IPL 2 goes to South Africa

South Africa will host the second edition of the multi-billion dollar Indian Premier League (IPL) from April 17 at six venues.

The IPL Twenty20 championship will be played at Durban, Cape Town, Bloemfontein, Pretoria, Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth.With South Africa saying yes to IPL, League Commissioner and Chairman Lalit Modi's search for a country to host the second edition of the Twenty20 championship is finally over.

Modi met Cricket South Africa CEO Gerald Majola at an undisclosed venue to discuss the possibility of hosting the second edition of the Twenty20 event here. And after the meeting, sources told CNN-IBN that the deal was sealed to host the league in South Africa.

South Africa says there will be no trouble staging the League and has assured full security. Cricket South Africa, it is reported, has also offered full support to the IPL.

Pussycat Dolls version of Jai Ho !!!

The Pussycat Dolls made a perfomance at 'Late Night with Jimmy Fallon' on March 10, singing the English version of 'Jai Ho', the 'Slumdog Millionaire' soundtrack.

Led by Nicole Scherzinger, they rocked NBC's Rockefeller Center Studio 6B with their Bollywood-themed appearance. Pussycat Dolls will reportedly premiere a music video for "Jai Ho" on March 21 at 9 A.M. on VH1 Top 20 Countdown. In the upcoming video directed by Thomas Kloss, they will be captured performing a dance sequence, which is similar to the one seen in the Dev Patel starring movie.

An iPod that talks !!!!!!!!

The iPod family has a new member. . . it is a smaller version of iPod Shuffle. Apple calls it the world's smallest music player' and the first talking music player.It can tell you song titles, artists and playlist names and is smaller than a AA battery.

This is half the size of the previous Shuffle and can store 1,000 songs. At the press of a button, it tells you what song is playing and who is performing it.

It also tells you that your battery needs to be charged. VoiceOver speaks 14 different languages. So it can tell you song titles and artists in the correct languages.The iPod can speak in English, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish.

.

All of the controls on the new Shuffle have been moved from the device to the earphone cord. Apple says the iPod shuffle can play your music non-stop for ten hours on a single charge.It comes in a new aluminium design with a built-in stainless steel clip that makes it wearable.

Priced at $79, the iPod shuffle only comes in two colours -- silver and black.

iGATE joins fray to buy majority stake in Satyam

New York: Nasdaq-listed IT and outsourcing solutions major iGATE on Friday announced its interest in acquiring a 51-percent stake in scam-hit Indian firm Satyam Computer Services by registering for a global auction.

This brings up to four the number of firms interested in buying a majority stake in Satyam, whose founder Ramalinga Raju confessed to Rs 7,000-crore fraud in January.

"We are now expecting to receive from Satyam the latest financial statements, including those for the quarter ended December 2008 and the months of January and February 2009, and updated position on liabilities and potential liabilities of the company," said iGATE in a press statement.

"In the event of iGATE not receiving this information immediately, it has no option but to withdraw its expression of interest," the statement added. iGATE, which has its Indian headquarters in Bangalore, is led by former Infosys' worldwide head of sales and marketing Phaneesh Murthy.

Thursday was the last day for registering interest in the bidding. With iGATE declaring its interest in the Hyderabad based computer giant, the total number of known contenders in the global bid has gone up to four.

The others are infrastructure major Larsen and Toubro (L&T), Mahindra and Mahindra's IT arm Tech Mahindra and the B.K. Modi controlled Spice Group.

L&T already holds about 12 percent equity stake in Satyam.The Hinduja Group, which had expressed interest earlier, has reportedly withdrawn from the bid.

Puzzle : Blast fro mthe past !!!!

Professor Patrick invented a time machine. While testing it, he inadvertently reached the past. However, thankfully, he carried, in his pocket, a device that could return him to his present time. The travel to the past took its toll on him and he lost consciousness. On regaining consciousness, he found himself in an ancient laboratory, surrounded by strange-looking people. One of them seized the device from Professor Patrick's pocket. Professor Patrick tried to snatch it back but the man struck him down and let out a high-pitched, shrill laugh. He said,

"Welcome, Stranger, to the not-so-welcome land of Entropia.
I am Dr. David, the scientific plunderer from a nearby town, Enthalpia. I steal theories from other scientists and publish them as my own. Don't worry. I make sure that even their bones aren't found. (He let out yet another shrill laugh!)
It seems that this device is precious to you. I'll let you have it back if you manage to answer my question.

The people at Entropia are divided into two groups: the Newtons and the Oldtons. The Newtons always tell the truth while the Oldtons always lie.

Here are four inhabitants from Entropia: Alex, Barney, Charlie and Darren.

(Turning to Alex) Alex, is Barney a Newton or an Oldton?"

Alex replied, "An Oldton, sire."

"All right. Barney, What about Charlie? Is he a Newton or an Oldton?"

"Charlie is definitely an Oldton."

"Hmmm. What about Darren, Charlie?"

"Darren is an Oldton, Sir."

"Haha!! And, finally, Darren, if I ask Alex about Charlie, what will he say?"

"He will say that Charlie is an Oldton."

"Very well. Ok, Mr. Stranger, Now answer my question: Is Darren a Newton or an Oldton? If you answer correctly, I shall let you go scot-free. Lest, you will have to explain the secret of this device to me and prepare for a gruesome death. Muahahahaha!!"

