Friday, December 04, 2009

Technology should touch lives

This has been the base of my thought process for quiet sometime or since when I started to progress along this technology path. But my time seems to be running like trying to learn and follow some technology just for the sake of it. I still don't feel that I have created or even tried to create something that touches lives.

Thinking deep it feels as if how can that happen with software development, but I still feel that it can happen. When a mobile phone can reach even a kid at no time, why can't a technology, an invention with software reach people. We see a lot of softwares that are a part of life, but how many of then claim that, it has touched their lives.

All the terms, "technology", "architecture", "software development", "enterprise", "portal", "SaaS", etc.. all should be just shelved off! I had always liked the term KISS that we use in the design world. "Keep It Simple and Stupid"!. But designers and architects seems to have their own style or way of "KISS", like how our heroes have in movies and thus KISS is not effective.

We should have our end-users, in the front of our mind, to whom this piece of software that we design / architect or develop would be a part of their day to day life. The moment we drive all our decisions towards that goal, we can slowly start to realize how our decisions affect the lives of people. We should never be pre-occupied that we are giving them something much better than what they have now, but we should always be inclined to give them the BEST we can out of all our abilities. The moment we start working towards that goal, the reality comes very near and by the time we think of retiring from this career, we can see ourselves into lives of many.

Cheers

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

TEDxChennai - Talks that made me think...






I wanted to share the good talks in TEDxChennai that made me think of what I am doing now...

Overall experience of TEDx in Chennai was very good. We need a lot of these good events to come to our city and we get a real experience. There is/was a lot of difference in watching a TED video on your computer and being live there. The next TEDx event in Chennai would be happening on 10-10-10. Note this somewhere and get a ticket for yourself the next time.

TEDxChennai talks-

Kavita Baliga:- A very cute and beautiful little girl. But she is a TED fellow. All these she achieved in 4-5 years. What inspired her was her cancer! Yes, that is what made her think that she had nothing to leave her mark and then she fought her cancer, she is fine now and she now lives a life of thinking that today would be her last day. It was a very good talk that made me think in the lines of "what am I doing here?". I got remembered of my doctor saying it to me a few months ago and I can be active like this only till my 40, then I would be a full time patient. It is actually not the disease, but something that make you inactive, then you have a lot of things to do and you don't have time and energy. So, it high time that I stand up and write down things that I wished to do and start working on that. Thanks Kavita, you reminded me of a lot of things....

Satyabrata Dam:- A very simple person. He was seen wandering here and there during the session post lunch. He was like a TEDx Chennai volunteer. But he is a great and god blessed mountaineer. A really inspiring person. After climbing all the world's top peaks, he was there as if he just started. I was really moved by the way he presented himself. There was definitely a lot to learn from him. Passion is word that I have heard many say, but I saw a person who was living it just like that risking his life all the time. I am not able to express what Satya taught me that made and impact, but it is many, not one. He was always feeling proud of what he did and is doing, but he never presented like that. A great session to inspire to live a life with passion. Every time I wanted to do that, there are so many think that drift me away, but this till, I have decided to resist the drift and see whether I get over that. Thanks Satya, it was really an eye opener.

These were the two talks that inspired me a lot and made me think. But all the other talk were really good. It was interesting to know how people have/had shaped their lives and made a great life of it. They were all real people who can smile when death comes in front of them. They really have something very good to feel about of their life. All of us are also determined to live a life that, but how many of us do that?