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TO ALL INDIANS

FOOD FOR THOUGHT & TO ACT ON READ ON

A. P. J. ABDUL KALAM'S speech in Hyderabad

Why is the media here so negative? Why are we in India so embarrassed to
recognize our own strengths, our achievements? We are such a great
nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse to
acknowledge them. Why? We are the first in milk production. We are
number one in Remote sensing satellites.

We are the second largest producer of wheat.

We are the second largest producer of rice.

Look at Dr. Sudarshan; he has transferred the tribal village into a
self-sustaining, self driving unit. There are millions
of such achievements but our media is only obsessed in the bad
news and failures and disasters.

I was in Tel Aviv once and I was reading the Israeli
newspaper. It was day after a lot of attacks and bombardments and deaths
had taken place. The Hamas had struck. But the front page of the
newspaper had a picture of a Jewish gentleman who in five years had
transformed his desert land into an orchid and a granary. It was this
inspiring picture that everybody woke up to. The gory details of
killings, bombardments, deaths, were inside in the; newspaper, buried
among other news. In India we only read about death, sickness,
terrorism, crime.

Why are we so NEGATIVE?

Another question:
Why are we, as a nation so obsessed with foreign things?"
We want foreign TVs, we want foreign shirts. We want foreign
technology. Why this obsession with everything imported. Do we not
realize that self-respect comes with self-reliance?

I was in Hyderabad giving this lecture, when a 14 year old girl asked me
for my autograph. I asked her what her goal in life is. She replied: "I
want to live in a developed India ."

For her, you and I will have to build this develo ped India . You must
proclaim. India is not an under-developed nation; it is a highly
developed nation.

Do you have 10 minutes? Allow me to come back with a vengeance.

Got 10 minutes for your country? If yes, then read; otherwise, choice is
yours.

YOU say that our government is inefficient. YOU say that our laws are
too old. YOU say that the municipality does not pick up the garbage. YOU
say that the phones don't work; the railways are a joke. The airline is
the worst in the world, mails never reach their destination. YOU say
that our country has been fed to the dogs and is in absolute pits.


YOU say, say and say. What do YOU do about it?

Take a person on his way to Singapore . Give him a name - YOURS. Give him
a face - YOURS. YOU walk out of the airport and you are at your
International best. In Singapore you don't throw cigarette butts on the
roads or eat in the stores. YOU are as proud of their Underground Lin ks
as they are. You pay $5 (approx.Rs.60) to drive through Orchard Road
(equivalent of Mahim Causeway or Peddar Road ) between 5 PM an 8PM. YOU
comeback to the parking lot to punch your parking ticket if you
have over stayed in a restaurant or a shopping mall irrespective of your
status identity. In Singapore you don't say anything, DO YOU wouldn't
dare to eat in public during Ramadan, in Dubai . YOU would not dare to go
out without your head covered in Jeddah. YOU would not; dare to buy an
employee of the telephone exchange in London at 10 pounds (Rs.650) a
month to, "See to it that my STD and ISD calls are billed to someone
else."

YOU would not dare to speed beyond 55 mph (88 km/h) in Washington and
then tell the traffic cop, "Jaanta hai sala main kaun hoon (Do you know
who I .I am so and so's son. Take your two bucks and get lost."

YOU wouldn't chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the
garbage pail on the beaches in Aus tralia and New Zealand . Why don't YOU
spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo ? Why don't YOU use examination jockeys
or buy fake certificates in Boston ?

We are still talking of the same YOU. YOU who can respect and conform to
a foreign system in other countries but cannot in your own. You who will
throw papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you touch Indian
ground. If you can be an involved and appreciative citizen in an alien
country, why cannot you be the same here in India ?



Once in an interview, the famous Ex-Municipal Commissioner of Bombay ,
Mr. Tinaikar, had a point to make. "Rich people's dogs are walked on the
streets to leave their affluent droppings all over the place," he said.
And then the same people turn around to criticize and blame the
authorities for inefficiency and dirty pavements. What do they expect
the officers to do? Go down with a broom every time their dog feels the
pressure in his bowels?

In America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done the
job. Same in Japan . Will the Indian citizen do that here?" He's right.


