When I joined Motorola some years ago, it was one company. After a few years, Motorola got split up into two companies, Motorola Mobility, which became the handsets business and Motorola Solutions, which was primarily the networks and push-to-talk business. I became part of Motorola Solutions after that split.
A few years later, Motorola Mobility got bought over by Google. And a part of the Motorola Solutions business by Nokia-Siemens Networks (NSN). That brought an end to an 80 year old company called Motorola; though Motorola Solutions is still around carrying the legacy of Motorola, albeit only a small piece of the giant it once was. For many of the old-timers, it was a defining moment.
Well, I became part of the NSN group after that (A joint partnership between Nokia and Siemens). Later this year, Siemens pulled out of this partnership and we became Nokia Solutions and Networks (still retaining the name NSN!).
And now, just a few weeks ago, Microsoft has bought over Nokia itself. With it, another company, with almost a 150 year old history has come to an end. And I am sure that very many emotions were at play on the minds and hearts of those who had been associated with it.
So I was wondering for a while if we will soon be called MSN (though I had a sneaky feeling I had heard that name somewhere before!). But that was not the case and our company continues to function as NSN, a Nokia company.
But imagine I am introducing myself and I am asked where I worked. Earlier it was simple. I would simply say, “I work for Motorola”. After a few years, “I work for Motorola Solutions”. Now here comes the confusion. People unfamiliar with the Motorola brand would automatically associate it with mobile phones, and I would have to patiently explain the difference between the network world and the handset world. And then after a few years I said, “I work for NSN..it stands for Nokia-Siemens Networks, which recently acquired the networks divisions of Motorola Solutions”. So they would say, “Ah, so Motorola exists no more?”, and I would say, “It does, Motorola Solutions is still around..”. Confusion!
Thankfully, the name NSN qualified what world I worked in, but many would still continue saying I work in “Nokia” (the devices company), which wasn’t true!
From this year I have been saying, “I work for Nokia-Solutions and Networks”. And now when I say this, they would say, “But didn’t Nokia get bought over by Microsoft” (someone’s reading up the papers!)”. I would go on to explain that Nokia (the handsets company) is bought over. The Nokia legacy still lives on, albeit in a smaller form, as NSN.
By the way, all this was only what I have seen happening. I have not gone into the legacies of these companies, or the numerous companies that were an offshoot from them, in previous years! But, having seen some of the action, I have now developed this ability to roll-off words like mergers and acquisitions and consolidation in the telecom world etc, quite adroitly!
In any case, what is quite apparent is that many of the earlier so called “software-only” companies are getting into the mobile eco-system and mobile computing/devices business.
I am sure many others might have witnessed something similar elsewhere! Do share your thoughts.
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Of painted caves and evolution...!
Thinking back upon civilization, man and evolution, the entire gamut of human and other life, leaves a sense of awe and at some level, even a suspension of belief in the grandeur of creation. For it all begets the question of time and its beginning. It begets questions on how we came to be, what we came to be and at some level, why we came to be! If we give that a skip, it still stares at you and forces you to step back, pause and wonder. For the questions are all around, in every little thing out there in nature, and possibly in every act of ours.
So, what is making me write about this? Well, I have been reading this book called "Secrets of the Past". Its a seriously old publication (somewhere from the 50's) from the Reader's Digest editors. It takes you through a tour from the beginning of time, at the creation of the earth and the stars, the awesome forces that makes up the universe including white-dwarfs and black holes and many such others. The sheer numbers, when it describes distances, temperatures and forces, is fathomless.
It then starts the journey of creation on earth, the tectonic plate’s shifts, the different eras, the first signs of life, the first great wild animals and life. It goes on to the beginning of the appearance of many, many millennia ago, of prehistoric man (prehistoric, because that’s the time when history was not written/recorded, but we are beginning to understand it from facts gathered through research and study of fossils and archaeology and whatever remains of our own earliest forms, from what they left in their wake) It takes you through this roller-coaster ride, where man, the hunter-gatherer, the fellow who lived in trees, finally, with the passing of aeons and aeons of years, begins to climb down those trees, begins to scan the vastness of the lands, learns, understands and survives, ever so slowly, through many more millennia's. It seizes your imagination, thinking of the enormity of our evolution!
