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Posts
- Dec 02, 11
Thomas Hobbes is said to be a pioneer amongst the proponents of the social contract theory. In his philosophical masterpiece, “Leviathan” (literally, twisted/coiled) Hobbes explains the social contract theory as a mutual consent between man and society. He says that man was brutish and asocial when he was without a political authority. But gradually in order to further his self interest and reap the benefits of ordered living he decided to give up a part of his natural freedom in the hands of a sovereign.
Implicit in this theory is his concept of “Subjectivism” which says that man is principally and solely governed by self interest. He would only do things for his benefit. He goes on to say that an adult will care for a child for his own interests. So that tomorrow when the child grows up and expresses a deep sense of obligation towards his curator; that would give the latter his much needed ego bolstering. He further explains that ‘love’ and ‘hate’ are just words used to describe or rather to hide our own self interests.
Love. A four lettered word. Try speaking it once. Does it evoke any emotion? Does it remind you of that pair of eyes you were once enchanted by? Does it bring back the comfort of your lover’s arms? Does it refresh memories of your mother’s caresses? That first crush? That broken heart? That excruciating pain when he left you for her? Love.
Hobbes might have dwarfed “The God of emotions” by labelling it as just a word. These two syllables are the very reason why mankind has existed till now. Before he could learn to settle down and enter into contracts, he learnt to love.
Love is a natural human emotion. Whoever created us has entwined us so deeply with it that the more we wiggle out of it, the more we get into it. Hobbes however would say that man needed companionship and hence to further this interest he sought the same. But then why does a man need companionship? Is it just another physiological need trying to find its place in the Maslow’s pyramid? Or does it stem from something deeper, something beyond the obvious, something that creates an insatiable yearn in him for a partner; so much so that he is willing to share his happiness his life with someone else? Something that stems from love?
Hobbes says that man will give up his freedom only if he benefits from it. Then why would a man tie himself with that certain somebody when he could live his life satiating his physiological needs of sex, food, shelter etc. Stability? Companionship? Someone to grow old with? Love. He isn’t tying himself down; with love he is setting himself free.
Why does a mother still care for her child even when he grows up and does not feel obliged? Why does she still wish of his happiness and well being wherever she is? What self interest is she pursing? Love. A feeling of giving and loving, of seeing your loved one happy; of becoming one with your loved one so much so, that his happiness is your happiness and his sadness yours. Love
I love this word. It literally spells love. The feeling that it generates makes you forget yourself. And once the ‘You’ in you is gone, love takes over. You no more have self interests to pursue, because the self in you is him; your lover. Love makes you lose yourself and find yourself anew.
We were born out of love and like it or not, will die in it. No matter how many rationalisations we give and theories we propound, this simple yet vast pantheon of emotions called love will always stay a feeling indescribable in words.
Love is all pervasive. Everything emanates from two things; the presence of love and the absence of it. While the former takes you to a joyous fun filled ride to emotions like happiness, bliss, beauty; the latter takes you to a roughshod ride of sadness, jealousy, anger. Look around you. All the problems can be defined as being a cause of absence of love. Terrorism- absence of love for fellow human beings; global warming- absence of love for nature. Love can only give and give more. It’s like a never ending reservoir, the more you give, the more it grows.
I might appear unintelligent to learned individuals who accord a thousand scientific, political, social and economic causes to the problems around us. But for someone like me struck by love forever, blinded by its beauty; only that seems to be a plausible reason. If calling love omnipresent and omnipotent makes me appear stupid, then so be it. I’m far too fond of love to care about that.
I cannot define love; for I fear I will bind that reservoir of emotions with my words and I dare not do that. Love is anything but cliché. It is a rebel, a counter-emotion and an antidote. A God of emotions. A Man of virtue. It is like this wave; wherever it goes to it fills that place with life and wherever it goes from it sucks all the life out of it. It is like this enchantress; who everybody is drawn to for different reasons but once with her forget everything else. Love is a charmer. The precursor of dreams. The giver of life. In it a man reaches divinity, where he lets go of all his desires and hopes, his ego and pride, his rationales, his wits and surrenders to this undying feeling of being united with his loved one. It is a state of constant bliss where your heart is filled with so much love that it can burst out any moment and drown the world in it. It is like a sea in which you drown and come afloat instantly. It is like a thought in which you immerse yourself so deep that you become the thought. It is a yearn so bad that you become the one you love.
It will take a thousand more Hobbes to explain this in words and it’ll still be an exercise in futility.
Filed under: Journalism, Personal Tagged: And the reason is love, broken heart, enchanted, Love, Subjectivism, terrorism, Thomas Hobbes - Oct 06, 11
iCry today whilst typing this post about the sudden demise of the visionary Steve Jobs. For now, let’s relive his life with his quotes and pictures. I will share my memories and experience later during the day.
Quotes:
“Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.”
“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me … Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful… that’s what matters to me.”
“We’ve gone through the operating system and looked at everything and asked how can we simplify this and make it more powerful at the same time.”
“Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.”
“I want to put a ding in the universe.”
“I was worth over $1,000,000 when I was 23, and over $10,000,000 when I was 24, and over $100,000,000 when I was 25, and it wasn’t that important because I never did it for the money.”
“The Japanese have hit the shores like dead fish. They’re just like dead fish washing up on the shores.”
“Unfortunately, people are not rebelling against Microsoft. They don’t know any better.”
“Bill Gates‘d be a broader guy if he had dropped acid once or gone off to an ashram when he was younger.”
“The only problem with Microsoft is they just have no taste. They have absolutely no taste. And I don’t mean that in a small way, I mean that in a big way, in the sense that they don’t think of original ideas, and they don’t bring much culture into their products.”
“My job is to not be easy on people. My job is to make them better.”
“We made the buttons on the screen look so good you’ll want to lick them.”
“Click. Boom. Amazing!”
“You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new.”
“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”
“Why join the navy if you can be a pirate?”
“A lot of companies have chosen to downsize, and maybe that was the right thing for them. We chose a different path. Our belief was that if we kept putting great products in front of customers, they would continue to open their wallets.”
“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”
“Recruiting is hard. It’s just finding the needles in the haystack. You can’t know enough in a one-hour interview.
So, in the end, it’s ultimately based on your gut. How do I feel about this person? What are they like when they’re challenged? I ask everybody that: ‘Why are you here?’ The answers themselves are not what you’re looking for. It’s the meta-data.”“We’ve had one of these before, when the dot-com bubble burst. What I told our company was that we were just going to invest our way through the downturn, that we weren’t going to lay off people, that we’d taken a tremendous amount of effort to get them into Apple in the first place – the last thing we were going to do is lay them off.”
“I mean, some people say, ‘Oh, God, if [Jobs] got run over by a bus, Apple would be in trouble.’ And, you know, I think it wouldn’t be a party, but there are really capable people at Apple.
My job is to make the whole executive team good enough to be successors, so that’s what I try to do.”“It’s not about pop culture, and it’s not about fooling people, and it’s not about convincing people that they want something they don’t. We figure out what we want. And I think we’re pretty good at having the right discipline to think through whether a lot of other people are going to want it, too. That’s what we get paid to do.
We just want to make great products. (I think he means “insanely great products!“)”“So when a good idea comes, you know, part of my job is to move it around, just see what different people think, get people talking about it, argue with people about it, get ideas moving among that group of 100 people, get different people together to explore different aspects of it quietly, and, you know – just explore things.”
“When I hire somebody really senior, competence is the ante. They have to be really smart. But the real issue for me is, Are they going to fall in love with Apple? Because if they fall in love with Apple, everything else will take care of itself.
They’ll want to do what’s best for Apple, not what’s best for them, what’s best for Steve, or anybody else. (this actually reiterates my oft-repeated mantra of “ubiquitous evangelism” in companies)”“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully.”
“Our DNA is as a consumer company – for that inpidual customer who’s voting thumbs up or thumbs down. That’s who we think about. And we think that our job is to take responsibility for the complete user experience. And if it’s not up to par, it’s our fault, plain and simply.”
“That happens more than you think, because this is not just engineering and science. There is art, too. Sometimes when you’re in the middle of one of these crises, you’re not sure you’re going to make it to the other end. But we’ve always made it, and so we have a certain degree of confidence, although sometimes you wonder.
I think the key thing is that we’re not all terrified at the same time. I mean, we do put our heart and soul into these things.”
“We don’t get a chance to do that many things, and every one should be really excellent. Because this is our life.
Life is brief, and then you die, you know?
And we’ve all chosen to do this with our lives. So it better be damn good. It better be worth it.”
“Almost everything–all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure–these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”
“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
“In most people’s vocabularies, design means veneer. It’s interior decorating. It’s the fabric of the curtains of the sofa. But to me, nothing could be further from the meaning of design. Design is the fundamental soul of a human-made creation that ends up expressing itself in successive outer layers of the product or service.”
“So we went to Atari and said, ‘Hey, we’ve got this amazing thing, even built with some of your parts, and what do you think about funding us? Or we’ll give it to you. We just want to do it. Pay our salary, we’ll come work for you.’ And they said, ‘No.’ So then we went to Hewlett-Packard, and they said, ‘Hey, we don’t need you. You haven’t got through college yet.”
“The people who are doing the work are the moving force behind the Macintosh. My job is to create a space for them, to clear out the rest of the organization and keep it at bay.”
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
“I’m the only person I know that’s lost a quarter of a billion dollars in one year…. It’s very character-building.”
“I’m as proud of what we don’t do as I am of what we do.”
“Quality is more important than quantity. One home run is much better than two doubles.”
“I’ve always wanted to own and control the primary technology in everything we do.”
“It comes from saying no to 1,000 things to make sure we don’t get on the wrong track or try to do too much.”
“It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.”
“Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have. When Apple came up with the Mac, IBM was spending at least 100 times more on R&D. It’s not about money. It’s about the people you have, how you’re led, and how much you get it.”
“Insanely Great!”
“I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.”
“It’s rare that you see an artist in his 30s or 40s able to really contribute something amazing.”
“I feel like somebody just punched me in the stomach and knocked all my wind out. I’m only 30 years old and I want to have a chance to continue creating things. I know I’ve got at least one more great computer in me. And Apple is not going to give me a chance to do that.”
“I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.”
“Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water or do you want a chance to change the world?”
“The products suck! There’s no sex in them anymore!”
“The cure for Apple is not cost-cutting. The cure for Apple is to innovate its way out of its current predicament.”
“If I were running Apple, I would milk the Macintosh for all it’s worth — and get busy on the next great thing. The PC wars are over. Done. Microsoft won a long time ago.”
“You know, I’ve got a plan that could rescue Apple. I can’t say any more than that it’s the perfect product and the perfect strategy for Apple. But nobody there will listen to me.”
“Apple has some tremendous assets, but I believe without some attention, the company could, could, could — I’m searching for the right word — could, could die.”
Finally the background of my iPhone which everyone wants:
If you want to avoid the cumbersome process of saving, transferring, copy-paste from your computer to iPhone. Then leave your email in the comment section and I’ll mail it you. Thank you, its the least I can do for Steve Jobs.
Filed under: Journalism, Personal, Technology Tagged: 1955-2011, Apple, Bill Gates, iPad, IPhone, IPod, Microsoft, NikhilChawla, Pixar, RIPSteveJobs, Steve Jobs, techNYK, Visonary, www.nikhilchawla.in - Jan 28, 11
‘TenTen’ now what’s that? A new form of cricket game where each side plays for 10 overs? No! Not really ‘TenTen’ is about Top ‘Ten’ things of Twenty ‘Ten’ (2010) that I have compiled.
Top 10 Personal Accomplishments:
1) Transition from MS to MW to MR (Microsoft – Maintenance Wala – Media Redefined)
2) Back to Pro-Photography
3) My moment of fame ‘Big Picture’
4) Social Media Enthusiast to Social Media Evangelist (Thanks to @MediaRedefined – @praval @honeytech @gmishra)
5) Nailed the ‘Delhi Half Marathon’ yet again.
6) My business trip to ‘The Great Wall of China‘
7) Quiet a few escapades in my car to Agra and Jaipur.
8) iSinned with iPhone4, iPodTouch and the iPad.
9) Went 3g the Nokia Booklet 3g way.
10) Switched from Symbian (Nokia N97) to Blackberry (Bold 9000). RIP s60.
