Launch of the Laptops

Two Indian Companies launched their new products during August.In the first week of August Intex launched its new series of laptops including Lifestyle Book suitable, Gaming Book to tap the segment Indian gamers segment, Tablet Pad for professionals, Business book targeting young corporates and Education book for students.

It is evident that Intex is trying to cover every possible segment.But what about the pricing? The laptops are priced between Rs.25,000 (education laptops)- Rs.75,000(gaming laptops).If Intex is trying to reach the mass market should not the price be lower than the other laptops available in the market? I don't think the Indian consumer will shell out such high prices for a laptop from a Indian brand he never heard,when he can afford to buy laptops of international Brands like Sony,HP,Dell etc.

Now contrast this with the second launch at the end of august by Zenith (cool website)
one of the widely known Indian Computer brands. It has launched a line of laptops and desktops under the brand 'EcosStyle'. The desktops are priced at Rs.11,900 while the laptops are priced at Rs.14999 beating Asus Eee PC (Rs.18000)to become the lowest priced branded laptop in the Indian Market.
The notebooks weigh only 2.2 kgs, consume 30% less power and also comes with genuine Windows OS and Microsoft Software like MS productivity suite,Microsoft Windows Live Suite,etc.
Zenith has clearly avoided a head on confrontation with the Global Brands at the same time ensuring good sales with its amazingly low priced, also Eco-friendly laptops.

Considering these two scenarios, Zenith has a very high probability of succeeding in the market than Intex which has nothing very special to offer.

By the way,Intel has recently unveiled netbooks for Rs.5000 which can be used for basic computing applications, listening to music, e-mailing and surfing the net.

All I can say is Good Luck Zenith & Intex..........

Will CP save the PC?

To be cool or not to be cool,that's the question facing Microsoft. Apple has thrashed Micros0ft with a series of  ads depicting Mac as cool guy and Windows as stodgy oldster.The ad is said to be one of the most successful campaigns in US.Apple was convincing  students to get their first MAC's during the back to school season,stressing that Apple products are much more "cool" than any other gadget.

Now Windows is ready to strike back but not exactly in the same way. Microsoft  is launching its new $300 million ad campaign on Sep 4, with the slogan  "Windows not Walls" .It will feature Bill Gates,the face of Microsoft,but also surprisingly the sit-com star Mr.Jerry Seinfeld.

This move has led to a lot of discussion.Who exactly is Microsoft targeting? Initially when MS hired Crispin Porter + Bogusky(said to be the best of best ad agencies)whose ads are very popular with the younger generation,it was thought that MS is also trying to look cool.But to everyone's shock & surprise CP+B has convinced MS to hire Mr.Seinfeld aged 54,whose popular show ended a decade ago. It is said that that MS will not try to position itself as hip happening cool software as Apple's MAC but will be appealing  to a more mature audience.

While many of MS fans are not happy with the sitcom star , ad agencies are watching whether CP+B will fail for the first time in such a major project.

Any way its officially war between the two brands                          Jeff Hicks, CEO,CP+B says "There was a time,when it was Avis against Hertz, Coke against Pepsi, Visa against American Express. I think Microsoft is at the epicentre of the great brand challenge of the next decade -- or millennium."  

Now the question is Will CP+B be able to save PC?

Will Tata say tata to Singur

"It is for the people of West Bengal and Kolkata to decide whether we are going to be an unwanted resident or a good corporate citizen of West Bengal"-Ratan Tata

The Tata-Singur Issue is pushing the company to shutdown the plant completely.Ratan Tata has made it clear that TATA motors will move out of Singur if necessary to protect its staff.

Its a tragedy that such a revolutionary project which will take the average middle class Indian consumer to a new level of dignity and pride,is being suppressed by external forces for political benefits.Infact,it is reported that around 2.5 lakhs/day is spent on the food alone to keep the protest alive.

Other states like Rajasthan,Himachal,Karnataka have rolled out red carpets to Tata.Now its Tata's time to decide to move or not to move.
If it moves out,it will surely tarnish the image of West Bengal causing a huge setback in its growth.Also it will take much more time to convince companies to invest in the state in the future.
When TATA Nano was unveiled at the auto expo, it got global attention, now the protests has also got global attention.Read the story in Interanational Herald Tribune

Mayawati Makes A Mark

Mayawati Naina Kumari ,one of the most successful female politicians of India has entered in the Forbes club of 100 most powerful women in the world.She is 59th in the list, next to Mrs.Sonia Gandhi at 21.

