Polaroid Karma

2007-07-24T15:36:00.000+05:30

Alonso Shines in German Rain

Double World Champion Fernando Alonso took a brilliant victory in German Grand Prix, held at the Nurburgring. Alonso who was trailing Felipe Massa from lap 1 overtook him with four laps remaining to complete memorable race. Heavy showers on lap 1 caused a dramatic chaos as drivers headed to pits for change of tires. Kimi Raikkonen the pole setter couldn't control his Ferrari and slipped past the pit lane entrance on a very undrivable track. This mistake proved costly as he had to come back to pits a lap later and virtually losing out any chances of winning the race. Five other drivers including Lewis Hamilton spun out at turn 1, which is a downhill track and had massive water logging. Nico Rosberg, Jenson Button, Tonio Luizzi, Scott Speed were other big name casualties, mostly Button as he was in 4th position and one of the best drivers in wet conditions.

The chaotic opening lap gave rookie German on debut, Markus Winklehock a chance to lead the race albeit under the safety car. The continuous downpour meant, track was becoming dangerous and the race was red flagged on lap 7.

The race resumed 35 minutes later under the safety car with controversial pull back of Lewis Hamilton by race marshalls from the gravel trap. Later he was allowed to unlap himself under the safety car. These decisions are still seeking clarification from FIA and rules need to be clarified. However at the front Felipe Massa quickly overtook Winklehock for race lead, Alonso following closely with Mark Webber following in 3rd. Kimi Raikkonen was 7th behind compatriot Heikki Kovalainnen and Giancarlo Fisichella. As the track was drying out, Kimi was the first of the leading pack to pit in and opt for full dry tires. It proved a master stroke as in one lap he went from 6th to 3rd as other drivers pitted one lap later. Lewis Hamilton who resumed the race at back in P17 started on dry tires. Though he lost substantial time at the beginning but became the fastest man on track.

Early pit stops meant everybody was doing a long second stint. Like many times in the past Kimi met his usual bad luck at Nurburgring as he suffered from a broken hydraulics and had to retire on lap 35. He was closely following Alonso and looked certain to finish second in a faster Ferrari. The most dramatic moments came as the race was about to finish, once again rain clouds opened up and everybody had to pit, it was a frantic pit stop where Alosno muscled his way out ahead of the Renaults. His supreme driving ability came to forefront when he overtook Massa who has to be said is not very competitive in full wet conditions. As he admitted later it left a "bitter taste in his mouth", however the official Ferrari explanation was 'tire vibrations'

So a brilliant display from Alonso means he is within 2 points of Lewis and if he wins the next race in Hungary he would lead the WDC. Lewis Hamilton's amazing run of podium finishes ended after a phenomenal start of the season. The Brit Rookie finished a rather disappointing 9th. He was the fastest man during the middle stint and pulled some all time great overtaking moves, the one on Fisichella around the outside where he crashed less than 24 hours ago would remain in the memories for long time. Felipe Massa was the fastest driver in dry conditions, however he must improve his rain driving abilities, because he lost out on certain race victory. Kimi Raikkonen must now officially mean bad luck in Finnish. The only good thing for Kimi was that gap at the top remains the same.

With rain havoc in Germany, one thing is assured, any of the current top 4 driver now could win the WDC. Yummy!

2007-07-09T22:19:00.001+05:30

Kimi Raikkonen redeemed his reputation as the fastest man in Formula 1 by winning back to back Grand Prix in France and Great Britain. Two weeks ago he won the French GP (held for last time at Magny Course) from team mate Felipe Massa. His victory came from nowhere as Kimi outpaced Massa in crucial 3-4 laps before both drivers made their second pit stop. Massa was leading the race at that stage and labeled Kimi's win as 'sheer luck'.

Looking back at Kimi's dismal performance after all conquering performance in season openening race in Australia, many gave credibility to Massa's assessment. But the Iceman that he is, did all the talking with his Ferrari 2007 on Silverstone race track, home of the British Grand Prix. He won in an empathic fashion from old rival Fernando Alonso putting in Schumacher-isqe blistering fast laps at crucial points of the race. In fact Raikkonen was super fast all weekend and should have started on pole, he was heavier on fuel load than pole setter and current British sensation rookie Lewis Hamilton, but for a small mistake at the final corner Kimi lost out by 1 tenth of a second.

Raikkonen's first win for Ferrari on debut started, what many believe would be another era of domination. Michael Schumacher had left big boots to be filled, Raikkonen very much looked man capable of filling. Instead it was his team mate of junior stature, Brazillian Felipe Massa who took the fight against resurgent McLaren-Mercedes team. Raikkonen's performance started falling below standard as Massa started winning races. With back to back victories in Bahrain and Spain all of a sudden Massa looked very much a genuine contender for 2007 FIA World Formula 1 Driver Championship. Kimi was struggling with car, with every disappointing race finish, critics started questioning his work ethic and skills. But he replied in his trade mark ice cool fashion by getting back on race pace in US, French and British GP.

Kimi has always been a bit of prodigy, he got his super license only after competing in 20 odd races for Junior Formula. Peter Sauber his first F1 employer was so impressed by his performance that he organized a special super license to driver a F1 car. Kimi soon caught attention of Ferrari Legend Michael Schumacher in one of the private test sessions. Schumacher was so impressed by Kimi's ability to carry speed into curbs and corners he inquired more about Kimi and later on suggested him as his successor to Ferrari management.

Kimi's raw speed soon caught attention of McLaren boss Ron Deniss who gave him a race seat even though he finished the season behind his team mate Nick Heidfeld. His fiver year stint at McLaren was mixed bag of fortunes, often hampered by defective machinery Kimi lost 2003 and 2005 championship even though he was the fastest driver. On more than couple of occasion his McLaren used to give up while he was in race lead.

Michael Schumacher's retirement opened a wonderful opportunity to join Ferrari, who build cars that are not only fast but reliable as well. Although many believed that Kimi will dominate straight away in a Ferrari, some were skeptic that his rather dry public persona won't win the heart's of Tifosis. Kimi knew straight away that Ferrari F2007 car wasn't developed according to his driving style. The new control tyres by Bridgestone meant that he could not attack the curbs as he used with sleeker Michelin's. Inspite of the fact that he dominated the Australian GP, he knew he will struggle in the upcoming races.

After round 9 of the championship F2007 is now more to Kimi's liking now and it's not a con-incidence we are beginning to see what he can really do. He has displayed amazing raw speed mixed with an attitude of a natural racer in last couple of GP, a skill possesed by few in this sport. With half the season still to go, if Kimi and F2007 keep evolving in manner they have done over the last 3-4 races. Kimi surely will bring glory to Maranello, which is seeing a very unusual dry period.

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2007-03-22T09:45:00.000+05:30

It's Kimi Raikkonen

Ferrari's replacement for Legendary Michael Schumacher scored an emphatic victory at 2007's season opener event of Australian Grand Prix, held at street circuit of Albert Park. Raikkonen dominated the 58 lap race from the opening lap which he started from Pole position. McLaren-Mercedes Fernando Alonso came in second, with British rookie sensation Lewis Hamilton taking a much talked about third place. Raikkonen completed the race very much in the same fashion as his predecessor at Ferrari used to, dominating the race and putting in some stunning laps in the middle stint of the race only to cruise and save machinery til end of the event. Raikkonen's fastest lap almost a second quicker than any of his closest rival on the day.

Felipe Massa, the second Ferrari driver drove in home sixth starting from a the back of the grid, it was a solid performace though a bit disappointing considering his raw speed show in the last half of previous season. With his car over 1 second quicker than the rest of the field, he could have had podium or faught of third position. Giancarlo Fissichella of Renault, taking mantle from WDC Fernando Alonso was 5th, behind BMW's Nick Heidfeld who finished fourth comfirming BMW's status as the third best team on the grid.