Top 10 World News Stories
1) Haiti Earthquake
2) WikiLeaks
3) Chilean Miners
4) Pakistan Floods
5) North Korea’s Year of Bad Behavior
6) South Africa’s World Cup
7) Yemen: New Front in the War on Terrorism
8) European Austerity Measures
9) Mexico’s Drug War
10) Thailand’s Red Shirts
Top 10 Bollywood Movies
1) Dabangg
2) Golmaal 3
3) Raajneeti
4) Housefull
5) My Name Is Khan
6) Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai
7) I Hate Luv Storys
8) Peepli [Live]
9) Ishqiya
10) Badmash Company
Top 10 Hollywood Movies
1) Toy Story 3 Disney/Pixar $1,063,171,911
2) Alice in Wonderland Disney $1,024,299,904
3) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 Warner Bros. $952,183,653
4) Inception Warner Bros $825,531,030
5) Shrek Forever After DreamWorks $750,164,311
7) Iron Man2 $622,056,974
8) Tangled $590,721,936
9) Despicable Me $543,113,985
10) How to train your dragon $494,878,759
Top 10 Songs
1) Cee Lo Green, “F___ You”
2) Janelle Monáe, “Tightrope”
3) Kanye West, “Power”
4) Arcade Fire, “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)”
5) Eminem featuring Rihanna, “Love the Way You Lie”
6) Yeasayer, “Ambling Alp”
7) Jónsi, “Animal Arithmetic”
8) Drake, “Find Your Love”
9) Elizabeth Cook, “All the Time”
10) Sleigh Bells, “Rill Rill”
Top 10 Albums
1) Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
2) Arcade Fire, The Suburbs
3) LCD Soundsystem, This Is Happening
4) The National, High Violet
5) Drake, Thank Me Later
6) Sufjan Stevens, Age of Adz
7) The Black Keys, Brothers
8) Yeasayer, Odd Blood
9) Big Boi, Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty
10) Beach House, Teen Dream
Top 10 Biz Deals
1) United Unites with Continental
2) General Motors’ IPO
3) Sanofi-Aventis Makes Hostile Bid for Genzyme
4) MetLife Picks Up a Piece of AIG
5) Agriculture Bank of China Goes Public
6) Unilever Buys Alberto Culver
7) Warren Buffett Acquires a Successor
8) Private Equity Firm 3G Buys Burger King
9) Southwest Buys Airtran
10) IBM Sells 1% Bonds
Top 10 Buzzwords
1) Vuvuzela
2) Top Kill/Junk Shot/Static Kill/Top Hat
3) Bedbugs
4) Eyjafjallajokull
5) Austerity
6) Anchor Babies
7) Mama Grizzlies
8) Release the Kraken!
9) Double-dip
10) Bunga bunga
Top 10 Facebook Trends
1) The Facebook Movie: The Social Network
2) 500 Million Users
3) Facebook Places Introduced
4) Celebrity Doppelganger Week
5) Zuckerberg Gives Millions to Newark Public Schools
6) Breast Cancer Awareness Campaigns
7) Queen Joins Facebook
8) Instant Messages Revealed
9) Privacy Snafus
10) Facebook E-mail
Top 10 Fashion Statements
1) Lady Gaga
2) M.I.A.
3) Venus Williams
4) Prince
5) Rihanna
6) Britney Spears
7) Rita Wilson
8) Taylor Momsen
9) Charo
10) Heidi Klum
Top 10 Gadgets
1) iPad
2) Samsung Galaxy S
3) 11-In. MacBook Air
4) Google TV Via Logitech Revue
5) Nexus One
6) iPhone 4
7) Apple TV
8) Toshiba Libretto Dual-Screen Laptop
9) Kinect
10) Nook Color
Top 10 iPhone Apps
1) Netflix
2) Groupon
3) iMovie
4) Springpad
5) Twitter
6) Dragon Dictation
7) Petfinder
8) Hulu Plus
9) iBooks
10) Nike + GPS
Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs
1) AIDS Drugs Lower the Risk of HIV Infection
2) Synthetic Cell
3) Blood Test for Alzheimer’s
4) FDA Approves Botox for Migraines
5) Taking the Resuscitation Out of CPR
6) The FDA Restricts Avandia
7) Blood Test for Heart Attack
8) Predicting IVF Success
9) Artificial Ovary
10) Creating iPS Cells Safer and Faster
Top 10 New Species
1) Beaked Toad
2) Darwin’s Bark Spider
3) High-Altitude Tree Ant
4) Mossula Katydid
5) Pea-Sized Pitcher Plant Frog
6) Ecuadorean Glass Frog
7) Giant Woolly Rat
8) Tube-Nosed Fruit Bat
9) Bluetooth Tarantula 1
0) Five-Foot Penguin
Top 10 Oddball News Stories
1) The $8 Million iPhone
2) The Mystery Missile That Wasn’t
3) The 2-Year-Old Smoker
4) Kobayashi: From Competitive-Eating Champion to Jailbird
5) King Tut’s Penis: Missing?
6) Is That a Time Traveler on the Charlie Chaplin DVD?
7) Fired for Excessive Beauty? 8) Life in the Time of Vuvuzelas
9) The Way of the Samurai Porn Star
10) The U.S. Wishes the Queen Happy Birthday — on the Wrong Day
Top 10 Scandals
1) Woman Returns Son to Sender
2) Sarah Ferguson Sells the Prince for a Price
3) Jesse James Cheats on Sandra Bullock with Tattooed Lady
4) Mel Gibson Loses His Cool — and Any Vestigial Public Goodwill
5) Small City, Big Pay Scandal
6) Flight Attendant Goes Awol
7) Charlie Sheen Trashes Hotel Room
8) Katy Perry Barred From Sesame Street
9) Dora the Explorer Sues Nickelodeon
10)CEO Loses Job Because of Money and Sex
Top 10 Talented Web Videos
1) Happy Together/Paper Planes Lip Dub
2) Marcel the Shell With Shoes On
3) OK Go, “White Knuckles”
4) Up & Over it: We No Speak Americano
5) Last Minutes with ODEN
6) Carly Sakolove: Broadway Divas “Send in the Clowns”
7) The Johnny Cash Project
8) 35mm
9) Take Care
10) 2 Guys 600 Pillows (Backwards Music Video)
Top 10 TV Commercials
1) Old Spice: The Man Your Man Could Smell Like
2) Snickers: Betty White
3) Nike: Write the Future
4) Google: Parisian Love
5) Windows Phone: Really?
6) Nike: What Should I Do?
7) Subaru: Baby Driver
8) Coca-Cola: Hard Times
9) GEICO: This Little Piggy
10) Bridgestone: Bachelor Party
Top 10 Toys
1) Sing-a-ma-jigs
2) Morphology
3) LEGO Board Games
4) Toy Story Mania
5) Paper Jamz
6) Doodle Track Car
7) Fisher Price Kid Tough Digital Camera
8) Razor Sole Skate
9) Computer Engineer Barbie
10) Disney Princess & Me Doll
Top 10 TV Series
1) Breaking Bad
2) Mad Men
3) Parks and Recreation
4) Louie
5) Boardwalk Empire
6) Party Down
7) The Pacific
8) The Good Wife
9) Rubicon
10) Terriers
Top 10 Twitter Moments
1) Kanye West Joins Twitter
2) Conan O’Brien’s Twitter Wit
3) Justin Bieber, Trending No More
4) Library of Congress Archives Tweets
5) New Twitter Design
6) From Twitter Feed to Hit Sitcom
7) Journalist Freed After Tweets
8) MTV Selects Twitter Jockey
9) Ivy Bean, Oldest User, Dies
10) @BPGlobalPR: Oil-Spill Satire
Filed under: Fun & Entertainment, Journalism, Personal Tagged: ADHM, Apple, Blackberry, Drake, facebook, Hiati, IBM, iPhone4, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, MediaRedefined, Microsoft, Nikhil chawla, NikhilChawla, Nokia, NYK, Rick Ross, S60, WikiLeaks, www.nikhilchawla.in - Dec 31, 10
To all my readers, the blogger is back. Happy to new year to all. Hope you have an alcohol free year. The choice is your’s -> Hard-on or Hard-Drink.
Filed under: Fun & Entertainment, NikhilChawla, NYK Tagged: 1.1.11, Absolut, Alcohol, Fun, HAppy New Year, Humor, Impotence, Nikhil chawla, NikhilChawla, NYK, Prank - Nov 18, 10
I hardly share anything personal about myself on my blog as I live by its tagline – ‘It’s not about me….It’s about us….’
But if the news is so grande, I can’t help but let it out to all my readers, friends and family. Before I share the news, I would like to express my gratitude towards Aviva PLC for such a big opportunity.
News is that my picture’s not the one’s that I have clicked as a photographer but the one’s that I have modelled in are being projected on one of the tallest building in Delhi, The Statesman House on 18/11/10 at 1800hrs. So, be there to cheer for me, its ok if you can’t make it as you can watch it as a webcast too
Have a look at the screenshot of the mail that I received from Aviva PLC for the same:
Following are the links to the pictures that would be showcased:
http://www.youarethebigpicture.com/#/gallery/person/1723029457E41F13677414
http://www.youarethebigpicture.com/#/gallery/person/1133881375E41F13677414
To get a better idea of how its going to be like, please have a look at the video:
PS: You are the Big Picture! Why and for what cause has Aviva taken this initiative:
Update:
Here are the projected images:
Image 1: The Guitar Tower
Image 2: Rock On!
Every post in my blog ends with a famous quote, but this time as the post is on me thus the quote is by me.
Quote of the Day:
I enjoy doing photo shoots and transforming myself into different looks for photo shoots.-Nikhil Chawla
Filed under: Journalism, NikhilChawla, NYK, Personal Tagged: Aviva, Aviva Life Insurance, Big Picture, Connaught Place, CP, delhi, India, Modelling, Nikhil chawla, NikhilChawla, NYK, Rajiv Chowk, Statesman House, www.nikhilchawla.in, Youarethebigpicture - Oct 14, 10
CWG – Commonly known as the Commonwealth Games but for me the only thing correct about this abbreviation is the word ‘Wealth’ in it. I am not saying this out of frustration or anger but because of the facts.
Before you start reading this post, I would like to request you to keep any kind of prejudice away as this post has nothing against the selfless Indian athletes who have always brought pride to the nation, the brave Army men who built the foot-over bridge and kept us secure, the children, the volunteers or the policeman without whom this event wouldn’t have been possible.
I am only and only against the corruption that has taken place in the name of CWG. My plea to everyone who reads this post is – Let’s not the let the brilliant performances by our athletes or the spectacular Opening & Closing ceremonies overshadow what people like Suresh Kalmadi has done with our trust and money. Its time to bring the scoundrels to justice.
Here are the 6 abbreviation’s of CWG that I could come-up with. Please feel free to add more in the comments section.
1) Congress Wealth Games
As pressure mounts on Kalmadi to sack his aides, he finally said that Organising Committee Joint Director General T S Darbari will go. CWG treasurer Anil Khanna quit over allegations of corruption. Kalmadi himself says he’s ready for any kind “scrutiny“. Meanwhile the BJP stages a demonstration demanding his expulsion.
There were greater concerns dogging the Commonwealth Games. The progress of the construction work had taken a backseat while charges of corruption and politics are pushed to the forefront. As per reports say that late Sunday night (Aug 01, 2010), the Sports Ministry wrote to the CWG Organising Committee to sack joint director general T S Darbari and deputy director general Dr Sanjay Mohindroo. The letter says,
“They tarnish the image of the Games and adversely affect its credibility… I would strongly advise you that the above two officers should be immediately relieved of all their duties in the OC and the Government informed accordingly…”
With the controversy not showing signs of abating, IOA chief Suresh Kalmadi met External Affairs Minister SM Krishna earlier today to “clarify CWG’s stand on UK money trail“. Kalmadi still maintains that there is no corruption and that they’ve always been transparent with their work.
However, he does appoint a three-member panel to probe into this allegation of money laundering. Will this move make any difference? Or is it too little, too late?
2) Corruption with Guts
Is part of the 35,000 crore meant for the CWG going elsewhere? Reports indicate that there is a “major scam” with a huge amount of money being transferred to a UK-based company.
Television channels reported that over 4.50 lakh pounds were transferred through a British bank to the A M Films company, said to be a one man show, which was also receiving 25,000 pounds a month.
There has been a disquieting whiff of postcolonial satisfaction in the foreign reaction to rising India’s comeuppance. Yet a wholesale cancellation might just be the best thing for a nation that — while it can lay claim to tremendous promise — is still struggling to be great.