Mayawati recently made the headlines when she asked during a interview "Why cant I become Prime Minister?" Some say she could become the nation's first Dalit Prime Minister due to her shrewdness,which is evident from her brilliant Social Engineering efforts which has created a strong Dalit-Brahmin alliance in BSP. In fact, Nakul Dubey one of her chief advisers is a brahmin and currently a Vidhan Sabha Member.

According to TOI"Mayawati is the top taxpayer among politicians and ranks among the 20 top taxpayers in the country. In 2007-08, the Dalit czarina shelled out Rs 26.26 crore as income tax, according to the I-T department's compilation of the top 200 taxpayers' list".

Live Like a Dolphin

SWAMI-SUKHABODHANANDA in his book "Oh Mind Please Relax" mentions something called the Dolphin Life in one of the chapters.

The idea is as follows "The dolphin always has a smiling face and projects a positive attitude.It is very agile and aggressive in its moves yet not in a rash manner but in a organized manner. It has a natural instinct to help others in distress(often exhibited when they save humans who get lost in the waves).Though dolphins eat other small fish, they do not normally scare the other fishes away like the sharks do. They command respect and do not induce fear.Yet they are not powerless. Dolphins have the ability to stun sharks and that's why even sharks,the bad boys of the sea do not mess with them."
We all should lead a dolphin life i.e.have a smiling face and a positive attitude towards life & the world around us.We must be energetic & active in order to reach our goals.We should equip ourselves with the required competencies to be able to achieve power.The power to change lives and use that power to bring in positive changes in others life.Power is not always evil. Power can be used to do good and also drives away any evil that may approach us (a logic used to justify India's Atomic Tests). People must support us out of respect and not out of fear.
For instance, only if you are capable of feeding yourself 3 times a day, then only you can possibly feed a meal to the underprivileged.But in the process of getting 3 meals a day that do not eat way others share.Create your own field which will generate more food enough for you and also which gives you the power to feed others .
As Uncle Ben says to Peter Parker "With Great Power comes Great Responsibility"

Hello-Lionel Richie

One of the songs very close to my heart..............

Green Technology-White Trees

The Trees of the future may not be green but certainly will help in keeping the environment green.Klaus Lackner, a physicist with the Earth Institute at Columbia University is trying to develop Artificial Trees.

Lackner's model of Synthetic Trees

Actually the synthetic trees are not exactly trees but more like a atmospheric carbon dioxide suckers. They will absorb nearly 90,000 tons of carbon dioxide a year — roughly the amount emitted annually by 15,000 cars.
Global Research Technologies LLC is another firm focusing in co2 capturing technology.It also has developed a Co2 capturing device which is little different from Lackner's model.

Dr K Muthuchezhian,Head of Department -BioEnergy at MKU,Tamil Nadu is attempting to develop 'Robot Trees' based on Lackner's model.

"Trees are the first line to fight global warming," he says. "But man continues to destroy forests, ignoring the dangers of global warming. Forests are being replaced by industries that emit dangerous greenhouse gases. Robot trees will go a long way in tackling this problem.The energy absorbed by the solar panel leaves is converted into electricity. The solution in which the carbon dioxide is dissolved gets heated with the help of this solar power and is split into oxygen, hydrogen and water vapour, which are released through the outlets in the solar panel. Carbonic acid, formed as a result of the reaction, is released into the earth via the artificial root system."

It is estimated that 2.5 lakh synthetic trees is sufficient to absorb the total emissions arising from all vehicles around the world.
Hopefully these white trees will provide us a green future.

Google's Insights- for Marketing

Google known for its impeccable innovation has this time comes to aid the marketeers.The latest web tool from the No#1 search Engine is named Google Insights.This provides data regarding the search patterns for a particular term in a selected geographic region for a particular time period.
For example, if I type in the search term as "laptops",location India and time period as last 12 months, it provides the search volume index location wise(Karnataka-100,Kashmir-0.0),the key search words and rising searches.For instance,search for HP laptops is highest,with dell coming in 2nd etc.
Based on this it could be said that majority of customers looking for laptops are considering HP as their first option and Dell as the second.

