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Hindustan Times
18 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Re-wind: The loud history of the alarm clock
We don't think of them as a luxury exactly, those few extra moments of sleep after one hits snooze on an alarm. But that's really what they are. A knocker-upper uses a long pole to wake workers in the Netherlands. (Wikimedia) Through most of history, it was impossible to set a personalised wake-up call, unless one were royalty or nobility. Before we get to how alarms have worked, through the centuries, have you ever wondered why the default snooze duration is nine minutes? Do you secretly think it's because the phone manufacturer is trying to help you cheat, and knows 10 would simply be too much? It isn't that; well, not exactly. Long before smartphones, the snooze feature existed in mechanical timepieces. Because of the way their gears were designed, it was nearly impossible to allow exactly 10 minutes of extra sleep before the alarm went off again. What clockmakers could manage was either a little over ten minutes, or a little under. They chose the latter, rightly assuming that 11 would be pushing things too far. And so the nine-minute snooze was set. Digital clocks, and then smartphones, preserved this pattern. It was, by this time, habit and tradition. Today, it lives on still. Meanwhile the alarm, in some form, has been around for millennia. Clocks — not mechanical or electronic, but water-based, star-based, shadow-based — have marked the hours for thousands of years. But the idea of a sound-based wake-up system? That's where it gets interesting. In the 4th century BCE, Plato is said to have devised a kind of alarm for himself and his students: a system using vessels of water that would gradually transfer liquid until a final container emitted a whistle-like sound. About 150 years later, the inventor Ctesibius in Egypt was experimenting with water clocks in which a series of falling pebbles triggered a gong. The early versions weren't loud enough so he reworked it to have more clang, ancient records indicate. Fast-forward about 1,000 years and, in 8th-century CE China, the Buddhist monk and astronomer Yi Xing built a water-powered alarm that used gongs and bells to mark time and served as a sort of astronomical device, to predict phenomena such as eclipses. Saved by the bell Today, alarm clocks such as the Clocky and Robot can even be set to run away from you to force you to start the day. What about the modern world? Well, centuries before the wristwatch and bedside alarm, as cities around the world grew and became busier, people generally woke to public sounds. Then, in medieval Europe, from about the 13th century on, town clocks and church bells began to standardise time, ringing on the hour or at fixed hours. These clocks ushered in a sense of shared schedule that bound a community. Perhaps more importantly, the first gong of the morning woke the exhausted labourer in time to begin the day's work. (Most church bells and clock towers still sound their first gong at 6 am.) India had its own soundscapes that served this purpose. For millennia, the blowing of conches and ringing of temple bells have marked the beginning of morning rituals, indicating the time for prayer and for the commencement of the day. The first azaan at mosques serves this purpose too. Even today, in many homes, it is these acoustic cues that trigger the first sleepy shufflings of the day, as we proceed to bath, prayer, and the lighting of lamps. It would be the 15th century before the first mechanical alarm clocks appeared in Europe. They had metal bells that could be wound so as to ring at a specific moment. These gadgets were expensive, and so the church and town clock continued to play their role. Hour heroes The 19th century changed all that. Industrial life demanded greater precision, and this meant, among other things, punctuality. Assembly lines, railway schedules, the postal service and office hours all required people to wake up and show up on time. Delays were now measured not in quarter- and half-hours but in minutes, and each delay had the potential for cascading inconvenience. Still, most city-dwellers could not afford the alarm clock. So, in industrialising Britain, a service of 'knocker-uppers' emerged, men and women who woke especially early (who knows how they managed it) to do the rounds of the neighbourhood, knocking on windows with long sticks or shooting dried peas through straws to rouse the working-class. Parallel cues emerged, and these still signal the arrival of morning: the milkman's bicycle bell, the long whistle of the first train pulling into a nearby station. Then, in a rush, came the clock, the watch, the telephone. With new technology, exciting new options became available. One could log a request with one's telephone company for a wake-up call, and someone would call on the landline at the requested time (a practice often followed when one had an early train or plane to catch). The human operator was eventually replaced by an Interactive Voice Response System or IVRS. I don't know of anyone who uses it anymore. Instead, in the 21st century, no two people need wake up to the same thing. One may pick a gentle chime, easily ignored by others in the room. Or set a smart watch to vibrate so only you are alerted. One may set a white noise machine to ease sleep away with ocean sounds or whale calls. Or choose a rising melody or raucous bird call on one's phone. With pen and paper gone, we also set alarms for the smallest things, and the biggest: anniversaries and birthdays, to pick up the laundry. We programme gadgets to ask, 'have you been drinking enough water today?' We say, 'Alexa, remind me to turn off the stove in 10 minutes.' Some things remain unchanged, amid it all. One is the joy of having a little extra time to snooze. Another is the fear that one's alarm won't ring as it's meant to. Do you have a back-up alert set too, 'just in case'? With no one tapping at my window, I know I do.
