Pokémon Go! What’s the fuss about?

Pokémon Go!

What’s the fuss about?

One day I logged onto my internet and it was abuzz with Pokémon Go!

Pokémon, that adorable little cartoon character all of us who are in our 20s or 30s today, remember to adore.

“But What’s the fuss about?” I wondered.

Gasp! Pokémon is back

Pokémon was ancient for all I knew. With the era of apps and games like Temple Run, Angry Birds and the like, Pokémon it seemed had been long forgotten.  There were no Pokémon for smartphones, the devices that are found in everyone’s hands today.  Nintendo had not introduced any of its famous characters like Pokémon, Mario or Zelda and the likes to the smart world.

But, Pokémon Craze of the late 90’s is back.  And this time with a huge leap in technology as well as madness, it’s Pokémon Go!

Evolution of Pokémon

Pokémon is a term derived from a Japanese brand Pocket Monsters and it refers to over 700 species of fictional monster species which include famous Pikachu specie as well.  The classic Pokémon were baby monsters who were bred by Pokémon trainers, the humans, and the goal was to collect all the Pokémon, breed them and so on.

Yet another AR Game!

Pokémon Go! is pretty much the same game but with augmented reality (AR) incorporated into it.  This new game makes you get up and get moving if you want to succeed.  Pokémon players have to get up on their own two legs and visit the real-world locations in order to catch their Pikachus and Wigglypuffs.   The game is said to lure players into nooks and corners of their towns they’ve never visited before.  People have been complaining of their sore legs and feet ever since the release of the game.

Location database of Niantic’s original augmented reality game, Ingress, is made available to the user community.

Scope for Business and Marketing

Revenue is derived from sponsored game locations, in which McDonalds was the first to cut the deal with around 3000 outlets in Japan.  And, this is just the beginning.  If Pokémon Go manages to keep up its popularity, numerous sponsored PokéStops and PokéClubs will spring up bringing in a huge chance of business and marketing.

Meanwhile, the game is earning revenue by microtransactions, like sale of Pokéballs, lucky eggs, special items, and expansions, etc. Monetization at the moment isn’t intrusive while playing the game which is a very smart move.  Too much focus on monetization this early can result in losing players.  Also, augmented reality games do not have a successful history and it’s wiser to wait till the game is stable before digging into the goldmine of its capability and outreach.

Availability and breeding opportunity for malware

Pokémon Go is still not available worldwide.  The official version of the app is being released around the world slowly.  But, such is the hype of its release that people have been passing APK files to friends in regions where it’s not available yet. One of such files was maliciously infected by DroidJack.  Just 72 hours after the release, Proofpoint spotted the infected version of the game intended for android users.  On their blog, they have highlighted some of the features that can help a user differentiate if they have downloaded the infected version.

It’s not necessary that if one downloads software or an app from third party or unknown source, it would be infected but there’s always a risk.  That’s why the firm urges people to download software from a reputed or well known app store.  The infected game software is very similar to the real game and thus easily fools the user.  Hence, it is better to wait for the official release than to get the risk of getting your system wrecked or worse, hacked.

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How to be an Edhi

Sonia Ahmed

A whole week has passed since Edhi breathed his last…

For a whole week, I read poems and articles about his greatness.  People wanted to award him for his great work.  Some proposed to start an award in his name, or change Gaddafi stadium’s name to Edhi stadium, or declare the day of his departure as “Edhi Day” to celebrate his memory. 

I wondered if humanity will need a reason to remember Edhi. Could the enormity of his noble mission be rewarded by a mere award?  Would a building in his name be required to remind people of ‘Once there was an Edhi?’

Memorials are for those who can be forgotten. 

And, I wondered if Edhi could ever be forgotten? Whenever there’ll be a calamity, whenever there’ll be a bomb blast, we’ll see Edhi rushing to the site.  We’ll see Edhi covering the bodies of the dead, we’ll see Edhi adopting the kids out of sin, and we’ll see Edhi housing the ‘living dead’ for their families. 

And, then I wondered, “Who is Edhi?”

Certainly not an angel, a ‘farishta’ everyone so fervently declare him to be. 

“First become a human yourself and then everything will fall into its place” was what he advised.

Then ‘Who is Edhi?’

A Muslim?

But wait!

He said, “My religion is humanitarianism.”

Does this mean humanitarianism is equivalent to Islam; he certainly cannot belong to two religions at one time.

Was he an epitome of Islam or an epitome of humanity?

If Islam is an epitome of humanity, then ‘Who are we who claim to be muslims?’

Was Mother Teresa Muslim by this standard? Can Dr. Ruth Pfau be declared a Muslim for being a humanitarian?

OR

Is there a greater religion in this world, greater than all the other religions in the world; the religion of HUMANITY? The religion that is as old as the humans themselves, the religion that has even fewer followers than those of Prince Philip Movement.

Ever since Edhi died, I wanted to write about him.  I wanted to celebrate his life, like others; I wanted to pay my tribute to his noble life and death, like others. 

But I couldn’t find any words.  No words however big, however, grand matched up to the enormity of his task.  Edhi is an embodiment of trust for us.  He is a symbol of what this nation can do if only they had someone trustworthy.

The only befitting way to pay tribute to people like Edhi is to be like Edhi…

But before we chant in our emotional fervor “I am Edhi”, let’s look into our own collars and ask ourselves,

‘Do we have what it takes to be an EDHI?’

 

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