When I moved from an iPhone 4 to a Nexus 5

I have been using the Nexus 5, Google's Flagship made by LG for 2 weeks now.

I wonder why Google is sticking with LG for the Nexus 5 when they have Motorola! Never-the-less, I bought it, a white, 32GB Nexus 5. And, this is my first venture into Android. Having come over from iOS, my demands are quite high! The iPhone 4 that I used for almost 3 years has indeed set a high standards.

The only reason for leaving Apple was cost. iPhone 5S was(is) almost double the cost of the Nexus 5! Plus, to have all advantages Apple has to offer, I need a Mac, which will again put me back by a year, financially speaking. And, the new iOS 7 started making the iPhone 4 slow! Many small bugs kept bothering me and pushed me for an upgrade. And the Nexus 5 happened.

What most astonished me was the weight (or lack of it!) of the Nexus 5! It is so light! I never felt it in my pocket (but for its size!). I can't quite say ok for the build quality... I'm not sure the phone can take a few accidental drops. And, the plastic body with a glass front looks too flimsy to me, having used the iPhone with metal + glass body. And, I happened to see a drop test of the Nexus 5 where the screen gets shattered! Phew, I promptly ordered a Cruzerlite Hybrid 2 layer case to protect my new phone! Although this makes the phone look bulky, I feel it is a tad bit more protected.

I was pleasantly happy about the screen. 4.95" of 440+ ppi brilliance! I think its time the iPhones get larger screens. If there would've been a 5" Retina display iPhone, chances are I would've bought an iPhone, in-spite of their cost! Frankly I was tired of using the small screen. Although, I do not use the device for watching movies\videos too often, its still good to have a large high quality display to view websites, photos et all.,

The Android KitKat interface on Nexus 5 is super responsive, thanks to the quad core processor. I think it gives an almost iOS kind of response. I'm slowly figuring out my way in the Android world. It is somewhat difficult for an iPhone user to get used to so many settings. It took me a couple of days to figure out how to disable vibration on typing although I had 'vibrate on touch' off! On an iPhone, it would be a single switch. I don't understand the concept of having many home screens with widgets and app 'shortcuts' and having a separate app drawer where the actual apps are present. But, maybe the iPhone has to be blamed for making me used to fake "home" screen!

I find the locations of power button and volume button to be disturbing for a single hand operation. Every-time I try to wake the device with one hand, I invariable press the volume keys along with the power button since they are located on opposite ends. The thumb is on the power button when my forefinger is on the volume up button (using right hand to unlock device). So, when I press the power button, due to Newton's third law of motion, the volume up key gets pressed! I haven't yet found a way to over come this problem other than use two hands!

The last bad thing has to be the hands free earphones that accompany the device. Being a flagship phone, I expect good quality earphones, if not the best! Just like HTC and Sony have quality earphones accompanying their flagship devices, maybe Google should do something too! The stock earphones are very average. The bass booster setting along with equalizer in the music player does increase the bass. However, the overall balance of sound is not good. Glad that my Sony XB 300 and VSonic GR-02 are with me!

Shifting data iOS to Android has been quite easy! Importing contacts to Gmail was a breeze. I even found that there are methods to easily (and without cost) move all the messages from an iPhone to an Android. However, it requires both phones to be connected. Unfortunately, I had already sold off my iPhone. Hence, couldn't get a copy of my messages. Btw, I'm not sure how to transfer my the game progress from iOS to Android.

Play Store is as straight forward as Apple's app store. However, the flexibility to root and install virtually any apk available gives Android an edge. However, things do get complicated for a user like me, used to a non jailbroken iPhone since iOS 6. I do not have the enthu to sit and search for ways to work around apps and their limitations these days. But, for a geeky feel, Android is probably the best. Anyway, the non-rooted device itself is a handful when it comes to apps available for tweaking. My only grumble is that Android is not so efficient as the iOS. And, the attention to detail is not as astounding as on an iPhone or iPad.

Hope there is someway for Android to not suck away so much power! The battery on the Nexus 5 is a concern since it seems to be getting over too soon. Maybe that's because I'm new to Android and fiddle much more than necessary.