Although the data is highly an approximation,it still can be very useful for market researchers to understand the needs of customers location wise,changing search trends in terms ,brand awareness,etc.The role of technology is increasing in the field of market research from which new branches like Market Engineering.

Hopefully Google will continue to innovate to simplify the way thing are done...........

Make Your Life Large

A small slide show made by me..............

Apple IPhone-Premium Quality ;Royal Price.

IPhone In India-a dream has come true..but with a slight change.

Good News is it is available from the top mobile service providers with a bundle of offers like data transfer etc..Bad News ? It will be still a dream for some.
The IPhone expected to cost around 16k for 8GB and 25k for 16 GB is priced at a whopping Rs.31,000 for the 8GB model and Rs.36000 or 16 GB model. Will such a high price be accepted by Indian consumers? It will not ,but that's the plan.
I think it is a smart move by the service providers,because initially I thought when the IPhone arrives everyone will get one and will be flaunting it which will dilute its brand image.Apple brand is all about being different from the mass .This Indian launch may affect the brand value itself as it will become a mass brand and not a cult brand.Now with such high prices only the true Apple Fans will buy it maintaining their exclusivity.
If it were low priced I don't think The Crown Prince of Arcot, Nawabzada Mohammed Asif Ali, (see pic below)will be very proud to get one.

Royal Pricing has surely helped Apple & Airtel

Its Sports Day for India

Wednesday once again proved itself as a good day as India shined in  sports today.

1.Cricket :Cricket in India which experienced an attention defecit because of continuos losses and Olympics pulled back the cricket fans by leveling the ODI series vs Sri Lanka. Zaheer's  4 wicket and Praveen Kumar's 3 wicket haul reduced Sri Lanka to just 146 runs.Badrinath held tight at the last to bring in the victory

2.Wrestling :  Sushil Kumar , a  freesyle wrestler bagged another medal from Beijing.  He won a bronze in 66kg category wrestling ensuring India's second medal in the Olympics.After 56 years India has won two Olympic medals in individual events.

3.Boxing: Vijender Singh ensured an another                                   medal atleast a bronze by entering the semi-finals in the  75kg category.

Hats off to all Indian Sportsmen & I wish all the best for future events.

Air Car to bring in Winds of Change

A car running on compressed air is coming soon to stores near you and No its not a joke...

MDI, a European firm has developed the concept car which runs using compressed air propulsion.However the car still needs fuel to run efficiently ,the best part is that the mileage will more than 100 miles per gallon. The engine is based on concept called pneumatics and is similar to steam engines used in old trains. According to CNN reports"New York-based Zero Pollution Motors is the first firm to obtain a license from MDI to produce the cars in the United States, pledging to deliver the first models in 2010 at a price tag of less than $18,000."

Interestingly TATA motors have shown interest and said to have reached an agreement to refine the technology and eventually to bring in the car to Indian roads.

Will the air car bring in a the winds of change ...let's wait and watch the roads.

Royal Salute to Sir Nils

The Honorary member of the King's regiment walked majestically as he reviewed the elite troop of the King's Guard flashing his colonel-in-chief badge. So why is that interesting ?

It is amazing because Sir Nils Olav is a 3 foot penguin and recently received the prestigious Norwegian knighthood.Watch Sir Nils here

INDIA-an SuperPower @ 2020 - Will it Happen?

