Naina Lal Kidwai - India's first Harvard Business School graduate

Naina Lal Kidwai (born 1957) was the first Indian woman to graduate from the Harvard Business School. As of 2006, she is the Chief Executive Officer of HSBC in India.
Fortune magazine listed Kidwai among the World's Top 50 Corporate Women from 2000 to 2003. According to the Economic Times, she is the first woman to head the operations of a foreign bank in India.
She is known for her extremely high levels of dedication towards work. When she was carrying her second child, investment banker Kidwai attended office at J M Morgan Stanley until the last of her pregnancy. She took only a day off for the delivery and was back at work the next day.
Naina Lal Kidwai is currently the Group General Manager and Country Head of HSBC India. She has been awarded with Padma Shri, one of the highest civilian honours bestowed by the Government of India. The announcement was made by Rashtrapati Bhawan on 26 Jan 2007.Naina has got the honor for her exemplary work in the promotion of Trade and Industry.

image source: cnn

India - Favourite destination for Rock stars

After Roger Waters’ visit and Iron Maiden coming soon, India seems to becoming a favorite destination for the Rock Idols. Planning to come to India next is Steve Vai. For those who don’t know who he is, Steven Siro Vai (born June 6, 1960 in Carle Place, New York) is a Grammy Award-winning guitarist, composer and record producer.
He first picked up a guitar when he was invited by a friend to join him for a lesson, thus splitting the $10 fee. Vai went out and bought a cheap acoustic guitar and took it to the lesson with his friend's teacher (Joe Satriani).
His most famous song is ‘For the love of god’ which is a superb guitar solo and also has an equally stunning video. Flex-Able was his first album in 1984 where as Real Illusions – Reflections was his last released album in 2005. He is currently working on an album called Sound Current which should be available by June/July 2007. On his plans to tour India, he says he would love to perform in a wonderful country like India.

source: HT

Railway Budget 2007

Laloo Prasad Yadav, honorable Minister for Railways, presented his Railway Budget 2007. The fares have been reduced across the board. Railways have made a profit of Rs. 20, 000 crore against the last year’s profit of Rs.14,700 crores. According to the finance minister Mr. P. Chidambaram, this years Railway Budget is a growth oriented one.

Budget Highlights

*AC first class fare will be reduced.
*Reduction in fares by Re 1 per passenger in non-suburban tickets.
*Superfast surcharge levied on second class tickets reduced by 20 percent.
*Train to Kashmir Valley will get priority.
*500 kms of new rail lane envisaged.
*Smart rail travel cards to be introduced.
*23 train routes to be extended.
*800 new wagons to be introduced; 20,000 km of high-density network to be laid; new trains for cement transportation.
*Chair to be set up at IIM-A to study the management of Railways.
*Lalu against privatisation in Railways. Wants private partnership on his terms.
*CCTVs to be installed in sensitive stations.
*All TTEs to be provided palm tops.

source: ibnlive.com

What is T9 in your mobile phone?

T9 dictionary is a general feature of any mobile phone. T9 actually stands for ‘Text on 9 keys’. It is a predictive text technology developed by Tegic Technologies. Similar software available is iTap, created by Motorola, and LetterWise, created by Eatoni. T9 makes it easier to type text messages on small mobile devices. The technology allows words to be entered by a single key press for each letter, as opposed to the approach used in the older generation of mobile phones in which several letters are associated with each key, and selecting one letter often requires multiple key presses.

The software combines the groups of letters found on each phone key with a fast-access dictionary of words. It looks up all the possible words corresponding to the sequence of key presses in the dictionary.As the predictive software gains familiarity with the words and phrases the user commonly uses, it speeds the process by offering the most frequently used words first and then lets the user access other choices with one or more presses of a predefined NEXT key.
The dictionary can be expanded by adding missing words, enabling software to recognize them in the future. After introducing a new word, the next time the user tries to produce that word T9 will add it to the predictive dictionary.
image source: mspection.com

Kurt Cobain is richest dead celebrity!