Help Professor Patrick solve this riddle and return safely to the present time. Provide a detailed solution along with your answer.

South Korean woman fails driver's test 775 times :O

A South Korean woman who has failed the driver's exam 775 times is not about give up on her hope of buying a truck one day to go into her own business, whether other drivers want her on the road or not.

Cha Sa-soon, 68, has been trying since 2005 to pass the written portion of the test to get a license, but she has so far failed to get the 60 per cent required to clear it.

"I've looked up some guidebooks to get a driver's license, and they were saying it takes at most five years to get this," Cha said in North Jeolla province, where farmers on tractors or cows can be just as common on country roads as motor vehicles."It's already been four years, so I might pass the test next time. That's what I hope for," she added.

Driving schools in Soutk Korea offer courses to enable applicants to walk away with a license in a week. Cha has not been fortunate enough to set foot in such a class, which tends to congregate more in busy metropolitan areas, but she remains unfazed, even after having spent more than 10 million won ($6,800) on test applications.

"I believe you can achieve your goal if you persistently pursue it," she says. "So don't give up your dream, like me. Be strong and do your best," she said.

Bill Gates is back as world's richest

The world has become a wealth wasteland. Like the rest of us, the richest people in the world have endured a financial disaster over the past year. Today there are 793 people on our list of the World's Billionaires, a 30 per cent decline from a year ago.

Of the 1,125 billionaires who made last year's ranking, 373 fell off the list--355 from declining fortunes and 18 who died. There are 38 newcomers, plus three moguls who returned to the list after regaining their 10-figure fortunes. It is the first time since 2003 that the world has had a net loss in the number of billionaires.

The world's richest are also a lot poorer. Their collective net worth is $2.4 trillion, down $2 trillion from a year ago. Their average net worth fell 23 per cent to $3 billion. The last time the average was that low was in 2003.

Bill Gates lost $18 billion but regained his title as the world's richest man. Warren Buffett, last year's No. 1, saw his fortune decline $25 billion as shares of Berkshire Hathaway fell nearly 50 per cent in 12 months, but he still managed to slip just one spot to No. 2. Mexican telecom titan Carlos Slim Helu also lost $25 billion and dropped one spot to No. 3.

The biggest loser in the world this year, by dollars, was last year's biggest gainer. India's Anil Ambani lost $32 billion--76 per cent of his fortune--as shares of his Reliance Communications, Reliance Power and Reliance Capital all collapsed.

Ambani is one of 24 Indian billionaires, all but one of whom are poorer than a year ago. Another 29 Indians lost their billionaire status entirely as India's stock market tumbled 44 per cent in the past year and the Indian rupee depreciated 18 per cent against the dollar. It is no longer the top spot in Asia for billionaires, ceding that title to China, which has 28.

Russia became the epicenter of the world's commodities bust, dropping 55 billionaires--two-thirds of its 2008 crop. Among them: Dmitry Pumpyansky, an industrialist from the resource-rich Ural mountain region, who lost $5 billion as shares of his pipe producer, TMK, sank 84 per cent.

Also gone is Vasily Anisimov, father of Moscow's Paris Hilton, Anna Anisimova, who lost $3.2 billion as the value of his Metalloinvest Holding, one of Russia's largest ore mining and processing firms, fell along with his real estate holdings.

Twelve months ago Moscow overtook New York as the billionaire capital of the world, with 74 tycoons to New York's 71. Today there are 27 in Moscow and 55 in New York.

After slipping in recent years, the U.S. is regaining its dominance as a repository of wealth. Americans account for 44 per cent of the money and 45 per cent of the list's slots, up seven and three percentage points from last year, respectively. Still, it has 110 fewer billionaires than a year ago.

Those with ties to Wall Street were particularly hard hit. Former head of AIG Maurice (Hank) Greenberg saw his $1.9 billion fortune nearly wiped out after the insurance behemoth had to be bailed out by the US government. Today Greenberg is worth less than $100 million. Former Citigroup chairman Sandy Weill also falls from the ranks.

Last year there were 39 American billionaire hedge fund managers; this year there are 28. Twelve American private equity tycoons dropped out of the billionaire ranks.

Blackstone Group's Stephen Schwarzman, who lost $4 billion, and Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts' Henry Kravis, who lost $2.5 billion, retain their billionaire status despite their weaker fortunes.

Worldwide, 80 of the 355 drop-offs from last year's list had fortunes derived from finance or investments.

While 656 billionaires lost money in the past year, 44 added to their fortunes. Those who made money did so by catering to budget-conscious consumers (discount retailer Uniqlo's Tadashi Yanai), predicting the crash (investor John Paulson) or cashing out in the nick of time (Cirque du Soleil's Guy Laliberte).

So is there anywhere one can still make a fortune these days? The 38 newcomers offer a few clues. Among the more notable new billionaires are Mexican Joaqun Guzmn Loera, one of the biggest suppliers of cocaine to the U.S.; Wang Chuanfu of China, whose BYD Co. began selling electric cars in December, and American John Paul Dejoria, who got the world clean with his Paul Mitchell shampoos and sloppy with his Patron Tequila.

