Punjabi By Nature

MMMOG

Massively Multiplayer Mobile Online Gaming... How is that for a mouthful...

Nokia to bring "Space Shooter" to mobile gaming world

Massively multi-player online game to hit Java phones through the Nokia SNAP Mobile service later this year

Espoo, Finland - Nokia, the leader in mobile communications, announced today that hundreds of thousands of players will soon be able to connect through "Space Shooter" (working title), a massively multi-player online game (MMOG), available on selected Java-enabled cell phones through the Nokia SNAP Mobile service.  Building on the success of Nokia's first Java MMOG, "Pocket Kingdom," this persistent online co-operative 3D game pits humanity against alien hordes in the backdrop of outer space. 

"Our users told us they wanted deeper gameplay in the Java domain, so we're harnessing the power of Java to bring massively multi-player games like  'Space Shooter' and 'Pocket Kingdom' to phones," said Lisa Waits, head of Nokia SNAP Mobile.  "And because our Nokia SNAP Mobile service can run on any carrier and Java handset - be it Nokia or some other - our community of users has huge potential." 

All online Java games currently created for the Nokia SNAP Mobile platform are supported by Series 60 Java MIDP2.0 capable phones from Nokia and the handset support for other Nokia and non-Nokia handsets is broadened shortly.  Earlier this year, Nokia announced deals with Hong-Kong based carrier SmarTone and has several other deals in the works with other carriers to bring Nokia SNAP Mobile platform games to their customers.

"Space Shooter", developed by Monkey Business, is set in a persistent online world where players take part in a massively cooperative, ship-to-ship war against an attacking alien horde.  A live moderator keeps the game fresh by guiding the alien fleets and adding new starbases, alien nests and other challenges. 

"'Space Shooter' breaks new ground by requiring players to team up in order to counter actions taken by the moderator," said Burt Sloane, Monkey Business' Top Banana.  "We're excited to partner with Nokia to bring this experience to players using Nokia SNAP Mobile solution."  Like other titles for Nokia SNAP Mobile, "Space Shooter" offers friends list and chat, but also includes score reporting, leader boards, community news blog and offline message play.

"Space Shooter" is expected to be available on mobile phones later this year. 

Some interesting (but old) mobile news..

If you were in India in the 80s or before and were around when a cricket match happened.. you would have seen a "radio-itis" happening to several people. This condition is described as holding a radio close to the ear with one hand, neck slightly bent to hear the running commentary of cricket, with complete disregard to the work and people around you.

I believe that with mobile phones, the same thing can happen, but this time it can be even better. People can watch TV on mobile phones.

Nokia - Nokia joins The Bridge Networks' Mobile TV trial - Press Releases - Press - About Nokia

Nokia joins The Bridge Networks' Mobile TV trial
May 24, 2005

Nokia has joined forces with The Bridge Networks to become the service system and handset provider for Australia's first mobile TV trial. 

In October 2004, The Bridge Networks obtained approval from the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) to conduct Australia's first trial of DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld) technology.  The Sydney-based trial is expected to commence in mid 2005 with over 500 users.

The trial users will be able to view real-time TV programs on a Nokia 7710 smartphone equipped with a special accessory to receive mobile TV broadcasts. The Nokia 7710 smartphone also enables direct links to the internet for access to background information on TV programs or sports results.

Nokia provides the end-to-end solution for DVB-H based mobile TV comprised of network infrastructure, mobile phones and service server platform. The focal point of the solution, the service system manages the broadcast of content from various content providers to consumer handsets through the DVB-H network platform.

DVB-H is a new technology that allows simultaneous transmission of multiple channels of television, radio, video, audio and IP data to a range of multi-media devices including mobile phones, PDAs, PCs and other handheld devices.

DVB-H is part of the DVB-T standard that is currently used to deliver terrestrial digital television in Australia. DVB-H makes possible the delivery of TV, radio and data content to handheld devices and is specifically designed to optimise battery life by using a technique known as 'time-slicing'. DVB-H uses MPEG-4, AAC+ and similar advanced video and audio coding and compression technologies to enable a considerable reduction in the band-width required to deliver an acceptable quality of service to small-screen devices.

Nokia is a leader in the area of mobile TV and currently, mobile TV services using DVB-H technology are being piloted in many countries around the world. Commercial mobile TV services are expected to start in 2006

Project vs Product

Many people question me, that other than the business models, which Cusumano has already written about, what is the difference between a project and a product.