According to the Forbes magazine, Kurt Cobain, the leader of the grunge band Nirvana, is the highest earning dead celebrity. According to their sixth such list, the top 13 such dead celebrities have amassed $247 million! Their estates continue to make money by inking deals involving both their work and the rights to use their name and likenesses on merchandise and marketing campaigns. To land on this year’s list, a star needed to make at least $7 million between October 2005 and October 2006.Rock N Roll legend Elvis Presley comes second in the list. Charles Schultz, former Beetle John Lennon and probably the greatest scientist Albert Einstein come 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th respectively.

The top 13 people on this list are:

1. Kurt Cobain
2. Elvis Presley
3. Charles M. Schulz
4. John Lennon
5. Albert Einstein
6. Andy Warhol
7. Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel)
8. Ray Charles
9. Marilyn Monroe
10. Johnny Cash
11. J.R.R. Tolkien
12. George Harrison
13. Bob Marley

Probably, this is what they probably call The Living Dead!

source: forbes.com

What exactly is the Duckworth-Lewis method?

Two statisticians, Frank Duckworth and Tony Lewis devised the Duckworth-Lewis method and was first implemented in second ODI between Zimbabwe and England the year 1996/7. It is a method to calculate the target score for the team batting second in a one-day cricket match interrupted by weather or other circumstance. It is a rule which is equally hated and loved by fans and preferences change according to situation. It has played a key role in deciding the fates of some big teams like South African at the World Cup.
The essence of the D/L method is "resources". Each team is taken to have two "resources" to use to make as many runs as possible: the number of overs they have to receive; and the number of wickets they have in hand. At any point in any innings, a team's ability to score more runs depends on the combination of these two resources. Looking at historical scores, there is a very close correspondence between the availability of these resources and a team's final score, a pattern which D/L exploits.
Though this method is internationally accepted, some feel that it does not take into account, the actual scenario in which the match has progressed until it stopped. But as they say, a rule is a rule.

image courtesy: bbc

CTRL + ALT + DEL - The story behind the shortcut

Have you ever thought about who invented the "CTRL+ALT+DEL" key combination? The name of the man behind this world famous command is Dave Bradley. It is also called the Three Finger Salute or the Vulcan Nerve Pinch.
Bradley spent 1 minute and 23 seconds in writing the source code that has rescued the world's
PC users for decades and will continue to do so. This extraordinary IBM employee is retired after a prolonged service of 29 years. His formula forces obstinate computers to restart
when they no longer follow other commands.

By 1980, he was one of 12 people working to create the debug. The engineers knew they had to design a simple way to restart the computer when it fails to respond to the user. Bradley wrote the code to make it work. Earlier, he deisigned it in such a way that CTRL+ALT+ESC would restart the PC, but an accidental bump on the left side could also do the same. He then changed it to CTRL+ALT+DEL
He famously said "I did a lot of other things than Ctrl-Alt-Delete, but I'm famous for that one."
He commented his relationship with Bill gates by saying "I may have invented it, but Bill gates made it famous by applying my formula when ever any Microsoft's Windows operating system made by him CRASHES, thus I win when ever he loses".

image courtesy: CNN

How did the Guinness Book of World Records start?

On 10th November 1951, Sir Hugh Beaver, the Managing Director of Guinness brewery, once went to a shooting party somewhere in Ireland. He happened to get into an argument with a friend about which was the fastest game bird in Europe. Was it the Golden Plover or was it the Grouse? This question went unanswered. The same evening, at the Cambridge House, he realized that it was difficult to conclude which bird was actually the fastest, as there was no reference book which gave any further explanation.
Sir Beaver thought that there was no way to settle such arguments about records which take place in the various pubs across England & Ireland. He thus realized the need for a book which could answer such questions and knew that it would soon become popular. His idea became a reality with a friend when a Guinness employee, Christopher Chataway introduced him to Norris and Ross McWhirter who ran a fact finding agency in London. The brothers were commissioned to compile what became The Guinness Book of World Records in August 1954. One thousand copies were printed and given away. And the rest is history.
As a matter of fact, the world record for being the most stolen book from public libraries is the Guinness Book of World Records!

image courtesy: guinnessworldrecords.com

Roger Waters - Live in Mumbai

Roger Waters Pink Floyd & PressMart sharing the same Platform

PressMart EPaper readers with Roger Waters (Forever Young).
If you thought reading your EPaper couldn't get you far, think again.

