More problems with Tata Indicom Internet Card…Cancelling Conn today

September 29, 2007 – 11:17 am

My experience with Tata Indicom has been dreadful. Others may have had a better, less troublesome time, but I’m probably never going subscribe to any Tata Indicom service again - just as it is with Sify (their broadband sucks). This is going to be my barometer for all of Tata Indicoms services - because apart from the poor quality of service, miscommunication of price, billing issues, and selling me a spurious modem - their customercare has sucked too. Signing up for their service on Feb 27th was a costly mistake.

Problems:

1. Suspension of account for non payment, but no bill was sent to me for two months:

Apparently, Tata Indicom’s way of telling me that my bill is due is by suspending my account. As if I’m going to go to their collection center every month to ask if anything is due.

The second time in a row that they suspended my account without sending a bill (the first time I paid up because I was in desperate need of connectivity), I decided that I’d wait for them to get back to me. Complaining to the collection center people wasn’t working. A month later, around the 20th of Sept, I received a mail from Indicom ironically titled “We Miss You”. They wanted me to call them up to talk about the non-payment.I was requested to contact any of three customercare people who would help resolve the issue. After a couple of hrs of attempts last Saturday, I finally got through to a “Manju”. I was told that someone would get back to me to resolve the issues by Monday. No one did, throughout the week. On Thursday, one customercare exec told me to forget-about-it. I was unable to get in touch with the three that had been named in the letter (number busy, or call not picked up).

2. A grand connection speed of 1kBps (8kbps) (Avg):

tataindicom

Not to forget that it is erratic, and didn’t work for me at a conference I was covering in Mumbai. I find that GPRS (Edge) is faster and more reliable.

Earlier problems faced with Tata Indicom - some of these have since been attended to, others not. But I still had to go through a lot of trouble to get some resolved:

3. Spurious modem:

Indicom has tied up with Huawei, but their retailer initially sold me a spurious modem with my connection; Indicom’s retailer, and hence their responsibility. For me there was an opportunity cost, apart from several trips to the retailer, which did not serve any purpose.

4. Connection did not work for the first two months:

I’d bought the connection on 27th February, and it did not work till March 21st on account of that spurious modem. To their credit, Indicom had waived those charges, but then it should have worked from the start.

5. Miscommunication of charges, and mobile related charges for Internet connection:
Rs. 1500 a month for an unlimited connection is what I had been told by the retailer. I checked and crosschecked with him about any additional costs - apart from installation and taxes. Later, I found out that Indicom forces you to take voice connection - a Do More voice plan for Rs. 199. After exchanging mails on this with Indicom people, this was waived, but I still unknowingly paid it for a couple of months. Also, as per a bill which customercare emailed to me, Indicom is charging me for Call Waiting, CLIP and Call Forwarding on an Internet connection.

This is where I like Airtel - their customer-care resolves issues. When I found that my GPRS plan - NOP - did not work with any applications (like GMail, Opera Mini etc) they agreed to cancel my GPRS and not charge me for something that was not communicated correctly. I have recently signed up for their more expensive GPRS plan that allows apps. Tink, though, has had issues with Airtel.
Any feedback on Reliance v-data card?

Related post:

- Wireless Connectivity Issues - Airtel GPRS and Tata Indicom Data Card

By Nikhil | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (4)

Brilliant

September 23, 2007 – 7:38 pm

Aditya sends across this link from Fark.
My favourites:

I compressed five motorcycles into one, it was a .rarley-Davidson.
I bought my motorcycle from a pirate. It’s an Arrrrly-Davidson
My Bike used to be a marine drill Sergeant, It was an R. Lee Davidson.
I once made a motorcycle out of 45 pounds of ganja. i called it the Marley-Davidson

Hmm…maybe I should give it a go

  • I once had a bike that didn’t get along with anyone. It was a Surly Davidson
  • My bike could climb buildings. It was a Spiderly Davidson
  • In my country, the consignment of bikes used to arrive once every three months. It was the Quarterly Davidson

(your turn)

From Aditya:  I once had a bike crafted by Maharashtrian artisans…it was a Warli Davidson

From Shefaly:
I can use my motorbike to make beer. It is called Barley Davidson.
My bike is all ful of knots. It is called Gnarly Davidson.
I bought the bike from an ex-CEO of HP. Guess what? it is called Carly Davidson!