Also, I must mention the auto correct. I have some problem with the way the keyboard responds and gets more errors than in my iPhone. Maybe the iOS is better, or I do not have the right typing app on my Nexus yet.

To summarize, I would definitely say Yes to a Nexus 5 although I think they should've built it to be more strong, like an iPhone. Today's flagship Androids are very close to the iPhones in almost every aspect. The ONLY advantage of using an iPhone is that you can just take it out of the box and use it, without googling for tips on how to change some settings or the other. Maybe I can fiddle around with Android for a few years and when I'm tired of the overwhelming ways to customize it, I can shift back to an iPhone.

5 minutes

Do you agree that the future of a country depends on its youth and children?
Thus, it is our duty to educate them, to lead them, to inspire them to do great things. To invent new things & to innovate.

Given our present state of affairs, do you think we are doing justice to them?

If you think of brand names from India, the first things that may come to a normal engineer's minds are software giants Infy and Wipro. However, we fail to acknowledge the fact that the pioneer of engineering and aviation and industry in India were the Tatas. Back then, under the British rule, the Tatas created a platform helping today's youth to lead a comfortable life and we don't even know that!
Tatas have not only created jobs for engineers and clerks alike, they have also opened premiere educational institutions like IISc, TIFR etc to help the youth get a chance to be exposed to world class education.
It is the Tatas and Birlas that have made India what it is today.

We openly criticised Ratan Tata for coming up with a 1-lakh car as we feared it would increase traffic as cars would become affordable for even 'normal' people! But, we had no problem with VW opening a big factory in Pune. We have no problem with VW selling the Beetle in India for 20+ Lakhs, when it is sold in Germany for about 6-7 lakhs!
We fail to recognise the intent Mr. Tata had in making the 1-lakh car. He couldn't stand a normal Indian family of 3 or 4 riding on a scooter in the rain, tribbles n fourbles as we call it. Think of the safety of this family! Tata simply wanted to give them a chance to travel safely, at the least cost possible. This is innovation. We simply fail to recognise this intent.
We are worried that our cities will get clogged with more cars. Well thats true. Just take a moment to look at the types of vehicles in any traffic signal. More than 60% will be private cars owned by software professionals, and the worst part is that they would be driving alone. And it is this very "professional" who complaints about the unruly traffic forgetting the fact that he is occupying half the road with his newly bought Innova, Scorpio, Fiesta, SX4 etc., which he bought simply because he could afford the luxury.

Outrageous.

India produces almost 5 lakh engineers every year as compared to Europe's 1lakh and a similar small number in America.

And the best jobs we can offer these fresh and probably brilliant minds is in Infosys n Wipro where they are made to provide cheap labour to mainly foreign clients.
Our focus has to move from services to product development. we can of course provide services, but that shouldn't be our main stay, the so called "core competency".

And it is upto us to give direction to our youth.

- write up for my 5 minute talk tomo to get feedback on effective presentation skills.

Silver Jubilee and der Zukunft

What am I going to do in the Future? Is it only me or does this thought occur to everyone?

I'm almost 25 now, just 2 days short of it and when I get this question, I'm unable to find a satisfying answer! Life is such a biach! It makes us struggle from the time we've got our senses and I'm not sure if there is an end to this.

In school, we struggled to get into a good college, where we struggled to get into a good university, where we struggled to get into a good job\ post-grad school, where we are still struggling to make 'something' happen. But I'm not sure why and am equally unsure where this is leading us! And the only thing I'm sure of is that we are all going to grow old and die one day of some disease, including myocardial infraction.

I'll consider my case first... Job... I don't know what I'm doing, nor am I the best at it, but I continue to do something to keep my job. Everyday is almost the same. I get some salary at the end of every month and I seem to spend it almost instantaneously. But I'm not sure if I want to continue this for the rest of my life. I mean, where is the end to this? Is it when I would get loads of cash? or a big promotion? after that, will I be able to sit at home and watch a movie that I want on my Bose lifestyle system, with my buddies? Is this what I want? I'm not sure. But I'm pretty damn sure I want to do many other things... like play the guitar... like sit on top of Chembara peak in the rain with the boys... like learn physics and calculus... etc etc etc, the list is endless. Now I know why Swami Vivekananda said "desire is the cause for all miseries". Now I can understand why prince Sidhartha left his royal life in search of "Truth".

