CID 01: Zune's marketing strategy

Current Department of Interest

Now that the Microsoft Zune fever is catching up on me, and the device itself available from the 13th of November, there have been a few marketing mediums that Microsoft had chose.

1. Word of mouth
Even though, the Zune community isn't a big group in comparison to the big iPod, the user community had been active and very loyal. There were a few forums where Zune related news were discussed in length. Inside scoops, news on the next available update, etc. What Microsoft did was brilliant. It heard what users in those forums had to say. They came up with this ZuneInsider (Hard to say if it was planned or not, but I love conspiracy). A guy who is a part of the Zune team giving inside information that was otherwise unavailable to the general public. This along with another Zune-Spy really paved the way, when Microsoft came up with the designs for the next generation Zunes, the Zune 2. The whole of the internet underground was abuzz with the rumours. Most of these were picked by iFanBoys (Nick name for Apple fans) sincerely picked up these news and started bashing it, giving Zune the much needed recognition. As there are a whole bunch of unbiased people out in those forums, the bashing of iFanBoys invoked curiosity. A job well done!

2. Press Meet
One thing that I like about Microsoft is always there low-key promotional events marking the unveiling of any new product. Very little information was provided unlike Apple, a full-fledged demo of their product by Steve Jobs is done on a big stage with all the press from the world. At least in this case I suspect that Microsoft felt that they were lagging behind in terms of Zune, but are fast catching up. I guess that's the reason why there was no such big hoopla. This left everyone begging for information.

3. Print Ads
There has been two print ads till date. One spanning five pages and the other two. On the psychedelic side, but definitely to evoke curiosity among the readers. How many times have you been curious to find a full page ad and dying to know the product? This did the job.

4. TV Ads
One of the most important forms of advertising and did Microsoft struck it right? Only time will tell. Here are the two TV spots. You be the judge. A word of caution though.

UPDATE:
These two TV ads are in the top 15 commercials
AdForum
AdCritic

I think my cousin would be in a better position to appreciate the nuances of marketing as he earns his bread in the world of ads :)

CEO 01: Microsoft Zune

My first post under CEO: Current Excitement & Obsession

I have been looking for a good media player. Not wanting any of Apple's products, I was searching for an alternative. That's when I came to know that Microsoft was releasing it's own digital media player for the holidays of 2006. The first impression on the device, ZUNE, was an utter disappointment for me. It had a boxy look with an ugly design called the double-shot with click buttons. I hated it.

Zune (First Generation)

I knew one thing, that Microsoft will release updates to their firmware and they did it in between, but not up to the mark. Their wireless and radio feature had my hopes still standing. On Oct 2nd, there it was, Microsoft came out with its second generation Zune. It evoked quite some interest.

Zune (Second Generation)

In a hurry they had got an already available device from Toshiba for last year. For this year, after all the media bashing, Microsoft had changed almost everything in it.

Even though I had been following the events very closely days before that, the actual demo videos of Zune made me buy the idea. Now, I am totally into Zune.

The new Zunes are to be released on Nov 13th. There is a lot of interest in the new version as iPod fans (Read Apple fans) are trying to find something or the other to play them down.

I am buying myself a Zune for sure. Whether it is a 8 GB or an 80 GB is a question, which I will decide on Nov 13th.

My C's: Categories of my Crap

I have, in the past, limited my posts to somethings that excite me a lot. Even though I am a person who doesn't express stuff freely in writings, I tried to get that out to have my "Freedom of Expression" thing going on, I have always felt reclusive. In order to get this as a self-morale-boosting thing, I have come up with the idea of categorizing my posts into various C's.

All of them have the same pattern - The simultaneous thought processes on the same thing, as my small under-utilized brain tries to comprehend.

So here we go, the following are some of the stuff that I think will be the future categories of The Excelsior's blogs.

CEO: Current Excitement & Obsession
I have this kind of in-built (My Vocabulary) or as they say in normal language in-born quality of inquisitiveness that gets me interested in something. It so happens that sometimes it starts growing on me that I even don't mind not eating while getting information on that stuff, till my interest dies out on that topic. Normally this kind of thing lasts for a few days and sometimes a few weeks too.

CA: Current Agony
As the name implies, when I learn about some stuff, it gets me agonizing. These posts belong to that category and is a good vent for my frustration. You might see my true self in this.