Australians Can't Play Spin

2006-10-20T22:52:00.000+05:30

Australia's spin demons were clearly exposed in the Champions Trophy game against the West Indies. The part time spin of Marlon Samuels and Chris Gayle halted the Aussie charge for modest total of 234. By no means Samuels and Gayle are world class off-spinners they are good enough to keep hold of one end, but against Aussie they were made to look as good as Bhajji and Murali.

Australia's spin woe's date back to the 1990's. While their team was preparing a blue print of world domination they were forgetting a little art of playing quality spin on turning tracks. Saqlain exposed this on his first tour of Australia and most Aussie batsman, especially only Greg Blewett was left mesmerised. In the last 15 years only Mark Waugh looked comfortable playing spin on Indian tracks.

If Australians don't change their mindset they will continue to struggle against quality spin bowling, ask Ian Chappell.

IE7 Is Coming, But Is It The Future?

2006-10-18T02:53:00.000+05:30

Soon Microsoft Corporation will announce a launch date for it’s much anticipated update to Internet Explorer browser. To be precise it’s taking them more than 7 years to take a version leap, people at Flock should take some solace. Apparently IE 7 will settle the browser war, sounds much like a Death Star in intergalactic war of browser.

For many people browser is internet and for much more people they couldn’t care less about which browser they are using. Open check the stuff, end off. However, it’s not any wonder that people who use non IE based browser tend to get less spyware or malware on their computers, blame IE and their less than pathetic technology.Microsoft hasn’t done any serious development on their browser band and in my books it takes away all the credibility. For ages now they have been hiding under the excuse that since IE is the most popular browser it gets more threats, of course true, however whats their excuse on ignoring IE development for some years now? Unless you consider issuing patches as development.

The reason why IE is going 7 is simple, Mozilla Firefox. Arguably the best browser out their. With it’s dedicated non- profit based development team Mozilla is defining the path for what browser should be like. Their next step is intelligent browsing, they are not content to see ‘tabs’ and ‘RSS’ feed. They are trying to bring a semantic organization of data in their approach, something Flock hinted at doing but it never seemed to be eventuating.

In spite of the fact that IE 7 will bring the initiative back to MS in browser war, they lack the collective intellect and creativity of people at Mozilla (very personal opinion based on user experience with out scientific evidence of course) But for the sake of competition I am delighted to have IE up and fighting. Let the real Internet war begins, only if Mozilla could take up arms against rather crappy Windows Live Messenger. Alas!

Google: Will Ambitions Bite The Nails of Success?

2006-08-28T16:42:00.000+05:30

Google has launched it’s ambitions Online Office Suite. In doing so they are biting into territory that Microsoft holds very dearly. MS Office is by far one of the most profitable software package outside Asian countries (read Piracy). The software tools were available as standalone Beta products for a while now in very Google tradition of software lifecycle. However packaging them as suite is more of a marketing tool in a big bad corporate war, a one which I support and endorse.

I don’t ‘hate’ Microsoft, but in general I don’t like the fact they compete more than they innovate. To be honest, since I am not a software producer, only a user I don’t care too much how they go about their business. But they slack off and it’s a very disturbing attitude. They have been charging way too much money for some very mediocre products.

Google has changed the way people use the Internet. I used to have 5-6 email accounts, but I can’t believe I haven’t signed for a new email address since the arrival of Gmail. Google products are simple and they do the job. They don’t use fanciness to hide for lack of innovation. What more Google Products are free services with the least_annoyance_possible ads. However, they have a big task ahead if they want to compete with MS. It’s hard to change people’s habit, next to impossible task.

Google is taking a head on battle, instead they should have gone the conservative but effective way. They should have started with students, bundle and market these packages among students who’d go on to become key decision makers in corporate environment. It’s not very difficult to win students, they are more open, advanced and in general smarter in terms of technology than say mid 40s Executive Managers. Classic example being Apple whose first gen niche market has led to increase in 14% of overall sales.

I wish Google success. So far their offering seems to be in the interest of the user but for them to sustain they must first consolidate and then go on a full fledged war.

The Great Story Presenters

2006-08-21T02:17:00.000+05:30

In the middle of 80's when my parents got us VCR it was like a big thing. I used to watch movies non-stop, all kinds of movies from the shallow 80's pop types, to western to old black and white classics. I could watch movies for like 10 hours non stop. Quality was never an issue, quantity was, since it was summer and I had lots of people who influenced the type of movie we watched I had to imminently suffer an overdose. I felt I have become a magnetic duct tape and all those meaningless shots meanders looplessly over me.

That was the 80's growing up in the 90s it changed with so many vivid influences I formed this hidden tendency to filter and got picky . In my appreciations I became more demanding and less forgiving. With Turner Classic Movies I started exploring cinematic art. Introduction to classic Hollywood school would only make things worse. My grasp of English language was ordinary yet I could make connections with progression on screen. So cinema was just not an entertainment, it was a necessity however it could not dictate my fantasy and imagination but it formed a nice window into the unknown.

For me certain individuals and their form of story telling leaves me inspired. A Director is like a conductor in orchestra, he ensure that big puzzles are falling in the right places and between a start and an end there is a journey. After watching so many movies I don't expect to hear stories, I think there's only so many stories you can read or see. I expect a point is to be communicated across. Directos achieve it in different manner. Some are good at telling a simple story, some are good at presenting a picture, some are known for their ability to make us travel without moving. Here, I look back at some people who have done that for me.

ROBERT MULLIGAN I could not help being moved after watching To Kill A Mockingbird, the way whole story was crafted within the events, the way the tension was communicated across, was extra ordinarily done. I could relate to character so much that at times I felt for my own security. Mulligan's ability to bring a timid intensity to scene after scene is an incredible craft which could only be matched by Hitchcock.

CHRISTOPHER NOLAN He is the modern great. Nolan's ability to build character with the pace of the story is par excellence. He took Batman's comic book super powers and greatness so we can get a Hero. I am still amazed how Nolan's movies character grow as story grows, it's a fine balance that only a few could achieve

MILOS FORMAN Few Directors could capture such complex emotions as jealousy in a subtle manner as Forman did in Amadeus. He brought the dark side of Jack Nicholson to limelight and made us believe that our greatest beyond is within ourselves.

PETER WEIR In Master and Commander he takes us on a journey started in a very different world. His ability to present a story as narration without voice over make this Aussie a modern genius. He crafted heroes in ordinary men and their achievements documented so as we thrived to get in them characters.

STEVEN SPIELBERG Now what can I say about this Man. The Man who brought credibility to commercial cinema, his grandiose picturisation, sharp and realistic detailing and uber tight series of screen makes him perhaps one of the greatest movie directors of all time. No one can satisfy kids, adults, critics at the same. His story telling is neither indulgent nor simple, neither bland nor over the top.

MARTIN SCORSESE For me invented the urban underground. He was the first black film maker for me. India's own RGV has MS written all over him when he tries to depict a realistic gore in his next door yet heroic characters. Scorsese's legendary collaboration with Robert De Nero invented a blue print for all sorts of action thrillers in contemporary pop culture. New York won't be New York for international movie lovers without MS

INGMAR BERGMAN Bergman showed the modern world that CGI could be a useless tool in ancient times, his inventive and mind blowing camera work can put modern day sci-fi movies to shame, yet he never made a sci-fi movie. Bergman's complex characterization and maverick scenes stood him out from his age. He wrote the book of cinematography for me which was enhanced by Wim Wenders. I have never seen a director whose scenes could make me see a dream.