Microsoft Office Labs vision 2019

<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-GB&playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:a517b260-bb6b-48b9-87ac-8e2743a28ec5&showPlaylist=true&from=shared" target="_new" title="Future Vision Montage">Video: Future Vision Montage</a>

When Microsoft decides to imagine the future, it never fails to impress. Not only do you have some of the smartest people envisioning what’s possible, but they also invest so much into communicating these ideas through sights and sounds which the production value can be compared to most blockbuster sci-fi films.

Today at the Wharton Business Technology Conference, Microsoft’s Business Division president Stephen Elop unveiled the latest production from Microsoft Office Labs called “2019″, starring stock photo men, women and children playing with the next-generation of communication, collaboration and production technologies.

Some of the new technologies demoed including a “transparent wall” between two classrooms around the world, animated drawings, realtime conversation translations, surface displays, electronic boarding cards, transparent displays, mini projectors among many others. The electronic newspaper is superb.

Suicide attack in Lanka, many feared dead

An explosion took place near a mosque in Sri Lanka's southern Matara province on Tuesday, officials said.

The number of people killed or wounded in the suicide attack is still not known.Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara told IANS that "there were reports of several casualties".

Matara, populated overwhelmingly by the Sihalese community, is about 160 km south of Colombo.More details awaited.

ODI uniform for next world cup in Pakistan :D

Vijay Mallya buys Gandhi items for $1.8 million

Mahatma Gandhi’s memorabilia went under the hammer in New York early on Friday morning (India time) after hours of high drama.

Liquor baron Vijay Mallya bought Gandhi’s items for $1.8 million. The collection had a reserve price of between $20,000 and $30,000. Bidding began at $20,000 and rose to the final price within seven minutes.However, the US justice department has asked the Antiquorum Auctioneers to hold the lot for two weeks pending a resolution between the new owner, the US and Indian Government.

Mallya is then expected to return the items to the Government of India.

Bapu's round wire-rim eyeglasses, a 1910 Zenith sterling silver pocket watch, a bowl and plate and a pair of leather sandals were auctioned.The last time a piece of Indian heritage went under the hammer, Mallya coughed up Rs 4 crore for the Sword of Tipu Sultan and got it back to India.

The auction went off despite the owner of Gandhi's prized memorabilia, James Otis, saying he had decided not to sell the items in the light of the controversy.

Speaking to reporters, Otis had said, "In the last few hours, I have decided, in the light of the controversy, not to sell Gandhi's personal items."Otis' move came after intense negotiations between him and Indian diplomats at the Indian Consulate in New York.

Otis earlier in the day set new conditions including that India shift priorities from military spending to health care especially for the poor if he has to call off the auction.A spokesperson of the Indian consulate in New York said the Indian Government itself did not participate in the auction as that would have been a violation of the Delhi High Court order.

Auction of Gandhi's items likely to be called off

It seems the auction of Mahatma Gandhi’s memorabilia, which was to take place in New York, has been called off. However, an official confirmation is awaited in the next few hours.

Lester Kurtz the advisor to James Otis, the owner of the items, says he will pull out of the auction. But the auction house Antiquorum says it is unaware of the development.

Gandhiji's possessions were to go under the hammer in New York on Thursday evening.

Bapu's round wire-rim eyeglasses, a 1910 Zenith sterling silver pocket watch, a bowl and plate and a pair of leather sandals were to be auctioned.

The auction by Antiquorum Auctioneers was scheduled to start at 1.30 am Friday (India time). The collection had a reserve price of between $20,000 and $30,000.

The Indian Government has been caught unawares for the second time as far as the auction of the Mahatma's items are concerned.

Lankan team fired at in Pakistan

Unidentified gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying Sri Lankan cricket team as they were on their way to Gaddafi stadium in Lahore on Tuesday morning, Dawn news channel reported.

The channel showed footage of two gunmen opening fire using Kalashnikovs. At least 12 gunmen were involved in the attack.

Five security personnel are reported dead, three more are seriously injured and have been rushed to the hospital.

The attackers - who came in a white car - lobbed two grenades at the van and the men then started firing at a police van which was providing security to the Lankan team.

The gunmen, reportedly surrounded the team van and opened fire indiscriminately. They reportedly continuously fired for two to three minutes.

Rocket launchers used in the attack as well.

The incident happened at Liberty Chowk in Lahore.

According to the Pakistan Cricket Board seven players have been reported injured. Five of them are seriously injured - Thilan Samaraweera, Kumar Sangakara, Ajantha Mendis, Mahela Jayawardene and Tharanga Paranavithana.

The tour has been officially cancelled.

1 Lakh indians to return home from US in 3-5 years

U-Turn...Mera Bharat Mahan !!!!

Washington: As many as 1,00,000 Indians and an equal number of Chinese will return to their native countries in the next three to five years, a move that will greatly boost their economies and undermine technological innovation in America, a new US study warns.

The study on immigration by a team at Duke, Harvard and Berkeley universities led by Vivek Wadhwa, an Indian-American technology entrepreneur turned academic, says "America's loss is the world's gain".

There are no hard numbers available on how many have returned, but anecdotal evidence shows that this is in the tens of thousands, says Wadhwa, executive-in-residence for the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University and fellow at the Labour and Worklife Programme at Harvard Law School.

"With the economic downturn, my guess is that we'll have over 1,00,000 Indians and as many Chinese return home over the next three-five years," said Wadhwa. " This flood of western educated and skilled talent will greatly boost the economies of India and China and strengthen their competitiveness.

