Thoughtriders.com

Consider these.

• More than a hundred million people worldwide actively use Facebook and almost a half of this chunk logs in everyday.
• A significant percentage of users in age bracket of 11-25 who have a philanthropic bent use social networking to contribute to their favorite causes.
•  ‘Causes’ – a charity application on Facebook raised $300 000 bringing together more than 2.5 million users.

These figures might just give you a fair idea on how and where the new age philanthropist is acting as a Good Samaritan. More and more users today are logging on to the internet read as Social Networking Sites to satiate their charity urges.

Defying the clichéd mailers and telephone calling mode of advertising, they are increasingly sending pay per clicks, Join a cause and other such web based fund raising pitches to their own virtual networks.

Non Profit entities, big and new start ups alike are also gradually looking up to social fundraising through websites such as MySpace; Twitter; Facebook and social media sites like blogger; just give etc.

Though the rate of conversion of users to donors is slow, this ratio is rapidly gaining momentum. Facebook alone has a consistently growing number of charity/fund-raising applications looking to tap this universe of willing and impulsive donors. The donations may be considerably small in comparison to the fat cheques these non profits are accustomed to but taking into account the multi million user network, it does matter a lot.

To woo the bracket of users who spend a considerable time of their lives in the virtual world, the charitable institutions are tying up with ecommerce marketers like ebay. The users buy their favorite products online and of these collections a certain portion of the sum goes to the cause the user supports. From building their profiles on the networking sites to hiring application developers for a more interactive user experience, these non profit bodies are leaving no stone unturned.

And it seems all the effort is paying off well. The torch bearers of the social networking age are coming up with newer ideas to capitalize on the enormous power of social networking. Yahoo, for instance has launched a Charity Badge is association with ‘Network for good’ - a non profit – for users to put up on their websites, blogs and personal profiles on their network pages. Facebook has a multitude of charity applications like Good Samaritan, iRipple, Good Search, Social Vibe among others. MySpace too has come with the ides of widgets that are linked to the charity you believe in and desire to promote among you friends, their network and their friends and so on.

If you go by numbers, there cannot be a definitive arrangement that presents the actual trend of charity going hand in hand with social networking. These figures are changing by the minute as the number of users accessing and using these sites is doubling every day. And with them, those who sustain on this are also growing.

Now you can sit in a small farm in the country side of England and share your concerns with the orphans of China. More so, if you seem to be confused on the choice of the charity vehicle you should adopt, there are websites to help you decide. Once such website is helpalot.org that helps you find trustworthy charities functional online.

With social media, the outreach is unfathomable and the costs are almost negligible. This translates to more and more members, supporters and donors to the causes advertised. And considering the trend of people’s habits, this era is here to stay.

It is the harbinger of good times for the underprivileged, for those who do not have a network and those who shy away from being social, tweeted or followed.

Imagine a day, 10 years from now. What do you see? A gigantic technological leap? Amazing infrastructure? High-tech means of communication and transportation?

Well, what I see is this. Overcrowded public spaces. Massive shortage of fuel and non-renewable sources of energy & power. Population multiplied by at least 10 times. Optimum connectivity but no resources. And most importantly, pedestrians is history.

Where does this brings us? We are living in an age where our resources exhaust more rapidly than our means of developing them. All this because our planning and strategy are all channelized towards an aggressively nuclear thinking. Individualism is gaining prominence day by day. We all want our own mobile phones, our own houses and our own mode of conveyance that settles down to nothing less than a four-wheeler. The bigger the better.

Nevertheless, have you ever given a wise thought to the increasingly limited spaces available at our disposal? Never. None of us is willing to do our share of thinking. What is more ironical is that the solutions are always on the back of our mind. However, we only think of them when we do not have the resource. In the opposite case, this never matters.

This brings me to introduce a very old concept of ‘Carpooling’ – car sharing as it known popularly. Carpooling is the use of a common mode of conveyance, especially cars, for commuting to a common destination – like offices – by a group of individuals. This basically translates to enhanced economy, optimum resource utilisation, social bonding, contribution to the Go Green cause and lastly it doesn’t burn a hole in your pocket.

