Why Droid X?

Here are some reasons why I like the Droid X :

1. It runs Android
   
   
   
   • The best distro of embedded Linux and micro Java.
   
   
   • Open source - thousands of eyeballs can rip the code apart, find bugs, find security holes and criticize Google's implementation.
   
   
   • Open platform - I can run whatever the hell I want to run as long as it can be interpreted on the Dalvik VM.
   
   
   • Open marketplace - I can download from wherever I want and even setup my own marketplace.
   
   
   • Open development - I can develop in any language I want and use any IDE I want without selling my soul to some restrictive developer agreement.
   
   
   
   


2. It is from Google, Motorola and Verizon bringing in the best from all these three companies.
   
   
   
   • High quality software from some of the best developers on the planet.
   
   
   • Superior hardware from an experienced and reliable hardware manufacturer.
   
   
   • Awesome service from the best carrier in the US.
   
   


3. Super size screen that makes for a great reading and browsing experience.


4. Excellent voice-enabled navigation software


5. Great battery life

I am sure I am forgetting a lot of other nice features. But, the above are good enough reasons to like the Droid X.

My 80/20 efforts and, Google Code and Google Labs!

For a long time now, I have been trying to convince my management to implement an 80/20 work schedule where everyone would be forced to do something other than their day job for 20% of their time. Unfortunately, they don't seem to have the courage to implement it.

I have however gone ahead and implemented it with the teams that I manage. Unfortunately, enforcing the 80/20 and operating within an organization that believes in 120/-20 rule ( i.e. work overtime and regress your brain) is a difficult task. I am hoping that something spectacular will come out of the 20% time I have given my team and I will be able to use that to convince my management about the 80/20 rule.

In the meanwhile, all I can do is envy Google and ogle at its Google Code and Google Labs portfolios.

Saint Warrent Buffett and Saint Bill Gates

As many of you may already Warren Buffett and Bill Gates are the world's biggest philanthropists having already pledged a huge percentage of their personal wealths to charity. Buffett has pledged (download pdf version of his pledge here) more than 99% of his personal wealth. Now, they are trying to convince the other billionaires of the world to do their share of charity.
Buffet, Gates and Gates in the $600 Billion Challenge
Buffett and Gates are, in my opinion, the greatest saints of the mordern era and the greatest humanitarians of all time. To understand why their humanitarianism is so great, we need to just look at the scale of their charitable work and our own contributions to charity. Even though our personal income levels keep rising every year, the percentage of our charity does not go up proportionately. The percentage probably stays the same, if not drops lower. As you get richer, older and more comfortable, it gets harder to deprive yourself and give more.
Long live Buffett and Gates.