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.

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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).