Business

'tabata-ramen' by Danny Another “hey there is a term for it” moment today! Years ago when I was running a business of my own, my intention was never to be wildly successful. All I wanted to do was to make my ends meet, learn a lot of stuff, do a lot of work on stuff that really interested me, and work in a way that made sense.

An interesting read. People are not resources. Computers are resources… people are individuals with particular skills, passions, and ways of thinking. It is really easy to get lost in the “people are resources” mind camp. “Human Resources” We create departments in order to re-enforce this way of thinking. On charts and in discussions I hear this over and over. I catch myself saying it. It is a mental trap, something similar to saying “I want art on that wall”

China has now become too big and heavy to be intimidated by any country or bloc of countries. The latest move by China against protectionists point to this. At first Chinese textile exports swamped markets world wide, causing countries like US or EU to protest. In an attempt to compromise, the Chinese government put in place export tariffs on textile products - tariffs to bring down their own exports. US and EU went ahead anyway and imposed further tariffs of their own against Chinese imports, like they do for every other country like India.

The Canon A95 Canon India is selling Powershot A95 at an MRP of Rs. 25,995/-. Amazon’s listing of A95 mentions a list price of $349.95 (or Rs. 15,121 at today’s exchange rates). Amazon actually sells it for $269.94 (or Rs. 11,664 today). The question is why does Canon India sell its regular products at a 70% higher price in India? How much duty do these products attract anyway?

A great article on the online tussle between Microsoft and Google. For anyone who has been watching Gates over the years, the idea that an upstart like Google could so flummox him and his fierce company takes getting used to. But Google is a rival unlike any he has faced in a long time. In previous battles, Microsoft always had a powerful trump card: It controlled the Windows operating system.