We The Forsaken

The new Nokia N97!

2008-12-03T16:17:00.002+05:30

Nokia has unveiled the new N97, and by the looks of it, this one is really going to rule over the world of mobiles. Combining a touchscreen and a full QWERTY keyboard, it calls for a comparison with Apple’s trend-setting iPhone. The Nokia N97 may be the answer to the iPhone and might even become the new trend setter.

The video says it all:

Free Laptops for all !!!

2008-10-23T21:23:00.000+05:30

Amazing news !!

Now you can get free laptop from Reliance Communication with a net connection for Rs 1500 every month only. And the good news does not end here. You will need to pay this amount only for two years and the laptop will be yours.
Reliance Communications is India’s second largest telecom company and largest internet company with around a million broadband subscribers.

Reliance Communications has today entered into a strategic agreement with five leading laptop manfacturers - HCL, Intel, Acer, Asus and Lenovo to offer its customers free laptops along with their new internet connections.

RCOM customers can now buy sub-laptops packaged with RCOM’s Net Connect data card services. It will be available to customers for a monthly fee of Rs 1,500 over two years. More details regarding availability, schemes and pricing are expected to be released shortly.

End of an era !!

2008-10-08T10:28:00.003+05:30

After the announcement of his retirement from his cricketing career Ganguly has now took the center stage in the midst of the hot Indo Aussie series.. Though the decision was late its better than never.Obviously people of kolkata would be in a remorse as their idol "The Prince of Kolkata" is gonna retire from cricket.People of kolkata supported their Dada in his bad times. When he has left out of the Indian team a sense of tense spread over the nation. His retirement is definitely a big blow to Indian cricket. But for cricket, it`s not merely the loss of an icon, rather of a born fighter, who led his country with passion and shrewdness and would go down as one of the best captains in the annals of cricketing history.

After staging glorious comebacks time and again to prove wrong the cricketing pundits who frequently penned the obituary of his journey, the talismanic left hander finally announced to the world himself that he has reached the end of his glittering international career.

All legends are in full praise to this smart captain.He was the best captain India had so far. He induced the fighting spirit to his team mates and brought aggression to Indian cricket which was definitely lacking before.

Hail the captain who discovered and introduced new techniques in Indian cricket. In many circumstances he has proved that captaincy can win matches..

IPhone Killer is ready to launch..

2008-10-06T21:33:00.000+05:30

Nokia has decided to launch its first touchscreen phone in India in the third week of November. The Finnish handset major will position the phone—Nokia 5800—under its music platform XpressMusic series and is likely to price it at sub-Rs 20,000. The model has just been unveiled globally and pegged by analysts as the iPhone killer.

Industry circles feel the price of Nokia 5800 will play a major role in garnering market share, since the recent spate of touchscreen phones like Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Omnia are priced more than Rs 30,000 in India.

The Nokia 5800 features a 3.2-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens, a virtual QWERTY keyboard and offers all the music essentials—graphic equaliser, 8GB memory, supports all digital music formats with built-in surround sound stereo speakers.

After its launch, Nokia intends to study consumer behaviour towards touchscreen phones in India. So iPhone may face its end soon :(

Nokia N96

2008-09-13T22:42:00.001+05:30

Nokia, world’s premier mobile phone manufacturer, has recently announced launching of it’s sophisticated mobile phone N96 for the high-end Indian people. The phone, costing Rs. 34,999, is likely to be available in the Indian market from 15 Sep 08 and the company has already started pre-booking for their latest tech-gadget.

Nokia N96 has several advanced characteristics. The smart phone will surely compete head-on with recently launched Apple’s much-hyped iPhone with it’s sleek design and multi-role web-enabled functionality. Speaking on the occasion, Nokia India’s marketing director Mr. Devinder Kishore said, “the applications and content that are being pre-bundled with the N96 will be a big draw for users looking for a multimedia-rich, GPS-based device”.

Touch-screen enabled N96 is the result of Nokia’s continuous effort of introducing innovative ideas into their models, said a market analyst. The phone will offer huge 16GB memory size, which can further be extended to 24GB using micro SD card - highest memory size ever offered in any mobile phone. According to Mr. D Kishore, “the N96 will be the first mobile device to offer a memory size of 16GB expandable to 24GB through an external micro SD card. There is no phone that can claim this feat”.

What is most amazing with the new phone is that it will come with map of India pre-loaded, besides having the maps of Singapore and UAE. Nokia has also planned a unique entertainment program for you, if you purchase their intelligent N96 mobile phone. With the phone, you will be able to watch Bollywood film Om Shanti Om at your wish and leisure. 100 Hindi and 100 English soundtracks coupled with 50 music videos and N-gage games will also enrich the beauty of N96! Other special features of the phone include 5 mega pixel camera, storing capacity for 18,000 songs, 20,000 images, and 60 hours of video.

A security application, comes bundled with the phone, will permit you to track down your set, in case the phone is stolen. With the phone, you will be able to enjoy surfing of net, chatting, browsing and other multimedia options seamlessly. Under Web2.0 environment, Nokia’s N96 is the best example for personalized mobile Internet experience, said an enthusiastic consumer. The device provides an excellent amalgamated platform for stylish entertainment and communication.

LHC - Will it be Fatal or make us Immortal???

2008-09-10T21:53:00.003+05:30

A dramatic and eventful day comes to an end!! Scientist's hope of recreating the time of bigbang has got its first stepping stone.. Protons moving at a 99.9% speed of light are about to collide with each other to create a massive energy.. Lots of intersting things are about to happen.. But a minor fault will results in end of the world !!!

Today Scientists have fired the first beam of protons around a 27.36-kilometre tunnel on Wednesday in science's next great step to understand the makeup of the universe.

The Large Hadron Collider built since 2003 at a cost of 3.8 billion dollars provides scientists with much greater power than evr before to smash the components of atoms in a bid to see how they are made.

"The beam is the size of a human hair," Paola Catapano, a spokeswoman for the host European Organisation for Nuclear Research said after the protons were fired into the accelerator below the Swiss-French border.

The organisation, known by its French acronym CERN, is firing the protons a type of subatomic particle around the tunnel in stages, several kilometers at a time.

Once the beam has successfully been tested in clockwise direction, CERN will send it counterclockwise. Eventually the two beams will be fired in opposite directions with the aim of smashing together protons to see how they are made.

The startup eagerly awaited by 9,000 physicists around the world who will conduct experiments Geneva comes over the objections of some septics who fear the collisions of protons could eventually imperil the earth.

The septics theorise that a byproduct of the collisions could be micro black holes, subatomic versions of collapsed stars whose gravity is so strong they can suck in planets and other stars.

"It's nonsense," said James Gillies, chief spokesman for CERN, before today's start.

however recreating the event that tok place about a million of year ago will definitely equals us to GOD!!

Google Chrome not all that shiny!

2008-09-03T22:26:00.003+05:30

The last two days, it seemed like All roads did indeed lead to Chrome. The launch of Google’s new web browser, Chrome, was a huge success judging from the interest its download generated in the last twenty-four hours. Starting with Google’s formal announcement and subsequent press release, searches for google chrome and related keyword mutations dominated cyberspace. Now that the dust has, somewhat, settled, its time to wear our gloves and analyze Google Chrome, for what it really is.

Chrome presents a sleek appearance, groups pages into easy-to-manage “tabs” and offers several ways for people to control their Internet privacy settings. Chrome also has some cosmetic differences from Internet Explorer and Firefox, like putting the tabs at the very top of the window. he best thing about Google Chrome is undoubtedly its new Back End, unlike nearly all other internet browsers Chrome has the unique feature of running each tab and window with its own process, which has several significant benefits like better memory usage.

Chrome boasts of a great javascript engine, which the devolopers say, was developed to render websites much faster and make web apps more efficient. The results are indeed in tune with their claims, but a browser lacking many key features/plugins and boasting of high speeds can only fool the naive. The true test is when Chrome has all the essential features and plugins, which are bound to slow it down.

Chrome’s attention to JavaScript might miss the point. The culprit is not always JavaScript but another technology used to make Web pages more interactive: Adobe Systems Inc.’s Flash plug-in. It’s the program-within-a-program that plays YouTube videos and those annoying “splash” pages that some sites employ to dazzle you with animations before letting you do anything useful on the site. Flash is a tremendous resource hog in Firefox, eating up processor time to the point where there is nothing left for other programs. Chrome also lets sites running Flash take over your computer’s resources. It doesn’t hog the CPU quite as bad as with Firefox, but in a way, it’s more serious, because unlike with Firefox, there’s no way to stop Flash from running. On the plus side, Chrome allows you to diagnose problems with runaway plug-ins easily, because it tells you exactly which pages are consuming which resources through its “task manager”, but still there’s a lot more to be done.

There’s no status bar- it is, for me, very annoying not to be able to gauge how fast a site is loading, how much further there is to go, and so on - so, for instance, one can choose to give up and try another site (or try this one later). There’s no fullscreen mode, atleast I cant find one- you can only do that by creating an application shortcut, which is boring and long-winded for most purposes. There is no “not now”; option for saving passwords. Users often want to decide later whether to save password or not, but instead all one can do is say “never for this site”. Throwing away years of interface conventions and platform UI standards is, frankly, arrogant and annoying.

Chrome seems to be a bit buggy, just enter :% to the URL box of Chrome and see it crash completely. Not only the selected tab. Its a beta, of course, but a bug like that is too much. It also doesnt render pdf files properly and becomes sluggish when pdfs are opened.

While Chrome’s performance is a little better than that of Firefox, in practical terms, it is far less useful, because it lacks the broad array of third-party add-ons programs like Flashblock that make Firefox so customizable. With time, it might catch up, but in the meantime, the new IE8 will continue to promote the dominance of Internet Explorer in the browser market. But what Chrome represents- a web based OS- will definitely give shivers at Redmond and if and when the completely functional Chrome is delivered, the ultimate challenge to Microsoft begins.

PS: here are some useful “links”

about:version - obviously version information (also accessible by chrome-resource://about/)
about:plugins - obviously installed plugins
about:histograms - hey I love this one! don’t quite know what this all means though
about:dns - obviously just some DNS stats
about:cache, redirecting to view-cache: - list of cached documents, each viewable in HEX!
view-cache:stats - stats for cached documents
about:stats - obviously just some stats
about:network - that’s an awesome tool!
about:internets - oh, an Easter Egg of a kind? look at the page title - The Tubes are Clogged! ;))
chrome-resource:/new-tab/ - heh, a template for the empty tab page?
chrome-resource:/favicon/ - even favicons look like this in the Matrix
chrome-resource:/thumb/ - this one generates the page thumbnails for the empty tab page
about:memory - nice memory stats
:% - yes, just this little bit crashes the browser, so don’t try it unless you want to loose the opened tabs
about:crash - will display the default crash page banner

Dhaam Dhoom - Review

2008-09-03T21:49:00.005+05:30

Starring:

Ravi --- Gautham Subramaniam
Kangana Raut --- Shenba
Jayram ---- Indian High Commissioner(nambiar)
Lakshmi Rai -- Anjali Chinnappa

Direction: (Late) Jeeva

Gautham Subramaniam is quite a dreamboat. He is handsome, charming, deliciously mischievous and the darling son of his family. AND: He is a doctor, the son of a doctor father and a very good one at that. He has been invited to represent India at a one-week doctors’ seminar in Russia and is all set to fly out for that. As he goes about the bustle of his departure, we see glimpses of his ladylove, Shenba, whom he will marry in 2 weeks, on his return to Indian. Shenba is from the same village as his sister and that’s how they met.

The journey to Moscow is uneventful and he finally waits in line to pass through immigration, where he meets Anna (Maria) – just a casual run-in of 2 people waiting in line. She drops her jacket by mistake and walks away and he has no choice, as he is hurried through a special exit for the visiting team, but to take it with him.

Sometime during his days there, Anna happens to walk by him in his hotel and he grabs the opportunity to return her jacket to her. A rapport is established but they soon part ways. The doctors’ conference goes well and adding icing to the cake, he is applauded for his invaluable contribution during the function and the team goes out to celebrate. Gautham runs into Anna at the nightclub too. She gets completely drunk, hangs onto him and he has to cart her back to his hotel room since he can’t make head or tail of what anyone is saying!

And here is where his entire idyllic trip goes spiralling out of control. Like a shot out of the blue, he is suddenly dragged out of his sleep brutally by the Russian police, angry words shouted at him and as they haul him away, he sees the lifeless body of Anna on the sofa.

A whirlwind of beatings, abuses, incoherent accusations and ultimately, the holding cell. Gautham catches glimpses of his life back in India, visiting his sister, the hilarious meeting with Shenba, their blossoming attraction…

And then, he finds a silver lining when Anjali Chinappa (Lakshmi Rai) is appointed by the court to defend his case and the Indian High Commission sends Jayaram to help him out.
Heart-in-your-mouth chases, near-death experiences, lots of running, conspiracy theories, superb action and unrequited love – all set against the gorgeous backdrop of beautiful Moscow. This is the rest of the movie and well worth every minute of watching.

The storyline seems to be interesting but not effectively converted on screen. Camera and music adds flavour to the movie. But BGMs are too much and sounds to be nuisance sometime. The film has got zero logic. Many wonders how a scene would have happened before another miracle occurs. Chasing scenes are well handled but anythin that is too much is always disturbing.

Anjali Chinnappa's characterisation is unused. Introduced as a detective lawyer Anjali does no good in the movie as the suspense is disclosed by the hero himself.Heroine has been used only for the songs and that too it s tough to accept Kangana as a village girl.. Lots of hiccups and lots of flaws are cured to an extent by Ravi's appearance and acting!!

Bottom Line: Not as good as trailer !!!

Will Chrome outdate IE??

2008-09-02T21:22:00.000+05:30

The new Web browser that Google Inc. released Tuesday is designed to expand its huge lead in the Internet search market and reduce Microsoft Corp's imprint on personal computers.

The free browser, called ``Chrome,'' is being promoted as a sleeker, faster, safer and reliable alternative to Microsoft's Internet Explorer, which has been the leading vehicle for surfing the Web for the past decade. Despite recent inroads by Mozilla Foundation's Firefox, Internet Explorer is still used by roughly three-fourths of the world's Web surfers.

Among other features, Chrome's navigation bar - the space where you type in an Internet address - will serve a dual purpose. Users can either enter an address into the space or type a search request that will be processed through their search engine of choice.

Naturally, Google bets it will be the default search engine for the majority of Chrome users, helping to build upon its nearly 64 percent share of the worldwide search market.

Download Chrome!!

Vamos Rafa!!!!!!!!

2008-08-20T18:33:00.015+05:30

The wait is over. 160 weeks after he became the no 2, the man from Mallorca(Majorca), the undisputed king of clay Rafael Nadal is the new world no 1. Emulating the great Bjorn Borg by winning 4 consecutive French Open titles and his first Wimbledon title this july, he is only the third person after Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg to win both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year.

Nadal turned pro in 2001 and surged his way past other players finishing 200th by the end of 2002 and 49th by the end of 2003. His 2004 season was marred by stress fracture in his left ankle and he missed the clay court season including the French Open. It was in the same year when he met the then world no 1 Roger Federer at the Miami Masters for the first time and defeated him in straight sets. In 2005 the world began to see Nadal as a legend in the making. He won 24 consecutive matches on clay which includes the Masters series held at Monte Carlo, Rome, Montreal and Madrid and also his first French Open title becoming the only player since Mats Wilander to win the French Open in his debut appearance. On July 25 2005 he became the world no 2 which he held till august 18 this year, for a record 160 weeks, before becoming world no 1.

first French Open title

In 2006 he broke Guillermo Vilas's record by winning 53 consecutive matches on clay. Also he won the French Open for the second time defeating Roger Federer in 4 sets and became the only player at that time to defeat Federer in a grand slam final. However he lost to Federer in the Wimbledon finals. In the following year Nadal stretched his consecutive clay court victories to 81 and finally lost to Federer at the Hamburg Masters but defeated Federer again at Roland Garros to win his third straight French Open title. The duo met again in the Wimbledon finals which Federer won in 5 sets. This was the first time since 2001 Federer was forced to play 5 sets at Wimbledon. The duo also played in an exhibition match called "Battle of Surfaces" in a court which was half grass and half clay. Nadal defeated Federer again. Finally in 2008, Nadal beat Federer at Wimbledon ending Federer's 65 matches unbeaten run on grass and for the first time since 2003 Wimbledon saw a new champion.

wimbledon 2008
Nadal also won gold medal at the Beijing Olympics, the only player ranked inside top 5 to win gold in Olympics.

beijing Olympics

Besides winning so many tournaments, Nadal has been participating in the Chennai Open every year since 2004 except in 2006 which he missed because of a foot injury. Though he hasn't won singles title yet, he won the doubles title with Tommy Robredo in 2004. This is what Nadal said about the Chennai Open "I like the crowd and their enthusiasm and support and they always push you to give your best".

with tommy robredo after the Chennai Open finals
Nadal hails from a family of sports persons. He was good in both football and tennis but chose to go with tennis. He is a big fan of Real Madrid and his hometown club Real Mallorca.

Rafa playing with Real Madrid and Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas at the Santiago Bernabeu, Real Madrid's home

Airtel to launch 3g iPhones in India on Aug 22

2008-08-14T22:34:00.006+05:30

Apple's iPhone, the touch screen handset that acquired a cult status in the US and other western countries, will be available to Indian mobile users through Bharti Airtel at the stroke of midnight on August 21, giving competitors like Nokia, Samsung and others a run for their money.

Millions of Airtel subscribers will be able to purchase the iPhone at Airtel's Relationship Centres from August 22, a company statement said in New Delhi.

"iPhone has been an iconic technological revelation of this year and Airtel has been at the forefront of innovation and customer delight in the Indian telecom sector," Sanjay Kapoor, President, Bharti Airtel mobile services, said.

iPhone is embedded with all 3G features and is twice as fast as the existing mobile phones. The phone also has in-built GPS system, that facilitates as a navigation and positioning tool.

US-based Apple has tied up with Airtel and Vodafone to bring iPhone in the country.

Asked at what price it will be available, Bharti Airtel officials declined to give details.

"Introducing iPhone in India further underscores Bharti's commitment to enrich the communication experience of Airtel users," Kapoor said.

Leading cell phone makers like Nokia, Motorola and Samsung have stepped up their R&D efforts to bring feature rich phones in India to compete iPhones.

Vodafone is also slated to bring Apples's iPhone this year.

Abhinav Bindra wins India gold at Olympics !

2008-08-11T20:23:00.003+05:30

Abhinav Bindra won India its first ever individual Goldmedal in Beijing at the Olympic 10m air rifle event. The final round went to the last shot and Abhinav finally won the event with 700.5 points. A medal in this event was not completely unexpected. Abhinav Bindra had broken the Olympic record last Olympic but failed to win a medal. Bindra was 4th in the qualifiers. He won the the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna for 2001-2002. An MBA degree holder, Abhinav is the CEO of Abhinav Futuristics.

India’s best ever performance at the individual level before this was double trap shooter performance by Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore who won India the silver medal four years back at Athens. The last gold medal India won was in 1980 in hockey at Moscow.

Indian Olympic Association President Suresh Kalmadi was ecstatic : “He is the best shooter in the world and I think his is a morale boosting feat for everyone in the contingent.” This surely places India high in the medal tally table, this being the 12th gold awarded in this year’s Olympic. Surely, all Indians are proud today of Bindra’s achievement and hope this is just the new beginning.

“Congratulation to the country, to Bindra and every Indian. .. It will give great encouragement to all.. We all stand one feet tall today.” said Dr. M.S.Gill, Union Sports Minister who is in Beijing. “His (Abhinav Bindra’s)goldmedal is far higher than any T20 or any cricket. This is something very big and very special.”

India has always held cricket much higher than any other sports in India. Even though Abhinav Bindra was the World champion before going into the Olympics, only a handful Indians knew his name. When Indians know even the 12th man of Bangalore Royals, the IPL cricket team, rarely anyone still remembers the silver medal winner of the last Olympics. With not much infrastructure in place for most sports in India and sportsmen can move up only if he can sneak through the politics of the district and the state sports associations.

Abhinav Bindra had this to say: “I sincerely hope my medal changes the face of India’s Olympic sports. For me. life will go on as usual but I sincerely hope Olympic sports get a leg-up”. Let us hope so.

Clone Wars!!!

2008-08-08T21:37:00.001+05:30

Beijing Olympics opens with dazzling ceremony !!

2008-08-08T21:29:00.003+05:30

After years of planning by officials and training by athletes, the ceremony began just before the scheduled start time of 8.08pm in the Bird's Nest, China's national stadium.Thirty-five thousand fireworks lit up the sky above 10,000 dancers and performers in the stunning stadium. An army of 2,008 drummers pounded out the countdown to the Games.

Twenty-nine colossal "footprints of fire" shot into the sky and "marched" through the city to Tiananmen Square in a dazzling, rolling display of pyrotechnics.

The huge cast chanted the words of a famous Confucian greeting: "Friends have come from afar, how happy we are."

Eighty world leaders including US President George W Bush and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin were among the 91,000 people in the audience.

Around one billion people were expected to watch coverage of the ceremony on television.

The show, choreographed by China's most successful film director, Zhang Yimou, was a celebration of ancient Chinese history, with performers dressed in lavish costumes from different imperial dynasties.

A record 204 national teams began their lengthy parade through the stadium - not in the traditional alphabetical order but in a sequence based on the number of strokes it takes to write their names in Chinese.

The Games will officially begin when the Olympic torch, which was lit in Greece more than three months ago, lights the Olympic flame. That honour will fall to Li Ning, a former Chinese gymnast.

The torch has travelled more than 85,000 miles across 130 cities on its way to the Chinese capital, where the method of lighting the Olympic flame was being kept a closely guarded secret.

Beijing's international airport has been closed for the ceremony, and an extra 100,000 soldiers and police deployed onto the streets of the capital.

Chinese President Hu Jintao today told international dignitaries that the Beijing Olympics was an opportunity for both China and the world.

"The Beijing Olympic Games is an opportunity not only for China but also for the whole world," Mr Hu said in his toast at a welcoming banquet for foreign leaders and other VIP guests, including International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge and Honorary President Juan Antonio Samaranch.