Advantages

Though it looks childish to spell out the benefits of sharing to a world full of people who are fond of sharing. Alas it’s only online. Check out the blogs, you tube, flickr, orkut and other such social platforms where we all want the world to see and share what we have. I should better list it down, just to refurbish the memory.

• You can save money

True. Sharing a car for going to routine common destination can save you money. Consider this. An average office goer spends at least 250 bucks to cover a distance of 60 kms everyday – to and fro office. This stands to an annual expense of roughly Rs 80000 or 1800 USD to cover a distance of approximately 19000 kms. Sharing a car will which seats a minimum of five persons can reduce this monthly expenditure to the tune of more than 5 times. Straight, isn’t it.

• Be a Green activist

With such a busy lifestyle you will actually never get time to plant a tree. Admit it, you won’t. Now carpooling will indirectly make you a saviour of the mother earth. Sharing a car while on your way to work will reduce the number of vehicles drastically on road. This will considerably reduce the CO₂ content in the atmosphere and thus a greener, cleaner earth.

• Traffic woes will be a thing of the past

Amazing but true. It can actually make way to the Ripley’s Believe it or not. The solution to the most complex problem faced by countries worldwide in maintaining a smooth traffic mechanism lies in carpooling. When you share a car or take turns doing so in using your own vehicles this reduces five cars

 on road for every one car. Understand it this way. If there are 100000 cars on road on an average everyday, carpooling will bring down this number by at least 4-5 times thereby reducing the ever-increasing congestion.

• Save on precious fuel

One study suggests that we only have sufficient fuel to last till 2050 till we exhaust it all. Carpooling can again bring down the fuel consumption by at least five times of the total amount of fuel consumed daily by travelling independently.

I can list down a hundred thousand benefits of using a carpool facility but what doesn’t come to my mind is even a single adverse effect of using this mechanism. I wonder if some of you can suggest me this. So get set to rock the road with your own gang of poolers - because the more the merrier will always hold true in the party of life.

And yes don’t forget to respect other person’s property as well as privacy – the carpool etiquette.

You may wonder why I chose this late a time to cook up something of my own on the current global rage – Slumdog. And I allow you to wonder aloud – because as you read further, you will agree that Danny Boyle has truly done a wonderful job, apart from making a highly appreciable film. He has once again jolted us to take note of our valuable resources, of our very own country. See how Slumdog made it really BIG at the Oscars. Don’t you agree that had Danny thought of casting Hollywood actors in his film – it wouldn’t have really garnered this much hype. He owes every bit of success to India. And no, I am not doubting his capabilities as a wonderful film maker.
But the current pivotal issue that everyone is talking about is why does it take a Danny Boyle to make a Slumdog? I too have a question! And that is why I chose to put some wordy flesh on Slumdog yoga. Yoga – our very own ancient art of living has been in existence as early as 900 B.C.E. and finds references in Upnishads and Vedas. The oldest documented book on Yoga in the world is Patanjali’s work – centuries ago.
Now what is really demeaning is that this valuable art is filed for patents not in the country that gave birth to it – but the countries who have always exploited India for reasons well known. First it was Haldi, Neem and Tulsi and now Yoga. It seems whatever we have left for the world to benefit from – they are really benefiting from it.
And our Ministry of Health has woken up really late. There have been more than 130 yoga-related patents, 150 copyrights and 2,300 trademarks in the United States of America alone. Whoa. Now that’s what I call statistics. Whopping figures.
Just how the Slumdog Millionaire aka crorepati movie grossed millions of dollars, others too have set their sights on us. Our government has now set up a team of over 200 scientists and Yoga gurus to identify and aasanas and register each one them to prevent from further loss of our traditional knowledge. All the registrations get listed to India’s Traditional Knowledge Digital Library that can be viewed by all. Before granting further patents, the authorities from around the world would claim for a justified ownership form it.
Of course, the damage has already been done and Yoga is now a thriving 225 billion dollar industry abroad. Alas, we have always failed to take note of our country and our countrymen. And if this continues, we will have many more Slumdogs in the years to come and we will be the fooled spectators, celebrating a false success as ours.

