He has his ears to the grind

GIZMOGEEK

Suman Srivastava, CEO, Euro RSCG India, knows his mind when it comes to buying gadgets. Right now he is debating whether or not to buy a portable ebook reader. The one gadget that has changed his life is, of course, the iPod. And that is why he would also like to one day hack Steve Job's computer. Good luck with that.

What's your favourite gadget and why?

My iPod (or vPod). I connect it to the car music system and listen to podcasts and audio books on it. It's particularly useful during the daily drive. It has introduced a whole new world to me. I listen to podcasts on subjects ranging from news to sports to books to science to humour. And, of course, technology. I also connect it to my TV and home theatre at home to show off my photographs, videos and music.

What is the next gadget on your shopping list?

I never know that until I actually buy it. Perhaps an ebook reader. There are good ones available. The only problem is that the titles available in ebooks are not quite the ones I like. That's why I haven't gone ahead with it yet.

Have you had any embarrassing moments while exhibiting your tech skills?

Just the usual ones of the gadget not working when you have an audience waiting to see it. Even Bill Gates got the dreaded blue screen while doing a demo of a new product. I think non-tech people love to see gadgets fail and laugh harder than is warranted by the situation!

Name one wacky gadget that you have had fun experimenting with.

The fun of experimenting is with the software rather than the hardware. There is tons of stuff on my laptop which is fun to play with. One of them is Picasa, the photo software. You can do tons of fun stuff with it.

Whose computer would you like to hack?

Steve Jobs'. Apple keeps producing cool stuff and I would love to know what's next on his agenda.

What is the most expensive gadget you have bought?

I guess they are all expensive. But in retrospect my first mobile phone (the Ericsson small one) was too expensive for the value. It cost over Rs 40,000 when I bought it. It had a single line, monochrome display, no T9 and didn't even display the name of the person who had sent the SMS. But it was small. Sounds so stupid today when you get much more advanced ones for one tenth the price.