"We should carry forward the Olympic spirit of solidarity, friendship and peace, facilitate sincere exchanges among people from all countries, deepen mutual understanding, enhance friendship and rise above differences, and promote the building of a harmonious world featuring lasting peace and common prosperity," said Mr Hu.

China has come to a standstill for the ceremony, as there has been overwhelming support for the Games from the Chinese public, many of whom see it as the most exciting event of their lifetime.

The timing has been chosen to coincide with the luckiest possible minute this millennium. In a nation where eight is a lucky number, 8.08pm on the eighth day of the eighth month of the eighth year is as auspicious as is possible.

Gordon Brown, the prime minister, has chosen not to come to the opening ceremony, though he will be at the closing ceremony for the handover of the Olympic flag to London.

Earlier George W Bush explicitly indicated that China had a few more laps to go when it came to building a free society.

As the US president opened a massive US Embassy in Beijing on Friday, he prodded China to lessen repression and "let people say what they think."

The communist nation, which tolerates only government-approved religions, has rounded up dissidents ahead of the Olympics and imposed Internet restrictions on journalists that some say amount to censorship, all contrary to Beijing's commitments when it won hosting rights for the games.

A pro-Tibet group said today that three Americans had been detained trying to protest near an Olympic venue.

Half blood prince trailer!!

2008-08-05T22:16:00.003+05:30

The mystery behind Area 51!!

2008-08-01T18:23:00.004+05:30

Area 51 is a top-secret military test facility administered as Detachment 3 of the Edwards Air Force Base, California. Area 51 is not the real name for the facility; it was simply a term used on maps from the 1950s and 1960s to identify the unused land surrounding Groom Lake. Other aliases that have been applied to the facility include: The Skunkworks, Dreamland, Groom Lake Military Base, Watertown, The Ranch, Paradise Ranch and The Box. Although Area 51 was the official name for the facility until just before 1990, the name was changed to the more technical Air Force Flight Test Center, Detachment 3 (AFFTC Det. 3) in the late 1980s.

The facility has been used to test many black and grey military projects such as secret planes including the 'U-2', 'F-117 Stealth Fighter' and the 'SR-71 Blackbird'. More recently it has been home to a high speed, high altitude 'Aurora' project and the now famous UAVs or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles such as the 'Predator' which has been used in the 2001-2002 war against the terrorist Al-Qaeda network. The main UFOlogy interest in the base at Groom Lake comes from the belief that the debris and bodies from the Roswell Incident were taken to the Area 51 for reverse engineering and autopsies respectively.

The base is still very active, the so called 'Janet flights' (from the radio call sign) which are unmarked, other than a red stripe on each side, Boeing 737s which transport workers into the base from a high security terminal in the northwest corner of Las Vegas McCarran Airport. Also the White bus brings workers in from Alamo and other nearby towns along the Groom Lake Road. Construction is on going with new buildings, technical facilities and runways being constructed within the last ten years.

Area 51 is located in South Nevada, making up part of the Nellis Range Complex, which lies roughly 100 miles north of Las Vegas. The Groom Lake mountains surrounding the dry lake bed of Groom Lake hide the base from view as much as possible like a natural fortress. 'Extraterrestrial' Highway 375 and the town of Rachel, the 'UFO Capital of the World' are nearby.

There is an area of restricted air space covering 575 square miles above the Nellis range with Groom Lake and Area 51 at the center, this air space is known as 'The Box' by military pilots, possibly because of its nearly square shape. The Nellis Ranges which are Area 51, the Tonopah Test Range (TTR), the Nevada Test Site (NTS) and the bombing and gunnery ranges cover an area of 5,200 square miles. The Test site looks like the surface of the moon due to nuclear testing, and could be highly radioactive.

If you are thinking of visiting Area 51, travelling from Las Vegas expect a 135 miles journey, or 382 miles from Reno. Rachel is 146 miles from Las Vegas but only 244 miles from Reno. When you get to Highway 375, Groom Lake road is the dirt track heading south, as you enter Tikaboo Valley, the intersection is between mile markers 34 and 35. Following this dirt track for just under 14 miles will bring you to the restricted area, marked by signs which notify you that the security are authorised to use deadly force.

If you get this close to Area 51, you will not see the base, but you will be able to see the security force, known as 'Cammo Dudes' due to their uniform. They drive white Jeep Cherokees and white Ford F-150 trucks. When you get this far, you are also being monitored by two surveillance cameras on the hill. EG&G Technical Services Inc. provide the 'Cammo Dudes', they are a private security firm using high power binoculars to survey Groom lake Road and the border.
Do not cross the border, you will be detained, fined $1000 and your activities will be alerted to Lincoln County Sheriff. The 'Cammo Dudes' can also shoot you if they see fit, this is not reported to have happened before, but don't test them.

If you want to get the best view of the actual base, the best time to go to Area 51 is nearly 10 years ago. In 1995 the government restricted access to the best places: 'White Sides' and 'Freedom Ridge'. These days your best bet is to go to 'Tikaboo Peak' which is 26 miles from the base so take optical equipment for the best results. 'Reveille Peak', north-west of Rachel, is another good place to look at Area 51 from however it is 45 miles from the base, so good weather and excellent equipment is necessary.

At night, lots of people camp at the famous 'Black Mailbox'. The 'Black Mailbox' is no longer black, as it has been replaced. The mailbox is located at the intersection between Highway 375 and Mailbox Road. It is owned by Steve Medlin, he has the only ranch in Tikaboo Valley. The original mailbox, the black one, was auctioned off to a UFOlogist for $1000 in 1996. It was replaced by a bullet proof white mailbox because Medlin's mail had been shot at many times, possibly by people under the impression that the mailbox belonged to Area 51 and they would find classified documents inside. The area around the 'Black Mailbox' is a popular place to stay the night to observe the skies above Area 51, make sure you do not block the road or the mailbox. Moonless, dark, weekend nights are always the best time to be watching if you wish to see something they don't want you to see.

The Tonapah Test Range (TTR) is known as Area 52, it is another secret test facility, however security is not as tight as Area 51 and there is nothing to suggest that the two bases are connected. Tonapah Test Range is operated by the Air Force and Sandia National Labs and can be seen from highway 6 and is notable for the large amount of radar equipment. The F-117 Stealth Fighter was stationed in the base before it had finished its time at Groom Lake, there is a lot of secretive activity at the Tonapah Test Range at the moment suggesting that there could be another black or gray project being tested there.

Bob Lazar is a name many connect with Area 51, he in fact claims to have worked at a facility known as 'S-4' in the Papoose dry lake bed. He shot to fame when he announced that he had worked on alien spacecraft for the US government, on Las Vegas television in November 1989. He claimed to have worked at the facility, which is 80 miles north of Las Vegas and south of Area 51 from late 1988 to early 1989.

If there are captured UFOs at Area 51, it would not be too incredible to think that we gained certain new technologies from them, maybe information pertaining to Stealth or UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vechicals) has been discovered through back engineering. It is also not too incredible to assume that even the worlds greatest scientists would have absolutely no idea how a captured UFO works making back engineering very difficult. A witness to the Roswell crash famously said that scientists could find no evidence that the crashed UFO should fly. Maybe one day people working weekends at Area 51 will find the key to interstellar space flight, maybe they already have.

Google launches Knol as rival to Wikipedia

2008-08-01T17:43:00.001+05:30

Google has launched an online encyclopedia to take on Wikipedia.

Knol, which stands for unit of knowledge, allows internet users to write articles on their own areas of expertise.

The world's largest search engine is hoping that "knols" will be written on every conceivable topic ranging from gardening and pottery to Byzantine art and neo-classical literature. The free service will inevitably draw comparisons with Wikipedia but Google says it differs from it in many ways.

Unlike Wikipedia, which allows visitors to edit its pages, people will not be able to make changes or contribute to a person's knol without their permission.

Knols written on the same subject will also remain separate and compete for the attention of visitors, who will be able to give online feedback. Pictures of authors will also be displayed on their knol web pages.

Udi Manber, Google's vice president of engineering, said: "We believe that knowing who wrote what will significantly help users make better use of web content.

"Books have authors' names right on the cover, news articles have bylines, scientific articles always have authors; but somehow the web evolved without a strong standard to keep authors names highlighted."

Contributors will be able to make money from the service by allowing adverts which relate to their articles to appear on their pages.

Juergen Galler, Google's director of product management said: "The internet is huge, but still a lot of expert knowledge remains untapped."

"Knol provides a way for people to share their expertise with others - and get credit for their contribution."

The service is part of a growing drive by Google to expand beyond simple search and into other areas such as desk top publishing and mobile phones.

But taking on Wikipedia is no mean feat. With 116 million global users a month - a third of the internet population - it consistently ranks among the most visited websites in the world.

Anyone wanting to write a knol should go to knol.google.com,

Source:THINKDIGIT

Innov8 - Samsung's 8 megapixel mobile!!

2008-07-26T08:30:00.002+05:30

Samsung finally launches its much hyped mobile phone called innov8 or i8510 which will be globe-trekking from August. Taking mobile handset photography and multimedia experience to greater heights, the innov8 offers surround-sound cinematic video, amazing mobile Internet browsing as well as mobile gaming capabilities.
Sporting Samsung’s first ever 8-megapixel camera with blink shot, smile shot and face recognition, the innov8 lets you capture and store all your precious memories in style.

The innov8 phone runs on Symbian OS V9.3, S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2 and equips A GPS technology for navigation and geo-tagging services. It features a crystal clear 2.8” 16M color LCD, 8 GB or 16 GB Flash memory, external memory slot up to 16 GB, an optical mouse, 4-way navigation key, WiFi and HSDPA connectivity, external dual speakers, 3D surround sound supported by DNSe 2.0 and a 1200mAh battery. It supports DivX, WMV, Real Player and MPEG4 video formats.
”Samsung innov8 is made for tech-savvy users who want to enjoy the best possible multimedia entertainment with their mobile phone. With the 8-megapixel camera, pre-embedded 3D games, high speed data connections and much more other features will help users gain the true benefits of mobile entertainment”, said Geesung Choi, President of Samsung Telecommunication Business.
Samsung allows you to use the innov8 phone as a digital photo frame. You can personalize or edit your photos, videos and music with applications such as Movie Maker and Story Board. It packs in most famous games like Asphalt and FIFA 08. It has been chosen as the official phone for the World Cyber Games 2008.
Samsung innov8 phone will hit the European markets in August while it will make its way to other markets during September.

The Dark Knight movie review!

2008-07-25T18:08:00.003+05:30

DIRECTOR

Christopher Nolan

CAST

Christian Bale ... Bruce Wayne / Batman
Heath Ledger ... The Joker
Aaron Eckhart ... Harvey Dent / Two-Face
Michael Caine ... Alfred Pennyworth
Maggie Gyllenhaal ... Rachel Dawes
Gary Oldman ... Lt. James Gordon
Morgan Freeman ... Lucius Fox

THE BEST SUPERHERO MOVIE EVER!!!.Thats the first thing that strikes my mind when i think of jotting down a review for this awesome,mind-blowing,almost perfect movie.

The story plot is simple-Batman the saviour and hero of gotham city wants to retire and lead a happy life with his girl friend but the psychopathic scary villian Joker has other plans.He wants to take over the city and use it as his playground and for the play he uses Batman as a toy!.Yeah,Batman seems a toy in the hands of joker,of course in the end he gets his due too and earns applause as he squares with the villian.

The important reason for the huge hugggeee success of the film is mainly due to the powerful,flawless starcast it comes with!.Heath Ledger steals the show,playing the role of his lifetime!.At no point do you see/realise Heath,its joker all the way.This guy has lived the role.His superlative performance overshadows that of our charming hero Christian bale himself.Bale looks more matured with his acting and bodylanguage.He also sports a new Bat-suit and gets himself a new sexy Bat-pod.

Maggie Gyllenhaal who replaces Katie Holmes does a fair job.Michael Caine,donning the role of wayne's butler,Morgan freeman,Gary oldman,Aaron Eckhart all perfectly fit their roles.But its Ledger all the way.He sure has relished doing this role,his drawing dialogue,smacking of lips,sarcastic movements everything earns thunderous acknowledgements from the audience.He rented a room in a hotel and lived alone preparing for this role,take that for committment.

It's no surprise that the movie is at the top of IMDB ranking dethroning 'The Godfather'(9.1).A must watch movie and surely THE BEST MOVIE of this year!!!.

EjectUSB

2008-07-24T22:13:00.002+05:30

When u click on the safely remove hardware and remove your pen drive you would have noticed a message saying that it s being accessed by some program and cannot be removed . You need to restart your computer to prevent any data loss.Instead you can use usbeject .This lets you to kill the application and remove your pendrive without any loss.Extended functionality includes flushing the file cache, closing Explorer windows and removing registry entries and Recent Document shortcuts referencing the specified drive or folder.
To Download CLICK HERE

Oldest New Testament Bible heads into cyberspace!!

2008-07-22T19:36:00.003+05:30

More than 1,600 years after it was written in Greek, one of the oldest copies of the Bible will become globally accessible online for the first time this week.
From Thursday, sections of the Codex Sinaiticus, which contains the oldest complete New Testament, will be available on the Internet, said the University of Leipzig, one of the four curators of the ancient text worldwide.
High resolution images of the Gospel of Mark, several Old Testament books, and notes on the work made over centuries will appear on www.codex-sinaiticus.net as a first step towards publishing the entire manuscript online by next July.
Ulrich Johannes Schneider, director of Leipzig University Library, which holds part of the manuscript, said the publication of the Codex online would allow anyone to study a work of "fundamental" importance to Christians.
Selected translations will be available in English and German for those not conversant in ancient Greek, he added.
Dating from around 350, the document is believed by experts to be the oldest known copy of the Bible, along with the Codex Vaticanus, another ancient version of the Bible, Schneider said.
The vellum manuscript came to Europe piece by piece from Saint Catherine's Monastery by Mount Sinai after German biblical scholar Konstantin von Tischendorf found a number of folios there in 1844. He was allowed to take some to Leipzig.
Tischendorf returned to the monastery in 1859 with Russian backing and acquired the biggest section of the Bible for his imperial sponsors. It remained in St. Petersburg until the Soviet Union sold it to the British Museum in 1933.

"Dark Knight" breaks preview record

2008-07-19T17:30:00.002+05:30

The new Batman movie, "The Dark Knight," grossed a record $18.5 million from midnight preview screenings ahead of its official opening on Friday, according to box office tracking service Media By Numbers.
That tally includes receipts from 12:01 a.m. Friday showings only in 3,040 North American theaters -- 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. screenings were not counted -- and shatters the preview record of $16.9 million set by "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" in 2005, Media By Numbers said.
The film's robust performance in advance screenings bolstered projections that "Dark Knight" was headed for an opening weekend of $100 million or more in the United States and Canada.

Its fortunes are further brightened by mostly positive reviews and a record wide release on Friday by Warner Bros, a unit of Time Warner Inc, in 4,366 U.S. and Canadian theaters.
"Dark Knight" cost about $180 million to produce.
A follow-up to 2005's "Batman Begins," which grossed about $372 million worldwide, "Dark Knight" reunites director Chris Nolan and star Christian Bale as the Caped Crusader. It also features the late Australian actor Heath Ledger in what turned out to be his last completed screen role, as Batman's arch nemesis, the Joker.
Only 10 other movies have managed to cross the $100 million domestic box-office mark in their first weekend, led by "Spider-Man 3" with $151 million in 2007 and "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" with $135.6 million in 2006.

Another babe from the Yammy stable!

2008-07-18T22:33:00.001+05:30

Hey guys with the launch of R15 making waves around the nation Yammy officials are busy testing their new baby The FZ 01.The FZ 01 will accommodate a 150cc mill.Though the specs are not yet revealed...But it will be a low end powered bike unlike the Ri5...It will be a direct copmetitor to The RTR fi and other bikes in the 150-180cc segment......This bike has caught my attention more that the R15....FZ 01 is more of a city bike which means the handling will be a pluss point inside city...It also sports a comfortable handle bar which will be perfect for touring...Not to mention the beafier rear end ...Thanks to the broader rear tyres!!!....The exhaust is damn sexy , looks like 08 R6's....The expected launch of this machine is around Diwali.....With the testings going around with this machine lets expect the launch soon.....

Some pics of the bike....

Some pics of the babe;) when it was showcased during the AutoExpo 08

P.S:Pics courtesy-Xbhp.com

The three mistakes of my Life -Book Review

2008-07-17T23:50:00.006+05:30

Book Name : The Three mistakes of my life
Auther : Chetan Bhagat
Release Date : 8th may 2008
This book is filled with a lot of similarities with “Five Point Someone”. The reason Chetan Bhagat got so popular in the first place is his way of writing things which are easily attracted by the youngsters. When i finished the book,i felt the monotony in his books.. FPS was different as it was path breaking. However, two novels later, Bhagat seems to have settled into a particular mould of writing- not willing to experiment too much and stick to the proven.
So the story begins lik this,.. chetan bhagat receives one mail from a guy(govind) which contains a suicide note,in no time chetan tracks him down to the hospital in ahmedabad. Luckily he is still alive to narrate the story for him. Then he starts the story.
Three friends govind,ishaan,omi start a sports shop in the premises of the temple which goes well and the businessman, govind dreams of making it big. So he invests all the money he earned in an upcoming mall. Now it’s his dream to drive his business to reach the extremes. But all his dreams are dashed to pieces when the earthquake shakes the gujarat state. Then he recovers from the loss bit by bit. Meanwhile the love between vidya(ishaan's sister) and govind blossoms and their often love making makes them more intimate. I think chetan is very much interested in these sort of scenes and ofcourse he is perfect. He actually does the gradual rise in the romance,which is so realistic. Like a masala movie, romance and love making are always a part of chetan’s stories!!
And there is another main character called Ali,a 12 yr old guy who has a gifted skill in batting. He hits sixes whoever bowls. Ishaan is surprised and wants him to join the indian team. So he trains him and he makes so much of effort in making him a national player. With all his effort ali gets an australian sports scholarship with the condition tat he has to play only for australia. But ali turns down the offer and wants to be with ishan.
And the rest of the story revolves around these five characters and some politics at the end. Atlast the story ends up in a threat to ali’s life(by politicians). But ishan wont allow them to do it since he thinks that ali is a national treasure. Meanwhile ishaan comes to know the love affair between vidya and govind. He cant take the betreyal,he decides to ignore his friend,govind despite gov tries to explain the situation. So the three friends fight so hard to save ali,but unfortunately omi dies in the fight. Then ali s saved and ishan looks after him and makes his dream come true. Finally The last pages reveals the answers to the broken love between vidya and govind ,the true friend’s betreyal and ishaan’s dream of making ali a national team player …
All i can is, It’s a worth buying book. U will relish the investment. But it will dissapoint you if you are up to the hype.

Things the 3G iPhone is Still Missing

2008-07-16T21:49:00.001+05:30

1. Multimedia messaging — Almost every other cell phone in the market has the ability to send images to other cell phones via multimedia messaging, or MMS. Yes you can still e-mail those photos, but MMS is such a basic feature that it should've been in the iPhone from the start.

2. Copy and paste — Again, this is such a basic feature. Having copy and paste makes it easier to type out text messages and e-mails.

3. Video recording — In the world of mobile video, Qik, and YouTube, it's a shame the iPhone doesn't have video-recording capabilities. Yes the quality wouldn't be that great, but it should be an option anyway.

4. Voice command — For a touch-screen phone, we think voice command and voice dialing would've been a great feature add-on for the iPhone. Perhaps this will be added via a third-party app, but we would really prefer this to be a native setting.

5. Bluetooth flexibility — Right now, all you can use Bluetooth on the iPhone for are headset voice calls, and that's it. This is sufficient for most people, sure, but we would like for Apple and AT&T to open up the Bluetooth profiles for the iPhone. This means we would like stereo Bluetooth and A2DP for streaming music wirelessly, Bluetooth tethering so we can use the iPhone as a modem, and finally we would like to have Bluetooth file-transfer protocol so we can transfer files to and from the iPhone.

6. Horizontal keyboard for e-mail and notes--Another annoyance for writers--and a confusing omission, given the capability of the iPhone's on-screen keyboard to flip horizontally for some applications but not for others--is the fact that the touch-screen keyboard doesn't rotate to a landscape orientation when using the Notes, e-mail, or Maps applications. Those also happen to be the three most writing-intensive apps on the iPhone, which makes the necessary one-finger hunting and pecking required by the portrait-mode keyboard all the more annoying if you use those features a lot. Over time, using your thumbs to type versus holding the phone in one hand and poking at the keys with one finger is a lot more significant than you might think.

7. Improved predictive text (or the ability to turn it off)---The iPhone's predictive text feature (where the phone "guesses" what you're going to write after you enter a few characters--to eliminate typos) does a decent job of streamlining typing. However, it has only an "opt-out" feature, which requires hitting a very small "x" to deselect the word it suggests. This is where that feature fails. The time it saves in correcting miscues sometimes pales in comparison to the frustration it causes in forcing you to repeatedly deselect words. And there's no way to turn it off or create a keyboard-based shortcut to deselect the predicted word.

8. Flash support---Sadly, no one really knows when being able to view Flash animations or films will be a reality on the iPhone. This big wish-list item for the second-gen version is still missing from the 3G handset. Even though YouTube clips are in Flash format on the Web, they've been converted to QuickTime format specifically for the iPhone-centric version of YouTube. The lack of Flash support means Safari fumbles when it comes to YouTube clips embedded in blog posts or other pages; those just show up as broken plugin icons, with no option to launch the clips in the iPhone's separate YouTube app.

Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na Review

2008-07-14T20:14:00.007+05:30

Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na....arrives under the banner of aamir khan productions and pvr cinemas. The movie directed by Abbas Tyrewala is a romantic entertainer with sizzling ARR s music.

The story is narrated by college friends of Jai Singh Rathore(rats) and Aditi Mahant(meow).Rats and meow are best friends from thier college days. Rats is a non-violent energetic guy whereas meow is a rich gal and wants extreme in anything she does.She always ends up in fight with her college mates and expects jai to finish her revenge with a fight.But jai who wants to fullfill his mothers promise ends the fight with a diplomatic conversation. Aditi believes he is a coward and does not have any resemblance of rajputana.

