Microsoft Vs Google

David M Ewalt famously predicts in 'The Future', a new feature in Forbes Magaizine, that by 2017, Google will be regarded the same way as Microsoft is regarded today - bloated, monopolistic and oppressive. He also predicts that Google will be providing free internet and phone service across USA. (Read the article at David Ewalt on the Internet 2017)

On reading this, was reminded of the headlines in 2005-2006, when everybody were excited that there is somebody who is rising up as a competitor to Microsoft(Only hard core APPLE evangelists will believe that Macintosh was a competitor to Mircorsoft!). But when the quesion was put forth to Bill Gates, he famously retorted - IBM as Microsoft's Top rival.(Yeah! Microsoft has started rivalling IBM in bureaucracy in a technology company!), But the plates have reversed in a single year. Now nobody even asks that question because Google has clearly won the battle.

But interestingly, Google has done this not by some great technology(yeah. their search engine provided them a great starting point) but by intelligent management decisions - Going any length to attract best talent from competitors, Aggressive Acquistions, A Motivating vision - "To organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful". And Bill Gates is finding himself in the same position as IBM of 1980s & 1990s.

In 1980s, IBM knew that whatever stuff Microsoft did, they can do it in 2 weeks but they neither understood the business model nor their bureacy was able to react to challenge. Now, Microsoft too has the potential to do everything that Google does in 2 weeks but they too are not able to understand the business model of Google.

History Repeating itself? Disruptive Technology at Work??

Wanna Read More about the dying legacy of Microsoft???
Read from Scoble - Why doesn't Microsoft get the love

Update: It seems Google does not have to wait for 10 years to be called oppressive & bloated... Read Scoble's post deriding Google as only caring about big people - "Google Android - We want developers but"

Cricket World Cup is finally Over

The ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 rather than making the cricket fans ask for 'dil maange more' made them feel happy that the long event is finally over. What a pity for the event of that caliber!!!!

Also it is the right time to analyse my very own 'Predictions about Cricket World Cup '07' - which were very very wide off the mark...

Photo: Australia - World Champions Again..

Analysis of my predictions:

Scotland, The Netherlands, Bangladesh, Bermuda, Kenya, Canada, Zimbabwe Ireland:
None of us would have ever expected any of these teams to qualify for the next stage. But Bangladesh & Ireland teams, thankfully brought their own surprises to this world cup.. But this ultimately made the super-eight matches a drag without any real excitement.

My prediction that Zimbabwe as the only team with a chance to proceed to super-eight stage was based on the apparent weakness of the Pakistani team rather than on the strength of the Zimbabwe team. Now I rue my decision not to collect any information about Ireland team.

If not for Bangladesh pushing out India from qualifying to the next stage, I would have been feeling good about my own predictions. But alas! it brought down all my calculations to naught.

Pakistan:
As I predicted it correctly, it went out in the first stage of the world cup itself. Hope it comes out strongly in the next world cup. As i mentioned, 'Bob Woolmer' occupied the front pages of the newspaper & magazines for a very sad reason.

Srilanka:
Another team for which my prediction went completely wrong. Again never expected a Srilankan middle player to strike form as C. Silva did. What he did was convert the one of the weak spots of Srilankan team - Weak Middle Order to its major strength.

West Indies:
Hurrah! At least my predictions about West Indies was correct. Farewell Lara.

New Zealand:
As I predicted, Shane Bond took the team to semi-finals where it lost to Sri-lanka

Australia:
The world champions!! I heeded to my heart rather than to my mind while making the predictions... Hmmm!

England:
Another team that disappointed me. Yeah! Again putting my heart over the mind!

South Africa:
Unlucky! to meet Australia in the semi-finals. If they had met Sri-lanka/New Zealand that would have at least been an interesting match.

India:
No comments about my predictions that were completely off the mark. Importance of a camp before any important sports event to boost the fitness of the players was underlined to BCCI. Also, Indian team missed a strike bowler.


In short, My 'predictions for Cricket World Cup '07' was nothing short of a disaster. :-(

Hope at least I learnt the lesson - Not to make any predictions for any sports event. Since I always would be heeding to my heart rather than my mind. Waiting for the "Harry Potter and the Deathly Harrows".. Hope at least some of the predictions about the book cis correct.

Predictions - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Disclaimer: I am not an astrologer nor i have any supernatural or paranormal powers to prophesy about the future. Believe these predictions at your own risk.
Predictions:

• I am pretty much sure that J.K.Rowling would take us to a storyline where Harry Potter would be trying hard to find atleast one of the Horocruxes when it would be very near to him or easy to find out. [Expecting Kreacher to help them in the discovery of atleast one Horocrux.]
• Sure that Harry Potter won't kill Voldermort; Basically, because i don't see the possibility of Harry Potter using a Unforgivable curse. So it leaves somebody else to do the killing. [Snape???]
  
