This definitely is the grand-daddy of all small, inexpensive things.
And on top of that, it gets a Nobel prize as well. You can't argue with that.
Micro credit by definition is a grand example of many small inexpensive things beating Big Monolith and Deep Pocket... Grameen Bank's example drives home the point even better! (That by the way, is a wikipedia link... a neat one stop shop for the main idea.
October 25, 2006
October 14, 2006
Which language you want?
This one certainly qualifies for the small-inexpensive-thing tag.
Baraha (meaning "writing") is a software that's been popular with Kannada users for a long time. In spite of its quirks and indifferent prowess at spellcheck, it is apparently widely used. Baraha, now in version 7 or so is a huge fat software - though it is completely free.
Recently a friend pointed me to a Baraha lite version called Baraha IME. You can use it to write in any unicode supported web app - from email, blogs, html forms, and forums such as Orkut. Super stuff! just a 1.5 MB download, and a 5 second install. And you have a nice, single touch mechanism to switch between languages.
ఇలా తెలుగులో రాయొచ్చు.
ಬೇಕಾದರೆ, ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೂಡ ಬರಿಯಬಹುದು.
हिंदी मे भी लिख सकते है.
It works with 7 other languages - Marathi, Oriya, Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi, Tamil and Sanskrit (too bad I can't demo all of them here!!)
It works on a transliteration basis, so you have your language keboard skills already on hand - just a few simple rules to follow for the long vowels and hard consonants!
The ease of it has turned a die-hard English writer like me into an occassional experimenter with my known Indian languages!!
Baraha (meaning "writing") is a software that's been popular with Kannada users for a long time. In spite of its quirks and indifferent prowess at spellcheck, it is apparently widely used. Baraha, now in version 7 or so is a huge fat software - though it is completely free.
Recently a friend pointed me to a Baraha lite version called Baraha IME. You can use it to write in any unicode supported web app - from email, blogs, html forms, and forums such as Orkut. Super stuff! just a 1.5 MB download, and a 5 second install. And you have a nice, single touch mechanism to switch between languages.
ఇలా తెలుగులో రాయొచ్చు.
ಬೇಕಾದರೆ, ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೂಡ ಬರಿಯಬಹುದು.
हिंदी मे भी लिख सकते है.
It works with 7 other languages - Marathi, Oriya, Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi, Tamil and Sanskrit (too bad I can't demo all of them here!!)
It works on a transliteration basis, so you have your language keboard skills already on hand - just a few simple rules to follow for the long vowels and hard consonants!
The ease of it has turned a die-hard English writer like me into an occassional experimenter with my known Indian languages!!
October 04, 2006
Are you seeing what I'm seeing?
I began teaching my first "online course" today. Meaning, I sat at home in front of my PC, people sat in conference rooms or workstations in a faroff city and I tried to teach them stuff.
Tech support at the other end assured me, they had a sweet little free software in place to manage the online learning... Well, well, if it isn't another small, inexpensive thingy!!
Having experienced Elluminate and WebEx before, I was quite gung ho about a tiny piece of freeware doing stuff that the biggies were doing...
After a few false starts, I got off to my well-oiled performance (teaching, I am convinced, is first and foremost, a performance. As in drama, action!)Pretty quickly, my act was falling apart... especially when I referred dramatically to my pet point on slide four and was then told, they were still seeing slide 1 at their end!!!! Oh sigh. The biggies have something going for them. Or at least, I havent found the right small thing yet in this case.
Well, we've got time to lick the system in shape (got 9 more classes to go).
The experience is definitely worth it!
Tech support at the other end assured me, they had a sweet little free software in place to manage the online learning... Well, well, if it isn't another small, inexpensive thingy!!
Having experienced Elluminate and WebEx before, I was quite gung ho about a tiny piece of freeware doing stuff that the biggies were doing...
After a few false starts, I got off to my well-oiled performance (teaching, I am convinced, is first and foremost, a performance. As in drama, action!)Pretty quickly, my act was falling apart... especially when I referred dramatically to my pet point on slide four and was then told, they were still seeing slide 1 at their end!!!! Oh sigh. The biggies have something going for them. Or at least, I havent found the right small thing yet in this case.
Well, we've got time to lick the system in shape (got 9 more classes to go).
The experience is definitely worth it!
September 06, 2006
Many small cheques
I had this hang up when I quit my job - how to give up my (reasonably) big fat salary.
But as things are turning out, it just required a small re-wiring in my brain to see how the "many small inexpensive" paradigm in action here too.
The first contract I took up in my freelance status, I gunned to get the big deal. Large contract size. Value pricing. All the stuff. Spent a lot of time "positioning" myself and agonizing about how I should price my services. Push, shove, negotiate. I was exhausted even before I began doing the work in the contract. And just by the way, several months later, I'm still not done with my Big Monolith contract
Then I shifted to a different track. Small assignments, quick turnarounds, and almost always at a price that the client finds "inexpensive". (At least, they don't seem to be thinking too much about agreeing to my quote.) Decisions made faster, work gets done faster and I get a stream of many small cheques. (and it all adds up quite nicely!)
But sure, it's needed massive re-organization of how I see money security. I've found myself having to trust that opportunities and monies are in abundance. And that I don't need to hoard them. It's actually almost a spiritual experience!!
But as things are turning out, it just required a small re-wiring in my brain to see how the "many small inexpensive" paradigm in action here too.
The first contract I took up in my freelance status, I gunned to get the big deal. Large contract size. Value pricing. All the stuff. Spent a lot of time "positioning" myself and agonizing about how I should price my services. Push, shove, negotiate. I was exhausted even before I began doing the work in the contract. And just by the way, several months later, I'm still not done with my Big Monolith contract
Then I shifted to a different track. Small assignments, quick turnarounds, and almost always at a price that the client finds "inexpensive". (At least, they don't seem to be thinking too much about agreeing to my quote.) Decisions made faster, work gets done faster and I get a stream of many small cheques. (and it all adds up quite nicely!)
But sure, it's needed massive re-organization of how I see money security. I've found myself having to trust that opportunities and monies are in abundance. And that I don't need to hoard them. It's actually almost a spiritual experience!!
September 04, 2006
The passing of Big Monolith and Deep Pocket
I'm convinced that Big Monolith and Deep Pocket have had their day. In all ways, by the looks of it.
Everywhere I look, I see many, small, inexpensive things showing up... From shampoo in one rupee sachets, to Reprints of HBR articles for $5. Mobile phones. Orkut scraps. DVD rentals. pay-as-you-use access to experts.
Big Monolith is elbowed out by perky little things that re-invent themselves fast.
Deep Pocket is under threat by things that cost little and are easy to pay for.
Just Things? Ideas too. Artefacts, Processes, Practices. All of them.
This blog is about my discovery of many, small, inexpensive things.
Everywhere I look, I see many, small, inexpensive things showing up... From shampoo in one rupee sachets, to Reprints of HBR articles for $5. Mobile phones. Orkut scraps. DVD rentals. pay-as-you-use access to experts.
Big Monolith is elbowed out by perky little things that re-invent themselves fast.
Deep Pocket is under threat by things that cost little and are easy to pay for.
Just Things? Ideas too. Artefacts, Processes, Practices. All of them.
This blog is about my discovery of many, small, inexpensive things.
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