Their close Friendship is even missunderstood by their parents and friends as love .Rats and meow refuse to accept this and they come to a decision that they would find a partner for each other.On a fine evening they go to a disco with their friends and jai meets a gal called Meghna.They fall in love from their first sight and their love blossoms. In d mean time Aditi misses her best friend and seems to realize his absence.She feels lonely and Jai even forgets Aditi's bday.

Meanwhile Aditi s parents finds a guy(forgot his name) for her...As expected,things proceed in a way with jai realizing aditi's absence and both understandin their love for each other..did jai gets his traditional rajputana courage..?how they joined hands together ..?answers to these questions forms the rest of the story..

The debutant Imran Khan nephew of aamir khan has done a commendable performance. Genelia has over reacted in some parts,otherwise she has done a good job.The major plus of the film is ARR music and the narrative style of Abbas Tyrewal. The songs are placed in right intervals and ARR has again proved his magic with his peppy numbers. The first song "Khabi Khabi" is the top number of the movie.

The second half lacks pace but finds its rhytm after sometime.Naseerudin Shah has a very hilarious role and does really well.All the other Characthers are portrayed well.Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na is a feel good movie, much predictable whose genre is well known to us.However picturisation and the narrative style makes it different.
To sum up ,its an youthful entertainer full of energy and freshness.

Hancock review

2008-07-13T22:36:00.002+05:30

Hancock
Running time: 92 minutes
Rated: PG-13
Cast:
Will Smith - John Hancock
Charlize Theron - Mary Embrey
Jason Bateman - Ray Embrey
Eddie Marsan - Red
Jae Head - Aaron
See full cast
Director: Peter Berg
Genre: Action, Comedy, Fantasy

The idea sounds ripe: Will Smith, one of the screen’s most engaging movie stars, playing a surly wino of a superhero, making a mess of Los Angeles as he comes to the occasional aid of those in need. But not even Smith’s charisma can mitigate the chaos that is “Hancock.”

It depresses me to think of all the pre teens who’ll be sitting through this, since it squeaked by with a PG-13 rating; the violence and the general abrasiveness are a genuine drag. Then again, adults won’t be much better off. In this highly superheroic summer of “Iron Man” and the forthcoming “The Dark Knight,” “Hancock” can offer only an A-list headliner in a D-list project.

The notion is that a vaguely self-loathing superhero, who spends his days flying around Los Angeles and taking care of its assault-weapon-toting vermin, suffers from self-esteem issues that prevent him from being the best he can be.

Enter a public relations whiz (Jason Bateman), whom Hancock saves from a collision with a train. The PR man, despite the protestations of his wife (Charlize Theron), takes on Hancock as his latest project. The flack makes Hancock, who doesn’t know how he gained his special powers, see the value in soft, non-destructive landings and the odd kind word.

Halfway through, screenwriters Vy Vincent Ngo and Vince Gilligan dump a huge load of superhero back story onto the movie’s doorstep. Director Peter Berg and his cinematographer shoot a lot of “Hancock” in gritty, nausea-inducing close-up, and the effects—aurally bombastic, visually ordinary—sit on the action in all the wrong ways. Why shoot this film like an R-rated action thriller? What good does all the nastiness do except to rough up an audience like a corrupt cop interrogating a suspect?

Pro that he is, Smith doesn’t dog a minute of it. He’s such an easygoing presence, he periodically humanizes the material. His name alone may well ensure a profitable week or two for “Hancock.” But like “Last Action Hero” and “My Super Ex-Girlfriend,” this is a film searching, desperately, for the right stylization and the right tone. The sight gag destined to be the film’s talking point involves a man with his head rammed up another man’s hindquarters. And if you don’t like hearing about it, don’t let your kids see it.

Xbox getting cheaper!!

2008-07-13T21:28:00.003+05:30

It seems like the rumors about the imminent price cut of Xbox 360 were true. In a press statement released on Sunday, Microsoft has confirmed that it has lowered the price of its Xbox 360 Pro with $50.

The model, which includes a 20 GB hard drive, will sell starting today for $299 instead of $349.
Also, Microsoft unveiled an upgraded version of Xbox 360, which features a 60 GB hard drive and will go on sale in early August for $349.

Besides the new 60 GB version, Microsoft will continue to sell the Xbox 360 Arcade version, which comes with a 256MB memory unit and five Xbox LIVE Arcade games for $279 and the premium Xbox 360 Elite console that includes a 120GB hard drive for $449.

Albert Penello, Xbox director of product management at Microsoft, explained that the new version was introduced to meet the demand of the customers for more storage space.
“No one device offers the depth and breadth of entertainment that Xbox 360 can deliver, and now you'll have three times the storage to manage all that great content,” he said.

People all aroud the world are exited abt this press release. The amount of xbox 360 sold today (13th jly) exceeds the amount sold during de tenure from may 08 - june08 :)

Its playtime everyver!!!

Steganography:Basic hiding technique!

2008-07-13T10:24:00.004+05:30

Well for those who ain't familiar with this technique,STEGANOGRAPHY is the art and science of writing hidden messages in such a way that no one apart from the sender and intended recipient even realizes there is a hidden message.The word steganography is of Greek origin and means "covered, or hidden writing"!!.

Now let me explain a basic technique in steganography.That is,hiding a text file(or any file) within an image file.

Lets assume tat we have a image file(img.jpg) and a text file(text.txt or .doc or any other file).Now right click the text file,select the option 'add to text.rar'(you can use winzip also, the extension will be .zip thats all!) so after running it you will get a file called text.rar..
now u're gonna hide this text.rar within the img.jpg file.

1.Goto Start->Run

2.Type 'cmd' to get the command prompt(DOS mode).

3.Now we're going to hide the text file within image file.To do so just type the following command.

copy /b img.jpg+text.rar newfile.jpg

The last argument is the newly created filename(.jpg).

Thats it,we've successfully hidden our file within a pic!!!...

when u click the new file,the image in the img.jpg will be displayed and ur text file is now hidden.Now to see the text file agin.

Go to winrar->file->open(go to that directory which contains the file,u will not find the file,change the options as all files).The text file will be displayed.Click it to view!

Its as simple as tat!...Enjoy hiding files and secret messaging :)

Calvin & Hobbes!!

2008-07-12T11:03:00.006+05:30

I'm a die-hard fan of calvin and i've done almost all the C&H strips.I jus laid my hands on wat 'Bill Watterson'

has to say on his work.Enjoy reading!

CALVIN: Calvin is named for a sixteenth-century theologian who believed in predestination. Most people assume that Calvin is based on a son of mine, or based on detailed memories of my own childhood. In fact, I don't have children, and I was a fairly quiet, obedient kid – almost Calvin's opposite. One of the reasons that Calvin's character is fun to write is that I often don't agree with him.

Many of Calvin's struggles are metaphors for my own. I suspect that most of us get old without growing up, and that inside every adult (sometimes not very far inside) is a bratty kid who wants everything his own way. I use Calvin as an outlet for my immaturity, as a way to keep myself curious about the natural world, as a way to ridicule my own obsessions, and as a way to comment on human nature. I wouldn't want Calvin in my house, but on paper, he helps me sort through my life and understand it.

HOBBES: Named after a seventeenth-century philosopher with a dim view of human nature, Hobbes has the patient dignity and common sense of most animals I've met. Hobbes was very much inspired by one of our cats, a gray tabby named Sprite. Sprite not only provided the long body and facial characteristics for Hobbes, she also was the model for his personality. She was good-natured, intelligent, friendly, and enthusiastic in a sneaking-up-and-pouncing sort of way. Sprite suggested the idea of Hobbes greeting Calvin at the door in midair at high velocity.

The so-called "gimmick" of my strip -- the two versions of Hobbes -- is sometimes misunderstood. I don't think of Hobbes as a doll that miraculously comes to life when Calvin's around. Neither do I think of Hobbes as the product of Calvin's imagination.

Calvin sees Hobbes one way, and everyone else sees Hobbes another way. I show two versions of reality, and each makes complete sense to the participant who sees it. I think that's how life works. None of us sees the world exactly the same way, and I just draw that literally in the strip.

CALVIN’S PARENTS: I've never given Calvin's parents names, because as far as the strip is concerned, they are important only as Calvin's mom and dad. Calvin's dad has been rumored to be a self-portrait. All my characters are half me, so it's true in some ways, but Calvin's dad is also partly a satire of my own father. Any strip about how suffering "builds character" is usually a verbatim transcript of my dad's explanations for why we were all freezing, exhausted, hungry, and lost on camping trips. These things are a lot funnier after twenty-five years have passed.

Calvin's mom is the daily disciplinarian, a job that taxes her sanity, so I think we get to see her at her best. I regret that the strip mostly shows her impatient side, but I try to hint at other aspects of her personality and her interests by what she's doing when Calvin barges in.

As secondary characters, I've tried to keep Calvin's parents realistic, with a reasonable sense of humor about having a kid like Calvin. I think they do a better job than I would.

SUSIE DERKINS: Susie is earnest, serious and smart. I suspect that Calvin has a mild crush on her that he expresses by trying to annoy her, but Susie is a bit unnerved and put off by Calvin's weirdness. This encourages Calvin to be even weirder, so it's a good dynamic. Neither of them quite understands what's going on, which is probably true of most relationships.

MISS WORMWOOD: As a few readers guessed, Miss Wormwood is named after the apprentice devil in C. S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters. I have a lot of sympathy for Miss Wormwood. We see hints that she's waiting to retire, that she smokes too much, and that she takes a lot of medication. I think she seriously believes in the value of education, so needless to say, she's an unhappy person.

ROSALYN: Probably the only person Calvin fears is his baby-sitter. I put her in a Sunday strip early on, never thinking of her as a regular character, but her intimidation of Calvin surprised me, so she's made a few appearances since. Rosalyn even seems to daunt Calvin's parents, using their desperation to get out of the house to demand advances and raises.

Rosalyn's relationship with Calvin is pretty one-dimensional, so baby-sitter stories get harder and harder to write, but for a later addition to the strip, she's worked pretty well.

MOE: Moe is every jerk I've ever known. He's big, dumb, ugly, and cruel. I remember school being full of idiots like Moe. I think they spawn on damp locker room floors.

And here's a link to yearwise C&H strips Download C&H strips now!

Google Search --- Shortcuts and how to search!!

2008-07-12T10:00:00.009+05:30

Google Shortcut	Finds Pages That Have...
pcstuff blog	the words pcstuff and blog
sailing OR boating	either the word sailing or the word boating
"love me tender"	the exact phrase love me tender
printer -cartridge	the word printer but NOT the word cartridge
Toy Story +2	movie title including the number 2
~auto	looks up the word auto and synonyms
define:serendipity	definitions of the word serendipity
how now * cow	the words how now cow separated by one or more words
+	addition; 978+456
-	subtraction; 978-456
*	multiplication; *978456**
/	division; 978/456
% of	percentage; 50% of 100
^	raise to a power; 4^18 (4 to the eighteenth power)
old in new (conversion)	45 celsius in Fahrenheit
site:(search only one website)	site:websearch.about.com “invisible web”
link:(find linked pages)	link:www.lifehacker.com
#...#(search within a number range)	nokia phone $200...$300
daterange:(search within specific date range)	bosnia daterange:200508-200510
safesearch: (exclude adult content)	safesearch:breast cancer
info: (find info about a page)	info:www.websearch.about.com
related: (related pages)	related:www.websearch.about.com
cache: (view cached page)	cache:google.com
filetype:(restrict search to specific filetype)	zoology filetype:ppt
allintitle: (search for keywords in page title)	allintitle:"nike" running
inurl:(restrict search to page URLs)	inurl:chewbacca
site:.edu (specific domain search)	site:.edu, site:.gov, site:.org, etc.
site:country code (restrict search to country)	site:.br “rio de Janeiro”
intext:(search for keyword in body text)	intext:parlor
allintext: (return pages with all words specified in body text)	allintext:north pole
book(search book text)	book The Lord of the Rings
phonebook:(find a phone number)	phonebook:Google CA
bphonebook: (find business phone numbers)	bphonebook:Intel OR
rphonebook:(find residential phone numbers)	rphonebook:Joe Smith Seattle WA
movie:(search for showtimes)	movie:wallace and gromit 97110
stocks:(get a stock quote)	stocks:ncesa
weather:(get local weather)	weather:97132

Guide To Understanding The Jargon Of Movie Releases

2008-07-11T18:08:00.003+05:30

Ve u ever wondered what telesync,cam,screeners ,dvdrips are then u ve to read tis tutorial on jargons related to movie releases...

CLICK HERE

RTR Fi launched!!

2008-07-09T22:34:00.005+05:30

TVS Motor Company is for the first time offering Electronic Fuel Injection technology in the 160cc category. The new technology, which consists of an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) made up of sensors, fuel pump and injector. ECU receives the data from sensors, processes them and delivers optimum fuel and ignition timing. The Electronic Fuel Injection technology offers better engine smoothness, faster throttle response, lower emissions, good cold start and recovery, better idle stability, good drivability, better fuel economy and performance consistency at various altitudes and environments. The Apache RTR EFI also offers instantaneous response throughout the rev range. Another first time offering in this segment would be the rear disc brake facility.

Product specification

Engine
Displacement 159.7cc
Engine technology EFI, 4 Stroke
Max. Power (Kw@rpm) 11.54kw @ 8500 ( 15.7bhp @ 8500 )
Max. Torque (Nm@rpm) 13.1 Nm @ 6500
Gear Box 5 Speed constant mesh
Clutch Multi-Plate Wet Type
Bore x stroke (mm) 62x 52.9
Compression Ratio 9.5:1
Fuel system Electronic Fuel injection

Wheels & Tyre
Wheel Type Diecast Alloy
Tyre Front 90 x 90 - 17, Rear 100 X 80 - 18

Brakes
Brake - Front Dia 270 disc brake, petal type
Brake - Rear Drum 130 dia, Optional Rear Disk brake
Suspension
Front Telescopic Hydraulic fork, Rear Mono tube 5 step adjustable Canister - Gas filled shock absorbers

Electricals
Head lamp 12V 35/35W Halogen HS1, Clear lens with MFR
Tail lamp 12V 0.5 W. LED-Twin triangle with prism on lens
Turn signal lamp 12V 10W
Battery type & capacity 12V, 9.0 Ah
Ignition system High energy IDI System

Dimensions
Height 1100 mm
Length 2020 mm
Width 730 mm
Wheelbase 1300 mm
Ground Clearance 180mm
Kerb weight 136 kgs
Fuel Tank Capacity 16.0 Litre

Gmail adding log-in monitoring features

2008-07-08T21:19:00.005+05:30

Have you ever asked yourself, "Is someone else using my email account?" Well, if you're the cautious type, Google just added a few log-in monitoring features to its email service, so such paranoid questions won't feel so pressing anymore.

Wondering if you're Gmail account is open in multiple locations? Just look at the very, very bottom of the main Gmail page. It'll say something to the sound of: "This account is open in one other location." Click on the "details" link next to it to get taken to, well, a details page.

It'll give you the deets on the most recent sessions including the access type and IP address. It's not the end-all for email hijacking, but at the very least it'll help you point-out intruders. And if you don't see the feature yet, sit tight, Google is slowly rolling out the feature to all accounts.

ArgoUML 0.24 - Free Download!!

2008-07-07T21:43:00.006+05:30

ArgoUML is an opensource software used as an UML modelling tool..

Sys Req:
Any OS that support JAVA.
Java 2 JRE or JDK version 1.4 or higher.

Download the file and extract its contents.. Double click on argoUML.jar to execute.

Click here to download argoUML 0.24 (6.77 MB Zip format)

Click here to view argoUML quick guide.

DesktopOnTop shows your desktop, no minimizing necessary

2008-07-07T21:11:00.005+05:30

Sometimes you want to open a file saved on your desktop, but you don't want to minimize all of the applications you're currently running just to get to it. DesktopOnTop can help. While Windows lets you add a "desktop" toolbar to the taskbar that will let you launch items saved on your desktop, DeskTopOnTop goes one step further and actually shows you a visual representation of your desktop.

If you just want a list, you can right-click on the DesktopOnTop icon in the system tray and get a start-menu lookalike with a list of programs and files on your desktop. But a left click brings up a picture of your desktop. Sort of. The first thing you'll probably notice is that the wallpaper doesn't match yours. If this bothers you, you can either change your desktop wallpaper to match DesktopOnTop (which nobody really expects you to do), or you can select a solid color that looks good with your desktop an adjust the program's transparency level.

DesktopOnTop is highly customizable and light weight.
Click here for download

Backup your drivers

2008-07-06T14:00:00.002+05:30

Ever thought of the situtation when your motherboard cd is lost? It is very horrible without drivers, particularly for older systems whose drivers are not available on the internet. That’s why you have a great need of backing up all drivers. For that lets use a great software Driver Genius.

DriverGenius is a very good, powerful, easy to use driver manager software for windows which can be used to backup your hardware drivers, restore them and also update them.

The speciality of this software is that it can not just take backup of drivers, it can also compress it into a zip archive, auto extracting archive or even the best option according to me is the auto installer archive. The auto installer archive is the type I recommend you the most, as the restoring process is done just within few clicks. Even a computer newbie can restore drivers using auto installer archive. The other type of backups need driver genius to restore all drivers. Even without this software, it is possible, you just need to select driver location choosing option while installing new hardware, which again may be non friendly for a newbie.

The software detects the installed hardware devices and provides option for backing up third party drivers [currently used drivers], windows original drivers, disconnected device drivers. Of these, to backup windows original drivers is a job of no use. And disconnected devices may be your choice depending on the device.

To backup data, I recommend these settings:

Auto installer type.
Backup of non windows drivers in use [currently used drivers].

This is one of the most recommended softwares for all.

Apart from these main features, it also has some outstanding features like searching and updating drivers which may be very useful in case if you have lost the driver cd. It can also be used to uninstall drivers which are of no need.

To download CLICK HERE

MBA topper's pushcart is full of vegetables - and a dream

2008-07-02T22:29:00.002+05:30

It may come as a shock to many that after topping the elite Indian Institute of Management (IIM), he opted to sell vegetables on the rough streets of this city. But then Kaushalendra is a man on a mission.
He is not moving around with his loaded pushcart to earn a livelihood but to make his home state, Bihar, the vegetable hub of India.
Kaushalendra, who is in his late 20s, is an IIM-Ahmedabad graduate of the 2007 batch. He could, like his peers, have chosen to sit in the plush air-conditioned premises of a top MNC like his peers. But he is roughing it out instead.
'I am here to do something. It was my childhood dream to contribute to the development of rural Bihar,'
Clad in a simple shirt and trousers, the bespectacled youth is popularly known as the 'MBA sabziwalla' among his loyal customers, particularly women in the Kankarbagh colony, a middle class locality.
Hailing from a farmer family himself, he started his venture about 10 days ago.After passing out of IIM-A, he did extensive fieldwork, meeting farmers, studying cultivation techniques and finally taking a bank loan of Rs.4 million to start the project.
Unlike other vegetable vendors, he is minutely studying consumer behaviour as he goes along. 'It is important for me to study consumer behaviour when they purchase vegetables from my pushcart to help prepare a blueprint of expansion,' he said.
'I am confident that all major players in the vegetable market, including Reliance Fresh, will purchase from us in the next five years,' Kaushalendra said.

Google Retires Referral Ads !!

2008-07-02T22:23:00.002+05:30

Due to reasons unknown, the AdSense referral program is being retired at the end of August. It's unclear how popular the referral program actually was, but it's safe to assume it wasn't a huge money-maker for Google. In their official announcement, they alluded to their reasoning behind retiring the program.
"We're constantly looking for ways to improve AdSense by developing and supporting features which drive the best monetization results for our publishers. Sometimes, this requires retiring existing features so we can focus our efforts on the ones that will be most effective in the long term. For this reason, we will be retiring the AdSense Referrals program during the last week of August."

In the announcement, they also suggest a possible replacement for your AdSense referral program called the Google Affiliate Network (formerly DoubleClick Performics). The two programs are almost functionally the same — advertisers pay-per-action and publishers get a portion of it. It doesn't make sense to support two separate programs that seem to compete, and since they paid billions of dollars for DoubleClick, they might as well use some of their technology going forward.
If you have AdSense referral code on your website right now, Google suggests you replace it with AdSense for Content code before the end of August.

"In order to prevent a decrease in your AdSense earnings, we strongly encourage you to replace all referral ad code on your site with AdSense for content ad code prior to the last week of August. You can get this ad code by signing in to your AdSense account, selecting the AdSense Setup tab, and choosing AdSense for content as the product."

Whatever may be the reasons blogggers and google adusers would hav been disappointed by this announcement by google :(

Ready.Powerset.Microsoft!

2008-07-02T21:47:00.001+05:30

After the failed attempt at buying Yahoo, software giant Microsoft has turned to other companies that it hopes may give it an advantage over search engine market leader Google.

Microsoft has announced that its buying Powerset, developer of what it hopes is a smarter way to search the Web. Powerset uses its "semantic Web" technology that brings up results based on an understanding of a word's meaning and the context of its use. This in contrast to the method used by the major search engines, which work primarily by matching words in queries to those on Web pages. Powerset's system analyzes the actual meaning of words and phrases that it indexes on the Web and then analyzes the linguistic meaning of the query and find the best matches between the two—theoretically, at least, producing more meaningful results.

Reportedly Microsoft has offered more than $100 million to acquire the company. However,the purchase price has not been disclosed.

The purchase could give Microsoft a big leg up in its efforts to catch Google. Powerset and other semantic search engines are known to outperform Google in some cases .

What's more, semantic search wouldn't be easy for Google to replicate. Large search engines, such as Google and Microsoft, have already scanned and indexed many of the pages on the Web. So their machines can concentrate efforts on analyzing the several million new Web sites created every year and adding them to their records. Adopting semantic search technology would require the big guys, in essence, to start from the beginning—rescanning every Web page according to the technology's fundamentally different method of analyzing and classifying Web pages.

