Release 2.0— The Bangalore Imperative, which is supposedly a “chronicle of events that changed the IT industry forever” fails to evoke the thrilling elements of not only the growth but also the future aspect of the IT industry in India.
To start with, Goel includes everything that may seem futuristic to make you feel that you did pick up the right book. He tells you the amazing characteristics of an electronic pair of scissors that can trim hair, a normal ball point pen that turns out to be a digital pen and so forth. Aslo, there is the female-glamour factor. If there is a fictional work on the IT sector, can women be far behind? In fact, they blend very well. Beautiful women are seen here as a tool by IT czars to realise their great vision!
In the book, one anonymous e-mail sent to a top IT czar of Bangalore sets in motion a chain of events turning the whole IT sector into what it is today.
Sudharshan Rao, head of Infinity, an Indian IT pioneer company, feels that there is a threat of stagnation in the booming IT industry. So, to keep the competition going with the West he organises Indians settled across the globe to form Stanford (Satellite Asians’ Network for Research and Development) with the sole objective of creating innovation through research and financing.
In this process Rao befriends his competitor, Sukh Dugal, with whom he is competing for the same pie. The two come together putting individual interests aside. Their vision and respect for each other results in them undertaking a most desirous project called ‘Release 2.0’.
In the twist and turn of events that follow we have the French, German, American and Mauritius connection, besides the most common feature of today’s IT related crime— software theft. How Standford executes and comes up with their final product within a span of three and half years is as complex as the source code of any computer software.
A series of typographical errors is a turn off for readers. Goel’s Release 2.0 may sound forward and futuristic but it’s simply another book on the rack. Sad to say this, the book just fails to captivate. The narrative language of the book, however, is simplified. This may make it at least readable for those not acquainted with the C++ language.
Book: Release 2.0: The Bangalore Imperative
Author: Anil Goel
Publisher: Under Cover Utopia
Pp: 250
Year: 2007
