This is a follow up post to the earlier write up.

Whilst it’s difficult to update it on a regular basis, you can follow up on the news. Interestingly, there has been an editorial about the same in Business Standard and this has been followed up with my letter to editor today. Basically I have recapitulated the contents of the blog mentioned yesterday which is repetition but minus any comments on RIM and it’s crapware. The letter has been reproduced here in it’s entirety.

Dear Sir,

I am surprised that there is an opposition to ban on Blackberry. The only gaffe in the entire episode and consequent drama is because this issue has been made public and received widespread publicity which is not warranted.

Agreed that privacy is important for an individual but the moment one connects to the grid, a person can easily be identifiable. The web browsers routinely collect cookies from sites which tracks user behavior and those systems which are infected with trojans or viruses reveal more incriminating details. Worse still. A brand new activated number is leaked out by telecom companies to various telemarketers for unsolicited calls despite Do Not Call lists and registration and SMS spam has assumed alarming proportions. Why the editorials can’t raise that issue as a matter of concern? Whither privacy?

Most of the countries where RIM operates has an explicit understanding that whatever data flows through Blackberries would be available for scrutiny. National security is paramount and if that is the overriding concern for “snooping on public”, so be it. Cellular calls can easily be tracked with equipment available off the shelf and indeed it was the cover story on an English weekly few weeks back. Similarly, a vital telecom infrastructure should be available for scrutiny because of immediate concerns of remote monitoring by foreign powers and the ability to remotely switch it off during national emergencies. We ought to have full control over whatever equipment is installed including the proprietary source codes. It is up to equipment manufacturer to do business with this country based on their needs. If they feel that our demands are too rigorous, they are welcome not to step in this country.

We live in supercharged times where such naiveté is rewarded by loss of life and property. Post Sept 11 attacks, US has passed Patriot Act which gives them unprecedented access to call logs and the like. I would be surprised if RIM or Blackberries are not monitored in US or even Canada where RIM is in active denial mode to the contrary.

Tags: API, Blackberry India, Business Standard, crapware, DNC lists, fraud, India, Media, Opera, privacy, SMS, spam, Telecommunications India, TRAI, trojans, viruses

Blackberry has been under fire literally. Admittedly it has been popular because of it’s push email facility but atrocious overpriced crap dipshit handsets which don’t justify for it’s price.

It was bound to rake up news. Government of India has woken up from it’s slumber and demanded the encryption keys to it’s servers because it is feared that it might be used for “anti-national activities”. There were columns written (no doubt in pay roll of these companies) that this amount to violation of freedom of speech!

My stand on the issue is very clear. Privacy does not exist. If you really wish to stay “private”, better stay off the “grid”; i.e. Cellular networks. No one wants to know a hermit nor is anyone interested. But the moment you are connected, your ass is for everyone to see (or those who pay to see).

At the same time, electronic surveillance is the most important component of intelligence gathering. If some one is fucking concerned on line, it’s better to use an encrypted VPN or use anonymous routers.

I don’t find the same concern (or rather the same assholes waxing and waning on newspaper columns) when your own number is leaked out to hordes of motherf*****s to send you unsolicited calls and messages. Why doesn’t that get tons of news coverage? Why is bloody TRAI unable to force it’s own fucking regulations for God’s sake? Why is the Intelligence Agency targeted alone for what appears to be a genuine work?

It is so damned easy to set up a monitoring station to snoop on the calls. It is being done routinely. IB, RAW and host of other intelligence agencies do it all the time. This was part of the cover story on one of the English weeklies, so it is public knowledge. Yet whatever, actionable information is acquired, it is needed that preventive measures are instituted in the first case.

It is not surprising that RIM has set up a brave face. It has given up the control to the Government agencies wherever it has been asked to. Fact of the matter is that even in US under Patriot Act, agencies get unprecedented powers to snoop on the individuals. Which is more important? The security of state or claimed privacy?