DAVID LYNCH I don't know what hit me after watching Mullholand Drive, I never knew a movie could challenge my senses in this way. I was exhausted and I was choking by the brilliance that this man achieved. Was it a dream in story on story in dream, I haven't figured out and I am sure you haven't either. He is Kubrick and Hitchcock in one.

WODDY ALLEN O God, I love this freak. I could never relate to his movies until I came into Woody's world. I thought he was a waste of space but once I was in his side of things, I thought every moment of my life was written by Woody Allen. His brand of humor is the tragedy of my life.

STANLEY KUBRICK Everytime I watch K's movies I think he is up there laughing at me, insulting my lack of intelligence. He was a genius in using cinematic art as expression. His agenda's had propaganda. His meanings were meaningless and beyond. His complexities were challenging, his sensory vision was ahead of times. His level of understanding was conceptualized in his movies. His simplicity was so simple that it appeared the most complex thing in the universe. For me, K could take the white out of blackest black.

technorati tags:movies, directors

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Google Listens!

2006-08-18T01:55:00.000+05:30

Just days after I put up my crybaby post about Google getting slow they have updated all the products I mentioned. Now, you my loyal readers now you know how much seriously I am taken on these God-damn Tubes.

On it's first anniversary the new and updated GTalk lets you do fantastic things such as transfer files. The UI must be designed by a database guy who is not interested at all on how things appear as long as they work. I used to do the same, but for multi billion dollar company isn't it a bit emabarassing to make such fundamental mistakes or we are being already taken for granted?

Blogger again has just fine tuned some nuts and bolts, though I am not going to jump too much into it's review as it's believed some of new features will be rolled out very soon. So far, judging by current new features I won't leave Wordpress even if they double my AdSense amount. However it should be a relief that atleast the Beta-Blogger is now on the same lap as WP

I am pleased with Writely. Sign up and you will know why I am so keenly waiting for it. I haven't tested the complex Wordprocessor formatting but so far it looks solid. Thank You Google as there is no-lag-time-in-you-typing-and-it- appearing on screen.

Skype

2006-08-16T17:16:00.000+05:30

Today VoIP is what text chat was in early 1990's. Often in my teens I used wonder only if I could explain a bit further to my friend what I mean when I write that. Often words can be very cold while chatting even if you don't mean it. Well love chatting and browsing for many of us that's Internet and perhaps computer. Using software is like habit and our habits don't change on day to day basis, however software do change on weekly basis. Computing technology is in it's growth phase, the products that we have been using for past 10 years were in their first generation. We well in Love with MSN Messenger and I couldn't thank Microsoft enough in 1997 for creating this product, but for me it's time to move on cause I believe what I fell in love is no longer loving me. Things change with time so have I, in fact the whole world has and it's time to say Goodbye and here is why.

I have been using Skype since a full version 2.5 was released some 2 months ago. It's a product that is ready to be rolled into mainstream and it's already one of the fastest growing communications client. The beauty about this client is that it just manages to save itself from being a bloatware, that a software is full of features most of them you don't require. This makes it simple yet not bland. I remember using winks a lot when it was introduced in MSN 7.0 But with time I started finding them annoying and irritating and I haven't used them much for a while, even most of my buddies don't use them.

Features Skype pretty much comes with all the features you requite in a modern day client. The call and hang up buttons are pretty intuitive and you straight away know how to call your friend. Transportability of knowledge is a key feature of any good UI design and Skype scores here. The interface is simple and laid out in uniformity with any chat client of it's previous generation. The Buddy list well laid out and you can see specific details of you buddy in a clear and simple way. However the features are a bit repetitive. Like "call" or "chat" options are repeated one time too many on the screens and in menu. This though could be useful for new user but can be obtrusive once you know the software. As expected the Windows version appear a bit short on aesthetics as compared to the Mac version. The chat UI is a beauty and it's the best chat screen I have seen of all IM's barring Adium, which is in another league.

Functionality Skype is pretty good on voice quality, however it plays up a bit slow connections. It uses it's proprietary protocol that gives you a very secured connection. However there is a severe drawback here, it can hog on your bandwidth you are having a conference call with 3 or more people, but then that's quite expected. So if you are below 512Kbps connection avoid multiple conference calls or else your comp's going to go groggy. The call quality is excellent either calling between Skype or Skype to landline. Being in India I haven't used the "Skype Out" feature to it's full but it is quite credible. The highlight has to be the conference call ability and it's very useful feature. Though, Skype projects itself more as a AV Chat Client, it's IM chatting is one for the best you will come across. The emoticons are rather useful and are just perfect for your average chat, no frills but fulfilling functionality. The Video part again is not as good as voice quality but then that is technology issue, it must be said Skype gives the best AV Chat experience for a non-Mac client.

Cons The most irritating thing about Skype is that while you're chatting in text you can't see when your buddy is typing and that's simply not acceptable. Skype has come up with various excuses but this but this is a major let down. Another major issue that I have come across is at times Skype can eat your bandwidth like hungry. This though has happened only on a few instances but it surely is a bug which the development team needs to address. The call connection can play up a bit at times and I have observed it's down to particular bugs, but then again it's better than most AV Chat clients barring a rather plane jane Google Talk.

All in all Skype 2.5 is a fantastic product and it's ready to take on MSN Messenger. If all your chatting is done for communication purpose I think it's time to give WLMessenger a boot. With exceptional sound quality and one of the best chat interface around Skype should be the default IM client.

Testing Windows Blog Writer

2006-08-15T18:04:00.000+05:30

The new windows live blog writer has recieved much attention in the bloggers fraternity and I am giving it a go. To be honest, the first impression is very positive and it feels like it is something that I can use, which doesn't necessarily come with all windows family products, my fave being WLMesseneger.

The web preview feature is pretty excellent as it gives a sneak peak as to how your post will appear on the actual blog itself. I am using the web layout compose mode and as I am writing I am virtually seeing my entry being created, pretty neat hey!

Another impressive quality is the lightness this software has. If you don't know what I mean trying opening up word document with couple of other software's running.

I will write a full review very soon after I am finished with playing with this little tool.

Gmail Without Invitation In Australia

2006-08-09T15:24:00.000+05:30

Theonly thing that hinders Gmail's growth is the fact it's still aninvitation-only service (except in the US and few other countries). PC World informs that, as of today, Australian and New Zealand residents can get a Gmail account without invitation.

"As we prepare to broaden availability, we have decided to launch theseefforts in Australia and New Zealand first," said a Google Australiaspokesperson. The Google representative said that Gmail will be out ofbeta when "strong internal metrics" will be met. Those who use Gmailknow that there are days when Gmail is not accessible or is very slow,so there are still problem with scalability.

technorati tags:gmail

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Gmail Without Invitation In Australia

2006-08-09T15:23:00.000+05:30

technorati tags:gmail

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Gmail Without Invitation In Australia

2006-08-09T15:22:00.000+05:30

"Aswe prepare to broaden availability, we have decided to launch theseefforts in Australia and New Zealand first," said a Google Australiaspokesperson. The Google representative said that Gmail will be out ofbeta when "strong internal metrics" will be met. Those who use Gmailknow that there are days when Gmail is not accessible or is very slow,so there are still problem with scalability.

technorati tags:gmail

Blogged with Flock

An Excellent Resource For Free Software

2006-08-04T20:41:00.000+05:30

File Hippo is a website I just came across that makes finding and downloading free software simple and effortless! It is organized into categories like browsers and plugins, anti-spyware, audio and video, and the list goes on an on. Essentially, if you’re looking for any type of software, File Hippo will most certainly have a category for it filled with different options. Best of all, the software is free. After stumbling across this, I think it will become my “go to” site for freeware. Here’s why…

One of the first features I noticed was their RSS feeds. RSS feeds have become an essential part of my day to make sorting through information that’s important to me a little bit easier. File Hippo provides feeds for updates, categories, and individual programs. Convenience is something I like, and this is sure a convenience.