CID: Current Department of Interest
You might ask, "What the Hell... How can it be CID... Shouldn't it be CDI?" I say "What the Hell... What is Ph.D.?" to shut your mouth. By the way, it sounds cool and that's the reason behind CID. Anyways, most of my posts might fall under this category. Mostly related to the latest CEO of mine at any point of time. You would know what I am doing, during any week, on the Internet.

CORE: Current Or Recent Events
These are the current events that are happening or any recent events that happened in my life. Mostly this might have to do with my daily activities, but watch out, it will have travelogues interspersed giving an idea as to whether you want to visit the place that became Holy after I made the visit.

Now that the context has been set for my future posts, I am looking forward to interest, amaze and at some times bore the hell out of you all. By the way, if you are bored it means that the topic of post is uninteresting only to you and not others.

Wooohhooooooo.... Me the blogging...

All's Mine: My recent purchases

Hmmm.... This is one of those off-topic posts, more about my personal possessions which I am always privy about. Discussing anything personal always puts me in one of those positions called "Uncomfortable". I hate them. Yet, I have managed to share some for the interest just because I am bored right now.

So, this post is about what I have bought of late. Online shopping has been the most favourite thing. When I moved to Charlotte from Chicago, I set up everything electronically. Hail the Internet. At the same time, I have made some stupid decisions in spite of all the information available, proving once again my decisions in haste always sucks!

Coming back to the topic, here are the list of e-stuff that I bought recently (In the year 2007).

1. 1998 Honda Civic LX (The only non e-stuff but worth mentioning :))
2. Blackberry Pearl
3. Plantronics Bluetooth Headset
4. Python Keyless entry & Alarm
5. Skyscan Atomic Clock
6. Mio C220 Digiwalker Portable GPS
7. Kensington Ci65m Wireless Mouse
8. HP DVD 940 Lightscribe External DVD Writer
9. iPod Nano 4 GB
10. A 1 GB RAM for the PC at Chennai
11. ADS Digital Photo Frame (The worst buy of 2007)

With my planned trip to India during the Holidays, bought a few stuff for my immediate relatives. Honestly, I have been running out of ideas. Whatever I feel like buying, seems to scare the shit out of me. What if they don't like it? What if they already have it? What if you can get the same thing there (and that too at a lesser price)? Everything points only to one thing. Embarrassment. I have put in more than 16 hours worth of effort in searching for stuff. Invariably I end up getting stuff for my "Grumpy" sis. She does get on to my nerves at times, but she is sweet. So I end up getting stuff for her.

Still haven't finished my shopping, but have to do that within the next couple of weeks before I take-off for a sweet ride back home. Its been 2 years now.

ATM: Withdraw your cash

After a very loooooooonnnnnnngggggg break got some time to pen down my thoughts. This time, a review of the soundtrack of 'Azhagiya Thamizh Magan'

Paisa Vasool... Two words for people intending to buy Azhagiya Thamizh Magan's audio CD. Here is my attempt in reviewing the songs of this album. I am writing this review after a countless number of listenings.


DISCLAIMER: I'm a hard core Rahman fan, being so for the past 15 years. So, the opinions might be biased ;) .

Track 1: Ellaappugazhum

This song is of the inspirational one. The songs starts with an electric guitar, then goes into a drums/tabla kinds for the rhythm giving a typical twist to the song. Just before the first Charanams comes the surprise where the songs goes into an orchestral mode (Western classical - I love western classical and I think he has gone into the mode with international assignments) with trumpets, violins with the tabla rhythms still in the background! The song has electronic piano supporting. A.R.Rahman sings this song and completes the song in a non-song fashion with a few recitals again, supported by orchestral instruments.

Track 2: Ponmagal Vandhaal

A remix of the hit Ponmagal Vandhaal from the 1970's Sivaji Ganesan starrer 'Sorgam'. Sung by Aslam and Ember Rap (Am not sure whether Rap is the part of the name). As spilled earlier, the song is heavily on the rap, but in my opinion Ember performs better than Blaze. Unlike a typical remix, the pace of the song was actually surprisingly slow. The song is an Indianized rap/funk with two small portions of the actual song (by TMS) used in between. The rap lyrics can causes a smile in the corner of your mouth.

