Reliance Jio's free unlimited voice calls feature has led to a flood of useless incoming calls [COMPACTIDEA]

All of us know and bear folks who make useless, spam-like phone calls for just about everything [particularly in business]. Reliance Jio is a boon for such folks. Now the friction of cost is gone. The floodgates are open. Now these people can call you endlessly and irritate you even more :)

The first highly stable Windows releases - Windows 2000 and Windows XP [COMPACTIDEA]

Some might say that this crown goes to Windows NT 4.0, but I've never used it. Back in the late 90s and early 2000s, and particularly since 2001/2002 when I got my first computer, I've installed and used various flavors of the Windows operating system, and that too numerous times - 95, 98/98 SE, ME, 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10, and so on. I personally feel that Windows 2000 and Windows XP were the first truly stable Windows OSes. Life before these stable OSes was hellish - Windows 98/ME could/would crash any damn moment, taking with it whatever you might have been doing. Installing drivers today is a non-issue, but back then finding the right drivers and installing these was "the" main issue. It's possible that NT 4.0 was relatively stable as well [I used to read about its enterprise-class stability, especially compared to 95 and 98, in computer magazines during my school days]. Back then they also used to praise the rock-solid stability of Linux. But 2000 and later XP and Vista changed all that. The Windows of today, for example 8.1, is so stable that it frequently stays on on my systems for months without any issues.

Iran-North Korea partnership is so obvious [COMPACTIDEA]

Iran has the money/resources [and also determination/intent], while North Korea has the technology [missiles, nuclear]. Iran lacks technology, while the North lacks money/resources. Such an obvious partnership. Iranian scientists should fly to North Korea to learn the designs, the formulas, the technology, and in return Iran should shower the North with cash. A mutually-beneficial alliance between these two nations will keep America's hegemony in check. The key questions here are:

1. Why hasn't such an obvious partnership happened yet?
2. Is such a relationship already brewing under the sheet? [answers question 1]

Update [3-Dec-17]: An extension of the above idea is that the North should also directly supply Iran with its most advanced missiles, such as the new Hwasong-15 ICBM, in a ready-to-use form, to instantly and significantly increase Iran's global missile reach, in order to provide significant deterrent to America. A further extension could be that North Korea should also sell some of its nuclear weapons, deployable on the Hwasong-15, to Iran. This single move will provide a permanent defensive safeguard to Iran, one that America will never dream of breaching.

Microsoft has itself, to some extent, crippled Windows 10 Mobile by giving slower hardware in Lumia smartphones [COMPACTIDEA]

Recently upgraded my Lumia 640 XL to Windows 10 Mobile. Not everything is good. Overall it has been a big step backward. If I could [unfortunately I can't], I would definitely go back to Windows Phone 8.1 [Lumia Denim] in a heartbeat. My phone used to be so fast on 8.1 Denim. My Lumia has become so slow after upgrading the OS. It's almost useless now. Its slowness irritates. Fuck Microsoft. Plus, and this is very important, Windows 10 Mobile isn't better in every sense than Windows Phone 8.1 [Lumia Denim]. The former has lost some features of 8.1 Denim, and some features have become worse due to changes [note that this isn't about being slow due to dated hardware specifications]. Sure, Windows 10 Mobile has many new features, but what's the use of features if the hardware is so slow? It doesn't feel so on 8.1 Denim, but it clearly shows on 10 Mobile. The full power and potential of Windows 10 Mobile simply can't be realized/used because the phone hardware is so pathetically slow. In this sense Microsoft itself is responsible, to some extent, for me not being able to take advantage of Windows 10 Mobile. Also, there is some very good stuff in the Store, but again, I just cannot use any of it due to the deficient hardware. On 8.1 Denim, at least everything ran fast and nothing irritated me.

Not showing him directly, and indirectly reporting a highly demonized image of him - that's how US media makes tyrants out of normal men

Realized this while watching these [1, 2, 3] scenes of Dr. Strangelove. If these videos get deleted, then one of these scenes is at approximately 74 minutes and 30 seconds into the movie. You never get to hear [even a word] or see Dimitri Kissoff, the Soviet Premier. Yet you develop an image of the Premier based on what the US President speaks and the way he reacts. You feel that the Premier drinks excessively, listens to loud music while at work, gets "mad" and "hysterical", and so on [and yet you haven't actually seen or heard the man even once]. The stereotypical image of any Soviet / Russian leader that the US media has carefully implanted in your head - over the decades - quickly gets confirmed, without you ever having seen or heard the man directly.

That's how US media creates tyrants out of normal men. Men who happen to be leaders of nations that are "defiant" to US hegemony. The US media demonizes these men and presents such distorted and twisted images of these men to the public/viewers that stupid Americans/Europeans/Westerners start to believe that these men are so full of evil that they must be annihilated without delay. So they hardly ever show full-length videos of Assad speaking [else you'll get to know the real truth that he's a sensible man and a patriot - whereas it is in reality your own America that is the real monster], and when they do air tiny clips of him, they pick portions and sentences such that the surrounding context gets hidden so that his statements appear evil/devilish without the necessary context [and anything sensible and wise he says is simply not shown]. Same with Saddam and same with the North Korean leader.

