[ This is from what I do at work.... ]
Zook is going live.
Zook is a new mobile answer engine which helps you quickly get answers, and act on them, not just pages upon pages of links. It identifies the really clear answers upfront, or interactively narrows down to what you really meant to look for. On the move, wherever you are.
To start zook .in
* WAP : http:// zook.in
* SMS : "ZOOK
o [ when SMSing, remember to always start with "ZOOK ... " !!!! ]
In its first avatar, Zook gets you
We're adding more cities and things you can find and do.
If you like what you see, please do include your friends in groups or as friends, and spread the word about Zook. Also, please send your comments/suggestions to feedback@zook.in . Or let me know at 984518020 .
A short how-to guide can be found at http://www.zivasoftware.com
More details about what Zook can do for you below.
Happy zook.in !
==================================================================
Zook FAQts :
Whats Zook ?
Zook is the new way to use your mobile phone. Let it now be your friend which helps you find a place to eat, or catch a movie, or download fun stuff for your mobile.
Its on your WAP phone at http://zook.in
You can also send an SMS - "ZOOK
[ BTW, You can also just use "Z" instead of " ZOOK" ]
So, a local search engine on the phone? So?
Zook is not just a search engine. Zook makes sense of the data, and of what you asked. It analyzes the data, your interests and interprets the likely intent of your query.
A few examples [ Remember : on SMS start all queries with "ZOOK" , e.g. "zook chinese" !! ]
you : chinese blr
zook : 1:Restaurant:Chungs Chinese Corner, Indiranagar
2:Ringtone:Theme Of China Gate, Monotone
......
7: Restaurant (31+)
8: Ringtone (19+)
9: Locality: Indiranagar (5+)
10: City: Bangalore (31+)
you : 7
zook :1:Magnolia, Koramangala, South Bangalore
2:Aromas Of China, Langford Town
....
6: Locality: Indiranagar (6+)
7: Locality: Church Street (4+)
8: Locality: Koramangala (7+)
9: Locality: South Bangalore (4+)
10: Locality: Palace Road (2+)
More
you : 6
zook :1:Wangs Place, Indiranagar
2:Chungs Pavilion, Indiranagar
3:Wan Ley, Indiranagar
4:Gokul Kuteera, Indiranagar
5:Oregano, Indiranagar
6:Vishals, Indiranagar
7:Ramya, Indiranagar
8:Bangalore Mandarin, Double Road, Off Richmond Circle,
OR
you : thai kgla
zook :1.Magnolia, Koramangala
2. Pan Asian Bites, Koramangala
you : 1
zook :Restaurant: Magnolia
Cuisine: SE Asian, Chinese, Thai
Phone: +918041102222
Address: 840, 7th Cross, 15th Main, 3rd Block Koramangala Bangalore - India (Koramangala ) 560095
1. SMS "RESERVE 1 for 5" to 3030 to book a table for 5 at Magnolia
2. SMS " ORDER" to 3030 for a callback for delivery/takeaway orders
(You can Reserve/Order through HungryBangalore.com. These are some things you can "do" now after you find something. We're adding lots more soon)
OR
you : guru pvr blr
zook : Movie: Guru (Hindi)
Theatre: PVR
Timings: 12:00pm, 12:15pm, 3:50pm, 3:30pm, 6:40pm, 6:45pm, 9:50pm, 10:00pm
Address: The Forum, 3rd Floor, Nr. Madiwala Checkpost Koramangala Bangalore
560095
Phone: +918022067511
And Zook is not just local. Its about your leisure, your music, your tastes, your choices, your neighbourhood, your friends....
Friends ?
Yes. Your friends give you the best references, and beyond a point can give you a way better answer than even we can. So if Zook cannot dig out the answer, it helps pass it on to your friends.
You can create groups of people you hang out with for various different things - work, bowling, golf, whatever. Your contacts and each set of people can be your 'expert circle' for answers and advice (and soon we'll enrich the data for the entire community based on stuff you find out and share). You can both ASK these contacts about choices, or information, and TELL them about what you like (whether or not you found it on Zook).
you : korean kgla
zook :No Matches Found
ASK your friends?
send "ASK
you : ask amit, 9878709878 Is there a good Korean place in Blore ?
amit : Tell nopes theres a couple of good Japanese ones tho
You can ask more than one friend, and we'll summarize their responses too.
