Apps = Enshittification of Internet Services

Most businesses have rapidly pushed us their apps rather than providing services through their websites. The users have been told that you would get a far more "immersive" experience than a website could ever give. But "hey just give me control over your SMSs, your photos, your videos, your location and of course your ability to control what a website can do through browser controls".

These businesses cloaked these acts as beneficial to the users by the so-called gate keepers called App Stores. Publish your apps to the App Stores, get users to install your software on their phones -- just because the App Stores say they are safe. In fact in the Computer Science community, running untrusted code has always been a big issue. That is why web standards evolved into accepting Javascript as a safe-enough language that can do little harm. In fact, Google wrote a beautiful system's paper in 2009 on how to make untrusted code run safely: "Native Client: A Sandbox for Portable, Untrusted x86 Native Code". 

I have highlighted these security issues with the Apps and why Web browsers are a better alternative almost a decade back. But people loved apps, businesses loved apps and now the App Stores love Apps because they can impose an App-Tax ranging from 15% to 30%. The businesses are now enraged-- "hey we only signed up to get control of our users, we didn't sign up to share revenue with you". 

Irrespective of how the battle plays out, it should be clear to the users that Apps are not the way they should have chosen to access Internet services. The "immersive" experience were drowning the users earlier and are now drowning the businesses. There will be only two winners, the ones that control the App Stores: Apple and Google.

The Rise and Importance of Propaganda in Indian Election

The massive win of Narendra Modi even after disastrous handling of the economy has confounded most of the election experts. "It is the economy stupid" is no longer a valid political theory to explain election wins or defeats. Further the scale and breadth of the win despite not fulfilling any of the promises of the first term is even more bewildering. Looks like people have totally forgotten about "1000 smart cities", "2 crore jobs per year", "bringing back black money" etc.

The acute agrarian distress as evident from fall in agricultural prices, the lack of Govt support in procurement or in enhancing the MSP did not dent the prospect of the ruling Govt. The demonetization and GST that broke the back of MSMEs and the trader class did not hamper the ruling Govt in the urban constituencies. In fact it was a complete sweep over entire India barring three states.

What explains the dichotomy between the performance of this Govt and the resounding re-election? A number of theories have been put forward to explain it. Let us go through one by one:

1. Opposition did not offer anything: This is plain lie. Rahul Gandhi in various speeches did point out towards rural distress and alleviating them by much higher MSP, better procurement and on time payment from Govt. On these promises alone, Congress swept Chattisgarh and won two more states in December. They even procured paddy at Rs. 2500/- in Chattisgarh after coming to power and yet won just 2 seats out of 11.

2. There was no alternative: Clearly anyone who is slightly better than a school kid would do better than Modi in dealing with economy and social schemes. Demonetization was the most stupid decision ever taken with no gains to the Govt or the people but massive loss to the economy. The price crash of agricultural commodities due to demonetization has not recovered yet.

2. Govt schemes: Central Govt budget of 24 lakh crores is huge by any standards and every Govt spends money on existing and new schemes and will have beneficiaries. In fact most new social sector spending like "Ayushman Bharat", "Ujjwala Yojana", "Swachh Bharat" have no real budget outlays to be successful. They created hope but were largely unsuccessful. Govt transferred most of its budget to banks to cover the NPA deficit in banks that were anyway due to failed infra and power projects due to Govt actions and economic slowdown.

If you look at the election results, it is quite obvious that it was not an issue or candidate based election. People have voted only to put Modi in the PM seat. That can only be explained by the propaganda that was created in favour of Modi over the last 5 years by the mainstream media (read TV channels)  and the whatsapp BJP propaganda that keep ridiculing opposition leaders and never questioning those in power.

Opposition thinking that it will be able to bypass TV channels and Whatsapp to deliver its message to the voters was simply misplaced. Even Modi rallies were not well attended, but the MSM and WhatsApp were constantly delivering the messages to the voters that Opposition is not offering anything and that there was no real alternative to Modi or that every opposition leader is a muslim appeaser. The propaganda over 5 years has worked and the result is in front of us. Opposition can ignore it at their own peril!

"Talvar": Some thoughts on the adaptation of murder mystery

Watched the movie "Talvar", an adaptation of the Aarushi and Hemraj double murder case. Couple of points:
1. Dr Malini that did Narco analysis on the servant is notorious for her unprofessional work. She even had Kaleem confessed to his crime and named all the accomplices in the Mecca Masjid blast. But then courts acquitted them all and Swami Aseemanand confessed to the crime and implicated many other right wing members.  http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/mecca-blast-case-casts-doubts-on-narco/article4443453.ece

2. Making someone an "Approver" in CrPC is a terrible way that we have imported from the Britishers. Britishers used it to target the freedom fighters. After all "Approver" will be let go only for implicating others. Yakub Memon was also convicted using the "Approver" route.  IMO it is an illegitimate prosecution technique.

3. The "typographical" error on the pillow cover by CBI was a huge mistake. But the movie shows it as the result of office rivalry, a highly contestable claim considering CBI had no other particular reason to let the servants go.

4. I think the film correctly points out the fallacy of the "honour killing" argument advanced by the UP Police earlier as the motivation. But does not still rule out other issues that could have been motivation or purely rage and short tempered action.

5. Movie correctly points out the fallacy of convicting Mr and Mrs Talvar for their action when they saw their dead child. In fact that is one of the primary reason that trial court has used for conviction. Hope at least high court corrects that mistake.