Another feature that was attractive is the fact that they keep old versions of programs! Sometimes when I get a new version of a program only to find that the bugs haven’t been worked out, I want to go back to a previous version. At times, this can be hard to come by. No more wasted time trying to track down old versions of a program that aren’t available anymore.

Organization of a site and simply the looks of it are always important to me. While File Hippo has a simple user interface, it’s organized well and easy to find what you’re looking for. At the top of the website, they have a “latest updates” as well as a “most popular downloads” section. They claim to focus only on the best software so while quantity isn’t in large abundance, quality is. They also have a filtering feature that will show you only Freeware and/or Non-beta software.

Finally, one of the greatest reasons I’ve been intrigued with File Hippo is because downloading is super simple, and there are no popups or spyware. Downloading software these days without popups or spyware is almost unheard of. This is a breath of fresh air when you’re able to download without getting attacked by popups.

Here are my top picks in no particular order:

    * Anti-Virus: AVG Free Edition 7.1.394
    * Audio and Video: Winamp 5.2.5
    * CD and DVD Tools: DVD Decrypter 3.5.4.0
    * Messaging and Chat: Google Talk
    * Imaging: Picasa 2.5
    * Firewalls and Security: Sygate Personal Firewall

File Hippo is a great resource in helping you to find quality freeware that you’re interested in and it’s simple and easy to use. Check it out!

technorati tags:software, utility

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Find IP Location With Google Maps

2006-08-04T07:06:00.000+05:30

SEOmoz has created a tool that allows you to enter an IP and to locate it on Google Maps. The application uses Ajax so it will display the map as you type (it's useful to test Class C IP ranges).

So next time you find a strange IP in your stats, or when you want to find the address of someone and you know only the IP, use this mashup. The results are not extremely accurate as there are many ways to hide the IP and many machines are behind a NAT.

technorati tags:googlemaps, ip

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yourname@aol.com

2006-08-04T00:52:00.000+05:30

Well ever since I saw Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks in "You've Got Mail" I always wanted @aol.com address. I could never get it because you need to have AOL as your ISP. Well now AOL has freed it's "@aol.com" email address (earlier you could get free @aim.com). So now my childhood dream is now alive. I have added voice notification in my Thunderbird for new message notification. that sweet voice, that sounded so uber cool in teens. You-have-got-email

technorati tags:tech, aol, email

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Calling It An End When Many See It As A New Beginning

2006-08-04T00:39:00.000+05:30

I cam across a very interesting take on the future of browsers. Tara Hunt the author believes that browsers soon will be dead, that is we won't be needing them in future. It's a really strange observation for the following reason.

For most people browser is the internet. This is the reason why so many are still stuck with IE as their main browser.
Most of the services are going web based and a coherence with browsing standard is required. e.g. AOL is completelt changing it's model and now using web and apps as a service.
Most of the high end utility tools like web editor etc are becoming web based.
Chris Messina, Ms. Hunt's partner was involved with Flock project which aimed to change the way browsers behaved.

Well she has some reasons which are aptfully answered here, but I sincerely disagree with the observation and I reckon they are a tad immature.

technorati tags:tech, Web2.0

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Omkara: A Classic Of International Standards

2006-08-03T21:08:00.000+05:30

Traditionally in Bollywood you narrate fantasy and try to make it an art form, thankfully it doesn’t work. Real life is harsh, as a nation we are in the first phase of seeing reality taking art form on screen. It used to happen before but sadly those movies used to get buried under the tag of “art movie”. I think as a culture we tend to have a strong disdain for reality and we love flirting with surrealism of lowest standards.

Omkara would be a cult classic, like Maqbool, its for peoplewho like to see smart cinema, yes cinema as in international cinema and not fillums. I don’t think Othello is a subject that will go down well with “junta” they like singing, dancing, crying. Omkara has singing, dancing and crying, but it is similar to things in our lives. We don’tlike it, we like entertainment through escapism, surrealism and at times sadomaschoism. Thats Us, Indias, we are like this. It’s not good, it’s not bad. After weeks Omkara may not become a succesful product, Omkara would be a succesful Cinema.

The movie is a stand out from a technical point of view, you can count the flaws on two fingers which is exceptional for Bollywood.The creative team has achieved a new high, so congratulations to them.The movie fits well in the location, it has an authentic feel and associates nicely witht he play.The rustic and rough feel of the movie nicely captures the ambience, never for a moment things get too comfortable and I guess if you’re surrounded by political mafias there can never be a real sense of ease about any thing.

I think acting from Ajay Devgan was a bit disappointing. I am not critising him maybe I was expecting too much, but sadly for me, he couldn’t deliver anything new. You could always see shades of his character from Yuva and Apaharan. I kept wondering isn’t Omi the same guy? I mean same stare, same approach, even the same way looks into the eyes of his lover. Strange. But overall I think in context of the story he has done a wonderful job. He’s been solid and that does it for the movie so you cant be critical of him. Kareena Kapoor has been made to look really good, thanks to director. It’s good to see she is improving. Konkona Sen, she is a beautiful actor a geunine talent. Sadly she was a bit wasted in a limited screen time but had emphatic presence. Vivek Oberoi, sadly he lost out. He did his usual boy-next-door-charm but you never felt for his character. He looked more idiotic than brave and loyal, not for a moment you could sympathize with him while he was being victimised. Vishal hid him very well in the script. Naseer Sab was good. He is too big now for such roles and he managed to give credibility to this character.

The soul of the movie is Saif Ali Khan. I think since DilChahta Hai he’s shown that he is one Indian actor who is ready to imply world standards to his approach and methods. His work ethics have been fantastic. I respect him for that. Personally I think Langda Tyagi is the most inspired performance since Paresh Rawal’s Sardar. In between I can’t think of any actor getting in the soul of a character like this. He did in this movie what Pankaj Kapoor did in Maqbool with Abba Ji, which is to re-invent how a character is portrayed, it can only be achieved by legends. Langda is a bit of Jack Sparrow and Bill the Butcher at the same time, which means quality. The best thing was, for the entire movie Saif killed himself to become Langda. When he called SMS “assum kar dena” in Car with Omi that sealed it for him.

It wasn’t an easy task following Maqbool. Vishal has done an absolutely incredible job in stretching his high standards. He is a certified genius now, a rare breed, a original of the species. His stroy telling, dialogues, the whole presentation was flawless. I am sure those who are not familiar with Othello will have a different view. But I don’t see how could have Othello be re-worked better as a movie. It’s a tragedy so the end was glum and depressing. I am impressed and awed by Vishal Bharadwaj’s work. He stuck to his beliefs and made a movie that he wanted to make never bothering about crowd, money or critics. It rarely happens in Bollywood. Kumar Mangat should also be thanked for encouraging him and giving him his space. Right now Vishal Bharadwaj is the best, much better than Pretentious Leela Bhansali. Take a bow for giving a Classic of International Standards.

technorati tags:review, movies, omkara

Blogged with Flock

2006-03-11T01:45:00.000+05:30

The Demise of Sourav Ganguly: The Sorry Saga

I still cannot comprehend all the fuss that is been going around the Television channels and print media regarding the dropping of Sourav Ganguly. I know he is the most successful captain of India and he has transformed a team which used to give mediocre performances on average, to a team that was capable of defeating the very best on any given day. I don't understand what people actually expect? Once a player is not on the cutting edge he must go and there is no happy ending to it. People feel that he should have been given farewell season, sadly for his supporters, nowadays in pro team sports there is no such thing. I understand we are more passionate and subjective but today sadly in International team sports you're only as good as your last performance.

