The difficulty of being good
In 2006, almost everyone who were concerned about human rights and individual freedom were criticizing Yahoo for its action in China. New York Times columnist Nicholos Kristof started one of his columns thus: “Suppose that Anne Frank had maintained an e-mail account while in hiding in 1944, and that the Nazis had asked Yahoo for cooperation in tracking her down. It seems, based on Yahoo’s behavior in China, that it might have complied.” Yahoo’s crime: its cooperation with Chinese government led to the arrest of three dissidents.That episode says something about the difficulty of doing business in countries with varying degrees of political freedom.
Now, India is ranked 43 places above China in Press Freedom Index, and a 100 places above in Democracy Index. While the government here has shown authoritarian streaks in wanting to control internet, in some cases it has also made you wonder if it’s somewhat justified. A case in point: Last August, it ordered over 300 sites to shut down to quell rumors of attacks against people from North East. (We wrote about it here.)
Business Line has a report on a committee that looked into whether the government was right in shutting down the websites. Here’s a part I found interesting: “The panel has also noted in its report that Google, Facebook and Twitter did not disclose the details of the users who had uploaded objectionable content.”
What do you think Google, Facebook and Twitter should have done?
Genpact acquires Jawood
Genpact said it has acquired Jawood, an IT and consulting firm focused on healthcare, and India based Felix which does subcontracting work for Jawood. The company hasn’t given the details of the transaction. Going by the total number of employees – 420+ – it looks as if it’s not just another small acquisition. On surface, it makes sense for two reasons. One, Genpact, which is primarily seen as a BPO firm, has been strengthening its IT/Consulting domain for sometime now. Two, healthcare is increasingly becoming a key vertical for technology firms not only because it’s a recession proof sector, but also it’s expected to spend more on IT in the coming years.
Laptops Vs Desktops in India
Here’s an interesting piece of information from HCL Info CEO Harsh Chitale’s interview to Mint
It’s becoming the first device for many already. I actually see more challenge to laptops than desktops because desktops are still needed to make it your home computer or in banks where you don’t allow data to move out, etc. So, there’s a base level market for the desktop. Interestingly, for the last two quarters in the developing world, laptops market has shrunk but not desktops.
Also of interest
- Ubuntu phones coming in October, promising ‘a leap’ ahead of current interfaces : The Verge
- AngelList’s Naval Ravikant Says The Future Of VC Is In Smaller Funding Rounds | Techcrunch
- Apple announces 25 billion iTunes song sales, averaging over 15,000 downloads every minute | The Next Web
- (And…. Gives Guy Who Downloaded 25 Billionth Song A $13,525 iTunes Gift Card | Fast Company)
- Science Confirms The Obvious: Men And Women Aren’t That Different | Popular Science
- Why hiring B players will kill your startup | Venture Beat
- If You Count Tablets, Then Apple Is the Leader in a Growing PC Market | AllThingsD
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