April 2013
6 posts
The Unplanned
On a hot sunny day, it rains, and you let it soak you. It becomes the high point of an otherwise planned out day. It’s the unplanned.
Your best buddy shows up at a planned movie-going plan, and you later go out for a fun bowling match. It’s the unplanned.
You plan a dense evening, but the show turns out a flop, so you leave and have a blast with your friends instead. It’s the...
The Undone
It was perfectly possible to have found time to meet friends, but you didn’t. It’s the undone.
It was a beautiful shirt, you could have bought it. It’s the undone.
It was a good side-project, you could have taken it up. It’s the undone.
It was a superb rainy day, you could have taken a splash. It’s the undone.
It was a good pasta, you could have let the chef...
The Unseen
What all did you see today?
You helped a person pick their dropped book, but you didn’t see them smile back. It’s the unseen.
You tipped the waiter, but you didn’t see him bow and thank you. It’s the unseen.
You hurried past a person carrying his food, but you didn’t see that you almost made him drop it. It’s the unseen.
Your supposedly funny joke hurt...
The Unsaid
You have 2 minutes to make an impression. Capture the moment. Be the person.
Once it has passed, the window has closed.
No one gives a damn. It’s the unsaid.
Nobody is going to tell you something, because you didn’t say anything. What is the response to not saying anything? It’s the unsaid.
Express when the ears are listening, the eyes are open and the sun is shining....
That Person
So smart. So handsome. So on-top-of-things.
So social. So helpful. So lets-do-this-today.
I want to be that person.
Because I am dull.
I am lazy.
I am slow.
I am not-so-doing-this-today.
Problem is,
I am me.
So-not-good.
But flip it over.
You be him.
He becomes you.
And the story is the same.
Everyone likes everyone else.
The power of You. Which is the Me.
Manifesto
You gotta express yourself to the world. Talk about things you want to talk about, do what you feel like doing and like people you like. The world is too busy, and if you don’t give out the right signals, you will never find the right people. Stop thinking what is right and just do. Soon what you do will become the right thing to do. Change the world!
March 2013
2 posts
Email. The killer app no one saw coming. (And still doesn’t.)
Your unique identity across the web.
The first notification system.
The first to-do manager.
The first note-taker.
The first social-network.
The first project management app.
The first read later app.
The first file transfer app.
The first backup system.
The first photo sharing app.
All that and more. With Email.
So Google buys Android in 2006 to clone the then popular Blackberry. Reason being they wanted control on mobile platforms, so that their services were not side tracked.
They quickly re-align strategy to copy iPhone instead by 2008. By 2012, they have spent more than 10 billion buying Motorola to have a patent portfolio and develop Android, still giving it away for free in *hope* of future...
November 2012
4 posts
1 tag
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September 2012
7 posts
The Belief Manifesto
How to trust your conviction that you can then follow vehemently.
Till now,
1. Success of someone else with similar beliefs.
2. Trusting your own past success.
Believing convictions others have championed leads to inflexibility to correct them en-route. The game changes when circumstances change. A different time is a different circumstance. A different person is a different circumstance.
...
Using an LED Matrix Module
The LED Matrix Module allows you to add a nice display to your project.
Lets talk about this display first. It is a matrix of 8x8 Red LEDs with all their anodes connected together. So the anodes of each column of LED are given as 8 pins. And the cathodes of each row are given as 8 pins.
Hence we have a total of 16 pins on this display. Now, as you might guess, a single configuration of...
Building a WiFi Twitter Display: Scrolling Tweets
In the previous post - Combining multiple LED matrix modules we explored the use of three LED matrix displays to show scrolling text.
But the text was pre-programmed in the code, and hence was not of much utility. By connecting the device to the internet, we can get interesting and meaningful content to display on the device. For this purpose, I connected a Sparkfun WiFly Shield on top of the...
Combining multiple LED matrix modules
This post uses a few LED Matrix Modules, that allow you to easily connect 8x8 LED Matrix displays to your Arduino.
In a previous post, you saw how easy it is to connect one of these to an Arduino and draw to the Matrix from a buffer.
