Entertainment
I am fed up of complaining about governmental inaction: Kamal Haasan
Massachusetts, Feb 11 (IANS) Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan says he is tired of complaining about governmental inaction, and wants to recraft the polity.
“On February 21, 2018, as I embark on my political journey, I am announcing a plan to adopt one village in every district of Tamil Nadu with the vision and aspiration for them to be ‘the best villages ever in India and later why not in the world’,” Haasan said in his key note address at the annual Indian conference of Harvard University on Sunday.
“An exemplar of sorts for my state and country. These villages will be planned with an intention to be holistically sustainable, economically, ecologically, sociologically, technologically, and high on education, skills and health. All key faculties for a healthy society… I truly believe that a strong Tamil Nadu augurs well for a strong India.”
The actor also said that he is practical and wants to start his journey by taking a “single step”.
“Therefore, as a first measure we will take one village and re-imagine it for excellence. Later, we will scale it across the state. Let’s re-imagine our villages, let’s re-imagine society and let’s leave a lasting impact on Tamil Nadu and India for posterity.”
The father of two invited “all Indians and even global citizens” to contribute to this idea.
“Being a Tamilian is not a prerequisite or a condition, but as I have often said is merely a postal code.”
With his political move, he is seeking “something more valuable than money”.
“Your ideas, imagination and intellect to re-imagine our villages, your time and participation in pursuit of excellence. My political campaign begins here with the aspiration of forming a brain trust with my Tamil women and men here at Harvard.”
Reflecting on his political aspirations, the “Vishwaroopam” star said: “I have embarked on a journey towards electoral politics. I used to mimic the wary intelligentsia that looked down with disdain at electoral politics and later through learning and kind tutoring understood that politics need not be something below us.
“On the contrary it can and should be a civic duty. A duty that we have neglected and hence, are suffering its atrophying consequences. I am fed up of complaining about governmental inaction. Demanding good governance is my right and no government need take umbrage.
“This address is only a preamble, a primer for that dialogue that I want to have with my people. I am actually rehearsing it with vibrant minds, hopefully kind critics and partners in attendance here. Help me help Tamil Nadu.”
He called himself a medium — “a tool offered for your use, sharpen me, shape me to sculpt our little village”.
“The time for lamenting is over. Everyone is in agreement that Tamil Nadu has touched its nadir. It is time to recraft the polity.”
–IANS
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Entertainment
Casino Days Reveal Internal Data on Most Popular Smartphones
International online casino Casino Days has published a report sharing their internal data on what types and brands of devices are used to play on the platform by users from the South Asian region.
Such aggregate data analyses allow the operator to optimise their website for the brands and models of devices people are actually using.
The insights gained through the research also help Casino Days tailor their services based on the better understanding of their clients and their needs.
Desktops and Tablets Lose the Battle vs Mobile
The primary data samples analysed by Casino Days reveal that mobile connections dominate the market in South Asia and are responsible for a whopping 96.6% of gaming sessions, while computers and tablets have negligible shares of 2.9% and 0.5% respectively.
The authors of the study point out that historically, playing online casino was exclusively done on computers, and attribute thе major shift to mobile that has unfolded over time to the wide spread of cheaper smartphones and mobile data plans in South Asia.
“Some of the reasons behind this massive difference in device type are affordability, technical advantages, as well as cheaper and more obtainable internet plans for mobiles than those for computers,” the researchers comment.
Xiaomi and Vivo Outperform Samsung, Apple Way Down in Rankings
Chinese brands Xiaomi and Vivo were used by 21.9% and 20.79% of Casino Days players from South Asia respectively, and together with the positioned in third place with a 18.1% share South Korean brand Samsung dominate the market among real money gamers in the region.
Cupertino, California-based Apple is way down in seventh with a user share of just 2.29%, overshadowed by Chinese brands Realme (11.43%), OPPO (11.23%), and OnePlus (4.07%).
Huawei is at the very bottom of the chart with a tiny share just below the single percent mark, trailing behind mobile devices by Motorola, Google, and Infinix.
The data on actual phone usage provided by Casino Days, even though limited to the gaming parts of the population of South Asia, paints a different picture from global statistics on smartphone shipments by vendors.
Apple and Samsung have been sharing the worldwide lead for over a decade, while current regional leader Xiaomi secured their third position globally just a couple of years ago.
Striking Android Dominance among South Asian Real Money Gaming Communities
The shifted market share patterns of the world’s top smartphone brands in South Asia observed by the Casino Days research paper reveal a striking dominance of Android devices at the expense of iOS-powered phones.
On the global level, Android enjoys a comfortable lead with a sizable 68.79% share which grows to nearly 79% when we look at the whole continent of Asia. The data on South Asian real money gaming communities suggests that Android’s dominance grows even higher and is north of the 90% mark.
Among the major factors behind these figures, the authors of the study point to the relative affordability of and greater availability of Android devices in the region, especially when manufactured locally in countries like India and Vietnam.
“And, with influencers and tech reviews putting emphasis on Android devices, the choice of mobile phone brand and OS becomes easy; Android has a much wider range of products and caters to the Asian online casino market in ways that Apple can’t due to technical limitations,” the researchers add.
The far better integration achieved by Google Pay compared to its counterpart Apple Pay has also played a crucial role in shaping the existing smartphone market trends.
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