We go to the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all
responsibility. We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the
government to do everything for us whilst our contribution is totally
negative. We expect the government to clean up but we are not going ; to
stop chucking garbage all over the place nor are we going to stop to
pick up a stray piece of paper and throw it in the bin. We expect the
railways to provide clean bathrooms but we are not going to learn the
proper use of bathrooms. We want Indian Airlines and Air India to
provide the best of food and toiletries but we are not going to stop
pilfering at the least opportunity. This applies even to the staff
that is known not to pass on the service to the public. When it comes to
burning social issues like those related to women, dowry, girl child and
others, we make loud drawing room protestations and continue to do the
reverse at home. Our excuse? "It's the whole system which has to change,
how will it matter if I alone forego my sons' rights to a dowry." So
who's going to change the system?

What does a system consist of? Very conveniently for us it consists of
our neighbors, other households, other cities, other communities and the
government.

But definitely not me and YOU. When it comes to us actually making a
positive contribution to the system we lock ourselves along with our
families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at countries far
away and wait for a Mr. Clean to come along & work miracles for us with
a majestic sweep of his hand or we leave the country and run away.

Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to America to bask in
their glory and praise their system. When New York becomes insecure we
run to E ngland. When England experiences unemployment, we take the next
flight out to the Gulf. When the Gulf is war struck, we demand to be
rescued and brought home by the Indian government.

Everybody is out to abuse and rape the country. Nobody thinks of feeding
the system. Our conscience is mortgaged to money.

Dear Indians, The article is highly thought inductive, calls for great
deal of introspection and pricks one's conscience too.... I am echoing
J. F. Kennedy's words to his fellow Americans to relate to Indians.....

"ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MAKE INDIA WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY"

Let's do what India needs from us. Forward this mail to each Indian for
a change instead of sending Jokes or junk mails.

Thank you.

Abdul Kalam

 

This is my first test for including VIDEOS in blogs - lets hope it works :)

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9nQq8IzM2s[/video]

Column written for Interactions. © CACM, 2007. This is the author’s version of the work. It is posted here by permission of ACM for your personal use. It may be redistributed for non-commercial use only, provided this paragraph is included.

Comment: This is one of the most misunderstood of all my columns. So after you finish, read the “Addendum” before you Slashdot or otherwise flame me. Then, if you still disagree, go right ahead and object. I don’t mind criticism. I don’t mind being wrong -- that's how I learn. But it is painful to be misunderstood.

“Why can’t products be simpler?” cries the reviewer in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the local newspaper. “We want simplicity” cry the people befuddled by all the features of their latest whatever. Do they really mean it? No.

But when it came time for the journalists to review the simple products they had gathered together, they complained that they lacked what they considered to be “critical” features. So, what do people mean when they ask for simplicity? One-button operation, of course, but with all of their favorite features.

I recently toured a department store in South Korea. Visiting department stores and the local markets is one of my favorite pastimes whenever I visit a country new to me, the better to get to know the local culture. Foods differ, clothes differ, and in the past, appliances differed: appliances, kitchen utensils, gardening tools, and shop tools.

I found the traditional “white goods” most interesting: Refrigerators and washing machines. The store obviously had the Korean companies LG and Samsung, but also GE, Braun, and Philips. The Korean products seemed more complex than the non-Korean ones, even though the specifications and prices were essentially identical. “Why?” I asked my two guides, both of whom were usability professionals. “Because Koreans like things to look complex,” they responded. It is a symbol: it shows their status.

But while at the store, I marveled at the advance complexities of all appliances, especially ones that once upon a time were quite simple: for example, toasters, refrigerators, and coffee makers, all of which had multiple control dials, multiple LCD displays, and a complexity that defied description.

Once upon a time, a toaster had one knob to control how much the bread was to be toasted and that was all. A simple lever lowered the bread and started the operation. Toasters cost around $20. But in the Korean store, I found a German toaster for 250,000 Korean Won (about $250). It had complex controls, a motor to lower the untoasted bread and to lift it when finished, and an LCD panel with many cryptic icons, graphs, and numbers. Simplicity?