It also talks of our far off ancestors, leaving a trail of their occupations, embedded in the ages long gone by, and in many different places too, scattered all over the world. The way they lived, what they ate, how they survived, what kept them going are the very many things, that makes the book extremely interesting to read. Oh, and so far, it’s just a quarter of the book!
Or of course, if you choose not to let your mind do the imagining, you can tune into National Geographic on tv :) but hey, it doesn’t even come close!
In any case, it probably isn’t just this book, but others too which might be equally interesting, if you like that kind of stuff...now let’s see, where was I, ah..the painted caves of the Tassili in the Sahara.. :)
Chao!
So, what is making me write about this? Well, I have been reading this book called "Secrets of the Past". Its a seriously old publication (somewhere from the 50's) from the Reader's Digest editors. It takes you through a tour from the beginning of time, at the creation of the earth and the stars, the awesome forces that makes up the universe including white-dwarfs and black holes and many such others. The sheer numbers, when it describes distances, temperatures and forces, is fathomless.
It then starts the journey of creation on earth, the tectonic plate’s shifts, the different eras, the first signs of life, the first great wild animals and life. It goes on to the beginning of the appearance of many, many millennia ago, of prehistoric man (prehistoric, because that’s the time when history was not written/recorded, but we are beginning to understand it from facts gathered through research and study of fossils and archaeology and whatever remains of our own earliest forms, from what they left in their wake) It takes you through this roller-coaster ride, where man, the hunter-gatherer, the fellow who lived in trees, finally, with the passing of aeons and aeons of years, begins to climb down those trees, begins to scan the vastness of the lands, learns, understands and survives, ever so slowly, through many more millennia's. It seizes your imagination, thinking of the enormity of our evolution!
It also talks of our far off ancestors, leaving a trail of their occupations, embedded in the ages long gone by, and in many different places too, scattered all over the world. The way they lived, what they ate, how they survived, what kept them going are the very many things, that makes the book extremely interesting to read. Oh, and so far, it’s just a quarter of the book!
Or of course, if you choose not to let your mind do the imagining, you can tune into National Geographic on tv :) but hey, it doesn’t even come close!
In any case, it probably isn’t just this book, but others too which might be equally interesting, if you like that kind of stuff...now let’s see, where was I, ah..the painted caves of the Tassili in the Sahara.. :)
Chao!
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Como estas?!
Esta es un blog en español. Yo amor español. Yo estoy el aprendizaje español en la clase en el fin de semana. Yo voy de clase en y aprender muchos la palabra. Y yo soy intentando a usar estas aqui! Yo poder preguntar tu nombre, de donde viva, y tu numero de mobil! Asi, preguntar mi!!
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Hola..!
Its been a while since I posted. Interestingly, my inactivity has coincided with my changing teams at the workplace! Hmm, that's a coincidence..but I am glad I am getting to post something to get me started this year..
My to-do list has been ever increasing, now going up every day! I need to get into the groove and get those tick marks on them :) Maybe its the weather that is making me dull..it has never been this hot! And apparently its going to touch the 40's in a few weeks. Sigh..
Anyway, talking about to-do lists, I think the ultimate to-do list is the one created by John Goddard. You might have heard of him many times, as he is a well known speaker, motivator and coach. Apart from the fact that he has achieved the most daring, the most adventurous and the most sought-after goals that any of us can think of. I had read about him while in school, in one of the chicken-soup series of books, and since then he is like the macho-man when it comes to to-do's :)
Here is his much talked about "life-list" of 127 things to-do. And he has achieved most of them..oh and one more thing, he wrote down this list when he was 15 years old!
