Weekly Note September 2 Week

L&T Infotech to open office in Dubai

L&T Infotech, a subsidiary of India's largest engineering and construction company Larsen and Toubro, is entering the GCC with a commercial office in Dubai.

"We have already applied for a licence to set up our regional base in Dubai and, if approved, we will set up the business in few months time," Vijay K Magapu, chief executive of L&T Infotech and member of the L&T board, said.

"The IT services businesses in the Gulf is about $600 million annually and we'd like to achieve a $100 million annual turnover in three years," he was quoted as saying by the Gulf News.




Boeing may pilot captive unit in India

The $65-billion aerospace and defence behemoth, Boeing, is evaluating a captive centre and defence sub-assembly line in India apart from capturing business across the aerospace spectrum, including manufacturing, engineering, BPO, KPO, maintenance and raw material sourcing. Boeing could take the JV route to set up its captive centre or could establish it independently.

If that happens, Boeing will join a host of multinationals, which entered India through partnerships before setting up their captive centres. Boeing has partnerships with several Indian technology majors such as Infosys, TCS, Infotech, HCL and research bodies like HAL and Indian Institute of Science in India. “Targeting over $50-60 billion opportunity in the long-term across the civil and defence aviation, and with availability of skilled talent pool, I don’t see any reason why we should not have our own Boeing facility in India,” Boeing India president Ian QR Thomas said. Ian declined to divulge further details about the nature of the captive centre.

While numbers on investments and scale of operations are still in the evaluation stage and depends to some extent on multi-role combat aircraft order apart from other defence orders, Boeing globally operates an technology integration and design captive centre in Moscow. The captive centre has 1,200 engineers engaged in mission-critical work. “Globally as far as captive centres are concerned, we go for tools, technology and talent. India has the potential to emerge as an aerospace constellation,” added Thomas.

Boeing has gained traction in both Indian commercial aviation and defence space with the US major running for $10-billion order for the purchase of 126 multi-role combat aircraft. Boeing has also submitted a proposal to develop and deliver eight long-range maritime reconnaissance and antisubmarine warfare aircraft to the Indian Navy. The Boeing P-8I Multi-mission maritime aircraft, a variant of the US Navy’s P-8A, is currently under consideration by the MOD for India’s maritime requirements.


Customer is today looking at an end solution

IBM employs more than 40,000 by far the highest among the global IT giants. Shanker Annaswamy, IBM India’s managing director talks on its India strategy.

The IBM chairman had announced $6 billion FDI last year. How is that going?

After the chairman’s (Sam Palmisano) announcement, we explained that the milestones are really about bringing investment into India both from global strategic point of view and also from domestic point of view. We talked about bringing in a very high-end system and technology lab, which will bring in tremendous capabilities of our mainframe and other servers and storages into the country. Customers can bring their technical team to network with ours. That has been completed. It is a high-technology high-investment lab.

We also talked about a research centre purely focusing on telecom. India gave us a great model through the Bharti relationship. That business model is again unique for doing telecom research. How do you do a call for two cents, or less than two cents, and yet make money was a big revelation. It is not just about pricing. It is also about how you bring an on-demand solution to this kind of a dynamic market.

Those are the stuff we are looking at. The next milestone was the high-performance-on-demand solutions lab (Hi-pods). This is the lab where really high-performance solutions are brought in and the customers can network through the lab with the entire technical team across the world. Then they can leverage that.

This lab is again in Bangalore. We have recently opened in Delhi another lab called the industry solutions lab. That is largely to address the domestic market. When we looked at the domestic market we felt we should go more and more towards a solutions approach. We are great in point products like servers and storage and stuff like that. But no longer is the customer buying a point product. He is looking at an end solution. So how do you, for example, demonstrate solutions in banking or future solutions in retail?

How do you assess the domestic demand for your services?

In the domestic market we are looking at telecom, banking, BPO, infrastructure solution, retail and government. We are building up solutions for the Delhi airport, which we won against tough competition. Real estate is another example in the infrastructure category. We are looking at retail where we have core competency. In banking, apart from core banking, we are looking at payment systems. We are also looking at branch productivity, Basel II. We announced a core banking deal with Canara Bank a few years ago. There is a huge opportunity in the government. We won the CBDT infrastructure deal, which is going well.

Very interesting things are happening in e-governance. More than 15 state governments are working on e-governance projects. The challenge is to expand them, make them scalable. If there is a treasury or land record work we have done, how can we replicate it? Then there is the SME segment. I think India’s big growth will come from the SMEs and unless we enable them we would be missing out on a big opportunity. That is why we recently launched with ICICI the SME tool kit. There is micro-financing. We are working with the Jan Lakhmi group. IBM can contribute in each of these to make a difference through the globally integrated enterprise framework.

IBM is the most visible MNC challenger to the famous Indian challenge pioneered by TCS, Infy and Wipro. Are you satisfied with the way things have gone?

From whatever we have publicly stated, we are extremely happy with India and its model. It is a key component of the globally integrated enterprise model. In the business model of IBM, emerging economies contribute to a sizeable portion of the growth. If the IBM corporation is looking at 6%-7% growth, they look at contribution from emerging markets as a certain portion, which would be high. What really impresses the corporation is the rate of growth. We declared recently that we grew in Q2 45%, which is faster than the market and therefore gaining share. And our strategic outsourcing we grew almost 150%. And, large and small put together, we announced eight deals in the first half of the year.




'We're confident Oracle will grow fast here'

India is one of the fastest growing markets for Oracle in terms of revenue, as well as being its largest research and development presence outside the US. Krishnan Dhawan, managing director, Oracle India spoke on the company’s plans.

Excerpts

India is the fourth largest market for Oracle in the Asia Pacific (APAC). What plans does the company have to make it one of the top three?

India and China continue to be the high growth markets for Oracle in the APAC region. Given the outlook for future economic growth and with continuing increase in IT adoption, we are confident that our business in India will grow fast. (According to market intelligence firm IDC, Oracle had 72 percent of the database market in India in 2006, a 79 percent year-on-year growth rate)

Though Oracle is the market leader in India in several segments, you have been losing ground in a few, especially in areas like ERP and SMB...

We have over 4,500 customers in the SMB space. Last year, we put in place a high growth city initiative, as part of which we established points of presence in the non-metro, high growth cities in India, taking our presence to over 20 cities. We managed to win over 300 new customers in the database and middleware space and empanel 70 new partners because of this.

We also launched the global Oracle Accelerate programme in India earlier this year to help take industry vertical-specific applications to our customers with the help of partners. Two of our certified partners, Zensar and EBZ Online, have launched special market initiatives to take ERP to small manufacturing companies and banks, respectively.

In addition, we are introducing new business models aimed specifically at the SMB market, such as CRM (customer relationship management) on demand and hosted ERP solutions. These will enable SMBs to benefit from the use of the technology without having to undertake large upfront investments.

What is the Emerald India initiative?

Emerald India is an initiative to identify key India-specific innovation and market opportunities and put in place strategies to meet those requirements. The launch of our e-governance centre, the launch of Think.com in Hindi, an SMB penetration focused programme, are all part of this initiative.

Any more acquisition plans in India?

We are not in a position to comment on our future plans.




In conversation with Phaneesh Murthy, CEO iGATE

When many sections of industry were facing a crisis due to the rupee appreciation, iGATE was ready to face the menacing wave. The company constantly reviewed its hedging strategies in an attempt not to be worse off than what the economic factors dictate. In an exclusive interview with Phaneesh Murthy, CEO, iGATE this newspaper found out what makes this company stand high despite the crisis. Murthy, who took over as CEO of iGATE Global Solutions in August 2003 has pioneered the iTOPS (integrated technology and operations) model in iGATE. A graduate of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM-A), Ahmedabad and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Chennai Murthy was a member of the board, worldwide head of sales and marketing, and head of the communications and product solutions group at Infosys.

Excerpts from an interview with Murthy

Rupee appreciation is becoming a serious concern for all companies. How has iGATE tackled the issue? What are the measures you have put in place?

We have taken several measures to combat structural changes taking place in the rupee–dollar parity and its consequential impact on our business. For over a year we have been attempting to include exchange rate provisions in customer contracts that would make material changes in the exchange rates trigger a discussion to relook at the pricing and we have had fair degree of support from customers. We are tightly monitoring the benchmark — in the last quarter alone we could improve our utilisation by over 350 basis points. Our strategy is de-risking from currency concentration and in the last couple of years we have grown our Canadian operations in North America. Our focus is to expand euro revenues in the future.

Do you see a decrease in the operating profit margin due to the rupee appreciation? How has this affected iGATE?

In the last two quarters when the rupee appreciation was the steepest, our margins were better than expected. We could recoup much of the impact as a result of the mitigating measures we undertook to protect margins. As long as the appreciation is not steep we will not be too concerned, as I believe our margins will be protected.

Out of your total inflows, how much do you hedge? Has there been a change in the hedging strategy?

We have been more closely monitoring our hedging strategies from October 2005. Since then, we have always had almost all of our forward six months net inflow of dollars hedged. Recently, we have even covered a significant portion of longer-term inflows — 12 to 24 months. We have a system of evaluating our hedging actions against benchmarked positions. We constantly review hedging strategies in an attempt not to be worse off than what the economic factors dictate.

Coming to the subprime lending crisis, how has it affected you? Ten percent of your revenue came from mortgage space a couple of quarters ago, and is down to 7 percent in the recent quarter. What is your take on this?

iGATE’s revenues from mortgage services seem to be flattening at the current levels. However, these revenues continue to be at risk in view of the on-going subprime market turmoil. The subprime loan originations in the US have almost ceased and the demand for origination services have dried up. We do not expect this to change in the short term. We would keep focus on mortgage service offerings as our delivery platform and unique pricing model would provide us the means to seize the opportunity that may arise as a fall-out of this crisis

My Fav Rapper-Blaaze

Blaaze (pronounced Blaa-zay) might not be a familiar name to many of us. But the rap song B to the A to the B to the A, BABA from the movie Baba is something that you would have definitely heard. The song, which was sung by rapper, Blaaze.