At the eve of the 62nd independence day of the India I had a traumatic experience due to traveling.The punishment for not booking a ticket was an 15 hour travel instead of the usual 10 hours from Bangalore to Madurai.
Even though I am not a NASA scientist looking the other side of the country for the first time(SRK in SWADES) I was thinking how in the world will India become a superpower if the people do not have access to basic needs.
Dr.Kalam, was the first to put forth his dream that India will become a super power in the year 2020 and so everyone started talking about it .Then the Planning commission put forth a Vision Statement which starts in chapter 1 as "This document is neither a plan nor a projection of what India will be in 2020".
So where is the plan? If there is a plan,has it reached the general public? India will become a superpower only if the general public is motivated to work towards the vision. So how to make the common man listen? First feed him,fulfill his basic needs then tell him India is going to be big if he puts his mind to it.
I don't believe a bunch of social conscious bureaucrats,politicians and businessman sitting in AC conference rooms sipping coffee after a buffet lunch wont be able to achieve this vision without the help and support of the Common Indian who is starving to death.
But some still stay optimistic, and blindly believe that since 'India is growing' it will eventually become a super power in 2020 and will do marvelous things like hosting the Olympics.
India's present growth has lead to a fat belly(inflation). in the once thin,starving Indian which may lead to a unhealthy condition like obesity.The common Indian should gain muscle power in all areas for which the so called Inclusive growth is very much needed.
Just because India will be able to spend $45 billion does not mean it can host the Olympics nor it has become a economic superpower. Even if the Indian government can pull it off without bringing in real changes,I can guarantee that the ruling party will lose in the next Election because the common Indian is not interested in hosting sports events when his child is not getting proper food or education.

I keep wondering when those magic bullet trains zooming at 300kms/hr will come to India so that I can see my parents in Madurai everyday and still go to work in Bangalore.When that day comes I am sure the whole of India will be rejoicing on its Independence Day with much more spirit(not the drinks).
I am not saying we cannot, I am saying we definitely can but only if we all want to.
"Together We Can -achieve the Vision of India - an economic superpower"

Happy Independence Day

Wish you a very HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY everyone

Is it all about the Money?

I think many people assume, wrongly, that a company exists simply to make money. While this is an important result of a company’s existence, we have to go deeper to find our real reason for being…A group of people get together and exist as an institution that we call a company…to do something worthwhile – they make a contribution to society.

-Dave Packard (founder-Hewlett Packard)

Bindra -the brand ambassador?

Olympic shooter Abhinav Bindra, who has brought India its first gold in an individual event, is getting plenty of golden offers.The golden shooter is expected to become companies' favourite to promote their brands.RailwayMinisterLalu has already hinted he may become the brand ambassador for Indian railways.Samsung which have been sponsoring him for quite some time,has said that Bindra will be part of its promotional activities.

However many don't agree,because they feel, games like shooting might not have a mass appeal. Lokesh Sharma, managing director of 21st Century Media says"“comparing him and cricket stars is like comparing a great art film with a commercial blockbuster”.
I do agree that he may not do well as a brand ambassador,may be for a very short time.Because cricketers play frequently and is very well publicised and also frequent movies keeps the movie stars in minds of the public.But Bindra might not get this type of constant media attention as shooting is not constantly followed by media.
Take the case of Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore,the Indian star of Athens Olympics. He was featured in the Ads of Coca-Cola but for a very short time as the attention faded away.
Even if he had been used for promotions till date, then also it would have done some serious damage as he had failed to qualify to the final in the Beijing Olympics.
So companies may not be very eager to make Bindra as their Brand Ambassador at least not for a long term promotional activities.

It will be a long time before other sporting events will edge out cricket from the minds of Indian public. Will Bindra be a start?

Watch Out .... Tesco Is Coming To Town

After 3 years of boadroom battles, they have finally found the passage to India through TATA's Trent.Yes, Tesco UK's largest retailer, is coming to town. Emulating Wal Mart's strategy Tesco is targeting the B2B market by setting up cash and carry outlets in major cities like Mumbai,Bangalore& Delhi.
Apart from this ,Tesco will also provide retail expertise to Trent to revamp its Star Bazaar outlets which is lagging behind its competitors. This will surely boost up Trent's position in the Indian retail scenario.

Walmart is planning for 15 outlets by 2015 while Tesco has plans for only 3 stores right now but both starting in 2009 .However Both the giants might not have a head on competition as their first stores will be opening n different locations.While Tesco will start at Mumbai,Wal Mart will start in Punjab.
The cash & carry stores from Tesco will be operated under its own name, while Bharti Wal Mart have yet to unveil its branding strategy.But it is speculated that stores might not have Wal Mart's logo due to the political heat it receieved after the initial announcements.
In spite of all these, Metro,the German wholesaler appears quite confident as it has the first mover advantage and also it has previously given a tough time to Wal Mart when Wal Mart had set up stores in Germany.