Economic Times
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Economic Times
He hair-styled celebs like Amitabh Bachchan and Bruce Lee but died leaving only Rs 13 for his son. Who is Hakim Kairanvi?
Aalim Hakim faced hardship after his father's death. His father, Hakim Kairanvi, styled famous actors. Aalim was only nine. The family had very little money. Aalim pursued hairstyling to honor his father. He became a successful stylist. He now works with major Bollywood stars and cricketers. His work features in big films. He is a leading name in Indian hairstyling. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Aalim Hakim (Pic courtesy- @aalimhakim) Who is Aalim Hakim? From losing his father at just nine to becoming Bollywood's most sought-after hairstylist, Aalim Hakim 's journey is a moving tale of resilience, legacy, and relentless passion. Today, his name is synonymous with style in Indian cinema, but few know the heartbreak that shaped him. His father, Hakim Kairanvi, was a legendary hairstylist who worked with icons like Amitabh Bachchan , Vinod Khanna, and even international stars like Bruce Lee. His father was also the hairstylist for Dilip Kumar, Sunil Dutt, and Anil Kapoor. Tragedy struck when Kairanvi passed away suddenly, while on a film set, leaving behind a grieving family and just Rs Hakim recalled, as reported by the Indian Express, citing Hindi Rush, that his father had been styling Amitabh Bachchan's hair on the sets of the film Mard when he suddenly experienced chest pain. Bachchan reportedly advised him to seek immediate medical attention, but he tragically passed away the very next day at the age of 39. The sudden loss plunged the family into financial turmoil. At the time, savings were rare, and families often lived hand to mouth. Aalim shared that they were left with just Rs 13 when his father no formal training and only faded newspaper clippings of his father for inspiration, young Aalim made it his life's mission to honour his father's name. He said that all he wanted was to earn his father's respect back. And he his father was the hairstylist of Amitabh Bachchan, today, Aalim Hakim is the hairstylist of the veteran actor's son, Abhishek is also behind some of the most iconic looks in Indian entertainment and sports. According to information from his website, he has worked with stars like Shahid Kapoor, Salman Khan, Varun Dhawan, Sidharth Malhotra, and Sanjay Dutt, to cricketers like Virat Kohli Rohit Sharma , KL Rahul, and Sachin Tendulkar—Aalim's client list reads like a who's who of stardom. His artistry has also left its mark on blockbuster films like Robot and Baahubali, and South industry legends like Rajinikanth, Mahesh Babu, Jr NTR, Vikram, and Tamannaah Bhatia trust him with their on-screen transformations.
Time of India
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
He hair-styled celebs like Amitabh Bachchan and Bruce Lee but died leaving only Rs 13 for his son. Who is Hakim Kairanvi?
From losing his father at just nine to becoming Bollywood's most sought-after hairstylist, Aalim Hakim 's journey is a moving tale of resilience, legacy, and relentless passion. Today, his name is synonymous with style in Indian cinema, but few know the heartbreak that shaped him. His father, Hakim Kairanvi, was a legendary hairstylist who worked with icons like Amitabh Bachchan , Vinod Khanna, and even international stars like Bruce Lee. His father was also the hairstylist for Dilip Kumar, Sunil Dutt, and Anil Kapoor. Tragedy struck when Kairanvi passed away suddenly, while on a film set, leaving behind a grieving family and just Rs 13. Aalim Hakim (Pic courtesy- @aalimhakim) Aalim Hakim recalled, as reported by the Indian Express, citing Hindi Rush, that his father had been styling Amitabh Bachchan's hair on the sets of the film Mard when he suddenly experienced chest pain. Bachchan reportedly advised him to seek immediate medical attention, but he tragically passed away the very next day at the age of 39. The sudden loss plunged the family into financial turmoil. At the time, savings were rare, and families often lived hand to mouth. Aalim shared that they were left with just Rs 13 when his father died. With no formal training and only faded newspaper clippings of his father for inspiration, young Aalim made it his life's mission to honour his father's name. He said that all he wanted was to earn his father's respect back. And he did. Who is Aalim Hakim? While his father was the hairstylist of Amitabh Bachchan, today, Aalim Hakim is the hairstylist of the veteran actor's son, Abhishek Bachchan. — SrBachchan (@SrBachchan) Aalim is also behind some of the most iconic looks in Indian entertainment and sports. According to information from his website, he has worked with stars like Shahid Kapoor, Salman Khan, Varun Dhawan, Sidharth Malhotra, and Sanjay Dutt, to cricketers like Virat Kohli , Rohit Sharma , KL Rahul, and Sachin Tendulkar—Aalim's client list reads like a who's who of stardom. His artistry has also left its mark on blockbuster films like Robot and Baahubali, and South industry legends like Rajinikanth, Mahesh Babu, Jr NTR, Vikram, and Tamannaah Bhatia trust him with their on-screen transformations.