A regular rapper based in Mumbai, Blaaze was called by A R Rahman to sing for the Tamil movie Boys. ''After working for the song in Boys, I was going to return to my room when Rahman stopped me on the way and asked if I could rap for Baba. I had not heard of Baba before and asked if it was for Sai Baba. He just looked and me and said 'Rajnikanth is Baba'. I was shocked,'' says Blaaze, who could not believe what he was offered. He then rushed back to the recording room and penned down the lyrics of the rap. Rahman gave it the green signal as soon as he heard it.

''I went back to Bombay and when I returned to Chennai a few days later Rahman told me that Rajnikanth had listened to the track and was very happy with the way it had turned out. I was kicked,'' says Blaaze.

Blaaze, a Chennaiite, left for Zambia in 1979 with his parents. He later went to the UK to do his O and A levels. His interest in rap began while in school. His big break came when he rapped a special song during the election of President Chiluba. ''While watching TV during the 1991 elections in Zambia, I was moved by what the Presidential candidate was saying about democracy and human rights. I immediately wrote down a song. My dad's friend saw it and took me to the TV station. They heard my song and I got my first video!,'' he says. After that he, along with his friends, started performing in South Africa. But still Blaaze's dream to see his song up on the charts did not materialise.

''I did not want to waste my time anymore, though rap was still my passion, and decided to pursue film-making. I left for Columbia University, where I did my honours in Cinema. I tried to get a job there but it did not materialise,'' says Blaaze.

He returned to India in 2000 and landed a job with MTV as Production Incharge. After two years, he quit to join Radio City. ''Everything went smoothly for two months as radio had become the big thing in Mumbai,'' he says. But overnight they decided to shift the broadcast language from English to Hindi, putting Blaaze in a fix. ''I couldn't host shows in Hindi and knew that I was going to lose my job. And that was the day I got a call my A R Rahman's office asking me to come down to record a song. I have always believed in destiny,'' he says.

We will get to hear Blaaze again when Boys releases. In the movie, Blaaze has sung a song with Vasundhara Das. Now, if you are wondering what his name means, here's what he has to say. ''My name is actually Rajesh Raman, but as a rapper I could not go around with that name. So I called myself Blaze. That's when my friend told me to add an accent on top of 'e', which he said would be more stylish!''

IT-Aug 2007

Fame drives web contribution: Mc Kinsey

The biggest motivation for Internet contributions is fame and not financial considerations, says a recent McKinsey study. It suggests that online companies would do well to nurture these contributors with money and other motivators. The study conducted by Jacques R. Bughin, a director of McKinsey in Brussels, combines the results of other McKinsey research activities to reach its conclusions. Bughin says that a small number of participants still contribute the bulk of popular items on contributory web portals.

Websites that thrive on video uploads and Wikipedia-type of contributory content need to hook the small percentage of contributors who bring in quality content. It does admit that while people come in driven by the urge to achieve fame or share something within their community financial considerations can lead them to contribute regularly Bughin says: "Visitors under 25 years of age made up the bulk of the video-viewing audience we measured, but members in the 25- to 44year-old age group contributed equally to postings -suggesting that working-age people would be open to participation in enterprise settings." He says the presence of tools like ones that show a most viewed list that make it easy for users to see what's popular or to send favourite videos to friends corresponded, by as much as 30 percent, with more downloads for popular videos.

The study found that in video sites, around three to six percent of the contributors accounted for 75 percent of the videos up- loaded and two percent of the contributors accounted for half of all the popular videos uploaded. Bughin suggests that in companies where there is an effort to build up internal content through contributions from employees, the manager must identify the employees with the best networking within the company He suggests that a track of the internal mails will help executives find out the best net-workers within the company "Companies should make sure that their employees can access collaborative tools with a minimum of bureaucratic hassle," he writes.

ITC e-Choupal to focus on product traceability
ITC Ltd through e-Choupals is working on traceability of farm produce aimed at providing buyers products of their choice.

Traceability is the ability to track the origin of a product and its attributes.

Speaking here at The Custommerce meet on Friday, Sivakumar said that ITC had planned to invest about Rs 5,000 crore in e-Choupals by 2012. From 6,450 kiosks in 38,000 villages touching about four million farmers, it is proposed to enhance this to about 20,000 kiosks, spread across 1,00,000 villages to serve around 10 million farmers by 2010.

Compuware ties up with HCL Tech
Compuware has announced a partnership agreement with HCL Technologies. The partnership would focus on India's fast growing IT governance opportunities, combining Compuware's IT portfolio Management, Application Development Management and IT service Management solutions capabilities with advisory and implementation services capabilities of HCL's IT Transformation practice, Bob Donald, V-P, Partner Business Development, has said. Compuware also announced the expansion of its management team in India with the appointment of Hariharan Ganesan as Managing Director for India and SAARC.

Wipro weighs funding options for buyouts

Wipro Technologies is on the prowl for more buyouts — especially in Germany and Canada — and is ready to look at acquisition modes other than all-cash deals.

“We generate over $100-million reserves every quarter and all-cash deals are not the only mode. Funding is not a problem. We can look at equity, joint ventures or any mode that suits us best,” Sudip Banerjee, president — enterprise solutions and chief strategist — Wipro Technologies, said.

Banerjee added that cash reserves till June 30, 2007, amounting to Rs 3,200 crore, would be used for the Infocrossing deal worth $600 million (Rs 2,460 crore). Over the years, Wipro has gradually increased the value of its acquisitions.
The company started with the $10-million computer-aided design company Quantech and went on to buy the $246-million FMCG company Unza.

Its latest acquisition is the $600-million Infocrossing. The Infocrossing deal will help Wipro expand its infrastructure management solutions business. The company plans to increase combined revenues to $1 billion from $0.5 billion in two to three years.

New centres

Wipro Technologies is also planning to set up centres at university towns in the West. The first such centre in the US will be in Georgia.

“This will give us access to a ready talent pool. Such towns surround a renowned university and therefore there will be students wanting to work in the vicinity,” Banerjee said.

Happy Raksha Bandhan

To all my sisters, Happy Raksha bandhan

China: Bloggers Should Use Real Names

Blog service providers in China are "encouraged" to register users with their real names and contact information, according to a new government document that tones down an earlier proposal banning anonymous online blogging.

At least 10 major Chinese blog service providers have agreed to sign the "self-discipline pledge" issued by the Internet Society of China, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday.

Online bulletin boards and blogs are the only forum for most Chinese to express opinions before a large audience in a society where all media are state-controlled.

China has the world's second-biggest population of Internet users after the United States, with 137 million people online. It also has 30 million registered bloggers, and more than 100 million Chinese Internet users visit blogs regularly, according to the ISC. The group is under the Ministry of Information Industry.

The guidelines, issued Tuesday and effective immediately, "encouraged" real-name registration of users, according to a copy posted on the Internet group's Web site.

The information -- to be filed with the companies, not posted online -- should include the user's name, address, contact numbers and e-mail address, it said.

Measures listed in the document were guidelines only and blog service providers were not required to comply, said an official at the Internet group, surnamed Zhu.

It was not clear whether the guideline calling for real-name registration covered bloggers only or whether it extended to people who post comments. Zhu refused to provide details.

The Chinese government had wanted to require real-name registration, but the proposal was met by "fierce opposition," Xinhua said.

"Conditions are not yet mature for implementing real-name registration as we lack reliable technology for privacy protection and identity verification," Huang Chengqing, secretary general of the ISC, was quoted as saying.

But he said service providers were still responsible for the content of the blogs. Chinese leaders often try to block online material deemed pornographic or a threat to communist rule.

"Blog service providers who allow the use of pseudonyms may be more attractive to bloggers, but they will be punished by the government if they fail to screen illegal information," Huang was quoted as saying.

The Xinhua report did not provide additional details of banned information, but other measures called for in the pledge include not spreading pornography and not speaking ill of other nationalities, races, religions and cultural customs. Bloggers also should not spread rumors or libelous information, it said.

"Blog providers should monitor and manage comments ... and delete illegal and bad information in a timely manner," the document said.

Blog service providers such as People's Daily online, Sohu.com, Sina.com.cn and cn.msn.com have said they would abide by the pledge, Xinhua reported

Thanks ENT News

ITC plans small hypermarkets in rural areas

ITC on Wednesday said it would set up new small format stores in rural areas on the lines of existing hypermarket chain - Choupal Sagar - by early next year, even as it plans to ramp up its retail operations.

The company was planning a large number of smaller Choupal Sagar stores, which would have a capacity to house 12,000-13,000 units at 40 locations out of 170 across the country, where ITC runs its big format stores.

"The idea is to penetrate the rural areas where the income levels are even lesser through smaller Choupal Sagar stores covering around one acre of area," ITC Limited chief executive officer (agri business) S Sivakumar told reporters on the sidelines of CII Marketing Summit in New Delhi.

These stores would cost Rs 2 crores (Rs 20 million) each and would be set up in small towns and rural areas of UP, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra, he said without disclosing how many outlets the company planned to open.

ITC was also looking for a multi-fold increase in the number of e-Choupal - a platform where villagers can access Internet - in the next 5-6 years.

"We will increase the number of e-Choupals from current 6,400 in 130 districts of the country to 20,000 across 350 districts in the next 5-6 years," Sivakumar said.
He said the company would also open around 200 new Choupal Fresh outlets in major towns of the country, including the metros, to expand its presence in urban areas.
The urban retail chain focuses on stocking fresh horticulture produce like fruits and vegetables, for which ITC has set up cold chain.

"Currently, we have three Choupal Fresh stores in Pune, Hyderabad and Chandigarh and the number is likely to go up to 50 in these three cities by this fiscal. In the second phase, ITC would set up 140 new stores in other cities including Kolkata, Delhi and Mumbai," he said.
The company was also focusing on strengthening health services in rural India.