Now in this post we will take things further, and use three LED matrices to form a long display of 24x8 which is great for displaying scrolling text.
...
Jeff Bezos: A Review.
Amazon launched the new line of Kindle reading devices and Kindle Fire tablets yesterday. It was a great unveiling: product demos, ship dates and unbelievable pricing. Gruber is impressed.
Though much has improved with the devices, I think we are seeing a bigger change with Jeff Bezos and his company: Amazon. When I saw him on stage, he seemed more mature, more intense that I have ever seen him...
Taste
Taste is preference. A like and dislike.
Taste is crucial. It defines you.
Love some things, hate others.
It is about having opinions. Strong beliefs that you fight for. To take a stand.
Go ahead. Like and dislike. Ignore others, their tastes are different.
People without taste are boring. They are ok with everything. They are character-less. They just live along trying to please...
Selling Shampoo Online is Hard
Currently there are two ways of buying shampoo and other daily-use products:
Walk up to your local general store and name the product you wish to buy. He will go in and get it for you. You see it and immediately know it is what you want.
Drive to a large shopping centre and walk around with your cart. Whenever you visually recognise something you want, just drop it into your shopping cart.
...
August 2012
10 posts
Open Letter to Flipkart - Doing eBooks Better Than...
Amazon’s recent venture in India, was entering the market with Kindle eBooks. This is it’s only presence in India. On the other hand Flipkart, a sort-of Amazon clone for India is catering to the needs of Indian citizens each and every day. They sell physical books, movies, televisions, ovens, shampoos and the quintessential baby diapers.
If, and ever, Flipkart decides to launch...
The Changing Scene of Data
Each and every day, we are posting updates to social networks, taking pictures, bookmarking websites and uploading digital content.
Imagine if all this data was stored in the form of files on your disk. A folder called tweets, with a list of text files each containing one of your tweets. A folder called Facebook, with subfolders for your friends, and further subfolders for their status updates,...
Wireless link using Nordic nRF24L01+ modules
I just really like these modules. They are extremely cute. That little chip on the board is a Nordic nRF24L01+ 2.4GHz transceiver and is actually just 3x3mm. Really tiny.
I must say Sparkfun has a certain design sense of laying out boards. Really beautiful and easy to use. The pins are clearly labelled. They sell them for $20 here. In India, I sell via my site.
They come without the...
Switching a light bulb with an Arduino
I had wanted to try this out since long. The most basic way was to use a simple relay. When the coil is energised, it pulls the contact towards itself, and establishes a connection so that the bulb can turn on. But it is noisy.
Switching a light bulb with an Arduino from Param Aggarwal on Vimeo.
Then I heard of Solid State Relays (SSRs). These are functionally the same but have no moving...
Trip to The Taj Mahal
After my college presentation, I had the chance to go to Agra and see the Taj Mahal.
This is the entrance into the main area. I think this is as large as the Taj Mahal itself.
The red and white marble design is really intricate. So much detail.
And we are in! This is the first glimpse. Breath-taking.
These are the fountains in the garden leading upto the Taj. They say that...
People Flying RC Planes
One week, me and a friend went along to Mahalaxmi Race Course in Mumbai. Every weekend hobbyists get together and fly remote-controlled planes. These are not the measly battery operated kind. They run on fuel and have actual engines that drive propellers.
Their remotes look complicated. And the whole process of getting it to take off seemed fairly complex.
But they are so awesome.
...
Breaking down 'The Monalisa Smile'
Got a crazy thought the other day. I think I have figured out the Monalisa smile.
Imagine a group of friends, arguing whether your shirt is green or blue. You see them blabbering away at each other. Each putting in their guesses. One even goes so far to say that he is a painter and hence you just trust what he says.
It turns out, your shirt is actually both because of the velvet texture. You...
Sell Like You Share : Thoughts on Gumroad
Came across Gumroad the other day. It is based on the idea that selling should be as way as sharing. Founder Sahil Lavingia, with an impressive background of building his own apps like Dayta and an early employee at the now sensational Pinterest, saw that selling creative stuff online, was a space ripe for disruption.