Of course, Microsoft would have to rescan all its pages, too. But with just a portion of the $46 billion it was willing to pay for Yahoo, Microsoft could invest in the necessary equipment, such as the servers needed to scan and "read" all those pages. Plus, it has the underdog's willingness to take on risk and expense in hopes of finally generating search results that can rival Google's.

Indias first 6D theatre!

2008-07-02T17:45:00.002+05:30

AGRA GETS ITS 2nd WONDER!

Confused??...Well read on...

Adlabs Cinema has launched India's first six-dimension movie screen in Agra, where cutting edge technology will provide a multi-sensory cinematic experience!.Viewers experience special effects, such as breeze, water spray and smoke. In the Interactive Theatre, each viewer holds a wireless remote unit with push buttons and a small LCD screen, enabling him or her to participate in a trivia game about the theme of the film.

The 6D Theater finally started in Agra on the 13th of June 2008. The ticket for the English show has been priced at Rs.450/-, while for the Hindi one is at Rs. 150/-.'India in Motion' is a unique 25 minute six-dimensional show where viewers can not only see the movie, but also experience it through every other sense,sight, smell, sound, touch, motion and above all - interaction.

Well, all this has come within the realm of possibility with Anil Ambani-owned Adlabs Films launching what it has billed as India’s first “6D” theatre in Agra, the city of the Taj Mahal. Previously “4D” theatres have been launched in India, including one in Noida, this theatre however is Equipped with technology acquired from Cinema Park, a company that specialises in providing a “multi-sensory cinematic experience” to the viewer. The theatre in Agra would employ cutting-edge visual and audio effects that bring strikingly real 3D images right before audiences’ eyes, thus allowing them to simultaneously experience sight, smell, sound, touch and motion and also interaction with the characters. However, not all films can be viewed in this format, unless the prints are specially made for such viewing.

Its a good experience,but the movie is targeted mainly at foreign tourist. Its obvious that the people wont spend much for the 6D experience again and again.This is something which is good to experience once and as said earlier the main targets are the foreign tourists!.

The thing that surprises all the most is the lack of publicity done for this launch!(None of my friends knew about it!,even i didn't until a few days).There are hardly any advertisements in Agra,leave alone the rest of the country.Which is quite contrary to the way reliance normally functions!.

So next time when you're in agra dont miss a chance to visit this second wonder! :)

HONDA CBF STUNNER!

2008-07-01T20:08:00.004+05:30

Just days after Yamaha launched the mush hyped and much anticipated yamaha R15,Honda on its part has come up with CBF Stunner,a 125cc sporty bike aimed at Indain youth!.Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. has launched this bike saying that it has targeted the Indian Youth. But critics view the bike launch as an addition since we are seeing a gradual increase in 125cc bikes. Indians are yet to see some serious biking in higher segment but definitely the entry level bikes now have a good line or should say that small engine bikes are now in plenty on Indian Roads as well as market.

Addressing a press conference,HMSI President and CEO S. Aoyama said: “With its high-on-style features, the new bike promises to provide its customers an ultimate experience of a true Honda bike. The new bike is a reflection of Honda’s worldwide sports bikes. In India, we will continue to bring exciting products and be a full line company by 2010 starting with 100cc motorcycles and fun bikes.” The bike would be available across the country from the third week of July. According to HMSI Sales and Marketing Head N. K. Rattan, the company plans to sell 10 lakh units — seven-lakh scooters and three lakh bikes — in the current fiscal and the launch of the new bike will help them achieve the target. “We plan to sell 80,000 units of CBF Stunner in the current financial year. At present, our production capacity is about 12 lakh units, but it can be stretched up to 13.5 lakh units.”

The bike is said to be sporty, stylish and powerful. It has 5 speed trasmission and it gives 11bhp being a 125 cc bike and company says that its almost equal to 150 cc bikes sold by competitors!!!!. Well, not really, now a days almost all 125 cc bikes delivers a power of around 11bhp. It is said that it reaches 60 kmph in 5.2s!.

Well, most talkative thing of the bike is its styling. First thing you will notice is its extended extra large cowl. Seriously, that is the only thing you will remember about the bike. The other noticeable things are its split seats. That is something other companies chose not to introduce in Indian market in small bike but Honda decided to try it!.

The rider's position is sporty and you can judge from the foot step holders. Headlight looks well,not much refreshing yet good looking.

The bike comes with tubeless tyres with 17" black alloy wheels. 240 mm front disc brakes and light weight vehicle.

CBF Stunner are available in three variants : Self Disc Alloy (Rs 51,655) Self Drum Alloy (Rs 49,820) and Kick Drum Alloy (Rs 47,070).

The bike is available in two colors Sports Red and Black.

BIKE SPECIFICATIONS

VEHICLE SUMMARY:
Name: CBF Stunner
Model: DBES
Type: Commuter

Fuel Consumption: City 48.00
Highway 60.00

ENGINE SPECIFICATIONS:

Displacement: 124.7cc
Engine: 4 Stroke, Air Cooled, OHC Single Cylinder
Maximum Power: 11Bhp@8000rpm
Maximum Torque: 11Nm@6500rpm
Gears: 5 Speed
Cooling Type: Air Cooling
0 to 60: 5.20 sec.

DIMENSIONS:

Length: 2012.00 mm
Width: 734.00 mm
Height: 1113.00 mm

Here comes THE NANO!!

2008-06-30T19:21:00.007+05:30

Tata Motors' Nano "The Rs.1 lakh car" rollout from its Singur factory would coincide with the Durga Puja in October this year, said Tata Motors Managing Director Ravi Kant. Briefing the media after a three-hour tour at the project site, Ravi Kant said the trial production would commence in June-July and after a month or two, regular production would begin. "Commercial production, that is the real thing, will start in October, around the Durga Puja time," he said. He reiterated that the timeline was being maintained and said, "We have always said that we would launch the vehicle in the second half of the next financial year, which starts from April 1, 2008. That means we have maintained the timeline and today we are maintaining the same.We will try to finish everything before the trial production," he said. Ravi Kant also pointed out that there were lots of challenges and Tata Motors, along with Shapoorji Pallonji, which is constructing the mother plant, and the West Bengal government were working to put an action plan to ensure that the production was not hampered. "The equipment is now beginning to come and we will start putting up the equipment. Weld shop, press shop, paint shop, assembly shop, engine shop are all priority area. Plus the service areas are all being worked out and we do hope that things go on, barring very unforeseen circumstances such as the rains we had," said Kant. He explained that if there were rains for the next six days!!!!, it would then hamper work. "So we are trying to see what we can do because, as you know, it was a low-lying area and we require a lot of lifting of the floor, lot of earth filling, dredging of the canal has to be done," said Kant. Tata Motors showcased Nano on January 10, 2008, at the auto show in Delhi and the company plans to produce 2.5 lakh units of Nano from Singur in the first phase. Tata Motors would make an investment of Rs 1,500 crore, while the investment from vendors was to the tune of Rs 2,200 crore. Around 55 vendors had been roped in for the project.

SPECIFICATION:

VEHICLE SUMMARY--->
Name: Nano
Model: Basic
Car Body Type: Hatchback
Segment: A Segment
Top Speed:105Km/hr
0 to 60: 12.60s
Fuel Consumption:
Highway 26.00
City 22.00

ENGINE SPECIFICATIONS--->
Displacement:624cc, 3 cylinder, rear engine
Engine Type: Petrol
Maximum Power:33bhp@5500rpm
Maximum Torque:48Nm@2500rpm

DIMENSIONS--->
Length: 3090 mm
Width: 1485 mm
Height: 1570 mm

OTHER SPECIFICATIONS--->
Seating Capacity: 4
Tyre SizeR12
Suspension:McPherson strut & Independent coil spring
Steering:Power
Brakes:Front Disk, Rear Drum
Gears:4 Manual
Ground Clearance:180.00
Kerb Weight:580.00
Fuel Tank:30.00
Body Color Bumpers:True
Tachometer:False
Alloys: False
ORVM Indicator: False
Xenon Headlamps:False
Headlamp Washer:False

ACTIVE AND PASSIVE SAFETY--->
Airbag: False
Parking Sensors:False
Fog Lamp:True
Traction Control:False
EBD:False
ABS:False

REVIEW: Nano comes in an all sheet-metal body, with safety features such as crumple zones, intrusion-resistant doors, seat-belts, strong seats and anchorages, and rear tailgate glass bonded to the body. Mr. Tata earlier confirmed that Nano met all current legislative emission norms and could be upgraded to meet Euro IV norms. "It has a lower pollution level than two-wheelers," Mr. Tata assured environmentalists who have been expressing apprehensions about the impact of this project on the environment. Mr. Tata warmly thanked the Left Front government in West Bengal for its support to the project during difficult times. The 'People's Car', which got critics and well-wishers all awestruck at Pragati Maidan on morning of January 10, 2008, is now not only being talked about as the 'future car'. Expert say it will also determine India's place in the global automotive arena and possibly give a leap to India's dream of becoming a global hub of small cars. The car, feel experts, is more than value for money with its 20 kmpl average and the smart price.

Pocket Killbox Deletes Locked Files

2008-06-29T19:13:00.000+05:30

Free application Pocket Killbox deletes files Windows Explorer won't because they're in use or locked. By killing the process using the file and deleting on reboot, Pocket Killbox can circumvent Windows and put your file to rest. Pocket Killbox is a free download for Windows only.
Killbox.

Ways to keep ur car fuel efficient

2008-06-29T18:50:00.003+05:30

Back in the good ol' days of 30rs per litre, you could ignore simple car maintenance. After all, what was it costing you? A buck here and a buck there? But with prices hittin 55 rs per litre things ve changed. Now, every rupee counts, and you can save a surprising amount by performing a few simple tasks yourself.
1. Fill Up Smart
It doesn't get easier than this. Fill up your vehicle during the coolest part of the day. Fuel is denser when it's cool, so you actually get more for your money when you fill petrol in the early AM instead of filling up at in the afternoon.
2.Tire Pressure
Maintaining the correct tire pressure is something easy to do that can save some petrol. Be reasonable with the pressure.Fill it up to the correct limit given in ur owner's manual.
3. spark plugs
Worn spark plugs can't ignite the air/fuel mixture in your engine as effectively, resulting in more fuel used for a given amount of power produced. Depending upon the vehicle you drive, your spark plugs may need to be changed as often as yearly or as rarely as once a decade or so. Again, consult your owner's manual for details.
4.Change Your Oil:
Change out the oil and filter. And don't stop with just the engine oil. Change all of it. Transmission Oil. Gear Oil.Superior lubrication means less friction. Windage losses are also very real. Using a higher than recommended viscosity oil can cause a measurable loss in mileage.
5.Turn it Off:
No it does not take more fuel to start and stop an engine then it does letting it idle away while eating a sanwich .Turning the engine off uses no fuel at all.

"DAS" avatharams explained!!!

2008-06-29T09:10:00.004+05:30

For those who didn't understand Dasa movie...

One thing we had noticed is people didn’t get the real subtext and reason for the various roles and hence the title!.

If you knew the real dasavatharams of Lord Vishnu and their characters you can appreciate the script more.

Here's the explanation!.

1. Krishna avatar - Vincent Poovaraghavan

Lord krishna is actually a dalit, he is dark-skinned [shyamalam]. He saved draupadi when she was being violated and he was the actual diplomat in mahabharatham. Lord krishna dies of an arrow striking his lower leg. Now look at how vincent was introduced.. he appears when asin is about to be molested and he saves her like draupadi. Vincent is the dalit diplomat, fights for land issue [soil issue to be exact] and dies from the metal rod striking his leg. Oh even five of vincent's men are drugged at P. Vasu's.. sounds familiar???

2. Balarama avatar - Balarama naidu

This is an easy given. as the name suggests and the role personifies you can easily get it.

3. Mathsya avatar - Ranagaraja nambi

nambi is thrown into water in an act of trying to save lord from being thrown into sea, though vainly. what more clue do you want?

4. Varaha avatar - Krishnaveni paatti

During the mukunda song, krishnaveni paatti does varaha avatar in the shadow puppetry. The frame freezes on it for a second. there is the clue. Moreover, in varaha avatar lord actually hides earth so as to protect life forms. Here too krishnaveni hides the germs - life form inside the statue so as to protect.

5. Vamana avatar - Kalifulla khan

remember in vamana avatar, lord vishnu takes the vishvaroopa, that is the giant form! Hence the giant kalifulla here symbolises vamana avatar.

6. Parasurama avatar - Christian Fletcher
Parasurama is actually on an angry killing spree and killed 21 generations of the particular kshatriya vamsa. Hence the real KILLER... Guess what thats what our Fletcher is! He comes around with the gun [modern upgrade for axe] and kills everyone around. I have to check if he kills 21 people though.

7. Narasimha avatar - Shingen Narahashi

first of all the name itself is a play on the words singam [means lion in tamil] and narasimha [the avatar being symbolised]. Lord Narasimha manifests himelf to kill the bad guy and he also teaches prahaladha. In the movie, he shows up to kill the killer fletcher! and is also a teacher.. Lord Narasimha had to kill the asura with bare hands and hence the martial arts exponent here.. get it?

8. Rama avatar - Avatar Singh

Lord Rama stands for the one man one woman maxim, kind of symbolising true love.. Here Avatar portrays that spirit by saying that he loves his woman more than anything and wants to live for her.

9. Kalki avatar - Govindaraj Ramasamy

As you know, the hero in kaliyug can be none other than the Kalki avatar!!!

10. Koorma avatar - Bush

This is the most loose adaptation I couldn't clearly comprehend. But if you look at the real koorma avatar, the lord is the turtle/tortoise that helps in stirring the ksheera sagara and bringing out the amruth. This essentially creates war among the devas and asuras. Similarly today Bush facilitates war between YOU-KNOW-WHO ;) ... May be Kamal also indicates that this avatar is a bit dumb like the tortoise...

So rather than complaining the storyline or the roles,try to understand the script and APPRECIATE IT!!

*Courtesy - a forward!

Bill Gates quits-Wat will be Microsoft’s future???

2008-06-28T20:46:00.001+05:30

Yesterday, Friday, June 27, 2008,was the last working day of Bill Gates at Microsoft. He stopped all day-to-day activities in M.S from this weekend and will give his time for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and its work in health, vaccines, education and more. He will remain Microsoft’s chairman and its largest single shareholder.

A year before he started withdrawing from his official duties at Microsoft marking beginning of the end of an era - “The Bill Gates Era”.

Since Microsoft’s start in 1975, Gates has piled nearly all its hats on his head: genius programmer, technology guru, primary decision maker and ruthless leader. He served as chief executive and later chief software architect, and is credited with being a key decision-maker on both business strategy and technical issues.

Analysts and scholars also credit him with changing software into a money-making enterprise, rather than a pastime for hobbyists.

For Microsoft, the challenge on Monday morning will be how to deal with problems even Gates couldn’t solve, including competition with Google.

Recent remarks indicate the company won’t even try to find a replacement for Gates but will divide his functions among whole groups of employees.

The big question is wat will be the state of Microsoft after Gates .

W3schools.com Offline Version-||HelpFul Guide To Web Developers

2008-06-28T20:20:00.000+05:30

W3schools.com Offline Version-||HelpFul Guide To Web Developers
This is an offline version of the Complete web site-->http://www.w3schools.com
This is a useful site for web developers
I have downloaded the Entire website using SURFOFFLINE
The content is then compressed using WINRAR.Unrar the file and start browsing it from:w3schools\w3schools\www.w3schools.com\index.htm

Uncompressed size: 88.7MB

Compressed size: 15.5MB

This will Be helpful to people who would like to get some online help in a offline way...So Here is the Download Link...I have Uploaded the File using my RS -Premium account,which makes it impossible for the File to be deleted (just in case)

http://rapidshare.com/files/21292289/w3schools.rar

Dasavatharam Magic at the International Box office

2008-06-28T17:54:00.002+05:30

Dasavathaaram (Dasavatharam) has not only lived up to the hype it created but it has, in fact, surpassed it. The film has witnessed a never-seen-before opening and is still sustaining the same tempo even after completing almost two weeks in theatres.

This is a historic moment for all of us from South India to be very proud of. As Dasavatharam has placed 7th in the overseas weekend box office for the week ending June 13-15. This data is taken from a well known authentic infact one of the leading box office reporting sites in the world called Boxofficemojo.com. Dasavatharam is the First Time a Tamil Movie has ever been placed in the top 10 at the International Box Office chart being published in this website with a total collection of $4,632,719 (US Figures) The collection equals to approximately 19.7 Croes for 3 days.

In UK Box Office Dasavatharam on it’s 2nd weekend (June 20- 22) is in the 19th position with a collection of $88,311 (US Figures) or Rs.37.63 Lakhs. The drop of 64.2 % is the norm for all Tamil Movies being released there. It will without a doubt become the 2nd Highest Grossing Tamil Movie ever there by next weekend behind Sivaji and this will be the only “overseas” market where it has no chance of catching up to Sivaji’s gross. Dasavatharam is clearly way ahead in terms of “overall” collection in all other territories combined.

Sources:

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/intl/weekend/?yr=2008&wk=24&p=.htm

Comparisons with Sivaji

When you compare the “Overall” Box Office Collections of DASAVATHARAM to Sivaji from last year during the same time frame it becomes very clear who is in the lead clearly…it is DASAVATHARAM BY MILES! Here’s the Link for Sivaji’s International Collection reported by the same Boxofficemojo.com after 2 weeks from 13 territories (same as Dasavatharam) from last year (2007).

Source: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/intl/weekend/?yr=2007&wk=25&p=.htm

As you can see the collection figures of Sivaji was $3,705,252 (US Figures) or Rs. 15.8 Crore. Whereas the Box Office figures for Dasavatharam after the same time period from the same amount of territories is Rs.49.67 Crore. Therefore it can easily be proclaimed as the Highest Grossing Movie in the History of Tamil Cinema

Bad Reviews, Mixed Reviews or Excellent Reviews never decides the fate of a movie at the box office. It can certainly help or hurt it a little bit but it’s ultimately the paying public who are the judges when it comes to which movies becomes a BLOCKBUSTER or a Flop. In the case of DASAVATHARAM the public has given it two BIG thumbs up and welcomed it with open arms despite a continuous effort from a lot of people from different sectors to downplay it’s success at the Box Office….the actual numbers however tell an entirely different story altogether which cannot be ignored.

Taken from the Imdb message boards for the film Dasavatharam

Sony Ericcson W980

2008-06-23T22:51:00.006+05:30

Hi peeps!!
Jst browsin de net for new model of mobile phones.. Got this one.. Stylish indeed!!

Design wise the W980 is a to the core sleek and style mobile .The design is very fashionable. And the catch in the design is the External display for the audio player with soft touch controls.it gives a good look to the phone.The display supports 256K colors with 176 x 176 resolution.the side of the phone lodges a volume/zoom control ,a front screen switcher(switches to a more simpler display and also starts the Fm player) and a front key lock (that locks the front touch sensitive Keys). you can see these keys below.

Keypad:

The phone houses a 2.2 inches display with a good 240 x 32 resolution. The phone holds a light sensor above the keypad (as I said in the thumbs up section) which alters the lighting of Keypad according to the the surrounding light. the phone also has a Accelerometer which allows the screensaver to rotate as the phone is rotated.the key pad is quite comfortable to type.

Features:

The interface of this phone looks really great.The apps in the phone are pretty cool like a 3D world clock,there's a new converter application that even lets you calculate a restaurant tip based on the bill amount as well as the number of diner and a Music Mate 5.The phone also houses Bluetooth Pc remote software,Preloaded with Sony's playnow for Music.The phone also comes with cool games like Lumines,Need for Speed, and a soduku game. As I said earlier The music ceases if the flap is shut and also The Shake Control can only be used when the flap is open The Built in FM transmiter which lets you to play music through your car's FM player. The phone does not have an seperate GPS unit but it comes with google Maps with integrated photo tagging feature.

Camera:
The phone comes out with a 3.2 MP camera. with a good photo quality.The location of the lens in the phone makes the photo taking process more wobbly and difficult.and the interface while taking a photo is poor and it only show a small view of what you caputured on the screen( not on a full screen).

Thumbs up for:
Whopping 8 GB of internal memory
Built in FM transmitter
Shake control
touch-sensitive keys
The light sensor located just above the keypad . It adjusts the screen and keypad to suite the surroundings according to the amount of light present.
Music Quality is Quite good
Keypad is quite comfortable
Thumbs down for:
No auto focus
No flash for the camera
The Shake Control can only be used when the flap is open

The Final Verdict :

This phone is for them who have lots of Media to play and most importantly in need of more memory space.This phone gives you a good Media experience. so, this for the ultimate Music n Movie lovers.

A motivational story

2008-06-18T15:41:00.004+05:30

A story to cheer up my friends who ve not been placed in the first few companies and for others it is yet another motivational story with a message To believe in your dreams and go behind them, no matter what.
It was written by Shuchi Gupta.I came across this when i was browsing for some inspirational stuff.

I hope this story encourages you in times when your dreams seem far away, or, when you are not able to believe any words of encouragement deep in your heart.

"I was doing a diploma course. When the course ended, placements started. The first company came and I was not selected. My roommate got selected though. I felt good for her, but miserable myself because I started thinking that I'm not worth anything good. I'm worthless. My room mate had not come in until dark and I was feeling so miserable that I did not even want to enter the room we shared because I had memories of both of us studying in it all through the course. I felt so miserable that I found myself crying standing on the road talking to one of my classmates, unable to control my tears. When my roommate came, she consoled me, said all the words to encourage me, pointed out the mistakes I had made in the interview so that I would do better the next day. She made me gather strength for the next set of companies that were scheduled to come the next day.

She went to bed, saying that I should wake her up if I wanted to know something about the topics we had to study for the interview. After she went to sleep, I started saying to myself half-heartedly, "Tomorrow is MY day. The company cannot go without selecting me. I will get myself selected tomorrow." I did not feel this from deep inside but I kept on saying this the whole night, probably in my sleep too, and in the morning until I faced my interview. It went ok, not too good. Still I kept on saying these one-liners to myself but now there was a difference. I found a little belief started growing that "It actually IS my day" and now it was not half-heartedly that I said all that, I started to believe it. I was so charged up by this time by my growing belief that I found myself totally at ease and confident of selection that I found myself singing with my class-mates while people were going through the interview in their respective turns.