Thanks to Rediff

Really Non-Veg

Coming into the bar and ordering a double, the man leaned over and confided to the bartender, "I'm so pissed off !"
"Oh yeah? What happened?" asked the bartender politely.
"See, I met this beautiful woman who invited me back to her home. We stripped off our clothes and jumped into bed and we were just about to make love when her god damned husband came in the front door. So I had to jump out of the bedroom window andhang from the ledge by my fingernails!"
"Gee, that's tough!" commiserated the bartender.
"Right, but that's not what really got me aggravated," the customer went on.
"When her husband came into the room he said 'Hey great! You're naked already! Let me just take a leak.' And damned if the lazy son of a bitch didn't piss out the window right onto my head?"
"Yeech!" the bartender shook his head. "No wonder you're in a lousy mood."
"Yeah, but I haven't told you what really, really got to me.
Next, I had to listen to them grunting and groaning and when they finished, the husband tossed his condom out of the window. And where does it land? My damned forehead!"
"Damn, that really is a drag!" says the bartender.
"Oh, I'm not finished. See what really pissed me off was when the husband had to take a dump. It turns out that their toilet is broken, so he stuck his ass out of the window and let loose right on my head !"
The bartender paled. "That would sure mess up my day."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," the fellow rattled on, "but do you know what REALLY, REALLY, REALLY pissed me off? When I looked down and saw that my feet were only SIX inches off the ground!!"

2007 Notable Books for Children

These books were chosen by a committee of librarians, educators, and other professionals for the Association for Library Service to Children.

Younger Readers

Once upon a Banana, by Jennifer Armstrong; illustrated by David Small (Simon & Schuster and Paula Wiseman)
My Cat, the Silliest Cat in the World, by Gilles Bachelet (Abrams)
Keeper of Soles, by Teresa Bateman; illustrated by Yayo (Holiday House)
Move Over, Rover!, by Karen Beaumont; illustrated by Jane Dyer (Harcourt)
Cork & Fuzz: Short and Tall, by Dori Chaconas; illustrated by Lisa McCue (Viking)
Best Best Friends, by Margaret Chodos-Irvine (Harcourt)
Below, by Nina Crews (Holt)
I Lost My Tooth in Africa, by Penda Diakité; illustrated by Baba Wagué Diakité (Scholastic)
Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride, by Kate DiCamillo; illustrated by Chris Van Dusen (Candlewick)
Wolves, by Emily Gravett (Simon & Schuster)
The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon, by Mini Grey (Knopf)
Lilly's Big Day, by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow)
Duck & Goose, by Tad Hills (Random and Schwartz & Wade)
Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building, by Deborah Hopkinson; illustrated by James E. Ransome (Random/Schwartz & Wade.)
Houndsley and Catina, by James Howe; illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay (Candlewick)
Zelda and Ivy: The Runaways, by Laura McGee Kvasnosky (Candlewick)
Uncle Peter's Amazing Chinese Wedding, by Lenore Look; illustrated by Yumi Heo (Simon & Schuster and Anne Schwartz)
Tunjur! Tunjur! Tunjur! A Palestinian Folktale, by Margaret Read MacDonald; illustrated by Alik Arzoumanian (Marshall Cavendish)
Once I Ate a Pie, by Patricia MacLachlan and Emily MacLachlan Charest; illustrated by Katy Schneider (HarperCollins and Joanna Cotler)
Adèle & Simon, by Barbara McClintock (Farrar and Frances Foster)
Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal Alphabet, by David McLimans (Walker)
Los Gatos Black on Halloween, by Marisa Montes; illustrated by Yuyi Morales (Holt)
Hippo! No, Rhino!, by Jeff Newman (Brown Little)
The Little Red Hen, by Jerry Pinkney (Dial)
Not a Box, by Antoinette Portis (HarperCollins)
Black? White! Day? Night! A Book of Opposites, by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (Roaring Brook and Neal Porter)
Good Boy, Fergus!, by David Shannon (Scholastic and Blue Sky)
Thelonius Monster's Sky-High Fly Pie, by Judy Sierra; illustrated by Edward Koren (Knopf)
Scaredy Squirrel, by Mélanie Watt (Kids Can)
Mammoths on the Move, by Lisa Wheeler; illustrated by Kurt Cyrus (Harcourt)
Dizzy, by Jonah Winter; illustrated by Sean Qualls (Scholastic and Arthur A. Levine)

Middle Readers

Gregor Mendel: The Friar Who Grew Peas, by Cheryl Bardoe; illustrated by Jos. A. Smith (Abrams)
Ivy and Bean, by Annie Barrows; illustrated by Sophie Blackall (Chronicle)
Hugging the Rock, by Susan Taylor Brown (Tricycle)
Su Dongpo: Chinese Genius, by Demi (Lee & Low)
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, by Kate DiCamillo; illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline (Candlewick)
The Adventures of Polo, by Régis Faller (Roaring Brook/Neal Porter)
All in Just One Cookie, by Susan E. Goodman; illustrated by Timothy Bush (Greenwillow)
Owen & Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship, by Hatkoff, Isabella and others; illustrated by Peter Greste (Scholastic)
Lugalbanda: The Boy Who Got Caught Up in a War, by Kathy Henderson; illustrated by Jane Ray (Candlewick)
Toys Go Out: Being the Adventures of a Knowledgeable Stingray, a Toughy Little Buffalo, and Someone Called Plastic, by Emily Jenkins; illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky (Random/Schwartz & Wade)
Families, by Susan Kuklin (Hyperion)
The Story of Salt, by Mark Kurlansky; illustrated by S.D. Schindler (Putnam)
The Year of the Dog, by Lin Grace (Brown Little)
Ruby Lu, Empress of Everything, by Lenore Look; illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf (Simon & Schuster/Atheneum)
Rules, by Cynthia Lord (Scholastic)
Oh, Rats! The Story of Rats and People, by Albert Marrin; illustrated by C.B. Mordan (Dutton)
Aliens Are Coming! The True Account of the 1938 War of the Worlds Radio Broadcast, by Meghan McCarthy (Knopf)
Quest for the Tree Kangaroo: An Expedition to the Cloud Forest of New Guinea, by Sy Montgomery; photos by Nic Bishop (Houghton)
Jazz, by Walter Dean Myers; illustrated by Christopher Myers (Holiday)
The Higher Power of Lucky, by Susan Patron; illustrated by Matt Phelan (Simon & Schuster/Atheneum)
Clementine, by Sara Pennypacker; illustrated by Marla Frazee (Hyperion)
Here's Looking at Me: How Artists See Themselves, by Bob Raczka (Lerner/Millbrook)
The Cat with the Yellow Star: Coming of Age in Terezin, by Susan Goldman Rubin and Ela Weissberger (Holiday)
She's All That! Poems about Girls, by Belinda Hollyer; illustrated by Susan Hellard (Kingfisher)
Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow, by Joyce Sidman; illustrated by Beth Krommes (Houghton)
To Dance: A Ballerina's Graphic Novel, by Siena Cherson Siegel; illustrated by Mark Siegel (Simon & Schuster/Richard Jackson)
Younguncle Comes to Town, by Vandana Singh; illustrated by B.M. Kamath (Viking)
Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon, by Catherine Thimmesh (Houghton)
Crossing Bok Chitto: A Choctaw Tale of Friendship and Freedom, by Tim Tingle; illustrated by Jeanne Rorex Bridges (Cinco Puntos)
Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom, by Carole Boston Weatherford; illustrated by Kadir Nelson (Hyperion/Jump at the Sun)

Older Readers

Crispin: At the Edge of the World, by Avi (Hyperion)
Freedom Riders: John Lewis and Jim Zwerg on the Front Lines of the Civil Rights Movement, by Ann Bausum (National Geographic)
The Killer’s Tears, by Anne-Laure Bondoux; translated by Y. Maudet (Delacorte)
Ask Me No Questions, by Marina Budhos (Simon & Schuster/Ginee Seo)
The Runaway Princess, by Kate Coombs (Farrar)
Framed, by Frank Cottrell Boyce (HarperCollins)
The Last Dragon, by Silvana DeMari; translated by Shaun Whiteside (Hyperion/Miramax)
Odd Man Out, by Sarah Ellis (Groundwood)
Escape! The Story of the Great Houdini, by Sid Fleischman (Greenwillow)
Jane Addams: Champion of Democracy, by Judith Bloom Fradin and Dennis Brindell Fradin (Clarion)
The Adventures of Marco Polo, by Russell Freedman; illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline (Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine)
Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, by Russell Freedman (Holiday)
Penny from Heaven, by Jennifer L. Holm (Random)
Up Before Daybreak: Cotton and People in America, by Deborah Hopkinson (Scholastic Nonfiction)
Isaac Newton, by Kathleen Krull; illustrated by Boris Kulikov (Viking)
Sigmund Freud, by Kathleen Krull; illustrated by Boris Kulikov (Viking)
Hattie Big Sky, by Kirby Larson (Delacorte)
Gossamer, by Lois Lowry (Houghton/Walter Lorraine)
Heat, by Mike Lupica (Philomel)
The Pull of the Ocean, by Jean-Claude Mourlevat; translated by Y. Maudet (Delacorte)
The Legend of Bass Reeves: Being the True and Fictional Account of the Most Famous Marshal in the West, by Gary Paulsen (Random/Wendy Lamb)
All of the Above: A Novel by Shelly Pearsall; illustrated by Javaka Steptoe (Brown Little)
Wintersmith, by Terry Pratchett (HarperTempest)
Larklight: A Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the Farthest Reaches of Space, by Philip Reeve; illustrated by David Wyatt (Bloomsbury)
Yellow Star, by Jennifer Roy (Marshall Cavendish)
Andy Warhol: Pop Art Painter, by Susan Goldman Rubin (Abrams)
House of the Red Fish, by Graham Salisbury (Random/Wendy Lamb)
Whatcha Mean, What's a Zine? The Art of Making Zines and Mini-Comics, by Mark Todd and Esther Pearl Watson (Houghton/Graphia)
Remember Little Bighorn: Indians, Soldiers, and Scouts Tell Their Stories, by Paul Robert Walker (National Geographic)
Counting on Grace, by Elizabeth Winthrop (Random/Wendy Lamb)

All Ages

Tales Our Abuelitas Told: A Hispanic Folktale Collection, by F. Isabel Campoy and Alma Flor Ada; illustrated by Felipe Dávalos and others (Simon & Schuster/Atheneum)
It's Not the Stork!: A Book about Girls, Boys, Babies, Bodies, Families, and Friends, by Robie H. Harris; illustrated by Michael Emberley (Candlewick)
Porch Lies: Tales of Slicksters, Tricksters, and Other Wily Characters, by Patricia C. McKissack; illustrated by André Carrilho (Random/Schwartz & Wade)
Solomon and the Ant and Other Jewish Folktales, by Sheldon Oberman (Boyds Mills)
Flotsam, by David Wiesner (Clarion)

Best Blogger So far

The Best Blogger so far and nominated for best cause and UK Award Goes to Baghdad Burning

http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/

Tamilnadu and India

I studied Hindi in my earlier schoolings for 4 yrs, so I can read and write Hindi, however I can’t speak in Hindi at that time (2004). Though I worked in North India, I was unable to learn Hindi at that time, because of the Tamil guys who around me for all the 11 months. And I never bother to learn at that time, now also. All matter of communication made me to learn. Till the time I reach London, I never thought that Hindi will be casually spoken language among all Indians nevertheless of which state. Not only in UK, where ever in the world, the most common language among Indians is Hindi. I did realize when I start going abroad this same after travelling a lot.