I like to answer this question by giving an analogy. In the phrases below you can safely replace the word "book" by "product" and "newspaper" by "project".

A book is something that takes a long time to create. It has a deadline to be done, but that deadline is not very hard and fast, and can be move around a little. A bookwriter spends a lot of time in thinking upfront about how the book will be written. All the elements of the book must come together as a unified whole, rather than a juxtaposition of various elements. A book is used by many people across organizations, over long periods of time.

Contrast this with a newspaper article: A newspaper article has a very hard deadline. Either you ship it tomorrow morning, or else its stale food and no one wants it. The pressure in a newspaper is to get the job done and a lot of time cannot be spent on upfront planning. Sometimes newspaper articles look like a random collection. A newspaper is used once and thrown away. Very soon a new newspaper will be created, and used.

This is the difference: A Product has a long term in mind and has to be carefully designed and relevant to a lot of people across organizations. A project typically has a shorter term, hard business requirements, and needs to be done quickly else business will pass it on for some other (maybe newer) approach.

Good Book Shops

Brij asked me about some good book shops in and around Delhi. As an avid reader I go around and buy books from anywhere and everywhere... whether its Amazon or an airport book shop or a book shop in a mall or in Chandni Chowk.. here is my list of regular hangouts in no particular order

Galgotia's in B-Block Connaught place is a good source of all kind of books (computer, business, travel etc)

For technical (especially computer books) BPB Pulbications in Connaught Place and Jawahar Book Depot in Ber Sarai (JAWAHAR BOOK CENTRE DDA Shopping Complex, Ber Sarai, Opp. J.N.U., New Delhi Phones: 26528601, 26564337) are very good.

Jain Book Depot further ahead in Connaught Place is the definitive source for law, property and accounting related subjects.

There is Variety Book Depot (AVG Bhawan,. M-3 Connaught Circus) close to the Outer Nirurla's in Connaught Place which also has lots of books on cooking, travel, coffee table books etc.

Of course, nothing beats Nai Sarak in Old Delhi! The whole street is lined with bookshops on either side.

Faqir Chand & sons in Khan market is another upmarket bookshop.

Here is a list

Aparna Bhandar 16, Netaji Subhash Marg, Daryaganj	Atma Ram & Sons Kashmere Gate	Book Centre 69,Yashwant Place Shopping Complex, Chanakyapuri
Book World 7, Palika Bazar	Jain Book Agency C-9, Connaught Place	Delhi Book Co. M-12, Connaught Place
E.D. Galgotia & Sons 17-B, Connaught Place	The Book Shop Regal Building, (Parliament Street), Connaught Place	The Bookworm 29 B, Connaught Place
The English Book Store L-7, Connaught Place	The New Book Depot 18 B, Connaught Place	BPB Publications B-Clock, Connaught Place
Twentieth Century Publications: N-1, BMC House, Connaught Place	Fact & Fiction 39, Basant Lok, Vasant Vihar	Friends News Agency Community Centre, Friends Colony
Mascot’s Book Shop 6, Sunder Nagar Market	Midland Book Shop 20, Aurobindo Place Market	Janata Book Depot Aurobindo Place Market
The Empire Book Depot Janpath	New Book Land Janpath	Paramount Book Store 88, Janpath
Lakshmi Book Store 18, Indian Oil Building, Janpath	Famous Book Store 25, Indian Oil Building, Janpath	Cross Word At Ebony D-4, South Extension-II
Sehgal Bros. Bookshop E-78, South Extn. Market, Part-I	Teksons Bookshop South Extn. Market, Part-I	Oxford Book & Stationery Co. Scindia House
St. Paul International Book Centre H-30, Connaught Circus	Amrit Book Co. N-Block, Opp. Escorts (Outer Circle) Connaught Circus	Bahri Sons Khan Market
Faqir Chand & Sons 15-A, Khan Market	Tharia Ram & Sons 24 B, Khan Market	The Book Shop 14-A, Khan Market, & 13/7, Jor Bagh Market
Times Book Gallery 25-A, Khan Market	Timeless The Art Book Studio 46 Housing Society, South Extension, Part I.

Project vs Product

In the software industry, two models are basically followed.

(1) One that is of building products at one end of the spectruem.

(2) Projects or bespoke implementation of a particular customer's business process, is at the other end of the spectrum.

There is a third model of "hybrid solutions" which I believe is a mix of the two, so I will not discuss it here. These two "business" models are described very well in a book called "The Business of Software" by Michael Cusumano.