Many observers will be tempted to see this failure as a fable of false pride ending in just humiliation. But apathy, not hubris, is India’s fatal flaw, and a bracing dose of shame may be exactly what is needed to shake its incredibly capable, but politically inert, middle class into action.
The risk is that this shame will inject new life into the old argument that India suffers from too much democracy — a favorite hobby horse of this bunch. No, India is not China. But the Games fiasco was not the result of parliamentary gridlock or popular protest. The farce was scripted by cronyism, corruption and a complete lack of accountability — all aided by the Indian politician’s complete disregard for the voter’s disgust. Unfortunately, the most shameful are the most shameless.
3) Convenience will-be Gone
This is what our Games Village Mayor had to say when he was scrutinized by the Media.
- Dogs sleeping inside athlete rooms – The fault of the MCD. The dog catching team was asked for but yet to report. So the stray dogs can jump in and take an afternoon nap on the same beds where athletes are supposed to relax. For God’s sake run after anyone you like, but don’t poison these innocent dogs for your ego.
- Paan spits on the wall – The workers are all from UP & Bihar and fond of their Paan and Gutkha. So they might have done this artwork. Ask them instead of me, as I myself don’t consume them nor I have spit all around.
- Messy and filthy rooms – Even when you occupy your own flat for the first time, it generally is messy. So we citizens shouldn’t blow our ass for this small reason. Oh really? Then should we ask all the athletes to come here along with their Jhadu, bucket and pocha lagane ki kapda? That would pretty much settle the case and solve the problem.
- OC guys pissing all around in open air – Its nature’s call and one better be disposed to the nature directly.It is a matter of individual’s choice. You might like Western toilets but I might prefer visiting the nearest paddy field with a lota in my hand. You know it’s all about comfort levels. This is another theory of relativity in terms of shitting. And Albert Einstein turned violently again.
- Algae in water tanks - It was for sure a bad day and the best was reserved till the last. Out of nowhere a foot overbridge near the Jawaharlal Nehrustadium gave in. This eventuality made the queen of the opera to come to the stage with her polished Miranda house accent. How I can forget her flamboyant cotton Saree? When asked how each day a new bloody thing can happen to the CWG, this is what she has to say – The foot over bridge was for the aam admi (so shouldn’t be attached with CWG), not the players. So? Aam aadmi can die as long as you can save your back from the CWG ghost? Mam, can you imagine what would have happened – if few athletes were right below and the bridge crashed on their heads? Don’t bother how many of the aam addmi the bridge might take along while crashing on the poor athletes’ heads. As per her, the builder is black listed and some bloody enquiry would be carried out with reports expected in three weeks. So for next three weeks we shouldn’t bother her by showing our filthy and unhygienic faces. Let me admit – I am still in dilemma, whether to cry or laugh on these stupid statements. To top all this, a section of the roof in the wrestler’s arena of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium collapsed, and the Delhi CM, Ms. Sheila Dixit’s riposte was that small things keep happening.
4) Collaboration with Goons
- Ms. Sheila Dixit
- Suresh Kalmadi
- M.S. Gill
- Lalit Bhanot
- Maj (Retd) Dalbir Singh (Games village mayor)
Figure this out. One-stop luxury shop Harrods of London sells one of the world’s best treadmills for Rs 7 lakh. But the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee (OC) shelled out an astronomical Rs 9.75 lakh for each unit of the fitness equipment (not necessarily the same brand) – that too on rent. And this is just one of the products which cost the OC a bomb.
In fact chairman Suresh Kalmadi’s list of expenditure has left even the wealthiest of people startled, with a roll of tissue – that should cost a mere Rs 35 – being bought for Rs 4,138.
Each chair has been rented by the OC at a cost of Rs 8,378 and it has spent Rs 8.8 lakh for every cross-trainer. A 100-litre refrigerator has been hired for an astonishing price of Rs 42,202.
The OC had floated tenders for overlays (equipment that will be rented for a period of 45 days since it would not be required on a permanent basis) for the October 3-14 Games. But the beleaguered is now feeling the heat over the huge bills it has run up for the equipment.
Astoundingly, while the OC has paid little attention to the quality of infrastructure – which is described by most technical experts as lacking in quality – it has exceeded all conceivable limits in its expenditure on rented equipment.
The deals made on overlays – treadmills, cross-trainers, air-conditioners, umbrellas and chairs – have already been given the go-ahead by the OC. The overlays consist of around 1000 different items to be placed at 60 venues, 4,000 rooms and in external places to be used by athletes, security personnel, volunteers, Games officials, VIPs, workforce, etc.
Despite the glaring impressions of mismanagement and splurging patterns, the OC claims it has spent very conservatively.
“The contracts were allotted on a competitive bidding basis,” OC secretary general Lalit Bhanot said on Monday.
“The rates for some individual items were higher compared to those offered by other vendors for the same pieces, while some rates were comparatively lower. The overall price of the lowest bidder was lower than the price of the other vendors,” he claimed.
“The treadmill is of a high-end make and was used in the Beijing Olympic Games. The purchase price is Rs 29 lakh (approx). The rental is Rs 9 lakh, which is less than onethird of the cost price of a new machine. The rental includes operation and maintenance of the equipment. There is a major difference between the household treadmill and the ones used by professional athletes,” he added. But the reactions of athletes also bear testimony to the fact that the amount at which Kalmadi and his officials have hired equipment from abroad defies common sense.
Top athletes of the country have argued that India has the best of equipment and there is no need to spend so much on such trivial aspects.
“I think all this could have been spent on training the athletes. After all, they are the ones who will compete in the Games and win medals,” an ace shooter who did not want to be named said.
“There is so much of money to spend on everything other than on athletes themselves. When highquality gym equipment is available in the country, what prompts them to get treadmills for Rs 9.75 lakh from abroad?” another athlete asked.
A trainer at a high-end gymnasium of south Delhi said, “We run a multi- purpose gymnasium. We generally buy all such equipment time and again and it includes maintenance as well. Yet the costs are not so high.”
5) Can We Go (Away from this mess)
You might have heard of the Summer vacations, Winter vacations, Diwali holidays or Christmas vacations but this time we Delhites had the CWG Holidays.
According to tour operators, countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Mauritius are seeing an increased tourist inflow from Delhi for short-haul vacations to escape from the city during the Commonwealth Games.
“There has been a 40 to 50 per cent jump in the number of bookings for people going out of Delhi. Because of CWG, with all the educational institutes closed, people in Delhi are making plans to go out of the city,” Yatra.com Co-founder and Executive Vice President Sabina Chopra said.
Factors such as economical travel packages and visa on arrival make the region a favoured destination.
“A lot of hotels such as Banyan Tree and Amari in the South East Asian countries are offering packages starting Rs 20,000 per person designed specially for people looking to travel during the games,” TRAC Representations Associate Director (Operations) Rajeev Nangia said.
The company represents a host of international tourism boards and hospitality firms in India. He said countries such as Thailand and Mauritius also offer free Visa on arrival.
Expedia, a travel services provider that has designed special packages targeting such travelers, said it has witnessed increase in bookings for outbound travel from the Capital.
“There is an increase of around 30 per cent in the number of bookings for outbound travellers,” Expedia India Marketing Head Manmeet Ahluwalia said, adding South Asian countries are the favourite among the travellers.
Families are also looking to travel during the games as many educational institutes and offices will remain closed.
Besides foreign destinations, Yatra.com is also offering packages to Andaman and Nicobar islands with special chartered plane.
“This is the first time we have taken such an initiative,” Chopra said.
According to industry observers, usually in North India people do not travel out during this time of the year.
But this year due to the CWG the trend seems to have changed.
“On an average, a family of four is spending between USD 5,000-7,000 for a holiday. We have received around 500 bookings from people opting for leisure travel outside India,” Pearl International Tours and Travels Executive Director Arjun Seth said.
“Even corporates are organising dealership incentive programmes to places like Thailand and Malaysia,” he added.6) Call-girls Whilst Games/ Common Whore Games
Delhi’s oldest red light area, GB road, is giving itself a more pleasing and friendly look. The paan-stained walls are being replaced by the glossy surface of the LCD TV while the fluent English of the sex workers will make the communication easier. Facilities like split air-conditioners and refrigerators are financed by the owners of the brothel houses to attract more customers.
Delhi based non-voluntary organizations are focused on the health and hygiene of the workers. A series of medical tests are being conducted to identify those who are HIV positive in order to ensure the safety of the sex workers as well as that of the prospective customers. There is bound to be a surge in the clients (largely tourists) in the brothels during the games, thus strict precautionary measures must be taken to avoid the spread of diseases.
NGO’s are counseling the workers about the preventive measures like, “No condom, no sex, as simple as that” as told by a sex worker from Andhra.
Americans and Europeans tourists have remained the much awaited and favorite clients of the Escort services as they pay well. These agencies are busy increasing the number of national and international call girls in order to meet the customer’s requirements. Making the girls look well groomed and fit so that they can work for extra hours has become the main focus of the escort agencies.
Tina Jaiswal who owns the No 1 Delhi Escort agency said, “We hope to make good money during the games. We will simply follow the demand and supply principle of economics. We will double our rates a month before the games begin and increase our workforce.”
I have a lot more to share but I think I’ve made my point here. I have snippets and pictures supporting all the above claims but I have avoided the use of them as its not a media gimmick for me. I am doing it for a cause and will stand by it like I did previously for ‘The Peace India Campaign’ where we assembled outside Jantar Mantar for a Peace Walk.
I am elated that this time we have celebrity power @GulPanag with us who is an activist and a humanitarian . She not only takes care of www.colshamshersingh.org but also takes part actively on twitter for social causes.
If you also feel that we are fighting for the right cause then join us for the protest. For more info visit the @CWGcorruption page on Twitter or Facebook
Quote of the Day:
Corruption is worse than prostitution. The latter might endanger the morals of an individual, the former invariably endangers the morals of the entire country.-Karl Kraus
Filed under: Journalism, Public Welfare, Uncategorized Tagged: @cwgcorruption, @gulpanag, Call-girls Whilst Games, Can We Go, Collaboration with Goons, colshamshrersinghfoundation, common whore games, commonwealth games, congress, congresswealth games, Convenience will-be Gone, Corruption with Guts, CWG, CWG Holidays, CWG Lane, cwg protest, CWG Vacation, delhi, Delhi Police, Games Village, Gul Panag, India, Indian Hockey, Nikhil chawla, NikhilChawla, NYK, Saina Nehwal, Sheila Dixit, suresh kalmadi, Top 10, Top10, Top5, www.nikhilchawla.in, youth - Jul 18, 10
I have been written off or declared dead many a times in the past. I had gone for too long this time, my readers sent me hate mails for not getting any updates, I was interviewed by IBA and was asked to return to blogging, blah blah blah. So, here I am with a list of 25 things that I’ve learnt since I was gone. Why the number 25?? 25 because I will be turning 25 in 10 days.
1. I’ve learnt that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is stalk them and hope they panic and give in.
2. I’ve learnt that no matter how much I care, some people are just assholes.
3. I’ve learnt that you can get by on charm for about fifteen minutes. After that, you’d better have a big dick or huge tits.
4. I’ve learnt that you shouldn’t compare yourself to others — they are more fucked up than you think.
5. I’ve learnt that I can look 15 with a clean shave and turn 30 with a grown beard.
6. I’ve learnt you should always leave loved ones with loving words. You may need to borrow money.
7. I’ve learnt that you can keep puking long after you think you’re finished.
8. I’ve learnt that a good time can be had by sitting on the beach and drinking with a bum.
9. I’ve learnt that heroes are the people who do whoever has to be done when they need to be done, regardless of the morning after.
10. I’ve learnt that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you’re down will be the ones who do.
11. I’ve learnt that maturity is a magazine for old people.
12. I’ve learnt that your family won’t always be there for you. Of course, if you win the lottery, the hag, the philanderer, the screw-up, the missing one, the asshole and the horse tooth girl will be and will also claim to be your best friend.
13. I’ve learnt that no matter how good a chick is, she’ll only contribute to your alcoholism.
14. I’ve learnt that two people can screw the exact same person and compare notes.
15. I’ve learnt that airport personnel don’t like you joking about bombs in your luggage. No matter how many times you state that you’re only joking.
16. I’ve learnt that overzealous customs agents can change your life in a matter of hours.
17. I’ve learnt to say, “Fuck them if they can’t take a joke” in 6 languages.
18. I’ve learnt that if you have a BlackBerry in your one hand and iPhone in the other, they will treat you like a king even if you are broke.