Let describe about myself, tamilnadu and regarding Hindi. Tamil is the first language and English the second language in TNadu. Though capital of TN-Chennai, only a small portion of people learns Hindi in their schoolings, so they are safe when they move to other states or country. Being a remote village guy, I hear only there is a cricket match that too when the commentary is in Hindi.



I can’t only blame on Dravidian parties now for Anti-Hindi strikes during 1970's. The anti-Hindi parties, Dravidian political parties playing to the tunes in 60's. Now, not a single party wants to touch the subject. Was it a big hindrance to mainstream integration, yes of course? When talking about globalization, it is ashamed of not learning a national language. Still I can say, there is no need of Hindi in tamilnadu, until you stay. Else learn Hindi. Our states have been separated based on languages, I agree. Tamilnadu is literally separated by language. I indulge everybody to learn Hindi till the extent of communication. Bloody language is a just communication media, once you know the media is required, don’t hesitate to learn it. Local Business men stays in tamilnadu, however they need to talk to other language people once they come out of their state. I have seen lot many business people learned Hindi, so as the IT employees because of survival.



An interesting incident happened in Paris for me which really made ashamed that I don’t know Hindi, Punjabi either. Under the tower, people sell the toy towers, key chains and bla bla. I liked a Eiffel tower toy which is made up of Glass with sparkling lights, I started bargaining with an Afro guy for 12 Euros which Afro guy demanding to us to get it for 17 Euros. At the same time an India chap came with key chains and shown those chains, said something in Hindi, I got a word 5 (paanch), so I thought he is trying to sell those chains to me. I thought I am over smart and bargained with Indian guy to give 5 chains for 2 Euros. He said okay and I bought it still my wife is bargaining with Afro guy, that Indian moved for 2 steps and said with other guy that" samja nahi" yaar. I was confused what he is saying; how long a guy can act that he knows the language. Finally my wife bargained for 12 Euros and bought that tower statue, we were amazed that we got it for 12 Euros. Then that Indian guy came and said that statue is worth for 5 Euros that is what he was trying to convey to me in Hindi, by the time he acted to afro guy that he selling the chains to us.



Yeah, it is a simple loss of 7 Euros; however this incident impacted me a lot to take a ‘U’ turn to learn Hindi properly. Now I am able to read, write and talk Hindi fluently. This is my suggestion” learn Hindi, if you want to come out of the state for any reason”.

UTI to AXIS

UTI Bank has rebranded itself as AXIS BANK on July 30, 2007. The Bank had used the UTI brand with great pride for the last 13 years, and has in recent years strongly contributed to the resurgence of the UTI brand. My first bank account is UTI Bank during 2000. They say the rebranding has been necessitated due to the limitations on the use of the brand after January 2008. So they decided to create a distinct brand identity for itself. Rebranding provides an opportunity to communicate elements of personality, values and vision, which are specific to the Bank. This rebranding becomes more important as the Bank takes its initial steps in establishing a global footprint.

"Axis as a name is simple; it connotes solidity and stature, and conveys a sense of authority and credibility. Axis as a brand further has the ability to transcend geographical boundaries - this is relevant as the Bank has built an initial pan-Asian network with offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Dubai, and seeks to expand further its international presence.
Graphically, in the new logo, the first stroke depicts forward growth while the second stroke signifies a solid support system. The two thick strokes also connote solidity and security.
The rest of the Bank remains the same. The same people, same facilities and the same products and services would continue to be offered to you and you can also expect the same level of dedicated service and professional expertise, as always."

All the Best AXIS

Indian men cannot be trusted in their sexual behaviour: Renuka Chowdhury

Indian men cannot be trusted in their sexual behaviour and are fuelling the country’s HIV epidemic, says Women and Child Development Minister Renuka Chowdhury.

“You cannot trust men or your husbands, with apologies to the men present here,” she told a meeting of the National Women Forum of Indian Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS.
“If you believe that men will be careful, then you can forget about protecting yourself,” the minister said. “Men will not buy a condom when they come staggering home while drunk”, Chowdhury said, adding that women must not be embarrassed to ask for condoms.
“Women need to get condoms to protect themselves; let the men be suspicious,” she said.

India has 25 lakh people living with HIV/AIDS, the third highest number of people in any country after South Africa and Nigeria. Nearly 40 per cent of those infected are women.
Chowdhury said the opposition to sex education was morally hypocritical.
“We have a population of one billion and we don’t want to talk about sex,” she said.

“We have to be vocal on such issues. If we don’t, then it will effect the generations to come.”

// Kudos to Renuka Chowdhury for speaking the hard truth. We need more people like her in politics. I personally cant comment on this//

Worm in iPhone?

I never jumped on to the iPod bandwagon. Let me assure you, I was probably the only person in Montreal not bouncing along the streets plugged into an iPod, exchanging a knowing nod with fellow Macaholics as I crossed them on the street. But that didn’t make me miss out on the phenomenon that is the iPod — the product that is poised for an elevated place in the technology hall of fame (if there is such a place). It isn’t really surprising —Mac was always considered the cooler (richer) cousin of the PC, so any product Apple Inc. came up with just had to be slicker than the rest.

Apple managed to ride the cool wave for a long time. Very intelligent and perceptive marketing is the backbone to an already impressive product — ‘Think Different,’ Apple urged us and then told us how, with the ‘Switch’ campaign that followed. The computer offered software that allowed people like you and me to produce movies, music, websites, whose quality could rival big production houses. The iPod offered new ways of organising and transferring music— and everyone wondered how they ever did without it! But now we are faced with the iPhone. Can it bring about a similar (global) Mac attack? Let’s go step by step.

Why would you buy an iPhone? (As opposed to simply salivating at the thought of owning one.) It’s the first phone that does not extend its software to accommodate extra features (for example, a music player) but instead it essentially condenses an entire operating system into a phone — a mini Mac, if you will. Its real feature, then, lies in applications that have not been introduced as yet. This means that you can do virtually anything with it, with features far beyond what a Blackberry offers.

WORLDS GREATEST DUNKER!!

Tag-for a Cause!

Chain Blogs for a cause!

Q: There are hazards of bloggers scribling everyday. Do we really read all those blogs?

Ans: NO.

Q: Why?

Ans: Because we are not aware who are all blogging?

Q: If we know who are posting, can we read those?

Ans: Yes, may be.

Q: But how do i know there is a new post available ?

Ans: that is the reason we are going to make a community for us. As a initial stage we need people for the forum. A forum cannot be successfull with out contributors. So, this chain blogs will intimate the people are in same wavelength and the forum will make aware those new post available. Sounds great, huh

Rules:
1. You have to invite 4 of your fav. bloggers
2. Give your tag post link as a comment in http://binarywaves.blogspot.com/2007/06/tag-for-cause.html
3. This rules must be copied in the botton of your post.
4. Intimate to your fav. bloggers by commenting on their blogs

The chain blog content:

1. What are all the four countries you have been since.
2. Name the 4 celeberities you like.
3. Name 4 singers you like.
4. Name 4 movies you like


Let me start with:
1. What are all the four countries you have been since.
UK, US, France & Scotland

2. Name the 4 celeberities you like.
As of today, Paris Hilton, Rajini, Mr. Tony Blair and Gandhi

3. Name 4 singers you like.
SPB, KJ Jesudas, HariHaran & Shreya Ghosal

4. Name 4 movies you like
Saving Private Ryan, Unnal Mudiyum Thambi(tamil), Cast away and Dil Chatha Hai

My 4 Fav bloggers:
1. Cogito
2. Chin
3. Vicky
4. India Un cut Amit Varma



Rules:
1. You have to invite 4 of your fav. bloggers
2. Give your tag post link as a comment in http://binarywaves.blogspot.com/2007/06/tag-for-cause.html
3. This rules must be copied in the botton of your post.4. Intimate to your fav. bloggers by commenting on their blogs

iPhone-in India

Apple Inc will launch its latest offering, the iPhone in the here (US) tomorrow. Apart from functioning as a phone, the device can function as a media player and also as a wireless web surfing device.

Officially, it will not be available in India for at least another year.

But for those who really want it, the wait might be as short as a fortnight or, at the most, a month. This is not just because of efficiently smuggled shipments but a technical ‘feat’ as well.

In the US, Apple has tied up with AT&T in an exclusive contract. This means that the iPhone will only work on an AT&T SIM card for which buyers have to sign up for an $59 to $100 a month plan for a minimum two-year subscription.

But in India, grey market operators say they can “unlock” the phone for just Rs 1,000 or Rs 1,500 so that it can be used on any network in India. “Unlocking the iPhone isn’t tough,” said a dealer in central Delhi.

