A list of what’s ‘new’ – 3G support, cheaper, built in assisted GPS.

Every other new feature is a software feature that would be provided free of cost to the people who already bought the first version a year ago. I am currently beta testing the new firmware, and it is a step up, definitely.

What amazes me though, is the blind trust some people have for Apple. Steve Jobs compared the browser on the iPhone with browsers on phones that were at least 2 years old. He completely side-stepped the modern browsers on Windows Mobile, or even BlackBerry devices. For the intelligent consumer, it doesn’t mean a thing, but for the average dumb/brainwashed consumer, Jobs’ word is gospel. The Safari browser on the iPhone is NOT at all the fastest mobile browser.

Another example – as is the case with all things Apple, there were rumors floating around just before the keynote about the new model having various features like MMS (which has been a staple feature of all phones since the early 2000’s), video conferencing, higher resolution camera, better Bluetooth support, etc. But, ultimately, nothing of that sort came even close to being announced. People are happy, nonetheless, or rather the fanboys are.

On top of this ludicrousness, ATT thought it would be a good time to bump the rate of the data plan from $20 a month to $30 a month. This makes an entry level plan for the iPhone cost approximately $70 a month before taxes. And I thought that communications was getting cheaper everyday.

I love Apple’s products just because they tend to be minimalist, but I have a major grudge against their false, unethical, inaccurate marketing. I also abhor fanboys who have every possible justification for skipped basic functionality.

That said, I am going to create an interesting app one day for the iPhone

The preparation was pretty easy, and between purchasing the study guide and passing the license exam, I spent about 15 days. The Technician level is supposed to be an easy entry path for anyone interested in being a Ham. On the other hand, the General and Amateur Extra levels require much more intensive training in the fundamentals of radio communications, engineering, and regulations. It is definitely to my advantage that I have a degree in electrical engineering with extensive coursework in radio theory and antenna design.

There are exam sessions organized by volunteer examiners several times during a week, and all it takes is a simple email/phone call to register. The exam session I attended was organized at the Police Station/Courthouse in Wake Forest. I got a perfect score on the exam! The VEs coerced me into taking the exam for the General level license on the spot, even though I wasn’t prepared, but unfortunately, I wasn’t able to qualify for that. Needless to say, I am happy that I am now a “ham”, and look forward to graduating to the next level very soon!

Now that I have my license, I intend to complete the requisite courses mandated by the Department of Homeland Security, and successfully enroll in the ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) and the RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service). Other than volunteering, my other interests at this point are DXing (contacting other fellow hams around the globe), antenna design, and digital communications. There are a multitude of clubs and organizations around the globe, and regular events/conventions are organized on a fairly regular basis (hamfests, Field Day, nets), which makes it very easy for beginners to get their feet wet.

If you are interested in becoming a ham, too, please don’t hesitate in sending me an email for further information/guidance!

UPDATE: I just got my license information from FCC. I will now be known as Saurabh Garg, KI4WAH !

Newsweek reports this week about how the US population is going to reach 300 million any day now. At the same time, the article compels the reader to wonder about the negative ramifications of such an “explosive” rate of population growth. “Is this a sign of impending calamity”, the article asks.

The article made me really think. What is it about developed countries that makes them so less economically elastic to population growth? Why are baby boomers suddenly becoming a concern here in the US, even though immigration has always helped bring the young to this country? Already, the US economy is reeling under the effects of unemployment, excessive military diversion of funds meant for education, excessive dependance on foreign energy reserves, and the such. All in all, I believe the problem lies in the fact that these developed countries usually have very few natural resources, but are the biggest consumers.

Now, compare the US to India. Population has already crossed a billion, making it home to about 18 percent of the world’s population in 2.5 percent of the world’s total land mass. India’s population density exceeds that of any other nation of similar size! Yet, because of its natural wealth, India is still prospering and looking forward to becoming a truly developed nation very soon.

Now, the main point of my post is not to highlight the differences in the American way of life/consumerism to that of India in order to explain why population growth is such a terrible thing in developed countries. Rather, the grim “calamity” possiblity made me wonder about cultural differences between the western world and my country. Is it really hard for less than half a million people to co-exist peacefully on land the size of America?

