As most people (I presume) would know, FireFox 3 is being launched and they are planning a mega-event publicity thingy. (Guinness Re4cord for "most software downloads in 24 hours" by downloading FF3, the new FF version)

What's interesting on the site is the "Pledging' bit, where you pledge that you will download it on 17th June 2008, PST. It has a nice world map with colour codes showing which country has how many pledges.

That is the most interesting portion.

The countries with the highest pledges are USA and Poland. More than 100,000. Though Poland is just about 101k, and USA has more than twice as much, its interesting to note that Poland actually manages to enter that (top) group. Whereas Brazil (for eg), which is known for Internet usage, and definitely has a higher population, lags behind by 3K or so.

Is it that Poland has more FF users than Brazil and other countries? Or is it that Poland has higher population of educated people who have access to computers and Internet? This can be disputed by looking at France, which has 1.6 times Poland population, and has a higher GDP, yet a lower commitment to download FF.

The possibilities that come to mind thus, are - (hypotheses)
a) Poland has a much more tech-savvy population to total population ratio, who like to experiment with their browsers compared to other countries (developed or not)
a1) Poland has the highest number of teenage (+/-10 yrs) people compared to the developed/ high GDP nations, which ensures there are more people who can afford Internet and computer, as well are literate enough to use them and download new softwares (older people in the most developed of nations will also have an apathy towards setting a record by downloading on a certain day. They will do so in their own time.)
b) Firefox has a dedicated user base in Poland, who would do just anything for Mozilla/ FF
c) Polish people do not care about downloading. They just want to go there and ensure that their country looks nice and maroon on the map.
d) Polish people are suckers for Guinness World Records, and every homeless shelter installed a PC to ensure ppl can download FF3

I would go with not only (a) above, but also (a1) as being most logical.
Comparing with France, a better developed nation, with higher population, the median age of Poland is 37.6yrs, and that of France is 39.2. Hm. A difference in the median age of 1.6 yrs can translate a lot in real age terms. That does explain a bit, but not all, and definitely does not prove the hypothesis. To investigate further, I look at Italy.
Italy has 1.5 times the population of Poland, and has a median age of 42.9yrs. Yet, its commitment levels are 8K less than Poland. Again, the median age comes to play. UK (39.9), Germany (43.4), Spain (40.7) and Japan (43.8) also have a mich higher median age of their populations (larger or smaller).

Thus, age does have a role to play. Then what about countries like China and India? China's median population is 33.65 and that of India is 25.1 - lower even that of Brazil (29)! And these countries have much higher population, thereby a %age population who has computer and access to Internet - definitely comparable, if not an exact correct comparison.

But here we are talking of a higher conversion of population to voracious users in Poland than even in Canada (same population size but higher median age) and Australia (lower population, same median age) - countries with, I would assume, equal amenities and almost-similar standard of living, if not better.

The only the choice that leaves me with is a new option (e)- Poland's culture. All I know of Poland's culture is its tourism department is aggressive now, esp for India. And Poles are charming, industrious people - at least those Ive met. (They do have difficult names and English, but Ill pass that). Ill also glaze over their employment and taxation laws (horrid even as recently as 2005). But as far as downloading FF3 goes, they are one interesting country!

I, for one, would love to know of a culture which would make its people more adventurous, willing to try new medium, take part in international events with gusto, and in general, try new things. Because, that to me, summarises the event of mass downloading of a new Internet browser. Computers and Internet - a comparatively new medium, and a new browser - a willingness to try out something new, perhaps risky, but definitely not the in-built IE and taking part in a World Record breaking international challenge by just not downloading, but also pledging to do so.

The proof of downloading lies in actual downloads. Perhaps like I mentioned above, Poles simply like to commit and may not have as many downloads as pledges. But, the answer will soon be available, barely 24 hours away, and I would still like to know more about the Polish Internet System!

Imagine this scene.

You enter your regular office pantry and see three unknown faces sitting silently hunched over their phones on a circular table. Something moves on your right and you look behind the open door - and see the lead protagonist from The Ring step out.

You step back in surprise (fear?) and she looks up at you.

You realise it is a normal (unknown) girl walking hunched over her phone with her hair hanging from one side of her head in an uninterrupted black sheet. *shudder*

That being the latest (5min old) update of my life in office.

On another exciting front I have discovered the country with the smallest population. Virtually discovered it. As in someone else discovered it and now I have discovered it for myself (and you, reader), and also, I 'discovered' it on the net. Thus Virtually. Cool eh?
Nevermind.

So any guesses as to which place it is? Its the Pitcairn Islands. 47 sq Km big. And, guess what? 48 residents. Total man-power? 15 able-bodied men. Read up more details here. Suffice to say they have a Mayor and are under the Brit rule essentially. They do handicraft and farming for a living and use radio waves to communicate when they cant catch hold of their satellite phones.

The whole island population can be seen on this wikipedia photograph. And if you want to know their names and genealogy, go right here.Including a status on who is on the island and who is away.

What I am interested in however, is what is it like? What is it like to be born in a place so small, see only so many people (and a few tourists once in a while) and live your life there? Granted, some of them must be going to big cities to make their fortune, but many do stay back (as can be seen).
Almost like a village, this place is not in constant communication with other parts of the world. The boats travel infrequently and are longboats, not anything particularly technologically progressive. There is no TV except satellite TV.
There is, however, deforestation (imagine!). Is there a school? What about hospitals? Who is the doctor? And who is their religious leader?
What kind of amenities are present there? When tourists come, how do they live?

Yet, still, I would love to know the outlook of life of people born here. How do they feel with their first visit to "mainland"? Do they even want to move out? Do they feel isolated, having being born in such an environment, or is city life claustrophobic for them?
In short, I guess Im wondering what it is like to be a Pitcairn Islander. but thats just too cliched a question to answer my wonder and questions.

When I go to small tourist towns, I have often found myself wondering what my life would have been like were I born there, instead of where I was born - in a bustling metropolis of India. In fact, were that true, even then I would probably be not what I am today. Spending more than half a decade in one city itself is unimaginable to me, forget a life-time (almost).
In that scenario, suppose you were born in say, small town Trivandrum (my latest trip). Where the traffic came to a halt in a major crossing because the fire brigade was clearing a small oil spill.You see tourists every season, but thats different from being one. What would drive you, if at all? Would you live the same life your grandparents lived? Live and die in one town, in (probably) the same, or slightly different profession. How many of the successful people there would take up a profession and leave the city? How big a heartache that would cause to their extended family.

The 'progress' and 'sync with international worlds' is something totally different there. Its tangible (they may well speak French/ German, having spoken to the tourists) but its not real - would they go to France/ Germany? They may watch TV, but would they feel the part of one of the roles shown there?

That, is the "masses", the population that really makes up a country. Am I sorry I'm not one of the masses? Or am I glad? Neither. I'm plain curious - because that life is so very different from mine. Because in that life the smallest accomplishment may well be a very big deed - what I don't count as something new/ sensational/ courageous, can be the decision of a lifetime for many people. What would it be like to be one of those people? Perhaps frustrating for a me, but would I ever be "me" if I were them?