"India is already becoming a global hub for R&D. This will allow it to branch into many new areas and will accelerate the trend," he said

"The US has always had the luxury of being arrogant about immigration because it has been the strongest magnet for the world's best and brightest," but as the study shows "there are other strong magnets now".

"We are effectively exporting our economic stimulus. Policies like those which the US just enacted which prevents some banks from hiring foreign workers will have the opposite effect from what they intended - they will send jobs abroad and scare away top talent," Wadhwa said.

The study released on Monday Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, based in Kansas City, Montana, indicates placing limits on foreign workers in the US is not the answer to America's rising unemployment rate and may undermine efforts to spur technological innovation.

"A substantial number of highly skilled immigrants have started returning to their home countries in recent years, draining a key source of brain power and innovation," said vice president of Research and Policy at the Kauffman Foundation, Robert E Litan.

"We wanted to know what is encouraging this much-needed economic growth engine to leave our country, thereby sending entrepreneurship and economic stimulus to places like Bangalore and Beijing," he added.

The report builds on an earlier Kauffman Foundation report by Wadhwa documenting a queue of one million H-1B holders and their families anxiously awaiting longer-term work visas and growing frustrated with the immigration process.

Until recently, America has been the prime destination for the world's best and brightest immigrants.

"Immigrants have made tremendous personal sacrifices. They would leave behind relatives and friends and accept second-tier status in American society," said Wadhwa.

"Now countries like India and China are providing equal career opportunities and a better quality of life. So the most highly educated and skilled are often returning home," he added.

The two-year study covered 1,203 Indian and Chinese subjects who had studied or worked in the US for a year or more before returning home.

PUZZLE FOR SMART PEOPLE

Figure out what these words have in common.

Banana

Dresser

Grammar

Potato

Revive

Uneven

Assess



Have you already given up?

Give it another try.


Look at each word carefully.

(You'll kick yourself when you discover the answer.)

This is Cool! ( Just type in your answers as comments..i will put up the answer to this one on 4th march)

Dektops reveal persona???

Personalised desktops can reveal a lot more than just your 'fun side', claims a new study, which suggests that people's personalities, habits and ambitions could be laid bare by analysing their computer screens.

The study into desktop psychology was conducted by Windows Vista

A list of desktop personality indicators from the report included:

1. Desktop with icons strewn across the screen -- the owner is muddled and tends to lose focus easily.

2. Even icons on each side -- the owner values balance and proportion and tends to keep a cool head in tricky situations. Likely to be organised and dislike clutter.

3. Desktop with many rows of icons -- reflects a person who needs everything to hand, likes to feel in control and on top of their life, while at the same time revealing a tendency to be slightly disorganised.

4. Personal photos as wallpaper -- indicates the kind of person you are and what priorities you have. Often a parent will have a photograph of their child, or a keen traveller will have a photo of an exotic location. Photos of friends show popularity, which is useful in work environments where you need good people skills.

5. Plain blue wallpaper -- suggests the kind of person who likes to keep their personal life private.

6. Trophy photos as wallpaper -- can suggest a big ego and someone who revels in their past successes.

Never thought that even a Desktop could tell something of your personality?? So which of the above 6 matches ur desktop?

10000 crores on elections..in these times of recession?????

India will see a staggering Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion), equivalent to the foreign direct investment it received in 1995-96, being spent on the Lok Sabha polls this summer, with a fourth of the amount expected to be splurged on voter

The fiscal deficit of the country is already over 5.3 per cent of the GDP, leaving precious little room for the government to spend money without hurting the economy. Some economists believe that the fiscal deficit could well go past 10 per cent of the GDP, if the establishment's spending spree continues.

In such harsh times, the spend on the elections, although necessary, could well hurt the economy further. The official spending is likely to be about 20 per cent of the total expenses, including about Rs 1,300 crore (Rs 13 billion) by the Election Commission, and the rest by political parties in campaigning, says a survey by Centre for Media Studies (CMS).

An amount of Rs 2,000-2,500 crore (Rs 20-25 billion) would be spent in form of "unofficial money" or cash paid to the voters.

Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka may top the list of states trying to purchase votes, with nearly half of voters there likely to be paid "cash for vote" about 24 hours before the polling day, said the election expenditure survey by CMS.

The Election Commission is likely to spend Rs 1,300 crore (Rs 13 billion), while state governments and other government agencies, for purposes like photo identity cards, EVMs and polling booth, are expected to spend about Rs 700 crore (Rs 7 billion).

Various political parties are expected to spend about Rs 1,650 crore (Rs 16.50 billion) from their party funds, in addition to the direct and indirect spending by the individual candidates.

Candidates of the national parties are estimated to incur a bill of Rs 4,350 crore (Rs 43.50 billion), while those from the regional parties are expected to spend another Rs 1000 crore (Rs 10 billion).