We have to wait and see how the local players like Future,Reliance etc will take on the global giants.Anyway the organised retail sector in India will improve from its current 5% and we can assume that it will do good to the consumer.

KUMAR is KINNG or is it You

Akshay kumar is proving he is Kinng of box office.All his recent films have been a commercial success and his new release Singh is Kinng,the much anticipated movie with all the much needed controversies to hype it.
The movie had a tremendous opening collecting Rs.8 crore on day one and might become the highest grosser this year.
This movie has been released with the highest number of prints (1050) over 1400 screens across the country(carpet bombing strategy).So almost everyone gets to see it on the same day. So it does not matter whether they like it or not because they have already paid the money.
All the critics are blasting the movie as nonsense and pathetic,while all fans are raving about it.

But if the film is not good,why do the viewers liked it? Understanding customer perception will throw some perspective on it. The people who liked it were expecting a two hour stress buster which will make them laugh without thinking too much and that's exactly what this movie gives.
The people who wanted a movie which will satisfy their intellectual curiosity...well obviously went for the wrong one.
So it doe not matter if the movie is really a good one or not in terms of story,acting,or technical quality as long viewers like it the film will continue its run in the Box office because at the end of the show,the Viewer is the real King and its his verdict that counts..............

From Russia With Rage

More than 1500 people have been reported killed in war in Ossetia which broke out as the Georgia-Russia conflict was escalated. After missile attacks and air raids ,Russian armored troops have entered the province of South Ossetia escalating it into a full scale war.

Georgia, a strong U.S. ally had a long term conflict with Russia and also it recently agreed to join in the NATO which is considered one of the major factors that pushed Russia to strike.
Georgia has called for a ceasefire after latest reports that Russia has widened the attack and the death toll may cross 3000.
"I call for an immediate ceasefire," Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said in Tbilisi. "Russia has launched a full scale military invasion of Georgia."
Many prominent countries like US ,Germany have asked Russia to stop the battle.

On the same day, Oil prices went down to $115 which is the lowest in recent times and was expected go down further as the US Dollar is still going stronger.As a result US markets are soaring easing down inflation worries.
But there are reports that Russian troops are targeting Georgia pipelines which is causing concerns. But experts say that, even if there is a rise it will be still be under $120 which is fairly positive news to the markets.

Before taking major decisions Russia must remember that all wars have always resulted in negativity and it will continue to do so regardless of whatever reasons behind it.

Puja Local:Sponsors Global

We all know globalization has brought us many opportunities & investments into India. It changed the nature of businesses, by bringing in a high degree of professionalism into them.We also know it lead to many new business opportunities and it still does.But I was surprised when I came to know that this year's Durga Puja in Kolkata is sponsored by the US company 'Media Morphosis'..
Usually religious festivals in a city is conducted by the local community by the sponsorship of local businesses and unions and donations made by the public. But the Badamtala Ashar Sangha Puja in south Kolkata is fully sponsored by the US company and it will as well promote it in the media and the web.That is effectively all resources will be handled by Media Morphosis.
This is a trend setting move of bringing in corporate sponsorships to conduct these type of religious festivals.Also they have brought in Mithun Chakraborty as the brand ambassador since he is very much connected with the city and its culture.

But will this corporate sponsorship will be welcomed in all parts of India for all festivals? Probably not.Of course deep pockets will be welcomed to sponsor local events but as long as they don't shun out local contributors...since in the case of festivals ,its not only the money but its about the pride and their status among the community. I mean I cannot imagine the Alanganallur Jallikattu being fully sponsored by a non-local entity while the locals are not given adequate chances to contribute.
But the thing is that it does not matter who is conducting the festivals as long as the true spirit of the festivals is kept alive.

Let the Games Begin

In less than 24 hours ,worlds greatest sports event 'The Olympics' is set to begin.The number 8 is considered lucky in Chinese culture so Beijing 2008 Olympics will officially commence on 08.08.08 at 8.08 am.
The theme for this year's Olympics is "One World One Dream"based on three concepts "Green Olympics, High-tech Olympics and People's Olympics"
China has put tremendous efforts in making this event a tremendous success.The government along with the people have all come together in organizing this major event. In spite of many hurdles especially the massive earthquakes,China has is ready be the host for the world.

