Analysts are like actors

I had earlier written a post Analysts and Critics, comparing analysts with critics. This time, I’m upgrading Analysts to Actors. The trait I’m referring to here is the capability to enact multiple roles. An actor gets to play different roles across different films/plays. Similarly an Analyst gets to track different sectors. He gains expertise over various sectors before finalizing upon the one suitable for him (just like an actor). Film release day is one of the biggest days for an actor. Similarly, earnings release, M&A announcement and report publications are the biggest days for an analyst.

For eg. Aamir plays different roles such as – cop, student, cricketer (yeah he played that too, and it’s not lagaan), farmer (this one’s from lagaan), businessman, teacher, guide, taxi driver and the list goes on…. On the other hand, an Analyst i know has tracked various sectors… Metals and mining, IT services, biotechnology, Banking, Retail.. and has gained expertise in each of them.

But one thing separates the two…. paparazzi…..

Browser Wars – and what makes it one…

Originally written for magIMNUops (College magazine) by yours truly.

This week, Google launched their browser and called it Chrome. This marks the official start of BROWSER WARS III (BW-III). Just to a take a sneak peak into the previous two wars, BW-I was the glorious Netscape Vs Internet Explorer (IE). Netscape had the first mover advantage and had around 80% market share in 1996. By 2003, Microsoft, with its muscle power (read financial muscle) had totally wiped off Netscape from the www map. Some ex-Netscape associates formed another company and made the most widely known open source application- Mozilla’s Firefox. It’s customizable features made it popular with the serious surfers (web surfers). This was the BW-II era. IE was the default browser, as it came free and pre-installed with Windows. Those who rarely used the net, or used only for dedicated single instances, did not care about the browser and did not make the choice of a browser. But majority of those who made the choice choose Firefox, as is evident from the red portion.

So did BW-II get over?? Well, yes and no. It got over because there was this select group of webusers who used it (Firefox), and there was this group who’ll never use it. There some other players too (Opera the most known one, Apple’s Safari and some others based on Linux…) but their presence was limited. And just when we thought that the BW was over, Google launched “Chrome”. Analysts, critics, techies, Googlers, professional surfers, bloggers, VJs, DJs, Politicians, Comedians…… everyone has his/her own opinion on why Google launched chrome and whether it’ll be a success or not. You may search (or “Google it” should I say) it to update your TQ (Tech Quotient… wow I almost invented a word). But what I can tell you for sure is that this is a sign of exciting times in the BW. Suddenly you have the best Firefox (Firefox 3.0 with a beta 3.1 coming up), an IE which has made many heads turn (IE 8beta), Opera (which always had the best of the features), Apple’s Safari (well it’s an Apple, what else to say) and a goggle browser (which is a combination of Safari, Firefox and Google’s new technology). This, my dear, is BW-III, and it can’t get better than this. And to add to the wars, Chrome is as much open source as Firefox is, and soon we can see the new features in Firefox too. This will force IE, Safari and Opera to innovate. And I hope that does more good than harm to users.

Read more about them, before you participate in the wars:

IE 8

Firefox 3

Chrome

Safari

Opera

(not pasting the links…. just wiki them out…..  ;) )

Back to square 1

If you have been following my blog (which means that you are amongst the niche audience which includes close family members, friends and… well no one else …) you must have noticed the theme change. Well i was in an experimentation mode, and was looking for a better template. I was not satisfied with the experiment, but did not hav the time to undo changes. It finally took a comment from a regular reader for me to revert back to the old theme.
And if, IF, you are new to the blog… [da da da,dum dum dum (welcome tune) ] thanks a LOT for visiting. Feel free to go through the blog and do post comments…also sign up for the email feed. And please ask others to hav a dekho at the blog. Anyways, coming back to the point, as you are new to the blog, here’s the template i was experimenting with.

No more law

The other day I was caught on the wrong side of the law (Wrong side of the road actually). No mistake of mine though. I tell you, these police wallas will make any road one-way at their will. And add to that, the sign boards are generally hidden below trees or behind billboards. And if you expect them to be well lit during nights then keep dreaming. So, I missed the board and the traffic cops caught me. I, being the kind of good citizen I am, paid the fine: Rs 50 for driving in the opposite direction and another 1000 for dangerous driving (a term cooked up cops to buy that silk sari for their missus…). I wanted to argue with the policeman, but didn’t because of the 3 things: bike wasn’t mine.-. It was 15 past 11 in night.-. I didn’t want to bribe anyone. But this is not the issue. The issue is unequal treatment. The auto rickshaw driver who charges more than the meter is never punished. (at least in Chennai), and then there are scores of citizens who escape with a bribe. At the end of the day, I’m not motivated follow the law. So the next time when I break the law, I won’t budge in.

Alumni Meet Poll- for IMNUians/NIMites

http://snappoll.com/poll/290537.php

Bchlr begins life….

PF, life insurance, ULIP, stock investments, Gold, PPF, medical insurance, tax, 80c, education loan repayment, certifications, appraisals….. 

guess the “mera-beta-apne-pairon-par-khada-ho-gaya-hai” part of life has started….