Saurav Ganguly now must do all he can, primarily improve his fielding and attitude to get back into team. Remember he is the same guy who refused to carry drinks during the 1992 Triangular series in

Australia

. He should know that in the year 2006 if you're being referred to as Maharaja you don't just become one.

India

, Cricket and People have changed a lot since the days of Maharajas. He must once again earn his place back based on performance and not on his stats and reputation. I am so pleased to see Greg Chappell bringing professionalism to Indian cricket. No longer we have to rely on few star players, every player is starring in his role. More and more players are coming from lesser towns, which opens scope for many more talented youngster as still very few Indians live in Metropolitan cities. To me the future for once is looking very bright, lets help all and sundry to make it brighter.

2006-03-08T22:10:00.000+05:30

Selection Woes In International Cricket

The last time some national selectors came into so much controversy was mid 1980's when India's Mohinder "Jimmy" Amarnath called them a bunch of "jokers". At the same time down in Australia Greg Chappell then national selctor at ACB included a lad in his very early 20's and with modest first class experience into the national test squad and that too for Ashes series.

Today 20 years later Cricket National Selctors of both Australia and India have a similar problems. Both Trevor Hohns and Kiran More are very strong men, especially Kiran More who has shown some amazing guts and will, because in India Cricket is a national circus. Everyone has a say and everyone wants to call a shot, but sadly it ends ones a few agaisnt hundreds of millions. Hohn's at the moment has bigger challenge ahead of him. He needs to reconstruct a side, in simple terms he needs to replace modern legends called Warnes, McGrath and Haydens. Each of them have been comfortably at the pinnacle of what they do. Concesus is, that it would be unwise to look for replacement, instead look for rebuilding from strenght to streght.

Australia has tried six different fast bowler since their Ashes lost to England, regulars like Gillespie, Kasperowicz have been disgracefully sacked. Knowledgable people say Hohns is not only a numbers person, he is more keen on the attitude of a player than just plain talent. I think this is one of the reason why Simon Katich has been featuring with the team in either for of Cricket for a while now. He has limited talents as compared to his teammates, however stick out with team because of his great attitude and ethics. Fair enough. However, Hohns is struggling to find that attitude in his new breed fast Bowlers. Lets look at some of the selection patterns.

Bowlers- Nathan Bracken has been a fringe player for almost 5 years now. He has improved a lot, but still struggles for direction in terms of his role in the team. Right now he can bowl a tight line and length which is quite effective in the ODI format, however he struggles in the longer version to take wickets or retrain the runs. Stuart Clark has made the most of limited oppurtunity he got, he bowls in McGrath frame and like McGrath can be handy with his 6'6'' height. The amazing thing about McGrath is not only that he bowls a tight line, but he moves the ball enough to keep striking every now and then again. Clark right now lacks that and with 31 years of age it would too harsh to expect him to improve a lot. Mick Lewis the stocky Victorian has looked average at ODI levels. He is supposed to be a death bowler and has won Asutralia a match with his cool head, but ever since then has only struggled for a decent performace. His fielding has been a big let down as well and it's safe to presume that he is not world class. Brett Dorey the tallest Aussie bowler, at 6'9'' he was supposed to bowl like Bruce Reid once used to bowl. Unfortunately for Dorey he lacks pace of Reid and cannot generate that extra bounce. Age is still on his side and if he can add another couple of yards of pace by putting a few extra steps in his run up he can be handful and will have a glorius future in International cricket. Mitchell Johnson Denniss Lillee called him one in a generation prospect, apparently he can reverse the ball and can move the new ball a mile. He is a big potential and is highly regarded. Very little has been seen of him to comment, but I surely hope that he makes the grade.

None of the names dicussed above can take 5 wickets per test match in the upcoming Ashes series. Clark the most likely man to put his hand up and take his performance up to "greats" level. However in the past he has struggled on flat pictches and his bowling becomes one -dimensional. So the amausement remains, why isn't Jason Gillespie in the team? It's a mystery and it has cetrtainly more than cricket that he is not in the team. With his hard approach to crease and a very high arm, perfect action he is just about the right guy to take charge. Make no mistake we are talking of a person who has already taken 250 wickets in Test match. For Australia to have any serious chance of regaining Ashes, Gillespie would be the key or unless someone of the names mentioned in the para above puts up their hand do what McGrath did when Craig McDermott withdrew from West Indies tour of 1995.

Batting though is not that big a problem, Mr. Hohn's really got one wrong though. Brad Hodge, what has he done wrong? got a 200, averages 58 in his first 4 test matches, a very committed fielder? What more one needs to do? He should have been in the team and decisions like this makes you wonder if the selectors are doing their job properly or not! Mr Hohn's get Hodge back, he hasn't done a thing to not play in tests, if you think his cover drive is a weakness in test match, Michael Clarke's not too much better either.

Alternate to MSN Messenger

2006-03-04T22:51:00.000+05:30

Off late I have had this urge to use OpenSource softwares only. I think what I really have is an urge to try a life without Microsoft and Windows. Somehow I am getting convinced day by day that MS does not do justice to software. I still can't believe that they used to give us only 2MB of Free space for e-mail storage.

I have replaced MS Office with Open Office, I am testing Ubuntu as a permanent solution, though Mac not being an open souce seems like a better alternative to Windows. The thing that seems hardest to replace is IM, MSN Messenger is by far the most popular and widely used software. As of today it's not easy to replace it, but I am trying to converse through the universal XMPP standard. When we can send our emails across the networks why cant we have multi platform chats?

I recently cam across Pandiom which has perhaps the best looking conversation window. Though the software itself has a bit of primitive feel to it as compared to Trillian, but its the best looking non-Mac IM software. If you just need to chat with quite a few number of people I think you should give it a try.

Chat scree is clear and has nice UI with focuss on message. Works beautifully

Blog-Flocked

2006-02-18T22:04:00.000+05:30

Ok this seems cool, actually I am making this post without actually logging-in to my blogspot account. What more I am even adding this pick all from my browser window, it's early but seems to be working for me.

Flock Ready To Blog

2006-02-18T21:37:00.001+05:30

I am using this post to test the new blog editor integrated with the Flock 0.5.11 Alpha browser. I am now getting it, Flock is trying to do what Mozilla or old Netscape tried to do with its third generation (gecko) browsers. That is to seamlessly integrate blogging and online sharing into a vrowser. It's a good concept and it seems that it can work. However for any business model to work there needs to be an X factor. So far, this X factor seems to be missing from the browser. Mind you, Flock is the most elegant looking browser around on non-PC's.

I have my hopes high with Flock and the way everyone seems to be working at Flock, I sure hope they'd do well.

2006-02-18T20:31:00.000+05:30

Limit to Limits!

It seems like people take internet as cars and they want to go faster and faster. It's a very natural thought, but the thing is net is only a collection of computers. The sum of the whole should always be greater than one, there if you tend to tweak your browser for too fast a setting the whole system would slow down. There a new paradigm, esp from the developers side needs to be evolved which can tone down or atleast try to fix in a new upper limit.

2006-02-11T20:45:00.000+05:30

Google and Your Privacy

There seems to be a big privacy concerns about the latest Google Desktop search software. It has the ability to save search results from various computers that one user uses and they can refer to those result for further references. This means that Google will store some of the very personal information at their servers.

