Double U Blog

Governor Salman Taseer’s murder at the hands of his own bodyguard has certainly rocked the proverbial Pakistani boat. Just four days into a new year—which the astrologists on TV told us would be a good one for Pakistan—a police guard turned his gun on the Governor, riddling him with 46 bullets. The assassin was led away, smiling ear to ear at his accomplishment and leaving a trail of utter madness in his wake.

Pakistan has had its share of turbulent times, and through the years we’ve found surprising ways of coping. We deny involvement, blame ‘invisible hands’ and eventually move on to the next news story that’s breaking on TV with unfortunate animations and impudent musical scores.

The situation this time has resulted in a divide between ultra-religious hardliners and the self-proclaimed modern and free-thinking public. With large and influential religious groups condoning and even applauding the assassin for his deed, the shocked and confused free-thinking public is left questioning their ideals of right and wrong.

The Internet is an unimaginably vast and infinitely valuable resource of the world’s most remarkable information. Updated by the millisecond, it holds around 500 billion gigabytes of data and even as you read this a few more have been uploaded and downloaded several times.

It is often simply described as ‘a network of networks.’ However, the internet is much more than just a series of tubes. From traditional Aboriginal recipes and fashion advice to the musings of a teenager from rural Kentucky–-the Internet (or the Web specifically) is everyone and everything. It is the collective consciousness of all humanity; a record of everything we were, are and want to be both as individuals and as a race. You can, quite literally, find anything you want on the Internet.

But how exactly do you find a microscopic needle in a haystack the size of a planet?

When Google unveiled their mobile operating system, Android, back in November 2007 alongside their announcement of the Open Handset Alliance they were met with a mix of excitement, surprise and skepticism. The open-source software platform was, after all, just another in the fragmented list of mobile operating systems. And with Google’s history of losing the initial enthusiasm on ambitious projects such as this (*cough*wave*cough*), many feared it wouldn’t turn out to be all they hoped.

Google was—and still is—primarily an advertising company, but over their 12 year history, they have tried out a multitude of ventures. They now have their toes dipped in almost everything a web user does online; operating system (desktop and mobile), web browser, ads, email, social network, microblogging and blogging, instant messaging, search, video, photos, navigation, analytics, documents, web & software development – the list goes on.

Could Google, with their vastly expansive business structure, really focus on a smartphone operating system and deliver the promised goods? With Windows Mobile, Symbian, Blackberry, Palm and the then newly released iPhone, all vying to dominate the smartphone market, could Android carve out a piece of the pie for itself?

Hear the word “operating system,” and the first thing that pops into mind for most of us is the Windows logo in all its multi-colored glory; peer a little harder and you might see a big shiny Apple and maybe catch a glimpse of the Linux Penguin hovering around the corner, each with their band of devotees carrying their respective banners passionately onwards.

The operating system (OS) development space of today though, is arguably getting a little stale. Windows 7, OS X Snow Leopard and Ubuntu 9 – the latest incarnations of the Top Three – have all seen no huge innovation in the way OS are designed and used. They’ve been by and large maintenance and performance improvement releases; and while it’s great to see faster boot times and improved stability, they are far from being the revolution in computing we’ve been waiting for.

For many, the story ends at the operating system that comes installed with the computer we buy and “dual boot” is another name given to more than one shoe. Diving into the world of formatted hard drives, BIOS updates and driver incompatibilities in search of “the perfect OS” is certainly not a job for the faint-hearted.

But what about BeOS, or Haiku – or even the many flavors of Linux that never get the attention of the mainstream? What if these relatively obscure operating systems are better suited to the evolving trend of computer use in the home – or even the school and office? What have you left when we take out Windows, Mac OS and Ubuntu from the picture? Chaos? Pandemonium? World peace?

Some more beautiful music from Coke Studio. Vocals: Ali Noor & Ali Hamza with their mother Noor Zehra playing the veena. Lyrics here.

In the latter half of its last season, Lost turned from an intellectual challenge and thought-provoking look at free will, destiny and faith to an outrageous and gaudy sham. Faithful viewers, who had kept up with the show for six years were left to pick up the pieces, of which there were many, and attempt to fill the holes in the expansive plot themselves. A successful show, but a failure to its viewers.

Nothing can move our countrymen into a mad frenzy quite like the mention of the words “Zionist” and “conspiracy,” especially if they’re in the same sentence. Rampant corruption, social decay, food and water shortages – when it comes to public outrage, none of that compares to our so-called and temporary unity over any and all attempts to fend off the obvious international plot to undermine all Muslims.

The “blasphemous content” fiasco sparked by the misappropriated “Draw Muhammad Day” on Facebook has had our whole country foaming at the mouth for some time now; so far nearly 800 URLs have been banned at the orders of the government and while there is no word on any official list, a petition in the Lahore High Court resulted in sites like Google, Yahoo, Bing, and Amazon being added to the ever-growing list.

The discovery of microorganisms that can thrive in harsh environments without the need for oxygen or sunlight throws a new perspective on the search for extra-terrestrial life and the belief that other planets are too inhospitable for living organisms.