How Brad Became Benjamin(video)

Behind-the-scenes footage and DVD Special Features are often hit-or-miss. Sometimes you get the insight and insider knowledge you were looking for, and sometimes you get completely disposable filler. Well, this video from TED2009 is one of the good ones. Digital Domain’s Executive Vice President Ed Ulbrich gives a talk on the technology his team pioneered in order to create photo-realistic versions of Brad Pitt’s face at various advanced ages for David Fincher’s Oscar-winning The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

I’ve had more than my fair share of people ask me how they pulled off the amazing effects we see in Benjamin Button (why anyone assumes I know is another mind-boggling affair). Well, this video’s for you guys. It’s honestly a really interesting watch and it runs down the process without being too superficial or inundating us with information. Highly recommended.

Filmfare awards 09 and the winners are ....

Bollywood stars Hrithik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra were declared the best male and female actors respectively at the glittering 54th Idea Filmfare Awards ceremony in Mumbai late Saturday night.

Hrithik won the award for essaying the role of Emperor Akbar in Jodhaa Akbar, while Priyanka walked away with the black lady statuette for her performance in Fashion.

Jodhaa Akbar pipped Dostana, Ghajini, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, and Rock On!to bag the best film trophy, while the best director award went to Ashutosh Gowariker for Jodhaa Akbar.

Held at the Yash Raj Studios here, the evening saw a plethora of Bollywood's Who's Who dressed in their fanciest best walking the red carpet at the event.

Here is the list of 54 Idea Filmfare Awards 2009:

Best Movie: Jodha Akbar

Best Director: Ashutosh Gowarikar for Jodha Akbar

Best Actor in a Leading role (Male): Hrithik Roshan for Jodha Akbar

Best Actor in a Leading role (Female): Priyanka Chopra for Fashion
Best Actor in Supporting Role (Male): Arjun Rampal for Rock On!

Best Actor in Supporting Role (Female): Kangana Ranaut for Fashion

Critic Awards

Best Actress: Sahana Goswami for Rock On!

Best Actor: Manjit Singh for Oye Lucky! Lucy Oye!

Best Jury Award: Nishikant Kamat for Mumbai Meri Jaan

Special jury mention to Prateik Babbar and Purab Kohli for Jaane tu ... and Rock on! respectively

Music

Best Music Director: A R Rahman for Jaane tu ya Jaane Na)

Best Lyrics: Javed Akhtar for Jashn-e-Bahara (Jodha Akbar )

Best Playback Singer (Male): Sukhwinder Singh for Haule haule (Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi)

Best Playback Singer (Female): Shreya Ghoshal for Teri ore... (Singh is Kinng)

R D Burman Upcoming Talent: Benny Dayal for Ghajini



Best Story: Abhishek Kapoor for Rock On!

Best Screenplay: Yogendra Vinayak Joshi, Upendra Sidhaye for Mumbai Meri Jaan

Best Dialogue: Manu Rishi for Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!


Technical awards

Best Background Score: A R Rahman for Jodha Akbar

Best Costume : Manoshi Nath for Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!

Best Cinematography: Jason West for Rock On!

Best Sound Design: Vinod Subramanyam for Rock On!

Best Choreography : Longines for Pappu Can’t Dance Sala . ( Jaane Tu...)

Best Editing: Amit Pawar for Mumbai Meri Jaan

Best Production Design: Vandan Kataria and Monica Angelica Bhowmick for Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!

Best Action: Peter Hein for Ghajini

Best Visual Effects Award: John Deitz for Love Story 2050



Best Sensational Debut (Male): Farhan Akhtar and Imraan Khan

Best Sensational Debut (Female): Asin Thottumkal for Ghajini


Sony Filmfare Best Scene Award: Rab Ne Bana di Jodi

Lifetime Achievement Award :Bhanu Athaiya, Om Puri

Breakup of awards won by each movie

Rock On - 7

Jodha Akbar - 5

Jaane Tu yaa jaane na - 4

Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye , Mumbai Meri Jaan, Gajini - 3

Fashion - 2

Singh is King, Love Story 2050,Rab ne bana di jodi - 1

Things that we do not agree with Filmfare Awards 2009:
1. A Wednesday did not get a single award at Filmfare Awards, in spite of being the most under-rated movie that stood out all gun. Most would agree that A Wednesday deserved awards for the best script(this was really an original story), best dialogue and best actor in a critics's role to Naseeruddin Shah.

2. Paresh Rawal has arguably given his career best performance in Mumbai Meri Jaan. Sad that he was even nominated!

3. Why has Filmfare scrapped the 'Best Actor/Actress in Comic Role'? What if you have someone excelling in a tragic or serious role, and the other doing absolutely amazing in a comic role? Shoudn't the actor playing comedy deserve better? People like Rajpal Yadav, Paresh Rawal will be side-lined if they scrape the comic role awards. This year, Abhishek Bachchan had a chance to win for his funny act in Dostana.

Shipping Windows 7 in Sept : Microsoft.

Microsoft could have Windows 7 on shipping PCs by September, Compal president Ray Chen said today at an investor's conference. The PC contractor executive understands from plans that the software should be available in either late September or early October. The news would corroborate word of an April release candidate that would let Microsoft finish, manufacture and deliver Windows 7 well ahead of the holidays.

Compal builds systems on behalf of Acer, HP and other major PC makers.

Amelia Agrawal, a spokeswoman for Microsoft, maintains the official company position that Windows 7 will be available within three years of when Vista shipped. However, the company's and other leaks have increasingly suggested that the public goal, which would put the release in early 2010, is deliberately conservative and meant to avoid embarrassment in the event of an unexpected delay. Microsoft has acknowledged a shortened development track that includes just one public beta and one readily available release candidate before the ship date.