In the US, the phone is priced between $500 (Rs 22,000) for the 4 GB version and $600 (Rs 25,500) for the 8 GB model. There are further variations depending upon the memory. Out in the grey markets of Palika Bazar or Sarojini Nagar, an entry-level iPhone will be available for Rs 30,000. National Market Rs 32,000.

Unlocked Apple iPhone units are expected to be auctioned off at a premium, especially in Asian markets.

//As the world gets ready for this deadline to grab one of the most sought after handsets - the iPhone - two Indian companies are also getting ready to register gains from this revolutionary offering of Apple Inc., the makers of Macintosh computer (popularly called Mac) and the iPod.

Noida-based HCL Infosystems and Bangalore-based Wipro Technologies are close to becoming the exclusive Indian distributors of the iPhone. Analysts are expecting 1-3 million handsets to hit the shelves on Friday.

A luxury product costing $499 for 4 gigabytes memory and $599 for 8 gigabytes memory, iPhone will have a large touch screen minus the conventional keypad. It will also double up as an iPod, video player and will come equipped with a digital camera.//

Sivaji-Making of Oru Koodai Sunlight

Shanker started his CG (Computer Graphics) adventure from his first film itself, the Cartoon type of Dance which suited to Prabhu Deva's choreography in the song Chikku bukku was a super dooper hit all over India. He continued with Prabhu for next film Kadhalan and brought the technology from the Hollywood film Invisible man to Mukkabla Song. He the person who pulled the DTS technology to his tamil film Indian, with the help of his Friend H Sridhar. Both running a successful sound recording theater called Panchathan. Skeleton dance from MJ in Jeans, used morphing technology from MJ again for Maaya Machindra Indian-Tamil(Hindustani in Hindi), technically headed by "Maayavi" Venki.

Before getting to Sivaji making, Lets start with company who done the miracle ever in the world. The company name is Indian Artists from Vadapalani.

Indian Artists was the first to start and use digital Ink and Painting for 2D Cel Animation in South India. They foray into filmdom with the film INDIAN (Tamil). Until date, worked on the following films – Sivaji (Tamil), Anniyan (Tamil), Krish (Hindi), Gajani (Tamil), Imsai Arasan 23m Pulikesi (Tamil), Veyil (Tamil), Sivakasi (Tamil), Dishyum (Tamil), Bangaram (Telugu), Gilli (Tamil), Boys (Tamil), Dhool (Tamil), Runway (Malayalam), Enakku 20 Unakku 18 (Tamil), Anji (Telugu), Magic Magic 3D, Mizhirendilum (Malayalam), Kunjikunnan (Malayalam), Ramana (Tamil), Run (Tamil), Kushi (Tamil), Kadalar Dinam (Tamil), Hindustan (Telugu), Yuvakudu (Telugu) and Palayathamman (Tamil) and list continues. They were awarded the National Award for Magic Magic 3D in 2003 produced by Navodaya Films.

About Sivaji: Director Shanker wanted to change Rajini's wheatish complexion to a white European complexion. It was Directors brilliance and peak of his imagination. Indian Artists took this as a challenging task, because nobody has executed this type of concept in the world. To begin with, Indian artists did an in-depth study of the European complexion. They found that white skin reflects more light and has less shadow when compared to dark skin and is translucent in some areas. Therefore a simple color correction of the hero's skin would not achieve the desired effect.

For the shoot a London based young white lady with a fresh complexion and flushed cheeks was chosen and with the help of Cinematographer Mr. K.V.Anand every single shot of the hero was repeated with her because lighting conditions change in every shot. After the final edit all the 630 hero shots and 630 girl shots were scanned in 4K resolution. Each of the 9000 scanned frames ware rotoscoped to separate the body parts (face, hands, legs etc.). The white lady's skin was mapped onto the Super Star's image using Eyeon “Digital Fusion” software. Thus the Super Star got his glowing white complexion. There were two difficult aspects in this project. One was matching the girl's action with the hero's action and the second was matching both of their body proportions during mapping.

Though it sounds simple, the work involved was laborious and painstaking. Great attention was paid to detail right from the shoot until the final print. It has taken 25 dedicated CG technicians almost a year to achieve this 6 ½ min. feat.

Thanks for Info and Movies Indian Artists.

Rajini- The Boss

Why Rajnikant is such a superstar has less to do with the way he flicks his gogs and more to do with his residence address. Nowhere in this country are people as movie-mad as in south India. When Andhra's N.T. Rama Rao's films were released in the sixties and seventies, his underprivileged fans would donate blood to pay for movie tickets. When M.G. Ramachandran died in 1987, two million followed his remains, 30 committed suicide and thousands shaved their heads. Rajkumar's death last year brought on riots in Bangalore; his 'fans' shut the city down for two days, burnt cars, tear-gassed civilians and indulged in street wars. Interestingly, Andhra is known to have more cinema halls per square kilometre than anywhere else in the country. South Indian films are a curious social phenomenon. They may be scoffed at as vulgar, base and even gaudy. The heroes are paunchy and mustachioed. The heroines are fair, flabby and semi-naked, like zaftig dolls. The sets are huge and surreal, the action extreme, the songs are raunchy and the plots are stuck in the eighties.
But that's the most wonderful thing about the films. They may be unintentionally comic, but they are unpretentious. They pander to every stereotype there is without any intent to pseudo-intellectualise. Rajni played a foreign-returned person in last week's Rs 90 crore release, Sivaji - The Big Boss. His face was whitened in every frame, using a first-time computer regeneration technique and a Caucasian woman's complexion. These films are watched with the heart, not the head. They are made for the front-bencher for whom cinema is the only escape from the hot weather, his jobless existence and an ultra-conventional mindset. The film is his relief. Which is why all southern heroes are almost always fighting the system. Which is why the hero always gets the girl. Which is why the impoverished employee always wins over the rich employer. Which is also why the average film-watcher will queue up for never-ending hours to pay Rs 10 for a first-come-first serve seat.

I'm convinced of this, especially when you take Kerala into account. Kerala doesn't share the economic disparities of its southern counterparts. Audiences here enjoy a superlative literacy rate. Kerala boasts immense talent as well; Mammootty and Mohanlal are both brilliant, and Adoor Gopalakrishnan is one of the state's intellectual exports to the mainstream.

The south Indian hero is a cultural mixed bag; he is a political, economic and social icon. NTR always played Krishna in Telugu mythologicals. Rajni will never play a bad guy. Khushboo, who had a temple built to her, was chased with a broom when she innocently said that a woman didn't need to be a virgin when she married. These stars are a reminder of a movie-goer's moorings.

Can Amitabh Bachchan ever achieve this? Not unless he returns as the angry young man. And learns to speak Tulu.


Info: Yahoo India news

Pakistan Surrenders to India-1999

Jai Hind!

Jerry Yang- The new Yahoo CEO

Bill Gates, David Packard, William Hewit Steve Jobs and its the turn for Jerry Yang. Didnt get the point. Yes, Jerry Yang is going to be the CEO of Yahoo, who is replacing Terry Semel, as the company girds up to fight back the Google juggernaut. Yes the above list are college drops and strike it big in the sillicon valley. Let see his return may be a sign of bigger changes ahead. He is one of the co-founder of Yahoo.

There is also a talk of possible alliances with rivals or even mergers with the likes of Time Warner, Microsoft and News Corp, could be rumours. Whatever may be the outcome, it surely will be challenging times ahead for Yahoo as it searches for the perfect biz plan to re-establish its links with profitability.

The poor show reflects in Yahoo's stock price which dropped 38 per cent in 2006, which is much worse than Google. It will be interesting to see if Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang refreshes his company's fortunes. All the best Mr.Yang!

How to install Vista

A funny video shows how to install vista

India defends trafficking record

The Indian government has rejected its inclusion on a list of countries compiled by the US which have not fully stopped human trafficking. India was designated as a "Tier 2" country: it did not fully comply with minimum standards but was making significant efforts to do so.
The government says a lot is being done to tackle the problem, although more needs to be done.
It says efforts are underway to rescue and rehabilitate trafficking victims.
Sanctions possibility "The world's largest democracy has the world's largest problem of human trafficking," said the US state department's specialist on trafficking issue, Mark Lagon.
The department has warned India would be downgraded to a "Tier 3" category unless it improved its track record. That would mean that the US would withhold non-humanitarian, non-trade related foreign aid.

The US wants countries to address the trafficking problem Correspondents say that "Tier 3" countries are also denied access to educational and cultural exchange programmes. The state department estimates that around 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders every year, and that 80% of them are females used in the sex trade.

The annual report places India as a "Tier two" country for the fourth year in a row.
An official in India's Women and Child Development ministry, however, defended her department's efforts in tackling the problem.

'Unfair' "We are doing our bit, but more needs to be done," said Deepa Jain Singh, secretary for the Women and Children's Development Ministry. Non governmental organisations (NGOs) working in the area have supported the government's efforts.

"We don't agree that nothing has changed. Legislation has come in place to deal with the issue. It is a clear indication that the pressure on the government is working," Rishi Kant, from the women's group, Shakti Vahini, told the BBC News website.

India has been warned it may face sanctions Other women's groups argued that it was unfair that India was being put on the US watch list over the issue, and not Bangladesh or Nepal.
Aid agencies estimate that around 5,000 to 7,000 women and girls are trafficked to India from Nepal and around 10,000 to 20,000 women and children from Bangladesh.

"Nepal, Bangladesh and India need to work together to stop such trafficking," United Nations Development Programme spokeswoman Archana Tamang told the BBC.

"Women and children are not being brought into India only, there is a lot of reverse trafficking taking place as well.

"It is really important for all the three nations to work together as a sub-regional group to remedy the situation," she said.