Image courtesy: ToI

Roger Waters - Grandeur Personified

Fantastic stage backdrop, blinding laser lights, fireworks and heart-stopping sound effects marked the Roger Waters’ ‘Dark side of the moon’ live concert in Mumbai on 18^th Feb. The minority had only heard about him while the rest knew his life and history in and out. Students, Corporate executives, CEOs, music directors, celebrities and the general junta, they were all present there. It was a disciplined crowd which patiently waited for their turn in the queue either to pick up their tickets or to enter the ground. Much before the show started, a sound check made people’s heart stop for a while. This made the wait for the show to start, the longest ever.
After a while, the moment had arrived. Roger Waters and his band which includes his son, Harry Waters were on stage. Superb animations have always been a vital part of Roger Waters’ performances. Mumbai was no different.
The show was divided into two parts – with a 15 minute break in between. All the greatest songs like Shine on, you crazy diamond, Wish you were here, Time, Comfortably Numb, Another Brick in the wall, Mother, Breathe were played. But the effects were most felt in the song ‘On the run’. The trademark inflated pig with slogans about equality and anti-caste system were written all over it was released into the air while the song ‘Pigs’ was played. People were treated to top-of-the-line animations and visual effects on the stage backdrop with thundering 360 degrees quadraphonic sound.
All in all, it was a spectacular event.
image courtesy: ToI

A wonder called Ronaldinho

Here are a few revelations of the Genius footballer nicknamed as Ronnie.

* Ronaldo de Assis Moreira was born on 21st March 1980 in Porto Alegre; Brazil. His more popular name Ronaldinho means 'Little Ronaldo' in Portuguese and was used as a way of distinguishing between the two Ronaldos.
* He has become a naturalized Spanish citizen since January 2007.
* His top achievements include winning the World Cup in 2002 and the European Cup in 2006. He was named the FIFA World Player of the Year and European Footballer of the Year in 2004 & 2005. He was also awarded the FIFAPro World Player of the Year(2005) along side Zidane & Maldini.
* His interest with football began with the unconventional forms of Football that included Futsal and Beach Football.
* He is among the very few players to have played at every level of football - Uder-15, Under-17, Under-20, Under-23 and the senior level.
* Ronaldinho has now surpassed David Beckham in becoming the World's most marketable player generating USD57.8 annually. His popular endorsements include Pepsi, Nike, Unilever and American Express.

Ronaldinho has so far lived up to the levels of legendary teammates Romario, Ronaldo (Brazil) and Maradona (Barcelona).
However one of his biggest European challenges would come when Barcelona (2006 UEFA Champions) face Liverpool (2005 UEFA Champions) in a Champions League encounter on Wednesday.
Courtesy:wikipedia.org

Why were sunglasses invented?

Sunglasses were originally invented by the Chinese in 12^th century and were worn by judges in courts of justice so that they could hide their eye expressions and emotions while questioning the victims. The lenses used were actually smoky quartz. Since then, sunglasses have come a long way.
A man named James Ayscough, experimented with tinting of lenses in the 18th century. He did not seek sunglasses as protecting your eyes from the rays of the sun, but for the correction of vision impairments.
Sunglasses were produced commercial only in the year 1929 by Sam Foster in USA. He found that the visitors at the beaches of Atlantic City were his first set of customers. The concept of Polaroid filter and the polarized sunglasses was introduced by Edwin H Land in 1936.
The 1960s saw the sunglasses being popular among people for the purpose of fashion. And the popularity has been increasing ever since. As on date, there are over a hundred brands which sell premium sunglasses. A popular brand called Oakley has launched sunglasses with a digital music player embedded in it.
Sunglasses have surely traveled a long way!
image courtesy: coolhunting.com

Why do they say 'God Bless You' when you sneeze?