I think the best description of such a “peaceful” existence in India of a billion people is described in the novel “Shantaram” by Gregory David Roberts. A gay French character named Didier says about India, “This is India. Everyone who comes here falls in love – most of us fall in love many times over. And the Indians, they love most of all”. He continues, “This is how they manage to live together, a billion of them, in reasonable peace. They are not perfect, of course. They know how to fight and lie and cheat each other, and all the things that all of us do. But more than any other people in the world, the Indians know how to love one another.” Dider then says, “India is about six times the size of France. But it has almost twenty times the population. Twenty times! Believe me, if there were a billion Frenchmen living in such a crowded space, there would be rivers of blood. Rivers of blood! And, as everyone knows, we French are the most civilised people in Europe. Indeed, in the whole world. No, no, without love, India would be impossible.”

Isn’t that true? Now, I would like to quote two paragraphs from the novel.

Now, long years and many journeys after that first ride on a crowded rural train, I know that the scrambled fighting and courteous deference were both expressions of the one philosophy: the doctrine of necessity. The amount of force and violence necessary to board the train, for example, was no less and no more than the amount of politeness and consideration necessary to ensure that the cramped journey was as pleasant as possible afterwards. What is necessary? That was the unspoken but implied and unavoidable question everywhere in India. When I understood that, a great many of the characteristically perplexing aspects of public life became comprehensible: from the toleration of beggars on the streets, to the concatenate complexity of the bureaucracies; and from the gorgeous, unashamed escapism of Bollywood movies, to the accomodation of hundreds of thousands of refugees from Tibet, Iran, Afghanistan, Africa, and Bangladesh, in a country that was already too crowded with sorrows and needs of its own.

The real hypocrisy, I came to realise, was in the eyes and minds and criticisms of those who came from lands of plenty, where no-one had to fight for a seat on a train. Even on that first train ride, I knew in my heart that Didier had been right when he’d compared India and its billion souls to France. I had an intuition, echoing his thought, that if there were a billion Frenchmen or Australians or Americans living in such a small space, the fighting to board the train would be much more, and the courtesy afterwards much less.

What’s needed is love among people to drive the nation to prosperity. And, it’s not just about space. Look what’s happening in the Middle East. Compare that to India – people of all faiths and religions trying to get by with as few self-generated problems as possible. Sure, there are disputes, poverty, needs, excesses, corruption, but the nation is still sovereign. There is no “calamity”.

What remains to be seen is how the developed countries learn their lesson in love from a country like India.

Craigslist has been in news lately. And, why wouldn’t it be? With monthly hits of more than a billion users, and Yahoo! trying to buy Facebook, there’s speculation that this “simpler than Google” website would be looking for buyers soon. Founder Craig Newmark has denied any such intentions to “sell out”. I am not going to comment on his reasons for not trying to mint money out of his creation.

Craigslist is indeed phenomenal. It is hardly even “Web 1.0″ in terms of layout and design, much less Web 2.0. Yet, it still is profitable, and brings in a lot of traffic both nationally as well as internationally. One quick glance on this website would tell you exactly how it manages to do this. Craigslist is a haven for anyone looking to buy, sell, barter, find dates, get a job, provide a job, and generally rant about their life. It is like a Usenet frontend, only without the confusion and overflow.

Just yesterday, I placed an ad in the Raleigh Craigslist to sell off my year old vacuum cleaner. Amazingly, I had the money within 2 hours of posting that ad. This is the power of Craigslist. Many people use it to make friends. I, personally, have met a lot of people and groups just by posting and replying to ads. It’s fascinating how much more attention your ad gets if it has a picture attached. I have sold a computer monitor and a TV through Craigslist, and in all the cases a picture really helped me get a lot of replies. Of course, Craigslist has also been the center of a lot of “social experiments” about people’s lifestyles.

One thing I noticed about Newmark’s rebuttal to claims that he was going to sell out was how he pointed out that he doesn’t want to raise money even for philanthropy. According to him, it is very hard to find a good cause to contribute to. I find it sad that even with all this Internet revolution and connectivity, we’re still unable to find valuable outlets for philanthropy. What he said isn’t incorrect. Philanthropy has always been a part of our lives, and sadly there isn’t much on the Internet that helps us share our happiness with others. There are lots of up and coming companies working on this aspect though (including me), and there’ll be lots of competition in this area very soon. Until then, I am surprised that Craig Newmark didn’t think about using his own company to find out good philanthropic causes!