December 2006 Archives

2006, just like last two years, was a landmark year for me. It was one of those years which I will always remember. For example, if I was asked what was special about 1994, or 1999, or 2002, I can barely remember anything from those years. But 2006 was different. "2006" will always evoke many many memories for me - but that is not the point of this post.

Towards the end of 2003, life had started to get into a rut. Everything seemed too comfortable and predictable. At the end of 2002, I could have forecasted with great accuracy how 2003 would go. I could have told you who are the people I would be hanging out with, who are the people I will be working with, what kind of raise I will get at work, what time of the year I will visit India etc. The same thing happened at the end of 2003 too when looking back, I realized it was an "OK" year which went pretty much as predicted. And frankly, the next one was going to be pretty much identical. So at the end of 2003 I had resolved that I will celebrate the next New Year's eve in India. I was craving for change. I was dying for some excitement and unpredictability in life.

Well, as the wise men have said - be careful of what you wish for, you might actually get it!

Year end of 2004 was when Ashish and I had just met Marc and were working hard on proving ourselves. I guess the seeds of Tekriti were sown at that time. On new year's eve 2005, we had no idea of how the next year was going to go. We honestly had no idea of what was coming next. It was thrilling. So 2005 came and went like a whirlwind and indeed we could have never predicted that the year would turn out like it actually did. On Jan 1 2006, Manish and I were stranded at the Mumbai airport and got disucssing how 2006 would be. We knew it was an important year (and which year isn't) but again at that time, it was hard to say where we would be in an year's time. So, my wish from 2 years back continued to come true. And in all honesty, I have enjoyed, and even thrived in the excitement of the unknown. Human nature is to gain inertia and settle in a comfort zone as soon as possible. Hence it is a challenge to keep oneself outside of a comfort zone and continue to deal with uncertainty on a prolonged basis.

So as I wish you a Very Happy New Year 2007, I will myself not make any wishes for the new year- who knows which ones might come true :)

[in response to this]

1. YOU are not the user but do try to be one

Rarely is software written by those who will use it. So let us ask the user what she wants. Let us stop building features because we love them. Let us at least attempt to use what we build.

2. The user is not stupid

The user may not be computer savvy. But she is not stupid. If she can't use what we build, it is our fault. If we she can't be productive with our software, it is our fault. If software doesn't work the way most people expect it to, it is our fault.

3. If it doesn't work then how well it was written doesn't matter

Beautiful code does not equal usable software. We must learn to separate code from software. Well written, well documented, scalable, extensible code is fine but its the SOFTWARE which matters. Sorry to disappoint you but while code does matter, software matters more.

4. The converse of 3 is true

Let us stop cribbing about how poorly Windows is developed. Or how slow Office is. Millions of people swear by that software. That software changes lives. So what is the under the covers doesn't matter if it works for the user.

5. Stop being a geek

Seriously. Let us stop it. Let us play less video games. Let us go out more. Take bath everyday. Let us be normal people. Maybe then we can really build what they want. :)

If you notice that I am not blogging, then its probably because I am getting actual work done - as opposed to just writing about it :)

Expect to see lots of action on the blog later this week! Off to Mumbai tomorrow!

As if one doesn't already have enough to worry about, the spammers are really getting on my nerves now. I receive almost 500 pieces of junk mail on my email account every day. I receive an equal number of spam comments on my blog. Not to mention the spam trackbacks. Spam! Spam! Spam! Its every where! Heck, even my mobile service provider Hutch daily sends me almost a dozen spam SMS messages (no, I don't want to download Kingfisher calendar models on my cellphone!).

Somebody please save me from spam!

Meanwhile, I have re-enabled comments on my blog. So please leave a comment and help massage my ego. And I haven't forgotten about New Delhi Times 2.0! Its gonna happen real soon!

Nine months after we organized the very first one in India, Barcamp comes back to Delhi on December 9th! The last Barcamp caused a mini-revolution of sorts and since then we have had Barcamps in all the major cities of India. BarcampDelhi-2 efforts have been led by Navjot from Opera. The theme is going to be around web standards though as is typical of Barcamps - anything related to technology is fair game! Marc Canter who is visiting us right now will also attend. Marc is a great speaker and its worth making the trip to Noida if only to hear him speak!

All details available at the wiki. See you there!