It is too difficult to say what is going to be the outcome. Whether, anyone in India can hit the right balance between price and performance and the requisite broadband networks.

Interestingly, the working model displayed by Google has a tie up with Verizon who I believe is in the process of setting up 4G networks for faster broadband access and has gone live in 38 plus cities in US. India is not far behind in the 4G race though and it is Mukesh Ambani who plans to get in the race.

Possibly, I foresee limited accounts with perhaps bundled connections. Mukesh and his cohorts would be very happy to mass produce Chinese crapware bundled with some customized version of Google OS/Jolicloud kind of a mash up. I remember some dorks advertising on Business Standard about network computing; they haven’t replied back to a long list of my queries though a subsequent letter to the editor was published. (I am too lazy to fish out the bookmarks for the time being).

Hence, 4G (LTE) or cloud computing is too esoteric concept for this nation. It is something similar to One laptop per Child project to which Indian Government mercifully rejected the contention. Instead they were keen to promote something like $20 laptop or something. Idiots.

I am not too keen to trust on the cloud computing in any form. I keep a back up of all my files and in any case, it needs polished networks without huge amount of latency built in. Otherwise, the end user experience would be pathetic. It does allow for “off line” usage but I am not too keen on such a product.

This is my bit of “investigative journalism” if I may use the liberty of calling it so and again I am at loggerheads with the media for it’s questionable approach to issues. This is in response to an article in Business Standard here which speaks of improving the education sector.

Still, here it goes. (I have already reported this to media watchdog, The Hoot) though I am not sure whether they would put this up on the web site. If you look carefully, this is from some director of India Development Foundation.

If you look closely at the board of trustees it becomes interesting. It has often been alleged but not proven about these lobbyists for “developmental goals” for India. Unfortunately their prescriptions don’t match the reality but it is a separate issue.

I could not access their journal (and neither their table of contents) but here is something about their journal:

The purpose of this journal is to carry out informed public debates on infrastructure policy, given that in most developing countries, infrastructure is as much related to policy as it is to markets. This journal provides a platform for healthy trade and debate regarding new ideas in the infrastructure sector. The journal looks at issues and concerns regarding infrastructure in India and in other countries in the world. Infrastructure includes physical, social, economic and financial infrastructure as well as what we can loosely term market infrastructure (enabling environments like extension services in agriculture and proper commercial laws). The journal also looks at infrastructure issues specific to other countries at present but that may be relevant to India at a later date.

Does this mean that the newspaper is being used for “advertising purposes”? I can only ALLEGE but NOT prove this contention.

Business Standard has been carrying write ups from Surjit Bhalla who is from Oxus Research and it states:

Established in September 1996, Oxus Research conducts frontier level research on emerging markets, with special focus on India. Specifically oriented towards financial markets, Oxus publications include an analysis of the Indian capital market, the role of Chinese mercantilism in causing the East Asian Crisis, currency undervaluation and its relation to growth, the role of the middle class in development, and several articles on the importance of Capital Account Convertibility to growth in developing countries.

Here is the link from almighty Google about Surjit Bhallawith tone and tenor of the write ups is SIMILAR or nearly similar to their aims stated on the web site.

3Indicus Analyticus has been a regular contributor to Business Standard and the link to Google here lists their contributions are similar to those found on their web site. If you look at their sponsors it would make you sit up and notice.

Is Business Standard allowing a multitude of firms and individuals linked to “analytical” firms pushing some agenda? Interestingly, most of these firms are “privately funded” which again raises questions about their source of funding. I googled some more and found out that Surjit Bhalla is associated with some university which again is “privately funded.”

I may have a “vested interest” because I was interested to push them to accept contributions from independent sources which they refused (personal email communication). However, day in and day out, they have these “research firms” jumping in which probably points to their acceptance of some fee or understanding between the parties.

Interestingly, Surjit Bhalla has a “portfolio” dedicated to him (Almighty Google). If you read carefully, it states:

He has worked at the Rand Corporation, Brookings Institution and the World Bank as an economist; has taught at the Delhi School of Economics; and has worked as a proprietary trader/strategist/portfolio manager at the World Bank, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and Oxus Investments.

It is fashionable to write about India’s ills but as I mentioned, the prescriptions don’t always mean well for the common man (depending on whose version you’d want to believe) unless the stint with multi national corporations would not leave the outlook stunted and proclaim that ‘capitalism’ is good enough medicine.

It seems like that Business Standard is being used as an advertising medium for a multitude of NGO’s and different “analytical firms” who push their questionable research through wider means and make good money. This is dangerous trend because the voice of independent bloggers or contributors is drowned out.

This also raises doubts about the write up on Shyam’s Ponappa’s write up on Business Standard that has been reviewed here. Of course, the numbers are always a suspect but then here’s interesting aspect. Almighty Google leads us to Shyam’s mention on another NGO actively canvassing for Internet. Behind the flotsam and crappy introduction, it reveals itself to be
behind ICT initiatives.

It’s hard to trust anyone, anything these days.

It’s crap dipshit soaked service that I have never ever experienced in the past 3 years with Airtel. Part of the reason was the urgent need to transfer my residence back because of some family issues. Apart from that, I would have never ventured to work on BSNL ever again.

I have fired an email to their top heads and of course, I need to make them realize that they are PUBLIC SERVANTS first and not our lords. To this effect, I am planning to file another RTI as soon as possible given the constraints on my time and energy.

The latency sucks to the core. Maybe I have been used to the 1Mbps madness. Where it took 2 hours to download a 700 MB file. Where everything worked in a jiffy. Where there was a slightly better customer care. Where things seemed to happen. Somewhat. But then we are stuck with a frigging glacier! BSNL crawls where it has to drag it’s feet. Shit.

How would it feel to subject these arseholes to a nice Chinese Water torture and spike their balls with massive gushes of high voltage and rip them apart? Perhaps they are used to their slumber.

We need to wake them up!