To say the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team this morning was a revolting and heinous crime, and to hope for the severest punishment for whoever is responsible for it would be stating the obvious. The attack is a crime not just against a sport, two different countries, the people who were injured and the policemen who lost their lives during the incident, it’s also a crime against humanity as a whole. I don’t think anybody would disagree with that.

But this is not just a matter of “condemning” a terrorist attack and then moving on with jolly life. Sadly, it’s so much more. Today’s events are significant not just because an international sports team was targeted like this. Today’s events are important also because of where they happened, when they happened and why they happened. This happened in Pakistan, a country being eaten away from the inside by many factors, too numerous to list in this post. This happened in a time when this country is in an especially weakened state, both internally and in the international arena. As to why it happened…well, I think I’ll leave the speculation as to whodunnit (and why) to the ‘analysts’ and ‘pundits’ on TV.

The political, economic and social turmoil Pakistan is going through is no secret. While everyone may have a different opinion on who caused it and why it’s persisting, the problem at hand is much bigger than the mudslinging we’ve seen on TV all day. While Pakistan has been continually humiliated time and again in they eyes of the international community (for reasons that may or may not be valid, that’s not the point), our politicians choose to continue indulging in their favorite past-time: the tug of war. The power struggle, musical chairs, politicking or mudslinging, call it whatever you like. The fact remains that it does nothing to improve the situation. In fact, this worsens it exponentially.

The terrorist attack was unsuccessful, thankfully, in what it’s ultimate objective was. But I fear it was very successful in achieving its secondary goals. And what were those, you ask? Why, switch on the idiot box, friend, and all shall be revealed to you. Switch to one of the news channels — any one of the gazillion we have. Our already feeble government is falling apart (or so it seems), institutions are engaged in a continued power struggle and the mudslinging that comes with it, and media men (and women) add fuel to the fire under the guise of ‘journalism.’ Society falling apart, lawlessness, economic disaster, religious degradation — you name the social malady, we’ve got it. In abundance.

But perhaps most importantly, this nation has no sense of unity, and this is a time when we need it the most. The much quoted and perhaps cliched example of a fist comes to mind. You can break a finger when its stretched out alone; but when all five fingers are clenched together, you can’t break the fist as easily. Under fire from all sides, unity is what Pakistan needs the most, and it is sadly, what we are lacking the most at this critical juncture. In spite of all our failures as a country, as a nation, as a people, I truly believe unity can pull us through — if not through all of it, at least to a point where we can begin to crawl our way back to a position suitable for a nation of our importance.

What I hope to achieve with this post, I don’t know. This is a change from the usual type of stuff I put on here, but I just felt I had to voice an opinion. What started out as the condemning of a terrorist act has transformed into a rant on what Pakistan needs to survive. But perhaps those things aren’t as divergent as one might think. Is it not after all, humanity and the sense of repulsion from this violence that sets us apart from the terrorists? Shouldn’t that also unite us against our common enemy?

All I can say beyond what I already have is that God will help us, and that it is only just before the dawn that the night is the darkest.

For now, I’ll sign off with a quote I just read on the BBC website that saddens me beyond belief.

“I won’t be coming back here while I’m still living, there is no chance. I don’t think international cricket should return to this country”
– Dominic Cork; commentator and former England cricketer who was caught in the attack this morning.

Feel free…in fact, feel very welcome to comment with any thoughts.

Recycling is almost fiction to most Pakistanis, and the wave of eco-awareness has only swept across a startlingly small percentage of our population. You’ll see several street corners here with a pile of trash that’s been set alight to dispose of; it’s a major health hazard, and it would be stating the obvious to point out how damaging it is to the environment.

Household electronics are one of the top few things that worry environmentalists because of the chemicals and toxins in them. But regular recycling that involves proper disposal won’t have much work to do in Pakistan because not many people throw away their old cellphones – why throw away what you can sell? Makes perfect sense. But then there are still some things that can’t be sold either because they have no market value or you’ve never gotten around to it. Why not donate them to charity, instead?

Mobilink, one of Pakistan’s biggest cell-phone networks, is willing to take them off your hands. They launched a handset recycling project as part of their CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) initiative in early January this year that involves refurbishing old cell phones and accessories, and donating them to charity. The things beyond repair or reuse will be passed on to Wastebusters for proper disposal, which makes the programme even better.

Electronics are dangerous to the environment if disposed of improperly, and they should be used to the last possible moment. I’m all for upgrades and technological advancement, especially when it comes to cell phones — I certainly wouldn’t use an old cell phone unless I had absolutely no other choice. But some people don’t have a cell phone at all, and an old cell phone is better than no cell phone. If you’ve got some old phones and accessories lying around that you don’t use anymore, drop them off in the recycling bins at the designated customer support centers. As Mobilink puts it, “what is useless to you could bring connectivity to someone’s life.”

On a side note, another thing that I’ve seen is people ripping apart electronics like CRT TVs, VCRs, computers and even refrigerators. This happens in a few shops in the area behind the Quaid‘s Mausoleum in Saddar. From the fleeting sights I’ve seen of what goes on, they apparently rip the circuit board out and sell the innards, though I’m not at all certain of what they do exactly. Asking them one of these days is on my list of things to do!