Need WAP ?
Zook works fully featured on both WAP as well as SMS ( ZOOK/Z on 3030) !!
SMS is charged at whatever your operator's premium SMS rates are.
Next time you need to look, Zook it!
Rgds,
TeamZook @ Ziva
Zook - ur mobile life tool
Cubbon Park
Sunday was spent on a trip to Cubbon Park - the train ride, other assorted rides, the aquarium, followed up with some delightful luchi-alu at KC Das.
Cubbon park is a fun place for the kids - and cheap! And surprisingly uncrowded! I guess Bangaloreans prefer the upmarket options these days by default :) The toy train station has been renovated and looks quite nice - and its only 10/- for adults and 5 for <10 year olds.
The balloon, cheap-plastic-toys, assorted refreshments vendors outside add to the carnival look. The only sore/aberrant sight was of the government outlet selling mackerel etc right outside the aquarium !!
Alas, Bengalooru
Is this not worth fixing more than the name ? I've been a victim of something similar in the past - and in the mob, you're never right. Bangalore is getting less and les civilized - the beautiful, friendly city that we came to in 1996 is nearly gone.
powered by performancing firefox
Bhutan - Land of the Dragon
Pictures first. More later
In short tho - nice 10 day break - 5 days in Bhutan incl Thimpu and Paro. The place needs 2 weeks plus tho - this was merely a trailer! Trekked upto The Tango-Cheri monastery and the really up-there Taksang - the Tiger's Nest.
Education / medium
http://in.news.yahoo.com/060924/211/67vst.html
Depressing. Is the debate over a language [ which is mainly a tool for communication and must not become not an identity - that should be associated with what one does not symbols of a group or community etc ] more important than the basic need of education itself ?
Morover, can anyone really argue that forcibly not teaching in English will inculcate a love for the vernacular, and also not reduce the competitive advantage one may have ?
If the real world primarily operated in language X, that would logically reflect in education. Egoes, language-politics should have no place in this. Languages are a practical tool, not something that should serve other needs.
Bombay Blues
Concrete, filth, chaos. With a glossy lipstick of paint, colourful hoardings, and vibrant clothes. Morose, worried faces and lost souls. Rapid movement of men, material and assorted hopes in buses, autos, swanky cars and local trains.
Bombay.
Or actually, any of our cities.
Bangalore's "High Class" apartments
- Why's Bangalore still allowing high rises to come up in erstwhile beautiful, green spaces ? 17 floors, for crying out loud!
- Having been a Mantri customer in the past, and having interacted with some from the family, their claim reeks of a certain nouveau-riche-ness
- Do all "high-class" people talk like this ?
Am not the 'high class' clientele the Mantri's are looking for, but if I were I'd want to stay away. But then I do not speak in terms of 'classes' in this day and age, and am not the 'like-minded' peope they seek.
Next time, please use less crass and PC descriptions of the arrived and well-heeled.
Yahoo! 360�� - Mu-sings - To be a Hindu
Yahoo! 360�� - Mu-sings - To be a Hindu
Some philosophical rambling I indulged in.
Bangalore Flickrd
http://www.flickr.com/groups/bangaloreweekendshoots/pool/
got this link from
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2006/08/weekend_photography.phtml
I've been planning to get up early, ride around town and click some snaps of old buildings, landmarks and all thats Bangalore.
Kollu Pati
Its sad to see a human being in the state she is in. One does not even know whether she is in pain or not. Hospitalization seems like a cruel option, with the drips and tubes for the force-feeds etc, and hospitalization for what, anyhow.
I don't want to live to be a 100. I hope shes not in pain.
Shubha's dad does reviews for the Hindu
The Hindu : Friday Review Thiruvananthapuram / Events : In the name of the Lord Remembering Papasami
Devotion through music
Pretty good use of time! I wish I find something like that when I'm retired.
Trivandrum break
Cochin/Ernakulam seem to have boomed like crazy over the last couple of years - massive stores, apartments and traffic jams on the 'bypass' road tell a familiar tale.