Looking at the venues, the new facilities,their planning & execution,I think India will have to wait for atleast a decade more for it to try its chances to play host.But for that to happen,the efforts to start by now itself.We need a infrastructure revolution which will not only increase our chances but also would do good for overall development. I don't think there are any major infrastructure projects being executed other than the Kashmir-Kanyakumari Highway.Most of the projects under progress are just filling the gaps and do not provide much of a base for long term initiatives. Instead of complicating the existing infrastructure in the cities, new landscapes like SEZ's just outside the city must be given high priority and also include large scale residential projects which should be affordable by the lower middle class which will pave way to the creation of such industrial cities.

If such long term initiatives are executed successfully in a fair manner then India might play host in 2020.So for now we will witness China play host and keep up the Olympics spirit alive.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN

Growth in Profits-courtesy of Schedule VI of the Companies’ Act

Airline companies in India and around the global were on a downtrend for quite some time and it has been projected the losses would continue this fiscal year also.Also Oil prices skyrocketed and touched a maximum of $149 /barrel.So I was little surprised when i observed that Jet Airways has posted profits for the previous quarter.

But the real story is that Jet Airways and some other major companies like Reliance and Airtel have shown profits because of their smart accounting tactics.They have not followed the norms of Accounting Standards 11 which requires firms to add the forex gains & losses on borrowing of fixed assets. Instead the Companies say they have followed Schedule VI of the Companies’ Act on the basis of legal advice.This allows them to adjust their foreign exchange losses against the carrying cost of fixed assets.

Had they followed AS 11 norms Reliance Communications’ net profit of Rs 1,500 crore would have been lower by Rs 1,000 crore, or two thirds; and Bharti Airtel’s net profit of Rs 2,100 crore lower by Rs 250 crore. Jet Airways’ net earnings of Rs 143 crore would have been wiped out and moved into the red with a forex loss under AS 11 of Rs 622 crore.

The Government notification of the Companies (Accounting Standards) Rules 2006, says in a footnote to AS 11: “it may be noted that the accounting treatment of exchange differences contained in this Standard is required to be followed irrespective of the relevant provisions of Schedule VI to the Companies Act 1956.”

Companies should realize that engaging in such "honest mistakes" will attract legal penalties and also tarnish their reputation among their stakeholders.

Measuring Consumer INTENT

Starcom Mediavest unveiled yesterday its new research product called IntenTrack™ which aims to measure consumer intent and marketing accountability. The product will help in measuring the customers intent towards brands, their behavior during brand interactions and the factors that drive them towards certain brands.
Starcom aspires to become the leader in the consumer attention economy by taking the initiative to understand the consumer intent and track their attitudinal and behavioral shifts.

Sandeep Lakhina, Managing Director, India-West & South, Starcom Worldwide says “It is our belief that in future, the scarcest resource in our world will be consumer attention"
“Intent moves us beyond engagement and gets us closer to predicting and assessing a measurable, behavioral reaction of the consumer.” said Ranga Somanathan, VP – Insights & Analytics, South East & South Asia. “The consumer’s response to a message could be on any of the four platforms - Consideration [deep curiosity], Validation [seeking an opinion], Expression [giving an opinion] & Exploration [active searching on the web]. It can ultimately encompass a consumer’s desire to purchase or recommend a brand.”

By measuring customer intent of purchasing a brand will help firms to establish their marketing accountability more correctly than before.

Big Bang Machine All set for to become a Smash Hit

The Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire (European Council for Nuclear Research) or CERN is all set to start its groundbreaking experiment which is going to become the greatest experiment in the history of mankind.

It has constructed a Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a 27 kilometer (17 mile) long particle accelerator straddling the border of Switzerland and France for conducting particle beam tests
Six experiments (CMS, ATLAS, LHCb, TOTEM, LHC-forward and ALICE) are currently being built, and will be running on the collider; each of them will study particle collisions under a different point of view, and with different technologies.
Simply put, the scientists are going to smash particles at 99.99% speed of light to study the new particles & beam reactions.It is said this experiment may recreate the big bang scenario and probably the conditions where a black hole is formed.