The internet held many promises. One of them being that it would render...
The Boy called Roy - A Story
“Mr Wilstkirkson.”
“Oh, dear boy. Why don’t you call me by my shorter name, Willy, like everyone does?”
“Because it’s your name.”
“But, its so long. I use Willy everywhere possible.”
“Your tea is ready Mr. Wilstkirkson.” said Roy, as he didn’t find it a reasonable discussion.
“Ah, let it be, you will get...
The Idiots Have Taken Over the Store
The larger the company, the more stupid it acts.
When a company becomes strong, the focus shifts from growing the business to protecting the sales from diminishing. Hence the question changes from how do we increase sales to how do we avoid the decrease in sales.
This kind of thinking has killed off industry after industry. Companies that were built off an amazing idea, fed on that idea till...
July 2012
2 posts
Scrolling Tweets - A tiny display for the latest...
Yesterday, I finished up building a little module controlled with just 5 wires to display any scrolling text on a matrix display of 64 LEDs.
Scrolling Tweets - A tiny display for the latest news. from Param Aggarwal on Vimeo.
Today, it was time to take it to the next step. Getting realtime tweets from my favorite site The Verge and displaying them.
For this, I needed:
WiFly Shield...
Scrolling LED Matrix Display for Arduino
Two years back, I played around with an 8x8 LED Matrix display. I connected it to an Arduino along with an accelerometer, and made a game too.
It was fun.
Today, I came across that display, and saw that it used up all the pins on the Arduino. It was an 8x8 Red LED Matrix Display. Hence it had 16 pins. All of these were connected to individual pins on the Arduino, not leaving many for use.
...
January 2012
1 post
The song playing on the radio was ‘chitti aayi re aayi re chitti aayi, watan ki mitti aayi’.
And it brought to my mind the beauty of physicality. The touch of paper, the smell of the ink. The knowledge that the person who sent it had touched the same paper.
I wished that I could send such a letter that would sing this song, when opened.
And it clicked me.
The first episode was...
June 2011
2 posts
A Question of Purity of Photography
Photography means ‘painting with light’. It is an art form just like painting. A photo sensitive film is taken, exposed to the scene that is to be captured and developed. The film, the camera and the chemicals used are all tools of the trade.
Recently the essence of photography has come under question for the use of post-processing tools like Adobe Lightroom and Apple Aperture. Why shouldn’t the...
Visiting Windows Phone 7
I see six smartphone platforms currently:
1. Apple iOS
2. Windows Phone 7
3. HP WebOS
4. Google Android
5. Blackberry OS
6. Nokia something-something.
Out of them, 1,4 and 5 have a huge market share and 1, 2 and 3 are really really well designed.
Today I read an article about 2, so lets talk about that.
Windows Phone 7 is the first thing I have seen out of Microsoft that is realy...
May 2011
2 posts
You don’t profit in a monopoly, you work harder :...
Total Profit = Profit per Device x Number of Devices Sold
Every high school pass out knows this equation. To maximize profit, you can either maximize the profit per device sold or you can maximize the number of devices sold. Profit has the tendency to stay constant. If you reduce the profit per device, the number of devices sold will increase.
Hence you either decide to price your product...
April 2011
0 posts
How Megapixels and Zoom Fool You
“Hey, got a new camera?”
“Ya!”
“How much megapixels?”
“Umm.. 16.2MP.”
“Wow! That’s great! Cameras are improving so much these days. Just a month ago I got a 14.3MP one. Time to get a new one I guess.”
You, yes you, are under the hold of a marketing gimmick of the camera companies. Want more megapixels? Pay us more. Why should...
January 2011
2 posts
1 tag
Objectivism
I am currently reading ‘The Fountainhead’ by Ayn Rand, and can’t help but feel that it’s the philosophy I myself believe in. She puts forth a way of living life. A philosophy to live by. To express it, she wrote three novels. And that philosophy is Objectivism.
I am not even done with the book, but I am so impressed by it that I want to share what I understand from it....
