I was traveling when Apple launched the new iPhone 14 series. For once, I had no desire to upgrade from my 13 Pro — only a year old. It is a great little device and does pretty much everything I need it to do. However, being the camera nerd I am, I couldn’t resist. The … | Continue reading
Even though I promised I would blog every day, the new month isn’t off to such a good start. In what can be a coincidence, while on my way back from India, I caught some kind of cold-cough infection, most likely on the plane or at the airport. When I got back to San Francisco, … | Continue reading
Hello Friends It has been a while since I sat down and wrote one of these personal updates— the last one was when summer was like a cat about to stretch itself. And here we are in Autumn, the season of color and cool air. A time when baseball has become a bit more urgent. … | Continue reading
This morning, Musubi, a small Singapore-based notebook maker, published a note informing its customers about the end of the road for Cosmo Air, a type of paper popular with aficionados of fountain pens. I am one of those, who revels in the sound, feel, and sensation of a beautifu … | Continue reading
Christian Heilmann is an astute observer of the web and its evolution, so I pay attention. I have followed his blog for many years. I found myself nodding my head when reading this piece. The whole piece is worth a read. (link below). The web we have these days is in a sorry stat … | Continue reading
China’s new rule: if your car uses sensors to map the environment, you must apply for government permit (link). Car sensors are now so good and ubiquitous they’re viewed as security threats. ‘The statement is a clarification of China‘s surveying and mapping law and reflects regul … | Continue reading
Facebook doesn’t understand why it is losing to TikTok and keeps copying them, but it is not working. And in doing so, it has changed Instagram so much that even the most loyal users are giving up. Essentially, it comes down to a major shift in user behaviors, away from followin … | Continue reading
There are no rules to blogging except this one: always self-host your website because your URL, your own private domain, is the most valuable thing you can own. Your career will thank you for it later and no-one can take it away.(om.co) | Continue reading
There are no rules to blogging except this one: always self-host your website because your URL, your own private domain, is the most valuable thing you can own. Your career will thank you for it later and no-one can take it away. But don’t wait up for success to come, it’s going … | Continue reading
A day before the likely launch of Apple’s new line-up of products — iPhone 14 models and new Apple Watch models — is not the best time to share my thoughts about a product launched at the previous Apple event. But then, I am not doing a paint-by-numbers review. Nor am I a reviewe … | Continue reading
Labor Day Weekend is here! And it also means the end of what the locals call, Fogust. This is the official start of our version of summer, and it is called Indian Summer, though it is nothing like an “Indian summer.” This weekend and the coming week, the temperatures across the B … | Continue reading
As part of writing a review, I have been using Apple’s 2022 version of the 13-inch MacBook Air. I am not the first one to say it — many others have said before — it is a great device. It is a great testimonial of Apple’s hardware excellence and knowledge crammed into this thin s … | Continue reading
One of the first & best lessons you get as a young business reporter: follow the money. I have never forgotten that. It is a handy lens – you can zoom in or out when trying to understand something. (1) Using that approach, I looked at Apple’s recent moves. Especially around adver … | Continue reading
Should we drop “social” from social media? There is nothing social about this social media. And most of these platforms are essentially networked information distribution systems, and more and more of that information is just noise or disinformation. And humans aren’t helping eit … | Continue reading
The winds of the Future wait At the iron walls of her Gate, And the western ocean breaks in thunder, And the western stars go slowly under, And her gaze is ever West In the dream of her young unrest. Her sea is a voice that calls, And her star a voice above, And her … | Continue reading
Every so often, when I read what passes as news on the internet, I find myself triggered. Whether it is the choice of what to write about, or the news itself, I am gobsmacked by the sheer stupidity that envelopes us. To be fair, stupidity and poor news judgment have always been w … | Continue reading
August 15th is Independence Day of India. I was born and raised in India, and nine years ago, I became an American citizen. As a result, I am fortunate to celebrate the birthdays of two countries, both former colonies of Great Britain. Today also happens to be the 75th anniversar … | Continue reading
I recently read a story about an airline worker being arrested for stealing thousands of dollars worth of goods from luggage at the airport. He got nabbed, thanks to Apple’s low-key tracker devices, AirTags. The very same AirTags have been the subject of stories (and inquiries) i … | Continue reading
No matter where you look, the technology industry — from stalwarts to startups — is going through a reset. And that has led many companies to lay off people, cut costs and pare back their ambitions. For so many of our startup founders, this is a new experience — a whole generatio … | Continue reading
A week ago, when I sent this text message, little did I know that this would be the last text message I would ever send to someone who has been a constant in my life for around two decades. I knew his family was away in India, so he might be flying solo. And would … | Continue reading
Little did I know that this photo would start a journey to find a creative visual identity. Unsurprisingly, it was in Japan, just off the shore of Naoshima’s famous art island. The photo below is a companion photo. Both photos were made with a Leica Q — which quickly lost relevan … | Continue reading
Beyoncé has a new album, Renaissance. You might have heard it. Or you might have heard about it. It is the summer musical event, and that has everyone in a tizzy. Reviewers are gushing. Social media is lit with euphemisms from fans. And why not? The Economist notes: Beyoncé Knowl … | Continue reading
It is the middle of the night or the start of a new day — I don’t quite know. I feel suspended upside down in a vacuum—a throbbing ache in my heart, wrapped in deep sadness and an overwhelming sense of loss. I have laid awake– remembering, rewinding, and playing back the tape of … | Continue reading
On a rare windless late-night drive along one of the fjords in Iceland’s Westfjords, moody cloud cover and near-perfect reflections were great ingredients for a monochromatic landscape vista. Made with Lecia M11 using Leica 90mm f/2.8 Elmarit-M. ISO 800. Shutter speed 1/90th of a … | Continue reading