The practice of saying ‘Bless You’ when someone sneezes owes its origin to a practice
which was started by Pope Gregory I (AD 540 to AD 604) in the year AD 590.
The legend goes that an epidemic called the ‘Bubonic Plague’ broke out and Pope Gregory I ordered for worship sessions, processions and unceasing prayers for God’s blessings in order to combat the disease. One of the major symptoms of the disease was sneezing. When someone sneezed, he was almost sure to get affected with plague soon.

During the prayers and the gatherings, whenever someone sneezed, they said ‘God Bless You’, so that he doesn’t end up getting the disease. Thus, the practice of saying ‘Bless You’ or ‘God Bless You’ came into existence.Another popular explanation for the practice is that, when a person sneezes, his heart stops for a fraction of a second. They say ‘Bless You’ to wish that the heart starts beating again and continue to function.

image source: wikipedia

Edmund C. Arnold, Father of newspaper design is no more.

Edmund C. Arnold, a renowned journalist, newspaper design consultant and the father of the modern newspaper’s 8-column design is no more. He was 93.
Edmund Arnold was born on June 25, 1913. As a newspaper design consultant, he designed hundreds of newspapers in the US and abroad including the Boston Globe, National Observer, Today, Toronto Star and The Kansas City Star. He also worked as the Editor of The Linotype News, and as a columnist for Publisher's Auxiliary. He also helped a few newspapers in South America despite the fact that he knew no Spanish.
He was also the pioneer of the axiom that the top story for the day has to be placed on the right top corner of the front page which is a concept followed by editors for many years now. Another of his famous concepts is the Gutenberg Principle, which talks about how a reader approaches a newspaper, first from the top then down to the bottom and then turns the page. He was the first person to design the 8-column page (currently the industry standard) in a newspaper as against the old 6-column style. One thing always eluded his list of achievements was a new type of ink which wouldn’t rub off and make newspaper reading a better experience.
After his retirement, he lived in a retirement community in Virginia where he designed birthday cards and the community newsletter. He passed away on Feb 2^nd, 2007.

source: pressgazette.co.uk; image courtesy: nytimes.com

Experience Old Spice - Only Men allowed!

Old Spice, the leading men’s grooming products brand has come up a new online initiative called the ‘Voice of Experience’. Accessible through their website www.oldspice.com, the new feature provides you with information on latest trends, experiences and upcoming event listings.
The site features insights, guidance and experiences from a range of stalwarts which includes Tony Stewart (Editor – Cars, Two time NASCAR NEXTEL Cup series champion), Jamal Munnerlyn (Editor – Entertainment), Alana Kelen (Editor – Fashion, groomed the likes of Lenny Kravitz and Jon Bon Jovi), Matt Buser (Editor – Sports, Yahoo! Sports columnist.) and many other big names to form the ‘Experience Panel’.
The ‘Experience Panel’ will develop monthly content for the site (also accessible through experienceoldspice.com) which will also feature ‘guest editors’ in coming months. This site went live on 8^th Feb 2007.
Old Spice is a brand owned by P&G whose most famous product lines are Red Zone and High Endurance.

courtesy: yahoo news. image courtesy: old-spice.jp

Windows Vista lets you speak to your computer

Imagine a life where you don’t have to use your keyboard or your mouse to perform standard tasks on your computer like writing an E-mail, opening MS Word, etc. Don’t be surprised. This is a new feature from the latest version of the Windows operating system, Windows Vista.

Windows Vista comes with integrated speech recognition software which recognizes and executes voice commands like “Open Word” or “Write Mail”, etc. Now anyone can just sit in front of a computer and ‘speak to the computer’ instead of using your keyboard or a mouse. It runs an additional piece of software in the background to enable speech recognition tasks. But, the user has to spend at least an hour for the system to get acclimatized to the voice. This is a revolution in the way an average user interacts with a computer at home or at office.

Windows Vista’s speech recognition technology is said to be reasonably reliable, however it is not meant for professional use as there are better tools available for users who dictate text on a daily basis.

