Beanz Meanderings 2007 (Found More!)

October 19, 2007

A friend recently asked:

Do you think buying an iPhone in Pakistan is a good idea? I’ve asked a couple of people but they’re the types who buy anything new as soon as it’s on the shelves. Remembered you are an Apple person, would like your opinion!

My response: 

It is absolutely not a good idea to buy an iPhone right now. When it comes to software, I am an early adopter but experience has shown that it’s best to wait for second or third generation Apple hardware. The iPhone is not “officially” available in Pakistan so support and warranties will be problematic. It’s hacked to work with local telcos so every software update released by Apple will break the unlocks - as did iPhone software update v 1.1.1. Some core features such as Visual Voicemail do not work at all as they are carrier dependent.

I was at Macworld in January and saw Steve Jobs live - unveiling the beauty that is the iPhone. Got to play with it and it was stunning. Having said that, I would wait for at least the next major release of the product before plonking down so much cash. In February, Apple will release a Software Developer Kit for third party developers to write apps for the iPhone - that’s when it’s going to hit the high notes. The guys who write apps for Macs make the platform truly special - that’s what’s going to happen on the iPhone March 08 onwards. It’ll blow everything else out the window. It already does - sort of - but our indie Mac boys will change the mobile computing world. 

— sharing this as it may be useful to others considering getting an iPhone in Pakistan — 

October 20, 2007

Apple will start shipping Leopard on the 26th of October 2007. I am in the throes of a feverish frenzy and want my copy ASAP.

This is a shout-out to anyone who is leaving the US on the 27th and arriving in Karachi on the 28/29th. Amazon has dropped the price to US$ 109 and is accepting pre-orders. I’ll order via Amazon, the DVD will be delivered to you, and all you need to do is bring it along.

2 free coffees at T2F for anyone who is ready, willing, and able to do the job!

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After bitching endlessly about Facebook, it’s about time I give credit where it’s due. Interface and interaction design issues aside, the technology foundation for this site is unbelievably solid. Like, WOW. I don’t know if the code is poetic and beautiful, but damn, it works. In August, a misconfigured server over at Facebook HQ exposed the homepage code, rendering it as text. Didn’t see it and the Facebook Secrets Blogger site has been yanked by Google. Apparently, those who saw it thought the code was pretty darn good. 

Crack coders are sexy. 

Considering that billions of people use Facebook every minute of every day for stuff ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous, it’s truly remarkable that the site does not burst at the seams. The Facebook Platform enables a gazillion add-ons and the fact that people can add and remove these mini applications ad nauseam, bears further testimony to the site’s resilience. And yes, I forgot, people also “use” these apps. Super load balancing. 

CSS is also really, really well implemented.

And thank you for all the Safari testing.

October 23, 2007

In January 2007, when Steve Jobs announced that Apple was dropping “Computer” from its name, I felt - well, strange. Sitting in Moscone West, San Francisco with 3,999 people I didn’t know, I wanted to hold someone’s hand - someone who would understand, without the need for words. 

As the famed Reality Distortion Field started wearing off, I started feeling resentful. No new Macs, no Leopard, no software. Sure, we waited 3 years for the iPhone - and there it was - but, but, but Apple is a computer company. Well, WAS. 

And so, with the iPhone announcement, Apple got even cooler than before and iPod sales reached an all-time high and blah blah blah, and then one day, Steve said we couldn’t get Leopard on time because everyone in software was busy with iPhone. WTF? When newbies say, “Oh, Apple - the company that makes iPods”, I shoot them in cold blood - in my head.

Apple [Computer] Inc. is our company. We made it live when it was oozing red ink all over the planet. We bought Macs when they were not “hip”. We kept the faith - against all oddds - and even prayed in 1997 when Wired admonished us to. I’m happy about the iPods and the iPhone, really I am. BUT, the real coolness is at the heart of the OS and the mad, crazy dream - the vision that all the other “crazy ones” bought into. You know who you are. 

Enough about unlocked phones and ring tones. 

This is the real news (Oct 22 2007)

In the fourth quarter, Apple shipped 2,164,000 Macs, representing 34% growth over the year-ago quarter and exceeding the previous quarterly record for Mac shipments by 400,000.

Cupertino: YOU ROCK!

:-)

October 29, 2007

Visit "Reclaim Karachi Website" for information about a citizen-led campaign to take back our city. 

Compelling Conversations: Reporting from the Front Lines of Terror

Join us at T2F this Thursday to hear a young reporter’s experiences of Oct 18th 2007. Urooj Zia will talk about the “job” of reporting, political rallies, the “gullible” masses, and the fact that we have nothing to lose but our chains.