I went through the last stage of selection, which went quite well. In the evening when the results were announced I was not selected. I went home thinking that something is wrong, this was not possible. I was not in the mood to read the topics for the interview next day with some other company.

Morning came and I sat for another written exam for the first company, still thinking about what had happened yesterday. Before sitting for the exam, I was crying when one of my classmates tried to console me that I should not worry, everything will be fine. They gave the exam and it went bad.

I came out of the room and one student told me that our head of the placements was searching for me. I went to his cabin and he congratulated me saying, "You have been selected by the company that came yesterday". I couldn't believe it. I found myself saying, "I knew this had to happen". My heart said to me, "See! I told you, you could do it. Just believe in yourself!"

My belief eventually had made me achieve what I was wishing for. Then at that point I remembered that I had an intuition that I would get selected by this company when they had come to give their pre-placement talks."

So if you have a dream then just believe that you can achieve it no matter what. Even when you can't feel deep in your heart any words of encouragement, just believe in your dream and your heart will finally show you the way. And believe that there is God who sees us every moment. Believe in intuitions and gud feelings for they are voices of your sub-conscious mind.

Download Firefox 3 today and be a part of Guiness World Record!!

2008-06-17T08:38:00.002+05:30

Sounds great!!
Firefox has released its new version - Firefox 3 .. With lots of improvement made in Security, Customisation and lots more features..
Apart from this they are intend to create a Guiness World Record .. They want Firefox 3 as de most downloaded software in 24 hrs.
Today(June 17th) s de download day!! Download Firefox 3 and be a part of Guiness..

Click Here for More info!!

Dasavatharam movie review

2008-06-13T20:40:00.002+05:30

Cast: Kamal Haasan, Asin, Mallika Sherawat,Napolean,Jayapradha, Nagesh and others

Direction: K S Ravikumar

Music: Himesh Reshammiya

Production: Aascar V Ravichandran

Before going into anything else, let me first answer the question that must be running through everyone's mind. Is the movie worth all the hype and hoopla surrounding it? Is it a must watch movie? The answer to both is a very resounding YES!!!

Having said that, i must also make it clear that the movie has its flaws, and it even fails at something that is always expected in a Kamal movie- the actor's versatile acting. Though there are moments in the movie where Kamal shows why he can be called the most versatle actor India has ever produced, and there is clearly no doubt that Kamal is indeed a very versatile actor, but the extensive make-up for few roles just make it impossible for Kamal to emote and his acting poweress is seen only in the body language of the actor in these roles.

And talking about the make-up, so much was talked about it that one really believed that Kamal would not be identified in few of the roles, but the roles clearly stand out because of their pathetic make-up and as previously said, he make up also weighs down the actor from showing his acting skills. Especially the roles of Kalifullah Khan and Christian Fletcher. They look so odd with the make-up, they seem almost in-human.

The movie also has a weak storyline, but the 10 characters are beautifully brought together to form the jig-saw puzzle that is Dasavatharam.

The story begins with the Scientist Kamal(Govind Ramasamy) recounting his adventures at a ceremony to commemorate his services to the world. The story, as said by Govind, then shifts to 12th century Tamil Nadu where we witness Rangaraja Nambi being drowned along with the Vishnu Idol by a Shivaite king. Nambi's wife(Asin) also kills herself after witnessing her husband's death.

We then come to modern day(well, Dec 2004) to witness the creation of a biological viral weapon capable killing humans. Govind, in his venture to prevent the vial containing the virus from falling into the wrong hands finds himself being chased by the villain Christian Fletcher(Kamal). Fletcher is portrayed in true Hollywood and is shown as a very cruel person indeed. But as previously said, the facial makeup should have been better. Govind finds himself in a chase to get the vial, which journeys to India with Fletcher hot on its trails. Mallika sherawat comes in as translator for Fletcher and has the desried effect and delivers with her short role.

Enter Balram Naidu, the comic relief of the movie. The character is absoluely hillarious and Kamal is clearly at his best portraying Naidu. The CID officer is brought in to the Govind case and Kamal delivers a punch with his dialogues, expressions and body languages for this role. Asin comes in as an innocent girl, inevitably brought into the chase as the vial lands up in her household. Though the movie has Kamal written all over it, Asin has palyed her role to perfections and makes us sit up and take notice

The other characters in the story add the necessary spice to the movie from Avataar Singh to Vincent Poovaragan. Rest of the story is about how Govind prevents the vial from being obtained by Fletcher and how the 12th century "couple" are united again while fighting for a similar cause that separated them 8 centuries ago. The final tsunami scene must be mentioned. It is awe inspiring and is shot very well.

The USP of the movie are Kamal, Kamal, the technical brilliance and Kamal again. Kamal fans would just love to see their actor take so many roles and even the critics of Kamal would clearly give their thumps up for Kamal and his das avataras

All in all a very good movie, giving various messages for people in the modern world, talking about spiritualism and religion to biological warfare. A must watch indeed!!!

CARS! CARS!!!

2008-06-13T10:38:00.006+05:30

After reading the post by my fella WTFian Pras i was browsing thru trying to know more bout GINA.And guess wat,I came across two more futuristic cars..So heres ma post on them!.

1.MOM 2010 concept:

NBOWM, a research and innovation company from Barcelona, has developed a mobility system that combines the advantages of public and private transport, in order to solve the traffic congestion problems present in big cities.

The proposal foresees the construction of a magnetic rail network called MOM(wonder how do they come up with such names!! :) ). The system is based on a single person electric vehicle - extendable up to two persons - designed to also be used on traditional roads as a "normal" vehicle. Users can drive to the entry terminal of the magnetic rail network and arrive automatically to its destination thanks to GPS technology.

The vehicle design is claimed to offer a lot of interior room, allowing the user to perform other activities such as using a PC, surfing the internet, reading, watching television or simply relaxing and forgetting the stresses and concentration needs usually demanded while driving - all while travelling towards their destination.

2.Rolls-Royce RR4

Yep u read it right,it is Rolls-Royce!!Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has revealed the first design sketches of its next new model. Known as RR4, the car is due to be launched in 2010 and will sit alongside the Phantom model line-up. The RR4 will be smaller than the Phantom and powered by a new engine, unique to Rolls-Royce.

"Effortless performance and standard-setting levels of comfort and efficiency, executed with the utmost care and attention, remain fundamentals of Rolls-Royce design," said Chief Designer, Ian Cameron, "The RR4 has a more informal presence than the Phantom models with a greater emphasis on driving. In design terms this is expressed through its slightly smaller dimensions and more organic form, yet with powerful, purposeful proportions. It is a true and uncompromising Rolls-Royce in every sense."

The design was signed off in 2007 and engineering development is now fully underway. The Goodwood manufacturing facilities are being completely reconfigured to accommodate the RR4, with extended paint, wood and leather shops as well as a second assembly line. The company will move to a two shift system next year as it gears up for full production of the new model.

Further design and engineering details will be announced during the course of 2009!!.

Campus Recruitment Material for Engineers!

2008-06-13T10:05:00.002+05:30

The campus recruitment fever is on!..With copmanies visiting almost all the colleges this month the students find it difficult to get the study matertials and E-books!.In view of helping the student community in preparing for the upcoming campus recruitment drive in many engineering colleges, ZEAL-INDIA,a non-profit student organization,are posting study guides that include important topics (like number systems, ratios, permutations, probability, etc.) covered in such tests and question papers of top-notch companies from previous placements around India.

This also includes some useful E-books like->The c programming language(KNR),Algorithms,Data Structures,C++,FAQ's,Interview Tips etc!...

Here's the link for them:

Study material:Zeal-India

And if u want all the files in it here's the link All Downloads

So make use of these study materials and all the very best to u all! :)

A Shape shifting Car from BMW

2008-06-12T22:12:00.006+05:30

Concept cars give automotive designers a chance to let their imaginations run wild.BMW has come up with something as strange as it is innovative -- a shape-shifting car covered with fabric.

Instead of steel, aluminum or even carbon fiber, the GINA Light Visionary Model has a body of seamless fabric stretched over a movable metal frame that allows the driver to change its shape at will. The car -- which actually runs and drives -- is a styling design headed straight for the BMW Museum in Munich and so it will never see production, but building a practical car wasn't the point.

GINA has just four panels - the front hood, two sides and the rear deck. The doors open in jack-knife fashion and are completely smooth when closed; access to the engine is through a slit in the hood. BMW says the shape of the body can be changed without slackening or damaging the fabric. The fabric is opaque translucent so the taillights shine through, and small motors pull the fabric back to reveal the headlights.

The interior is equally innovative. The steering wheel and gauges swing into place and the headrest rises from the seat once the driver is seated, making it easier to get in and out of the car.

BMW says GINA is built on a space frame that provides all the safety of a conventional car, but we suspect people - not to mention BMW's lawyers and government regulators - wouldn't embrace fabric bodies. Still, the company says GINA could influence the design of future Beemers.

Dasavatharam Songs (Lyrics)

2008-06-11T20:53:00.008+05:30

Hi fellas,
Jst 2 days for de big release..
Dasavatharam fever has catched up de whole world v can say..
already lots of posts abt tis movie from our die hard kamal fan (mokka) has been posted in tis blog.So tis de first post reg dasvatharam from non - kamal fan [ :) :) :) ]
Jst kiddin..
The lyrics of tis movie songs ver exceptionally good.. Nowadays oly few songs concentrates on de lyrics.. as u vud hav already heard this u may want to hum these songs..

Download the lyrics of Dasavatharam. (Right Clik and save target as)

Enjoy!!!

File sharing made easy!!

2008-05-20T12:45:00.003+05:30

Hi fellas,i jus came across this site which lets u share videos and other type of files at a mind-blowing speed!!!

its www.eatlime.com

"EatLime lets you share your personal videos with anyone 100X faster than any other service in a fun and easy manner."

Unlike other services, EatLime lets your friends start downloading your shared files as soon as you start uploading them, making the entire sharing process much faster!.And guess what u can send UNLIMITED NUMBER OF FILES!!!...Now thats kewl!...And you can use EatLime to Send Files through Email and IM...The files remain for future downloads too!!..

For sharing files other than the video files u can follow this link www.eatlime.com/files

Movie review:IRON MAN

2008-05-20T10:01:00.006+05:30

Director: Jon Favreau
Casts: Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark / Iron Man, Jeff Bridge as Obadiah Stane / Iron Monger ,Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts ,Faran Tahir as Raza, Terrence Howard as Jim Rhodes

PLOT SUMMARY: Robert Downey Jr. stars as Tony Stark, a billionaire playboy and genius who puts as much effort into chasing skirts as he puts into chasing his next big idea. A trip to Afghanistan to sell weapons quickly devolves into chaos, and Stark finds himself at the mercy of a warlord who wants him to build a missile. Instead, Stark creates a powerful suit of armor, turning him into Iron Man and allowing him to escape.And once back to his place he vows to kill the bad guys who use his own weapons(from stark industries) to take over the world.And the answer he comes up with,IRON MAN!!!

WTF REVIEW:

The first thing people told me when i was determined to watch this movie was-"Hey the movie is total crap.Jus a copy of power rangers.don't waste your money on this".And now after watching it i feel i've done the right thing!..IRON Man is not a bit related to the funny power rangers one sees on POGO!(Dono how u guys came up with such a comment!Duh,may be seeing the super suit!!)....Its a perfect melange of action, comedy and some drama to just about the right proportions.But the only thing is its rather predictable but if its a super hero movie u cant help it...In the end the baddies are gonna have to suffer at the hands of the super hero!...And when it comes to the afghan terrorists in this movie they speak HINDI!,y is that terrorists in hollywood movies always resemble indians and speak hindi?!..One thing i couldnt digest!

IRON MAN is the first film to be self-financed by Marvel Studios.Now to talk about our hero,Robert Downey Jr. was beyond the perfect Tony Stark/Iron Man. He brought so much of that playboy crossed with undying genius to the role that you instantly bought him as Tony Stark if you’re familiar with the comic, and he brought so much raw boyish charm and charisma to the role that you bought into him as a character even if you knew nothing about the comic book or what Tony Stark is supposed to be like.Tony Stark’s assistant, the plucky Pepper Potts, played by terribly miscast Gwyneth Paltrow(Now isn't it a straight rule that P.A.'s are to meant to be sexy glamour dolls!!!..I'm highly diappointed :( :P). Their scenes together are agony, and often seem utterly misplaced, as if they belong in an entirely different movie. We meet Stark’s business partner and mentor, Obadiah Stone played by a bald and bearded Jeff Bridges.

Iron Man is a lot of fun, especially for a superhero origin story, since they so often end up going awry. While I wasn’t blown away by the final battle between Iron Man and the film’s baddie, there are other great action sequences!!(The one where iron man flies to afghan to save the innocent!).Unlike most superheroes, Iron Man isn’t about stopping petty criminals or stalking city streets.And the icing on the cake is the last part,after all the notes and preparations to cover up the iron-man story stark pauses a moment puts down his notes and admits "The truth is... I am Iron Man",a fitting finish for a magnanimous super hero movie!! :).

IMDB rating: 8.2/10(53,012 votes)
Top 250: #153

How did we break the ice(BERG)?!!!!

2008-05-20T08:24:00.004+05:30

Flash back time folks!!!!!! As I told n d previous write up, we all had quite a few confusions when we walked into dis colg. One of it was facing d other gender. I don’t know whether its d society or we ourselves, who ve complicated d process f creating d relationships with r peers f other gender!!!! Whatever be , dats nt d area f discussion now. I m going to talk about r ourselves, hw v broke d ice(I should call d iceberg), and forged gr8 friendships(atlst gud nes)!!!

Ds ice s what ppl call shyness, gender differences, ego, complexity, conservational attitude and quite a lot f names. I prefer to relate it to only one thing, ”we fear to look beyond d gender”. So way back n 2k6(dats when we ppl first met up), there was this big ice n my life(mostly n all r lives…). Dats when I heard ppl telling me, dat thngs would fall n place, d Indian attitude.. Bt 2 yrs later, I realize dat things didn’t fall n place by itself but were made to fall n place by quite a few ppl…..So here goes d series f events and ppl who made t happen..

The first trip was d ne to Bangalore., dat broke half d ice!!! The amt f care dat was unleashed n us(read gals)made me awestruck(but smetmes flt a bit uncomfrtble too, since ws nt used to such thngs prior..)!!!! Guys r gr8 at being initiators, and gals gr8 appreciators f such thngs. Was t when Mp(Spike), was awake d entire night doing rounds n d train, because thr were some drunkards n d train, r was t when Nats saw to it dat gals were safely dropped and picked up during shopping dat they managed to score a perfect 10?!! Anyways, t marked d beginning f breakng ice..

D same gusto was maintained by organizing a treat immediately after d trip. It was d b’dy treat given by Kp, Nats nd me. It was n excellent evening out at Bessi. I basically loved ds treat because, it gave me a lot f intros, and it was here that I found a real gud buddy(read hari..).

Would I be doing justice f I didn’t talk about System Software progs!!!! Nw u may ask, wats all dis got to do wid my iceberg story?!!!! It contributed n a big way to breakng d ice, because students don’t check n their fear/egos to procure their assignment progs!! D 3 programmers f r class(Mokkai, Prass, Winston)are the ones who have bailed me out from the programming assignment confusion. Nw f I have left out some real gud programmers, dat means u have never shared ur progs wid me—,not my fault u c!!!! And my breakng d ice wid d help f progs has been workng till dis sem(hpe my recruiters r not reading dis!!!!!)...........

I m d one who tries to c somthing gud in d worst dat happens(childhood problem!). So when Praths( a gal at last n my iceberg story , gals take dhr tme, bt dhy arrive wid a bang!). So dats hw Praths arrived in d 5^th sem wid a bang, a ligament tear dat put her on bed for more than 2 wks.. Poor gal, bt she added d real spice to ds entire ice brkng concept f mine.. I dnt knw hw many realize, bt a msg when one’s not well, goes a long way—it makes a difference.. And t made a difference here too… Nw wid gals doing real gud in ice brkng session, guys encashed on d same idea and we had Mp breaking his arm(no offence.…) The best word has always been care, nd when u know u r really cared by ur classmates/friends it’s a nice feeling…

Kalaikradhu s d common tool used fr ds ice brkng!!!! Nw whose gr8 at it, we have r Niths and Hari.. Niths s real gud at ne thing, to supply topics to talk about and f she ever runs outta on one she always uses me as her lifeguard jacket. She’ll ve a story to tell hw she gets a call from XYZ enquiring about me and don’t u thnk dats enough for a healthy kalaikradhu competitn!!! Wid Hari around, d prey s tattered nd torn for half a day!!!! And t all adds to fun……..

Attending d Receptions/Weddings of siblings breaks d ice even more easily!!!! A joyous occasion s an ultimate place to unwind as a class. Dhr ws d Shivrams’ sisters’ reception dat v attended as a class!!!! Thanks dude, t was n awesome evening!

My diplomatic friend , dats Preeths. When d ice s 2 be brken, it dsnt happen wid ne person. U need quite a considerable participation to tke part n d hang-outs!!!!! And ds s where Preeths plays a major part, she hs gven me company n quite a few occasions even when t ws raining cats r dogs / was nt flng well. Dhr culd be lots f reasons y she did t, and d ne answer she gve me ws nly a smile, nd dat explained all..

Prechanais, hw can I frget them?!!! When u ve a problem, u need to solve t, nd 4 dat u need to talk---no iceberg s gng to be here. Dats when Nats chips n, ‘d problem solver”(dude, I mean t, nt at all sarcastic!!!). He’s played a real role in getting to knw wats was d opinion f almst all n d class on any gven problem. Dhr I saw d ice beng broken more vigorously. I dndt knw wheter to crib abt d problems r be happy at d good relationships dat vr beng formed………

Ds blog contributed to brkng d ice!!!Hw was t? Roop’s posts r d nes dat always fnd intrstng debates(I pity him.)Though I dnt knw wat he feels abt dhse debates, I ve began understanding him real well, nd so ve others(all n d gud sense!)

D so many treats ive been a part f, i’ve frgt d count f them!!! My skl friends complain dat dhy ve never seen smene gng out n so many treats nd maintaing d same weight fr quite smetme!!!

Next s smthng dat hpnd dis semester, when d election talks were happening v hd d mst conservational ppl chippng n wid ideas to help r class win--- dhr ws maiths,shobhs topping d list!! D ice was smashed, wasn’t t?!!!!!

Mukesh wid his thrilng thurs ideas r Yusuf wid hs silent comments(man, u cn expect d unexpected frm hm….) r software guy(Praveen—ask him n d new s/w r anything comp related, u r sure to get an answer) r d answering scripts f Prashanth ve all contributed n a real gud way to brkng d ice…

So where do d rest fit n?!A movie dsnt work wid nly main cast, u need supprting cast too… Dhy add d real flavour.. D rest f them play such important supporting roles.

So d ice s broken, it took smthng arund 2 yrs, nt bad!!! All d above mentioned events which mst f us mite fel r anthrs days happenings, Though dats wat dhy are, I ve tried to look at wats been dhr impact n r lives.

So as I was thnkng how to sign off, my dads picked up my phone to make a call nd at d end f it smiles nd says,”u seem to be knwing lots f boys!!!” It furitaes me, nd before I could raise my decibel level, he’s nowhere near sight. 2 mins later, I smile to myself and end up writng dis, ”I’ve looked beyond d gender….”

By Mrunalini.P.V.S

R15 The Legend!

2008-05-16T15:01:00.010+05:30

"In the winter of 2008, a new force strikes in the sports bike world, the Yamaha YZF-R15. A unique 'no compromise' machine for road riders ready to accept the challenge of the racetrack. A machine, like all other Yamaha R series , that comes with racing DNA and the spirit of competition living in every component."

This is how Yamaha Motors India introduce us their new R15-a 150 cc bike exclusively designed for India with the latest technologies. Yamaha has designed this bike based on the mighty R1 which Superbike.The bike is designed by engineers at Yamaha keeping in mind the three important aspects of the bike-The engine,Braking and cornering.All the three aspects were derived from the R1.

Some specifications of the bike

Dimension&Weight

Overall length....................1995mm
Overall width.....................670mm
Overall height....................1070mm
Wheelbase......................…..1290mm
Minimum ground clearance..........160mm
Dry(without oil and fuel).........125kg(approx)
Wet(with oil and a full fuel tank).135kg(approx)

Engine Performance

Engine type........................Liquid cooled 4-stroke (Fuel Injection)
Displacement.......................150cm3
Starting system type...............Electric starter

Fuel

Air filter type....................Paper
Fuel tank capacity.................12L

Transmission........................6-Speed

Chassis

Frame type.........................Delta
Tire size(Front)...................80/90 17 Inch Tubless
Tire size(Rear)....................100/80 17 Inch Tubless

Brake

Disc effective diameter(Front).....Disk Brake
Disc effective diameter(Rear)......Disk Brake

Suspension

Suspension type(Front).............-NA-
Suspension type(Rear)..............Link Type Monocross

Meter

Speedometer.......................LCD Digital
Tachometer........................Analog
Odometer..........................LCD Digital
Trip meter........................LCD Digital
Clock.............................LCD Digital
This Bike is promised to be the fastest Indian Bike.So its gonna be a P220 and Karizma beater!..... This is the heart of R15!Its a 150cc liquid cooled 4stroke single-cylinder 4 valve fuel injected engine. This bike is expected to be launched by mid June 08.The price is somewhere between 80-90k INR.

Like father like son!....R15 with the R1
Heres a video from Banglore wheels on R15.