• Expecting one of the persons who will die in this book to be Hagrid. Also we will find out the reasons J.K. Rowling had to kill Dumbledore & Sirius Black.
  
• The novel would be dealing more about the past rather than about the things that happen in the 7th year of Harry Potter's Hogwarts life. Expecting the histories of Harry Potter's Mom & Dad, Dumbledore to be dealt with extensively. Hoping Dumbledore's history would be given maximum coverage.
  
• If anyone comes back from the dead, it is more likely to be Sirius than Dumbledore. [I believe that "Dumbledore not dead" phenomenons is due to the people's inability to accept the death of Dumbledore.]
  
• Snape is not evil i.e. she is not a slave to Voldermort. But there is a rare possibility that she is not owing her allegiance to the Order of Phoenix too.
• Harry Potter will defeat Lord Voldermort in a duel.
• Hoping to hear about a Love angle for Snape in Book 7.

But one thing that i can be 100% sure of is that 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' is going to be one of the most interesting books ever. Hmmm... Waiting for July 21, 2007......

To read more about Harry Potter, click 'Posts with label Harry Potter'. Can follow the blog through RSS feeds. If you want to Compare the Predictions with the Real One - visit "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Book Review"

Predictions - Cricket World Cup '07

Disclaimer: I am not an astrologer nor i have any supernatural or paranormal powers to prophesy about the future. Disciplines like water divining, astrology, numerology, and fortune telling, along with many other forms of divination are unknown to me.

The only reason for this post is that i can brag about in the future about my correct predictions. So here, goes my prediction for each of the world cup teams - what will happen to them & what won't. Believe them at your own risk.


Scotland, The Netherlands, Bangladesh, Bermuda, Kenya, Canada, Zimbabwe Ireland - Except for Zimbabwe, I don't see any of the teams playing more than the allotted two Group Matches. Even for Zimbabwe, it is a very small probability(0.05%) that they will qualify by upsetting Pakistan.
Prediction - Group Stage

Now let's move to the big teams....

Pakistan - The only team with a little probability to lose out in the group stage itself. On the utmost, it will reach Super Eight stage. My prediction - They will upset atleast one of the superior teams in the super eight matches. Person to look out for - Bob Woolmer
Prediction - Super Eight

Srilanka - Another team I am sure that it will not cross the Super Eight Stage. Person to look out for - Sanath Jayasuria & Tom Moody
Prediction - Super Eight

WestIndies - With a lot of pitches relaid, I don't see any big advantage for the home team. I am sure they won't cross the Super Eight Stage. But Lara may cause a surprise in one or two matches.
Prediction - Super Eight

New Zealand - Ah! Now the predictions are becoming difficult. It is really a tough thing to predict who will go among the New Zealand/England/Australia trio for the semi-finals. My prediction - New Zealand will not cross the Super-Eight. The only thing that is hindering me to say this confidently is Shane Bond. Surely watch out for him. [If Bond does not face any injuries in the world cup, the master will take his team to semifinals]. Anyway, My Dark Horse for the ICC World Cup 2007 - New Zealand.
Prediction - 50.5% - Super Eight, 29.5% - Semifinalist, 20% - Finalist

Australia - I am sure they wont reach the finals this time around. My prediction is not based on the last 5 continuous losses recently.[though it got strengthened by it & its image of invincibility is gone]. Just the fact that Pointing wants Symonds in the world cup team even if he can play only in the latter stages is enough for me to know their true strength. [Please remember how France badly wanted Zidane in FIFA world cup 2002]. Player to watch out for - Ponting
Prediction - 40% - Super Eight, 60% - Semifinalist

England - I am sure England will reach the semi-finals, not a level less and not a level more. Watch for the big man with a smile.
Prediction - Semifinalist

South Africa - After missing the finals for 3 world cups(they deserved it), I am sure that this time around the No:1 team is a 100% sure finalist. Player to watch out for - Ntini
Prediction - Finalist

India - My prediction is that it would reach the finals. But it may also be the one that may lose out in the semi-finals. It depends largely on that day's conditions & pitch. One of my basic gut feeling is that world cup '07 is about individual brilliance & talent. That gives India an edge because of the potential it possess.
Player to watch out for - Sourabh Ganguly
Prediction - Finalist - 90% & Semi-finalist - 10%

A Summary:
Finals - India vs South Africa
Semifinals - India Vs England & South Africa Vs Australia/NewZealand

Winner - India - 49.00005% South Africa - 49% & New Zealand - 0.99995%