I have too often complained to my inner self of the way the world is deteriorating – in standards, moral values, human ethics, respect, integrity, honesty, commitments and more such endless list of ‘feel good’ words. I have spiritually taken myself to be a wiser soul than the rest of the race and thus I tend to find faults with others. Someone chatting away his time in the office seems like a laggard to me. Irresponsible. As I walk past my colony gates, I notice young street kids playing, I think they have a tendency to remain poor or else they could have gone to schools.

During my routine metro trips to the office, I see people playing music on their speaker cell phones not caring for someone else’s comfort or even the legal disallowing of the same. I notice people staring at the female strength with digging eyes. Several times, I have spotted men spitting where it is disallowed or morally objectionable. I complain. I register a strong growing sense of my superiority over others as I do not indulge in such acts. Shameful and inhuman for me.

But does this really make me the torch-bearer for humanity, for the good? Does it make me ‘the good Samaritan’ that I have firmly believed I am over all these years? Does it give me the moral right to police everyone around me with a disgusting list of Do’s and Dont’s?

Most of you will not agree with me. Even my real inner self doesn’t – if I poke it down a little deeper. The recent “morally inspired attacks” in the sub urban town of Mangalore and nearby areas relate very well to my thought process. I feel a deep, real connection to the victims as well as the perps.

The infamous – Sri Ram Sene – are committing self proclaimed righteous acts of sanity in the name of culture, to preserve our values as the great Hindus. But where have we in scriptures or the Vedas or any holy texts got mentioned that a woman hanging out with a boy/man is loose. A Hindu girl holding hands with a Muslim boy is ruining the community worldwide. Ah! The fallacies of human mind! Is there any logical explanation to the madness that few men of no dignity have displayed over the years in the name of correcting and preserving the Hindus, the culture.

If this is so, will anyone explain the nation’s top political cadre held by a woman of foreign identity. How will they explain being led by qualified women in top sectors like banking, media and finance? Don’t they pose a significant threat to our culture just because they are women who have taken the courageous step to stand up and lead right beneath the vulnerable man.

I thank all those women and men too who have taken upon themselves to right these morally incorrect people in their own little ways. I extend gratitude to all those people who have contributed unknowingly towards the destruction of an ushering false superiority in people like us. I find no logical right to correct someone just because he is doing what we think is wrong.

One last question, I pose to the almighty. It is he who has created those who believe in him and those who do not. I dare ask him what makes a true Hindu or any other sect for that matter? Can he ever come down and tell us what is his religion – is he a Hindu who wants to set the wronged followers right? Is he a Muslim who has passed on the philosophy of ‘Jihad’ in an entirely wrong sense?

If he has never ever set out guidelines to decide what is ethical and what not, who are the so-called moral police of our country to do so? India, being such diverse culturally owes its share of misunderstandings. But the motto should be to do our duties right first and then stand up to the world and proclaim – Men have only one religion – Humanity. Any fight to sustain this religion will enjoy a universal support, every time, anytime.

What do you do when you suddenly think of showing a holy city to the whole world - without pictures, with words. This indeed is a gruesome task and even more so when you have more than 5000 years of incomparable history and none too insignificant to be left out in the dark.

We all have knowingly or unknowingly nurtured a secret desire to wash away our sins one day with some divine dip in some holy water. That brings me to the introduction of the sacred river Ganges, the very soul of the city that runs through its heart, touching and purifying lives all through its mystic journey of over 2510 kms i.e. 1560 miles originating from western Himalayas to the Sunderbans delta in Bay of Bengal.