Explore:
1. Nile River
2. Amazon River
3. Congo River
4. Colorado
5. Yangtze River, China
6. Niger River
7. Orinoco River, Venezuela
8. Rio Coco, Nicaragua
9. The Congo
10. New Guinea
11. Brazil
12. Borneo
13. The Sudan (Nearly buried alive in a sandstorm)
Study Tribal Cultures in:
14. Australia
15. Kenya
16. The Philippines
17. Tanganyika (Now Tanzania)
18. Ethiopia
19. Nigeria
20. Alaska
Climb:
21. Mount Everest
22. Mount Aroncagua, Argentina
23. Mount McKinley
24. Mount Huascaran, Peru
25. Mount Kilimanjaro
26. Mount Aratat, Turkey
27. Mount Kenya
28. Mount Cook, New Zealand
29. Mount Popocatepetl, Mexico
30. The Matterhorn
31. Mount Rainier
32. Mount Fugi
33. Mount Vesuvius
34. Mount Bromo, Java
35. Grand Tetons
36. Mount Baldy, California
37. Carry out careers in medicine and exploration
38. Visited every country in the world (visited 122 already).
39. Study Navaho and Hopi cultures
40. Learn to fly a plane
41. Ride horse in Rose Parade
Photograph:
42. Iguacu Falls, Brazil-Argentine border
43. Victoria Falls
44. Sutherland Falls, New Zealand
45. Yosemite Falls
46. Niagara Falls
47. Retrace the travels of Marco Polo and Alexander the Great
Explore underwater:
48. Coral reefs of Florida
49. Great Barrier Reef, Australia
50. Red Sea
51. Figi Islands
52. The Bahamas
53. Explore Okefenokee Swamp and The Everglades
Visit:
54. North and South Poles
55. Great Wall of China
56. Panama and Suez Canals
57. Easter Island
58. The Galapagos Islands
59. Vatican City (saw the Pope)
60. The Taj Mahal
61. The Eiffel Tower
62. The Blue Grotto
63. The Tower of London
64. The Leaning Tower of Pisa
65. The Sacred Well of Chichen-Itza, Mexico
66. Climb Ayers Rock in Australia
67. Follow River Jordan from Sea of Galilee to Dead Sea
Swim in:
68. Lake Victoria
69. Lake Superior
70. Lake Tanganyika
71. Lake Titicaca
72. Lake Nicaragua
Accomplish:
73. Become an Eagle Scout
74. Dive in a submarine
75. Land and take off from an aircraft carrier
76. Fly in a blimp, hot air balloon and glider
77. Ride an elephant, camel, ostrich and bronco
78. Skin dive to 40 feet and hold breath two and a half minutes underwater
79. Catch a ten pound lobster and a ten inch abalone
80. Play flute and violin
81. Type 50 words a minute
82. Make a parachute jump
83. Learn water and snow skiing
84. Go on a church mission
85. Follow the John Muir Trail
86. Study native medicines and bring back useful ones
87. Bag camera trophies of elephant, lion, rhino, cheetah, cape buffalo and whale
88. Learn to fence
89. Learn jujitsu
90. Teach a college course
91. Watch a cremation ceremony in Bali
92. Explore depths of the sea
93. Appear in a Tarzan movie
94. Own a horse, chimpanzee, cheetah, ocelot and coyote
95. Become a ham radio operator
96. Build own telescope
97. Write a book on the Nile expedition
98. Publish and article in National Geographic magazine
99. High jump five feet
100. Broad jump fifteen feet
101. Run a mile in five minutes
102. Weigh 175 pounds stripped (still does)
103. Perform 200 sit-ups and 20 pull-ups
104. Learn French, Spanish and Arabic
105. Study dragon lizards on Komodo Island
106. Visit birthplace of Grandfather Sorenson in Denmark
107. Visit birthplace of Grandfather Goddard in England
108. Ship aboard a freighter as a seaman
109. Read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica (Has read extensive parts in each of the 24
volumes)
110. Read the Bible from cover to cover
111. Read the works of Shakespeare, Plato, Aristotle, Dickens, Thoreau, Poe, Rousseau,
Bacon, Hemmingway, Twain, Burroughs, Conrad, Talmage, Tolstoy, Longfellow,
Keats, Whittier and Emerson (not every work of each)
112. Become familiar with the compositions of Bach, Beethoven, Debussy, Ibert,
Mendelssohn, Lalo, Rimsky-Korsakov, Respighi, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky,
Toch, Tchaikovsky, Verdi
113. Become proficient in the use of a plane, motorcycle, tractor, surfboard, rifle, pistol,
canoe, microscope, football, basketball, bow and arrow, lariat and boomerang
114. Compose music
115. Play Clair de Lune on the piano
116. Watch fire-walking ceremony (in Bali and Surinam)
117. Milk a poisonous snake
118. Light a match with a .22 rifle
119. Visit a movie studio
120. Climb Great Pyramid of Cheops (Egypt)
121. Become a member of the Explorers’ Club and the Adventures’ Club
122. Learn to play polo
123. Travel through the Grand Canyon on foot and by boat
124. Circumnavigate the globe (four times)
125. Visit the moon
126. Marry and have children (2 sons, 4 daughters)*
127. Live to see the 21st century
Woah...right?! Well it is indeed an amazing list and every-time I look at it, it seems even more incredible, and yet he has achieved almost all of them.