Windows Vista was codenamed ‘Longhorn’ before it was officially announced. It was officially made available for purchase and download from Microsoft’s website on 30^th Jan 2007, 5 years after Windows XP was released. This was the longest gap between releases of any two versions of Windows.
image courtesy: www.wikipedia.org

Team India for World Cup 2007

The Indian squad selected for the World Cup 2007 in the West Indies has brought in mixed reactions from fans and cricketers themselves. As there seem to be mixed reactions from the various sections of the cricket loving community, there is a common feeling that based on the recent performances, the team selection for the World Cup was almost done. There were a only a couple of spots that needed to be finalized. The choice was between Robin Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir and between Ramesh Powar and Harbhajan Singh. Suresh Raina was also a possibility in the final fifteen.
The inclusion of Virendra Sehwag, according to Mr. G Ramanand, an ardent cricket fan, is a blunder. He says that the inclusion, at the cost of Mohd. Kaif or VVS Laxman may turn out to be an expensive proposition. Another fan, mr. Shravesh has something similar to say. He thinks that the non-inclusion of Mohd. Kaif has hinted at the possible loophole in Indian fielding. According to Mr. PVR Rajasekharam, an injured and out-of-the-game Yuvraj along with an out-of-form Sehwag are going to cause a lot of problems.
Considering all this, the message is clear. The journey to the top of the points table is going to be tough. Grit and sheer passion to win for the country is going to be the key. 1983 was the year Kapil Dev made it. Will it be Rahul Dravid in 2007? Let us wait and find out. All the best to team India.

The final fifteen:Rahul Dravid (captain), Sachin Tendulkar (vice captain), Robin Uthappa, Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Anil Kumble, Ajit Agarkar, Irfan Pathan, S Sreesanth, Dinesh Karthick

Comments source: ibnlive.com

Roger Waters - Live in Mumbai 18th Feb.

Roger Waters - a name synonymous with the origins of psychedelic rock, extravagant laser lights and unconventional sounds is back in India. The ex-Pink Floyd member is to perform live in Mumbai on 18th Feb. Waters is best known for his career as a song writer, composer, guitarist and bassist with the legendary psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd.
His shows are marked by visually ecstatic laser lights, 360 degrees quadraphonic sound and unparalleled overall experience. At 63, he is one of the most famous legends of rock alive and active.
He is to perform the 'Dark side of the moon' live at MMRDA grounds in Mumbai. This is his second visit to India in this decade. He was here to perform live at Bangalore in 2002. The performance would include the unforgettable songs like 'Shine on you crazy diamond', 'Breathe', 'Time', 'Wish you were here' and 'Mother'. Encore includes, 'comfortably numb' and 'Another brick in the wall'
All said and done, Miss this tour at your own risk. Tickets available at select Planet M and Reliance World outlets.

Online booking and other details, log on to: http://www.dnanetworks.com/rogerwater.html. Image courtesy: stuff.co.nz

See you there.

