Musings on the Human Condition

A colleague recently made me aware of Time's new list of 50 Best iPhone Apps 2012 . There's a lot of fluff on this list from Time magazine. But here are some of the apps from this list that I actually use and recommend. ShopSavvy (better than RedLaser). To discover, for example, that most groceries at Target are actually very competitively priced. Dragon (I find the classic version, minus the Go!, to be more useful). To dictate lengthy responses to emails while driving. Required very occasionally, but when you need it you really need it, for example as you're pulling into the parking lot to let someone who is in a meeting and can't take a phone call know that you need them to fetch a projector for the very next meeting. Mildly not useful if you have to correct the transcription but works well once you get used to speaking clearly. Side benefit: helps you learn to speak clearly! GasBuddy. Good for that initial "wow" discovery that some gas station...

Use this cool tip to capture your iPhone screen as an image. Useful for documenting a setting you want to save or for demoing how an app works.

Kailash Kher, performing live in Boston, November 13, 2009. Copyright Puneet Singh Lamba. I've been a fan on Kailash Kher ever since he came into limelight with the outstanding Allah Ke Bande (2002). After his appearance as a judge on Zee TV's SaReGaMaPa 2011, I also became a fan of his forthright personality and his shudh/pure Hindi. I had the pleasure of seeing this amazing singer perform live in Boston on November 13, 2009 at the historic Somerville Theatre . It was an especially enjoyable show for me, given Karsh Kale 's surprise guest appearance on drums. Kailash Kher's long-awaited new album, Rangeele , is a more sober offering relative to his previous works. Understandably so, now that he is established, married, and a father. The album contains eleven delicious ballads, which I've reviewed below. This is the kind of CD we all long for, one that you can leave on continuous play and let it loop as it quietly seeps into your consciousness. 1. Range...

There aren't a lot of books on enterprise architecture , never mind good books. The Art of Enterprise Information Architecture  by Godinez et al (IBM Press, 2010) fills a big void . I recommend the book for an excellent overview of enterprise architecture (EA) and reference architecture (RA), followed by a detailed discussion on Enterprise Information Architecture (EIA) and an EIA RA. The authors define architecture as well as EA. They provide an overview of EA as well as RA, noting that there are various elements of an architecture including business architecture, application architecture, security architecture, and, of course, information architecture (IA) . After the introductory chapters, the book launches into a detailed discussion on IA, EIA, and a RA for EIA. EIA is explored in terms of multiple views (conceptual, logical) and models (component, operational). As the authors explain, the key that explains the "enterprise" in an EA is the manner in which an E...

A fascinating debate , with a well-rounded panel, on India's superpower status, aspirations and potential. The panel: Manish Tewari (politician), Anil Dharker (columnist), Gayatri Shah (journalist), Rizvi Syed (poet), Vimlendu Jha (environmentalist), Neera Chandhoke (academician), Y P Singh (police).

Just months after joining Google, Java founder James Gosling has moved on to a start-up working on oceanic robotics.

1. A flashlight. This is important. If you don't have a flashlight, buy an iPhone and install the flashlight app. 2. A bottle of scotch. If you don't have a bottle of scotch, you're SOL.