India Today
13-06-2025
- Automotive
- India Today
Tesla sues ex-engineer for stealing Optimus robot secrets to launch rival startup
Tesla has filed a lawsuit against a former employee, accusing him of stealing confidential information related to its humanoid robotics project, Optimus, and using it to establish a competing startup. The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday and first reported by Bloomberg, targets Zhongjie 'Jay' Li, who was employed at Tesla between August 2022 and September 2024. Tesla alleges that Li misappropriated trade secrets involving the development of its advanced robotic hand sensors, and later used this proprietary knowledge to launch his own venture, Proception — a startup backed by Y Combinator, which specialises in humanoid robotic to the legal complaint, Li downloaded sensitive Optimus project data onto two personal smartphones during his tenure at Tesla. In addition to accessing confidential files, the lawsuit claims that, in the months leading up to his departure, Li used Tesla's internal systems to conduct research on humanoid robotic hand design and explored topics related to venture capital and startup funding, suggesting premeditated intentions to establish a competing business.'Less than a week after he left Tesla, Proception was incorporated,' the complaint reads. 'And within just five months, Proception publicly claimed to have 'successfully built' advanced humanoid robotic hands—hands that bear a striking resemblance to the designs Li worked on at Tesla.' Proception's website describes its mission as seeking to "revolutionise human-robot interaction by building the world's most advanced humanoid hands." The similarities between Proception's designs and Tesla's proprietary work have prompted Tesla to take legal action to protect its intellectual humanoid robotics journey has faced several hurdles since it was first unveiled in 2021, when CEO Elon Musk introduced the Tesla Bot concept — later branded as Optimus. Initially, the company indicated that the humanoid robot would debut alongside other products in 2023. However, progress has been slower than expected, with the Optimus robot still in July 2024, Musk provided an updated timeline, stating that Tesla hoped to begin commercial sales of the Optimus robot by 2026. However, by October 2024, at Tesla's 'We, Robot' event, the showcased Optimus robots were still largely operated by humans remotely, highlighting that the technology remains a work in maintains that Li's alleged theft of intellectual property could jeopardise years of internal research and development invested in Optimus. The lawsuit underscores the high stakes involved in the race to develop advanced robotics, particularly as companies like Tesla seek to lead the emerging market for humanoid robots capable of performing complex, human-like Tesla has faced technical setbacks in bringing Optimus to market, the ongoing development of robotic hands is seen as a critical component in making the humanoid robot fully functional. The advanced hand sensors Li allegedly accessed are believed to play a pivotal role in enabling robots to replicate precise, human-like dexterity, a key milestone that could set Tesla apart from competitors in the has not yet publicly responded to the lawsuit, and the legal proceedings are now In
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tesla sues former Optimus engineer over alleged trade secret theft
Tesla sued a former engineer for allegedly stealing trade secrets from its humanoid robotics program, Optimus, and using them to launch a rival startup. The lawsuit, which was filed on Wednesday and originally reported on by Bloomberg, accuses Zhongjie 'Jay' Li of stealing trade secrets regarding Tesla's development of 'advanced robotic hand sensors' to launch his startup Proception, a Y Combinator-backed company building robotic hands. The complaint states that Li, who worked at Tesla from August 2022 to September 2024, downloaded confidential information about Optimus on two separate personal smartphones. The complaint also added that during the last few months of his time at Tesla, Li researched 'humanoid robotic hands' on his workplace computer in addition to making internet searches regarding venture capital and other startup funding sources. 'Less than a week after he left Tesla, Proception was incorporated,' the complaint stated. 'And within just five months, Proception publicly claimed to have 'successfully built' advanced humanoid robotic hands—hands that bear a striking resemblance to the designs Li worked on at Tesla.' Proception's website states the company is working to 'revolutionize human-robot interaction by building the world's most advanced humanoid hands.' TechCrunch reached out to Proception and Tesla for more information. Tesla's Optimus robotics program has been on a bit of a rocky path since the company unveiled it was building a humanoid robot, Tesla Bot, in 2021. In 2022, the company said that the bot, alongside other new products, would be introduced in 2023. But Optimus has remained in development. In July 2024, Tesla's Elon Musk said that the company would begin selling the robot in 2026. Just a few months later at Tesla's 'We, Robot' event in October 2024, Tesla's Optimus bots in attendance were largely controlled by humans offsite.