This is my occasional newsletter published on July 31, 2022. Hello everyone, Since it has been a minute, I thought it would be good to send you a quick update. You have not heard from me because I didn’t have much to say. When I was not working, I spent my time visiting family, … | Continue reading
The Verge reports on the internal challenges at Meta nee Facebook and how company is trying to deal with it. Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder and CEO of Meta has painted Apple as enemy number one. I mean, why not. A slight change has lopped off billions in revenue and market capitali … | Continue reading
The Internet has been abuzz following a post by Kylie Jenner, an influencer famous for being the sake of being a famous person. On Instagram, where 360 million Instagram accounts follow her, she said Instagram must stop trying to copy TikTok and remain Instagram so she can see cu … | Continue reading
One of the great joys of living in San Francisco is having a cool and foggy summer. This year especially, I feel grateful for the chilly weather. The entire planet seems to have been enveloped by obscene heat, which is taking its toll not only on humans but also on flora and faun … | Continue reading
Photography, or rather landscape photography, strums my heartstrings like none other. A trip undertaken to indulge in one’s passion in life is often a reason for one’s soul to smile. And then why do I find myself cringing at the idea of such adventures? The answer is relatively … | Continue reading
Okay, I didn’t mean to be so dramatic. Or use a clickbait headline, but in reality, what used to be Instagram is now dead. It was a wonderful gathering place for photographers to showcase their work and build an audience. Not a day goes by when some photographer friend or the oth … | Continue reading
It was a perfect storm – high winds, blowing snow, and bone-chilling cold. Or as I like to call it — a perfect time for magic. It helps that I have a camera that helps me do it with minimum fuss. Both images were captured at an aperture of f8, ISO 100, and a shutter … | Continue reading
Sometimes the past and present come together, giving you a good reason to go “click.” I captured this wonderful sight quite early in the morning when walking across the Ponte Vecchio in Firenze. The photo is as-is from the camera, and I used the high-contrast monochrome setting f … | Continue reading
Writing is an intellectual contact sport, similar insome respects to football. The effort required can beexhausting, the goal unreached, and you are hurt onalmost every play; but that doesn’t deprive a man ora boy from getting peculiar pleasures form thegame.” The Silent Season o … | Continue reading
A few months ago, my friend Christian Lindholm, partner at Fjord, a convergence design agency, and father of the Series 60 interface (at Nokia) stopped by for one of our quarterly idea sessions. Our conversation eventually veered towards a topic that's near and dear to both of us … | Continue reading
In his documentary “Objectified,” director Gary Hustwit talks to well-known product design gurus such as Apple’s Jonathan Ive and Braun’s Dieter Rams about design and produc… | Continue reading
It is hard to imagine that it is already the middle of June. Like everyone else, I feel that time is moving faster and faster. It isn’t, but the perception is what defines our post-network world. I am reminded of the passage of time by the lack of posting on the old Om-stead! A b … | Continue reading
Porto, Portugal, is one of my favorite cities. Whenever I am there, I like to get lost in its streets, and often it is before Porto itself wakes up. And on rare occasions when I find myself walking the streets during the day, I leave my camera in the hotel room. Instead, I use th … | Continue reading
These were a series of tweets in response to the WWDC keynote presentation. These were off-the-cuff observations, but I still feel the same at the end of the week, and my opinion hasn’t changed. Clamping the iPhone to the top of an Apple computer is everything right (continuity c … | Continue reading
It was early during the pandemic lockdown I was chatting with Scott Belsky, a long-time friend who is now the chief product officer of Adobe. We talked about products that would emerge as heroes or villains from the pandemic, and he predicted that Twitter would be on the debit si … | Continue reading
I was walking around San Francisco when I came across this piece of street art. I don’t know the artist, but it was so beautiful that I had to capture it. It represents surveillance — the kind that is enabled by facial recognition. Whether it is smart cities or online services li … | Continue reading
It has been nearly a month since I posted something around here. I have been busy with work, life and reading. A lot of reading. Given the noisy state of media, I find books are a good source of intellectual nourishment. And there is another reason why I didn’t feel like posting … | Continue reading
There is a fundamental difference between form and meaning. Form is the physical structure of something, while meaning is the interpretation or concept that is attached to that form. For example, the form of a chair is its physical structure – four legs, a seat, and a back. The m … | Continue reading
This is the third in my ongoing series of posts about Elon Musk's quest to buy Twitter. In the first of the series, I pointed out that Twitter's CEO might be woefully out of his depth, and the board has failed to do its job. Twitter founder and former CEO, Jack Dorsey agreed with … | Continue reading
Since everyone has decided that Elon Musk’s $54-a-share offer for Twitter is just a troll, the question remains who else can buy the company? Is there a suitor who can digest Twitter and deal with all its baggage? Or is the company destined to be a middling underachiever? Twitter … | Continue reading
Twitter is in middle of a tumultuous time as a company. It is in play, thanks to an offer Elon Musk. It is a company that has underperformed as a business. It has anemic new user growth. The revenue targets are optimistic. Does Twitter have the right captain to navigate the compa … | Continue reading
The future of social Internet is not in scale, but in intimacy. Whether it is the present web or future web, we are going to see more and more focus on smaller, social circles. Internet, will become an internet of multiple identities. | Continue reading
“If you hurry to get to the future, you always get a punishment for it. For example, instant coffee.” Alan Watts Fast paid too little attention to burn rate because it just assumed the VC gravy train would keep rolling. It’s not the only one, so don’t be surprised to see similar … | Continue reading
Sometimes, when sitting quietly, enjoying a cooling cup of perfectly crafted pour-over coffee, I find myself staring at the back of my hand. In front of my eyes lies a landscape akin to the red sand of the American Southwest that lay baking under the scorching sun after a week of … | Continue reading