New Tech-Mind Blowing

1. In these days, I found 2 technologies are going to rock, I sure. The first Technology is nothing but a mixture of TV look, desktop performance and with Laptop features. this mixture was initiated by sony couple of months before and it is getting hard time to commercialise. Just hang the monitor on the wall, have a seat away of 5 feets, hold a wireless keyboard and mouse, start using either as TV or Computer. I loved this model and still my purse is weight though, have to wait for .:)



//Experience high style and versatile performance in one. The VAIO® VGC-LS30E all-in-one desktop PC incorporates a powerful VAIO LS into a stunning 19" widescreen display, perfect for computing or watching TV.//


Sony LS Series have a glimpse and amaze yourself.

2. This is a new technology brought by Microsoft or tuned up guys of Bill. this is an innovative idea might work out in presentation or customer oriented or sales. The software giant has built a new touchscreen computer—a coffee table that will change the world, forget the keyboard and mouse: The next generation of computer interfaces will be hands-on.Is MS trying to get rid of computers? we can only feel this model by end of 2007 . Click here

Deccan sells 26 pc stake to UB Group

//Bangalore: Deccan Aviation Ltd, the company that runs low-cost carrier Air Deccan, on Thursday announced it has sold 26 per cent in the airline to Vijay Mallya's UB Holdings for Rs 550 crore. UB Holdings has already paid Rs 150 crore and the remaining amount would be paid in the next four weeks, Air Deccan Managing Director G R Gopinath told reporters after the company's board meeting.

The transaction, which values Air Deccan at Rs 155 a share, would be through allotment of non-preferential shares to UB, he said. UB Group runs the premier full-service, true-value carrier Kingfisher Airlines. Gopinath would continue to remain the Executive Chairman of the Board, while Mallya would be the Vice-Chairman. The promoters and investors would have equal number of directors, besides six independent directors.//

This is called Entrepreneurship, being an army person, look into the emerging market, put efforts to create a company, sell your tickets for Rs.1 and get marketed yourself. Then screw up with your Service and quality and finally sell your stake to a company for a handfull money.

Vijay Mallya, 50, was elected as Chairman of United Breweries by shareholders at the young age of 28, following the demise of his father in 1983. UB is growing like anything and Mallaya started building sky scrappers in the hottest place near to MG Road, Bangalore. Kingfisher Airlines has already notched up a marked share of 9% in India and has ordered 30 Airbus A-320 Aircraft, 5 Airbus A-330 Aircraft, 5 Airbus A-350 Aircraft, 5 Airbus A-380 Aircraft and 5 A340-500 Aircraft in addition to 35 ATR 72-500 turboprop Aircraft to cater to its growth and route expansion plans till 2012.

So ultimately a market itself shrinks under an umbrella.

Then, what else? Black money.... God save US

Do we really?

Sometimes, I do think that are we really passion about our country?

FYI, this is my 250th Post.

US asks Infy, Wipro to explain use of H-1B visas

Contending that the H-1B visa programme is being abused to displace qualified American workers, two US lawmakers have asked nine foreign-based firms, including some leading Indian companies that used 20,000 of such visas, to disclose details about their workforce and their use of the special programme.

As the US Senate gets ready to take up the comprehensive immigration reform legislation, the two top law makers -- Republican Senator Charles Grassley and Democratic Senator Richard Durbin -- said "more and more it appears that companies are using H-1B visas to displace qualified, American workers."

"As we move closer to debate on an immigration bill, I continue to hear how people want to increase the number of H-1B visas that are available to companies. Considering the high amount of fraud and abuse in the visa programme, we need to take a good, hard look at the employers who are using H-1B visas and how they are using them," Grassley said in a statement.

"Supporters claim the goal of the H-1B programme is to help the American economy by allowing companies to hire needed foreign workers. The reality is that too many H-1B visas are being used to facilitate the outsourcing of American jobs to other countries," Senator Durbin said.

The two have written letters to the firms to determine if the programme is being used for its intended purpose, which is to fill a worker shortage for a temporary time period.

The companies the senators sent letters to were Infosys Technologies, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services, Patni Computer Systems, I-Flex Solutions, Satyam Computer Services, Larsen & Toubro Infotech, Tech Mahindra Americas and Mphasis.

Tamil Blogs

Tamil Blogs- One of the fastest growing community. All of the Tamil blogs can be viewed from these following aggregation websites.

http://tamil.blogkut.com/ சங்கமம்- Aggregates all of the Tamil blogs, news and videos not required to register with. also Comments aggregated.

http://tamil.kanimai.com - Aggregates all of the Tamil blogs, not required to register with.

To these aggregators, bloggers have to register with them to get served for blogs.

http://thamizmanam.com -Aggregates blogs and comments and one of the tamil blogs Aggregation pioneer. Have to have a their source code in the blog's templates.

http://thenkoodu.com -Aggregates blogs. Have to have a their source code in the blog's templates.

http://tamilblogs.com - Aggregates blogs.

http://thiratti.com- aggregates blogs.

http://tamilveli.com- Aggregates blogs and comments.
Update : 2008-Jan

A Bit Masala-RajniKanth

Once, Newton came to India and watched a few Tamil movies that had his head spinning. He was convinced that all his logic and laws in physics were just a huge pile of junk and apologized for everything he had done.

In the movie of Rajanikanth, Newton was confused to such an extent that he went paranoid.

Here are a few scenes


1) Rajanikanth has a Brain Tumor which, according to the doctors can't be cured and his death is imminent. In one of the fights, our great Rajanikanth is shot in the head. To everybody's surprise, the bullet passes through his ears taking away the tumor along with it and he is cured! Long Live Rajanikanth!


2) In another movie, Rajanikanth is confronted with 3 gangsters. Rajanikanth has a gun but unfortunately only one bullet and a knife. Guess, what he does? He throws the knife at the middle gangster? & shoots the bullet towards the knife. The knife cuts the bullet into 2 pieces, which kills both the gangsters on each side of the middle gangster & the knife kills the middle one.


3) Rajanikanth is chased by a gangster. Rajanikanth has a revolver but no bullets in it. Guess, what he does. Nah? not even in your remotest imaginations. He waits for the gangster to shoot. As soon as the gangster shoots, Rajanikanth opens the bullet compartment of his revolver and catches the bullet. Then, he closes the bullet compartment and fires his gun. Bang... the gangster dies...

This was too much for our Newton to take! He was completely shaken and decided to go back. But he happened to see another movie for one last time, and thought that at least one movie would follow his theory of physics. The whole movie goes fine and Newton is happy that all in the world hasn't changed. Oops, not so fast!

The 'climax' finally arrives. Rajanikanth gets to know that the villain is on the other side of a very high wall. So high that Rajanikanth can't jump even if he tries like one of those superman techniques that our heroes normally use. Rajanikanth has to desperately kill the villain because it's the climax. (Newton dada is smiling since it is virtually impossible?) Rajanikanth suddenly pulls two guns from his pockets. He throws one gun in the air and when the gun has reached above the height of the wall, he uses the second gun and shoots at the trigger of the first gun in air. The first gun fires off and the villain is dead.

About Budget 2007-By IT Giants

Union Budget 2007 has disappointed India Inc. The IT industry seems particularly miffed at some of the proposals. Here are some of the voices from the industry on the Budget and the impact it would have on the sector.

"The impact would be substantial for the industry, but a little less for us as we pay slightly higher withholding tax in most key overseas markets such as the US and Europe and enjoy double taxation avoidance credit. The net negative impact for Infosys, therefore, would be about 1.5 % of our total net income."

- V Balakrishnan, CFO, Infosys Technologies

“We are dismayed at the proposal to extend MAT on export incomes which are exempt under Sections 10A and 10B. This is a regressive step that withdraws government’s commitment to provide tax incentives till 2009, on the basis of which companies have made their business plans and investment decisions. This could affect investor confidence and growth in this sector,”

- Kiran Karnik, President, Nasscom

"This is totally negative for the software sector since none of our issues have been addressed. He did not say anything about the continuation of STPI scheme nor was there anything concrete on SEZs. On the other hand, he has extended minimum alternate tax (MAT) to IT companies. They have also imposed a 1 percent education cess."

- Deepak Ghaisas, CEO, I-Flex Solutions

"It will definitely have a very negative impact on the sentiment. It is like the government has decided to pull back the support to IT industry mid-way through,"

- Manoranjan Mohapatra, President and CEO, Flextronics

"It would have been better if the government had looked at the positive benefits of getting higher personal income tax from the IT professionals rather than trying to erode our margins so seriously."

- Vishnu Dusad, Managing Director, Nucleus Software

"The good thing is that the government's overall push for e-governance projects, higher outlay on IT education, computerisation of PDF and FCI will result in a positive demand for the demand for PC hardware."

- Vinnie Mehta, Executive Director, MAIT

"There are some positives in the budget for the software sector like the increase in the allocation for e-governance projects, "pass through" status for tech VC funds and doubling of allocation for secondary education. But the negatives are that they've not spoken about the STPI. The introduction of MAT will have a significant impact on smaller IT companies. Bringing ESOP under fringe benefit tax has to be clarified because ESOPs are meant to retain talent."

- Ashank Desai, Executive Chairman, Mastek Ltd

"We appreciate the reduction in the rate of customs duty and the increased outlays for e-Governance. At the same time, the imposition of MAT on the deductions applicable to IT companies and increase in the Dividend Distribution Tax could have been avoided."

- Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India

"With respect to MAT, though there is an increase in coverage of MAT for 10A/10B companies, there is the facility of carry forward of MAT which is available to all companies. So in effect we will not have much impact on profits."

- Amar Chintopanth, Executive Director and CFO, 3i Infotech

"We are also happy that the government has decided to increase expenditure on infrastructure and education, which will have a positive effect on the BPO industry. However we are disappointed with the introduction of MAT for companies which were formerly exempted from MAT under Sec 10A and 10B."

- Susir Kumar, CEO, Intelenet Global Services Ltd

"The imposition of MAT on the ITES industry is dissappointing as is the lack of any announcement on the exemption of the 10A-10B benefit beyond 2009."

- Ananda Mukerji, MD & CEO Firstsource

"A key task for industry and government is to increase the PC penetration rate by making the PC more affordable. We were hoping for drops in CVD (currently 16%) and SAD (currently 4%) on components/ peripherals to help the PC become cheaper. So no news, while being perceived as neutral impact, is actually bad news."