WELCOME TO VARANASI, Kashi, Banaras, بنارس, or whatever you may wish to call it. - the city of salvation, moksha and spiritual growth. As you peep further down the narrow by-lanes of the city’s glorious history, you will find it assuming as many names as one of the world’s oldest city deserves - Avimuktaka, Anandakanana, Mahasmasana, Surandhana, Brahma Vardha, Sudarsana, Ramya, and Kasi to name a few. Popular anecdotes attached to the city even say that the city’s thought can lead you to salvation. It has always been true for me.

Time is one luxury you can always afford in this city of eternal joy. As you earn your way out in the city’s labyrinth, you will wonder how you are never tired no matter what and how you get in and eventually get out of. The real Varanasi lies at the banks of the sacred river fondly and popularly known as the Ghats. The real Varanasi also lies in the popular local adage - “Rand, saand, seedhi, sanyasi, Inse bache to seve kasi” - you will only be able to serve this holy city if you are left with something after serving raand-prostitues, saand - oxen, seedhi - the stairs of the ghats and finally sanyasi - the holy men abounding the city. A panoramic aerial view of the city will entice you as you prepare yourself to believe that it actually is a city in the shape of partial moon. And a popular mythological folklore further engraves its presence in your mind that the city must have been created by Hindu deity ‘Lord Shiva’ and it rests peacefully on his ‘trishul’.

The story of a hundred ghats will suffice your cravings for real history that you can touch and feel – even today. The city semi-circles nearly 100 ghats, all with their own rich plethora of history and time travel. The amazing part is that all the 100 ghats have sustained the maniacal fantasies of emperors from the Mughal rule and are the proud witnesses of the city’s journey from a spiritual centre to a coveted centre for learning the basics of humanity. The prominent amongst these are Dashashwamedh ghat, Manikarnika ghat, Harishchandra Ghat, Scindia Ghat, Panchganga ghat, Man-mandir ghat, Lalita Ghta, Assi ghat, Tulsi ghat etc.

Varanasi – in the wee hours transforms to a soulful rendition of some epic classical music with a divine aura engulfing it. Life wakes up as early as 3′O clock in the morning with the preparations for the routine ‘Ganga nahan’ and prayers in the thousands of temple forming the city bylines. Countless temples bind the city with a religious thread – each with a story of its own – each narrating history as if it were yesterday. The prominent amongst these are the Kashi Vishwanath temple, the Sankat Mochan temple, The Durga temple and the Kashi Vishwanath or Birla mandir in the B.H.U. Many others hold significant historical prominence but a blog space will just be an injustice to their sheer worth of discussion factor. See, I just

As much known for its spiritual importance, Varanasi is home to some of the world’s finest crafts and commercial items like benarsee sarees, hand woven and intricately designed carpets and handicrafts. The renowned Musical gharanas of India belong to this city where art & culture are revered with an inherent proclivity. Some of the most noted names that have for ages satiated the human desires for a divine connect through music include the likes of Pandit Ravi Shanakar, Girja Devi, Hariprasad Chaurasia and Late Ustad Bismillah Khan. Not to be forgotten are the legends of tabla gharanas including Pandit Sharda Sahai, Pandit Kishan Maharaj and Pandit Shamta Prasad.
There is something that makes every aspect of this great city – mystical. Whether its the timeless history attached to it or the colourful zing of the people who reside here, Benarasi – is what they exclaim with pride. The visible footprints of Ramayana being written here by Tulsidas is only the evidence that there is ample reason and logic if people call it the city of Gods, the city of temples, or a universal capital of the world. No only that, the city has given birth to numerous other writers, historians and scholars of repute like Kabir Das, Munshi Premchand, Kulluka Bhatt, Jayashankar Prasad, Acharya Ram Chandra Shukla, Jagannath Pasad Ratnakar, Devki Nandan Khatri, Hazari Prasad Dwivedi and many many more.

As you soak deep down into the city’s old dwellings, a unique charm captivates your heart and mind. Gazing aimlessly in the eternity of the city as you sit chanting a strange pick up line from the continuously blaring loudspeakers across the city’s enchanting markets, a day just passes on leaving you feel more learned than ever and a level higher spiritually. That is Benaras for you.