From Shekhar (via chat):

what do you call a bike that runs well in the morning? an early davidson.
a heavy bike? a burly davidson
a bike with a toilet?  a harley david-sandas
a punju with a davidson?  happy davidson

By Nikhil | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (9)

Such Piety

September 22, 2007 – 12:03 pm

spider ganpati

Image sent by Jugal via email

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The N95

September 11, 2007 – 8:47 pm

First up: the battery life sucks…rather - the phone sucks the life out of the battery. It lasts around a day with regular usage, and if you’re using GPRS (as I am trying to do now), forgetaboutit. Barely lasts half a day. The N95 8GB is supposed to have better battery life, but for a phone that’s supposed to be as good as this, they ignored a critical aspect
The phone takes a little getting used to - the keys for accepting and canceling calls are barely evident and a little too small. (mobile phones are all about thumbs, remember).
The GPS is pointless in India, but the WiFi feature is welcome. Strangely enough, for the music buff that I am, I haven’t quite taken to the music part of the phone. I still prefer my iPod.

The good thing is that since I’ve stuck to Nokia, I was able to transfer all my contacts from one phone to another (connected both to the PC via Bluetooth, and transferred via the PC). Unfortunately, though the N95 does have the option for a direct transfer from phone to phone, it didn’t work for me with the Nokia 3230.
My main reason for opting for the N95 was the 5 megapixel camera — I have this habit of clicking photos of signs (here’s my new signs blog, with the first photo taken with the N95). Works rather well..is a little grainy at times, and the Sony Ericsson camera phones are decidedly better. Still, I’m used to a Nokia.

As usual, getting Airtel to activate GPRS was a real pain. What I don’t understand, is why they’ve blocked Twitter. Remember - GPRS doesn’t mean you have access to everything on the Internet. You’re still going through the operators pipe, and they can choose to block sites. But why block Twitter?

Any recommendations for mobile software? Already downloaded Gmail. No software for Google Reader and Calendar. Will be downloading Opera Mini and Mundu Radio, even though in Delhi, Edge is pretty slow for Mundu Radio.

By Nikhil | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (1)

On Rick Rubin and the future of the music business

September 5, 2007 – 9:29 am

A couple of days ago, Shyam pointed out to me a well crafted article in the New York Times, romanticising Columbia’s appointing Rick Rubin for producing great music; it appears that he’s the savior for big music labels, that Columbia, in an act of desperation, isn’t playing the big bad music studio anymore, and Rubin is spearheading its revival. It’s one of the finer pieces of article writing I’ve read in a while…

In the article, Rubin goes ahead and suggests that the subscription model is the way to go - that one will pay for subscribing to music, like one does for TV. That’s something that I’d suggested a few months ago…it seems to be the only feasible way out, in an industry where revenues are fast evaporating. Even then, labels will struggle to survive. The way the industry works now is that the labels make the artists popular, and the artists get a little something out of it. They make their money via brand endorsements and doing shows. The problem - the label’s selection process is driven by marketing concerns, so often quality music doesn’t make it beyond the selection process. The Spice Girls is one clear example of a band that was put together after (apparently) the marketing plan had been prepared.

Now two workarounds have emerged for this problem of music label myopia: one is the talent hunts. American Idol (and indeed, Indian Idol) popularise artists who would have otherwise probably never been discovered. Their popularity makes them marketable (though not always a success), and the labels sign them on. The other avenue is digital media. Bands like Phish have put up live recordings of their music online…YouTube and MySpace provide a platform for singers like Terra Naomi: one of the YouTube. The difficulty here again is of editorial selection: the best talent even here might never be discovered if it doesn’t get passed on from person to person. Popularity is again going to influence label selection. As is obvious, the labels are hard pressed to find ways of selecting artists because of overriding marketing concerns.
But Rubin isn’t quite the saviour, says Rob Lefsetz (via PSFK), and the talk about paid subscription was just a plug:

Rubin ends up looking like a spoiled kid, frustrated that he can’t effect change. Shouldn’t that have been part of the deal? That he wouldn’t take the gig without monetized P2P?