Which brings me to share the rule that seems to work. That "anything-written-gets-done". Of-course you need to work on it, but it gives you a strong base to work from. I mean how else can we explain the passion that is needed to achieve something like the above list. Any ideas?
There is a thought-provoking poem and something we can all probably relate to at some point in time. This was by Napoleon Hill in "Think and Grow Rich":
"I bargained with Life for a penny,
And Life would pay no more,
However I begged at evening
When I counted my scanty store.
For Life is a just employer,
He gives you what you ask,
But once you have set the wages,
Why, you must bear the task.
I worked for a menial's hire,
Only to learn, dismayed,
That any wage I had asked of Life,
Life would have willingly paid."
Henry Ford once said, "One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his greatest surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn’t".
What are your thoughts?
My to-do list has been ever increasing, now going up every day! I need to get into the groove and get those tick marks on them :) Maybe its the weather that is making me dull..it has never been this hot! And apparently its going to touch the 40's in a few weeks. Sigh..
Anyway, talking about to-do lists, I think the ultimate to-do list is the one created by John Goddard. You might have heard of him many times, as he is a well known speaker, motivator and coach. Apart from the fact that he has achieved the most daring, the most adventurous and the most sought-after goals that any of us can think of. I had read about him while in school, in one of the chicken-soup series of books, and since then he is like the macho-man when it comes to to-do's :)
Here is his much talked about "life-list" of 127 things to-do. And he has achieved most of them..oh and one more thing, he wrote down this list when he was 15 years old!
Explore:
1. Nile River
2. Amazon River
3. Congo River
4. Colorado
5. Yangtze River, China
6. Niger River
7. Orinoco River, Venezuela
8. Rio Coco, Nicaragua
9. The Congo
10. New Guinea
11. Brazil
12. Borneo
13. The Sudan (Nearly buried alive in a sandstorm)
Study Tribal Cultures in:
14. Australia
15. Kenya
16. The Philippines
17. Tanganyika (Now Tanzania)
18. Ethiopia
19. Nigeria
20. Alaska
Climb:
