Windows Live Messenger Screenshots

Just today, I got an invitation from the great folks at the Windows Live Messenger team. Its definitely slick. I have to play around a bit before I can comment in detail. Here are a few screenshots. Enjoy! Oh you can get the invitation too by signing up here

Entagled Digital Life

Following along the lines of simplicity I would like mention how I feel about people who are entangled in their digital passion. I am referring to recent flood of portable electronic gadgets, MP3 players, Smartphones, portable video players, PDA’s etc that people yearn to buy and use and show off to their friends and colleagues. I dont think "showing off" is that negative. Its a natural instinct and thats fine ( "Hey look at me  a  XYZ, its great, its awesome, everyone has it, I got to have it! I have it! You dont! Loser!").  I am bothered about the lives of these people whom I know that have been interrupted, intervened and contrived. You are talking to someone and his phone rings, all I can hear when I call up my friend is "Hey.. let me call you back.. I have someone on the other line" heh! and then I hear from  him about his grandiose plans of a trip all of which was planned using his smartphone and live local map (Virtual Earth Mobile). I am still in no-contraption bliss. Call me superfrugal, spendthrift or just boring, but I’d like a little silence in my life, I like spontaneity and would prefer to ask the localites for best places to see, and I would like to pick up the phone and complete the conversation. Like Charles Lindberg said "I realized that If I had to choose, I would rather have birds than airplanes." If you know what I mean ;).

 Current gadgets I have:  Cellphone.

Simplicity

There used to be this ad in the Indian national TV channel about Mahatma Gandhi which said.. "The greatness of this man is his simplicity… let’s try and discover Gandhi in our selves". I think this is powerful. Powerful people (in terms of wealth, fame and might ) tend to go crazy, its difficult to be modest and simple, but I admire people who are so. I think Bill Gates, Sachin Tendulkar and A R Rahman are examples and that is why they are my role models. To have all the wealth and fame in the world and be down to earth requires solid character. People I have begun to admire recently are Soma and ScottGu, this is offcourse due to my recent tech reads (read their blogs and you’ll know what I am talking about). A nice thing to ponder is to never forget your roots and be nice to others. World requires more people like them. My post will be amateurish now.. will improve as I digest these.

Welcome

Well.. I have a web space.. its RajivMenon.net . Welcome!