19. I’ve learnt that if your sibling is settled abroad and doing well, he would still want to exchange places with you no matter how fucked up your life is.
20. I’ve learnt you should never keep talking to your dog just because he is looking into your eyes.
21. I’ve learnt that you should always drink and drive as you end up being too cautious to not to bump into anyone.
22. I’ve learnt that the name of my companies are as weird as me -> 1)Soch….A Creative Thought. 2)techNYK Ctrl+Alt+Del your gizmo problems.
23. I’ve learnt that it doesn’t matter if I have the direct numbers of celebrities in my phone as I am never going to call them and neither are they going to [Ego-Hassles].
24. I’ve learnt that you are only valued when you are gone – That’s what happened with my hero Michael Jackson
25. In the end, I have learnt that I am turning 25 and all I do is I.T. Training, Modelling, Blogging, Photography and a 100 more things but still not happy with my job. Only if I knew which job to be happy with.
Quote of the Day:
I believe in the imagination. What I cannot see is infinitely more important than what I can see.
–Duane Michals
Filed under: NikhilChawla, NYK, Personal Tagged: Anand Jon, blogging, Cafe Coffee Day, CCD, Modelling, NikhilChawla, NYK, photography, Sanjana Jon, Soch, techNYK - Jun 13, 10
There used to be a blogger named Nikhil Chawla, whose passion were blogging & photography. If that’s the case then why there hasn’t been any update from him. There is no reason to justify that but there are endless reason for his absence. Let’s first have a look at the reasons he has to give and then let the readers be the judge. We interviewed Nikhil Chawla to know why and where has he vanished. Here is the interview :
Ques: Hi Nikhil, how are you doing?
Ans: I am doing just fine, don’t get taken aback with my beard as its just there for no reason What about you, How you doing?
Ques: Do you know who we are and why we are here?
Ans: Yes, I think you are from the Independent Bloggers Alliance and you want to interview me about my blog.
Ques: Thats correct, I am Tina from IBA but I am not here to ask you about your blog, instead I am here to ask you – Why did you leave blogging?
Ans: To be very frank Tina, I didn’t really leave blogging but the circumstances were such that I never got an opportunity to blog. There were times, when I noticed or experienced something which I instantly wanted to blog and share it with my readers but could never really do it. I was invited to so many Blogger meets, people wrote mails to me asking me to start writing again, I was sent products from all over the World for reviews and my take on them but nothing really could motivate me enough to get back. Infact, I started to write a few times and all those entries are still in the draft section which I hope I publish them someday.
Ques: I wonder what could have changed you so much that you stopped doing what you loved?
Ans: It wasn’t just one thing or one incident that changed it for me. It was a set of unfortunate events that changed it all around for me. I wont be able to answer it publicly in detail but it was related to me quitting my job with Microsoft and then starting my own business which really didn’t do well and I had to shut it down too. My personal life was also in a turmoil after my breakup, I still haven’t overcome all of this, so once I do, I might make a comeback.
Ques: Do you have any idea how helpful your blog has been for the people who needed info about – Frozen Shoulder; GTN spray; Auto Expo; India Peace Campaign; etc.
Ans: I have a fair idea of it as I keep getting a lot of queries about Frozen shoulder asking me for therapy and other things. A lot of people thank me for the article ‘Quack Quack – The Doctor’ as they didnt end up repeating the same mistake as my friend Atul did. Infact just today I received a long mail from a gentleman from Gurgoan sharing with me his mother’s story and how this article saved his mother’s life.
Ques: I wanted to ask you this question offline but I will ask it live only – Will you please get back to blogging for me? As I represent the general public right now and I want you to bring more social issues to light and help spread awareness.
Ans: If thats the case then I would not say no and act like a prick. I still remember how my last article ‘It happens only in India – Mera Bharat Mahaan’ and how the police officials called me and asked me to take it off.
So Nikhil, I take it as a promise from your end that you will be back with a purpose sooner then we expect and help make this world a better place to live. Looking forward to read your next article in a day or two
Thanks for your valuable time and warm hospitality.
- Tina (IBA Network)
Filed under: Journalism, NikhilChawla, NYK, Personal Tagged: Blogger, Interview, Nikhil chawla, NikhilChawla, NYK, www.nikhilchawla.in - Dec 11, 09
I didn’t have an idea that a simple album on Facebook would turn out to be so big that people would ask me to post it on my blog and send it to the news channel. Before I share any more info about it, I would like every one of you to have a look at what exactly is causing such rage
Now that you have seen it for yourself that how the Law & Order is put at stake for the sake of religious activities. I want to inform you when and where this video was shot.
Location: Kashmiri Gate
Time: 10:15 P.M.
What, I fail to understand is that how conveniently we are fined for crossing a Red signal on the Traffic Light but there is nobody to even intervene when a major Traffic Light went missing.Hopefully these pictures or the video will see the light of the day and come on the news to act as an eye opener for the Delhi Traffic Police.
If any one of you has witnessed something similar then please come forward and share your comments,pictures or videos.
Posted in Awakening, Journalism, NikhilChawla, NYK, Personal, Public Welfare Tagged: delhi, India, Kashmiri gate, law., NikhilChawla, Nuisance Delhi Roads, NYK, religion, traffic police, www.nikhilchawla.in - Aug 29, 09
As promised in my last post that I’ll be giving a tribute to MJ for his work & excellence, so here I am with my final post on Michael Jackson. MJ remembered by friends & family:
Quote of the Day:
In this world, it is not what we take up, but what we give up, that makes us rich.
–Henry Ward Beecher
Posted in Journalism, NikhilChawla, NYK, Personal Tagged: August 29th, Happy Birthday, Jackson 5, Michael Jackson, MJ, Nikhil chawla, NYK, The King of Pop, www.nikhilchawla.com
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Posts
- Mar 17, 12
- It's the best iPad ever by Apple(They say it each time they upgrade a product)
Well, this I am with them. It's definitely resolutionary thanks to the retina display, has incredible 4G LTE speed, Siri Magic for dictation and other stuff and a much more powerful quad-core processor.But wait a minute! What the heck do you mean by the New iPad, can't you even suffix a '3' or 'HD' to name that Steve Jobs gave to you? Like the others iPad3 or iPadHD was our bet, but Tim Cook was cooking somethin' else. Whatever said and done we want the New iPad! - iPad is helping woman read erotic books?
Once upon a time, fathers and sons hid their Playboys beneath their mattresses. But what did women do with their Playgirls?Somehow, this is less well recorded, though society--or whatever is left of it--surely frowned more strongly on the notion that women openly read books of steamy intent.Then along came the iPad. Suddenly, it seems, sales of erotic books aimed at women are looking highly perky.
We were excited by an in-depth analysis from the Daily Mail, which offered that sales of erotic novels aimed at women have soared 30 percent. It cites Mills and Boon--the company that once published somewhat sedate bodice-rippers--as swooning with excitement at the speed with which digital sales are spurting from its catalog. - Some people don't have a clue as to why they need the new iPad
Do consumers really understand why they need the new thing from Apple? No, they don't, in many cases.Apple staff by prospective buyers--and I'll paraphrase--was: "Hey, I really don't see any difference between this new iPad and my iPad 2. Can you show me what's different?"The Apple staff was quick to rattle off 4G, better camera, dictation, and, of course, the Retina display. But the improved camera and dictation was of little interest to the buyers I stood next to. 4G was important to a few but not material for others.
But, ah, that new display. Everybody was obsessing about that. That glorious, pixel-packing, eye-popping screen.Too bad most of the people--again, this just an infinitesimally small sample of people standing at the same table during the couple of hours I was there--could not see the difference. - The new iPad is slightly heavier than last year's iPad2
They call it the New iPad but do not reveal that it's heavier than the iPad2. The keynote, the Apple adverts or the Apple website do not mention anything about it being heavier than the iPad2.Apple's retreat from being one of the thinnest, lightest tablets on the market may leave some room for competitors. Already, we're seeing tablets like the Toshiba Excite X10 LE, which are thinner than the iPad 2 and just as light. Apple is betting that a best-in-class screen will trump any concerns over the slight uptick in weight and thickness. And if they're wrong, well, the iPad 2 is still around for those who can't bear the extra 51 grams. - So did the new iPad sell out or didn't it?
Some reports suggest there are plenty of new iPads still in stores. Does that mean the new product isn't selling so well? Or does it mean Apple made a few more, just in case?There were complaints it wasn't as sharp as people's iPhones. There were groans that it was a little heavy. And there were many confirmations that at least these people would, yes, want to buy this fine new (old) machine.The lines in certain places might have been shorter than usual yesterday. The product availability may have been unusually strong. But how many of Apple's competitors wouldn't have loved to enjoy the interest already generated by what is, at best, a pleasantly upgraded iPad?
The Unbiased Verdict:
When the original iPad bounded out of the starting gate, it took a huge lead before its competitors figured out what was going on. With the iPad 2, Apple lapped the competition once more by setting design expectations that were nearly impossible to match. The third iPad employs a similar tactic, dramatically raising our collective expectations of tablet screen quality. Placed next to the competition, the superior product is literally plain to see. - It's the best iPad ever by Apple(They say it each time they upgrade a product)
- Mar 17, 12
Rovio's put up a teaser page letting us know about the coming launch of Angry Birds Space.
Apparently a year is too long to go without a new version of the game arriving, so Rovio’s put up a teaser page letting us know about the coming launch of Angry Birds Space.
It’s been a while now since we’ve seen a full-on new edition of Angry Birds. Sure, Rovio regularly release new episodes for its Angry Birds games, full of new levels and the occasional new bird, but ignoring the Symbian-only Angry Birds Magic with its NFC tricks, the last we got was the promotional movie tie-in of Angry Birds Rio last March and the very recent Angry Birds on Facebook.
The only details we haver are that Rovio has disclosed that it will be arriving on March 22. As the company’s recruited NASA and National Geographic as partners in the app’s launch, so we are sure it has something to do with gravity and space imagery.
How will Space differ from existing Angry Birds earlier titles? There will also supposedly be a “lightspeed destruction” mode, though it’s unclear just what that will entail. Rovio will likely have more details to share, as well as some in-game footage, as we approach the launch date. - Feb 19, 12The App Store is about to hit 25 million downloads. Have you downloaded your lucky app yet?We recently made a in-depth list of the best apps from the Apple App Store - App Store RewindLittle did we know that downloading one of those app or in fact any app from the App Store could get us - US$10,000 App Store Gift Card. No we arent kidding, when Apple Inc. is in the thanksgiving mood then lets cash on it. To know more read the transcript below from the Apple website:
As of today, nearly 25 billion apps have been downloaded worldwide from the Apple App store. Which is almost as amazing as the apps themselves. So Apple Inc. wants to say thanks. Download the 25 billionth app, and you could win a US$10,000 App Store Gift Card. Just visit the App Store and download your best app yet.
The best part is that you can enter to win without purchase or download
Step 1:Step 2:
Lastly, the Official Rules to enter the sweepstakes. All the best!
Reference URL: http://www.apple.com/in/itunes/25-billion-app-countdown/ - Feb 16, 12Yuvraj Singh famously known as Yuvi has become the backbone of Indian Middle order. He became an overnight star when at the 2007 World Twenty20 against England he hit six sixes in a single over of Stuart Broad, which was a rare feat in international cricket. He was named the Man of the Tournament in the 2011 Cricket World Cup.
Let's visit Yuvraj's phases of life:
Childhood and Early Career
Yuvraj Singh, (born 12 December 1981) the Indian cricketer, and the son of former Indian fast bowler and Punjabi movie star Yograj Singh. He has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000 (ODIs) and played his first Test match in 2003. He was the vice-captain of the ODI team from late-2007 to late-2008. He became an overnight star when at the 2007 World Twenty20 he hit six sixes in an over against England's Stuart Broad.
Yuvraj first came to attention when he captained the Under-19 Punjab cricket team. He then gained selection for the U-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka in January 2000, where he was part of a team led by Mohammed Kaif which won the tournament. Yuvraj was subsequently selected in 2000 for the first intake of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore and from there, there was no looking back.
I like to party
There is no denying the fact that swashbuckling batsman Yuvraj Singh has a huge female fan following. Yuvi has always known to be a charmer with the fairer sex and even Bollywood beauties Kim Sharma and Deepika Padukone couldn't help but fall to his lovely ways. While Yuvi and Kim were seen on more than one occasion together and were steady for quite a long time, his fling with Deepika was comparatively short-lived. While the couple (Yuvi and Deepika) maintained their just good friends stance.
