Shift+F6 (F2?) Bangalore -> Bengaluru
hell, I missed out writing my opinions about this.. haven't been very regular with blogging u see :D.. I'm not even sure if it's the right time.. maybe the renaming is already done.. (honestly I'm not sure coz I usually don't go past the comic strips in the newspaper, which're on the second page btw.. :D )

neways, the people in my mind while writing this opinion are the shitheads who've managed to snatch some votes from the stupid voters.. btw, I'm not in the stupid voters list ;) I have never voted till now.. Sidda argues that it's people like me who let the 'bad guys' win by not using our powers.. but well, I've a different opinion.. u can vote for someone if u want him/her to win.. but what if every candidate is just another shithead? would u like to vote for any of them? Sidda again argues that not evryone is bad.. I agree.. but it so happens that there's a good guy Mr X from the party XYZ, whom I'd like to support, but his local representative for my area is just another loser.. or maybe the other way around.. my local representative for the party XYZ is good, but supporting him would mean supporting another loser fighting for a higher position.. a Catch-22 situation? no matter whom do u vote for, u end up being the loser.. the only way to win is to get into the dirt and play games to snatch votes for urself.. in other words, enter the filthy world of politics, even thinking of which makes me sick..

neways, I just went off-track.. that's not what this post is abt.. coming to the renaming, I'm against it.. here's why:
Bangalore isn't just a name that someone could choose to change at his will to satisfy his whims.. more than a name, it's a brand.. and when you rename a well known brand, there are always repercussions..
how's Bangalore a brand? I think I don't have to explain this.. but still.. I've heard that (not so recently), the word Bangalore was added as a verb to some dictionary along with Google, Fed-Ex etc.. Bangalore to mean outsource, with the usage somethin like 'we bangalore'd our work'.. not sure about the authenticity of the news, but it's sensible nevertheless.. my point here is that the word Bangalore is very well known, but Bengaluru isn't..

one more thing I'd like to quote is a simple usability rule.. of course, the primary intent in designing something usable is to make it as user-friendly as possible.. but suppose you've pushed something not so user friendly to the user and the user finally has become comfortable with it (obviously after going through a steep learning curve), it's preferred that you don't change it.. maybe you think your new idea is really mind-blowing which would revolutionize the way user would use your product and make it hell of a lot easier.. but for the user it's just an added confusion and the frustration of unlearning all that on which he's spent so much time to become comortable with.. if it's so for a mind-blowing idea, I don't think I've to be explicit about changing things for reasons which can't even be justified, leave alone the mind-blowing part which simply isn't there :P

one name that comes to my mind when it comes to renaming is Borland.. one of the few companies I like for the quality of their products.. Borland used to be good (and still is good, but I'm speakin of the past here :D ), until Microsoft came into the arena with it's aggressive marketing strategies which took down Borland's products.. QBASIC taking over Turbo-Pascal, Access and FoxPro taking over dBase and Interbase.. well, after that Borland changed it's name to Inprise in Nov 1997, and many think that was disastrous step to take.. Inprise never really caught up.. so much that they chose to revert to Borland in Jan 2001.. That goes with my branding point.. don't try to change a well known brand name.. the cons are far worser than the pros, which in this case are invisible to me, or at least far beyond my comprehension..

finally, let's take up a hypothetical situation to analyse how'd it be to have Bangalore renamed.. let's take someone who doesn't know abt the rename.. now don't say evryone will be kno abt it, coz that'd leave me without companions :D what'd be his reaction when he hears abt Bengaluru? well, a city that kinda sounds like Bangalore, but just another city nevertheless.. similar to New York and Nu Ark (both of em somewhere in US).. but now even though later he might kno that they're the same, first impressions are harder to be overcome.. I mean it takes a little while to digest the change.. it's not something impossible, but pricey for sure..

so what'd be the advantages of this rename? hmm.. as I said, the people who're planning this rename are simply some superior species whose way of thinking just beats me ;) that's why the reasons seem pretty transparent to me (i.e. invisible or in other words, not existing, if you ask me :D ).. but based on what they say, it has something to do with saving our culture.. hmm.. well how'd a rename save my culture?! wonder who comes up with these brilliant ideas.. I've to accept that I can't understand them.. isn't it simply wonderful that a simple renaming saves your culture?! never in the history of mankind have I heard of such a case.. that's the reason I consider them among the superior species..

saviours of the culture.. hmm.. or is that savages hungry for power? playing just another game in their political life, which if succeeded would mean a few thousand more votes for the heroes who saved our culture..

neways, I feel like puking when I think of these filthy barbarians who lack even the most basic of the manners.. people who never seem to have any other rationale behind their actions apart from saving their position.. saving their positions just to dump another lump of the national wealth to their personal accounts..