An acclaimed age old centre of learning – as I learnt during my college days in B.H.U. (the world’s 3rd largest residential university with as many as 188 domains of education) - ‘yeh sarv vidya ki rajdhani’ – this city – is the capital of knowledge. It houses the world’s only Sanskrit university (now called Sampoornand Sanskrit University) where the disciples as well as the teachers all speak and live sanskrit, the language of India.
My own connect to the city traces back to three generations and I owe it to my great grand fathers who chose this truly divine city to reside and revere. Summing up Varanasi in a two pager is like trying to measure a desert – walking. As Mark Twain said “Benares is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together”.

WELCOME TO VARANASI – The city begins.

As I sit tonight to give you another overdose of the tragedy that everyone in the world is talking about - several thoughts flicker through my mind. What should I tell my dear readers. Tell them that Mumbai has survived yet another terrorist attack with the same consequences - shattered families and grotesque pictures of the dead lying everywhere.

Or should I just go ahead and start giving you the statistics of the people dead, the lucky ones who survived and financial losses sustained to the commercial capital of India. Maybe I should tell you that the real heroes are our security personnel who risked their lives to ensue that we are safe.

But how shall that make any difference to you, me or our families or to those who will never ever be with us again? Will you be inspired enough to read this post and get out of your comfort zone to do something for the country, for India. Or will you once again get back to normalcy thinking that politics, terrorism and corruption have dismantled India to the core - so much so that there is no solution - not one that you can think of.

59 hours of a gruesome battle in Mumbai in the past three days has left many questions unanswered. Questions that can no longer carry the burden of an interrogation mark accompanying them. WE NEED ANSWERS. WE HAVE TO BE THE ANSWER - THE SOLUTION.

Its no more a time to paint the town ga-ga-ing a “never-say-die attitude” - or “presenting a tough India to the world with fake normal expressions and the show must go on attitude”. ENOUGH is ENOUGH. We have been the gory victims of ghastly acts of terror, pelting of grenades as if it were flowers and bullets flying awkwardly close to us.

We, the honourable citizens of India do not have any right to call on to our brave men and demand sacrifice. We do not have the right to ask mothers to give away their sons to the soil. We do not have the right to celebrate the martyrdom of Major Unnikrishnan, Karkare and Amte and others who died doing their duty - for us.

To combat terror will not be easy - but we - You and I together, can MAKE A DIFFERENCE. We should all be united and put just one face to the world - INDIANS. 

Celebrating the courage of our people.

This is final. The eternal question of modern times. When will the Bull rise?

And it looks that nobody has the answer. We are in search of the same divine, the power that shall keep our bank accounts in tact. The constantly tumbling global share indices are anything but a ray of hope. Trillions has been lost in transition and still more are living the dreaded that has happened.

Deemed as the worst economic cirsis of our times, this GREAT FALL has turned riches to rags. Markets have stopped breathing, economy is in the ICU and the common investor - nursing the wounds that wont heal any time soon. Banks have gone bankrupt, as many as 17 in the USA, global giants are on a run for liquidity - today General Motors cried for help… tomorrow… it would better remain tomorrow…

Every morning brings with itself a multitude of emotions… bull hits and bear tricks. The constant fear of another downfall, living constantly at the edge of the seats, the cosntant heartbeat going overboard… the Stock market is anything but constant.

It happened in 1929, the great economic depression of 1929, a forgotten chapter taught to us in schools. I never realized its potential till today and this day i write another chapter in another century - the great depression of 2008. 

This is not unreal, however, the situation prior to this was. The unusual growth as compared to the profits, sky-high real estate prices and inflation looming at 14%. It all looked so ethereal and we basked in the false glory only to witness our real worth. This is what we are… this is the real market.

Today, we are all sitting our fingers crossed, waiting for Barack Obama to end our ordeal. And it has happened in time. This was the change that we all were waiting for. And we do hope that the change spills over to everywhere and everyone.