Rajdeep Sardesai voted the Impact Person of the Year 2006

Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor-in-Chief, CNN-IBN and IBN7, has been voted the Impact Person of the Year 2006 at a glittering ceremony in Mumbai on February 8. The poll was conducted by TNS India, for Impact, the advertising, media and marketing weekly from the exchange4media group.
Sardesai was a key part of the team that successfully entrenched CNN-IBN in the English news channel space, and the group, GBN, also took over Hindi news channel Channel7, now re-christened IBN7.
According to the report, accepting the Award, Sardesai said, “I was aghast when I saw my name amongst such a list of icons who have been in the industry for such a long time. I must say it’s a humbling experience to be in the same bracket as these luminaries. In media, there is always a team supporting you. And, I have been very fortunate to bring on such a wonderful team to the platform for GBN. The team’s passion and energy has brought us this recognition.”
He further said, “I keep learning new things by being where I am. I must also state here that I don’t know why we must see each other as rivals. Yes, we all are competitors, but we can work together as one big media family.”
“I think we are very clear in that we wanted to be the most influential and most impactful news broadcaster in the country. This is just Stage One of the process and we still have a long way to go,” Sardesai had said a day before being declared the Impact Person of Year. For Sardesai, the timing couldn’t have been better, coming as it does a day before his son’s birthday.
His journey from the days of drawing a princely four-digit sum at The Times of India’s offices, to where he is today, reflects a climb that has been steady yet laden with risks that only a dreamer can pursue.
Commenting on the award property, Anurag Batra, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher, exchange4media Group, said, “Rajdeep has showed that serious journalism wins and that’s what a news product is made of. You can create history in a short time. You have to dream. People and their teams, and their ability to lead their teams, and work as a key member of the leadership team, are the things that matter. Several of the nominees were custodians of challenger brands, and that made them even more endearing, even more inspirational for the rest of us.”
The nominees for the Impact Person of the Year 2006, were: Ashutosh Srivastava, CEO, Asia Pacific, MindShare; Balakrishnan R, Executive Creative Director, Lowe India; Colvyn Harris, CEO, JWT India; Girish Agrawal, Director – Marketing, Bhaskar Group; Kalanithi Maran, CMD, Sun Network; A P Parigi, CEO, ENIL; Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman and National Creative Director, India and South Asia, O&M; Raghav Bahl, Managing Director, Television Eighteen Ltd; Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor-in-Chief, CNN-IBN and IBN7; Sandeep Goyal, Chairman, Dentsu India; Sanjeev Bikhchandani, CEO, Naukri.com; Shobhana Bhartia, Vice-Chairperson and Editorial Director of HT Media Ltd; Srinivasan K Swamy, CEO, RK Swamy/BBDO Ltd.; Subhash Chandra, Chairman, Zee Telefilms and Promoter, ESSEL Group; Venkatram Reddy T, Chairman, Deccan Chronicle Holdings; and Vineet Jain, MD, BCCL.

Courtesy: exchange4media

Anna Nicole Smith dies at 39

Anna Nicole Smith on February 8, 2007 was found lying on unconscious in her Hotel room at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. A bodyguard administered CPR before she was rushed to the Hospital and she was pronounced dead at 2.10pm. Her husband Howard Stern was by her bedside when she died. Anna Nicole Smith, an actress and model who gained immense popularity after being named the 1993 Playboy magazine’s Playmate of the Year. She later made headlines when speculations of her true intention of getting married to oil business executive and billionaire Howard Marshall, 63 years her senior in 1994.The girl who grew up telling her friends that she wanted to be the next Marilyn Monroe; she too seems to have lived a similar short yet eventful life.

The Making of Reliance

Read the interview with an articulate Mukesh Ambani on how Reliance was built.

Courtesy: rediff.com

Shilpa Shetty & Hugh Grant to act in a romantic comedy

Popular Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty and British heartthrob Hugh Grant are to act in a romantic comedy that revolves around culture-clashes. According to The Daily Star, the script is being written just for Ms. Shetty, 31 and Mr. Grant, 46, who seemed very excited about hooking up.
An industry insider said, “It's going to be hotter than a vindaloo... with dancing, singing and a spicy story to boot. The Celebrity Big Brother winner is scheduled to meet Hugh in London for talks on the Notting Hill-style box office hit.
The source further went on to say, "She is a huge fan and is overjoyed at the thought of working with him. There will be some smoldering on-screen chemistry for sure. She brings all the glamor and he brings the laughs and with the headlines they both generate, the film is going to be huge."
Story writers have been working diligently on a draft of the plot, in which some of it is being based Shilpa’s real-life experiences.
The news also said writers had already been hard at work on a rough draft of the plot with some of it being based on Shilpa's real-life experiences. "It is the story of a successful and charming, but shy, Bollywood diva who can't find the right man, until she links up with a producer who promises to help her crack the British and US markets... and they instantly click of course."