Now there were similar concerns with GMail, when it was launched that a Google "bot" had access to to all your private information. Google convinced the law judges and security experts that the dats would be secured at all time and now human being would be able to access it. They explained that this is their new business model and they'll never release any of their customers personal information to any of the third parties.

But this fascination of Google with their customer's private data seems to be going too far. Rigth now I am a big fan of the comapny, all their innovations are for making their users computer life better and organised. I respect that they are a corporation and they are doing business, but there has to be a line drawn by them.

For the time being there is a relief though.

2006-02-09T23:16:00.000+05:30

Flock Of Browsers

Flock could be the next big thing in browser market. It will try to integrate all your social need in one browser. Based on Mozilla Firefox, Flock is here to stay. I like it only for the brilliant UI and a Great Design

2006-02-09T23:00:00.000+05:30

U2 Sweeps Grammy 2006

U2 cleaned the house by winning in all 5 categories in which they were nominated at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards, held at Staples Center LA. They won the biggies "Album Of The Year" and "Song Of The Year".

Congratulations, No deserves them more than U.

Larry Mullen Jr., The Edge, Bono and Adam Clayton

Web 2.0

2006-02-04T13:44:00.000+05:30

I am updating my blog in compliance with Web 2.0 design culture

Let Me Introduce To You...

2006-02-04T02:59:00.000+05:30

The Radiated Me

Flock and Web 2.0

2006-02-03T20:20:00.000+05:30

The week ending on Sunday the 5th of Feb 2006 has to one of the busiest for IT people. To kick of the IE 7 Beta Public was released. It’s MS coming to age and finally admitting that the Industry Standards have leaped ahead from their grasps. As a result Mozilla Foundation released their much improved version 1.5.0.1 of Firefox. Eversince the launch of Firefox 1.0, there has been a mini revolution of sorts on the web.

Google has taken over the initiative as the internet giants. The rising popularity of Ubuntu Linux cannot be taken lightly or as one of. Firefox has proven that open source can have teeth with the right and focussed leadership. The concept of Web 2.0 is focussing things back on the basics of web. That is, data of users shared between the users and not become a tool for profit making for a few corporations. Indeed they should compete, but on fair grounds. Its quite amazing what bunch of enthusiasts can do interms of technolgy. Compare all the development that’s going on in open at Mozilla, with Microsoft’s redmond office. All those high paid people are not half as innovative as Mozilla Developer. The stark contrast is MS they tend to enforce things on the users, while Mozilla is giving is what we demand from the future of Web.

2006-02-02T20:13:00.000+05:30

Windows Live Messenger 8 Beta

Thanks to some good people on the net I got my hands on the new WLM 8 Beta. Its pretty much same as MSN Messenger 7.8, but rebranded with more aggressive colors. There is hardly anything distinct in terms of the feature. All the strong points have been beefed, the most signifcant improvement are the new more aesthically pleasing colours.

As expected its eating up a lot of RAM, but then it will be forgiven in its Beta nature.

2006-01-02T18:26:00.000+05:30

Windows Live Mail Beta

I got my hands on Windows Live Mail Beta. I have been using it for a fair while and I have to admit its quite an improvement oever hotmail. However, its nothing revolutionary like Gmail. But a good step forward for MSN who seem to be taken development for granted since Firefox and Google started taking over the market shares.

Windows Live Mail is quite light and has a heavy use of AJAX. Initially its only an improvement over Hotmail, dont want to get judgement too soon, but Gmail rocks.

2005-11-16T02:47:00.000+05:30

Windows Live: MS Waking Up

I came across Windows Live website. After a few intensive research and reading across the blogs of developers I was shocked to see all the hype. Basically its MS catching up with Google. Whats really irritating is how they're using words like "exciting and brand new",amazing feature etc. I mean c'mon MS those things that you're talking about here, Google invented them so far back and you were sleeping.

They are excited to talk about centralising all your fave sites in one page, rather like customising your google.com, an email thats like Gmail with autocomplete and all that. I mean really, really funny how they are sensing it all.

Yeah I am MS, I am all excited about using an all new Orange coloured MSN

2005-11-10T15:36:00.000+05:30

Adrian Newey leaving McLaren!!

So its final and Newey is leaving McLaren for good. It has been is a mixed reign for him at McLaren, a one which was marked by some real ups and downs. If Michael Schumacher wouldn't be racing in these times he would have been the most powerful person in F1. His revolutionary car McLaren MP4-19 was a huge embarassment for the company. The radical design couldnt compete for the entire season and McLaren has to be content with using their previous years car. However, in 2005 season his design proved to superlative and conquered the entire field.

Lets see what changes can he bring to Red Bull Racing. The good thing is RBR is investing heavily in F1 and not only using it as means of ad revenue, rather like once Jaguar.

2005-10-28T23:08:00.000+05:30

Ok, so I am back from my work stint with one of the leading Indian IT magazine. It was a wonderful experience as I learnt a lot about publishing and media industry. One of the better things being that I met some really wonderful people who are brilliant professionals as well. Some really incompetent people at higher positions, so it was an interesting mix of eager and keen people managed by medicores.

Overall I am back to full time blogging again and would speak my mind quite often. For those few who always reminded me to update, thank you. Your little appreciation is very much appreciated. See ya all, and Happy Diwali.

2005-03-17T15:39:00.000+05:30

U2 in Hall Of Fame

To mark the honour here is Bono's one of the most relevant lyrics of recent times.

Crumbs from Your Table- Written by U2, Lyrics by Bono

From the brightest star
Comes the blackest hole
You had so much to offer
Why did you offer your soul?
I was there for you baby
When you needed my help
Would you deny for others
What you demand for yourself?

Cool down mama, cool off
Cool down mama, cool off

You speak of signs and wonders
I need something other
I would believe if I was able
But I'm waiting on the crumbs from your table

You were pretty as a picture
It was all there to see
Then your face caught up with your psychology
With a mouth full of teeth
You ate all your friends
And you broke every heart thinking every heart mends

You speak of signs and wonders
But I need something other
I would believe if I was able
But I'm waiting on the crumbs from your table

Where you live should not decide
Whether you live or whether you die
Three to a bed
Sister Ann, she said
Dignity passes by

And you speak of signs and wonders
But I need something other
I would believe if I was able
I'm waiting on the crumbs from your table

2005-03-15T18:47:00.000+05:30

Kumar Sarna of Dandenog made a very mature and entertaining 43 runs in his debut match for Victoria 1s. Expert says Kumar is destined for bright future.watch this space Well Played, Mate.

2005-03-15T18:32:00.000+05:30

This is one of my fave pics. In a country like India where people struggle to make "women equality" an issue, this photograph sums up a lot.

2005-03-15T02:10:00.000+05:30

Congratulations to U2 on making into Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. Many fans feel its a bit early for them to be in HOF, but hey like 'em hate 'em they're the only great rock band out there. What more the American Legend Bruce "The Boss" Springsteen would induct them. It would be one video to look out for over the net. Links would be posted as they're avaiable.

Belated Happy Birthday to LORD ADAM CLAYTON. You still own New Years Day.

2005-03-13T23:33:00.000+05:30

170Mb/s service possible over powerline?

Thats what a Japanese collaboration of Sony, Mitsubishi and Panasonic is claiming. With their invention it would be possible to transmit 170 Megabits per second of data throug powerlines at home. This would enable Internet and media signals to emitted across the electricity network at speeds 3 times faster than Wi-Fi. Its even fast enough for HDTV. However this was achieved undertest conditions and even if technology makes it to mass scale distribution it would be very expensive and unaffordable for home users.

