Carpooling – The Good, the Bad and the Environment

Fuel prices have been stable for the past couple of weeks, but this trend is not going to continue nor is it going to go backward (wishful thinking). Some newspapers have already carried the news that we should be prepared for a substantial hike in fuel prices once the election season is over. The lull in price fluctuation was enforced by the Election Commission of India and comes under its code of conduct, which was lifted last week.

When faced with news, especially bleak news – there are two ways a person can go about dealing with it. Accept it or take steps for change. In this scenario, we can either accept that fuel prices will keep on rising. After all, that’s how it’s always played in the past OR we can take concrete alternative steps to counter it. The rise in fuel prices is just one of the many reasons why we should start looking at ways to share our daily commute. Look at it this way, more people in one automobile = less number of cars on the road = less chances of a traffic jam happening. More people reaching on time to their destinations is just one of the many positive outcomes arising out of this practice.

What’s stopping us from making group commuting a habit? Not only are we saving money, resources and time – we are making sure we leave a small carbon footprint in our country (more on carbon footprints here: http://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx).

The only challenge I can see can come in the form of organizing everyone’s time and habits when heading out together in a single vehicle – but technology can help us here with many online services coming out to help us in this regard. One of the more helpful ones is - http://www.carpooling.in/

Here at Hero BPO, we have a culture of our employees travelling to and fro from work and home in company cabs – highlighting our commitment to group comminuting. People living in the same neighborhood travel together saving costs and thus helping leave a leaner carbon footprint.

“We're in a giant car heading towards a brick wall and everyones arguing over where they're going to sit” ― David Suzuki

Potentiality versus Opportunity

Bound by my fad for technology and following the latest developments from the house of world’s leading innovator Apple, I decided to pen down this blog post. Technology excites me and keeping a tab on the latest trends is something I’m fond of. Keeping its trend alive, Apple at its latest Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) announced a flurry of new products that it plans to offer this year, including new operating systems and updated Mac computers. It seems that Apple, one of the world leaders, has found inspiration again and is ready to take the game to the opposition. As for these wonderful pieces of innovation, I’m surely going to review one of them very soon.

iOS 7, the latest version of Apple’s flagship mobile operating system, is the biggest change to the platform since the iPhone was introduced five years ago. Featuring a radically overhauled interface, new Control Center, transparent animations and more, it's pretty impressive. With a greater synergy among hardware and software design, Apple’s iOS 7 features flat, simple design with a vast use of light and bright colors. The new design is evident in everything from sharper, flatter icons, slimmer fonts, a new slide-to-unlock function, and a new control panel that slides up from the bottom of the screen for frequently accessed settings.

Along with this, Apple also plans to introduce the new Mac Pro, which will include a new Intel Xeon processor and come standard with dual AMD workstation discrete graphics processors. It will also support 4K, ultra high-definition displays out of the box, and the system is only one eighth the volume of the earlier Mac Pro. A combination of all these features makes this machine certainly designed for an amazing speed.

I remember Steve Jobs mentioning in one of his interviews that we are living in the post-PC era. I think it has to be true. With the introduction of OS X Mavericks, Apple has proven that there is still much work that can be done to improve computing on the desktop and laptop. With more than 200 new features coming in the fall, OS X Mavericks brings Maps and iBooks to the Mac and introduces many other features.

This reminds me of an article I was reading a few days ago, when a thought crossed my mind, that compelled and redirected me to a different direction. We Indians are a smart race. Test us mentally and we can rise to the challenge. Little wonder that the world’s sharpest brains belong to the Indian lineage and undoubtedly it is a matter of great pride.

Though there is enough potential in our country, there seems to be a dearth of opportunities and resources. Just last month, I had tweeted about this 18-year-old girl, Eesha Khare, who invented a super-capacitor device that could potentially charge your cellphone in less than 20 seconds. Imagine how much time that will save! Being of Indian origin, I doubt if Eesha would have been rewarded in a similar manner if she were to be a resident of India.

Moreover, like I’d mentioned in my previous post, the education system in India must strive to focus on an overall holistic development of a child and an equal importance has to be given to his or her knowledge, hard work, perseverance and passion. The youth today has been abundantly exposed to numerous media channels and cultures that they are constantly on a lookout for ways to represent themselves in front of the world. Their sheer confidence and a steadfast attitude to make it big is something that needs a constant dose of encouragement and there shall be no looking back.  

Therefore, I believe that these young brains that possess immense talent should be given a platform to showcase their work and must be rewarded for their achievements. It’s them who will bring India to the forefront in the years to come and recognizing their gift will help us break new grounds like never before and reach new avenues.