The Stars and their South-Asian connection
Shilpa Shetty is the winner of the Big Brother Show held last Month. As a winner she took with herself 100,000 Pounds. She was earlier given INR 30,000,000 to take part in the show. Quite evidently the show has done wonders to her popularity rating among both Indian and International audiences.
Hugh Grant has some 34 movies and TV series to his credit. The Love Actually Star had been married to Elizabeth Hurley but they broke up. Now he’s dating Jemima Khan who is Ex. Wife of Cricketer-turned-Politician Imran Khan. Coincidently both Ms. Hurley & Imran Khan are good friends, though Ms. Hurley is dating boyfriend Indian textile heir Arun Nayar. The couple are to get married on March 3, 2007 at Udaipur, Rajasthan.
Courtesy: The Daily Star

Visiting the World of Windows Vista

Basic File Backup & Restore
Using the 'Simple scheduling wizard' you don't have remember to periodically back up your data.
BitLocker Drive Encryption
The BitLocker enhances data protection by preventing unauthorized Operating System booting or running a software hacking tool.
Built-in Diagnostics
Here the framework provides diagnostic scenarios such as Network Diagnostics and troubleshooting to take care of some common and costly problems that Users face. The young and old need not call the system doctors.
DirectX 10
This exciting feature enhances 3D graphic-rendering capabilities much further and helps prominently improve your computer's in-game and multimedia performance. Yeah, it's finally game on PC.
Encrypting File System
This is one of the key feature of the Business, Enterprise and Ultimate editions of Windows Vista, a single user's data can be encrypted and made unavailable to another user sharing the same system.
Explorers
In the new Explorers, you have the menus, toolbars, Task Pane, Navigation Pane and Preview Pane all merged into a single intuitive interface consistent to all editions of Windows Vista.
Fast Sleep & Resume
By just pressing the power button on the PC or Start menu the PC will turn on or off in seconds and save the current session to memory. When pressed the PC quickly enters a very low power state.
Flip and Flip 3D
The Windows Flip 3D uses the dimension of visual depth to give you a more comprehensive view of your open windows, helping you sidestep chaos even as you juggle myriad open files and programs. You too can enter the circus for the juggling act.
Games Explorer
The Games Explorer, which is listed on the Start menu, provides a convenient list of all games currently installed on your PC. So those playing during work beware, the list now can get exposed a lot easier.
Instant Search
This a cool option, considering the textbox is present on the Start menu itself. The search is contextual too and optimizing its results on your current activity. Any keyword or text contained within the file can be displayed in the results.
IE 7 in Windows Vista
A robust new architecture which offers dynamic security protection to prevent malware and new ways to prevent phishing.
IE 7 Printing
The functionality includes adapting a webpage text to entire page prints properly. You can also select a part of page and preview shows the selected area only.
IE 7 Tabbed Browzing
Here you can manage multiple tabs with a trio of convenient features: Quick Tabs, tabbed browsing and Tab Groups.
IE Dynamic Security Protection
Its twin security objectives of protection against malware and personal data safeguard is addressed using the multiple, interrelated security features.
IE Parental Controls
Not just blocking access to objectionable content but it also blocks all file downloads. All this in a single interface to help you manage the settings and reports. No more Keeley Hazell stuff, guys.
IE Protected Mode
In the Protected Mode, Vista cannot modify user or system files without the user consent.
Live Icons
Here the scalable 'live' icons greatly improves work by giving rich previews of the files.
Microsoft Phishing Filter in IE
The Phishing Filter present here uses an online service that is updated several times an hour with the latest industry information on fraudulent websites.
Network & Sharing Center
The Network and Sharing Center informs you about your network and verifies if your PC can access the Internet. The information then summarized in the form of a Network Map.
Network Diagnostics & Troubleshooting
The Network Diagnostics Framework (NDF) included in Vista provides you with an advanced help to resolve your network-related issues.
For more Visit Windows Vista
Courtesy: microsoft.com

mPaper rEvolution

Now, one can enjoy Newspaper on their mobile phones, while on the move. Pressmart, a subsidiary of Bodhtree Consulting Limited, and IMImobile, has announced the availability of mPaper.
The mPaper technology will enable newsreaders to read and access their favorite newspaper content, while they are traveling also. The mPaper technology also allow user to use features like archives and options to search and save news reports and it would be available on monthly subscription. Pressmart, a subsidiary of Bodhtree Consulting Limited, is a new media delivery partner of leading newspapers and magazines published in over 15 languages across 21 countries. IMImobile is a next-generation end-to-end enabler of Mobile Value Added Services (VAS) for mobile operators, media companies and enterprises.