Cusumano builds on dozens of personal experiences and case studies to show how issues of strategy and organization are irrevocably linked with those of managing the technology and demonstrates that a thorough understanding of these issues is vital to success. At the heart of the book Cusumano poses seven questions that underpin a three-pronged management framework. He argues that companies must adopt one of three basic business models: become a products company at one end of the strategic spectrum, a services company at the other end, or a hybrid solutions company in between. The author describes the characteristics of the different models, evaluates their strengths and weaknesses, and shows how each is more or less appropriate for different stages in the evolution of a business as well as in good versus bad economic times. Readers will also find invaluable Cusumano's treatment of software development issues ranging from architecture and teams to project management and testing, as well as two chapters devoted to what it takes to create a successful software start-up. Highlights include eight fundamental guidelines for evaluating potential software winners and Cusumano's probing analysis, based on firsthand knowledge, of ten start-ups that have met with varying degrees of success.

Introduction

When I relocated to India a few years back, one of the things that struck me was that whilst there are lots of talented people in the country, the emphasis on excellence was lacking. At first blush, it appeared to me that this was specific to India. However, I found that as I traveled around the globe meeting developers and other programmers, I found this issue is endemic to the software industry.

Of course, my tunneled vision was because I had worked at Redmond, where Microsoft has hired a lot of smart people. I extrapolated that to believe that the entire industry (including India) was full of talented engineers committed to excellence. Whilst this may be true of many companies like Google, and some startups which can attact talent because they are working on the next "big thing" its not true in general.

At the same time, I started looking at how difficult is it to be committed to excellence. I started researching my old emails, my work from previous years and also what I learnt over the years from my peers, and mentors. It turns out that by following some very simple practices, one can make excellence a habit. Something, without which your professional life is incomplete. Your better professional half!

I hope you will find this series of articles useful and will share your thoughts to improve it. Happy Engineering!

The Google Story

I am halfway through this pretty interesting book on Google. It does not tell you much about the technology, but its still a good read for anyone intereted in business history.

Social phenomena happen, and the historians follow. So it goes with Google, the latest star shooting through the universe of trend-setting businesses. This company has even entered our popular lexicon: as many note, "Google" has moved beyond noun to verb, becoming an action which most tech-savvy citizens at the turn of the twenty-first century recognize and in fact do, on a daily basis. It's this wide societal impact that fascinated authors David Vise and Mark Malseed, who came to the book with well-established reputations in investigative reporting. Vise authored the bestselling The Bureau and the Mole, and Malseed contributed significantly to two Bob Woodward books, Bush at War and Plan of Attack. The kind of voluminous research and behind-the-scenes insight in which both writers specialize, and on which their earlier books rested, comes through in The Google Story.

The strength of the book comes from its command of many small details, and its focus on the human side of the Google story, as opposed to the merely academic one. Some may prefer a dryer, more analytic approach to Google's impact on the Internet, like The Search or books that tilt more heavily towards bits and bytes on the spectrum between technology and business, like The Singularity is Near. Those wanting to understand the motivations and personal growth of founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin and CEO Eric Schmidt, however, will enjoy this book. Vise and Malseed interviewed over 150 people, including numerous Google employees, Wall Street analysts, Stanford professors, venture capitalists, even Larry Page's Cub Scout leader, and their comprehensiveness shows.

As the narrative unfolds, readers learn how Google grew out of the intellectually fertile and not particularly directed friendship between Page and Brin; how the founders attempted to peddle early versions of their search technology to different Silicon Valley firms for $1 million; how Larry and Sergey celebrated their first investor's check with breakfast at Burger King; how the pair initially housed their company in a Palo Alto office, then eventually moved to a futuristic campus dubbed the "Googleplex"; how the company found its financial footing through keyword-targeted Web ads; how various products like Google News, Froogle, and others were cooked up by an inventive staff; how Brin and Page proved their mettle as tough businessmen through negotiations with AOL Europe and their controversial IPO process, among other instances; and how the company's vision for itself continues to grow, such as geographic expansion to China and cooperation with Craig Venter on the Human Genome Project.

Like the company it profiles, The Google Story is a bit of a wild ride, and fun, too. Its first appendix lists 23 "tips" which readers can use to get more utility out of Google. The second contains the intelligence test which Google Research offers to prospective job applicants, and shows the sometimes zany methods of this most unusual business. Through it all, Vise and Malseed synthesize a variety of fascinating anecdotes and speculation about Google, and readers seeking a first draft of the history of the company will enjoy an easy read.