- Moninder Jain, Director, South East Asia & India, Logitech

"It is heartening to see that the Government is committed to e-governance, having increased the allocation both at the Center and state level, with a new scheme for manpower development in the software export industry. Computerization programmes for the public distribution system and FCI will also enhance efficiency and benefit the common man."

- Jangoo Dalal, President, India & SAARC, Cisco

"There is no change in the IT hardware industry, so prices remain the same. We had not expected any changes; in fact, we had recommended that no changes be made. We are happy with the budget."

- Raj Saraf, CEO, Zenith Computers

Big Brother-Shilpa Wins!

Sensational Shilpa has been crowned the winner of Celebrity Big Brother after polling 67% of the final vote. A window-smashing scream welcomed the news, along with disbelief from the shocked actress. "Are you kidding me?" she bawled, accompanied by the compulsory waterworks.
Story continues below
Unlike earlier sobbing sessions, these were definitely tears of joy. Following her farewell to Jermaine she dashed to the toilet to gain some composure. Amidst an awesome firework display, she emerged to an adoring crowd and frantically blew kisses. History has been made. The self-proclaimed 'Angelina Jolie' of Bollywood, Shilpa's stay has been dominated by culinary-related rows and flirtations with a certain A-Team legend.

A beacon of calm when engulfed in a verbal storm, Shilpa's outlook was perhaps helped by her regular meditation sessions. She even gave Carole and Ken a tutorial on Day 2! But when Jackiey and Jade came in to form their extended Family, it wasn't long before sparks started to fly. Who knew that the pronunciation of a two-syllable name would prove so problematic? Shilpa's devotion to feeding the housemates didn't quite win her unanimous support, as Danielle, Jade and Jo debated the health and safety of her chicken. And then came the great stock cube argument...

But Shilpa managed to sail through stormy waters with her head held high and her oversized sunglasses firmly secured. Apologies and cider were soon heaped upon her and her infectious laughter was regularly heard bouncing off the walls of the House.

Especially when there was a spot of Dirky Dancing... Ah yes, Dirk. The articulate actress attracted the attention of a certain lovestruck A-Team star and their frequent fliratations were welcome relief. Dirk admitted tcarrying a torch for her back on Day 5, but alas the fire never quite ignited between them.

She also formed a close bond with Jermaine, who functioned as 'her rock' in times of need. And with child-like wonder, she witnessed her first snow fall on Day 22. Her time in the House was definitely full of emotion and incident, and she has won over a legion of new fans.

Shilpa - the deserved winner of Celebrity Big Brother - we salute you!

Is it because of Fame? Vote? Controversy? Sympathy? Unity?

Info Thanks:channel 4

How to recruit the right person for the job?

One more forwarded mail Blog

Put about 100 bricks in some particular order in a closed room with an open window.

Then send 2 or 3 candidates in the room and close the door.

Leave them alone and come back after 6 hours and then analyze the situation.

If they are counting the bricks.
Put them in the accounts department.

If they are recounting them..
Put them in auditing.

If they have messed up the whole place with the bricks.
Put them in engineering.

If they are arranging the bricks in some strange order.
Put them in planning.

If they are throwing the bricks at each other.
Put them in operations.

If they are sleeping.
Put them in security.

If they have broken the bricks into pieces.
Put them in information technology.

If they are sitting idle.
Put them in human resources.

If they say they have tried different combinations, yet not a brick has been moved.
Put them in sales.

If they have already left for the day.
Put them in marketing.

If they are staring out of the window.
Put them on strategic planning.

And then last but not least.
If they are talking to each other and not a single brick has been moved.
Congratulate them and put them in top management.

ATM-->Robbers

Adding to my previous post a good initiative taken by all banks to help investigate on ATM-Thefts.

If you should ever be forced by a robber to withdraw money from an ATM
machine, you can notify the police by entering your Pin # in reverse.

For example if your pin number is 1234 then you would put in 4321. The
ATM recognizes that your pin number is backwards from the ATM card you
placed in the
machine.
The machine will still give you the money you requested, but unknown to
the robber, the police will be immediately dispatched to help you.

This information was recently broadcasted on TV and it states that it is
seldom used because people don't know it exists.

Microsoft Partners with Novell for Suse Linux

According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft has entered into a partnership with Novell Inc. to offer sales support and technology sharing for Novell's Suse Linux product.

While the deal has yet to be finalized, it represents a surprising new alliance between two warring sides in the operating system world. CEO Steve Ballmer made the announcement at a San Francisco news conference that Linux plays an "important role" in many companies, including Microsoft itself. "We see huge potential upside in these markets."

Novell's Suse Linux is currently the second largest commercial Linux distribution, with first place going to Red Hat. As a result of the announcement, shares in Novell jumped 16% to $6.79.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but one of the high points is the expected construction of a joint research facility where the two companies can design and test their software together. Improvements in compatibility between Microsoft Office and OpenOffice are also expected.

Speculation about the long-term outcome of this union has begun already. Frank Artale, vice-president of XenSource, noted that Microsoft's embracing of Suse Linux as opposed to another particular variant could cause a "halo effect" in that the association between the two could make users choose it over another distribution. The open-source community also may have reservations about using a distribution that is "sleeping with the enemy."

As another part of the deal, Microsoft agreed not to file patent infringement charges against Suse users, and Novell has agreed not to sue users of Windows.
Thanks:Daily Tech

Now it's Chennai Turn

IT professional abducted, molested
CHENNAI:In a shocking incident that exposes the absence of security, a young woman working with a software company was allegedly abducted in a share autorickshawand molested by two youth last week.

Worse, the police have almost hit a dead end in the case as the victim, on the advice of her parents, has allegedly refused to lodge a formal complaint and the identity of the accused has not been established.

According to police sources, the 22-year old woman had left on the evening of Wednesday last hired ashare autorickshaw just outside her office in Thoraipakkam to go to herresidence in Velachery.

The victim told us that it was raining that day and the autorickshaw driver had rolled the shutter sheet down. Midway through the journey she peeped outside and found that the autorickshaw was not proceeding on the Velachery route and attempted to raise an alarm.

Immediately, a youth aged around 25 who was seated next to the driver jumped on to the back seat, slapped her and ordered her to keep her mouthshut, a police officer said.

In the meantime, the girl had managed to alert her friends by sending SMS messages through her mobile phone.

As the vehicle neared a college campus in Karapakkam on the outskirts, the two men dragged her out of the vehicle to a bushy area and raped her. Hearing the victim scream, the security guards of the college blew the whistle alerting apatrol vehicle.

Meanwhile, the police and her parents were alerted by the girl's friends and they launched a hunt for her along the Thoraipakkam Road . Finally, thepatrol vehicle personnel spotted her near the college with her dress torn andgot her admitted to a private hospital in Velachery, the officer said.

The driver and his accomplice had fled the scene much earlier after taking away the girl's gold chain and a bag containing an ATM card and cash.

Though the girl did not lodge a formal complaint, the Thoraipakkam police intercepted several share autorickshaws and sought to match the description provided by the girl with that of the driver's.

"We have not achieved a breakthrough so far but we are hoping to convincethe victim to lodge a complaint which is crucial to nail the accused" the officer added


So Girls
Please see through that you leave early and at a reasonable time toprevent any such happenings.

Such incidents have become very frequent, especially to those working in the s/w industry because of the latetimings.

Even guys have been abducted off their belongings. So ALL should take care of their safety and plz pass this on,So that evry1 is aware of it.

Already I have blogged the same type of incident happend in Bangalore. Now it's Chennai.

Things we miss/wish in life

1. 5 minutes ago you were traveling to office at 80 mph. in your brand new car. Now you are traveling to hospital at double the speed in an ambulance, You wish there was 'undo (ctrl + Z)' in life!

2. You are already late, and your key is missing, You wish there was 'find tool (ctrl+F)' in life!

3. You are a bankrupt, after investing in some weird business, You wish there was 'rebuild all' in life!

4. The train is so crowded that you cannot get anywhere near that nice girl at the other end, You wish there was 'zoom & view full screen'in life!

5. After marriage you realize that there is bound to be a mismatch, You wish there was an 'evaluation period' or atleast a 'sample download' or a 'demo version'!

6. One day you realize that you are turning bald, You wish there was 'cut and paste (ctrl + X)/(ctrl + V)' in life! And the best one is ..........

7. The best part of the keyboard is U & I are together which is not always there in life......

"Traveller Tales"

Okhil Chandra Sen wrote this letter to the Sahibganj Divisional Railway Office in 1909. It is on display at the Railway Museum in New Delhi. It was also reproduced under the caption "Traveller Tales" in the Far Eastern Economic Review.

"I am arrive by passenger train Ahmedpur station and my
belly is too much swelling with jackfruit. I am therefore went
to privy. Just I doing the nuisance that guard making whistle
blow for train to go off and I am running with 'lotah' in one
hand and 'dhoti' in the next when I am fall over and expose all
my shocking to man and female women on plateform. I am got leaved
at Ahmedpur station.

This too much bad, if passenger go to make dung that dam
guard not wait train five minutes for him. I am therefore pray
your honour to make big fine on that guard for public sake.
Otherwise I am making big report to papers."

Thanks to Mr.Sen who saved our Privacy on Train Journey's, It led to the introduction of TOILETS in Indian trains.

'There's always a risk'

"It shows that Steve came over the top of the ray and the tail came up, and spiked him (in the chest), and he pulled it out and the next minute he's gone," .
He is one among my best in my fav. channel.

Break

Guys! Again I am going on a small(?1) Break, could be long one also.

Put a shark in your tank and see how far you can really go!

By challenging the problem you can overcome it. (its all crazy....!! )

The Japanese have always loved fresh fish. But the waters close to Japan have not
held many fish for decades. So to feed the Japanese population,fishing boats got
bigger and went farther than ever.

The farther the fishermen went, the longer it took to bring in the fish.If the
return trip took more than a few days, the fish were not fresh. The Japanese did not
like the taste.