Pressmart will provide mPaper facility in 9 major newspapers of India, including, Hindustan Times (Mumbai and Delhi editions), Deccan Chronicle (Hyderabad and Chennai Editions), DNA, Indian Express, The Asian Age, The Financial Express, The New Indian Express, The Telegraph and Pioneer. Currently, Pressmart is providing content on its e-Publiching products.
According to Sanjiv Gupta, CEO of Pressmart, the company has partnered with IMImobile to deliver new services on mPaper in the future. Do look out for more mPapers from Pressmart.

Article Courtesy: The Peninsular, Image: die-glocke.de

Keeley Hazell on top of Beckham

The girl whose name is the most searched on the internet in America, even beating The Beckhams who has been in the news for his $1 Million dollar a week switch from Real Madrid to LA Galaxy. The Brit girl has been touted to be the next Pamela Anderson.

Image courtesy: infostore.org, autohome.com.cn, chinabroadcast.cn

Know now: Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID)

Reading an article 'I wouldn't be happy until I lose my legs' , an article from 'The Guardian' dated 29th January, 2007 gave me the chill. It sounded weird and at times totally crazy but then as you go on you realize somewhere down the line its a frightening fact which society would have to accept eventually and live with. Just as homosexuals and transgenders were a complete taboo across the world till recently, BIID cases too seemed totally unheard of and unacceptable even to the most liberal minds.
The article is a auto of a woman who since childhood felt something was wrong with herself and wanted her legs removed. Her attempts landed her in hospital and she eventually had a leg taken off, all the while under horrendous pain.
Psychologists met in Paris and several cases of doctors operating upon people who required amputation under mysterious circumstances had crept up and how happy they seemed when they woke up.
As per biid.org, the official website 'Body Integrity Identity Disorder or BIID is a psychological condition in which the individual requests an elective amputation. Individuals with this condition experience the persistent desire to have their body physically match the idealized image they have of themselves.'

Good ol' Golf

a) Etiquette
Be considerate of your fellow players. Don't talk, move, or distract a player in any other way during his swing.
b) 14-club limit
The USGA allows a maximum of 14 clubs to be carried in a bag. Less than that is okay.
c) Tee markers
When teeing off on a hole, the ball must be behind the tee markers. (Draw an imaginary line between the two markers and tee your ball behind that line.)
d) As it lies
Play the ball as it lies. This means you may not improve the way the ball is at rest. If you are on the green, you may mark and pick up your ball to clean it, but while in the fairway, you must play the ball as it lies. See the USGA rule book for special circumstances like winter rules, obstructions, standing water, etc.
e) Away
The ball farthest from the hole is the one that is played first. The term is "away." Example: "John, you are away, so go ahead and play first." The person with the lowest score for the hole has "the honors," and plays first on the next hole.
f) Sand traps
If your ball lands in the sand trap, remember to rake it after you have played your shot. The groups behind you will appreciate this. Since this is a hazard, you cannot ground your club prior to the swing. Practice swings are fine, as long as you do not contact the sand.
g) Out of bounds
If you hit your ball OB, there is a one-stroke penalty, and you must hit another ball. If you are not sure if the ball is OB, hit a "Provisional Ball" just in case. If you determine that the first ball is OB, then you continue on and play with the Provisional Ball.
h) Water hazards
If you hit your ball into a water hazard, you may play it (could be messy), or play another ball from where you just hit (with a one-stroke penalty). Another option is to drop another ball where the original ball entered the hazard, incur a one-stroke penalty and play on.
i) Putting green
When on the green, never walk across another player's line of putt. The imprint that your feet leave on the green can alter the path of the ball. Always step over the line of the putt or around it.
j) Have fun
Golf is a great game, so have fun with it and whenever possible, leave the golf course in the same shape that you found it.

Courtesy: Askmen.com, beginnergolfing.com