While Windows 7 itself has proven stable in testing, the company is believed under significant pressure to release it this year. One of the first significant declines in revenue surfaced in Microsoft's most recent financial quarter as continued hesitation over Vista as well as a preference for Windows XP in netbooks have both hurt the company's core business. Windows 7 improves both performance and user interface elements, and is explicitly designed to run more smoothly on netbook-level hardware.

NANO on March 23rd ???????

Tata Motors said on Thursday it would launch its Nano, slated to be the world's cheapest car, on March 23 and accept bookings from the second week of April.

The car expected to be priced around Rs 1,00,000 was unveiled in January 2008 and was scheduled to go on sale last October, but problems with the main plant location delayed the launch.

Since its unveiling on January 10, 2008 the Nano has evoked unprecedented interest with its website having recorded over 30 million hits in the past one year.

Just seen, never heard: 15 MPs who didn't speak

The most famous image of MPs is of them shouting and screaming in the Lok Sabha but there is set of legislators in the House: silent ones.

There were at least 15 MPs in the fourteenth Lok Sabha who never opened their mouths or asked a question in the five years of their terms. These MPs might be great at shouting slogans but they were simply dumbstruck when it came to questions and debates in the House.

Actor Dharmendra, who is famous for his weighty dialogues in movies, didn't speak a word in Parliament in five years. The Bikaner MP is not alone though.

Kannada actor M H Ambareesh, a former Union Minister and Congress MP from Mandya in Karnataka, didn’t have anything to say too.

Biren Singh Engti and Manikrao Hodlya Gavit make the list as does Babubhai Khimabhai Katara, the BJP MP from Dohad in Gujarat who is accused of masterminding an illegal immigration racket.

Also on the list are BJP's Baliram Kashyap, Sohan Potai and Somabhai Gandalal Koli Patel.

Shiv Sena MP Anand Prakash Paranjpe voted against his party’s wishes during the trust vote on July 22,2008 but has been largely silent.

Other ‘silent’ MPs include Beni Prasad Verma and Saleem Iqbal Shervani of the Samajwadi Party, BSP's Bhishma Shankar and Akbar Ahmad Dumpy, Kunwar Sarvraj Singh of the Janata Dal (United and NCP's Laxman Rao Pandurang Patil.

The story of deafening silence doesn't end there. Egged on by their parties, there were many others who debated with zest but forgot to ask basic questions about their constituencies.

BJP's PM-in-waiting Lal Krishna Advani and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, their parties top leaders in the House, didn’t have any question in five years.

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, who is the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister now, didn’t ask any questions when he was MP. Congress MP Sandeep Dikshit, one of the ‘Young Guns’ in Parliament, was mum for five years.

There are more statistics about questions that could stun. Actor MP Raj Babbar asked five questions while another in a similar league, Vinod Khanna asked four.

Congress MP Jitin Prasada asked six and his party colleague Rahul Gandhi asked five. Sachin Pilot, their party colleague, is takes the cake though. Pilot asked just one question in his five-year term.

Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav, one of the silent MPs, says he will be more involved in debates in his next term. “This time, I was busy with the party’s work, the next time my party and I will dedicate more time to the Lok Sabha,” he said.

Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, who retired on Thursday, has been critical of unruly MPs but ‘silent’ ones peeved him too. “Obviously, people would not want silent MPs, they would want their grievances to be raised. But we can't compel them to speak,” he said.

Source : Cnn-Ibn

New Jersey for the Indian team

From next time the men in blue will be in different attire when they play One-Day International or Twenty20 international.
The new jersey, this time, changed for the second time in two years. Team India skipper M S Dhoni, pacer Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Karthik, Pragyan Ojha and Rohit Sharma unveiled the jersey.

The occasion became more special when former players like Venkatesh Prasad, Vinod Kambli, Robin Singh and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan were also present wearing the old blue jersey of the Team India.

This time the colour of the jersey is totally different from the traditional colour, which the players were wearing. Skipper MS Dhoni also praised the new jersey.

"It would look good, won't get dirty easily," said Dhoni in a funny way. The Indian team will wear the new jersey when they tour New Zealand.

The Indian team will leave for New Zealand on Thursday and will start the tour with a Twenty20 match at Christchurch on February 25. The next Twenty20 game will played in Wellington on February 27. The ODI series starts from March 3, while the Test series will get underway from March 18.

Photographer captures the end of the rainbow on his iPhone

So now we know what's at the end of the rainbow - and it's not a pot of gold.

Instead it meets the northbound carriageway of the Highway 241 toll road in Orange County, California.And according to witnesses it was travelling at just over 30mph( I don't understand how they came up with that speed :D)

This amazing picture was snapped last Sunday, following a storm on the west coast of the US, by amateur photographer Jason Erdkamp's iPhone.

According to myth there is a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, perhaps hidden by leprechauns.

But Jason, from the Los Angeles suburb of Lake Forest, said: "There was no pot of gold, but I did win $25 that night on a lottery ticket."

Facebook wilts under pressure, scraps new policy on user info

Under fire from tens of thousands of users, the social networking site Facebook said early on Wednesday it is reverting to its old policy on user information--for now.