Update [10-Mar-20]: Following paragraph in this NYT story is crucial. Alternative link.

"Disputes between intelligence agencies and oversight committees are not unusual. The agencies are frequently reluctant to share direct intercepts of conversations or to allow their individual officers or analysts to provide information directly to the committees. Instead, they prefer to turn over analytical reports that have been reviewed by agency leadership. The committees often press for more raw forms of intelligence."

This practice of only publishing/releasing "processed" analysis rather than raw data is exactly what US media does. Instead of directly airing Assad's interview, for example, they do a news story in which they mix their own allegations, half-truths, lies, spins, and remove vital statements, play with the context, and so on, until a perfectly sensible leader with good judgment and good intentions starts to look like a bloodthirsty tyrant [thus justifying wars].

Update [25-Mar-20]: Donald Trump has effectively solved the above problem by talking directly to the public via Twitter [and Facebook, to a lesser extent], bypassing any middlemen. This has ensured that his unfiltered thoughts/voice/words reach the public without the intermediary "processing" done by the news media complex. This is what other leaders such as Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad need to do, so that the nefarious repackaging/modifications done by Western newspapers are avoided [to some extent].

My respect for the Supreme Court of India has reduced somewhat [COMPACTIDEA]

I've long had a lot of respect for the Supreme Court of India. It has gone down somewhat. Two reasons:

1. Why does the Court think that there can't be corruption inside it? If someone alleges that there's corruption at the Supreme Court, and that certain judges there are corrupt, then instead of investigating the claims, the Supreme Court simply punishes the fellow for "contempt of court"? Smacks of arrogance. Supreme Court shouldn't behave as if it can't be touched and that it can't ever be even partially corrupt. Shouldn't be so short-tempered that anyone alleging anything against the Court immediately invites the Court's [arrogant] wrath. Is the Supreme Court trying to hide something? I personally believe that the possibility of corruption at Supreme Court cannot be ruled out [doesn't in itself imply that corruption necessarily exists there already, just means that the possibility of its existence there cannot be automatically ruled out].
2. Why has the Supreme Court issued a gag order, barring media from reporting any and all of Justice Karnan's statements? Is the Supreme Court afraid and trying to hide something? Does Justice Karnan's allegations of corruption indeed have legs? If so, the SC's desperate-looking actions seem to suggest so.

And my high respect for the Court has come down several notches.

*****

Update [12-Apr-18]: The Supreme Court, in its recent ruling, made it clear that it doesn't want transparency in how cases before it are allocated [to its various judges]. This is a serious violation by the Court itself of the Indian public's right to know how our top court works, and whether there's any corruption going on at the Court. Even the Court itself cannot be above the public it serves. Nor can the CJI be. The CJI is but a man like others, and it cannot and must not be assumed that he cannot ever be corrupt. It's possible that by carefully giving cases to different judges [based on their already known positions on different issues], the CJI, serving the Indian government, affects the outcome of these cases [likely as desired by the government], albeit while being able to claim plausible deniability.

I am VERY happy about the first flight of China's first strategic passenger aircraft, the Comac C919 [COMPACTIDEA]

Let the dogs bark. Let the Westerners claim that the Chinese copied their stuff [on the inside, they're quite nervous]. Let the critics complain that China is "late". Let the Whites point out that a lot of what's inside the C919 is Western made. Let them spew bullshit and try to spread FUD about this plane's quality/reliability/safety. They're nervous because their cozy and lucrative duopoly has seen the first serious threat in decades. I, for one, am happy about this first flight. It marks the arrival of China on the stage. The duopoly must be crushed. Airbus and Boeing are both instruments of the barbaric regimes of Europe and US. These must be crushed. Whether this is done by China or by Russia or by both working together, doesn't matter.

Windows 10 does not have respect for its users - it is designed to help and enrich Microsoft, even if this is at the cost of its users [COMPACTIDEA]

• Upgraded to Windows 10 Mobile on my Lumia 640 XL [from 8.1]. It said during update that "you'll find your data exactly where you left it". After update, lost all SMSes. What the hell is this? I had several very important SMSes [some of those related to business deals]. Microsoft folks should stuff Windows 10 Mobile disks into their asses.
• Even though I've properly configured my Windows 10 Mobile to not automatically restart if/when there are updates, today morning [3-May-17], when I woke up and swiped the screen open, there was a window with several sliders already in the "I agree" position. I felt surprised. What's this? One of the sliders was about sending Microsoft "diagnostic" information. Others were about sending to Microsoft what I type, what I speak, what URLs I visit, data on my usage of apps, where I travel, etc. Basically everything I do. All these sliders were pre-checked into the "I agree" position, and at the bottom was a single button "Accept". They know that most people will just push this button and rejoice! Telemetry begins to flow!
• But the key point here is that they restarted my phone without asking/telling me, closing all the open apps in the process. Again, little respect for the user, and concern only for MSFT's enrichment. I keep apps open as reminders sometimes. I don't remember now what was open. Data lost basically.
• I carefully placed the sliders into positions I deemed appropriate [balancing functionality and privacy], but as is well known, telemetry couldn't be turned off fully. Fuck you Microsoft.