The Das Avatars of Kamal

2008-05-16T13:19:00.002+05:30

There has been much speculation about the ten roles that Kamal dons in Dasavatharam. With lots of leaks from the Dasavatharam crew, here is the list of the Das Avatars of the Universal Hero in his magnum Opus:

Rangaraja Nambi - 12th century priest

Balaram Naidu - CBI officer from Andhra

Govind Ramasamy - The dark guy from Nellai

Avatar Singh - The singing Singh

Krishnaveni Paati - The 90 year old Grandma

Christian Fletzer - The villain Kamal

Shinghen Narahasi -The Chinese youth

George Bush

Vincent Poovaragan

Kalifullah Khan

Google unveils Friend Connect

2008-05-12T21:59:00.004+05:30

Google has unveiled a preview of Friend Connect, a way to add social features to a Web site without programming.Google describesFriend Connect as plumbing for the rest of the Web.

"The Web is getting better by getting more social. We've baked social features into the infrastructure of the Web, and it is not tied to any particular site," David Glazer, director of engineering at Google said. "Users can interact with any of their friends anywhere they go on Web, and with any app."

Friend Connect looks like Google's response to Facebook Connect and MySpace.com's Data Availability. Unlike Facebook and MySpace, Google lacks a dominant, centralized social-networking hub. Friend Connect works the edges of the Internet, applying an open and distributed approach, and bringing a social dimension to the 99-plus percent of sites that aren't socially enabled.

"The distributed model has worked well for the Web. That is what the Web does--many points of light loosely coupled and massively distributed, allowing users to connect to pages of information," Glazer told. "Now it is working to connect people to other people."

Friend Connect-compliant sites will be able to view, invite, and interact with newfound friends, or with existing friends, from established social-networking sites, including Facebook, Google Talk, Hi5, Orkut, and Plaxo via secure authorization application-programming interfaces.

Friend Connect provides wizardlike pages. Webmasters just fill in the information, select social apps, copy code, paste, and save. No coding is required. It passes the 'easy' test, and it does something useful.It provides features such as user registration, invitations, member galleries, message posting, and reviews, as well as OpenSocial applications.

Windows XP SP3 Adds 10% Performance Boost

2008-05-12T21:46:00.004+05:30

Windows XP runs some applications up to 10% faster with the latest service pack installed, a research firm has found. Windows XP Service Pack 3 (v.3244) ,through various tests, clearly delivers a measurable performance boost to this aging desktop OS.

Tests on a PC loaded with Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT)'s XP SP3 completed the OfficeBench test suite in less than 50 seconds. A similarly configured system running Windows XP with Service Pack 2 took more than 50 seconds to complete the test suite -- which measures how quickly a computer can perform common tasks in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.Since SP3 was supposed to be mostly a bug-fix/patch consolidation release, the unexpected speed boost comes as a nice bonus.

XP SP3's slick performance may lead some computer users to forego Windows Vista. Similar tests have found out that, with the new service pack, XP is now two times faster than the newer Microsoft OS.

Its not smooth sailing for the SP3 however.Within hours of its general release last week, Windows XP SP3 began drawing hundreds of complaints from users who claim the update is wreaking havoc on their PCs. The problems with XP SP3 range from spontaneous reboots to outright system crashes.It's not uncommon for major operating system updates to cause problems. Typically, the glitches are due to conflicts with software, such as drivers, system files, or applications, already resident on the user's PC. Microsoft has yet to indicate whether it will issue an update to address some of the problems, though it has done so with previous updates.

By the way, the SP3 is available from Microsoft's automated Windows Update service or as a file that can be pulled from the Download Center on the company's Web site.

Dasavatharam Songs:Review

2008-04-25T23:11:00.005+05:30

Himesh Reshamiyya has performed the music score for a tamil movie for the Second(first being Bommalattam) time. He is lucky that he is doing the score for a Kamal Hassan starrerr. This is a typical Himesh album with high pitch vocals ,heavy bass and Keyboard generated sounds.

Dasavatharam Songs Review:

1. Ulaga Nayagan (Come Dance With Me)
Singer : Vinith / Lyrics : Vairamuthu

A song on the hero, but definitely lacking the energy needed for such songs. Not a bad number, but doesnt make one to sit up and take notice, a comment that is applicable to the entire album

2. Kallai Mattum Kandal
Singer : Hariharan & Chorous / Lyrics : Vaali

Hariharan, as usual, has done a splendid job. The music is awesome and takes one to the medieval periods, but its the lyrics that takes the song to the next level.The Arabic mix with the violin is interesting, and the picturization of this song could be something to look forward to. The song is very vibrant and spiritual.

3. OH…Ho..Sanam
Singer : Kamal Hassan & Mahalakshmi Iyer / Lyrics : Vairamuthu

This is a peppy song sung by Kamal himself. Only humable song of this album and clearly the best. Mahalakshmi supports him with her vocals and does a good job at it . The rhythm is decent and this is a typical Himesh song with the high pitch and heavy bass.

4. Mukundha Mukundha
Singer : Sadhana Sargam & Kamal Hassan / Lyrics: Vaali

A devotional. First thing that hits you when you hear it is that its so similar to Manmohana track from jodha akbar. Good singing by Sadhana Sargam makes this a saving grace of this album.

5. Kaa…Karuppanukkum
Singer : Shalini Singh / Lyrics : Vairamuthu

This song sounds like a disco song from the 80’s. It is fast paced and Shalini has done a decent job. I am assuming that this is a song for Mallika Sherawat. This song has a very nice pace and rhythm to it . The lyrics is tough to understand for the most part but the song is at least peppy.

6. OH…Ho…Sanam (Remix)
Singer : Himesh reshmiyaa & Mahalaksmi Iyer / Lyrics : Vairamuthu

Nicely sung by Himesh, in his trademark nasal voice though, but his tamil pronunciation deserves to be appreciated. Not much of a difference from the other song sung by Kamal.

The bottomline is, none of the songs is bad, but neither do they make you to want to listen to them often. A below par album for a movie with so many expectations.The expectation from a kamal Hassan movie is very high and the budget of this movie requires a terrific music score but the score by Himesh even though it is good does not blow you away

A lowly 2.5 out of 5.

Google Adwords -- Boon for Advertisers!!

2008-04-24T21:34:00.003+05:30

Never before in the history of advertising has it been possible to spend few bucks, sketch a couple of ads, and get instant access to over 100 million people in less than 10 minutes. But with Google AdWords, you can do this right now. Google AdWords ads connect you with new customers at the precise moment when they're looking for your products or services. The Google Network reaches more than 80% of Internet users. Although Google AdWords is not the only source of traffic on the Internet, nor is it free yet, it is one of the most popular search sites on the Web. Google has started syndicating AdWords to other search sites and portals that use Google search results, making Google a de facto competitor in the pay-per-click market.
There are various tricks to advertising on AdWords Google that unless you know them, it becomes almost impossible to turn profit on your advertising. Google is treacherous at first. It punishes uneducated marketers and rewards smart ones. So, many people, who are novice and don't know how to get benefits from AdWords Expert Google, are definitely losers.

Tips to become a successful advertiser in Adwords:

Always bid on exact match keyword in AdWords Google, which, by eliminating others, generates more traffic. generates more traffic of your products by eliminating others. Otherwise, your advertisement will not be converted into sales.

Bid to be in position #2 and #3, for position #1 necessarily costs the most and doesn't give you much more benefit. By being in one of these top spots, your ad gets a higher 'click-thru rate' (CTR) and AdWords Google rewards you for this higher CTR by charging you less per click than your competitor. If your ad isn't getting a very good CTR, then a negative qualifier is only going to reduce your CTR.

Make a separate AdGroup within your Google AdWords account for each keyword phrase, and ad text that exactly matches that phrase. It's important to organize your keywords into separate AdGroups to maintain finer control over the ad text for each keyword.
Do not use the top keyword phrases for your ads with AdWords Campaign Google accounts, as they create the highest competition that results in the lowest click-thru rates. Instead, use very specific keywords that increase the chance of fewer ads in competition with yours.

Split-test yours ads in Google AdWords to see which ad gets a better CTR. Sometimes just swapping the ad text that appears on lines 2 and 3 will make a big difference in your ad performance. By following this split-test strategy, you will constantly be improving your ads CTR and lowering your cost per click.
Always spend time to track your ads in Google AdWords. Analyze how many people click on the ad and which of those clicks convert into sales. Target those keywords to get the most effective results.

While creating a new AdWords campaign on Google, uncheck the 'Content Network' box in the campaign settings and limit your ads to being displayed only on Google's 'Search Network' to insure only highly qualified and motivated prospects click on your AdWords Google ads.

GTA IV:The Battle Of The Consoles Is On

2008-04-24T20:29:00.004+05:30

The Microsoft – Sony battle is on, as gamers all over the world swarm to pre-order Grand Theft Auto IV, a franchise that is said to make history within its first weeks of availability.

It is anticipated that Grand Theft Auto IV, which has an 18 certification, will sell six million copies worldwide within the first week of its release, breaking the previous record set by another video game, Halo 3.

Which version will sell more? PS3 or XBOX 360? Well, some suggest PlayStation 3, because GTA has been historically associated with the PS2, and because Sony has a GTAIV PS3 bundle on the way. While others say the Xbox 360, because of its larger userbase and downloadable content.

Neither gamers nor retailers can agree, as MCV-UK reports conflicting beliefs from various retailers in Europe. "Both titles have generated great interest on the Asda website, with strong pre-orders, and the PS3 version is selling three times that of 360, which is surprising and not in line with what we'd expect," said Asda's head of games Duncan Cross.

Three times as much? That sounds pretty unreal, but it's just one such example. A Debbie O'Neill, a representative for Comet's games division states: "We have great expectations and believe it is going to be a massive hardware driver - especially on PS3." That is not to say that she believes it'll sell best on the PS3, just that it should move more consoles for Sony than Microsoft.

On the other hand, Tim Ellis, an HMV representative, mentions that interest for the Xbox 360 version is higher, thanks to an in-store incentive: "Demand for both formats is high, but our 1,000 Xbox points offer generated a huge amount of interest."

Coming to the game itself, THE scale and ambition of Grand Theft Auto IV is breathtaking. From the moment you load up the game, you're immersed in a modern satirical masterpiece that rivals anything Hollywood can offer. GTA IV is nothing short of genius - a violent and visceral crime thriller that never loses its sense of humour or its ability to surprise. This time around the game is centered in New York city.

The GTAIV frenzy is so high that GAME, the UK's largest game retailer, cannot promise the fulfillment of pre-orders for launch day.The Grand Theft Auto IV mania has indeed begun, going as far as appearing on various torrent sites. The gaming site Kotaku revealed that the Xbox 360 pirated version of the game has already appeared in 6.32 GB version. The investigation on how this happened continues.

The console that will come out on top may be tough to predict, but GTAIV will sure as hell be a huge hit (if it aint one already, going by the pre-orders)

Dasavatharam trailer...WOW!!

2008-04-23T12:32:00.000+05:30

Sam Anderson - the next SRK or Super Star???

2008-04-21T01:57:00.017+05:30

The following contents may be highly irritating or highly entertaining(just depends on your mood and how you take it coz this isn't actually about a comedy movie and its hero but the movie itself is a big comedy). Just relax and have fun. If you are in a bad mood please don't read this beyond this point(it might make you go beserk). And please do not watch these scenes if you are having exams tomorrow.

In case if you are wondering whether Sam Anderson is a hollywood star, you have got it totally wrong. I don't know how many of u know about this great actor who has made his mark in tamil cinema with his first movie "Yaaruku Yaaro"(now don't ask when and where it was released-as far i browsed to collect information about this super hit movie it was released only in Madurai and Salem). Directed by Joe Stanley this is something beyond your imagination. I am not going to do a review of this movie coz i haven't seen it yet.

Lets begin with this scene where our hero expresses his emotions splendidly(blushing in this case).

This one is really funny. Here our hero shows his talent as an automobile engineer. The car is designed so beautifully using sketch and water colours(may be he doesn't know how to use CAD etc and the car looks like an Ambassador). Don't forget to notice a toy car on the table and a sports car posters in the background(may be the director would have thought adding these to the scene would make the girl's dad look like Ratan Tata).

His dancing skills will surely overshadow his acting skills. He must have had really hard time learning aerobics. He has spent most his time in the song either jogging or just waving his hands(and not even moving his lips). His mesmerizing smile is something which shouldn't go unnoticed.

The hero and the girl talk about going to Canada(standing in the middle of nowhere) and another girl comes and throws a spare tyre(to show that she had been used as a "stepne").And the best dialogue i have never heard where our hero differentiates between "stepne" and "step nee".

There are so many other clips which you shouldn't miss especially the "my hump" one. All available on youtube itself. If you have become a fan of Sam Anderson and if you feel he has surpassed so many other legends like TR,Ramarajan,'Krodham' Prem etc please join this orkut community dedicated to our next super star

if u can't see the link this is is the one http://www.orkut.com/Community.aspx?cmm=43224008

PS: Anyone found to be kalaiying Sam Anderson will be given free tickets(couples only) for his next movie(intha padatha gf kooda okanthu paakarthoda kodumaya vera ethuvum iruka mudiyathu).

Watch surya training for a six pack!!

2008-04-15T13:31:00.002+05:30

Book Review: The Appeal

2008-04-08T22:32:00.007+05:30

GRISHAM'S "THE APPEAL"

The plot is as follows: A big, mean chemical company located in Mississippi dumped chemicals which made their way into the water supply killing and disabling hundreds of people. Enter ,a couple of tort lawyers, who sell off their fancy cars and houses and borrow $400,000 so that they can focus all of their time on the case against the evil chemical company. When they are nearly out of money, they finally win a multi-million dollar settlement from the chemical company. But the case is appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court(this kinda stuff is getting cliche in Grisham's novels lately), and the evil chemical company does dastardly things in order to manipulate which judges will hear the case when the appeal comes before that court. Mississippi Supreme Court justices can't simply be appointed. They have to be elected. Grisham here discusses a timely subject:rigging elections. Dicussing a
preposterous scenario of how candidates are chosen and the final selection of the judge is done, Grisham leaves the readers rudely disappointed.

The supreme court indeed reverses(as expected!!) the judgment, the poor inhabitants of Cancer County, Mississippi get nothing but continued suffering and death, and the majority shareholder of the evil chemical company rides off into the sunset on his brand new yacht enjoying his $3 billion net worthand thinking about how he will make his next $3 billion.

Being a fan of Mr.Grisham, and having loved his previous novels, i would say am one among the many disappointed Grisham fans. The Grisham we see in The Appeal is neither
an entertainer nor a literary giant but, a celebrity making his political views public. Rather than facing the real world and discussing his political agenda openly in the arena of ideas, Mr. Grisham hides behind fictitious characters involved in preposterously fictitious events. As is the case with Hollywood actors and rock stars, he uses his celebrity status as a writer of fiction to promote his liberal ideas.Grisham makes no secret of his own political position. He clearly shows his support for the presidential campaign of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.

"I must say that there is a lot of truth in this story," Grisham points out in his author's note. I leave it for you to decide, if you ever read this! Better wait for his next!

Google unveils AppEngine

2008-04-08T22:20:00.003+05:30

Google is offering to host enterprise web applications on its own infrastructure with a new tool for developers, App Engine.

It isn't the first to do so. App Engine will compete with similar services such as Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud and Salesforce's Appexchange but it may be the cheapest, as Google's basic services will be free.

Google's goal is to make it easy to get started with a new web application, and then make it easy to scale when that application reaches the point where it's receiving significant traffic and has millions of users, Google said in its new App Engine blog.

App Engine is based on technologies Google already uses. It is powered by Bigtable, a distributed storage system currently used by its Google Earth service, and by Google's own file system GFS.

The search giant is treading lightly, so far. The version launched on Monday is a preview release, and is by no means feature complete, according to Google.

Only 10,000 developers will be able to sign up initially, but that number will increase.

During the preview period, capacity will also be limited. Applications will for example be able to use 500M bytes of storage, and transmit up to 10G bytes of data per day. Google expects most applications will be able to serve around 5 million page views per month within those limits.

Google is keeping mum on how it will price the service, but applications operating within the limitations of the preview release will remain free, even when App Engine goes live.

App Engine will initially only support applications written in Python, but Google is looking to add support for other languages as well.

Google AppEngine FAQ

A Pain that exists forever!!

2008-04-08T21:59:00.004+05:30

When I was 14 years old, my mother died. A week before freshman year in high school, August 21st, 1996, at 4:21 AM, my mother was taken from me. There were no warning, no advanced signs. I will not go into specifics of how she died, how long it took for her to die, etc. etc. What I feel is the more important things to know in this node, is the affect that her death had on immediately, and now, over 5 years later.

I can tell you now, that immediately after it happened, I shut down emotionally. The friends I knew, well, let me say, the friends I thought I knew, no longer mattered to me. My family, the ones that I should have been able to find comfort in, I closed them out. I also shut down grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, sister, and father. I felt, that there was no one that could understand what I was going through. I was wrong, of course, but at the time, I was convinced that no one could help me.

The week passed, the funeral done, the internment finished, and my grief was still strong. School started, and of course, I was the talk of the school.

Did you hear about his mom?

I know, it's so sad. Let's invite him with us for lunch.

The first two weeks of school was basically me being at the center of the school's attention. I was always talked to, always asked how I was, always asked if I wanted to be included. The first two weeks were not really anything new, as I had always been included in the so called 'popular' group, the preps, as we called them at Southwest High School. I was always good friends with them, why should now be any different?

It came to me though, a few weeks later, that the calls started stopping. The questions on how I was stopped coming as frequent as they did a short time before. Now, I see that it was to be expected, everyone has their own lives to lead, and their own troubles to worry about.

This is the time when I started to distance myself from my friends, and my family. I was a lost soul in a lost world. I was alone. This is also the time I started into drugs. Weed, LSD, Ecstasy, Heroin, Coke, you name it, I took it. I was at rock bottom. I became more and more of an addict, and more and more of a recluse. I refused to have social interaction with anyone. I went through my school day without muttering a word. All the while, my old 'popular' clique wondering what the hell was wrong with me. They never abandoned me, they just thought I was over it. They thought I didn't need them anymore, but they could not have been farther from the truth.

We now jump to today where I am recovered, I have graduated high school, and I have a girlfriend. She is everything to me. My first, my last, my everything. As Barry White once put it.

Heather, she means so much to me, yet she can hurt me like no one else ever could. I love her so much, yet because of my social ineptitude for the past 5 years, I cannot open myself up to her. We have been dating strong for 3 years, and she has given me her everything. Her love, her heart, her virginity, her soul, her life. And what have I given her, but a 3 year period filled with never-ending why's, how come's, and what if's. She deserves so much better than what I can give her. So much more, so much more depth.

Yet she sticks by me, through thick and thin, through our troubles and tribulations, through my lies, my deceit, she forgives me. I find solace in her, and her in me.

I guess what I am trying to get across, is that when you lose a loved one throughout your life, you don't just lose the one that dies. You many times lose the people you will never get the chance to meet, because you are so hurt, that you refuse to let anyone in, no matter how much they love you, or you love them.

You also may lose yourself . . . and that is the hardest part of all.
-mitchevious

This is s an article on "losing the loved ones"

Bessy Beach To Pondy Beach-Night Ride

2008-04-07T14:46:00.025+05:30

It started like this.......I badly wanted some fun(kinda energizing myself ;) ) before my exams had started...Nothing can be more fun than a long ride for me.So I call my friend Dilip and asked him to join me for a ride.He was in for it.So we decided the place as Pondy and I asked if we can go on a night ride .Immediately he was excited and that was it.The place was Pondy and we are going on a night ride!Ye ye!...Hearing our plan two of our friends-Vicky n Sudan joined us.Finally it was four guys three bikes and destination was Pondy.We planned to leave by Saturday(5-4-08) night at 9:00pm from Bessy beach(Besant Nagar).

After a light dinner that we had around Bessy we left the beach and headed towards ECR.East Coast Road -riders paradise in Chennai.It is the finest roads I ve ridden on and it is also the most dangerous .We din mind the danger part as we decided to maintain an avg speed of 60-70kmph.Once we hit ECR we stopped by a fuel station to tank up our bikes.We filled petrol for Rs500 in each of our bikes and started to ride.
@ the fuel station
Our next stop was at the toll plaza for a photo shoot.We maintained descent speed of 60-70 kmph.After clicking a few pics we resumed our ride.

Cruised at the same speed and reached the ViewPoint(ECR park).Again had a photo shoot(it was nice experimenting Photography in the dark).
the Riders
(L2R)Me,Dilip n Vicky
Our next stop was Mahabalipuram.We din go inside the town.Jus stopped for a pic near the sign board that said Welcome to Mahabalipuram.Then started to cruise towards Pondy.Next comes the best part of the ride it was Vicky's B'Day on 6th.Dilip, Sudan n I planned for a surprise B day party for him in the middle of ECR.Yes we bought a cake from Chennai and had it in our backpack.When it 11:50 pm we halted beside the road.We placed the cake on Vicky's bike and gave him a surprise.He was astonished seeing the cake.Definitely it should be his best B'day party ever!After cutting the cake and clicking pics we were back on the road.

The road was pitch dark .Except for the light from our bikes .Riding in that kinda situation was damn scary.I say scary coz we couldn spot sudden crossings of the dogs on the road.And also I had these illusions that i could see on the road.I could see some one standing on the road and then I apply sudden brake jus to realise that there was nothing.I had these ghosty experiences on the way ;)....lol...Soon we reached Pondy.As we entered Pondy we were welcomed by the cops with their routine checking.After showing the required documents we started to ride inside the then French Colony.

Mission Accomplished!
We headed straight to the beach.The sea breeze +the chillness of the night+me and my bike=amazing feeling I had :).We parked our rides near the beach and went to the small cottage like structures that were there all along the beach coast.We kept out stuffs there and hide a nice chat and rested there for an hour.And ya of course pics pics n pics ;).

sudan ,dilip n me
the Bear Hug
After an hour of rest we decided to start our ride back to Chennai.We started by 3:30 am from the beach and after having tea we hit the roads.The roads were deserted.We were the only ones on the road.We could see vehicles only occasionally which means we were ripping our bikes.It was time for us to check our top speeds.I was doing an avg speed of 90-100kmph.I hit a top speed of 120kmph when I overtook Dilip.There were a few places where dogs were lying dead on the road,which posed a danger to us.Luckily we dint hit any of them.We din stop much as we were into high speed riding;).Loved riding on the ECR at such speeds.The reflectors on the road made it look like a runway.The result of our ripping was that we reached the ViewPoint or the ECR park(which is jus 50kms from Chennai)in just 1 n half hours.We decided to take a long break at the park till the sun rises.We had a small nap at the park .Woke up jus before the sun rise(Thank God I din miss it!).Clicked many pics of the sun rise.Awesome scenery!