Sounds dangerous enough .But if the experiment is successful as intended, it could open up a whole lot of possibilities where science fiction movies can turn into realities.
But if it is a disaster,well no one will be left to blame anyone

SEE more pics here....

Windows Vista -the New Coke of Microsoft

Critics have termed that Windows Vista has become a failure just like the New Coke from Coca Cola Company which made a flop show in the past. Windows Vista has not been very successful like its predecessor Windows XP.
But Microsoft has been denying this from the beginning and blamed the media for negative publicity.To prove that its all the media's fault for creating a faulty image of VISTA it conducted a consumer test called the mojave experiment where users were asked to try out the new OS from Microsoft called Mojave , which in was in fact windows vista only.The company claims that users rated Mojave higher in performance and features than Vista when both were the same.
It could be true that the perception of the consumer might have been influenced by the tech reviews of VISTA. But many corporate clients of Microsoft have pressurized the company to provide XP support until 2012 atleast. Does that mean corporates also have a negative perception towards VISTA because of media influence?.Not really.The main issue with VISTA is that the not the software itself but its compatability with many of the existing hardware and software which are running effectively in XP. The cost of upgrading all the hardware in a firm is much more higher than the added value provided by VISTA.
Although Microsoft has developed a compatability center there are many other technical issues whic are yet to be resolved.Once the issuesare resolved it may be easy to convince the customer that its worth to change from XP to VISTA.

GINA -the car that's alive

Its' or should I say 'she ' is an concept car from BMW. GINA: Geometry and Functions In "N" Adaptations is a shape shifting car which has a non-metal exterior made of cloth like material. GINA behaves (yes behaves) like it has a skin on the exterior.Although GINA is presently made only as an exhibit for the BMW museum, it has opened a new wave of creativity into the world of automobile designing.The new concept called the GINA philosophy is believed to become a base on which futuristic cars are going to be designed where they will achieve a higher emotional level.
One may feel this is not worth it since GINA is not a practical product,the dramatic change it could bring in the mind of the designers will help them to think beyond and try out new things they have never tried before. GINA has definitely brought in new perspectives in terms of innovation in automobile designing.
Christopher E. Bangle, Head of BMW Group Design, speaks with conviction when he says: "Personal customer requirements will broaden the context of our products and change the core values that define our industry along the way.The GINA philosophy is nothing but Concept over Dogma...that's it"
Watch GINA coming alive here

The Bold and The Brand conscious

The new showroom of Future Group's Brand Factory in HARA Mall opened up in a odd timing when malls in Bangalore were mobbed with bomb scares.Yet consumers flocked in huge numbers to visit the mall which offers discounted rates throughout the year.

Is it just because consumers are addicted to malls or they have become much more brand conscious?

I think it is the latter.I believe the average Indian consumer was always brand conscious but either he could not afford it or his favorite brands were not available.Now with raising disposable incomes and lots of international brands ,the Indian consumer is shopping happily.
Also once the consumer gets the feel of shopping in a large format store with lots of brands at discounted rates, it is very unlikely he will go to places like commercial street,where he has to haggle over prices and visit at least 5 stores to finish his shopping.
This also strengthens the fact that the Indian retail has a tremendous scope for growth.

For the Fast and the Curious

Websites are becoming the most effective means for international promotions.Especially to reach an international audience websites have provided a stage to create a global awareness instantaneously.

One such attempt to generate curiosity is the new website launched by Electronic Arts for its yet to be released NFS -UNDERCOVER which is the next game in the Need for Speed franchise, confirmed by Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello, due by the end of the year. The website is very unique in its design ,as there are no links, title or any sort of explicit information.The viewer has to explore the site by pointing and clicking various objects in the video played.Details like the release date,trailer and short clipings about the story is hidden in various parts of the video.

This is another instance which shows that web design is evolving at a much faster pace and there are numerous possibilities still to be explored.

De Novo

'de novo' means a new beginning . I always wanted to start a blog, but never was able to decide the specific subject about which i can blog. Finally i decided to say about anything and everything that interests me .I believe this blog will kindle the intelluctual curiosity in the onlooker.
So here it is ...... a "De Novo".

Today's thing:
In the context of marketing and advertising, de novo means "again, but in a different way" and is linked to guerrilla and grass roots marketing campaigns.