Rediff was one of the first major website portal of India and undoubtedly one of the first to have an ecommerce presence but it has been a bad shape for quite some time. The teltel sign is quite simple in case of rediff.. as you enter the portal you see an advertisement popup. This is very annoying and a sure short sign of a sinking boat.

Having said that, it hardly is any surprise that the portal’s shopping area is doing any better. Just the user interface is so dated.. a century old (in internet time) together with shady photographs of products. Part of the reason is that Rediff acts just as a market where buyer and seller meet. Rediff does not seem to moderate any content posted by the seller and hence it at a major disadvantage vs its competitors.

To give you an example, have a look at the image below… i was searching for a US POLO Mens Watch and happend to find it listed on Rediff… except that you cannot see the watch’s face.. now comes the question… would you ever buy this watch from Rediff and would you think of Rediff as a trusted seller?

Time magazine has nailed the title of cover story “The Underachiever” on the Prime Minister of India.. Mr. Manmohan Singh. It is because of the political parties in India that we as the citizens have to face such embarrassment. Do add your comments below.

Now who would believe this is real? Come on reporters, leave this for mindless hindi movies… we want to see real journalism.

Do leave your comment below.

We have about 4 contenders in the Presidential race this time in India. Knowing that the Indian Presidential post is more of a show rather than actual work, i don’t know what the big fuss is about. Anyway, it would be interesting to see who you think could be the next President. Please look to the right of the article where you would be a POLL going on, please cast your vote.

Government continues to hike the prices of petrol to fill its kitty. An article in HT today wrote that 40% of what we pay goes as taxes and duties to the government… hardly any surprise here. Together with direct and indirect taxes, you are paying 50% or your hard earned money to the govt. and in return you get bad roads to drive on, polluted air to breath, dirty water to drink and have to face frequent power-cuts. If the govt. can break Team Anna, which comprised of highly educated lawyers and ex-bureaucrats… then how can a common man escape from this?

Hindustan Times ran a story today where an Air India pilot was grounded for thanking passengers for flying AI as it helped paid for his salary. This would have gone unnoticed has it not been for a passenger who called AI’s top officials and ask them how he could donate to AI. That did not go down very well with AI and they grounded the pilot. The reason for grounding was that the Pilot showed AI in poor light.. oh come on AI, everyone knows you image is in shambles and by doing this you have brought it down further.

Wishing India and all it’s citizens a very happy Independence day! I hope from this year we get independence from corruption as well (though i strongly doubt it).

Was reading the newspaper today and was pleasantly surprised to read that my colony will be the first in India to have a Pod taxi system implemented in the coming years. Vasant Kunj will be connected with Vasant Vihar and Andehria Morh. The Pod taxi has been introduced in London Airport and Dubai and can seat 2-10 people and does not require a driver as it operates on set tracks, they are electric vehicles which will not add to the pollution on the roads.

As per the newspaper, the city transport department has already submitted a detailed report to the Delhi government for approval. I just hope this does not turn out to be one of those projects which are on paper for 10 years and then take another 10 to implement and then are called start of the art when clearly they are and outdated technology… later a museum is dedicated to it (i.e. The Metro)

If you are living in Delhi in a DDA flat, you would know how hard it is for the older population to climb up to the 3rd of the 4th floor. DDA has never provided lifts on any of its flats constructed and the reason could be to bring down costs and maintenance but at the same time they had made it very hard for people who wanted to install lifts / elevators for their block even after they were the onces paying for it.

DDA now has relaxed some norms, where in you would not need to consent of all flat owners but just the majority and also would not need to consult the ground floor occupant for their permission. You would need to get a no-objection certificate from DDA if your colony is maintained by it else you can get the same certificate from MCD. This certificate can be obtained by providing a structural stability certificate which you can procure from any registered Architect.

Nissan is celebrating Micra 1st Aniv party as if they have sold a hundred thousand of these and it has been a great success. Personally i liked the car even though it tanked as neither the car itself nor Ranbir Kapoor could save it. But by advertising like the car has done well, the company is trying to lift up its sales.. let’s see if people go for gimmicks but i don’t under estimate the power of suggestion.