How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb- Review

2005-03-12T23:33:00.000+05:30

The 11th studio album from U2 comes with a corny expectation of them
saving the world with their music. Like the infamous Shah Rukh Khan
line, U2 said "Mein Hoo Naa" and the music world is saved again. Surely
Franz Ferdinand has the new tool, Morriessy has the energy, Scissor
Sisters have the funk, Coldplay has the meloncholy, Radiohead has got
the critics but none of them have got the songs. For a generation who
has grown on rock music for kids who inherit their idols instead of
finding them, its forgotten that Rock n Roll was at the forefront of
music scene. All the big tunes, melodies and great ideas came from the
likes of The Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Who, surely Pink Floyd had
the counter melody as well but still with drums-bass-guitars. Now days,
they come from turntable and apple's music software. Bono rightly notes
"Rock n roll should leave elitist mentality and abandon the ghetto to
take on the mainstream". I think a classic example of this is a band
called Radiohead, they have got so much submerged in their image as
pioneers they scared of themselves, their music no longer can afford to
be instinctive. The monster they created is now too big to keep in
their house. Pearl Jam is a classic example on the other side of the
Atlantic. Surely innovations and experimentation are the integral part
and parcel of rock n roll, but to push the Envelop you have to first
own envelop. But since British cynicism is dictating the offices' of
record executives its ironic that the bands like Coldplay, Franz
Ferdinand are proving to be the new hope. Unsurprisingly they are
inspired by U2.

How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb features U2 as complete musicians. It
seems as if the past 23 years they have been experimenting and now they
are starting to find some ground, no wonder Bono says this record feels
like their first one. The misconception that the repetitive Edge riff
is the classic U2 formula, but look closer, the classic U2 formula is
somewhere between the bass and drums. U2 are not bunch of musical
virtuoso's they are very ordinary musicians who can't play their solo
instruments for more than three minutes in a session. They rely on
synergy, they jam and they get the tunes to work around with. However,
this is how they used to work in the 80s and 90s which was blesses with
some magical and moody arrangements of Brian Eno. On this record U2
take the stage as accomplished musicians, writing and experimenting
with new song ideas not dependent on keyboards, but actual playing
style of the band. This starts with

1// Vertigo// The lead of single is a rock solid rock n roll tune. All
four band members shine equally. The rhythm section has enough gravity
to let Edge explore one of the most visceral rock riff of the post punk
age. The tone in the verses has the vitality of some twenty year old
playing the guitar. Same can be said about the singing as well. Bono is
hitting the note he shouldn't be hitting, but hitting them just fine.
Let go of all your prejudices and you have a monster of a rock song.
10/10

2// Miracle Drug// A U2 anthem full of hope, mystery, subjectivity and
passion. The song structure is reminiscent of Beautiful Day, but the
élan with which song steps in to rock n roll after the bridge makes it
a contender for the "classic on the album". U2 does well not to
complicate the writing in choruses and crescendo. The Edge's coda
singing is a stroke of genius. 8/10

3// Sometimes You Can't Make it on Your Own// A genuine masterpiece. It
has the same cinematic scope as a blockbuster movie of 70's. It's grand
and very organic. Bono never tales off as a rock star, but does well to
be a humble battler. The song somehow flows beautifully from start to
end. 9.5/10

4// Love and Peace or Else// "Ring Ring!!!
Yeah-hi-Jimmy-this-is-Robby-heard-the-4th-song-from-the-bomb-album.Yeah
Robby, lets make a new album" The ghost of John Bonham comes back from
Miami, very industrial-bluesy rock tune which in itself is lesser form
of profound, but give your earns and you'd be seduced to musical
lovemaking. Try resisting and it will haunt like a vamp doing a classic
cabaret number. 9/10

5// City of Blinding Lights// This tune was supposed to be on the
Spiderman 2 OST, thankfully then Firefly/Skyhawk became City of
Blinding Lights. A very imagery filled guitars, soothing vocals and
perhaps the best bass-drum combo in modern rock shines supreme to
become mid album highlight. Like a classic U2, it morphs into different
form when played live. The slide guitar sounds nothing like a slide
guitar and an infectious chorus attributed with the growing nature of
the song makes it one of the best U2 songs of recent times. 10/10

6// All Because of You// The Edge is one man Human Orchestra. He elbows
The Who, The Doors, Neil Young and Deep Purple in one go in around four
minutes of some amazing guitar-man ship. The Edge is not a virtuoso,
but maybe he should reconsider more on classic guitar playing, because
he is good. Bono's little 60's scream and a near perfect Mick Jagger
impersonation should be Oscar worthy. You'd want to take off you shirt,
t shirt or bra to dance on this one. 8/10

7// A Man and A Woman// Alright then, from 60's to contemporary jazz
T-lounge. This is Adam Clayton's turn to be hero. Jacknife Lee manages
to hammer in one of the most motown-ish U2 tune to date. The bridge of
the album is perhaps the most intriguing things U2 has done musically
since their mid 90's hedonism. The Edge's falsetto layered with Bono's
low rage is an instant classic. The Jazz hymn takes U2 into a new
direction which hopefully they'll pursue in the future. The adult love
however may not appeal to everyone, the verses are bit too standard
hence this could be the weakest track on the album. 7/10

8// Crumbs from your Table// This is a beauty, so much anger stated
with so much dignity its amazing. Its inspiring yet its soft, it's as
rousing as Sunday Bloody Sunday yet has so much calm. The ringing
guitars sound like a bell sound come from a temple in mist and fog, the
lyrics are just prayer of the kind. The last verse is perhaps the most
profound thing U2 has ever done. It has the same naive majesty which U2
had on their first record, yet sounds nothing like their first record.
Bono why do you write something like American Prayer if you have the
talent to write something like this? 10/10

9// One Step Closer// The ghost of Zooropa is back. It's a very basic
atmospheric and ambient track. It renders on a very dark bass-drum
combo, which is led by the same protagonist whom we became so familiar
with in the mid 90's. Edge's minimal brilliance shines truly on the
bridge when is three note playing chimes like hope in misery. Its
another tribute to Bono's father conceptualized with Noel Gallagher.
7/10

10// Original of the Species// This little charmer with soul of All
That You Can't Leave Behind comes in so late that its hard to believe
its so good. An epic U2 composition with heartfelt piano sung with
utmost sincerity by Bono is the Miss World of U2 song on the album. The
sixties like drums and a very Beatlesque chorus makes it classic yet
not retro. The emotions and singing is so heartfelt, its surprising
that it exists in rock n roll chauvinism. 10/10

11// Yahweh// Musically this is U2 in autopilot. It sounds too much
like their eighties sound, the chorus guitar could have been sampled
from One Tree Hill. The lifting chorus however comes in as a relief,
the bridge onwards somehow U2 save the song till end making it a very
pleasing closer, completing the full circle from fear to faith. 7.5/10

--
Dream Out Loud// Chase Your Dreams

2005-03-11T00:28:00.000+05:30

Is Mozilla gonna split into 2?

A recent report on Slashdot.org reveals that Mozilla is having serious troubles with the growth of stand alone Firefox. Firefox is developed by Mozilla Developer community, but the success of standalone browser has made Mozilla suite more or less an obsolete product. Its a classic example of open source software developent, I hope they know that their success is in One Firefox.

2005-03-09T23:32:00.000+05:30

Whats More for Bono? Our fave Rock Star is the winner of TED
award. Here is a little excerpt as to why?