Here's some pictures
Highlights of the trip
* kovalam - Akshat and Isika totally soaked up the sun, sea and sand
* Kanyakumari
* Padmanabahapuram palace
Drive within rules = Bloodied nose - Team-BHP
Drive within rules = Bloodied nose - Team-BHP
A lot many amongst us would have come across stuff like this - we need a forum to get these goons to at least get infamously publicised, if not served justice.
Defying SC orders, Karnataka works on Bill to grab country's first private road project
Defying SC orders, Karnataka works on Bill to grab country's first private road project
This is horrible. First the 93rd amendment and now this - looks like the legislative wing has decided to ride roughshod over anything it does thats deemed either unfair, unconstitutional or downright 'malafide', as in this case.
God help the state, country. I don't see any citizen action in this case, unlike the reservations issue.
Lawn shot
The Lawn Racket
Hope Adarsh and their ilk take note!
Interestingly, the article has left out the most important argument against 'carpet lawns' - water consumption. Unlike natural grassland and especially trees and plants, lawns do not help retain water - they need a lot and most of it evaporates rather quickly. Given that the next round of global hostilities may well be over freshwater resources - this is unpardonable.
Whither progress ?
The Curse of the Mobile Phone Age: Electronic Smog
Somehow the urban depression, the stress-freeness of the remote jungle all tie in. Maybe, just maybe, we're over the edge and falling already. Its true our body depends on electrical impulses, and its unlikely that a gazillion of these, especially the ones in higher concentration close to us, and all around us have no impact.
An entire generation of long lived (cause of better nutrition/excercise) and alzheimer stricken nervous wrecks is a very scary thought. Scarier is imagining being one of those. Time to move back to the wild ? Maybe nature will ensure we do, or doesn't care if we don't make it anyhow.
Infinite laziness on the blogfront
Lazyman's updates
- Bangalore seems to be moving a bit on the infrastructure front - the airport, Metro, Peripheral road etc. However, no signs of a sewage or a water line anywhere around our apartment yet.
- Akshat flew to TVM for a vacation all by himself. His entire generation seems to be fear-proof. He walked past security checks etc with the Jet Airaways staffer reasonably casually, and even managed to ask her some questions about the X-ray screening.
- Mosquitoes, and mangoes, announced the season bigtime.
- Nachiket Joshi - the guy whom we met in Ladakh and Spiti and who'd taken a year off to go backpacking across the country - figured on a Times Now programme about people who dared to. When will we dare to ?
- Holi @ Redwoods was surprisingly nice, if low key.
- Alankrita's first birthday turned out to be a huge gathering - and the country Club is out of our bad books for now.
- School fees are beginning to scare the hell out of us - at this rate we'll have to won facr compared to Loyola, Jamshedpur, these all feel more hyped than substance.
- Need to go on a ride/vacation soon. Been ages!
His father’s son: HDK takes a swipe at IT - Deccan Herald - Internet Edition
His father’s son: HDK takes a swipe at IT - Deccan Herald - Internet Edition
Here's something noticed that should worry Bangalore: at a recent Alumni meet there were very few 2005 graduates, against the norm. Usually the most recent batches displayed the maximum enthusiasm for such events. When I asked around I was told that most of the batch - hired by the likes of Infy, Wipro, Oracle etc - was in Hyderabad or Delhi or Pune or Chennai!
The slide has started. Whether HDK and the likes want the taps to run dry, or whether they believe that the best way to solve poverty, both monetary and infrastructural, is growth, remains to be seen.
Rhetoric is back in fashion after a brief holiday.
Ride on, ride on
The Hindu : Metro Plus Bangalore : Sixty and she's still vrooming
Gotta do this someday. hopefully before I'm sixty. Salute, Linda!
Potholesome development
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4715470.stm
The fact that there's fine print to trap eager participants is shameful, in the context of the 'contest'. If you're posing such a challenge, you must be able able to say 'show me *one* pothole in Bangalore and I'll give you a 1000 bucks' - or just shut up and work.
The positive from this is probably more citizen participation, ending of course in more citizen cynicism and despair, and hopefully more citizen anger.
This sucks.
.jpg)