Planet of the Apps

India has the third largest mobile user’s country in the world. With data showing Indian users, spend an average 198 minutes each day on their smartphones. It is believed that mobile phones are the future of an economy. Soon laptops may become obsolete and everything in the world will be operated through smartphones and tablets. Many companies are trying to make this happen.

Smartphones are used on a large scale because of 1.3 Million Android apps and 1.2 Million Apple app available to use. With introduction of mobile apps, most businesses in the world are turning their focuses towards mobile apps. Especially in the Internet based business. For E-commerce, business mobile app is the future. Mobile apps began appearing in 2008 and are operated by Operating system of a mobile. Mobile app is a short version of a website and a handy layout to operate.

Every social networking, news, business, entertainment, and sports have their apps. This not only will increase the usability and business for app developers, but will also increase the use of smartphones. In India, number of toiletries is less than the number of smartphones people have. Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, and Google are the most dominating companies in mobile apps. I remember the first app I used was the Shazam in my Nokia Symbian phone six years back.

After that Whatsapp, the most used chat app in the world. As the time passes by, now I use plenty of apps in my Android Smartphone. It has become easy for me to collect any information in an instant of time from mobile apps. There is no doubt that mobile app developers and companies will grow more. However, there will be time when everything will be available on the app. Most e-commerce business they use mobile apps because 70% of orders are placed from mobile apps.

The benefit of companies from mobile apps is that they collect user information and can sell that information to other companies in millions. Now talking about, E-tail companies give more discounts on ordering from mobile apps. In India, E-tail companies offer vouchers for other businesses too. Amazon was the first company in India to launch app sale, although Flipkart did planning first. However, there is an increase in growth of mobile apps and a majority of this growth is coming from outside of metro cities.

If internet reach is more in rural India then increase in number of users for mobile apps will also increase. However, new government “Digital India” initiative can make this possible. This will not only add value to reach people but will also contribute to Indian Economy. More companies will emerge out and people from Rural India can bring their businesses online.

Back to the wild: Christopher McCandless

Adventure is always fun and learning. For me, it is like living and discovering life without any fear. Yesterday, I watched a movie named ‘Into the wild’, which is dedicated to Christopher Johnson McCandless, who was an American adventurer. I can always relate adventure with me as I had done several activities it in the past. Chris was 22 years old and graduated from college in May 1990 when he set out across the American West in a trip that would ultimately take him to the wilds of Alaska.

He was desperate to break ties with parents. He dreamed of an Alaskan Odyssey wherein he would live off the Alaskan wilderness, far away from civilization. After his graduation, he donated all his money to charity organization and burned left over money. He left the car behind and buried the license plates. The car was later used by local police force as an undercover vehicle. He sometimes used his name as Alexander Supertramp. He kept a journal describing his physical and spiritual progress as he faced the forces of nature. He always carried set of books with him to read.

He never took money in his life from others. He worked in farms, kitchens to buy things for him and but never asked anyone to feed him. He does not even have a compass and no experience surviving in the Alaskan Bush. After hiking from the snow covered Stampede trail, Chris found an abandoned bus used as hunting shelter and began to live off the land. He had rice, rifle, several books, and some camping instrument. He lived for 113 days in the bus and never contacted his parents after he left his home.

In ‘Into the wild’ movie, it is suggested that the reason of his death was “rabbit starvation” and he might be poisoned by a toxic alkaloid called ‘swainsonine’ by ingesting seeds contain the toxic. He reached his final destination on April 28, 1992 in Fairbanks Alaska and he died on August 12, 1992. Hunters found his body 19 days after and later his parents would visit bus 142 to leave a memorial.

Chris actions have caused many different debates on safety in the wild and what not to do and many have said that he did amounted to suicide. However, he had also had a lot of praise for his courage and spirit of adventure. Bus 142 has become somewhat of a tourist attraction, with many visiting every year and posting videos and pictures on internet. There is a documentary and book written on him. The story of Chris really inspired me and gave message of not giving up dreams in life.