Deepika in fact even was seen at a few cricket matches in Australia cheering Yuvi and couple was spotted together at quiet a few occasions. However, the sizzle in this Love Story soon fizzled out.
The Cancerous News
Yuvraj Singh has been recently diagnosed with Cancer named "Mediastinal Seminoma", a germ-cell tumor located between his lungs.
The tumor was detected in October 2011 and doctors preferred him to get treatment in US. The 30 year old batsman is undergoing treatment from last month.
Currently, he is undergoing chemotherapy in the Cancer Research Institute, Boston. Yuvraj’s father Yograj Singh told about his son treatment which is going in US by the doctor who had treated Lance Armstrong (Athlete) who was diagnosed by Testicular cancer in stage 3 in 1996.
Yograj said he is responding well to the treatment. It is been estimated that he would get back to normalcy in the month of May. His father feels that his treatment was delayed by two years. Yograj said if they had given consideration two years before when he badly coughed in his match then today’s situation wouldn’t be like this. The doctors said the tumor can be cured without surgery as it is in Stage 1. Chemotherapy will be done in the month of March, rehabilitation in April and he will be fit in May to play in the field. Recently, her mother Shabnam Singh from Boston said that his son is fine and he will be back soon.
Tweets by friends:
Sidhartha Mallya @sidharthamallya
Here's wishing my good friend @yuvsingh09 a speedy recovery....not only a top player, but a top man as well...get well soon bud. X
Bipasha Basu @bipsluvurself
@yuvsingh09 Think of strength n power n u will draw it to u.Think of health and u get it!Love!The whole nation is praying for his recovery so that he can show his magic again in the field with his marvelous sixes. God Bless Yuvraj Singh and he may return to the field soon - T.U.B - Feb 20, 12‘I hate you..Like I love you..’ - Our first reaction after holding the Samsung Galaxy Note. And the reason for this kind of reaction was because of Samsung’s confused promotion for the Galaxy Note - ‘Phone or Tablet?’ We would like to call it the Phablet!
Remember the display on your first mobile phone? If you've been chatting on the go for as long as we have, it was probably barely big enough to fit a complete telephone number -- let alone a contact name or text message. And your first smartphone? Even displaying scaled-down, WAP versions of web pages was asking a lot. Now, those mobile devices we couldn't live without have screens that are much, much larger. Sometimes, though, we secretly wish they were even bigger still.
Samsung's new GT-N7000 Galaxy Note is the handset those dreams are made of -- if you happen to share that dream about obnoxiously large smartphones, that is. It's as thin as a Galaxy S II, lightning fast and its 5.3-inch HD Super AMOLED display is as gorgeous as it is enormous; the 1280 x 800 pixels you once could only get with a full-size laptop (or in the Galaxy Tab 10.1) can now slide comfortably into your front pocket. Its jumbo display makes it the perfect candidate for a notepad replacement and, with the included S Pen stylus, you'll have no problem jotting notes on the fly, marking up screenshots or signing documents electronically. But, is that massive display too much of a good thing? You'll need to jump past the break to find out.If you were holding out for a device that bridges the gap between smartphone and tablet, you'll want to take Note. It's an absolutely massive Android handset and a high-res pocketable tablet rolled into one. If you have the hands to support it, it may just be the best thing to happen to mobile devices since the capacitive touchscreen. You can take notes, doodle between (or during) meetings and make phone calls. Those calls can be placed using the built-in earpiece and mic, or via a Bluetooth headset, which we would recommend. Holding something this large up to your ear can be rather unpleasant -- and unsightly.
If you fall within the camp of smartphone users that absolutely swears off onscreen keyboards, the Note's display may just win you over. A larger display means larger keys, which are easier to see and simpler to tap accurately -- if you can reach them. You can also use the S Pen to replace the keyboard entirely, letting you write in individual letters or entire words. Character and handwriting recognition isn't perfect, but it is quite good.
The Galaxy Note is one of those devices that you'll either completely love or totally hate -- its sheer size alone will certainly be a barrier for those with smaller hands (or pockets). With the Note, Samsung has managed to create one of the world's largest smartphones, but cunningly it's also an incredibly compact tablet with a high-resolution display -- the same as the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet -- without the high-resolution footprint. It's compact enough to slip in your pocket and powerful enough to replace both of your portable devices. Still, it won't be for everyone.
Key features
· Quad-band GSM and quad-band 3G support
· 21 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA
· 5.3" 16M SAMOLED capacitive touchscreen of WXGA resolution (800 x 1280 pixels)
· Android OS v2.3.5 with TouchWiz 4 launcher
· 1.4 GHz dual-core Cortex-A9 CPU, Mali-400MP GPU, Exynos chipset, 1GB of RAM
· Pre-bundled with the S Pen active stylus
· 8 MP wide-angle autofocus camera with LED flash, face, smile and blink detection
· Video recording of up to 1080p@30fps
· Dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 b, g and n support; Wi-Fi Direct and Wi-Fi hotspot
· GPS with A-GPS connectivity; Digital compass
· 16/32GB internal storage, microSD slot
· Accelerometer, gyroscope and proximity sensor
· Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
· Charging MHL microUSB port with USB host and TV-out support
· Stereo Bluetooth v3.0
· FM radio with RDS
· Great audio quality
· 9.7 mm slim and weighs a reasonable 178g
· 2MP secondary video-call camera
· Full Flash support, GPU-acceleration for the web browser 1080p flash video playback
· Document editor
· File manager comes preinstalled
· Extremely rich audio and video format support (Open Source Android)
· 2500 mAh battery (Massive Battery that last 9hours with heavy usage)
Main disadvantages
· Won’t fit comfortably in every pocket (Unless you wear baggy jeans)
· Much harder for one-handed use (Looks like giant calculator when in dialing mode)
· All-plastic body (Samsung Slim = Plastic Body)
· No dedicated camera key (There was enough space to put a button)
· HD screen uses PenTile matrix lowering perceived resolution
· Non-hot-swappable microSD card (Cant make it on the go movie hub)
· Sub-par loudspeaker volume (Device this huge needs much better sound)
Now that you know the pro's and con's of the Samsung Galaxy Note, let's review the hardware:
If you've used a Samsung Galaxy S II, then you're already familiar with the Note -- the design is quite similar, though it's significantly larger, measuring 146.85 x 82.95 x 9.65mm, compared with 125.3 x 66.1 x 8.49mm for the GS II. It's significantly heavier too: 178 grams (6.3 ounces) compared to its 116g (4.09-ounce) predecessor. There's an eight megapixel camera with LED flash on the back and a two megapixel shooter up front. The Note may be awkwardly large for some functions, but snapping photos feels natural enough. There's also 1080 / 30p HD video recording, with support for MPEG-4, H.263 and H.264 codecs. You can store all that multimedia on the 16GB of internal memory, expandable by up to 32GB with a microSD card -- both of which can be accessed via the micro-USB port. There's also Bluetooth 3.0+ HS support and 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi.
With support for 21Mbps HSPA+ (850, 900, 1900, 2100Mhz), EDGE and GPRS (850, 900, 1800, 1900MHz), the Note is first and foremost a mobile phone. You could carry it in one pocket with your celly in another, but you don't need to. It's running Android 2.3.5 (Gingerbread) powered by a 1.4GHz dual-core processor, which performed incredibly well during our benchmark tests (more on that later). The Note offers a full suite of sensors, including an accelerometer, compass and barometer, along with proximity and light. There's also A-GPS and GLONASS for enhanced positioning -- even in Antarctica.
There's an earphone grill up top, just above the Samsung logo, followed by ambient light and proximity sensors to the right, then a front-facing cam near the edge. A single rectangular button at the bottom peeks out from beneath the display, flanked by touch-sensitive backlit return and menu controls. On the top right of the sleek silver bezel you'll find the power button, with a 3.5mm headphone jack up there too and volume slider on the left. The micro-USB connector is centered at the bottom, just to the left of where you slide in the S Pen. That's flush with the Note's flimsy plastic rear panel, which will only need removing when you want to insert a SIM or microSD card -- or swap out the generous 2,500mAh battery. 1280 x 800 pixels in a smartphone display is quite a feat, and it's just as impressive to behold as it sounds. The Note's 5.3-inch Super AMOLED screen is incredibly bright, vibrant and detailed, thanks to its 285ppi resolution. It doesn't have the highest pixel density in the world (the smaller Galaxy Nexus trumps it slightly, as does Apple's Retina panel in the iPhone 4 and 4S), but it's enough to make graphics amazingly smooth -- you'll have a hard time seeing individual pixels with the naked eye. Viewing photos and graphics, web pages and even newspaper articles in PressReader is quite the treat when you have this much visual real estate to work with.
Colors on the Note pop just as they do on the GS II, that eye-pleasing contrast and saturation we've come to love from Samsung's AMOLED displays, and little vibrancy is lost when viewed from the side. However, color accuracy does start to wander a bit. This is indeed a PenTile display, just like the upcoming Galaxy Nexus, and so there are more green sub-pixels than any other color. This gives everything an ever-so slightly sickly tinge, especially when viewed off-angle. Still, you'll have no problem watching videos or reviewing your sketches with a group of friends -- assuming none of them are hue purists.
Our Verdict:
Samsung deserves a lot of credit for carving a new niche in a market, which is seriously saturated with all sorts of smartphones and tablets. Bringing back an obsolete technology like the stylus and still creating such massive hype is a great feat. The S Pen can be surprisingly handy and entertaining as well. The rest of the device's functionality is unsurprisingly good.
If you are the type of person, who lugs around a smartphone and a tablet simultaneously, the Galaxy Note might just be the phone for you. The Galaxy gives you the opportunity to save a lot of space by having a device, which (almost) does it all.
If you are simply looking for a smartphone, the best advice we can give you is to go to a Samsung store, and try out the device yourself. It is the best way to find out whether it will be comfortable enough, as any other opinion will be quite subjective - there is simply nothing like it. - Jan 18, 12The Darkest Hour, no I am not talking about the movie but the black out on the World Wide Web. If you haven't figured out what I am talking about till now, then you need to wake up to SOPA.SOPA - The controversial legislation, before the House of Representatives, has caused nothing less than outrage from Internet service providers and their customers. The legislation, meant to stop companies from copying, or "pirating" content or software from others and reselling it, has been seen by many as over-reaching, a "sprawling new regime" of laws which will "stifle investment" and further "chill free speech" across the Globe.Seems a bit hypocritical, to see such a law, created by a governing body which has refined to an art the practice of copying each other party's stale ideas, covering up under the thin veil of a new name, then reselling the canned content to the masses every four years. No single SOPA-threatened site can match the profits derived from our own government's freedom-infringing practices.Are you supporting SOPA?List of sites that have provided informational links explaining SOPA's issues, or will go partially or completely dark sometime today:
SOPA is, objectively, an unfeasible trainwreck of a bill, one that willfully misunderstands the nature of the internet and portends huge financial and cultural losses. The White House has come out strongly against it. As have hundreds of venture capitalists and dozens of the men and women who helped build the internet in the first place. In spite of all this, companies have already spent a lot of money pushing SOPA, and it remains popular in the House of Representatives.Isn't this Ridiculous? This is why US of A is spiraling into debt. Not enough thought is taken into consideration before these bills are even proposed. They are shotgunned through the process and after the fallout settles, people spend countless taxpayer dollars and wasted time that could be applied to fixing real social-economic problems trying to figure out how to repeal these dumb laws in the first place.We already have countless ways around being traced and can encrypt our hard drives to the point where the information is useless in court. If someone really wants to infringe on copyrighted material, the internet will always provide a way no matter how hard the government nannies try to prevent it. This will be new new drug war of this millennium. Another failed government attempt to stop an unstoppable force.
There is no blue pill or red pill here like we had it The Matrix. Choice is our's and it has to be against SOPA and PIPA. - Jan 15, 12The App Store Rewind features 20 categories from Travel to Games, and names the top five apps of each category.
1. Instagram
The most popular photo app to ever hit iOS, Instagram currently has 50 million users, and will soon launch on Android platforms.
It's a free, fun, and simple way to make and share gorgeous photos on your iPhone. Pick from one of several gorgeous filtered effects or tilt-shift blur to breathe a new life into your mobile photos. Transform everyday moments into works of art you'll want to share with friends and family.
Share your photos in a simple photo stream with friends to see - and follow your friends' photos with the click of a single button. Every day you open up Instagram, you'll see new photos from your closest friends, and creative people from around the world.