Track 3: Nee Marilyn Monroe

A pop number (actually it has a mix of other genres as well... so am confused here) sung by Benny Dayal, Ujjayinee. The only aspect of this song that I didn't like was the use of "Jeniffer Lopez scanning" which I haven't been able to understand till now. I think some of the words were thrown in just to have the perfect stress for the syllable count. This is the song which took more listenings to understand the beauty. This song has a pinch of Bhangra interlaced in-between which changes to Reggae! A very soft song complemented by electronic backings.

Track 4: Valayapatti

The song starts with a mild Carnatic classical but gets a folk base with Thavil and Naresh Iyer and Ujjayinee's rendition. Madhumitha provides the female vocals. The song has an electronic chords in the begining. The piece before the first Charanam has a tinge of Rajasthani folk, reggae and Hisndustani. The Charanam goes into folk, which is taken over by Madhumitha into pukka Carnatic with three raagas. I love this specific part. The song proceeds with a Indian classical (got a feel of Tamil devotional songs :)). The chords reign supreme in this song. Makes you think how this man is able to mix this into a beautiful concoction. The result is stunning.

Track 5: Kelaamal Kaiyile

Undoubtedly my favourite song of this album. Sung by Sriram Parthasarathy and Saindhavi. Saindhavi's voice is on the higher end of the frequency spectrum :) but I like it. The song has a fast rhythm. The mystic rendition adds to the beauty. There is a place in the song which make me stereotype Sriram (Actually sounds similar to a song in Parasuram). The best part of the song is when the first Charanam ends and where Saindhavi starts "Paarkkum paarvai". The beats, chords, voice, everything, it makes you go into a state of joy, which can be expressed only by music and Rahman has done it to perfection. Makes me proud that I am his fan for all these years.

Track 6: Maduraikku Pogathadee

A folk song with Nadhaswaram, Thavil, Thappattai, Jalra. Benny Dayal, Archith and Dharshana are the lead vocals for this song. Perfect "Kuthu Paatu". The pronounciation in this songs are very hard (Everything on the 'Vallinam' side - Refer to Tamil Grammar). The highlight of this perfect song is the strong rhythms provided by Thavil and a surprising underlay of Electric and Bass guitar.


No wonder he has been rocking the music industry for so many years.

My Recommendations:

To Rahman-haters:
Don't buy this album, you will end up increasing your temper due to helplessness.

To Rahman's fans and music fans in general:
A definite buy. Don't get back to me after one listening. Let it grow for a few times at least. You will love this album. A hit from Rahman catering to a wide variety of target listening group.

Once agin, ATM - Paisa Vasool

Harry Potter: The magic lives...

SPOILER WARNING: The below post might contain the plot details of the Seventh and the final book of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Harry Potter - A household name for fantasy lovers like me. Counting the days I had left to get hold of a personal copy of the final book. I happened to stumble upon some newsin the internet that the book has been leaked. This evoked the in-born curiosity to seek and I had success.

With just a few minutes into the release day of HP7, I finished reading the final book in its entirety, becoming one of a few thousand people who have read the book before it was supposed to be released.

Now, whether it is right of me to acquire a pirated copy is out of the question as I have not redistributed it. Further, I have already paid for the book waiting for it to be delivered and I am free to make as many copies as I wish for my own personal use. Boy, was it worth the effort.

Where do I start? I am not going to say that J.K.R is an extraordinary genius, but I am going to stick with genius. Some portions/character/scenes have been borrowed from other fantasy works as everyone knew by now as it is evident in her previous works. In spite of that, I find The Deathly Hallows as gripping as or more than that of the Half-Blood Prince. While HBP answered 90% of the questions, an intermitently slow paced book answers the remaining 10% with a lot of narratives.

Every instance of Harry outrunning Voldermort, every instance of the terriffic trio getting into trouble the moment they decide to do something keeps the readers on their toes, eclipsed only by two things - 1. The concept of Deathly Hallows and 2. The climax and the events leading to it.

I loved the Harry Potter series as much (or more than) I did Lord of the Rings, for a simple reason that Book 7 was decided long back. The intricacies involved in writing for earlier books keeping in mind the future books is the key speciality of J.K.R.