It is an extraordinary fact that the lead singer with the world's biggest rock band is also our generation's most persuasive champion of the downtrodden. Irreverent, funny, iconoclastic and relentless, Bono has become stunningly effective in bringing the world's most powerful leaders to take seriously the problems of AIDS and African poverty. In 2002, he co-founded DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa). Many credit him as the driving force behind the U.S. government's recent dramatic increase in AIDS funding. And no one who has heard him speak about 'our generation's greatest challenge' can come away unmoved. After U2's historic Live Aid performance in 1985, Bono traveled to Ethiopia with his wife Ali. There they spent several weeks helping with a famine relief project. The experience shocked him and ignited a determination to work for change. In Bono's own words: 'What are the blind spots of our age? It might be something as simple as our deep down refusal to believe that every human life has equal worth. Could that be it? Could that be it?

2005-03-08T13:56:00.000+05:30

How to Forward Gmail message to multiple recipients froma address book

If you're a frequent Gmail user and was wondering how to forward a message to a number of recipient, here is a small trick.

1. Open the message that you wish to forward in a new window by clicking on "open in new window" icon on the right hand top corner of the message.

2. Goto your contact list and select the recipients that you wish to forward your message to

3. Once selection is complete, click on compose. A new compose screen would open which will have the email address in " To: " field.

4. Copy all the email addresses and paste them in "BCC" ot "CC" field of the message that you opened in step 1.

Though method may look a tad tidious, but trust me its better than remembering and typing the email address. I have written many emails to Gmail team regarding lack of this feature, its a very basic feature and hope it will come up soon.

2005-03-07T23:29:00.000+05:30

The Netscape folks have relased their lastest contender Netscape 8 Beta . Its primarily based on Firfox 1.0, however it also renders using IE engines. Thus netscape providing best of the both worlds. However if one already has a pretty decent browser in FF, who'd wanna go for its derivative. Though its interface is very sharp, but I am sure that skin would be available soon for FF.

2005-03-07T23:25:00.000+05:30

I have had a look around at MSN Spaces, there version of Blogs. Its a neat concept but I am afraid it doest allow same creative freedom as some other blogs. Its a typical MSN product in the end.

2005-03-07T23:22:00.000+05:30

India Pappa

2005-03-07T22:00:00.000+05:30

The Picass 2 and Hello combo actually works very well. We have to admire Google more and more as they keep coming with these fantastic free software products. They are clean and simple, once we get used to them, they work like a breeze. The classic example is your truly playing around with Picassa and then publishing picture. :-)

2005-03-07T21:34:00.000+05:30

ishkash

2005-02-23T00:50:00.000+05:30

I came across this little gem of an email client. Its called iScribe, its a little Linux based email client, which is under significant development yet its small, fast, efficient and very usable. However, even in its primitive stage its very stable and compact. The GNOME based GUI interface is a delight and if you're a fan of simplicity and functionality iScribe hits home. The client's biggest strentgh is packing all the functionality of a fully developed client like Outlook or Eudora and fitting it in less than 1MB. The other highlight being it uses Bayesian filtering, Scribe routes junk mail to a special folder automatically. If you're a tech savvy person, you must try this asap, but dont forget its still in it formative years.

www.memecode.com/scribe.php

2005-02-19T22:33:00.001+05:30

As soon as Bill Gates announced that Microsoft, who so arrogantly
stopped developing IE 6, would be launching IE 7 sometime this summer.
This comes as a surprise as IE 7 was expected to make debut only along
with Window's next OS with working title of 'Longhorn'. The 25 million
downloads by independent Mozilla's Firefox has most definately raised a
concern for MSN. They can no longer afford to sit and release security
updates after a breach has been occured, the browser security issue has
been long neglected concer for Microsoft. Firefox has shown its user
what a browser can achieve. I have been using Firfox since its very
early incarnation and I still havent managed to crash it. The success of Firefox can be measured as various independent organisations such as
Acer and a prominent broadband provider in US is using it with some
minor modifications. Its open source nature is now becoming a threat for MSN, who have never challenged since they launched IE. This new era of browser competition is only going to get better for the user. For those who have switched over to Firefox better things are in store, for those still with IE... we will always pray for them.

2005-02-19T22:33:00.000+05:30

As soon as Bill Gates announced that Microsoft, who so arrogantly stopped developing IE 6, would be launching IE 7 sometime this summer. This comes as a surprise as IE 7 was expected to make debut only along with Window's next OS with working title of 'Longhorn'. The 25 million
downloads by independent Mozilla's Firefox has most definately raised a concern for MSN. They can no longer afford to sit and release security updates after a breach has been occured, the browser security issue has been long neglected concer for Microsoft. Firefox has shown its user
what a browser can achieve. I have been using Firfox since its very early incarnation and I still havent managed to crash it. The success of Firefox can be measured as various independent organisations such as Acer and a prominent broadband provider in US is using it with some
minor modifications. Its open source nature is now becoming a threat for MSN, who have never challenged since they launched IE. This new era of browser competition is only going to get better for the user. For those who have switched over to Firefox better things are in store, for those still with IE... we will always pray for them.

2005-01-09T23:15:00.000+05:30

fianally I am going to get my hands on Panasonic X70, yipppeeesss!

2005-01-09T23:09:00.000+05:30

so after all these days I am finally getting my hands on Panasonic X70, yippeeesss!!!

2004-06-15T23:56:00.000+05:30

gmail rocks. I think it has the potential to be the best email service.I am so so excited, I will have a full review very soon.

2004-05-20T19:50:00.000+05:30

Happy Birthday Bachcha Mama

2004-05-20T19:49:00.000+05:30

WORLD champion Michael Schumacher topped the times in the opening practice session for the Monaco Grand Prix today after the session was briefly stopped when Australian Mark Webber's Jaguar caught fire.

2004-05-19T20:47:00.000+05:30

Alright then, quest for a mobile phone has finally ended for me. Its amazing how we get influenced by what see in media. It works for sure even for the ignorant ones like me. I have purchased NEC's e616 as part of Hutch's 3 brand. It gives excellent phone features and cheap call rates. The only downside is its very heavy on battery, but then for a non frequent user like me its pretty decent.

2004-05-16T21:29:00.000+05:30

Today one of my friends was lucky enough to get a preview of sorts for new U2 album. He heard a few songs when he was waiting to meet the band outside their studios in Dublin. He has promised me to send in the full story with pics. As soon as I recieve it I will put it up on website. I mean I envy him, how cool it would be to meet Bono or The Edge

2004-04-30T20:46:00.000+05:30

I wasnt able to do much today. Just odd reviews from friends. They think I am obsessed now, but all I tell them is that I am fascinated by the technology.

2004-04-29T17:05:00.000+05:30

My search for a new mobile phone continues. After doing extensive
research last night and reading almost 30 reviews, amazing the most
popular brands are not the ones to go for. Nokia, I think they had the
best 2G mobile phone. But now with 3G you need to have a good display
screen and this is where flip open phones are really really handy. I
never used to like them cause there wasnt much in them in 2G, but in 3G
there are heaps more. As of now Vodafone gives some very good option,
but I think I will settle for Panasoni X70. Panasonic's GD88 is one of the
best 3G mob phones, but X70 hasnt got that great a reviews. I am still
in dilema of sorts, but I think I will sort my head really soon.

2004-04-28T20:11:00.000+05:30

All of sudden I am excited by the idea of a mobile phone. I dont want to use them as an accessory, infact it was never a ego tool for me. I had a mobile because I needed to make "odd phone calls". But now with 3G materialising and MMS gives you great creative powers. To say it in simple words, its more exciting now. But then again everything in this life has a cost, well except for non tangibles ofcourse. All of a sudden I find myself looking through 3000 website for the most ideal phone. I can relate to this when I was a teenager and such a thing happened when I was going to buy my first PC. I have given into the world of ads and I am following the galm sham. Its just strange how your life can change completely in matter of days. Who could have tought that an electronic equipment would change lives. Duh!