Even as I type this out, there are thousands of cookies infested on my system to track my online behaviour. If you are using a crappy Explorer to view this site, God bless the fucking you. It is a gateway to let the trojans and viruses to hit your box and God alone can’t save you. Where is your Goddamned privacy there sonny boy? (Excellent series although contrived, by WSJ).

Hence it is important to keep it in perspective that RIM is a multinational and they ought to comply with the directives issued by Ministry of Home Affairs rather than fund countless assholes to bleat for it or sing it’s sorry tune.

Sorry RIM. Your Blackberry sucks to the core and I find your product to be a horrible contraption of a smart phone that you care to advertise for spending good money on a useless idea. It would be worthwhile to spend it on R&D, come up with a compelling alternative.

The other issue at take was the Blackberry Messenger which allows communication in real time which again is over an encrypted channel. This I feel, again has serious repercussions for National Security.

A lot has been written already about it and this post is a counterpoint to everything. You can access it here, here, here and here.

It was a sustained campaign by middle east nations that BBC had reported extensively. Some of the links are old (about two weeks) but I really wanted to see how a company like RIM wilted like a pack of pussies after brave talk when they realized that their profitable business would shrink massively.

At first, came the threats (1, 2, 3, 4) which was followed by a “happy reconciliation (1, 2, 3 and 4). A similar story is unveiling in India and you can expect Blackberry to wilt under pressure.

Anything goes!!

Tags: Assholes, EDGE, handsets, India, privacy, Telecommunications India, TRAI, trojans, viruses

I am not happy with the current crop of handsets. They remain underpowered with awful memory storage (by default) and they suffer from lack of “intuitiveness”.

Linux is being modified for use in Mobile handsets by major players like Motorola However, these initiatives are not yet happening on a mass scale elsewhere. I would never endorse a Motorola solely based on it’s “linux heart”; I believe that they really need to open up the software so that anyone can modify for his/her own personal use.

Imagine a day when the chips become powerful enough and less battery intensive to be able to support the next generation of applications. The telecom companies are building up ecosystems (or famed walled gardens) of their content and hope to charge a premium. However, as I have been arguing in these forums, such tiny mobile screens would not be able to excite an average Joe to part with his money. This is indeed true as the operators struggle to monetise their 3G services roll out.

Linux based handsets would perhaps change that. I believe that ability to interact with the vitals of your cell phone would enhance user interaction with the device. Imagine being able to download and install via Synaptic. Or being able to run applications on the fly.

Further, Linux is resilient to mobile viruses something that has been the bane of other operating systems like Symbian They need an “extra dosage” of scanners et al to make the phones relevant and “fit for use”. Linux currently suffers no such thing. And I am not happy with proprietary systems. This also means that the cost of the development and licensing also get factored in while purchasing a handset.

Enter Ubuntu Mobile. (Another story at Slashdot). BBC reports:

Its development was prompted by the growth of power hungry portable devices that place new demands on software.

“It is clear that new types of device – small, handheld, graphical tablets which are Internet-enabled – are going to change the way we communicate and collaborate,” said Ubuntu CTO Matt Zimmerman.

(You can track the news here) It’s partnership with Intel would ensure the continuity of the programme; specially when Intel is very keen on dominating the mobile handset market.

What are the practical implications for India? I believe that it should reduce the costs of the high end phones running Linux. With energy savings (in form of longer battery life) and less power hungry mobile applications, it would drive up your interaction with the phone in a more fruitful manner. This would open up the market for interactive services and encourage people to try out new applications.

Open Source stands vindicated. It would affect the bottom line of the companies too (if they really want to do it) and offer much better choice of products running both Ubuntu Linux and/or any other operating system. There is no final word on it as yet; but clearly the rules of the game have been re-written by entry of Ubuntu Linux (or more specifically Linux on mobile phones) and being marketed by the likes of Intel.

P.S. This is no way endorsement of Intel in any manner whatsoever. I use AMD and have been on it for the past 5 years.

Tags: 3G, DoT, GUI, handsets, India, Intel., Internet, Linux, Mobile, mobile phones, Mobiles, Open Source, Opera, operating system, Telecommunications India, viruses, walled garden