Tuesday, March 11, 2008
NotebookReview.com's Rahul Sood Interview
Posted by Jason Dunn in "Digital Home Articles & Resources" @ 09:00 AM
"What happens when you combine a PC gamer, a brilliant entrepreneur, and HP's industry muscle? You get Rahul Sood, one of the biggest names in the world of PC gaming and now the man raising HP to new levels in the world of luxury and gaming computers. Rahul Sood is the chief technology officer of the HP Voodoo Business Unit (VBU), part of HP 's emerging businesses group. Sood oversees the technical strategy and product vision for Voodoo's cutting-edge products, including the Voodoo Omen and Envy product lines, the award-winning HP Blackbird 002 and other products with the "Voodoo DNA" brand."
I've known Rahul for a long time now, with both of us hailing from Calgary, and it's great to see his vision getting some big-time play. Voodoo was always a playing field for his vision, but being a high-end boutique shop means that you can't reach the mass market. This interview has your typical "I can't talk about that" aspects, but reading between the lines, you really get the sense that with HP's muscle and money, Rahul and the Voodoo crew can do things they never could before - and that's an exciting thing for anyone that's watched the PC industry go through cycles of stagnation.
Here's the funniest Voodoo story I have: going back to the late '90s, I was looking to buy a new computer. I had talked with Rahul and had decided to get Voodoo to build me a box based around a Cyrix 686 CPU - I had a budget of around $2000, and that was the best I could do at the time. I can't recall exactly why, but I ended up paying for the computer in cash - so I went down to Voodoo's downtown Calgary location with a bit under $2000 in my pocket. Voodoo happened to be located in the area of the city where ladies of questionable reputation plied their trade (yeah, hookers), and I'd seen them often on my trips to and from Voodoo. As I drove into the neighbourhood, past the fishnet stockings and three-inch stiletto heels, I couldn't help but wonder if an undercover police officer would really believe that a young man with $2000 in his pocket was in that neighbourhood to buy a computer...
I've known Rahul for a long time now, with both of us hailing from Calgary, and it's great to see his vision getting some big-time play. Voodoo was always a playing field for his vision, but being a high-end boutique shop means that you can't reach the mass market. This interview has your typical "I can't talk about that" aspects, but reading between the lines, you really get the sense that with HP's muscle and money, Rahul and the Voodoo crew can do things they never could before - and that's an exciting thing for anyone that's watched the PC industry go through cycles of stagnation.
Here's the funniest Voodoo story I have: going back to the late '90s, I was looking to buy a new computer. I had talked with Rahul and had decided to get Voodoo to build me a box based around a Cyrix 686 CPU - I had a budget of around $2000, and that was the best I could do at the time. I can't recall exactly why, but I ended up paying for the computer in cash - so I went down to Voodoo's downtown Calgary location with a bit under $2000 in my pocket. Voodoo happened to be located in the area of the city where ladies of questionable reputation plied their trade (yeah, hookers), and I'd seen them often on my trips to and from Voodoo. As I drove into the neighbourhood, past the fishnet stockings and three-inch stiletto heels, I couldn't help but wonder if an undercover police officer would really believe that a young man with $2000 in his pocket was in that neighbourhood to buy a computer...