Yosemite: World's Most difficult rock climb

Sport of Climbing is still an affirmation of the human spirit and the importance of teamwork. It is not just getting to the top that matters. It is how you get there. I did first rock climbing when I was 14 years old. The fear that I had at that time, is still there in me when I think of rock climbing. I always watch videos of Tommy Caldwell, who is professional and famous rock climber. I recently read an article in which Caldwell and his partner Kevin Jorgenson are doing most difficult rock climb in Yosemite National Park.

It is the hardest rock climb in the world. It is a grueling ascent of a half-mile of exposed granite in California using only their hands and feet. In rock climbing, climber is completely relied on his physical strength and dexterity to make his way up. Here, both the climber are making their way up the Dawn Wall, a vertical face on one side of the famous rock formation known as EI capitain. Although, this is their third attempt to climb this rock since 2010 and has caught the world’s attention.

Yosemite Rock climbing is the most difficult rock in the world. No one has ever ‘free climbed’ to the top of the Dawn Wall. In ‘free climbing’ athletes, use only their hands and feet. They grip cracks in the granite as thin as razor blades and as small as a dime. In 1970, Warren Harding and Dean Caldwell had spend more than 27 days free climbing the wall but did not make it to the summit. The climbers use hamesses and ropes to catch them if they slip, but the equipment does not help them ascend. The height of the rock is 3,000 feet above the floor. The hardest and steepest route is the Dawn Wall, so named because it faces east toward the rising sun. Here is a link of small video of Tommy Caldwell and the Dawn Wall. After watching this video one can realize how difficult is to climb and efforts made before and during climbing by a climber. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fANAk7UC6rg (Must watch this video).

Jorgenson has been training for five years and Caldwell put in about seven years. They tried the climb in 2010 but only made it to a third of the way because of storms. At one point on this rock, climbers have to jump completely off the wall to catch a grip the size of a matchstick. The warm weather has them climbing only at night, when the rock is cold enough for the maximum traction.

These men eat, drink coffee, stretch, and sleep in hanging tents suspended from the wall. Supporters bring supplies, including pain pills, batteries, and super glue for their fingers. They keep in touch by regularly tweeting, posting on Facebook, feeding information for blogs and talking with teams on the ground. The tents are in the same location and the men return to them after they climb each day. To get back to the spot where they left over, they use climbing aids.

I have done many adventurous sports in my life until now and I feel it is most difficult sport in life. However, all sports require strength and stamina; this is the only sport where if a person fails then he has to start from beginning with fresh energy and dexterity. One should always play and experience a sport environment around, because sports teaches a lot and all learning in sports is practical where one has to prove by strength not by words.

David and Goliath: Malcolm Gladwell

Recently, I finished reading David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants. It is a non-fiction book written by Malcolm Gladwell. The book is focused on the probability of improbable events occurring in situations where one outcome is greatly favored over the other. The book contains many different historical stories of these underdogs who wind up beating the odds, the most famous being the story of David and Goliath.

David was the shepherd in Israel, who also serves Israel army for food. Goliath was the giant soldier in Palestine army. The story is 800 years old. Once both the armies attacked each other and nobody was ready to fight from Israel when Goliath came forward to fight. Goliath said, if any of the person defeats me then my army would surrender in front of you. Nobody came forward to fight and then David came forward, asked his king to fight against giant Goliath. Everybody laughed and underestimated David. Then David came in front of Goliath to fight and hit him with a slinger and killed him.

There had been many examples of stories like David and Goliath in the past. When a underestimated man defeated a person powerful then him, he is called as Underdog. The same story happened in 1980, which is termed as ‘Miracle on Ice’. This was the story of United States Ice Hockey National team made up of amateur and collegiate players, who defeated the Soviet Union National team, which had won six gold medals in last seven Olympics. US Ice Hockey team was named as ‘Underdogs’.

In this book, there are stories about the civil rights movements, the religious conflicts in Ireland, and the others. The moral of some of these stories can be dark. This is one unusual lesson about change the book teaches. Most success stories are full of compromises, exchanges, chicanery, and actions. We might find hard to accept in a purist moral framework or as an enforcer of polite society. This is one of the best books, which tells about the art of battling giants and tells about the people who had significant skills fired in the kiln of adversity, who are intolerant of the status quo. We might not like them, they may do things we might think are inadvisable, but they are our giant-killers. One must read this book.