Features
☆ 100% free custom designed filters and borders such as XPro-II, Earlybird, Rise, Amaro, Hudson, Lomo-fi, Sutro, Toaster, Brannan, Inkwell, Walden, Hefe, Nashville, 1977, and others.
☆ Linear and Radial Tilt-Shift blur effects for extra depth of field.
☆ Instant sharing to Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr, Foursquare, and Posterous
☆ Unlimited uploads
☆ Interact with friends through giving & receiving likes and comments
☆ Works with first generation, 3G, 3GS and iPhone 4
☆ Full iPhone 4 front & back camera support2. Tiny Tower
Freemium game Tiny Tower lets the player build towers and open businesses inside them.Tiny Tower lets you build a tiny tower and manage the businesses and bitizens that inhabit it!★Make money to build new types of floors and attract bitizens to live and work inside.
★Special events and VIP visitors will earn you special perks as you build your tower towards the clouds.
★Customize the look and placement of each floor and the bitizens that live in them, and upgrade your elevator.
★Game Center integration to let you see your friends towers, back up your game and earn awards.
★See what is on your bitizens' minds by peeking at the "BitBook" virtual social network for your tower!3. HBO GOHBO GO made both the iPhone and iPad Rewind lists this year. HBO subscribers can watch streaming video using this app.
Introducing HBO GO®. The new streaming service from HBO®. Watch over 1,400 of your favorite HBO shows, including HBO original programming, hit movies, sports, comedy and much more—now available on iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch!
It’s HBO. Anywhere.
With the New HBO GO App You Can:
• Keep up with your favorites. Watch everything you love about HBO, including HBO original programming, hit movies, sports, comedy and every episode of the best HBO shows, including True Blood®, Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire®, Entourage®, The Sopranos®, Curb Your Enthusiasm®, Sex and the City®, The Wire® and more. Plus, get bonus features and special behind-the-scenes extras!
• Take it with you. Get instant access to HBO GO whenever you want, wherever you are—and never miss a moment of your favorite HBO shows.
• Make it your own. Create a customized Watchlist to catch up on all your favorite HBO shows and hit movies at your convenience. Plus, set a Series Pass® to automatically load your list with all the HBO Original Series you love.
• Enjoy more HBO. Get even more of your favorite HBO programming with HBO GO—FREE with your HBO subscription through participating television providers.
4. Crackle5. Infinity Blade II
Crackle is a video content website that curates TV and movies for the 18-34-year old demographic.
Finally, watch FREE movies on your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
Now with Airplay!The game hopped to the top of app store charts the first day it launched, Dec. 1.Winner of the 2011 Apple Design Award, and more than 20 “Game of the Year” & “Top App” awards! Tons of NEW FREE CONTENT available now! See below for more details.NEW! CONTENT PACK #4
ChAIR loves you, so we are giving you EVEN MORE awesome content - for free!
- New magic rings, swords, shields, and helmets! Collect and Master them all!
- New Enemy: The fierce and deadly RookBane!
- Sneak peek at Infinity Blade 2, and Infinity Blade: Awakening, the new iBook by #1 New York Times selling author Brandon Sanderson!
Infinity Blade is now better than ever!From Epic Games’ award-winning studio, ChAIR Entertainment, comes Infinity Blade, a new sword fighting action game developed exclusively for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad.Here’s what the press has to say about Infinity Blade:**JOYSTIQ: 5 out of 5 - "In terms of recreating a console-level experience on the iPhone, you simply will not do better than Infinity Blade"
**GAMEPRO: 5 out of 5 - "The next generation of handheld gaming is here"
**SLIDE TO PLAY: 4 out of 4 - "Any serious iOS gamer should grab this one up"
**ENGADGET: 9 out of 10 - "Utterly delicious to look at"
**IGN: 9 out of 10 - "Infinity Blade is easily one of the most defining iPhone games of 2010"
**TOUCHARCADE: "It doesn't get much more 'must have' than this"
**GIZMODO: "An iOS game like you've never seen before"The first mobile game powered by Epic’s cutting-edge Unreal Engine 3 technology, Infinity Blade takes handheld gaming to new heights with gorgeous visuals, adrenaline-fueled battles and advanced character progression in a fully 3D castle realm.Universal App - Play Infinity Blade on iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPad, iPad 2, iPod Touch 3 (16 GB and above), or iPod Touch 4 for a single low price.Optimized for iPhone 4, and iPad 2 – Includes high-resolution graphics that utilize the enhanced visual
capabilities of the iPhone 4 and iPad 2.INFINITY BLADE
For untold ages, the God King has ruled with an iron fist - his power is incalculable; his followers, legion. Now you must journey to the Dark Citadel to battle his Titans, one by one, until you face the tyrant himself. As it has been for all in your bloodline, this is your birthright - to free your people from an endless legacy of darkness. The immortal can be vanquished - but only if heart, mind, and steel are one.
DYNAMIC SINGLE-PLAYER CAMPAIGN
Spectacular 3D characters and environments powered by the award-winning Unreal Engine 3 bring to life the story of a lone knight’s pursuit to save civilization.
RESPONSIVE AND INTUITIVE TOUCH CONTROLS
Attack, dodge, block, and cast devastating spells - all with the simple swipe of a finger.
SIMPLE NAVIGATION
Easy to use, tap-to-move controls enable players to effortlessly navigate and explore the castle realm while searching for collectable items such as treasure, swords, shields, armor and other magical objects.
DEEP CHARACTER CUSTOMIZATION
Dozens of Swords, Shields, Helmets, Armor, and Magic Rings to acquire and master - leveling up your character and increasing Attack, Health, Shield and Magic skills.
GAME CENTER
Achievements and Leaderboards, challenge your friends to multiplayer matches online via Game Center!6. StarbucksThe popular Starbucks iPhone app helped complete 26 million transactions in 2011. Now one-in-four Starbucks transactions use the app's Mobile Pay for purchases.
The official iPhone application from Starbucks! Now you can use Mobile Pay for your Starbucks purchases. It’s the fastest way to pay at Starbucks – just scan and go!
But that’s not all! With Starbucks for iPhone, you can manage your Starbucks Card balance, reload your card, track your Stars in the My Starbucks Rewards program and send an eGift to a friend. And there’s more!Our easy-to-navigate store locator points you to the closest store and lets you search by amenities. You can also explore our whole bean coffees, find nutrition information and build your own perfect drink. And if you feel like being social, you can share your location or favorite drinks through Facebook and Twitter integrations.Features:• My Cards: Pay with your iPhone/iPod Touch at 6,800 U.S. company–operated Starbucks and 2,000 Target and Safeway locations. Check your Starbucks Card balance, reload your card, view your transaction history and transfer balances between cards.
• My Rewards: Track your Stars in the My Starbucks Rewards program.
• eGift: Send an eGift to a friend via email or Facebook wall post.
• Store Locator: Find the closest stores, directions, store hours and amenities.
• Drink Builder: Create and share your perfect Starbucks beverages.
• Food Menu: Browse our delicious food menu and see detailed nutritional info and ingredients. Use calorie and allergen filters to help find foods that meet your health and wellness needs.
•Coffee Menu: Explore every Starbucks whole bean coffee. Find your perfect cup by taste, or search for organic, Fair Trade, aged and decaf coffees.
• Jobs: Find job opportunities with one of FORTUNE’S 100 BEST COMPANIES TO WORK FOR. Great jobs with competitive pay and perks are available in stores, roasting plants and in supporting roles all across the United States.We want to hear from you! Go to www.mystarbucksidea.com to contribute your opinion on what Starbucks should do next.7. djayTopping the iPhone and iPad Rewind lists, the djay app incorporates your iPod into a full-fledged DJ experience.
★ iPhone App of the Year 2011 Runner-Up in Japan ★☆ Fully optimized for iOS 5 with iCloud integration and new Audio FX ☆Ready to rock your next party? The premier DJ app and winner of the 2011 Apple Design Award for iPad now fits in your pocket: introducing djay for iPhone & iPod touch!★ "Best in its class." — Mashable
★ "An insanely feature rich DJ app." — AppleTell
★ "If ever there was a program meant for touchscreens, this is it." MacUser (Editor's Choice)
★ "The first app that truly nails DJing on the iPhone and iPod touch." — Digital DJ Tipsdjay transforms your iPhone or iPod touch into a full-fledged portable DJ system and seamlessly integrates with your iPod library, giving you direct access to all your favorite tracks and playlists. A hyper-realistic touchscreen interface and ultra-low latency converge to offer you a true professional mixing experience, right in the palm of your hand. You can perform live, record mixes on-the-go, or enable Automix mode and let djay mix your favorite playlist from your iPod library auto-magically!With a simple rotation of your iPhone or iPod touch, djay’s intuitive dual turntable setup beautifully morphs to each turntable individually, allowing you to beat-match, adjust EQs, loop, and cue with even greater precision and control.With unprecedented ease-of-use and innovative multi-touch mixing features, djay for iPhone & iPod touch brings DJing to the next level, offering a unique experience for beginners and professionals alike—all in your pocket.FEATURE HIGHLIGHTS:
✔ Direct access to iPod library
✔ Hyper-realistic low-latency turntable interface
✔ Exclusive landscape and portrait (single deck) modes
✔ Automix mode
✔ Automatic beat and tempo matching (BPM sync)
✔ Audio FX: Flanger, Phaser, Echo, Gate, Bit Crusher, Filter (High Pass, Low Pass)
✔ Looping: Auto, Manual, and Bounce
✔ Cue Point Trigger
✔ Live Recording
✔ Pre-Cueing with headphones (using optional Griffin DJ Cable)
✔ High-quality scratching
✔ Pitch-Bend
✔ Mixer, tempo, and EQ controls
✔ iCloud integration
✔ AirPlay integration
✔ Support for Numark's iDJ Live MIDI Controller
✔ Support for all major audio formats including MP3, AAC, WAV, AIFF (no support for DRM protected songs)
✔ Fully optimized for iOS multitasking and background operation
NEW: Griffin DJ Cable designed exclusively for djay's pre-cueing feature now available at the Apple Store or from the Griffin web site.
TIPS & TRICKS:
★ Auto-Cut Scratching™: Scratch the record with two fingers for beat-matched cutting.
★ Manual Fader Cutting: Tap crossfader outside the knob for manual cutting.
★ Bounce Loop: Swipe finger across bounce loop matrix to change loop interval on-the-fly.
★ Gain: Swipe finger on level meters to quickly adjust gain, double tap to reset.
★ For more tips & tricks, check the Help section in the app’s settings panel.8. GaragebandNamed Apple's iPad App of the year and one of TIME's Top 50 Innovations, Flipboard creates a personalized magazine out of everything being shared with you. Flip through your Facebook newsfeed, tweets from your Twitter timeline, photos from your Instagram feed and much more. Fill Flipboard with the things you like to read, from niche blogs to publications like Rolling Stone or Vanity Fair, and use Instapaper or Read It Later to save articles to read later. Connect Flipboard to all your social networks, and you'll have a single place to enjoy, browse, comment on and share all the news, photos and updates that matter to you.
Plug in guitars, customize chords, mix tracks and more using this instrument integration tool.GarageBand turns your iPad, iPhone and iPod touch into a collection of Touch Instruments and a full-featured recording studio — so you can make music anywhere you go. Use Multi-Touch gestures to play pianos, organs, guitars, drums, and basses. They sound and play like their counterparts, but let you do things you could never do on a real instrument. Enjoy a full range of Smart Instruments that make you sound like a pro — even if you’ve never played a note before. Plug an electric guitar into your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch and play through classic amps and stompbox effects. Use the built-in microphone or a guitar to record, or capture any performance. Then mix up to eight tracks to create a song you can share.
Play your iPad, iPhone and iPod touch like a musical instrument
• Perform on dozens of musical instruments on the innovative Multi-Touch keyboard
• Tap out beats from the seat of acoustic and electronic drum kits
• Recreate legendary guitar rigs with 9 amps and 10 stompbox effects
• Record your voice using the built-in microphone, and apply fun sound effects
• Use the Sampler to create an instrument from sounds you record, then play them on a keyboard
Sound like a virtuoso with Smart Instruments
• Tap chords to instantly create keyboard grooves with the Smart Keyboard
• Strum chords on acoustic and electric Smart Guitars, or trigger fingerpicking patterns for popular chords
• Groove with an onscreen electric or upright Smart Bass by tapping on chords
• Drag drum instruments onto a grid to create your own beats with the Smart Drums
Create a song anywhere you go
• Arrange and mix your song with up to eight tracks using Touch Instruments, audio recordings, and loops
• Trim and place musical regions exactly where you want them to play
• Use the Mixer to fine-tune each track’s volume – solo or mute any track, or adjust pan, reverb, and echo
• Use over 250 professionally prerecorded loops as a backing band to your song
Share your songs
• Email songs right from GarageBand (AAC)
• Export your song and add it to the iTunes library on your Mac or PC
• Send a project to your Mac and open it in GarageBand to continue refining your song9. Flipboard
In addition to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, you can flip through your newsfeeds and timelines from Google Reader, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Flickr and 500px on Flipboard.