Date: Thursday, 1st November 2007
Time: 7:00 pm
Minimum Donation: Whatever you like

Venue: The Second Floor
6-C, Prime Point Building, Phase 7, Khayaban-e-Ittehad, DHA, Karachi
Phone: 538-9273 | 0300-823-0276 | info@t2f.biz

Seats are limited and will be available on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. No reservations.

Comment found: 

1. i hope the campaign succeeds in stimulating further action of this sort. i think the only way the augean stable that is karachi can be cleaned is by a torrent of a river being ultimately formed, drop by drop, through the peaceful rejection of violence and terror and corruption and selfishness and self-service.

   Comment by kinkminos — October 30, 2007 @ 7:00 pm

*****

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!!!

Have just finished installing Leopard 

I have loads of first impressions but for now, an enormous shout-out to my friends, Farah and Omer for their unbelievable generosity and goodwill. You guys have no idea what this means to me. THANK YOU, Farah, for braving the wind, rain, and cold of New York, and THANK YOU, Omer, for the family pack license and for parting with that shiny, holographic, sexy box the day you received it. Altogether too many commas in that last sentence but damn, I’m twitching all over. 

Peace!
Visit "Reclaim Karachi"

November 5, 2007

November 23, 2007

I have never been so excited to sign a cheque than I was today. I paid off the final installment for my MacBook Pro and properly own it now. I got my first Mac in 1990 and to date, have never had the money to buy a computer outright. It’s always been a struggle involving loans and credit cards and endless pay-back plans. This time, owing to a quirk of fate, I was able to pay off the MacBook Pro loan in 4 months - the quickest turnaround time for ownership in 17 years. Thank you to everyone who has enabled me to have a Mac on my desk ever since I fell in love. You know who you are.

The Macs I’ve Owned Over the Years:

- Mac Plus
- Mac SE (Best Mac EVER)
- Mac IIvx (Worst Mac EVER)
- PowerBook G3
- iBook 12″
- PowerBook 12″
- PowerBook 15″
- MacBook Pro 15″ (Sexiest Mac EVER)

No matter what Steve says, I’ll always bleed in 6 colors 

November 30, 2007

i am tired.

tired of running
tired of the struggle
tired of arguing
tired of explaining
tired of the machinations of the rich
tired of the mumbo jumbo
tired of the greedy
tired of the bored
tired of the dumb
tired of the petty
tired of waiting for another day
tired of being polite
tired of corporate crime
tired of generals
tired of taxes
tired of banks
tired of coping
tired of the silence
tired of the battles
tired of the smug
tired of the manipulators
tired of being tired
tired of life

stop the world. i want to get off.

December 13, 2007

Abi remembered

11.04.1900 — 19.09.1963

There are so many things I remember about my father, Azhar Kidvai. His love of Books (English and Urdu), Music (from Western Classical to Indian Classical and Jazz), Films, Ghazals and Prose that he wrote. I keep thinking of the müshāerās which happened often and in which he recited. He had a wonderful voice and sang Western and Eastern songs, occasionally. 

When parodying his friends in Scotland — where he studied his medicine and practiced there for a few years — he spoke with a perfect Scottish accent.

My love for all of these came from him … sadly except his voice. I can't sing a note right, although everyone in my Dādhiyāl (paternal family) can ... including, of course, my father's young cousin, Talat Mahmood.

Ustad Asad Ali Khan of Agra believed that a bad voice can be trained in a few months. He asked my father to let me stay at his house for three months and I would be able to not just have a good voice but would sing like that gharana. That never happened, of course: I was his only child and he would not let me go away for so long.

In 1911 - on his 111th birthday - I was lying down on my beanbag, listening to Beniamino Gigli singing Tosti's Goodbye and thinking of some of the things about our lives. Sabeen Mahmud walked in and saw me with tears in my eyes (I hadn't even realized that had actually happened). She did not know that it was Abi's birthday so I was quite surprised that she asked me if it was my father that I was thinking of. Obviously I must have talked about him fairly often and said that I think of him a lot.

I read out a piece to her that he had translated

We then decided to watch a movie: Witness for the Prosecution. A film that had four of his favorite actors: Charles Laughton, Marlene Dietrich, Tyrone Power, Elsa Lanchester. And it was written by Agatha Christie, an author that he read and always thought she was absolutely fantastic.

While watching that film I mentioned to Sabeen that my father had said to me when we were watching a Disney film about Nature (at Rex Cinema that the Karachiites will remember) that I could see the regular film in 3D if I closed one eye. I thought it was a joke but he said I should close an eye and see it.

YAYYY!

It actually worked.

I often see regular films even

on my TV in 3D nowadays.

I always wondered why most people don't watch them like that. When I had my Cataract operation I watched several of the regular films in 3D :)

Recently I came across an old article on how people can see 3D by closing one eye and I thought I'd write about it in this post. Try it. You won't be disappointed.

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Miss you, Abi!