After touring the store my two friendly guides and I stopped outside to where two new automobiles were on display: two brand new Korean SUVs. Complexity again. I’m old enough to remember when a steering wheel was just a steering wheel, the rear view mirror just a mirror. These steering wheels were also complex control structures with multiple buttons and controls including two sets of loudness controls, one for music and one for the telephone (and I’m not even mentioning the multiple stalks on the steering column). The rear view mirror had two controls, one to illuminate the compass the other simply labeled “mirror,” which lit a small red light when depressed. A rear view mirror with an on-off switch? The salesperson didn't know what it did either.

Why such expensive toasters? Why all the buttons and controls on steering wheels and rear-view mirrors? Because they appear to add features that people want to have. They make a difference at the time of sale, which is when it matters most.

Why is this? Why do we deliberately build things that confuse the people who use them?

Answer: Because the people want the features. Because simplicity is a myth whose time has past, if it ever existed.

Make it simple and people won’t buy. Given a choice, they will take the item that does more. Features win over simplicity, even when people realize that it is accompanied by more complexity. You do it too, I bet. Haven’t you ever compared two products side by side, comparing the features of each, preferring the one that did more? Why shame on you, you are behaving, well, behaving like a normal person.

The complex expensive toaster? I bet it sells well.

What really puzzles me, though, is that when a manufacturer figures out how to automate an otherwise mysterious operation, I would expect the resulting device to be simpler. Nope. Here is an example.

Siemens recently released a washing machine that, to quote their website, “is equipped with smart sensors that recognize how much laundry is in the drum, what kind of textiles the laundry load comprises, and if it is heavily or lightly soiled. Users only have to choose one of two program settings: hot and colored wash, or easy-to-clean fabrics. The machine takes care of the rest.”

Hurrah, I said, now the entire wash can be automatic, so there need be only two controls: one to chose between “hot and colored wash” and “easy-to-clean fabrics,” the other to start the machine. Nope, this washer had even more controls and buttons than the non-automatic one. “Why even more controls? I asked my contact at Siemens, “when you could make this machines with only one or two?”.

“Are you one of those people who wants to give up control, who thinks less is better?” asked this usability expert. “Don’t you want to be in control?”

Strange answer. Why the automation if it isn’t to be trusted? And, yes, actually I am one of those bizarre people who think that less is better.

It appears that marketing won the day. And I suspect marketing was right. Would you pay more money for a washing machine with less controls? In the abstract, maybe. At the store? Probably not.

Notice the question: “pay more money for a washing machine with less controls.” An early reviewer of this paper flagged the sentence as an error: “Didn’t you mean ‘less money’?” the reviewer asked? That question makes my point precisely. If a company spent more money to design and build an appliance that worked so well, so automatically, that all it needed was an on-off switch, people would reject it. “This simple looking thing costs more?” They would complain. “What is that company thinking of? I’ll buy the cheaper one with all those extra features – after all, it’s better, right? And I save money.”

Marketing rules – as it should, for a company that ignores marketing is a company soon out of business. Marketing experts know that purchase decisions are influenced by feature lists, even if the buyers realize they will probably never use most of the features. Even if the features confuse more than they help.

Yes, we want simplicity, but we don’t want to give up any of those cool features. Simplicity is highly overrated.

Don Norman wears many hats, including co-founder of the Nielsen Norman group, Professor at Northwestern University, and author, his latest book being Emotional Design. He lives at www.jnd.org.

Addendum

I’m a champion of elegance, simplicity, and ease of use. But, as a business person, I also know that companies have to make money, which means they have to deliver the products that their customers want, not the products they believe they should want. And the truth is, simplicity does not sell. Why?

One of my correspondents posed the question with great clarity:

After reading “simplicity is highly overrated,” one thing seems to puzzle me. Do you mean that features packed system cannot have a simplistic interface? Or do you mean that people are not willing to pay for a system with same number of features because it appears to have less manipulable things on its interface, and hence looks less capable than some other intimidating-looking complex machine?

The answer is the latter: people are not willing to pay for a system that looks simpler because it looks less capable. Hence the fully automatic system that still contains lots of buttons and knobs. Joel Spolsky of Fog Creek Software has an eloquent description of the problem, and why he too discovered that adding apparent complexity is necessary. See his blog:

http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2006/12/09.html

A few others have chimed in to support the notion that complex products look more powerful. One gave an example from Iran:

I find this exaggerated beyond proportion whenever I go to Iran. In the consumer electronics bazaars over there, the perception of luxury / sophistication / desirability goes hand in hand with more features (sometimes useless inaccessible features in the case of cellphones / networks) and anything less/ perfectly usable and functional whether cheaper or more expensive is by default considered far inferior.

