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I am heading off to home for a week where I will be celebrating the festival of Diwali with my parents and friends. I'll be back on the 5th of November and so, in this period any updates on this blog would only be sporadic, if not completely non-existent. Wishing you all a very Happy Diwali! Technorati Tags: Diwali Deepavali

Just read on Netanel Jacobsson's blog about Yoono , a collaborative searching, exchanging and information sharing service. The service is employing a unique approach by indexing "web users' bookmarks to overcome problems of language, synonyms and other syntaq quirks." Yoono is a free software application you can download which combines for the first time the management and sharing of information. Based on pooling user knowledge, yoono is a collaborative search engine and an innovative communication tool. With yoono, don’t search alone, share with those that know... Technorati Tags: Yoono

If one Scoble wasn't enough to 'rule' the blogosphere, now we have the whole Scoble family Blogging. Robert's wife Maryam already blogs at MSN Spaces and the blogosphere now witnesses the arrival of Robert's son Patrick . Guess what the title of his blog reads. MiniScoblizer . And the tag line: "I'm the son of a 40 year old blogger you can check his blog at scobleizer.wordpress.com." Here's what Scoble had to say about MiniScoble using Blogger : I sense he’s just trying to be rebellious. First an iPod. Now he’s using a Google blog tool. I gotta straighten him out. He’s only 11. Imagine how rebellious he’ll be when he’s 14!! And just in case you didn't know, Robert's brother Alex blogs too! Technorati Tags: Scoble Mini Scoblizer Scobleizer

I have never owned a mobile phone that had the habit of going into a "hang" mode every other moment and that had to be hit with the palm or tapped not-so-gently at the table to get it up running again and do what it is supposed to do. Tales of such a mobile phone: In the middle of a call, the phone "hangs". The conversation isn't possible but the call is still being charged for. And no matter what he tries, the phone refuses to respond. Furious, my friend pulls out the battery. Order restored. The poor chap is discussing his project with the the Professor. Suddenly there is a beep. Followed by another one. And another. And then the discreet beeps turn into a constant "beepbeepbeep... "putting the powerful Nokia vibration mode into hyperactivity. Chaos as the Professor watched him hitting the phone at the table. All without any success.

The Guardian has an article by Jonathan Freedland on the "multi-million-pound industry intent on turning teenagers and toddlers alike into avaricious consumers." According to the article, an average British child is familiar with up to 400 brand names by the time he has reached the age of 10! "Researchers report that our children are more likely to recognize Ronald McDonald and the Nike swoosh than Jesus. One study found that 69% of all three-year-olds could identify the McDonald's golden arches - while half of all four-year-olds did not know their own name." There is, in other words, an enormous children's marketplace, and it is lucrative terrain. The under-16s spend an estimated £30bn a year, including £6bn on clothes and £2bn on toys. Eight in 10 kids have their own TV in their room; half have a DVD player or a video. A million children under nine own a mobile phone. One in five have internet access. With more pocket money than ever before - over £6 a w...

Google Base is the latest from Google! While the word was floating around the web about the subdomain base.google.com, I wasn't able to have a look at it as Google had pulled it down showing a 403 Forbidden Error. However, just trying randomly, I could get a peek when the site went live momentarily. The moment I keyed in the URL http://base.google.com , I was greeted by a weird looking screen that asked me to sign in with a Google Account. The screen however was restored to normality with me signing into my Gmail account. What Google Base does is however not amply clear from what is there on the homepage. The FAQ page is still not up showing an "Oops...We didn't understand that. You have tried to access a non-existent page.” " message. The desciption from the Google Base homepage reads: Post your items on Google. Google Base is Google's database into which you can add all types of content. We'll host your content and make it searchable online for free. Exampl...

The last weekend I headed off to attend an entrepreneurship seminar, accompanied by two of my friends. The place was buzzing with activity, with an abundant supply of ideas on just about any topic. I met a bunch of really wonderful people, both management and engineering undergrads like me. Quite a lot of companies, some what you would call the top guns in the Fortune 500 list, and some Indian startups, were present at the place and it was simply wonderful to be listening to some of these guys who had made successful entrepreneurs. Back at campus now, I see myself buried neck deep in assignments, pending projects, presentations, and what not! Almost all projects I am working on currently are approaching their deadline dates at a pace too close for comfort! But then, there is the advantage of working in a team packed with smart guys: They always get the work done with you!