After a break for an hour we headed back to the roads.Our thirst for fun and enjoyment wasnt satisfied.So we decided to go to the shore with our bikes(yes thats crazy stuff :)))).

We went to the beach with our bikes and had ultimate fun!Cant explain in words ,the pics will speak for themselves.

where does this lead to??
After struggling pushing our bikes back to the roads we headed for the city.

And this was the best part.After crossing the toll plaza I dont know what happened for the next 20 mins.I had ridden the bike without my knowledge for 20 mins.When I got back to reality I stopped by the road.Then my friends joined me after 10 mins.I told them that I was riding my bike without even realizing anything.They were surprised to hear that(Hope they din think I was crazy).But I ve heard of such things from riders on Xbhp.After this we parted our way back home.

For more pics click here

HAPPY DAYS------a walk down the memory lane…

2008-04-05T18:21:00.006+05:30

With the fever of exams catching n, where does the question of happy days arise? Rack your brains, it began n 19 august 2k5? U guessed t, this s going to be a take on our 3yrs of college life!!!!!!

I still remember that day of ORIENTATION PROGRAMME (which happened to mark the beginning of a new leaf n our lives) as if it just happened now. We were like toddlers walking in with parents with the same excitement and nervousness of any 5 year old.

A fear of finding the right group of friends, lots of aspirations ,the urge to be the best, and lots more-it was a mixed bag of feelings within each one of us.

The biggest fear I had was making friends, now who didn’t have that?! I have heard my seniors at school temme u r never going to get back something like your school, it was our second home after all!!! Colleges are a place where innocence which played a big role in school would vanish, people would be more opportunistic, lecturers were guest lecturers(no bonding at all!!!), and making friends –that’s the biggest challenge outta here. So with such words as advice, I thought college is going to be the biggest mystery…….

Now oops, 3 yrs later wat’s college to me?!! An awesome place where the Most HAPPIEST DAYS of my life have been formed, yes school was an awesome place, but its time I gave college its due….

A smile here could win people(now how many did that, with record work and unit tests, so if u do t then u r pretty good!).Sorry, no being sarcastic any more. It all started with the “pen not writing”(asking time s an old concept!!!!) 2 break the ice with the peers, small talks got extended into lunch hrs with each one of us sharing what we brought from home or “come re machan/ machi to the mba to chill out wid kapi”(did v go to canteen n d frst sem-never !!!) then phone nos gt exchanged, and the rest as they say is history!!!!

Things were falling in place bt frst semester was over and we had to pack our bags to a new class and a new set of people!!! Ouch, nw how long is it gng to set?!!!! Things fell in place within 2 r 3 semesters. Buddies for life were formed, and oops, who said making friends was an art?!!!! It wasn’t an art, it was all about a small smile, a shoulder to lean on during the most diffi times, a patient ear to listen to the other, kalaikradhuku rendu varthae---in short is it making use of every organ 2 be a friend?!!!! Jokes aprt, friends are those who would screw people who were angst u, solve ur prechanais(atlst try!!!) , put lots of mokkai , konjam vetti scene and…… THE BEST PEOPLE WHO MADE COLLEGE LIFE “HAPPY DAYS”!!!!!!!

Next in line, what about those sweet little crushes we had?! Some which are still continuing, and some which are a part of memories. Let’s accept, it was/is fun being in crush or even commitment. The old bus stand is the place where eyes met, hearts melted and feelings just happened-man I loved every moment outta there. Those unit tests comedies , where passing papers or flunking for the sake f a bet were common. The ragging by r seniors and we ragging r juniors, now all that is the funniest part n college!!!!!

HangINGout-how could I miss them?!!! Most of Chennai has been covered in our search for a perfect hangout!! Late nite movies, first day shows, going to beaches in the pretext of group studies, racing a vehicle on the roads to catch a glimpse of a sweet looking gal/ handsome looking guy, the fun of treating friends on b’days, and those smaller treats at mba 4 d silliest things, the late nite calls to simply talk or discuss a question or wish on a b’day, the wedding receptions of r friends’ siblings and the food we hogged there are all awesome stories!!!!!!

Last bt nt d least, symposiums and culturals!!!! In the pretext of organizing, the amount of classes that we ve bunked s quite a startling figure!!!!! The search for sponsorships and the dejections and happiness which come with t ---forms an wholesome entertainment. Climbing the trees to tie banners or drawing a kolam , everything has its share of fun. A late nite walk wid ones gang ,in the campus on the eve of such evnts is the most beautiful moment!!!

So why all this now, v have got one more year rite?!! But people, its JUST AN YEAR left!!!!!! It ‘l soon be over, all that will be left is memories. Lets roll up our sleeves, and enjoy each day outta here, who knows whether future holds such wonderful things for us!

Those aggregates don’t matter , bt memories matter. So lets keep adding more stars to those memories , after all the HAPPY DAYS hve to be d best!!!!

<< (: (: SOME HAPPY MOMENTS :) :)>>

Acknowlegments--> This article was inspired after watching a telugu movie called Happy Days…….Chk it out f u’ve nt seen t!!!!!

By Mrunalini.P.V.S aka Sesha...

Indian Premier League Schedule!!

2008-04-05T10:18:00.016+05:30

Date : Friday, 18th April,2008 7:00PM.

Match : Bangalore Royal Challengers v Kolkata Knight Riders

Venue : M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore.

Date : Saturday, 19th April, 2008, 3:00 PM

Match : IPL Mohali v Chennai Super Kings.

Venue : Punjab Cricket Assocation Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh.

Date : Saturday, 19th April, 2008 8:00 PM.

Match : Delhi Daredevils v Rajasthan Royals

Venue : Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi.

Date : Sunday 20th, April 2008 3:00 PM Local.

Match : Mumbai Indians v Bangalore Royal Challengers.

Venue : Venue TBC, Mumbai.

Date : Sunday 20th, April 2008 , 8:00 PM .

Match : Kolkata Knight Riders v IPL Hyderabad

Venue : Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

Date : Mon 21st, April 2008 7:00 PM

Match : Rajasthan Royals v IPL Mohali

Venue : Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur.

Date : Tue 22nd April, 2008 7:00 PM

Match : Hyderabad v Delhi Daredevils

Venue : TBC, Hyderabad .

Date : Wed 23rd April, 2008 7:00 PM

MAtch : Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai Indians

Venue : MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai.

Date : Thursday, 24th April, 2008 7:00 PM

Match : Hyderabad v Rajasthan Royals

Venue :Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad.

Date : Fri 25th April, 2008 7:00 PM

Match : IPL Mohali v Mumbai Indians

Venue : Punjab Cricket Assocation Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh

Date : Sat 26th April, 2008 3:00 PM .

Match : Bangalore Royal Challengers v Rajasthan Royals.

Venue : M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore

Date : Sat 26th April, 2008 8:00 PM

Match : Chennai Super Kings v Kolkata Knight Riders

Venue : MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai.

Date : Sun 27 th April, 2008 3:00 PM

Match : Mumbai Indians v IPL Hyderabad

Venue : TBC ,Mumbai .

Date : Sun 27th April, 2008 8:00 PM

Match : IPL Mohali v Delhi Daredevils

Venue : Punjab Cricket Assocation Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh.

Date : Mon 28th April, 2008 7:00 PM

Match : Bangalore Royal Challengers v Chennai Super Kings

Venue : TBC ,Bangalore .

Date : Tue 29 th April, 2008 7:00 PM

Match : Kolkata Knight Riders v Mumbai Indians

Venue : Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

Date : Wed 30th April, 7:00 PM

Match : Delhi Daredevils v Bangalore Royal Challengers

Venue : Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi.

Date : Thursday 1st May 2008 3:00 PM

Match : IPL Hyderabad v IPL Mohali

Venue : TBC,Hyderabad.

Date : Thu 1st May, 2008 Time : 8:00 PM

Match : Rajasthan Royals v Kolkata Knight Riders

Venue : Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur.

Date : Fri 2nd May, 2008 7:00 PM local

Match : Chennai Super Kings v Delhi Daredevils

Venue : MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai

Date : Sat 3rd May, 2008 Time : 3:00 PM

Match : IPL Hyderabad v Bangalore Royal Challengers

Venue : TBC, Hyderabad.

Date : Sat 3rd May, 2008 Time : 8:00 PM

Match : IPL Mohali v Kolkata Knight Riders

Venue : Punjab Cricket Assocation Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh.

Date : Sun 4th May, 2008 Time : 3:00 PM

Match : Mumbai Indians v Delhi Daredevils

Venue : TBC, Mumbai .

Date : Sun 4th May, 2008 Time : 8:00 PM

Match : Rajasthan Royals v Chennai Super Kings

Venue : Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur.

Date : Mon 5th May, 2008 Time : 7:00 PM

Match : Bangalore Royal Challengers v IPL Mohali

Venue : M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore.

Date : Tue 6th May, 2008Time : 7:00 PM

Match : Chennai Super Kings v IPL Hyderabad

Venue : MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai.

Date : Wed 7th May, 2008 Time : 7:00 PM

Match : Mumbai Indians v Rajasthan Royals

Venue : TBC,Mumbai.

Date : Thu 8th May, 2008 Time : 3:00 PM

Match : Delhi Daredevils v Chennai Super Kings

Venue : Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi.

Date : Thu 8th May,2008 Time : 8:00 PM

Match : Kolkata Knight Riders v Bangalore Royal Challengers

Venue : Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

Date : Fri 9th May, 2008 Time : 7:00 PM

Match : Rajasthan Royals v IPL Hyderabad

Venue : Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur.

Date : Sat 10 th May, 2008 Time : 3:00 PM

Match : Bangalore Royal Challengers v Mumbai Indians

Venue : M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore.

Date : Sat 10th May, 2008 Time : 8:00 PM

Match : Chennai Super Kings v IPL Mohali

Venue : MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai.

Date : Sun 11th May, 2008 Time : 3:00 PM local, 9:30 AM GMT

Match : Hyderabad v Kolkata Knight Riders

Venue : TBC,Hyderabad.

Date : Sun 11th May, 2008 Time : 8:00 PM

Match : Rajasthan Royals v Delhi Daredevils

Venue : Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur.

Date : Mon 12th May, 2008 Time : 7:00PM

Match : Mohali v Bangalore Royal Challengers

Venue : Punjab Cricket Assocation Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh.

Date : Tue 13th May, 2008 Time : 7:00 PM

Match : Kolkata Knight Riders v Delhi Daredevils

Venue : Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

Date : Wed 14th May,2008Time : 3:00 PM

Match : Mumbai Indians v Chennai Super Kings

Venue : TBC,Mumbai.

Date : Wed 14th May,2008Time : 8:00 PM

Match : IPL Mohali v Rajasthan Royals

Venue : Punjab Cricket Assocation Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh.

Date : Thu 15th May, 2008Time : 7:00 PM

Match : Delhi Daredevils v IPL Hyderabad

Venue : Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi.

Date : Fri 16th May, 2008Time : 7:00 PM

Match : Mumbai Indians v Kolkata Knight Riders

Venue : TBC, Mumbai.

Date : Sat 17th May, 2008Time : 3:00 PM

Match : Delhi Daredevils v IPL Mohali

Venue : Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi.

Date : Sat 17th May, 2008Time : 8:00 PM

Match : Rajasthan Royals v Bangalore Royal Challengers

Venue : Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur.

Date : Sun 18th May, 2008Time : 3:00 PM

Match : IPL Hyderabad v Mumbai Indians

Venue : TBC,Hyderabad .

Date : Sun 18th May, 2008Time : 8:00 PM

Match : Kolkata Knight Riders v Chennai Super Kings

Venue : Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

Date : Mon 19th May, 2008Time : 7:00 PM

Match : Bangalore Royal Challengers v Delhi Daredevils

Venue : M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore.

Date : Tue 20th May,2008TIme : 7:00 PM

Match : Kolkata Knight Riders v Rajasthan Royals

Venue : Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

Date : Wed 21st May,2008Time : 3:00 PM

Match : Mumbai Indians v IPL Mohali

Venue : TBC,Mumbai.

Date : Wed 21st May,2008Time : 8:00

Match : Chennai Super Kings v Bangalore Royal Challengers

Venue : MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai.

Date : Thu 22nd May,2008Time : 7:00 PM

Match : Delhi Daredevils v Kolkata Knight Riders

Venue : Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi.

Date : Fri 23rd May, 2008Time : 7:00 PM

Match : IPL Mohali v IPL Hyderabad

Venue : Punjab Cricket Assocation Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh.

Date : Sat 24th May, 2008Time : 3:00 PM

Match : Delhi Daredevils v Mumbai Indians

Venue : Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi.

Date : Sat 24th May, 2008Time : 8:00 PM

Match : Chennai Super Kings v Rajasthan Royals

Venue : MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai.

Date : Sun 25th May, 2008Time : 3:00 PM

Match : Bangalore Royal Challengers v IPL Hyderabad

Venue : M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore.

Date : Sun 25th May, 2008Time : 8:00 PM

Match : Kolkata Knight Riders v IPL Mohali

Venue : Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

Date : Mon 26th May, 2008Time : 7:00 PM

Match : Rajasthan Royals v Mumbai Indians

Venue : Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur.

Date : Tue 27th May, 2008.Time : 7:00 PM

Match : IPL Hyderabad v Chennai Super Kings

Venue : TBC,Hyderabad.

First IPL Semi Final Date : Friday, 30th May, 2008

Match : Semi-Final - TBC v TBC

Venue : Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai.

Second IPL Semi FinalDate : Friday, 31st May, 2008

Match : 2nd Semi-Final, Semi-Final - TBC v TBC

Venue : Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai.

Indian Premier League 2008 Final Date : Sunday 1st June 2008

Match : Final - TBC v TBC

Venue : Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai.

Google Hoax 2008

2008-04-03T22:01:00.004+05:30

Google has a tradition of perpetrating April Fool's Day hoaxes, which generally have an intellectual sense of humor.

Here's a collection of Google Hoaxes for this year:

Virgle

Google announces a joint project with the Virgin Group that aims to establish a permanent human settlement on Mars (http://www.google.com/virgle/index.html). This operation has been named Project Virgle. it also includes videos of Richard Branson as well as Larry Page & Sergey Brin (The Founders of Google) on YouTube , talking about Virgle. The site even includes a comedic and often sarcastic "Application" to join in the settlement. The application includes questions like "What is your major?" A. Physics, B. First Aid, C. Engineering, or D. Guitar Hero II. After submitting the application, the site either notifies you that you are not fit for space, or that application is fine and that "all you have to do is submit your video [as a response to their video on YouTube]." The creators of Virgle wish to convey the following -- "So long, and thanks for all the fish!"

Adsense for Conversations

Google releases Adsense for conversations (http://adsense.blogspot.com/2008/04/introducing-adsense-for-conversations.html)

Yogurt

Google's Orkut displays its name as Yogurt

Dajare

Google launches Dajare in Japan (google.co.jp), with the mission of "organizing the world’s laughter."

gDay

Google announces gDay in Australia (http://www.google.com.au/intl/en/gday/press.html), a new beta search technology that will search web pages 24 hours before they are created.

Google Dialect Translation

Google announces Google dialect translation for translating regional dialects of Korean to and from Standard Korean.

Gmail Custom Time
Gmail Custom Time feature hoax

Gmail's sign-in page and a banner at the top of each gmail inbox announced a new feature, called Gmail Custom Time, that would allow its users to "pre-date" their messages and choose to have the message appear as "read" or "unread". The new feature uses the slogan "Be on time. Every time."

Around 11:00 p.m. EST March 31, 2008, on the newer and older version of Gmail, but not in the basic HTML version, in the upper right corner, next to Settings, a link appeared labeled, "New! Gmail Custom Time". The link led to a 404 error until April 1, when it led to the full Gmail Custom Time hoax page Clicking any of the three links at the bottom of the page brought the user to a page stating that Gmail Custom time was, in fact, their April Fool's day joke.

Google wrote that the new joke feature “utilizes an e-flux capacitor (a clever pun from the movie Back to the Future) to resolve issues of causality.” Fake testimonials are given by “beta users” saying things like, “I used to be an honest person; but now I don't have to be. It's just so much easier this way. I've gained a lot of productivity by not having to think about doing the 'right' thing."

the feature only allows for ten pre-dated emails per year, claiming that any more “would cause people to lose faith in the accuracy of time, thus rendering the feature useless.”
Gmail Custom Time

Google Calendar is Feeling Lucky

Google added the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button to its calendar feature. When you tried to create a new event, you were given the regular option of entering the correct details and hitting "Create Event," and also the new option of "I'm Feeling Lucky" which would set you up with an evening date with, among others, Matt Damon, Eric Cartman, Tom Cruise, Jessica Alba, Pamela Anderson, Paris Hilton, Angelina Jolie, Britney Spears, Anna Kournikova, Johnny Depp, George W. Bush, or Lois Griffin.

Google Summer of Code Licenses

Google changed the licenses on the SoC pages to all be "WTF Public License, Version 2".

Google Wake Up Kit

Google launched their "Wake Up Kit" as a calendar notification option. The option sends a series of increasingly aggressive alerts, starting with an SMS message to your cellphone, and ending with a bucket of water dumped into your bed, which would then flip over, tossing you out (all using apparently-free equipment).
Google Wake Up Kit

Google Docs

A little easter egg was added, where a user can click the file menu and directly under new document is "New Airplane" which immediately opens a copy of a Google branded paper airplane. To reach the file menu, click the new menu, then "Document" then a new window opens. The image that is embedded in the "New Airplane" document can be seen here.

Google Manpower Search

Google launches Manpower Search in China (google.cn). This new feature is powered by 25 million volunteers who do the searching around the clock. When the user entered a keyword, volunteers will search any possible answers from a mass of paper documents as well as online resources. The user is expected to get the search result within 32 seconds.
Google Manpower Search

Google Book Search 'Scratch and Sniff'

Google Book Search has a new section allowing users to 'scratch and sniff' certain books. Users are asked to "...please place your nose near the monitor and click 'Go'" which then 'loads odors'. When clicking on 'Help' users are redirected to a page in a book that describes the origins of April Fools' Day.
Inside Google Book Search Blog: 'Google Book Search now smells better'

Blogger 'Google Weblogs (beta)'

The Blogger dashboard featured an announcement for Google Weblogs, or “GWeblogs,” or “Gblogs,” the next revolution in personal publishing. Features will include algorithms putting your best content at the top of your blog (rather than publishing by reverse chronology), automatically populating your blog’s sidebar with the most relevant content, posting directly into Google search results for maximum visibility, blog headers refreshed with images from Google' team of artists for anniversaries of a scientific achievement (similar to the Google Doodle), and automatic content generation ('Unsure of what to post about? Just click “I’m Feeling Lucky” and we’ll “take care” of the rest!')

The announcement was followed by a link to video tour of the product, which actually led to Tay Zonday's cover of Rick Astley's 'Never Gonna Give You Up.'
Blogger Buzz: The Official Buzz from Blogger at Google: Announcing Google Weblogs (beta)

Google Talk

Google announced plans to, on April 22, 2008 (Earth Day), shorten all conversations over Google Talk thereby reducing the energy required to transmit chats in an effort to reduce carbon output.
Google Talk Goes Green

YouTube

On April 1, 2008, all featured videos on the Australian and UK homepages, and later, all international homepages, of Google-owned YouTube linked to a video of Rick Astley's song Never Gonna Give You Up, causing all users of the website who clicked on featured videos to be Rickrolled. This was the first year YouTube participated in Google's April Fool's day tradition.

Scraps on mobile!!

2008-04-03T17:54:00.003+05:30

Get Orkut Scraps Via sms

This will be one of the things all Indians would have thought of in their dreams. Every one would be eager to check their scraps to Know whether someone has scrapped them!. Here is an end to that!!!
Follow the steps carefully to get scraps on your mobile for Free

1. Login to your orkut account and click on your profile itself.

You will get see something like this in your browser address bar
http://www.orkut.com/Profile.aspx?uid=6086206142874173719
In the place of 6086206142874173719 will be displayed your ID no. Make a note of this Number.

2. Now go to http://www.mytoday.com/ and register your mobile. This can be done by sending sms REG to 9845398453. This will cost you 2 to 3 Rupees based on the operator.

3. Now Mytoday will send you your password to your mobile.

4. Login to you Mytoday account using

Username: mobile no

Password: you got in sms

5. Click on the Manage Feeds

Now you would see like this

Manage Feeds

Folders:
* Default
* Email
* SMS

6. Click on SMS

Now You will find an option to

Add Feed
Name:
URL:

7. Now insert your orkut id in the space 6086206142874173719

http://www.orkutfeeds.com/feed.php?uid=6086206142874173719

So now this link will look like

http://www.orkutfeeds.com/feed.php?uid=608620614287417

Courtesy:Praveen Kumar aka BUGABOO!!

Establishment of IITs and IIMs - A enceinte gift or a political Stunt??

2008-03-29T21:31:00.007+05:30

Aiming at providing a quality education in India , Government on Friday decided to establish four new IITs and six IIMs in various states .
While the new IITs would be located in Orissa, Madhya Pradesh (Indore), Gujarat and Punjab, the IIMs would come up in Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh (Raipur), Uttaranchal and Haryana.
These new institutions would be part of the eight IITs and seven IIMs proposed to be set up during the 11th Five Year Plan.
Government has already announced establishment of four IITs in Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Himachal Pradesh and one IIM at Shillong.
Basically this is a welcome announcement. The number of IITs have increased only slightly, although the population has almost doubled over last over fifty years. So we need not worry about the quality of students admitted to these institutes. We just have 7 IITs for 1.1 billion population. We shouldn't be worried about the dilution of the IIT brand, as long as the standards are maintained in the new institutions. Research in India has been ignored for the last decade and this move will give necessary impetus to our technical research. We have a long way to go to match the best in the world but this is a step in the right direction. We can't realise the dream of India as superpower without world class research institutions.
On contrary, this shall seriously destroy the whole concept of premier institutes like IITs and IIMs. Eventually every state will have an IIT and an IIM! So, what is the difference between an IIT and a NIT?? Will the IIT graduates then be called the 'cream' of the country? Will IITs be internationally acknowledged as they are today, if every other student can land up in IITs? where do you get the quality faculties??Govt should rather focus on improving and upgrading the present condition of local University colleges.
I feel this is more a political stunt than a step towards development.Although a sense of mixed emotions spread around public regarding this.