In my article I used a Korean example. As a result, many of my readers seem to think I wrote the entire article based upon this one experience. Some seemed to think this was my first and only trip to a foreign (or Asian) country. Amazing. I wrote the article after decades of experience in design, especially of consumer products. The arguments apply universally. Do I travel? Hah. Over 140,000 airline miles in 2006 alone. Close to 2 million documented airline miles total.

Do we have to go to Korea or Iran to find this tendancy? Nope. I have experienced this in the United States. Here is one example. I am helping a company design an entirely new approach to one of their standard products. It looks simple. During a user test, one person said that he really liked it, but it was too bad he wouldn't use it.

"Why not?" we asked.

"Because it isn't powerful enough for my particular problem," he replied.

"Try it," we suggested, "we would like to see where it fails so we can make it better."

Well, it didn't fail. it handled his problem just fine. Looking simple was the culprit. if it looks simple, he seemed to think, it must not be powerful.

Many of the complaints sent to me provided examples of specific difficulties with poorly designed, complex devices. Hey, I am not advocating bad design. I am simply pointing out a fact of life: purchasers, on the whole, prefer more powerful devices to less powerful ones. They equate the apparent simplicity of the controls with lack of power: complexity with power. This doesn't mean everyone. it does mean the majority, however, and this is who the marketing specialists of a company target. Quite appropriately, in my opinion.

One person truly misunderstood because he advocated hiding the extra controls, thus preserving the apparent simplicity. Sorry: it is the apparent complexity that drives the sale. And yes, it is the same complexity that frustrates those same people later on. But by then, it is too late: they have already purchased the product.

Many correspondents understood this, but presented very sensible, very logical arguments as to why this should not be true. Logic and reason, I have to keep explaining, are wonderful virtues, but they are irrelevant in describing human behavior. Trying to prove a point through intelligent, reasonable argumentation is what I call the “engineer’s fallacy.” (Also, the economist’s fallacy.”) We have to design for the way people really behave, not as engineers or economists would prefer them to behave.

Logic is not the way to answer these issues: human behavior is the key. Avoid the engineer's and economist's fallacy: don't reason your way to a solution -- observe real people. We have to take human behavior the way it is, not the way we would wish it to be.

So, of course I am in favor of good design and attractive products. Easy to use products. But when it comes time to purchase, people tend to go for the more powerful products, and they judge the power by the apparent complexity of the controls. If that is what people use as a purchasing choice, we must provide it for them. While making the actual complexity low, the real simplicity high. That's an exciting design challenge: make it look powerful while also making it easy to use. And attractive. And affordable. And functional. And environmentally appropriate. Accessible to all.

That's why I like design: it presents wonderful challenges.

Hi friends, I have a request for you.

If you have a function at home or at office, and food gets wasted, don't hesitate to call 1098 - Child helpline. They will come and collect the food. Do remember this number folks. Keep circulating this mail to all your friends. We have to thank God for the food that we have. But in the other hand ... ironically, we still waste the food that we buy. Please forward this message to all your friends.

"Helping hands are better than Praying Lips."

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Here is the answer for it.

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Says Sravan, “snehaH.com seeks to provide a platform for people to share ideas and knowledge from their professional spheres to their variegated hobbies. And as the name ‘snehaH’ implies friendship – (a sanskrit word), it also helps people make friends and build social networks. There are number of sites which are sprouting everyday providing people with social networking options but do not go beyond that idea. snehaH.com is a one stop solution which brings to the table the idea of networking and knowledge sharing”.

snehaH.com looks to integrate Indians with similar interests and give them a platform to grow and develop themselves. It has already started drawing people in large numbers and seeks to serve every person who taps its resources.

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enjoy & keep snehaH
Admin

Hi All,

Have plugged in some Music, Videos and Games under music and fun section. These sections will be updated frequently with thousands of good stuffs. So keep visiting the site.

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Thanks,

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