‘DIVIDE & RULE’ - the infamous ruling policy of the British regime still holds true in the Indian context. And ironical as it is, it’s still followed by another RAJ. Raj Thackeray, leader and founder of MNS (Maharashtra Navnirman Sena). I wonder what kind of new Maharashtra they want to make.

Raj & his MNS (it should actually be read Maharashtra Notorious Sena, though Marathi will also fit the bill pretty perfectly) have been quite a shame on the global face of India for an irritating period of time now. The recent Railway board exams in Mumbai and the treatment metted out to innocent students from North India brings to the fore that political parties are far above the regulations of law & order in the country. And those particularly upholding the so-called interests of sects and religions stand out from the clutches of IPC and our judicial system. And what a pity, when the whole world is combating a worsening economic crisis, we are busy distinguishing Marathis from Bhaiyaas. When the need of the hour is to join our hands and portray a rock-solid wall in front of terrorism, we are busy setting our public properties and our future ablaze. 

How can Mr. Raj expect that Marathis will not meet the same or even worse treatment in states outside Maharashtra. What will happen in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh? Who will be responsible for a constant threat that from now on will loom on their lives? If this continues, we will soon have 26 pieces of our beloved land. An India for Marathi, an India for Bengali and so on. 

People like Mr. Raj Thackeray do not belong to any caste or religion, they have ulterior motives in all their actions and the repercussions are too terrible for the common man. Let us all take a pledge to build a strong foundation for our country and do our own efforts to set things right in political and cultural contexts. 

I don’t know why but the Google effect seems to take over my mind (see how the G – spot is all over us, from our machines to our minds) whenever I get down to share some scribbling on the wall from you.

And it has a Raison d’être, Google has evolved as a name for innovation, truly smart technology and an integral part of our lives. Once I thought of going in search of truth, the divine and salvation and adopted the path of the mighty Google search. Ironical, yet true.

When the world is still reeling under the smart IPhone effect from Apple, technology takes another leap in mobile communication platform. And this time, when the ‘G’ takes over the ‘I’, phones reach a new level of imagination.

The G1 phone from Google is the first mobile handset running the new Google-backed Android software. Lets leave the tech-lingo part for the techies and check out what makes this ‘emblem of innovation’ different, or is it?

Advantage G1

• Brand new software platform – Android, yes that’s what drives the G1. Android, developed by Open Handset Alliance (OHA), a condominium of more than 30 device manufacturers, service providers and technology companies, is the first complete, open, and free mobile platform.

• What does this mean? - An open mobile platform is something that has never entered the burgeoning mobile market. In simple words, it allows software developers, handset manufacturers and carriers, access to the handset tools and capabilities enabling them to innovate and design new products compatible with the G-1. This open source mobile platform is poised to take over the cell phone market and gives ample opportunity to bring new and cost-effective products enhancing the overall mobile experience.

• Ultimate mobility and social networking – No need to call your friends, girlfriends and boyfriends to know there whereabouts. G-1 comes handy with program called ‘Lifeware’ that will actually tell your buds where exactly you are or you were. Those doing a ‘Mary in the yard and Nancy in the bed’ – better beware of leaving your G-track.

• Extraordinaire - G1 phone will do things no dedicated GPS device can. Shop till you run out of battery, compare prices online and in the future, even pay for your groceries. Pretty hand, isn’t it?

• Know where you are – Needless to say, the G1 phone will have all the rich utilities like Gmail, Google maps, photo sharing, online diary and Orkut and the best part is the compass overlaying the Google maps. It lets you navigate easily and just rotating your phone and finding your destination or direction for that matter. What makes it standout from other phones offering the facility is a real smart street view which shows photos of real locations taken at ground level with directional arrows.

• The endless list – The open source platform (remember Google’s Chrome) will keep on adding numerous add-ons to the already feature rich handset. Shopsavvy on G1 lets you scan the bar-coding of a product and generate related information about the same. It checks for the best online price, and then shows you the nearest store on a map.

