Remembering the ‘iMan’

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backwards, so you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well known path, and that  will make all the difference”                                                      Steve Jobs  

He might have been just like any other ordinary man but his deeds were no doubt, extraordinary. Steve Paul Jobs, the co-founder of Apple Inc passed away on October 5, 2011 after fighting against cancer for nearly a decade, leaving behind a rich legacy of technical innovations. I proudly remembers this great technology tycoon whose name will forever go down in the book of legends.

A man with a vision

Steve Jobs is often credited for making the personal computers what they are today. Thanks to him, today we are able to operate simple yet sophisticated looking computers at the touch of a button and a twist of the mouse without having to memorise and input thousands of complicated commands into the computer. His numerous dreamlike inventions such as Apple I, Apple II, Macintosh and the ever popular i series, comprising of iPod, ipad, iphone, have changed the landscape of technology across the globe forever.

Humble beginnings

Steve Jobs was born on February 24, 1955 in San Francisco but his biological parents, Abdulfattah John Jandali and Joanne Schieble gave him up for adoption. He was later adopted by the family of Paul Jobs and Clara Jobs from California. The youngster exhibited an early interest in electronics and while in high school attended lectures at the nearby Hewlett-Packard plant in Palo Alto, California. He attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon, for one semester, then dropped out of school, and immersed himself in philosophy.

In 1974, Jobs took a job with Atari, Inc., where he worked on the early computer game breakout just long enough to finance a trip to India. After shaving his head and backpacking through India, he returned California where he “capped off his spiritual journey with a sojourn at a farm commune.”  Jobs joined a local group of computer enthusiasts, who called themselves The Homebrew Computer Club, in 1975.

The acknowledged genius of this Palo Alto group was a Hewlett-Packard employee named Stephen Wozniak, whom Jobs convinced to join him in a business venture. With a total of $1, 300, which they acquired by selling Job’s Volkswagen microbus and Wozniak’s Hewlett-Packard calculator, the pair set out to design and build what would become the Apple 1computer- named for a summer Jobs had spent working in an apple orchard.

Steve and Wozniak launched the first Apple I computer from his parent’s garage. Success came to him at a very young age. Apple was an instant success in 1976 and Steve became a billionaire at the age of 25.

The giant called ‘Apple’

But luck did not favour him for too long. He was ousted from his own company by his partner and board of members after nearly a decade of hard work. He went through a period of uncertainty. But Jobs never gave up. He went on to found yet another company called the Next. Also he bought George Lucas’ The Graphics Group and converted it into Pixar studio which was an astounding success. Pixar is credited with the production of a series of computer animated feature films such as Toy story and Finding Nemo. Meanwhile things got ugly at the Apple computer. That is when Steve was called back for rescue of Apple. Steve took over the reins of the company as the CEO in 1996 and took it to the zenith of success this time. His magic formula was none other than the ‘I’ series, the first one; ipod was every music lovers dream. Who could have thought of the possibility of a technology that can store upto a thousand of your favourite songs? Ipod, a tiny compact device that can make you listen to your favourite song at the push of a single button was a big hit. Just when the world was reviving from the awe of ipod, Steve struck again but this time with an iphone. The sleek touch screen phone with thousand of interesting applications created huge waves among apple enthusiasts and the sale peaked. He continued to churn out some more technological wonders such as the ipad and itunes.

Even as he made hay in business, he was suffering from a rare kind of a pancreatic cancer. He was only 56 years old when he passed away recently. His dream and persona was very infectious and his success larger than life. That is why the name of Steve Jobs will go into the history of the world’s greatest men. He was a man who shaped the technology across the world and will be remembered for years to come.

Jaaga- A Common Space for Creativity

Jaaga, which means space in Kannada, and awakening in Hindi, was born when Archana Prasad, an artist, noticed the lack of an affordable creative community spaces in Bangalore.

Archana,in association with a group of artists created a platform called Samuha to exhibit their work. But her thirst for a “creative common ground” was fulfilled only when she met Freeman Murray, a technologist from California, in a pure chance. Freeman suggested the modular low cost structure of raw pallaks, a structure built from pallet racks.

Within a year they came up with Jaaga, the structure came up on land donated by city-based architect Naresh Narasimhan off Richmond Road. Today Jaaga is registered as a charitable trust, which offering core infrastructure and mentorship to a few tech start ups, conducts educational workshops for aspiring students, it make available space for tech groups, artists & social organizations to meet and show off their work.