New to Flipboard on iPhone is Cover Stories, a selection of interesting articles and photos being shared with you right now. And it gets smarter every time you use it.*
What people are saying:
- "Flipboard begins to imagine an entirely new way of accessing the social Web." New York Times
- "Flipping for Flipboard: The brilliant iPad app that has changed the way I read the news." SLATE
- "Stop. Put down this computer, go pick up your iPad and come back here. Now go get this app: Flipboard. Why? It's pretty awesome." Wired.com
- The Twitter experience on @flipboard is unlike anything i have ever seen. I didn't know it at the time, but it's the reason I got an #iPad.... @sylvioso
10. Super 8
***SELECTED AS ONE OF APPLE'S TOP 5 PHOTOGRAPHY APPS FOR 2011!***
**VERSION 2.0 IS NOW AVAILABLE**
**Share your movies on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and by E-Mail**
Bad Robot and QMx Interactive present: Super 8™
Turn your iPhone into a vintage Super 8 film camera!
Super 8™ is the ultimate Super 8 camera emulator for your video-capable iDevice. Using Super 8™, you can make your own vintage movies and add lens, filter and shake effects, arrange clips and scenes the way you want them; you can even add your own credits.
And now with Version 2, you can publish your videos to Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and via E-Mail instantly! With the addition of one-shot movies, all you need to do is film a clip and then post it directly. No more need to go to the cartridge or library or render a movie to put it out to the world!
IMPORTANT: YOU MUST SET UP YOUR TWITTER AND FACEBOOK ACCOUNTS IN YOUR IDEVICE'S GENERAL SETTINGS (YOUTUBE MUST BE SET-UP IN SUPER 8™ SETTINGS) BEFORE DIRECT SHARING WILL FUNCTION.
Super 8™ offers seven lens effects, three animated filters, a scratch-and-dirt overlay and frame shake effect that you can mix-and-match to create a wide variety of looks for your movies.
****************************
Super 8™ Features
****************************
» RECORD
- Scratch-and-Dirt Overlay
- Add/Change Filter Effects
- Switch Between Front and Reverse Camera Views (iPhone 4 only)
- Analog Time Elapsed Counter
- Turn On Camera Light (iPhone 4 only)
- Tap Button for Frame Shake Effect
- Make movies in cartridge mode or the new one-shot mode, which let's you share your videos instantly!
» CAMERA FRONT
- Change Lenses Between:
• Color
• Chromatic
• Black & White
• Sepia
• X-Ray
• Negative
• Infrared
• **NEW!** Posterize
• **NEW!** Fisheye
» CARTRIDGE
- Arrange or Delete Scenes (clips)
- Add or Delete an Authentic Super 8 Film Leader
- Edit Film Title
- Add Credits
- **NEW!** Share your clips on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube or via E-Mail!
- Develop Your Film
» LIBRARY
- Select Movie to Play
- Change Movie Titles
- Delete Movies from Library
- **NEW!** Share your clips on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube or via E-Mail!
» PROJECTOR
- Pull Down Screen to Start Movie
- Reverse, Pause/Play and Forward Playback Controls
- Share (email movies or save them to a computer via iTunes)
» CASE
- Access Your Camera
- Open Your Movie Library
- Super 8™ Instruction Manual
- Get the Super 8 DVD and Blu-Ray directly from the Super 8™ app!
Nike Training Club gives you your own personal trainer, anytime, anywhere. Get lean, toned and strong with more than 85 custom-built workouts. Unlock exclusive extra workouts from celebrities like Lea Michele, professional athletes like Shawn Johnson, and Rihanna’s personal trainer, Ary Nuñez.
Detailed instructions and audio support are on hand to help you perfect each of Nike Training Club’s 130 dynamic drills. Choose a workout that fits your goal. Set it to your music, share your progress, earn your rewards. And just see the results.
- Full-body workouts for 30 or 45 minutes. Targeted and professional athlete workouts for 15 minutes. Set a favorite workout as your Quick-Start.
- 130 multi-dimensional, multi-directional drills build on the fundamentals of strength, cardio, interval and core training.
- Exclusive rewards including workouts from Rihanna’s personal trainer, professional athletes, celebrities, yoga instructors and more.
- Simple functionality optimizes every workout. Select your goal and fitness level, then choose from a list of workouts that meet your criteria.
- Set your workout to albums and playlists from your own music library.
- Audio guidance keeps you on track and motivated while working out.
- Access step-by-step instructions and video demonstrations for every drill at any time.
- Track details of your workout history and training progress.
- Share your workout and reward status on Facebook and Twitter.12. Dead SpaceAPPLE NAMES DEAD SPACE THE “iPAD GAME OF THE YEAR.” To celebrate, we’re offering Dead Space for iPad for 50% off! It’s today’s deadly Daily Deal. See all of our EA Daily Deals at eamobile.com/dailydeals for New Play, Every Day!
“BEST MOBILE GAME OF THE YEAR!” ( 2011 Meffy Awards)
AN ORIGINAL DEAD SPACE STORY DESIGNED FOR iOS
Featuring hardcore gameplay with enhanced graphics for iPad 2 and a rich audio experience, immerse yourself in events that unleash the Necromorph horde again – and set the stage for the horrifying action of Dead Space 2. Hailed by fans and critics, this stunning vision of the Dead Space franchise is truly a landmark “must-play.”
ENTER SURVIVAL MODE FOR THE NASTIEST NECROMORPH RUSH YET
With two engrossing channels of gameplay, Survival Mode offers as much strategic dismemberment as you can stomach. Hack and shoot your way through 4 maps in both ENDLESS and “5 MINUTES TO KILL” modes. Bring in weapons, suits, and ammo from Story Mode, rack up big combos, and earn more credits!
A CHARGED SENSORY EXPERIENCE
Featuring a fully voice-acted stereo soundtrack, plus a movie-quality score and sound effects, we recommend experiencing the game with headphones for full immersion. Cutting-edge visuals, rich in effects and atmospheric lighting, reproduce the cinematic horror of the console experience.
INTUITIVE CONTROLS FOCUS YOU ON THE ACTION
The on-screen HUD is seamlessly integrated into the game. Navigate 6 varied environments and battle Necromorphs with simple swipe and tap controls.
INTRODUCING 2 EXCLUSIVE WEAPONS & FEATURING CLASSIC MODULES
Access the ALL-NEW Plasma Saw and Core Extractor, plus 3 more weapons from the Dead Space universe – and get on with the business of strategic dismemberment. Also utilize Kinesis and Stasis Modules well-known to players of the console game.
INSTANTLY BUY & DOWNLOAD UPGRADES – INCLUDING THE ALL-NEW HEAVY PULSE RIFLE
Enhance weapons and more with additional Power Nodes. Increase offensive and defensive capabilities with Weapon Output and Armor Integrity Modules. Or get the Credit Booster to scavenge more credits from dismembered Necromorphs.
FANS & CRITICS AGREE: DEAD SPACE FOR iOS IS ONE KILLER GAME…
“…a wholly original and terrifying experience splattered in deep gameplay, outstanding graphics, and chilling audio.” (App Store iPad Game of the Week)
“5 STARS ...a game-changer as far as 3D action games go on iOS platforms.” (Ryan Rigney, GamePro Editors’ Choice)
GIZMODO “App of the Day”
★ Winner of the 2011 Apple Design Award ★
Al Gore's Our Choice will change the way we read books. And quite possibly change the world. In this interactive app, Al Gore surveys the causes of global warming and presents groundbreaking insights and solutions already under study and underway that can help stop the unfolding disaster of global warming.
Our Choice melds the vice president's narrative with photography, interactive graphics, animations, and more than an hour of engrossing documentary footage. A new, groundbreaking interface allows you to experience that content seamlessly. Pick up and explore anything you see in the book; zoom out to the visual table of contents and quickly browse though the chapters; reach in and explore data-rich interactive graphics.
100% of Al Gore's earnings from Our Choice will be donated to the nonprofit Alliance for Climate Protection.
Reviews:
"This is one of the most elegant, fluid, immersive apps you’ve ever seen. It’s a showpiece for the new world of touch-screen gadgets."
-David Pogue, The New York Times
"One of the first truly multimedia e-books"
-Bryan Walsh, Time Magazine
"Expands the definition of the word book."
-David Chartier, PCWorld
"It transforms the act of reading into something totally new."
-Amy Lee, Huffington Post
"Put simply, it does things that no paper book ever could."
-Kyle VanHemert, Gizmodo
Features:
• A groundbreaking multi-touch interface
• A visual table of contents for quick and easy navigation
• More than 250 stunning full-screen images
• Explore every photo's location on an interactive map
• More than one hour of documentary footage
• More than 30 original interactive infographics and animations
• Original audio commentary by Al Gore throughout
• An interactive 3D book cover
• Read on your iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch
About:
Published by Rodale, produced by Melcher Media, and powered by Push Pop Press’s groundbreaking software, Our Choice is meant to inspire readers to take action and think in new and creative ways about how we can work together to solve the climate crisis.
14. CNN
Follow the 2012 Presidential election with the CNN Election Center. View the latest political headlines, race results and watch major events live on the CNN App for iPad.
Now you can watch your favorite CNN shows LIVE on your CNN Apps for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. We’ve added CNN TV live - 24/7 - to all the great features that you love about your app.
•Watch LIVE CNN TV, video coverage of live events and video clips
•Access the 2012 Election Center
•Go beyond breaking news with international, politics, tech and entertainment headlines
•Choose your view from different navigation options; quickly scan the headlines or immerse yourself in a slideshow
•Take part in the conversation by commenting on stories and reading others’ responses
•Share your favorite stories on Facebook and Twitter or via e-mail
•Save stories for offline viewing
Now optimized for iOS5.15. ZiteZite is a free personalized magazine for your iPad that automatically learns what you like and gets smarter every time you use it. Zite delivers all the great news, articles, blogs, and videos you want – and helps you discover new stuff that you'll love.
"The iPad’s smartest magazine yet." —Mashable"If you'd like a smarter way to handle information overload, Zite can do the dirty work." —Wall Street JournalHighlights:
· Zite personalizes your content automatically and gets better the more you use it.· Gaming and tech? Motorcycles, cats, or vegetarianism? Create your magazine your way with thousands of sections and a smart auto-suggest tool.· Interact with the articles you read on Zite by thumbing them up or down and watch your magazine get more and more personalized.· Get a head start on finding amazing content tailored just for you by automatically syncing Zite with your Twitter and Google Reader accounts.· Experience a magazine like no other – Zite will change the way you discover and enjoy content on your iPadWith high-res photos, games, chat and more, now you can get the best of Facebook—on your iPad.
16. The Daily
★ App Store Rewind 2011, BEST IN NEWSSTAND ★★ Featured in iTunes APP STARTER KIT ★
★ Wired selection for OUTSTANDING NEWS APPS, 2011 ★
★ USA TODAY: "The Daily is visually dazzling”
★ GIGAOM: “More than any existing newspaper or magazine app for the iPad, The Daily feels like it belongs on the platform.”
★ TECHCRUNCH: “…this could be the first iPad app to beat Angry Birds and, more important, truly bring journalism into the 21st century.”
The Daily is the first daily news, entertainment and sports publication created and designed from scratch for your iPad. A US-based publication that covers events around the world, The Daily combines the best of print, web, and broadcast, giving you what you need to know in a uniquely interactive format and striking presentation.
What’s in The Daily?
• 7 sections updated every day: News, Business, Gossip, Opinion, Arts & Life, Apps & Games, and Sports
• Over 100 pages of original content every single day of the year—designed for the iPad
• World-class editors and contributors like Sasha Frere-Jones (Arts & Life) and Gary Vaynerchuk (Business)
• 360-degree photos and immersive photography that take you deeper inside the story
• Interactive charts, info-graphics and clickable hot spots
• In-app commenting — including audio comments
• Your favorite sports’ teams scores, news and photos
• You can save articles to read later and share them with your friends e-mail, Twitter and Facebook
How does The Daily’s subscription feature work?
