FEATURE_ERROR_USER_OPEN_NO_ACCESS

Like millions of users all the across the globe, I tried logging into my yahoo mailbox this morning. but hey whats going on, the application is not accepting my user id and password. I quickly did a sanity check for the CAPS lock. Has my account hacked or something? Noooo :-((

Then the next thing i tired was to change my password. But the application gave me the following error: "FEATURE_ERROR_USER_OPEN_NO_ACCESS". Now what is this? I started feeling a bit of shock and tried to google this message. I found lot many people are facing this issue and are worried. But i was now relaxed since i'm not the only one in the apin and i was sure Yahoo will surely look into this soon.

On googling I found that the error "FEATURE_ERROR_USER_OPEN_NO_AC mean:
FEATURE_ERROR - the feature from Yahoo! which you are trying to use for that particular ID is unavailable
USER_OPEN - the user ID which you are trying to reset the password cannot be opened for recovery
NO_ACCESS - currently you are not allowed to access the specified user ID

With so many important information packed in our yahoo (or for that matter any mailbox), have we ever thought what will happen if suddenly all these mailboxes stop working or the services are discontinued??

Keep yourself ready........

pss.... yahoo mailbox services are restored!!! :)) YAHOOOOOOOOO!!

Productivity Improvement through Reuse

This is the poster that I along with Divesh and Vikrant made for the above mentioned theme. Still waiting for the results :-)

Changing gears in Davos

The Annual meeting of World Economic Forum for 2008 is in session at Davos. A lot many distinguised people from finance world, politics, manufacturing, media etc are present there to discuss the issues facing the world right now. In normal circumstances, the meeting would have focused the collaboration that's needed for the peace in Middle East, making use of the latest technologies for fighting against social and environmental issues or to discuss the prospects of Pakistan and Afghanistan. But here comes the thunderball. A lot of energy would now be spent on the US recession and its impact on the economy across the globe.

Till now people have been optimist. Yes, there is a credit crunch due to reckless lending in the subprime mortgage category, and also in property and credit cards - but we will handle it. Another perscpective was that growth is very powerful in India, China and middle east - that will wither the American storm.

But "Decoupling" is not working. The fear has crept in big time. The insatiable desire for cunsumer stuff in US (much of it made in China) is now making the growth charts go southwards. Recession gurus are saying, "we are almost there"!

10 ways to stop those marketing calls

Disclaimer: These are not my ideas, I got it as a forward and I doing what I do best - "copy-paste".

1. After the telemarketer finishes speaking, ask him/her to marry you.
2. Tell the telemarketer you are busy at the moment, and ask him/her if he/she will give you his/her home phone number so you can call him/her back.
3. Ask them to repeat everything they say, several times.
4. Tell them it is dinner time, BUT ask if they would please hold. Put them on your speaker phone while you continue to eat at your leisure. Smack your food loudly and continue with your dinner conversation.
5. Tell them that all business goes through your agent, and hand the phone to your five year old child.
6. Tell them you are hard of hearing and that they need to speak up...louder...louder...louder!
7. Tell them to speak very slowly because you want to write every word down.
8. If they start out with, "How are you today?", say "I'm so glad you asked, because no one these days seems to care, and I have all these problems............"
9. Cry out in surprise, "Helen, is that you? I've been hoping you'd call! How is the family?" When they insist they are not Helen, tell them to stop joking. This works especially well if the telemarketer is really MALE.
10. Tell the HSBC call center guy to call on your office number - and give him the ICICI call center number.

Any additions??

Bulls have been Chained

My wife told me couple of weeks back (even before the whole gamut of things started) that this is a KAAL year! She read it that this year is not that great! Have I started believing that? Oops, let me set the context right, though I'm sure most of you guys must have sensed it by the title of this post. But still for others I'm talking about the finance market in India; in fact the whole world market. Where are markets going from here? Is 2008 really a bad year for Indian economy?

These days as soon as I reach home I switch on my idiot box (which doesn't seem to be as idiot to me as before) to listen to NDTV Profit. And the more I watch it, the more I'm getting perplexed. US market as well as Asian market is taking a bit hit. Yesterday's fearsome declarations by Vikram Pandit (CEO of Citigroup) of the huge losses and mammoth write-off's have left me more shocked. The winds of change have finally arrived and it seems the world market gonna make devastating changes. Is it a sign that India will head its way towards becoming the global power?

But right now I dont see the light at the end of this tunnel. Indian economy itself is weak right now. Prime minister with his financial advisors are meeting to find out a way to resolve the issues or rather finding a way to beat the heat. They are coming up with re-structuring the tax slabs, change in indirect taxes, etc. Mr C Rangarajan is still projecting that the growth rate will be 8.5% this year (quite hopeful). I'm sure these guys are thinking hard to make that happen.

For me, things are too scary. I've been into this market very recently and all this is making me learn a lot (well, i'm trying to hide my fear here). But I'll keep watching the market and make my moves as and when required. And surely I wish my wife makes some more predictions; of course in favor of my portfolio :-)

So whats your game plan??

New Ads on the block

Indian advertisement industry has achieved great height. Someone would say, wow, what a realization. Well, to me its definitely yes. I mean having spent last 2 years in US and watching TV commercials out there, I was damn sure that Indian commerials are great and much much better than what are aired in US. But after coming back to India and watching the recent ads, man, i'm totally overwhelmed.

Two ads which belong to his category are:

1. Airtel ad where two boys across the borders of two countries try and play football. The message is there wont be any boundaries, only if we talk... too much, excellent idea. Hats-off to K. S. Chakravarthy who is the brain behind the ad. The unfamiliar language used (French dialect used by Moroccans) adds to the universality.

2. Latest Canara Bank ad where mother-in-law learns Punjabi in order to welcome her new Bahu! The message is that the bank is adapting in the changing times. The emotions and sentiments behind the ad are worth commending.

Also one more Ad is of Cadbury Eclairs Crunch for which the punchline goes like- "Kuch cheezon ka maza dheere-dheere hi aata hai... ...Jaise Cadbury Eclairs Crunch". Good thought process.

For more TV commercials visit: http://www.indibiz.tv/

Keep it rolling...