Jaaga seeks to nurture innovative endeavors by providing space, core infrastructure, and a diverse social environment. The space is a free venue for networking, partnerships and collaborative work and is open for use to anyone interested in displaying their art, performing a play or presenting a dance recital. 

Since its inception, Jaaga has hosted more than 300 events, mostly to packed houses. The first event held at Jaaga was the Robert Bosch Art Grant ceremony.

The structure of Jaaga is a made up of red and blue pallet racks put together and looks like a movie set. Meant for supporting pallets of heavy material at multiple levels in a warehouse the pallet rack uprights support loads of 4 tons each and the beams support loads of 1.5 tons per pair. They can be assembled and modified easily without the need of cranes or any other special equipment. With the assistance of volunteers, the 3-storied Jaaga structure was built up in all of 15 hours. The flooring is made up of plywood and metal wires and the walls are made of billboards. Being fully mobile, it can be dismantled and reassembled within hours, can be moved to different neighbourhoods, cities and countries.

Jaaga also hosts an Electronics Lab where people work on next generation lighting systems, and a Media Lab that enables people to explore new media technologies.

A cool place for work

Fed up with your routine work at the cubicle, tired with the revolving computer chairs and corporate work culture?  Well, then it is the time to join the Jaaga Co-working and make use of the Jaaga space to create a fun and productive culture.

Working in a common space led to interesting conversations and the birth of new ideas. With your lap top and internet connection you can make money in a way such as programming, video editing, web design or graphic design.

The idea is for people to form small groups or startups run by founders working alone or in small groups of 2 or 3 could plug into the Co-working and they will get the benefit of a healthy company culture – having other smart people around to bounce ideas off, go to for technical help, or play ping pong in the morning and Jaaga will provide electricity, food and a great culture.

Jaaga Juice

Jaaga Juice is an interactive arts hacker-maker collective comprising of

Archana Prasad(media artist/poet), Freeman Murray(hacker), Clemence Barret(artist/film-maker), Kiran D(maker), Ria Rajan(designer) and Sean Blagsvedt(hacker).

They are interested in hacking cutting-edge consumer and beta technologies to create artworks that are interactive and sentient. The theoretical frameworks that they have begun to articulate and are constantly developing are: Enlightened Singularity and The Living Building.  

Jaaga is not just another room for people from all over, its uniqueness be made up of the diverse social environment it provides and the way it look at art in the community. 

Remembering the Anna giri

The name Anna Hazare occupied a large space in Indian as well as the International media for the last couple of months. His uncompromisingly sharp dispute with corruption as well as the Lokpal bill was discussed each and every nook and corner of India

Anna Hazare is one of India’s well–acclaimed social activists. A former solider in the Indian army, he has brought out the entire country on the streets to fight against corruption.

Hazare well known for up grading the ecology and economy of the village Ralegan Siddhi, located at the Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra. His continuous efforts changed the erstwhile barren in to a unique model of rural development.

To root out corruption from India, he started Bhrashtachar Virodhi Jan Aandolan in 1991. His RTI campaign and battle against corruption gave him a place in the heart of millions of Indians. But what made him at the centre point of all discussion is his stand for the Lokpal Bill.

He started a fast at the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi, demanding the government for a stronger anti-graft legislation. People from all aspects of life came together and joined with this anti-graft crusader in his fight against corruption. This forced the government to stoop before this citizen’s movement.

The Indian Parliament agreed the three key demands of Anna Hazare and his team over the Lokpal Bill such as - Citizen's charter, inclusion of lower bureaucracy and creation of Lokayuktas through Lokpal bill - for Standing Committee's consideration.

The team members of Anna Hazare in his fight against corruption include Kiran Bedi, Shanthi Bhushan, Arvind Kejriwal, Prashanth Bhushan and Santhosh Hegde.

The Gandhian activists has won many awards such as Padmabhushan award, Padmashri award, Priya Darshini Vriksha Mitra award, Young India award, Man of the Year award, Vivekananda Seva Puraskar etc.

From a tenacious soldier to a social reformer, this 74 year-old, anti-corruption crusader is still working for the upliftment of the faceless citizens of India. His zeal and energy motivating millions of Indian’s to fight against corruption.