21. Mount Everest
22. Mount Aroncagua, Argentina
23. Mount McKinley
24. Mount Huascaran, Peru
25. Mount Kilimanjaro
26. Mount Aratat, Turkey
27. Mount Kenya
28. Mount Cook, New Zealand
29. Mount Popocatepetl, Mexico
30. The Matterhorn
31. Mount Rainier
32. Mount Fugi
33. Mount Vesuvius
34. Mount Bromo, Java
35. Grand Tetons
36. Mount Baldy, California
37. Carry out careers in medicine and exploration
38. Visited every country in the world (visited 122 already).
39. Study Navaho and Hopi cultures
40. Learn to fly a plane
41. Ride horse in Rose Parade
Photograph:
42. Iguacu Falls, Brazil-Argentine border
43. Victoria Falls
44. Sutherland Falls, New Zealand
45. Yosemite Falls
46. Niagara Falls
47. Retrace the travels of Marco Polo and Alexander the Great
Explore underwater:
48. Coral reefs of Florida
49. Great Barrier Reef, Australia
50. Red Sea
51. Figi Islands
52. The Bahamas
53. Explore Okefenokee Swamp and The Everglades
Visit:
54. North and South Poles
55. Great Wall of China
56. Panama and Suez Canals
57. Easter Island
58. The Galapagos Islands
59. Vatican City (saw the Pope)
60. The Taj Mahal
61. The Eiffel Tower
62. The Blue Grotto
63. The Tower of London
64. The Leaning Tower of Pisa
65. The Sacred Well of Chichen-Itza, Mexico
66. Climb Ayers Rock in Australia
67. Follow River Jordan from Sea of Galilee to Dead Sea
Swim in:
68. Lake Victoria
69. Lake Superior
70. Lake Tanganyika
71. Lake Titicaca
72. Lake Nicaragua
Accomplish:
73. Become an Eagle Scout
74. Dive in a submarine
75. Land and take off from an aircraft carrier
76. Fly in a blimp, hot air balloon and glider
77. Ride an elephant, camel, ostrich and bronco
78. Skin dive to 40 feet and hold breath two and a half minutes underwater
79. Catch a ten pound lobster and a ten inch abalone
80. Play flute and violin
81. Type 50 words a minute
82. Make a parachute jump
83. Learn water and snow skiing
84. Go on a church mission
85. Follow the John Muir Trail
86. Study native medicines and bring back useful ones
87. Bag camera trophies of elephant, lion, rhino, cheetah, cape buffalo and whale
88. Learn to fence
89. Learn jujitsu
90. Teach a college course
91. Watch a cremation ceremony in Bali
92. Explore depths of the sea
93. Appear in a Tarzan movie
94. Own a horse, chimpanzee, cheetah, ocelot and coyote
95. Become a ham radio operator
96. Build own telescope
97. Write a book on the Nile expedition
98. Publish and article in National Geographic magazine
99. High jump five feet
100. Broad jump fifteen feet
101. Run a mile in five minutes
102. Weigh 175 pounds stripped (still does)
103. Perform 200 sit-ups and 20 pull-ups
104. Learn French, Spanish and Arabic
105. Study dragon lizards on Komodo Island
106. Visit birthplace of Grandfather Sorenson in Denmark
107. Visit birthplace of Grandfather Goddard in England
108. Ship aboard a freighter as a seaman
109. Read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica (Has read extensive parts in each of the 24
volumes)
110. Read the Bible from cover to cover
111. Read the works of Shakespeare, Plato, Aristotle, Dickens, Thoreau, Poe, Rousseau,
Bacon, Hemmingway, Twain, Burroughs, Conrad, Talmage, Tolstoy, Longfellow,
Keats, Whittier and Emerson (not every work of each)
112. Become familiar with the compositions of Bach, Beethoven, Debussy, Ibert,
Mendelssohn, Lalo, Rimsky-Korsakov, Respighi, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky,
Toch, Tchaikovsky, Verdi
113. Become proficient in the use of a plane, motorcycle, tractor, surfboard, rifle, pistol,
canoe, microscope, football, basketball, bow and arrow, lariat and boomerang
114. Compose music
115. Play Clair de Lune on the piano
116. Watch fire-walking ceremony (in Bali and Surinam)
117. Milk a poisonous snake
118. Light a match with a .22 rifle
119. Visit a movie studio
120. Climb Great Pyramid of Cheops (Egypt)
121. Become a member of the Explorers’ Club and the Adventures’ Club
122. Learn to play polo
123. Travel through the Grand Canyon on foot and by boat
124. Circumnavigate the globe (four times)
125. Visit the moon
126. Marry and have children (2 sons, 4 daughters)*
127. Live to see the 21st century
Woah...right?! Well it is indeed an amazing list and every-time I look at it, it seems even more incredible, and yet he has achieved almost all of them.
Which brings me to share the rule that seems to work. That "anything-written-gets-done". Of-course you need to work on it, but it gives you a strong base to work from. I mean how else can we explain the passion that is needed to achieve something like the above list. Any ideas?
There is a thought-provoking poem and something we can all probably relate to at some point in time. This was by Napoleon Hill in "Think and Grow Rich":
"I bargained with Life for a penny,
And Life would pay no more,
However I begged at evening
When I counted my scanty store.
For Life is a just employer,
He gives you what you ask,
But once you have set the wages,
Why, you must bear the task.
I worked for a menial's hire,
Only to learn, dismayed,
That any wage I had asked of Life,
Life would have willingly paid."
Henry Ford once said, "One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his greatest surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn’t".
What are your thoughts?
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