I for one am not excited about the F1 thing, despite people like Sachin promoting the event. PT Usha calls it a waste of money, and I tend to agree with her. Better to have a Mattu-Vandi race (bullock cart race). Talking of which, a week or so back I was going through Sathy Road and spotted a dozen bullock carts with all decorations going towards Annur. On enquiry, they said it was for some race. Nice to know there are still bullocks and carts around; and more importantly, people who can handle such carts and beasts. When the World is empty of petrol, India and Indians will still manage to live on in relative comfort. F1 can go to hell. Literally.

Metallica can go to hell...

Everybody who knows me, knows that I hate cars bcos they burn so much fuel for carrying so little weight. And I hate people who love cars and love sending smoke and greenhouse gases up into the stratosphere.

And so it is with a bit of satisfaction, that I note today's Metallica conert at the Formula 1 Launch has been cancelled. I have never been a fan of F1 racing. Except at the start of the race and the pit stops there's nothing much to see, little excitement in the jarring monotonous proceedings. There's no poetry about F1, unlike Cricket.

Now that absolute chaos has descended on the Metallica show; the sort of blokes who would spend lots of money and time listening to jarring, grinding, boring music can go home and get some sleep. Better to listen to some Carnatic or Hindustani music; which sounds good even when downloaded off the web. Try it. It's seriously good.

Just to secure the blog title...

Hi

I've just blocked swamycricketananda.blogspot.com so that I can post over here when 606 closes down.

More later
Cheers
SCA