Two years back, when I drove on the Autobahn, I felt I'd accomplished something. Today, when I do it again, its no big deal!

I'll now consider the second case... post grad... Lots of boys and gals I know are 'sweating' it out abroad in kick ass universities. Many are getting internships under big names. Many are turning out pretty successful. But, where is all this leading? Are they going to come back, ever? And for how long? Will be able to spend time with them like the good old days? I'm not sure. I'm not even sure if I'm doing the right thing by staying back in India, where apparently there is a lack of opportunities. It is known that it is better to try and fail than to not try at all! But, when does one try? How does one measure success? Is it making loads of bucks? is it being able to go to a chaat gaadi and have masala puri without worrying about an infection? is it being able to sit in an old temple and enjoy its ambiance? or, is it being able to simply be oblivious to the fact that there is a lot of scheiße going one around!?

I feel we are all living in an artificial world. We are made to feel insecure so that we continuously do something - attend interviews, buy insurance, get degrees, buy stocks, buy property etc etc...

Globalisation they say! Why do we need Globalisation? India, as I know it, never needed Globalisation! Indian climate and location is such that we can easily get what we need most - Food! That is why the boys from Indus Valley civilisation were the first to cultivate food when their counterparts in Rome were hunting and being kaad papas eating flesh, raw. We were the ones who started making Bronze statues for time pass. The guys from the northern hemisphere had no way of cultivating crops and there were made to work hard to find a way to get things moving. That is why they started exploring the unknown. They had to fight for a living. Necessity is the mother of all inventions. If Edison had not invented the light bulb, we'd have probably slept at 7PM and woke up at 5AM instead of sitting out late nights working or studying.
With advent of medicine, the average life expectancy is supposed to increase! But in large cities, 30 year old professionals are losing hair, taking pills, running on tread mills. Is this what technology has to offer? Is this really an improvement?? We go on inventing things and later bring in laws to stop people from using the invention. We just don't know. Some day, we will realise that we should start living like the guys on Cameroon's Avatar.
Why do you think our population is so high? It is because our atmosphere is conducive to life unlike most places in the world. We have a more or less constant climate and almost same day-night. I often wondered why should one "make hay while the sun shines". Once in Europe I realised why! People here are deprived of sun light. Everything we are, we owe to Soorya deva. He is the life giver. He brings warmth, water and food. And, in Europe, most often, he gives only light and no heat, that too for a short time! I don't know if I should pity the guys here. They may be driving around in Veyrons and Porsches, wearing Armani suits listening to their Senheisser head sets. But they always crave for the sun's warmth. Come summer, they run to beaches in bikinis to get a tan, and we here turn black under the sun! Like I said, life is a biach. What fun there is if one gets what ever he pleases?

India doesn't need Globalisation. We don't need jobs from the tech savvy nations. We could have as well stayed as farmers. But no... the world wants to "improve". Do you call it improvement if you buy packed food, frozen meat and vegetables, bottled juice from a fancy super market and eat with forks and knives from a plate at 7AM and 8PM everyday, on the dot?
No Sir. Life is not about knowing what you would do tomorrow! Life is about facing the unknown. Life is about missing that bus, being late to work, soiling your hands or forks with chilly sauce, or mayonnaise if you don't eat 'spicy food', getting pissed off at traffic jams, sneaking home late and getting caught, enjoying a day out in the country side, waiting in a queue to get some forms filled. Life is so rich, we simply fail to recognise it. We are privileged to be born in a place that was so rich that over the years many people haven't hesitated to rob us! We all need to "Get a Life".

Give a thought to a 25 year old's reaction of Wanted's last line - "What the fuck have you done lately?"