But that’s just the point. That WAS in the article. The labels are afraid that although licensed P2P might SAVE them, it might KILL them too. That they might give away the store, kill the recorded music business. They don’t want that blood on their hands, so they won’t change, or will do so slowly…

There IS a crisis. The major labels ARE making music free. They WILL be sold to the highest bidder for a pittance if they don’t solve their problems. But the way out isn’t hiring an iconoclastic, bearded guru, but by changing the INFRASTRUCTURE! Changing how they distribute and CHARGE!

But change can’t happen. Because instead of having student interns, young people have got to WORK at the label. And the labels have fired not only the youth, but everybody who does the day to day work. All they’ve got is executives. So, Columbia has brought in someone hipper.

Fair enough: subscription isn’t the ideal way out and it seems like a plug…but then what is the solution? It’s like me saying that representative democracy isn’t the way out for India because it’s the rule of an uneducated mob, but I don’t have an alternative, do I? The labels are going down, the music business is in free fall, but what, apart from a subscription model will work for them?

The one business I see continuing to thrive amidst this shakeup is of events: I’ve seen that working for the Indian rock scene which gets only independent label support (isn’t much), and almost zero distribution support. If you go to a PlanetM in Delhi, chances are you might find an odd copy of Pentagram’s It’s Ok It’s All Good, but ask them about other Indian Rock Bands, and you’re handed fusion or the Indian classical concerts. CDs get distributed at events. Companies like Nokia, Yamaha and Levis sponsor events like the Great Indian Rock (GIR), and Independence Rock (I-Rock). At GIR this year, Hamsadwani Theatre at Pragati Maidan was packed to capacity, and the organizer said that they had to turn back as many people as they were able to allow in. People pay for live music, and sometimes they buy CDs to “support the scene”. I do.

By Nikhil | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Comments (1)

quote

September 4, 2007 – 9:59 am

“Just because there’s a gap in the market, it doesn’t mean there’s a market in the gap.” — Rony Zibara, Creative Director of Fahrenheit 212.

Haven’t seen the video yet, but will do in the evening…from PSFK

By Nikhil | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

On chaddi logic

September 3, 2007 – 11:14 pm

Random chat published without permission:

Aditya: hey
Nikhil: yo. ’sup?
Aditya: suggest a name for a blog. serious stuff
Nikhil: for you?
Aditya: yeah
Nikhil: twinkle toes
Aditya: keep in mind most of the good names are taken
…
Nikhil: twinkle toes is not
Aditya: and just what makes twinkle toes a good name?

Sorry, this blog address is not available
Please consider one of the following:
* aditya-twinkletoes
* twinkletoes-aditya

Nikhil: an ironic name for a serious blog. it’s a brilliant name
Aditya: :D
Nikhil: twinkletoes aditya, then O-)
how about chaddi logic ?
Aditya: no.
maybe this was not such a good idea
Nikhil: a serious blog? yeah. too many around
Aditya: asking you for an opinion, ass
Nikhil: well then i’m not to blame for your chaddi logic

Chaddi logic…that term could catch on, whatsay? Now we just have to figure out what it means…though like most wonderful terms, it will probably mean different things to different people. That’s one helluva chaddi logic.

By Nikhil | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (1)

Eating Out In Delhi: Parsi Food!

August 23, 2007 – 10:18 pm

Just got back from a full-filling meal at Parsi Anjuman, a parsi guest house on Bahadurshah Zafar Marg. Had dhansak, excellent apricot chicken and something that was similar to biryani. I’ve forgotten what the sweet dish is called, but that and the apricot chicken were brilliant. I’d write more about the food, but I’d rather let the experts do that.
I’d gone for the meal with the Eating Out in Delhi group…my fourth ever meal with them. They meet up for interesting meals - particularly street food - and conversation quite often…but it’s mostly at a day or two’s notice, which is far too short a time-frame for me. If you’re in Delhi, it’s a good group to be a part of.
Yikes…I forgot to say “Till we eat (together) again” while leaving.

By Nikhil | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (4)

Hema Malini, Office of Profit and issues of representative democracy

August 15, 2007 – 12:12 pm

I believe that the recent development regarding Hema Malini requesting excise cuts for water purification equipment must be seen in the same light as the “Cash for questions” expose, wherein parliamentarians were paid to ask questions in the house.

While Malini is being singled out for this, every parliamentarian should be under scrutiny for the questions they raise - about whether their questions are because of the needs of their constituents, of their ideology, or indeed because of a profit motive.

