GMail Evolution

Google has been consistently wowing users by adding new and differentiating features to GMail. The pace of innovation was so rapid that the (distant?) competition has always been caught lagging.

• [GMail] Grouped your mails in the form of conversations.
• Allowed you to chat from within the mailbox.
• Added the mail recipients to your address book automatically.
• Warned if you tried to send an email with an empty subject/body.
• Detected if you forgot the attachment !

Recently, it started suggesting mail recipients. Assume you have been mailing Alice and Bob together often. When you add Alice to the 'To' field, it suggests you add Bob as well! Wow!! That is indeed useful. Will it even suggest when to mail and what to mail too?

What if it greets you like this once you login - Dear Alice, it has been a while since you mailed Bob. Would you want to say 'Hi' to him?. Well, that's not such a bad idea. It could get better - Dear Bob, it has been a week since Alice mailed you and you haven't replied. And time rolls on and it takes the next step ahead - Dear Alice and Bob, it appears that you haven't met since a week. How about coffee at Starbucks/CCD this Saturday? Your favorite table is already blocked and your cappuccino pre-ordered.

And, you can imagine the rest :-) Will Google be V.I.K.I and its applications the NS-5s . Or will Google become the Matrix and GMail the much feared Agent Smith? For all you know, you may be The One (Neo)!

Lions and Lambs

"A pack of sheep led by a lion will defeat a group of lions led by a sheep" - Really like this quote. Underscores the importance of the leader in a team.

Directly applies to the difference in the performances of Pune Warriors and Rajasthan Royals in IPL4 so far. The Warriors are such a great team, lead by a feeble leader in Yuvi. Yuvi is a great match winner. When it comes to captaincy, he appears to be less than average. The Royals are an average side considering the individual players. As a team, Warne has managed to keep the folks play upto, and sometimes beyond, their potential. On the field, he is often seen applauding, encouraging his teammates.

Will the arrival of Dada, one of India's best captains, change fortunes for the Warriors? He has been out of action for quite a while. Wasn't even bought during the auction. Wonder if he will be a non-playing captain. Do they even allow it? Have to wait and see if and how he reverses the losing trend.

A passing thought : May be some are inherently good leaders while some others aren't.

Harsha Bhogle's take on the topic can be read here.