GUTZY ROADIES!!!

2008-03-29T18:59:00.008+05:30

Well,I think a lot among us are familiar with this group.For those who are not,GUTZY ROADIES is a chennai based MOTO STUNT CLUB.Gutzy Roadies share the brotherhood of motorcycle subculture.They are not street Bikers. They obey all the traffic rules and regulation when on road.Freestyle stunt riding is a part of the club activity, more than stunts, the members are the tourers.All the stunts are performed under controlled condition and out of public disturbances!!.The group has been widely recognized by media and they have performed for SS music and many others!.

We,the SSNites were most fortunate to have a special performance by the GUTZY ROADIES on the eve of our college culturals.The bike stunt show(as the event was named!) was scheduled on the 2nd day of our cultursls-INSTINCTS 2K8.The event was organized by none other than our own WTF member Manoj Prabhakar(whos is an avid biker himself!!).This was the first event of its kind in our coll and we were pretty much excited!.The Gutzy Roadies were on time led by Vimal,better known as Vee Max.They were received by Manoj and led to one of the rooms for refreshing themselves.Meanwhile we prepared a stretch where the stunts were to be performed.Its so important that the strip is cleared of mud and free pebbles!.In the meantime the guys were ready for the show and the roaring of bikes signalled the arrival of GUTZY ROADIES!.Yes,the stunt show has kicked off!.Vee max was at the helm giving orders.The gutzy roadies started with a BURNOUT by 2 of their members.And then came abhishek with his WHEELIEs.This guy rocks!! :).The stunts continued with many variations by the performers.There were nearly PERFECT STOPPIEs,WHEELIEs(with many variations).And there was one guy who even managed to carve a smiley on the road!!.Then it was Vee Max who took charge.To start with he had some problems with his bike and had to give up his stunts halfway.He was clearly dejected and tat reflected in his expressions.But HE DIDN'T GIVE UP.Encouraged by the crowd he kept trying hard and managed the feat well.
Thats Manoj (in red tee) with the Gutzy Roadies crew

ABHISHEK,with one of his wheelies!

But evidently the SHOW STOPPER was ABHISHEK,his no hand wheelie got the crowd lit up!.He vroomed from one end to the other tireleslly trying to do maximum wheelies and variations as possible!.

Atlast it was time to end the show.It was easily seen that the crowd longed more.It was the first time people were exposed to some PROFESSIONAL STUNTS by a bunch of ELITE stunt-doers.A large round of applause was offered to the GUTZY RIDERS!,yeah they have been rightly named so!.

After the show few enthusiastic bikers thronged by the performers to learn more on stunts so that they too can try them.That was when i overheard these guys advising people not to try stunts for fun.They explained on the proper gear and practise.I was highly impressed.These guys are not jus some reckless bikers trying to show their skills off.They obey rules and look after the safety of others too.THREE CHEERS TO THE GUTZY ROADIES!.Looking forward to another show by you guys next year too.All the very best to you on all your future endevours!.

THE GUTZY ROADIES!!

Titbit:Abhishek,a gutzy roadie,has set a new record riding on one wheel in his pulsar200(with no mods, a stock bike). Despite the traffic and curves, he could ride 13.3 kms ...HATS OFF TO HIM!!.BRAVO!!!!.

This is the video of Gutzy Roadies!!Awesome stuff!

Website of the club: http://www.gutzyroadies.com/
Catch them on orkut: http://www.orkut.com/Community.aspx?cmm=37188931
Contact: gutzyroadies@hotmail.com

Pulsar -Moving ahead distinctly!!!

2008-03-28T22:00:00.024+05:30

They call themselves as Pulsars with the latest tag line suiting them perfectly -Distinctly Ahead!.....Yes people I am speaking about the motorcycle Pulsar from the Bajaj stable.Bajaj entered the motorcycle market in India with the association of Kawasaki.Pulsar were the first bike developed by BAL(Bajaj Auto Limited)during the late 90s.With the launch of Pulsar in the year 2001,BAL started to rule the two wheeler segment.First series of Pulsars are popularly known as the Classic Pulsar.They were launched with two variants 150 cc and 180 cc(cubic capacity of the engine).
The launch of Pulsar was a major hit among the youth coz of the awesome styling and amazing power.The tag line Definitely Male was also a hit(though bikes are usually considered as female gender ;-) Dono y??!!).The best part of BAL in regard to the Puslar is that they kept upgrading the bike in every possible aspect at equal intervals of time.The upgrades were new innovations. In fact they were the first ones to introduce a few technologies in Indian Biking scenario.

After the classic ones ,came the DTSi version of Pulsar.DTSi-dual twin spark ignition(it means the bikes were provided with two spark plugs).This version also came with new headlamp assembly with a stunning sexy looking dome.
This was the time when BAL had changed its traditional logo to the flying B.After this arrived the series of Pulsar Dtsi with alloy wheels and improved paint job.
This version of Pulsar were the first ones to come with the alloy wheels as a standard option from the company.Then came the stunning version of Pulsar180Dtsi with awesome combination of colors.

Not to forget the Limited Edition Pulsar .These were 180 Dtsi which were given away to the customers after auctions(Crazy!!??!!).There were buyers for this,this shows the love for Pulsars ;-).The below pic is a limited edition one.
Then came the rumors of the Pulsar 220.The rumors later became reality.This version of Pulsar was showcased at the Indian Auto Expo in the year 2005.This version was a giant leap in the Indian Motorcycle industry.It had many first in India features.To mention some of them-the Fuel Injection technology,Projector headlamps,rear disc brakes ,split seats and oil cooled engine.Before even the company decided to launch this bike the demand was extremely high.BAL postponed the launch of this bike for a very long period(God knows y!!) .Then BAL surprised all bike freaks with the launch of Pulsar200 Dtsi.This had some features borrowed from the 220 like the oil cooled engine and split seats.This bike was the sexiest bike on Indian road.It had the looks with matching raw power!
With the launch of the Pulsar200 BAL introduced their tag line Distinctly Ahead! which is very well true.None of the stake holders in the two wheeler market could pose competition to BAL in this category of high powered bikes.They called the 180s and 200s as PRO BIKING.
Then came the launch of the latest and much much awaited Pulsar 220 Dts Fi.This bike is the fastest and most powerful bike on Indian roads so far.This is also the most technically advanced bike in India.This bike is the flagship model of BAL.This is a small step by BAL to develop a Superbike[:-)].
This pic shows the evolution of pulsar!

Lastly I would like to give credits to the TV commercials of the Pulsar brand.All the ads have been mind blowing !The latest being the Pulsar Mania which shows the entire series of pulsar which includes 180,200 and 220(I think 150 will be stopped from the Pulsar series:( )

Here's the Pulsar Mania Ad!

The Famous five are back!!

2008-03-22T10:20:00.004+05:30

ENID Blyton's classic Famous Five have been reconstructed for the 21st Century as a bunch of multicultural kids armed with iPods and mobile phones catching fake environmentalists.
The famous TV series, based on the books written by Blyton in the 1940s, has been recreated as an animated series and features the offspring of the original group of adventurers.

Producers say the characters embark on a series of adventures similar to those experienced by their parents and that the series is faithful to the original Famous Five books but with a contemporary twist.

While Blyton's original sleuths targeted kidnappers and smugglers the enemies of the new Famous Five include Kyle, a DVD bootlegger on Shelter Island who is masquerading as an environmentalist.

The children wear iPods and use mobile phones and also discover subliminal messages in DVDs to brainwash children into buying sweets.

Steve Aranguren, Disney Channel's vice president of global original programming, said they wanted to bring the sense of adventure in the original books to a new generation of Famous Five fans but give them a contemporary voice.

The series was given the seal of approval by Blyton's oldest daughter, Gillian Baverstock before she died at the age of 76 last year.

In the new TV series the children of the original Famous Five are brought together at their aunt George's house on the English coast.

Characters include 12-year-old Anglo-Indian tomboy Jo, whose name is short for Jyoti, a Hindu world meaning light, Allie(Anne's daughter) a Californian shopaholic who likes to get "glammed up", Max(Julian's athletic son), Dylan(Dick's son, a laptop carrying geek) and Timmy the dog.

Jeff Norton, brand development director at Chorion, which owns the rights to Blyton's books, said of making the Famous Five multicultural: "We tried to imagine where the original Famous Five would go in their lives.

"Because George was such an intrepid explorer in the original novels we thought it would be only natural that she travelled to India, to the Himalayas, where she fell in love with Ravvi. That's the back story to Jo.

"We spoke to Enid Blyton's daughter and she thought her mother would love what we have done."

The series launches on May 5 on the Disney Channel.

'Deathly Hallows' to be two films

2008-03-16T22:49:00.003+05:30

Warner Bros. officially announced that the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows movie will be released in two parts and will be directed by David Yates.Part one of the movie will open in November 2010, with part two to be released in quick succession during the summer of 2011

In making the announcement, Warner Bros. Pictures president Jeff Robinov stated:

It has been an honor for our studio to be entrusted with bringing J.K. Rowling’s extraordinary book series to the screen, and we have always felt a great responsibility to be true to her vision. In concluding the film franchise, we recognized that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is packed with vital plot points that complete the story arcs of all of its beloved characters. That said, we feel that the best way to do the book, and its many fans, justice is to expand the screen adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and release the film in two parts. We could not imagine the final chapter of the film franchise being in better hands than those of David Yates.

Tech Post: SilverLight

2008-03-15T22:15:00.004+05:30

Microsoft® Silverlight™ is a cross-browser, cross-platform, and cross-device plug-in for delivering the next generation of media experiences and rich interactive applications for the Web.Silverlight focuses on enabling rich media scenarios in a browser, and enables a rich .NET development platform that runs in the browser.Developers can write Silverlight applications using any .NET language (including VB, C#, JavaScript, IronPython and IronRuby. By using Silverlight's support for .NET, High Definition video, cost-effective advanced streaming, unparalleled high-resolution interactivity with Deep Zoom technology, and controls, businesses can reach out to new markets across the Web, desktop, and devices.Microsoft has made the Silverlight browser plug-in freely available for all supported platforms and browsers.

SilverLight is seen by web experts as Microsoft's alternative to Adobe's Flash. Currently supported for Windows and Mac operating systems. Soon Silverlight will be ported to the Symbian Operating system so that Silverlight applications can be run on Nokia's Series60 range of mobiles.

For ASP.NET-based Web applications, Silverlight provides a rich UI front-end that, with a consistent programming model, adds support for richer interactivity, media, and audio.
For Microsoft SharePoint–based content, Silverlight offers the ability to create rich Web parts.
For Windows Live services, Silverlight offers the ability to consume services and APIs more effectively

This article has excerpts from the following faq. Please refer to it for more details on SilverLight

http://www.microsoft.com/silverlight/overview/faq.aspx

WTF LAIR!!!

2008-03-14T18:45:00.006+05:30

Well pepps,its high time we had a post on our WTF LAIR!......so here goes!...Our gang HQ is located in the GENTS HOSTEL - I,second floor,Room no.B 26...This room is shared by Nattu(our spokesperson) and KO aka Kovendhan...But we seldom see his(KO) presence there,largely due to the fact that its almost crowded by US almost everyday!...Dont relate this to DOGMATISM!...KO is so understaning and we do give him space at times!..

Anyways,describing about out LAIR/HQ(U may find these words used interchangeably all along this post :P),it is the most comfortable place in our college...We feel at home there...And those of you who are wondering wat we guys do in our HQ,we do almost everything here!..Starting from watching movies on PC(again the PC we use belongs to KO,he's so generous!aint he??!),having a sound sleep(esp. by the COMMITED guys who had worked out late the other night!),Kalachifying ppl(main victims->Thala,myself(poor me :( ),prasanna,mokka...the list goes onnnnnnnnnnn....!!),pep talk,advice(mainly LOVE TIPS by commited ones),negotiation(pechuvarthai,nattu is the best of the lot),future plans of WTF(trips,movies,problem solving etc)....And the latest addition to these is the introduction of NCC(Natraj Coaching Centre),where PADIPPU PUYAL natraj prepares people for the Unit Tests.And rumour has it that his disciples do fare well in the tests considering their past performances. Nattu and Ko make sure that all the must-watch movies and those which make it to the top 250 in IMDB ratings are available asap,so that we dont miss out on them.Movie at our HQ is no less to one seen in a multiplex but for the AC and stalls.We have two cots and some chairs to make ourselves comfortable!.And the sound effects are worth mentioning too.Sometimes we're also offered snacks from MBA stores:P. Apart from movies,we do hold a lot of meetings here.Whenever any one of us gets feels low,we hold a meeting trying to sort things out!.I,myself,had many such experiences.A troubled soul always gets a supportive shoulder out here.And we also have WTF TRIALS,where the accused is interrogated by the jury :P. And then we have our KALASIFYING sessions and some fights too.And talking of fights i would like to mention one of the best fights ever,where THALA(ramprasad) and BSB(praveen) locked horns.It was a LAUGHING RIOT :) :) So thats all about our lair.HAIL WTF! :)

Tech Post of the week:Nokia N82

2008-03-03T14:58:00.005+05:30

Nokia N82 is considered the next N-series bestseller. Following the sweeping success of Nokia N73, it was a pretty sure bet that a worthy successor wouldn't take long to appear. As we see it, Nokia N82 fits that description perfectly.

Key features
5 megapixel camera with auto focus and Carl Zeiss optics
Xenon flash and active lens cover
2.4" 16M color QVGA display
128 MB RAM
Wi-Fi with UPnP
Built-in GPS receiver and A-GPS functionality
Nokia maps application covering over 100 countries worldwide
Convenient standard 3.5 mm audio jack on the top
3G (with HSDPA), EDGE and GPRS support
Symbian OS 9.2 Series 60 3rd edition Feature Pack 1 UI
TV-out functionality
Automatic UI rotation
Stereo speakers
Large capacity battery

Many people consider the N82 simply as a Nokia N95 in a candybar form. While they both share similar features, the Nokia N82 stands out as the winner, in more ways than one.

First lets begin with its design and appearance.The Nokia N82’s appearance does not stand out.The general consensus on the Nokia N82 is, “it looks okay.” The features, however, more than make up for its lack in visual appeal.The Nokia N82 feels great in the hands. It is very solid and does not feel cheap or rushed to production

N82 has a shiny surface.One can notice the fingerprints a lot more because of the surface. But, hey thats manageable!The battery cover is not shiny like the front, but is warm titanium according to the box. The material is made of hard plastic. Taking a closer look at the back of the phone, you’ll see some geometric patterns. The lines are not embossed, so the surface remains smooth.

Lets move on to its display.The Nokia N82’s screen display is 2.4 inches compared to 2.6 on the Nokia N95 and 2.8 on the Nokia N95 8GB. All the three phones have the same screen resolution of 240×320 pixels so the texts, images and videos will look smaller on the N82.While screen size is smaller than the n95, one cant but love the sharpness of the display.

Looking at the keypad might worry you that pressing the keys might be a problem.Theres no need to worry.The buttons are raised enough so that pressing them is not a problem.

Both the left and right speakers are placed on the right side of the Nokia N82. Nokia made the decision to do this because they know that people watch videos in landscape mode. With this placement, movies on the Nokia N82 also sound great.

A 3.5mm jack is on top of the phone.That same jack also connects to the TV-out cable where you can connect the Nokia N82 to a TV.The Nokia N82 takes microSD and microSDHC cards on the side. Currently the highest amount of storage available is 8GB MicroSDHC.

Lets come to the biggie-The camera. Its an awesome 5meg with Carl Zeiss optics.The xenon flash makes the Nokia N82 stand out in the Nseries. Taking pictures in dark environment makes you want to throw away your current cameraphones. The flash on the Nokia N82 is brighter than any cameraphone.The camera also has a lens protecting cover that opens by a small silver slider right above it. It is easy enough to locate with a fingertip and still not prone to accidental sliding.The camera set up time is really short. It is about the same as in Nokia N95 8GB, totaling a bit less than three seconds. With Nokia N82 the shot-to-shot time can also be reduced to about 2.5-3 seconds, which, again, is about the same as Nokia N95 8GB. Of course these times are only achievable with the automatic preview turned off. A solid result by all means, loosing to Sony Ericsson K850 by only tenths of a second.However,if we were to put the N82 and the K850 head-to-head,in terms of pic quality, Nokia would have scored way better than Sony Ericsson.

Nokia N82 runs on Symbian 9.2 OS with the Series60 3rd Edition user interface. The added Feature Pack 1 is no news for Nokia smartphones any more but still deserves mentioning.The 128MB of RAM is also an important factor to OS performance. In reality, 128MB is virtually impossible to deplete no matter how hard you try. Unless you do it intentionally, Memory Full warnings are not something you can expect on the Nokia N82 screen.The built-in memory is 132MB, which is a respectable figure by all means. The included 2GB microSD memory card comes in very handy for extending it but you can go for an even higher capacity card as user reports suggest. Accessing applications or any other files from the memory card is quick and you probably won't notice any difference compared to accessing ones from the phone memory.

Rivals

The almighty Nokia N95 8GB should probably also feel threatened for the lack of the sweet Xenon flash and the auto UI rotation of its N82 sibling. Though the extra 0.4-inch difference in the display size will also play a major role in choosing between these two devices.

Another potential rival is the Sony Ericsson K850 although being a non-OS device actually puts it in a different market niche. Still, it would be wise of cameraphone lovers to carefully consider both devices before purchasing their next handset.

Final words

Nokia N82 is the kind of gadget to make high hopes inescapable and it is important to know whether it lives up to the responsible job of being the N73 successor. N82 has all the premises to become a true bestseller, combining full smartphone functionality with the best camera on the mobile phone market. Upgrading from Nokia N73 seems the definitive choice, if not the only option.

As for the rest, who are considering Nokia N82, well it's a buy you will hardly ever regret.

As for the cameraphone lovers, the decision is as simple as that - if you want the best camera on a phone and you're willing to pay for it, Nokia N82 is the way to go

We are on GOOGLE!!!!

2008-03-02T18:33:00.002+05:30

Hey guys our site has been added to Google web search already!!!

It's a great milestone for us and is a sign of things to come at this blog!!!

Keep it up guys!!!!

"Art of Writing" is de secret of winning !!

2008-03-01T19:17:00.008+05:30

Hail de King!!

Whenever Unit tests answer-scripts wer out, there ll be a tough fight for Prashanth's(aka Powder's) paper.. Every1 in de class will be eager to read his innovative answers.. The demand for his paper is increasing at an exponential rate..

Wat ll be ter in his papers???

His papers will have highly technical words related to modern trends in an awesome language.. his creativeness and imagination is incredible.. He links the the subject concepts with his own imagination in a splendid manner that no1 vud hav imagined of such explanation!! Even a stone hearted person will boast into laughter on reading his paper.. But don think tat he ll write some craps in his papers.. His facts and tech terms r simply superb and perfect to de core.. Even after choosin Computer stream he relates the computer concepts wit biological terms and historical facts.. Probably his favourite subject r Biology and history (he is a centum scorer in 10th history! ) ..
He have capability to represent any tough concepts in a diagrammatic way.. Irrespective of subjects he draws diagram and shows his artistics skills..He does tis job irrespective of de staff who evaluates.. He never cares abt de consequences and does his job in a perfect way..
His way of writing fits best for university exams.. wat ever may be de genre of de paper he just listens to well learned ppls( mostly Praveen.. who else prepare wit tat intense for an exam?? ) and sprinkles some diag in his papers and fills de fully alloted 44 pages in style.. Here is an instance of his credibility..
We had 3 days off for our management paper.. He slept and relaxed for de first day... Played and relaxed in the second day.. Partied out on the third day.. On de morn of de exams jst went thru some dailys and was coooool wen he entered de exam hall!! On de day of results he showed his dominance on tis paper.. He s de topper (scored 92!!) of tis management paper..Can u believe tis??
His dominance in univ exams r intense in programmin papers too!! he exceeded our class so called best programmer in a programmin paper wit an ease!!
So in future u can expect lots of fiction based novels from de corners of chennai.. kudos to prashanth!! Hail powder!!

what did we infer from the tour?

2008-02-28T21:00:00.014+05:30

About our tour there are different views and opinions among everyone..
some say,"woudln't it be so absurd if we leave a comment 'our tour was a perfect one'? and how many of us have the guts to admit that it was an ideal safari(honestly).
Though we can compromise ourselves by saying there is no ideal tour ,how can we just move along without even considering what was really happened?. Every one had their own baffling
problems, even in the climax the egoists were never compromised and the poor lovers remained
as dumb as the dawn! They almost give up and thought those problems were solution less which will
never be solved."(with a little frustration on their face)

others say,"wouldn't it be a jest if we gripe that our tour was not that great as we saw
everyone was busy with their cams taking pics untill the batteries went off,dancing in the bus
till the exhaustion had placed them back on their seats,(they didn stop there,though) got drenched in rain,boating,sharing their food and bed(jus d solid bed..), giggling,chattering,teasing............
what do you call all these.. a seventh heaven? or a place of requiem ?"

Apart from these two categories of people there is another kind of cool creatures who don't give a damn about all these shit and say "who cares?"

And Now considering all the above different views of different categories of ppl,there arises quetions like 'who is right?' 'who is wrong?' 'Did we really feel obnoxious at that time or we were engrossed in enjoying to d core?'

After analysing the hot arguments we conclude nothing but the Diplomacy of our Great Friends.. ,In an ocean of diversity there is a little drop of unity,too. Though we had our own enigmatic problems,we still managed to show our elated bliss to others!!