• The name is Bond – James Bond – Bio wallet on the G1 stores sensitive information protected I a slightly different manner. You need to sign on the touch screen panel to get inside or even undergo an eye scan in true Bond style.

• No boundaries – Tired of keeping your desktop uncluttered with shortcuts and programs. This Smartphone cleverly extends beyond the edges of the 3.2” screen by a simple stroke of the finger to adjust new add-ons.

• A treasure chest – The QWERTY keyboard opens to a nice rotating screen adjusting to landscape view instead of portrait. G1 has a handy trackball navigation control, a user-replaceable battery (unlike the iPhone, where it is locked into the casing) and a slot for a memory card of up to 8 GB capacity. For gamers and those with a non-business interest, the interface and he handset seem quite simple and sturdy. Look-wise though, the G-phone lacks the charisma of the iPhone. It already offers fast moving 3-D games, online cooking tutorials and the options for your wardrobe in My Closet. G-phone is a bundle of sheer joy.

Quick Review

1. 3.2 inch touch screen panel
2. 3.2 MP camera sans flash
3. No video capturing facility
4. Limited Bluetooth connectivity
5. No 3.5 mm headphone socket
6. Memory expandable upto 8 GB and 16 GB
7. Weight - 5½ozCannot yet play videos in either Apple’s QuickTime or Adobe’s Flash format
8. Price for UK customers - Free with an 18-month £40-per-month T-Mobile contract
9. Launching in November (UK)
10. Fans in India need to wait.

Different or not – G 1 phone from Google is definitely a gigantic leap in the future. It almost invariably offers technology in the best form – innovation and excitement.

Really can’t get over finding more about the G-spot, I mean the Google G1. Hail technology.

Google does it again. Conquers – seems like this is what it does best.

A power packed, feature rich open source web browser based on webkit & powered by Google Gears – Chrome by Google has succeeded in hitting the bull’s eye. On the day of its release, though accidental, sources say that Google released the much awaited – much hyped browser a day before planned schedule and the release was quite a novelty PR exercise. Chrome was launched through a comic book sequence when Google’s philosophy of ‘launch early and iterate’ actually got executed.
Call it a worthy innovation or a volley at Microsoft but Chrome is definitely different. Google’s maiden browser comes with a uniquely simple and uncluttered interface giving that out of the web experience while you surf. The sturdy virtual V8 engine for Java script promises to dramatically improve upon the process times. Other features include:
• Super Tabbing – separate processor for every tab thus saving on memory & the great add on benefit of drag & drop tabs. You can drag tabs out of the browser to create new windows, gather multiple tabs into one window or arrange your tabs however you wish — quickly and easily.

• Application Shortcuts – access your favourite & complex web applications like Gmail, Google Docs directly from your desktop

• Crash Control – gone are the days when your about to be completed Email that was so painstakingly written goes in vain with a browser crash. Since Chrome uses its own memory for every individual tab, a crash will not mean restarting the browser, it will just need fixing the corrupt tab while you continue working on the others.

• Chrome Incognito – a face saver for the infamous ‘Porn mode’ in IE 7

• Fast, Safe and Secure browsing

• Easy downloading and very time efficient

This and a lot more, since it’s the Beta version – so pull out your big old encyclopedias of critiques and aim – Google chrome is standing bare breasted to be pinned and shot. This is what it takes to be a leader, after all.

In rankings though, Chrome has already captured a significant market, considering its only two days old – almost 2% (1.92833% for those who mark records) of all the web traffic from the 45000 websites under survey is coming from Chrome. Quite a morale booster when you are competing with the likes of the age old IE, your penny-pal – Mozilla, the ace Opera and Apple’s cute Safari.

Google has had a history of creating hypes initially and then fading away in bloom – Chrome, however is armed with all the never seen before tools and processes in truly Google style.

This one deserves a virtual pat – Chrome beckons innovative browsing experience. A true Googlers delight.