Related to this issue is the fact that the Parliament had passed the Office of Profit bill - one that allows Parliamentarians to hold additional constitutional offices from which they make money…and I hold former President APJ Abdul Kalam is entirely responsible for allowing that bill becoming a law: there was a clear conflict of interest when lawmakers benefit monetarily from passing laws that may not benefit society; though Kalam did the right thing by sending the bill back to Parliament for reconsideration, it would not have been sent to him again, unless he’d shared that he would have signed it — a second refusal would have been grounds for impeachment. It was sent, and he did sign it.
It’s a tricky situation - if you restrict parliamentarians only to parliament as a source of income, then they’ll use their post for profit. The rising cost of elections compunds the issue - so then the only solution is exorbitant salaries, which some of them will denounce because that might not go down well with the electorate - they’d rather make money in a clandestine manner. Is there a solution?

Malini isn’t the only parliamentarian making money outside of Parliament - you’ve got actors, cricketers turned commentators (some who are comedians). This is Malini’s second question ever in parliament, and there’s a clear conflict of interest since she endorses a water purification brand.

But that’s democracy for you — the rule of the mob, and in this case, an uneducated mob. If only there was a better system…
Related post:

– Issues with representative democracy

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Brilliant beginning to the EPL - Sunderland beat Spurs; On Tenacity

August 11, 2007 – 7:27 pm

The season got underway today with a fascinating game between Spurs and Sunderland - wasn’t really a high quality game, and both teams looked rusty. What stood out for me was Sunderland’s determination to not make it easy for Spurs. McShane in particular was brilliant in defence, and there was only one major weak moment when the new keeper Gordon let the ball go through to Berbatov, who seemed to have been brought down…though my initial thought was that he just ran into the tackle. Sunderland held off for most of the match, and the only bit of quality up front from Michael Chopra in the 93rd minute got them the goal…a fairly familiar story for a club that doesn’t have many big players.
I was a little surprised that Keane took Kieron Richardson off in the second half - but his replacement - Miller - was sprightly and tenacious. Dwight Yorke’s age unfortunately showed on the pitch, he was outpaced easily…I think he’s going to be a weak link for Sunderland.
I usually pick one club to support from what expect will be the bottom half of the league - in the past, it’s been Portsmouth, Wigan and then Portsmouth again. I make this choice a few weeks into the EPL, but because Keane is coaching Sunderland, I’m supporting them.
ManUtd play Reading tomorrow. I thought they looked a little rusty during the community shield game as well, particularly Rooney. Ronaldo was, as always good, but Evra was fantastic. Didn’t get to see much from Nani. I think the midfield is going to be a lot stronger this year with Hargreaves coming on board. I think Liverpool are going to be a force to reckon with this year - they’ve finally got a striker - Torres - who should have been at ManUtd, really. Sad to see Rossi, Richardson, and particularly Alan Smith, leave ManUtd, and surprised that Gabriel Heinze wants to switch to Liverpool. One team that is likely to be underestimated this season is Arsenal, but they have skill and pace that many others don’t, even if the midfield looks weak.

Currently watching Man City vs West Ham, and Man City look in great touch. An almost completely new squad under former England coach Sven Goran Eriksson, they seem to have pace and quality…Manchester Derby’s are going to be fun.

*

I’ve always admired Roy Keane for his tenacity…was in agreement with him when he had left ManUtd after a run-in with Alex Ferguson on some comments Keane had made about players - that they just weren’t trying hard enough. You could see it then - Alan Smith was then the only player making a fight of it in midfield. I just finished reading an excellent article on Keane and Sunderland:

It is why Keane’s hackles rise when ‘survival’ is mentioned within his earshot, as it was during Sunderland’s press call on Thursday. Silence, hard stare. “I hope that’s the last time you use that word,” he responded. Finally. “Certain words get attached to certain clubs and I don’t want that attached to Sunderland.” Did it make him angry? “No. This isn’t angry. You haven’t seen me angry.”

Neither has his club; not in public, at least. A model of decorum on the touchline during his debut season in management – when he lifted Sunderland from 22nd in the Coca Cola Championship to first place – and surprisingly personable with his peers, Keane is anticipating changes this season. The Premiership is no environment for faint hearts.

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