The site posted a brief message on users' home pages that said it was returning to its previous ‘Terms of Use’ policy "while we resolve the issues that people have raised."

The ‘Terms of Use’ is the legalese tacked on to the bottom of most Web sites that details what the site's owners can do with the information that users provide.

Facebook, the Web's most popular social networking site, has been caught in a content-rights battle after revealing earlier this month that it was granting itself permanent rights to users' photos, wall posts and other information even after a user closed an account.

The popular site allows users to create personal profiles where they can then connect with one another, upload photos and share links. The site boasts more than 150 million active users.Member backlash against Facebook began over the weekend after a consumer advocate Web site, The Consumerist, flagged a change made to Facebook's policy earlier in the month.

The company deleted a sentence from the old Terms of Use. That sentence said Facebook could not claim any rights to original content that a user uploaded once the user closed his or her account.It replaced it with: "You may remove your User Content from the Site at any time. ... (H)owever, you acknowledge that the Company may retain archived copies of your User Content."

In response, Chris Walters wrote in the Consumerist post, "Make sure you never upload anything you don't feel comfortable giving away forever, because it's Facebook's now."Thousands of indignant members either cancelled their accounts or created online petitions. Among them were more than 64,000 who joined a group called ‘The People Against the new Terms of Service’.

On Monday, Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg tried to quell the controversy by saying the company's philosophy is that "people own their information and control who they share it with."But members were not appeased because the site did not fix its Terms of Use. The company, in its post Wednesday, said it was returning to its previous Terms of Use because of the "feedback" it had received.

"As Mark expressed in his blog post on Monday, it was never our intention to confuse people or make them uneasy about sharing on Facebook," company spokesman Barry Schnitt said in a blog post. "I also want to be very clear that Facebook does not, nor have we ever, claimed ownership over people's content. Your content belongs to you."

Schnitt said the company is in the process of rewording its Terms of Use in "simple language that defines Facebook's rights much more specifically.""Well that worked pretty fast," wrote member Al Reford of Vancouver, British Columbia. "Numbers count when giving feedback :)"

I am not good enough for politics : DADA

Amidst reports that he is being wooed by political parties to contest in the upcoming Lok Sabha poll, former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly on Tuesday said that he was not good enough for politics.

"It is not true. I am not good enough for politics," Ganguly told reporters in Kolkata when asked if he was planning to join politics.Asked about reports that he was going to join the Samajwadi party, Ganguly quipped "I have my own state."

The speculations about Ganguly joining politics gained momentum after his wife Don said earlier, "The West Bengal government definitely wants that he (Sourav) should step into politics and when I was in Lucknow for a programme, some minister who was there said that Sourav should come and fight from Uttar Pradesh

"Such offers keep coming but Sourav has not yet decided," she had added.

Asked which party wanted to offer a ticket to Sourav, Dona said "I don't remember, I think Samajwadi Party although I may be wrong. Since I am not into politics I don't exactly know the names of people in politics. But I think it was SP."

When queried on the matter, SP leader Amar Singh told reporters "Nobody from our side has officially gone to Dona Ganguly. But if Ganguly wants to join SP, we will consider ourselves lucky."

Sourav has already been invited by the ruling coalition in his home state to fight the coming elections on a Communist Party of India - Marxist ticket.

Every Indian to have debt of Rs 30,000 by March '10

Viewed from an angle, the average debt of every Indian has been estimated to soar to about Rs 30,000 in about a year with the government Competitive economies stepping up it borrowing programme in the next fiscal to fund public expenditure and stimulate the economy.

The average debt of a citizen would nearly be equal to his 10-month income, which on an annual basis has recently been estimated at Rs 38,000 by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) for a population of 115.4 crore (Rs 1.15 billion).

With the government adding about Rs 3,00,000 crore (Rs 3000 billion) to the public debt annually in the last few years, the total public debt is estimated to zoom to a whooping Rs 34,06,322 crore (Rs 34.06 trillion) by March 2010, nearly double the amount recorded seven years ago.

In order to fight the impact of the global financial meltdown on the Indian economy, the government substantially increased its market borrowing programme in 2008-09.

According to budget papers, as against the target of Rs 1,00,000 crore (Rs 1 trillion), the government would end up raising Rs 2,62,000 crore (Rs 2,620 billion) during 2008-09, more than two and a half times the original estimate.

Part of the increase in borrowings can be attributed to the stimulus packages raising expenditure and reducing revenues through slashing duties.For the next fiscal, the government has pegged the market borrowing target at over Rs 3,00,000 crore (Rs 3 trillion), which is expected to be revised upwards at the time of the regular budget in July.

India's public debt includes market borrowings, external debt and other liabilities like small savings and provident funds.Funds raised through market borrowing programmes and issuing treasury bills account for a major portion of the public debt.

Of the total of Rs 34 lakh crore, about Rs 22.7 lakh crore will be internal debt, the amount raised through the borrowing programme.The external debt, which comprises funds raised from multilateral and bilateral lending agencies, is expected to be about Rs 1.38 lakh crore by the end of March 2010, while the other liabilities will account for the remaining Rs 10 lakh crore.

Baby-faced boy Alfie Patten is father at 13

BOY dad Alfie Patten yesterday admitted he does not know how much nappies cost — but said: “I think it’s a lot.”