1 tag
A Touchpad using Plastic and Aluminum Foil
The easiest, cheapest and fastest way in which we could implement a touchpad was to use simple metal strips horizontally and vertically. When the user touches, the two strips come in contact and this is detected by a micro controller. This data is then sent to the computer.
Our touchpad.
The aluminium strips.
Tape used as insulation.
Visualization on the computer.
Materials: Aluminum...
December 2010
1 post
1 tag
Be good.
Imagine yourself in a city you are touring, checking out the local scene. You are hungry, looking for a restaurant. You look around and see people all around, a busy bustling place. On both sides of the road, the only shops you see are restaurants. (You don’t even notice the other shops, because you are hungry!) Fast-food, Premiums, Indian, Chinese, Mexican, Spanish, local cuisine and...
November 2010
1 post
B U.
Be you means firmly believing in what you believe in. Things like telling the truth. Helping people. Keeping your point of view.
Be you means to be an individual, and not mix into the crowd.
Be you means to have confidence in yourself.
Be you is to say ‘hell with people who don’t agree’.
Be you is to stand alone on the other side of the river.
Be you is to take the...
October 2010
3 posts
1 tag
"I don't know."
When you think you have a problem, start by acknowledging you have a problem. This may seem obvious. It seems that this is what would happen. But it is actually not so. As humans we have this instinct of ignoring tensions and stress, to help us focus on the present. We try to think that we don’t have a problem. But don’t mistake this for optimism.
Remember, we are human beings. We...
Living
I came across these amazing rules on how to live life. Worth sharing and remembering.
Do one thing at a time.
Do it slowly and deliberately.
Do it completely. Put your mind completely on the task. Don’t move on to the next task until you’re finished.
Do less.
Put space between things.
Develop rituals.
Designate time for certain things.
Devote time to sitting.
Smile and serve others.
...
Success is in now.
‘What is success?’, someone asked. Some paid attention, some didn’t. It’s such a core question of our lives, so elementary, that its easy to dismiss it as so.
I asked myself, and the ‘I’ said: “Success is in now.” I thought ‘Wow, so simple’. But what does it even mean? It seems like an answer to ‘Where is success.’ It makes...
September 2010
1 post
1 tag
A letter of joy
I am happy. I feel good. I like it.
What? Where’s the ‘because’ to it. I can’t find the reason in the text. I can’t believe that you are happy till you tell me what made you so happy. What is that new thing you got. Who is that person. What is that experience. There has to be a reason, isn’t it?
Shouldn’t I say that I am happy because I got a new phone? That I feel good about my new clothes....
August 2010
2 posts
1 tag
Redesigning the Newspaper
Newspapers have been what they are for many years now. New media companies start selling newspapers, but all of them have the same design. No one is trying to improve reading experience.
It’s cluttered and messy. Let’s try improving it.
Form:
The newspaper should be smaller and easier to hold. 2/3 width and height.
First page consists only of extremely important news in...
I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.
I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish enough Hello’s to get...
July 2010
3 posts
1 tag
What gets you out of bed?
An interesting question to ask yourself. I often find it difficult to wake up in the morning. For the simple reason that I didn’t know what I would do if I woke up.
But on days that I have something planned, my body automatically gets up earlier than usual. Getting up and ready becomes involuntary.
This is a question you have to answer every day of your life. Hopefully your answer is,...
1 tag
The nine-rupee ice-cream
Gelato Italiano, sells awesome ice-cream. I have yet to find any better seller. It’s complicated to make and very rich in flavor while being not too creamy or icy.
Gelato sells the ice creams ranging from Rs. 40 to Rs. 70 for a small cup. They usually try to sell you the bigger ‘double scoop’ Rs. 100 cup, which I simply deny. But yesterday, when I went to have an ice-cream at...
June 2010
14 posts
1 tag
Music Publishing
As you read this, ever more information is being converted to the digital form so that now it is easier than ever to duplicate intellectual property and charging money for it is becoming difficult. Looking at it from another perspective, there could be no easier way to distribute your content to more people without having to worry about being able to meet excessive demand. The supply is unlimited...
