Shashank's Thoughts

I have had this dilemma whenever I plan to buy something - should I buy a new one or a used one. I had this predicament recently when I wanted to purchase a phone. Phones have gotten expensive - iphone 14 costs almost 900 euros and that's just the basic version. I prefer flagships primarily because they have a long shelf life when compared to a mid-ranger.  Use iphones is a huge marketplace. There are tonnes of reputable stores and sites that offer discounted used phones with 2 years warranty so, there isn't much risk attached to it. It sounds practical because you end up saving 200-300 euros on the same model.  I spent 3 weeks thinking about this and arguing with myself about pros and cons of a refurbished device and a brand new one. Finally, I came up with a solution that will eventually help me for future purchases as well. "Buy new if it is a personal thing, buy used if it is not-personal" For example, phone is a personal thing, so are clothes and laptop. They all...

 I bought a new phone - the iphone 14. It's been 2 weeks now and I have mixed feelings about the device.  What's great? The video, battery life, build quality. What's bad? ios16, photos, lack of headphone jack, expandable memory. Video is exceptional, especially cinematic mode and action mode. I no longer need a gimbal because the video stabilization software works out of the box and works great.  When I don't use heavily, the battery lasts for 2 solid days. Otherwise, I find myself charging every other day when I spend my time watching videos and using social media apps. I love the colors and the build quality. Sadly, I wrapped it up in a case to protect it from damages. I am using ios from the first time and it is quite frustrating honestly. Somehow Apple has managed to make me do 2 steps for things that need just 1 step. Android is great in this regard. I sorely miss the back button because the back functionality in ios can be on top right, top left or at the bottom....

Besides ignoring unsolicited requests and messages from recruiters, I don't know how to use Linkedin. Don't get me wrong, I still have an active account and login every now and then to see what's new but, I don't really understand how to use this strange social network. Each social network has its own purpose of existence. Facebook is to connect with family and friends, Instagram is to share pictures, Tiktok for short videos and so on. Linkedin lacks purpose. It positions itself to be like Facebook for your office life but fails miserably.  People lie, boast, exaggerate and worst of all, share cringey posts. Now you can argue that it is true for other social media sites as well, but it feels awkward when a suit donning guy or a CEO of a company does that. It is a large echo chamber where everyone is patting everyone else. There is no counter arguments and no disapproval because everyone fears the outcome - "what if my colleagues or boss sees my comment?". Ther...

I wanted to blog again and decided to pick a platform that was focused on writing and nothing else. I have tried several blogging platforms in the past but I chose Blogger this time around.  I will tell you why I skipped the ones listed below. Medium I am not sure when it will shut down. The platform started great with minimalist design, great fonts, ease of writing and sharing. But writing there was always controversial. Over the years, several publications have moved away from the platform to other competing platforms or have decided to host content on their own. Last year, CEO of Medium admitted that the site is not doing that well which puts the future of the platform at risk. Substack The is new kid on the platform is a great starting point for most people. It takes care of email newsletters and provides you an eager audience for your content. I tried couple of times to write there but my issue with Substack is that it demands consistency. When a reader subscribes to your blog...