Baby-faced Alfie, who is 13 but looks more like eight, became a father four days ago when his girlfriend Chantelle Steadman gave birth to 7lb 3oz Maisie Roxanne.

He told how he and Chantelle, 15, decided against an abortion after discovering she was pregnant.

The shy lad, whose voice has not yet broken, said: “I thought it would be good to have a baby.

“

I didn’t think about how we would afford it. I don’t really get pocket money. My dad sometimes gives me £10.”

Alfie, who is just 4ft tall, added: “When my mum found out, I thought I was going to get in trouble. We wanted to have the baby but were worried how people would react.

“I didn’t know what it would be like to be a dad. I will be good, though, and care for it.”

Alfie's story, broken exclusively by The Sun today has sparked a huge political storm with Tory leader David Cameron saying: "When I saw these pictures this morning, I just thought how worrying that in Britain today children are having children.

"I hope that somehow these children grow up into responsible parents but the truth is parenthood is just not something they should be thinking about right now."

Why blame H-1B workers for America's woes ???

As the U.S. recession deepens and job losses mount, finding fault with foreigners is very much in vogue. The tendency reared its head recently as U.S. senators Bernie Sanders and Charles Grassley began pushing for legislation that would restrict banks and other financial institutions from hiring immigrants on the temporary work permits known as H-1B visas.

Grassley and Saunders got their dander up after an Associated Press story detailed how big U.S. banks brought in skilled foreign labor during the six years before the financial crisis.These workers entered the U.S. on H-1B visas and some firms (not necessarily these banks) found ways to pay H-1B workers less than Americans in comparable positions, the article claimed. Outraged by these findings, Sanders and Grassley pushed the Senate to pass legislation restricting banks from hiring H-1Bs

These visas are valid for up to six years. If a worker on an H-1B visa wants to stay permanently, he has to apply for a permanent resident visa.These visas are in very short supply and can take more than a decade to obtain. But placing limits on this mechanism for bringing foreign workers to the U.S. is not the answer to the country's rising unemployment rate and may undermine efforts to spur technological innovation. Holders of H-1B visas add substantially to U.S. innovation

One reasearch found that when H-1B visa numbers went down, so did patent applications filed by immigrants. And when H-1B visa numbers went up, patent applications followed suit. Indians contributed to 7.6% and Chinese contributed to 11.8% of all patents filed from 2000 to 2004, even though Indians and Chinese comprise less than 1% of the U.S. population each.

Tech companies were highly dependent on Indians and Chinese for their innovation. In 2006, these groups contributed to 33% of patents filed by Intel, 23% of those for Microsoft, and 22% of patents filed by IBM. Even for consumer giant P & G, the immigrant patent contribution was 11%.

Foreign nationals residing in the U.S. were named as inventors in 25.6% of international patent applications filed from the U.S. in 2006. This increased from 7.6% in 1998. That's an astonishing 337% increase.

As of Sept. 30, 2006, there were 1,181,505 educated and skilled professionals waiting to gain legal permanent-resident status.These workers were on visas like the H-1B. To make matters worse, there is yearly allotment of only 120,000 permanent resident visas for such skilled workers and a 7% limit on how many visas can go to immigrants from any one country.

So immigrants from populous countries such as India and China could be waiting decades for a permanent resident visa unless immigration quotas are relaxed.

The economic downturn has made matters much worse. When American workers who have the skills to file patents and develop new technologies get laid off, they often start new companies.And these companies generate employment and help the economy recover. When workers on H-1B visas get laid off, they usually have no choice but to return home and start their companies abroad.

So they are planting the seeds for future economic growth in their home countries, seeds that could easily have been planted in the U.S.So the critics of skilled immigration may get their wish. We will scare away the world's best and brightest who have always flocked to our shores. But the next Silicon Valley won't be in located the U.S. It will likely be in Hyderabad or Shanghai.

Great art is as irrational as great music. It is mad with its own loveliness.

Source : treebeard31.. click here

Slumdog Millionaire sweeps BAFTA Awards

Slumdog Millionaire swept the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards 2009 winning seven awards from the 11 categories it was nominated in.

Slumdog Millionaire won awards in the following categories: Best Film, Best Director (Danny Boyle), Best Adapted Screenplay (Simon Beaufoy), Best Music (AR Rahman), Best Editing (Chris Dickens), Best Sound (Resul Pookutty, Glen Freemantle, Richard Pryke, Tom Sayers, Ian Tapp) and Best Cinematography (Anthony Dod Mantle)

The awards were presented at a glittering ceremony on Sunday night at The Royal Opera House in London, England.

Apart from Rahman, Pookutty is the other Indian to win a BAFTA Award for Best Sound for Slumdog Millionaire.

Slumdog Millionaire's Dev Patel who was nominated for Best Actor lost to Hollywood actor Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler.

Freida Pinto who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress lost to Penelope Cruz who won for Vicki Cristina Barcelona.

Other winners at BAFTA:

• Best Actor: Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)

• Best Actress: Kate Winslet (The Reader)

• Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)

• Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz (Vicki Cristina Barcelona)

• Best Production Design: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

• Best Make-Up & Hair: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

• Best Visual Effects: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

• Best Original Screenplay: In Bruges

The BAFTA Awards are often called the British Oscars, so it is certainly an important night for the team before they head for the grandest night of all - the Oscars in Los Angeles.