Today, Alberto found a news on an Italian website describing an Indian
version of Google Earth which the news says would be a serious
competitor for Google Earth. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)
recently launched a web service called Bhuvan which is the Sanskrit
word for Earth. Its a similar service like Google Earth but with
images of far higher resolution that are updated every year.
http://bhuvan.nrsc.gov.in/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhuvan
My immediate reaction is that it would be another ugly website like that
of Indian Railways or BSNL...afterall you don't expect Indian babus
particularly interested in snappy and sleek websites. Currently, the
website of Bhuvan only works with Inernet Explorer and requires you to
download a plugin. You also need to register and login to the site.
This is really a pity. I guess it might be related to the fact that they developed the whole thing based on IE, and it takes more time to make it adapt to other browsers. If it get popular, this should not be a problem for long.
I tried to read some reviews and all of them said that its a rather
premature release. They tried to release on the Independence Day
although their project has been delayed since it was announced last
year October. Anyway, will follow the developments to see how far it
goes. I just feel Indian public sector does not have a great track
record in developing commercially successful products...the only other
example that comes to mind is the Simputer project started by IISc
Bangalore which was revolutionary before the days of the OLPC but it
never took off.
I am wondering whether it is the problem of Indian public sector or just public sectors anywhere?
But at least a good effort to make use of ISRO's super cheap rocket
and satellite technology to some practical use.
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