To solve this problem, fishing companies installed freezers on their boats. They
would catch the fish and freeze them at sea. Freezers allowed the boats to go
farther and stay longer. However, the Japanese could taste the difference between
fresh and frozen and they did notlike frozen fish. The frozen fish brought a lower
price.

So fishing companies installed fish tanks. They would catch the fish and stuff them
in the tanks, fin to fin. After a little thrashing around, the fish stopped moving.
They were tired and dull, but alive.

Unfortunately, the Japanese could still taste the difference. Because the fish did
not move for days, they lost their fresh-fish taste. The Japanese preferred the
lively taste of fresh fish, not sluggish fish.

So how did Japanese fishing companies solve this problem? How do they get
fresh-tasting fish to Japan?

To keep the fish tasting fresh, the Japanese fishing companies still put the fish in
the tanks. But now they add a small shark to each tank. The shark eats a few fish,
but most of the fish arrive in a very lively state.

The fish are challenged.

As soon as you reach your goals, such as finding a wonderful mate,starting a
successful company, paying off your debts or whatever, you might lose your passion.
You don't need to work so hard so you relax.

Like the Japanese fish problem, the best solution is simple. It was observed by L.
Ron Hubbard in the early 1950's.

"Man thrives, oddly enough, only in the presence of a challenging environment."

The Benefits of a Challenge

The more intelligent, persistent and competent you are, the more you enjoy a good
problem. If your challenges are the correct size, and if you are steadily conquering
those challenges, you are happy. You think of your challenges and get energized. You
are excited to try new solutions. You have fun. You are alive!
Recommendations

Instead of avoiding challenges, jump into them. Beat the heck out of them. Enjoy the
game.

If your challenges are too large or too numerous, do not give up. Failing makes you
tired. Instead,reorganize. Find more determination,more knowledge,more help.

Don't create success and lie in it. You have resources, skills and abilities to make
a difference. Put a shark in your tank and see how far you can really go!

Blogger, the Originated Story

Pyra Labs is the company who discovered/coined/invented the word Blogger and made the service a big success. That’s why most of our time is being eaten here.

Evan Williams and Meg Hourihan the founder, and the company's first product, also named 'Pyra', was a web application which would combine a project manager, contact manager, and to-do list. In 1999, while still in beta, the rudiments of Pyra were repurposed into an in-house tool which became Blogger. The service was made available to the public in August 1999, when likely fewer than 100 web logs existed. Much of this coding was done by Paul Bausch and Matthew Haughey.

Initially, Blogger was completely free and there was no revenue model. When the company's seed money dried up, the employees continued without pay for weeks or, in some cases, months; but this could not last, and eventually Williams faced a mass walk-out by everyone including co-founder Hourihan. Williams ran the company virtually alone until he was able to secure an investment by Trellix after its founder Dan Bricklin became aware of Pyra's situation. Eventually advertising-supported blogspot and Blogger Pro emerged.

In 2002, Blogger was completely re-written in order to license it to other companies, the first of which was Brazilian mega-corp Globo. I started blogging 2003(introduced by Cogito), deleted and recreated many times due to my inexperience in XML coding.

That is the time where Google started acquiring companies at 2003. As a sweep Google acquired Blogger in 2003 and become familiar to everybody. The people at Pyra Labs at the time of acquisition were Evan Williams, Jason Shellen, Steve Jenson, Rudy Winnacker, Jason Sutter, and Jason Goldman. Still I remember the day when left Blog with tears

In 2004, Evan Williams left Google. In 2006, Jason Goldman left Google.

So guys, hope you enjoyed the history of blogging.

Australian air Express joins iCargo initiative

Australian air Express, Australia's premier nationwide express air freight service, has joined the Core Group of Influence (CGI) Forum set up by IBS Software Services and will participate in the development of a next generation air cargo and logistics management system, "iCargo".

Australian air Express becomes the fifth member of the CGI Forum, which currently has on it as members Air New Zealand Cargo, Gulf Air, South African Airways Cargo and Qantas Freight.

IBS Software Services, a global IT company providing solutions to the Travel Transportation and Logistics (TTL) industry and based in Technopark here, embarked on the development of iCargo in 2003. The system is a new generation design using the latest Web-based tools and multi-tiered architecture, which will be a catalyst for change for cargo carriers within the logistics industry.

iCargo will enable the airlines, ground handlers and freight forwarders to enhance cargo business profitability and respond rapidly to changing market conditions, said Mr V.K. Mathews, Chairman and Managing Director, IBS Group.

iCargo will comprehensively address the entire logistics chain from shipper to consignee using Web-based

Google on Wireless

Google has opened a wireless Internet umbrella over its hometown in northern California's high-tech Silicon Valley, enabling anyone in the city to connect online for free.

"It worked smashingly," Chris Sacca, Google head of special initiatives, said on Wednesday. "We have really been looking forward to this day. The citizens have embraced it as their network."

Google spent one million dollars creating a network that lets people with wireless-enabled computers, telephones or other devices to link to the Internet nearly anywhere in the city of Mountain View, which covers almost 31 sqkm.

Google affixed WiFi antennae to city-owned lamp posts and was working with residents who have offered their homes as antenna spots in 'dead zones.'

The cost of running the system was "phenomenally cheap" and the network was in keeping with Google's belief in universal access to the Internet and the world's information, according to Sacca.

"One of the main goals of the project was to inspire citizens to realize there is this promise of access and at the same time to inspire entrepreneurs to develop networks," Sacca said.

"What better way to go ahead and put your money where your mouth is than to build a network and show that it works."

The wireless network also provides Google's more than 1,000 employees in the city opportunities to experiment with new technologies and services.

Doctor Vs Mechanic

Doctors are considered as GOD, even mechanics also, when there is a necessasity. But there is a huge difference between both the way they work here is an example story.

A mechanic was removing the cylinder heads from the motor of a car when he spotted the famous heart surgeon in his shop, who was standing off to the side, waiting for the service manager to come to take a look at his car.

The mechanic shouted across the garage,"Hello Doctor! Please
come over here for a minute." The famous surgeon, a bit surprised,
walked over to the mechanic.

The mechanic straightened up, wiped his hands on a rag and asked argumentatively, "So doctor, look at this. I also open hearts, take valves out, grind 'em, put in new parts, and when I finish this will work as a new one. So how come you get the big money, when you and me is doing basically the same work? "


The doctor leaned over and whispered to the mechanic....


"TRY TO DO IT WHEN THE ENGINE IS RUNNING..."

Security Patches

Later the software release, we used send the security patches. Is it possible for Security in Bangalore. Mail from my friend:
//Vinoth Alagesan//

Hi All,

I would like to share one incident which happened to my friend Gawtham, (He is working in Valtech), today early morning. He is staying in Belandur came from his native town to banglore at 4 AM. From Silk board he got into an auto and got down at Belandur (Out Ring Road, near Intel Office) and walked towards his house.

Suddenly one Toyota Qualis came and stopped in front of him and took him inside vehicle and started to move. Inside the vehicle there were 5 people including driver and already caught two girls. (My friend saw that girl's ID card and found they are
Wipro employees). They have tied everyone's legs ,hands and plastered their mouth.
Those thieves had taken all the credit cards as well as money from him. They asked him ATM PIN number for this debit card. This guy had given wrong number.One of the thief went to the ATM and tried withdrawing it.
Then he come to know it is invalid number. They beaten him up severely front and back. His hands got fractured and they had cut his fingers,hands using knife.
Then he told the correct number , those thief had withdrawn 18,000 from the ATM and
threw him away in some place near to Ramamoorthy nagar. He shouted for help. It is early in the morning ,everyone scared to come and have a look . He slowly moved towards the road and got a help from one kind heart person who had given him hundred rupees. He caught the auto and came to my house.
I couldn't able to forget the way he came to my house.This hands and legs are fully blooded as if he was met in an accident done by the vehicle. This back side has the red marks. I took him to the hospital.He is getting treatment now. He doesn't know what happened to those girls till now.

If you are staying late night , Plz Go only by your office cab.Take to your home for dropping you.

Folks, This is happened early in the morning. Make sure while coming from your native to bangalore, you will be reaching between 5 to 6AM and getdown in the Bus stand where there is crowd. But be very careful on your way to house. Unfortunately, If you are getting caught by thief, Give your cards,ATM number,jewels everything. Your Life is more precious than your money and belongings.

If it is not very important dont carry your credit and ATM cards everyday with you.

Please fowrard this information to all your dear ones and friends.

Regards
Vinoth Alagesan.

Stop, two more incidents.

This happend a year before
After the previous incedent, it is latest(Security Can't do anything on this)

Thanks to Rediff News And Friend(s) who forwarded the Information

Abhinav - A new Rifle Mantra

Abhinav Bindra, a new Shooter who is ready for Advertisement Agencies to book for their products. Starting the year on a glorious note, ace shooter Abhinav Bindra bagged the gold medal in the Air Rifle event in Intershoot Den Haag-2005 Championship in The Hague, Holland. After this event he is qualified for Olympics 2008. He is the 5th person, prior to him Anjali, Rathore, Gagan, and Manav Jith were participated in Olympics.


Rifle, is emerging in the games and we are slowly moving ahead in Tennis, Shuttle Badminton (my Fav), chess, squash and Racing. This shows a good sign in Indian sports, let advertisement people start glimpsing on them to make them popular.

Proud of being an Indian

Lift your collors for the first in world to develop vaccine for Brid Flu.
Poultry owners across the country can finally take a sigh of relief as the vaccine for bird flu has been developed. The Indian Council for Agriculture Research of Bhopal has made this breakthrough development. The vaccine is in the trial stage now.
// The H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed 132 people worldwide since 2003, according to the World Health Organisation. Indian authorities also say that bird flu has subsided and in six months the country could be declared free from the infection. Union Agriculture Minister, Sharad Pawar made the announcement of the vaccine. "I would like to congratulate all the scientists particularly. Within no time they have succeeded to develop this particular type if vaccine. We are taking trials and we will be able to release at it an appropriate time," Pawar said. //