Net Gains: April 10, 1996 - one of Lyndon Cerejo's published articles

From time immemorial, certain Net applications have been popular with the Net community, and will continue to remain so. The most used facility is E-mail, and IRC would probably qualify as the next most popular application on the Web. IRC (or Internet Relay Chat for those who aren't technoids), is a multiple user, multiple channel, live chat. There are programs that give you a list of what channels are currently available, and how many users are participating in each. Once you find a channel of your choice ( from religion to the occult, and from intellectual discussions to banal ones), and join that channel, you can chat with everyone, or with any one individual user. Every user has a nickname on an IRC, and this is the name by which the others will address you. They won't have the faintest idea of who you are or what you look like unless you choose to reveal it. A friend of mine, chatted up a "Madhuri" on a "friendly channel", only to discover later that "Madhuri" was a guy from Madras, who chose that name because people never talked to him when his nick name was Ram ! You can, if you want to, create a private Chat-room to which only select people will be given access. This ensures privacy during your electronic conversation. To give you an idea of what a chat is like, I did an interview with Mr. Vijay Mukhi, over the Net, using an IRC. This is what it looked like :

Bombay Times : People all over know Vijay Mukhi - the Computer guru. Just how did he get there ?
Vijay Mukhi : plain hard work 20 hours a day, and being different.

Bombay Times : That simple ??
Vijay Mukhi : and wearing a suit. Actually, simple focus is all that it takes to succeed the nice thing is that more people know me outside of India.

Bombay Times : Do you think the everyday working Indian really needs the net ? Will a connection to the Internet be as common as a phone connection ?
Vijay Mukhi : I think all indians MUST have access to the internet or else we are finished as a nation. The internet has changed my life.

Bombay Times : What about the new ISPs (Internet Service Providers) planning to jump into the fray ? Is it going to in any way rid us of VSNLs alleged monopoly ?
Vijay Mukhi : I think being a ISP is a dumb thing to do. Finally you have to leave India through VSNL.I do not see being an ISP as being a commercial propersition. What extra value can they add ? VSNL gave us faster access at the cybercity than there was at Cebit

Bombay Times : How about better packages (primarily in terms of money)?
Vijay Mukhi : Telecomunications in India are more expensive. EWorld (now defunct) costs 10$ an hour. No private body can offer internet cheaper than VSNL. They have the infrastructure in place

Bombay Times : But, won't you say that multinationals will be able to provide more up to date services which we probably won't get through VSNL for quite some time ?
Vijay Mukhi : That means opening up international access which most countries do not allow. You are now talking about selling a major revenue earner for the Indian government - a politicial issue .

Bombay Times : Mr Mukhi, your latest business card simply says - "Vijay Mukhi, Java Programmer". In plain english, what are you trying to get across ?
Vijay Mukhi : Firstly, in India "programmer" is a bad word, abroad it is an honor to be called a programmer. Secondly, java is my life and most people in India do not believe I am technically sound. It's my way of saying that being a programmer is not something to be ashamed about - all computer professionals are programmers.

Bombay Times : You've got a very reader - friendly Java tutorial on the net. Don't you think it would have been more satisfying economically if you went ahead & published a book instead of a free access tutorial on the net ?
Vijay Mukhi : I do not think so. i have offers from the likes of McGraw Hill to write a book. The long term exposure the internet offers cannot be matched by a book publisher. Short term you are right, but winning a 100 mts race is not my forte - the marathron is more fun.

Bombay Times : What's happening in the Internet Users Club of India (IUCI) currently ? There was a lot of hype when it was launched, but hardly any news after that. What about membership ? Can any internet user sign up ?
Vijay Mukhi : We meet every month. Shammi Kapoor lectures in colleges when invited. Miheer (Mafatlal) has a web site on IUCI. I will spearhead India's response on the J & K newsgroup and java programming. Any one can be a member. Membership is free. A pretty vibrant body I would feel.

Bombay Times : One last question : VSNL has been planing to offer a subsidised student connection (since Dec. last). Once that facility is available, there are going to be a lot of kids with access to what some may use as a toy/plaything, and not utilise to the maximum. What advice do you have for them ?
Vijay Mukhi : I believe that in cyberspace everyone must be equal, so I am against a subsidy for students. There is good & bad on the internet. Parents must decide in each case whether the child should see playboy or not. It's like a bookshop you do not let your kids walk in and buy whatever they want to. Let each one decide for themselves but every new technology brings in a new set of problems and so does the internet.

	Net Gains (Apr 10, 96)
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