Web 2.0 and New Yahoo!

Internet has revolutionised everything! How many times have you heard that phrase? By now surely a million times and you will hear more of it as we enter Web 2.0 era. Because it is true!

What is Web 2.0?

Simply put Web 2.0 is the next generation Web applications. You can look at the links (del.icio.us and Yahoo! mail) and flip through the pages in detail to know more about Web 2.0. So now with the new version Yahoo! gives me an option to right click in browser window and search through Yahoo! Search engine. Google does one bit better through Google Desktop by searching within my computer, out in the web and maintaining a record through personal search. Yet one person is still not seen. Believe me, he has aces up his sleeve. And that would be Mr. Bill Gates!

Microsoft Advantage

One wonders what he is upto these days? Where are his best programmers? What products is he thinking of through his .Net platform? How do they compare with Web 2.0? Believe me if that person is worth the operating system I am using, he is making MS Office on Web 2.0! Also I believe he will surely come up with the new innovations for browser, search engine, OS that will tightly integrate web and computer!

Web 2.0 changes the way we communicate

With the advent of the internet the modes of communication has changed considerably. We now no longer believe in snail mail, we look at computer screens more than we look at A4 sized papers, we spend as much time looking at websites as we do looking at newspapers or TV, our first stop for information is almost always the web. Yet all this has not been incorporated in our habits. One needs to question why I have to read reams and reams of paper electronically published. The website interfaces need overhauling to suit the new lifestyle. Web 2.0 will make that easier. Yahoo Mail looks like Outlook, soon word processors and other programs will be available in similar formats and then we will be totally integrated.

To conclude

I remember looking at a stand-alone computer with wonder and amazement, with even more wonder and amazement I looked at LAN in my college lab, still amazing wonder was when I signed up for email and chat program and made friends across the globe. Today I am looking at Web 2.0 with even more wonder and amazement! Now I am going to buy Microsoft shares! I welcome myself to the next tech boom!

Between Dam and Development

The Narmada Bacho Andolan (Save Narmada) has been on for a very long time. The foundation stone of the dam was laid by Nehru! The protests are from two sides, one side calls themselves pro-development and the other pro-rehabilitation.

Debate with one side!

Now the ridiculous part is that the reality is with both. Any development means that few citizens will be affected. However, it is definately the responsibility of the government to make sure each of these citizens are adequately compensated. Any person who demands adequate compensation cannot be wrong. What I feel is the point of debate is if the compensation is adequate or not.

How are the people compensated?

The Land Acquisition Act mentions about the compensation having two elements. First is the market price of the land and second is an allowance for compulsary nature of acquisition. There are also provision to allocate land in proportional terms. Typically what happens is governments try to suppress the "market price of acquired land" and inflate the "market price of allocated land". Thus for a 100 unit land before acquisition roughly equates to 20~40 units of new allocated land. Further this new land is taken from some other people and a lower amount is allocated to them. Please note that this is compulsory in nature and the farmer or land owner does not have any option to reject the offer.

Imagine tomorrow someone compulsarily takes up your 4 Bedroom penthouse and allocates you a 1 bedroom apartment across the street with a note that the price of new house is same as your penthouse because the development (like new road, electricity and water etc) that they hope to undertake in your land!

Further try and get the compensation through the courts and you will end up spending more than 30 years trying to get a reasonable deal for your land. Even at the end of 30 years all they get is a "simple interest" on their asset prices. They are not even given a standard recurring deposit interest rate! Generations after generations are forced into poverty despite their lands being very valuable! Is it fair is my question?

What is adequate compensation?

Beyond the amounts, it is the timing of the compensation that is critical. In this sense the NBA is critical. First compensation then development must be the mantra. It is only because of the stopping of the dam that the rehabilitation work is in focus. Had the dam been completed the matter would have gone out of public interest.

Medha Patkar is wrong in fasting!

Medha Patkar leads the protest through non-violent means by Fasting like Gandhi. Someone should let her know that no amount of fasting will help the NBA cause. This war has to be waged on basis of information. In information world information is the weapon.

Now I am wondering what would be possible tactics Medha Patkar can use in this war. Any suggestions?