The Supreme Court of India-1

Think Seriously, for 10-Jan-2018:

The Supreme court has observed, The freedom of speech and expression of the media must be allowed to the "fullest" and the press may not be hauled up for defamation for "some wrong reporting". "In a democracy, you (petitioner) must learn to tolerate, there could be some error or enthusiasm in reporting an alleged scam. But, we must allow freedom of speech and expression to press at the fullest. There may be some wrong reporting. For that they need not be hauled up for defamation".

By extending the same logic, will the Supreme court allow other professionals, say doctors and engineers to practice their trade freely at the expense of life and property? Also is the Supreme court tolerant of the criticism of itself and its judges? Then, why should there be a provision of “Defamation” at all- scrap it. What do you think?

I think the bottom line is that for press, it must have the prima facie evidence for reporting, and for individuals, they must be guided by social norms. On one hand we criticize “Bar Balas” for cultural degradation, but on the other support vulgar vituperations of other individuals. Isn’t it double standard? Looks like “Freedom of Expression” is too good for us.

Animal Rights

Think Seriously on 26-Dec-2017:

A recent piece of news says, “The plastic jar was removed from the head of a stray dog, which has got stuck, in Bhubaneswar Odisha. A group of Animal Rights Activists, an NGO and a highly placed minister of the Central Govt. were working overtime for 3 days for this.

Well, it’s nice to see so many, so powerful sympathizers for the rights, comforts and life of a stray dog. Can we say the same with conviction about the right, life (forget the comfort) of a human being? Think twice! Unfortunately, I think “NO”. Daily, we hear thousands including young children die of hunger, mal-nutrition, disease, neglect, exploitation, poverty, etc. Is anybody there to care?

We do have the Human Rights Commission (HRC), but it looks like they are concerned about the wrong people (as anybody’s guess). We do have rules, laws regarding, right to life, food, education, dignity etc., but who cares. I don’t say animals don’t have lives, what I emphasise is the priority, which means a human life is more valuable than that of a stray dog. And, we have to spend our scarce resources, knowledge, effort, power, etc., according to the priority. What you say?

Jio Review - 3

Points to Ponder on 17-Nov-2017: Jio Part-3: RJIL Shortcomings

This part deals with the reasons of diminishing the popularity of Jio:

1. The most important aspect is the speed. Fortunately the availability of signal is good and the up-time is also good. But what it lacks is speed. In open and network covered areas it is good, but inside homes / multi storied apartments it is less than even the past FUP speed (earlier 256 Kbps, now 64 Kbps). They used to specify the speed of 30 Mbps (as I remember) when they started in 2016. Now they don’t even specify- they just say “4G speed”. There is no specific speed as 4G speed- varies between 15-50 Mbps, depending on the operator, technology, country, etc.

2. The software and Apps are not of quality- it looks like they were written by novices- many are not compatible with different UI (user interface, like MIUI). Additionally, they are not updated in real time.

3. The competitors have narrowed the gap between Jio rates and theirs. This are the reasons the new subscribers have gone down in number. Jio has recently (9th Nov) come up with a new promotional offer because of this.

4. Finally, I have a serious doubt that the data counter is not accurate- it shows excess- of course, I have no means to check.

These are my personal observations, after about 2 years of use.

Jio Review - 2

Points to Ponder on 9-Nov-2017: Jio Part-2: RJIL Shortcomings

The most important parameter to success is the speed of 4G internet. At the beginning the RJIL promised 30 Mbps (=3.75 MBps file transfer rate), which nobody ever got. Of course nobody believed it (it’s a tall order in India). But we expected at least 8 Mbps (=1 MBps file transfer rate). But unfortunately, at most places it hovers around only 128 Kbps (=16 KBps file transfer rate), which is a breach of contract. Personally, I have experienced the so called high speed in some open areas and signal strength boosted areas. Inside multi-storied buildings it is very poor. Now they don’t even mention the speed, they call it “High Speed 4G/LTE.

The next important parameter is HW / SW / Support Services. While the HW seems to be OK, the SW / Apps are falling short in quality. Most of the Apps don’t work in non-RJIL 4G phones (Message- “This App is not compatible for your device” or “This App is not available in your Country”), even though they claim so. Support software design is very poor- MyJio App doesn’t give the full / updated status. It is also not real time based.

The bottom line is the quality of service, which is lacking in several fronts. This will decide the future of Jio, after the cost of service equalises across the service providers.