HP fans out there, I am sure you will love this book. You will have lots of surprises - Loss & damages to property & lives, multiple encounters of Harry and Voldermort. Last but not the least, Harry educating Voldermort about the magic and weapon which he posseses is better than Voldermort's.

In the next few weeks, I would be reading this book again and again. For that matter, I would be reading all the other 6 six HP books as well, for many years to come.

C-Section in TN: Where are the ethics

It has been a long time since I wrote blogs. Lots of distraction and as usual, blame the work. I was browsing the net when I stumbled upon a news which took me through the states of surprise, shock and eventual anger, in chronological order.

The news was about a so-called recent achievement by a 15 year-old boy in Std. X. Apparently the boy had done a C-Section surgery (Caesarian) under the "expert" guidance of a doctor (his father). This had happened a few months ago and the proud father shows the video of the surgery as an evidence to the medical fraternity in order to get fame for his son in the form of seeing him enter the record books.

Now he and his son might see themselves, but this time facing legal action. Apparently the doctor had retracted his statement saying that his son merely watched the proceedings with curiosity and was not a part of the surgery. What the heck!

There are certain things that anger me here.

1. What the hell was the 'Dr. Father' thinking when he let his son do the surgery? God damn it, he is a doctor, a literate!
2. What happened to the ethics of the profession? In an already conflicting world of pharmacists, doctors and nurses in India, why should a Class 10 student contribute? Just because there was a "watchful" eye doesn't mean that my neighbor can do a surgery with some other watchful eye.
3. How would the actual person who had the baby feel? Does she even know about it? Isn't it a betrayal of trust? Poor lady. She would have seen the baby only after waking up from her anesthesia not knowing a kid did it. Thank God he didn't do anything wrong.

What angers me even more is the statement made by father which goes something like "When a 15 year old can be a doctor in US why not accept it here?". What bullshit of a question is this? What is your son studying? Std. 10 and not MBBS you moron.

If I have knowledge about how to make a bomb doesn't necessarily mean that I should actually make one and explode it. Knowledge is wealth, but that doesn't mean that you get qualified to implement it.

Unless or otherwise the Government steps in, these kind of activities would encourage others to go for such extremes, just for the heck of getting their names in record books.

Sivaji: Hear the name rumble

"Pera kaettaa summaa adhurudhillaaa..."

A punch dialogue from the Tamil blockbuster movie SIVAJI. Makes the crowd go crazy, not minding the long wait both for the movie to release and also outside the cinema hall.

I happened to catch the second day's show in Chicago. A very good attempt by Shankar, the man who is the Spiderman of Tamil Nadu. Everything is extravagant and makes sure that you get stuck in the web of magic he weaves every time with his movies.

Sivaji  - The Boss was no exception. A 3 hour 5 minute movie keeps the audience's mouth busy (Don't get anything wrong here). I was referring to laughing and whistling. I guess Shankar had put in an effort to make an ordinary story tailored to fit perfectly for Rajni, to fit perfectly his Larger-Than-Life image.

What is astonishing is the way he manages to pull it off. Now comes the part where many reading this blog might not like. A few flaws in the movie. I have read enough reviews of the movie listing its plus points as well as the minuses. Don't jump to conclusions that I accept logic-defying scenes in Hollywood movies. I do not accept them too.

SPOILER WARNING: For people who have not seen the movie yet, a word of caution, please do not read further.

The part when Rajini dies and comes back to life after many units of distance and time, comes back to life when Raghuvaran the doctor uses a Defibrillator to amazingly save his life. This was the major part that I was not able to digest.

Apart from that, the stunt scene in the music shop has Rajini hitting the goondas with instruments like Guitar. The villains fly off with the impact but nothing happens to the instrument! Come on!

Third one is when Rajini stabs a guy but he does it in a meticulous way where nothing happens to the fellow inspite of the serrated knife getting in by many inches!

Putting these Logic and Gravity defying acts apart, the movie was good. A nice & fast screenplay, excellent song picturization and the never-cloying style which says 'Rajini'. Vivek comes back to form.

All in all a very good entertainer. At the time of writing this blog, the movie has broken the record of highest per-screen average ever grossed for a film in the United Kingdom.

 Being a fan of A.R.Rahman and Shankar, this was what I would call a "Paisa-vasool" movie.

My recommendation: Must watch