VIJAY SRINIVASAN, managing director (India), Invensys Process System, not only helps his son with Xbox consoles but also helps him download the latest games for his handheld Nintendo Lite. Like many gizmo geeks, he started off with a Casio digital diary, graduating to Apple iMacs and to assembling his own sound systems today.
What’s the longest time you have spent understanding and mastering a gadget?
It took me almost three days to figure out my Denon amplifier system. It is a complex piece of equipment, but I thought it would be a cakewalk for me. Despite studying the manual, looking it up on the web, consulting someone, I could not make it work with the rest of the home theatre system, which I was trying to assemble myself.
Have you ever fixed a broken gadget yourself?
The DVD drive of the Apple iMac malfunctioned once, with a CD stuck inside. I tried several things to get the CD out. Finally, I hit upon the idea of fooling the drive mechanism with a paper clip, which I opened up and inserted into the drive, pulling the screen apart from the back panel, with the eject button pressed all the time. Voila. The drive popped out the CD, and was I happy to get it back in my hands.
What is the geekiest gadget thing you have ever done?
I set up a LAN at home, connecting two laptops running Windows with the iMac acting as the Unix Server. It was a bit tough, I had to read a number of websites offering setup advice, but eventually I was able to access iMac files from Windows, and the ability to move files around the system.
Any funky gadget that you have taken to recently?
I like to play around with my HTC Touch Diamond Windows mobile phone. I love the weather update and similar GPS functions. I think this kind of elegant phone design is a sign of things to come in 2009.
Have you ever helped someone with their gadgets?
Yes, I help my eight-year-old son to figure out the Xbox and to tackle multi-player games. I also help him to find useful games for his Nintendo DS Lite.
What was your first true gadget? Do you still have it?
My very first gadget was a Casio Digital Diary. It was exciting to buy that product in the early 1990s, and I was enamoured of it though it could hardly hold a couple of hundred names. But data entry was a delight, and recall of data was even better on the tiny rolling screen. I still have that diary with me after almost two decades, but it is a long while since I looked at it.
Does any gadget hold you in awe?
I am wonderstruck by the Nintendo Wii console. It is amazing in its ability to make slightly mature and older people engage in tennis or other games either solo or with another player. The motion play system that the Wii has is unmatched in a Playstation or an Xbox. I wish someone would gift me a Wii with full-blown accessories and a second controller.