• Downloading the app is free, and you get The Daily every day (including updates throughout the day) for two weeks free
• If you choose to subscribe, simply select the weekly ($0.99 cents) or yearly ($39.99) subscription
• You can turn off auto-renewal any time from your iTunes account settings; do it right on your iPad if you don’t want to continue with auto-renewal
- Enjoy bigger, better photos: Your photos are high-res and easy to flip through, like a real photo album
- Navigate anywhere, fast: Just tap, slide or pinch to move from one screen to another
- Play games on the go: Access your favorite Facebook apps and games, wherever you are
- Focus on what matters: Zoom in on your friends' photos, updates and stories
- Never lose your place: Share a photo, update your status or send a message without leaving News Feed
- See who's nearby: Check out the Nearby map to see what your friends are up to
Facebook for iPhone
Facebook for iPhone lets you stay connected and share with friends on the go. Start a chat, keep up with friends' photos and status updates, look up a phone number, upload photos to Facebook and more—right from your iPhone.
What's New in Version 4
With improved search and browsing, the facebook.com features you use most are now just a touch away. It’s a faster, fuller Facebook for iPhone.
- Games & Apps: Play games and access your favorite apps on the go
- Navigation: Send a message or see your notifications from any screen, and swipe to browse Facebook without losing your place in News Feed
- Bookmarks: Your groups, pages and apps are all in your left-hand menu, and the ones you use most are right on top
- Search: Search for anything on Facebook—people, apps, pages and more—without having to click around or switch views
- Security: We’ve added a few updates to make the app more secure
18. SkypeBring your Skype contacts closer with full screen video at your fingertips.
Beautiful and simple, this is Skype built especially for the iPad. Call, video call, or instant message anyone on Skype. Plus, if you add a little Skype Credit, call landlines and mobiles at really low rates.
Simple to use:
• Join Skype on our website or just sign straight in to your account.
• If you already have a Skype account, your Skype contacts will automatically be there on your iPad.
• We’ve made adding new Skype contacts really easy. Once they’re in your Contact list, call, video or instant message them in one touch.
• Flick through recent calls and instant messages in your Skype for iPad history.
• Skype for iPad works over Wi-Fi or 3G (operator data charges may apply). Call Skype contacts on their iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, PC, Mac and even Skype enabled TVs.
Access free Skype features:
• Talk face-to-face or show what you’re seeing with front and back-facing cameras.
• Use Skype for iPad to call anyone else on Skype – and enjoy near CD quality (SILK) sound.
• Instant message and add emoticons to personalize your messages.
Then unlock even more features when you pay a little:
• Make cheap calls to landlines or mobiles from your iPad.
• Get an Online Number from Skype so people can call you on your iPad.
If you want to unlock these extra features, you can pay in a way that suits you.
• Pay As You Go with Skype Credit - great for when you’re using Skype every now and again.
• Pay monthly with a subscription – best if you use Skype a lot.
System requirements:
• Skype video calling requires iOS 4.0 or above.
• Send and receive video using front or back camera on iPhone 4, iPad 2nd Generation, and iPod touch 4th Generation.
• Send and receive video using rear camera on iPhone 3GS.
• Receive video only on iPad 1st Generation and iPod touch 3rd Generation.
• Works with any H264 compatible devices, including TVs.To download to any of the app mentioned above, simply click on the app name. - Feb 17, 12
"The last thing you need is one that looks exactly like your ex. On a second thought, it's too early perhaps to end it. You two did look great together, your iPhone 4 and you. In fact you still do." That's the thought that came into my mind when I decided to upgrade my iPhone4 32GB to iPhone4s 64GB.
But then my inner voice came in, no not Siri but my inner voice said lets buy it for Steve Jobs. Maybe this review will help you to decide whether to go with your inner voice or the iPhone's inner voice Siri.
The world's handset manufacturers have also been playing a fierce game of catch up, releasing a raft of ever-improving smartphones with faster processors and more features, all trying to steal a march over Apple and its seemingly unstoppable freight train of success.
Many people told us how they'd forgone the Apple iPhone 4 because of reported signal problems, or were tied into long 3GS contracts. They were itching for something new. Something special. Something worth waiting for.
So, when Phil Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide product marketing at Apple, took to the stage to announce the long-awaited 'iPhone 5', he needed to pull something big out of the iBag.
What we got was the iPhone 4S. The most powerful iPhone Apple has ever made, yet criticised by many as nothing but a cosmetic upgrade.
So how different is it and, crucially, is it worth upgrading?
But let's go back and start at the beginning. Every year, a new iPhone is raising the bar for the industry. Usually, it's half a point up - a full point on special occasions. The iPhone 4 was such a special occasion. The iPhone 4S is the half-point type. There probably is nothing special about it. At least, not on the outside.
No, we didn't mean that. The iPhone 4S is still one of the best looking smartphones we've seen. There's just nothing new on the outside to suggest the amount of work done on the innards. And the iOS 5 is only half of the story.
The iPhone 4S is promoted to the dual-core league and has more powerful graphics. There's a major boost to imaging too, with 8MP stills and 1080p video. And on top of it all, Apple try to take voice recognition to a new level with Siri. All in all, the iPhone 4S is a completely different phone under the hood. A brand new device that has been developed for months.
Key features- iOS 5 with iCloud integration (iPhone4 gets it too)
- Quad-band GSM and quad-band 3G support with 14.4 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA (Same as iPhone4)
- Dual-band CDMA and CDMA2000 1xEV-DO support (Same as iPhone4)
- 3.5" 16M-color LED-backlit IPS TFT capacitive touchscreen of 640 x 960 px resolution (Same as iPhone4)
- Scratch-resistant glass front and rear, with fingerprint-resistant coating (Same as iPhone4)
- 1GHz dual-core ARM Cortex A9 CPU, PowerVR SGX543MP2 GPU, Apple A5 SoC (Exclusive to Apple iPhone4s)
- 512MB of RAM (Exclusive to Apple iPhone4s)
- Voice recognition, Siri virtual assistant (Exclusive to Apple iPhone4s)
- 8 MP autofocus camera with LED flash and touch focus (Exclusive to Apple iPhone4s)
- 1080p video recording at 30fps (Exclusive to Apple iPhone4s)
- Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotpsot (Same as iPhone4)
- GPS with A-GPS connectivity; digital compass (Same as iPhone4)
- 16/32/64GB storage options (First time ever an iPhone with 64GB option)
- Accelerometer, proximity sensor and a three-axis gyro sensor (Same as iPhone4)
- Active noise cancellation with a dedicated secondary microphone (Same as iPhone4)
- Standard 3.5 mm audio jack, stereo Bluetooth v4.0 (Rare device to have the latest BT v4.0)
- Excellent audio quality (Same as iPhone4)
- Slim waistline at only 9.3mm (Same as iPhone4)
- Secondary front-facing VGA camera (Same as iPhone4)
- Built-in Picture and Video editors (iOS5 functionality)
- Rich AppStore (Standard for all iOS devices)
- New antenna design and improved signal reception in poor signal areas (Remember iPhone Antennagate?)
- MicroSIM card support only (Standard for all iOS sim devices)
- No Flash support in the web browser (Unless Jailbroken)
- No true multitasking for all applications (Unless Jailbroken)
- FaceTime video calls work only over Wi-Fi (Unless Jailbroken)
- No file transfer over Bluetooth or USB Mass Storage mode (Unless Jailbroken)
- No FM radio (Standard for all iOS devices)
- No stereo speakers (Standard for all iOS devices)
- No microSD card slot (Standard for all iOS devices)
- Non-user-replaceable battery (Standard for all iOS devices)
- Siri still a beta, location services not enabled outside US (Siri in beta version too makes other gadgets envious)
- Stuck with iTunes for loading content (Unless Jailbroken)
Now that you know the pro's and con's of the Apple iPhone4S, let's review the hardware:
We think it’s next to impossible to repeat the iPhone 4 magic. But go ahead, prove us wrong, Apple.It’s been more than a year and we still find the iPhone 4 hard to resist. One of the most minimalist phone designs is one of the most compelling. Of course, there is a flipside. The handling is a bit tricky, so be careful at least in the beginning. The finish just doesn’t allow as secure a grip. The glass back is relatively resistant to scratches but unlikely to survive drops. The design has a weak spot - four of them actually - the corners. And the antenna issues were embarrassing, to say the least. The good thing is they’ve been sorted.
In the end though, the iPhone 4S is nothing short of beautiful. Fifteen months and counting, and very few flagships have been able to come close.
Let’s have a closer look at the iPhone 4S then shall, we? There is nothing surprising at the front. The VGA back facing camera and the earpiece are above the screen, with hidden proximity and ambient light sensors in the vicinity, The round Home button is below the display doing its usual job of closing apps and opening the multi-tasking bar. It now launches the Siri virtual assistant too.
The left side of the Apple iPhone 4S has the usual Ring/Silent switch and the two round volume control knobs. In iOS 5 the volume up key doubles as a camera shutter too. This part of the iPhone 4S is the main reason your old case may not fit – the Mute key has been moved a few millimeters down, the volume keys have moved a millimeter too. The new antenna design has something to do with that.
On the right side is the microSIM card slot. To open it you'll need the enclosed SIM eject tool. In emergency you can always use a thin tipped tooth pick or a pin.
The top is where the Sleep/Wake button is, as well as the standard 3.5mm audio jack. There is an extra mic too used for the active noise cancellation.
The iPhone 4S has the proprietary Apple USB cable/charger/dock connector at the bottom, as well as a tiny loudspeaker grill and mouthpiece either side of the connectivity port. No stereo speakers, yet again.
The rear features the 8 megapixel camera lens and the single LED flash. The iPhone 4S Li-Po battery has been upgraded to 1430mAh and is non user replaceable.
One last change to mention is the antenna design. Speaking of which, the bumper cases are no longer needed other than for protection. Apple learned their lesson from the iPhone 4 and while the iPhone 4S looks practically the same, it features two antennas to combat the "death grip" issue. Note that we don’t mean the dual GSM / CDMA radios. It’s actually two separate antennas, each of which support both standards.
The phone can intelligently switch between the two as needed (even in the middle of a call), so if one antenna is blocked, the other takes over. This means no death grip, no matter how you hold the iPhone 4S.
A beautiful phone has just become better and faster. Twice faster at times, which was really impressive. The iPhone 4 is nowhere near sluggish but it’s good to know you have the extra torque when needed. And last but not least, the iPhone 4S finally makes the A-list with 8MP stills and Full HD videos. We’ve got a dual-core smartphone and a full fledged cameraphone to test.
Our Verdict:
The iPhone 4S is blazing fast on the new dual-core CPU and graphics chip. And by the way, this is a long-term asset - new apps and services will take advantage and they'll be exclusive to the 4S. The iPhone is finally up there with the industry's finest cameraphones too. In fact, it may well have the best 8MP stills and Full HD videos a mobile phone can produce. iOS 5 is busy making a difference too with the iCloud, iMessage, OTA updates, new notifications and voice recognition. On top of that you get the best app store and the brilliant looks of the original iPhone 4. - Jan 11, 12The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is a major technology-related trade show held each January in the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Not open to the public, the Consumer Electronics Association-sponsored show typically hosts previews of products and new product announcements.
With more than four decades of success, the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) reaches across global markets, connects the industry and enables CE innovations to grow and thrive.
The International CES is owned and produced by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the $186 billion U.S. consumer technology industry. CEA represents more than 2,000 corporate members involved in the design, development, manufacturing, distribution and integration of consumer electronics products. All profits from CES are reinvested into industry services, including technical training and education, industry promotion, engineering standards development, market research and legislative advocacy.
The 2012 exhibition will be held from Tuesday, January 10 to Friday, January 13. Microsoft released an official statement saying that CES 2012 will be Microsoft’s last appearance at the event.
Exclusive Live Feed from the CES 2012:Products and technologies introduced at CES include:- Videocassette recorder (VCR), 1970
- Laserdisc Player, 1974
- Pong home console by Atari, 1975
- The Tennelec MCP-1 programmable scanner (radio), 1976
- Camcorder, 1981
- Compact Disc (CD) player, 1981
- Commodore 64, 1982
- Amiga computer, 1984
- Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), 1985
- Tetris, 1988
- Digital Audio Technology, 1990
- Compact Disc Interactive, 1991
- Mini Disc, 1993
- Radio Data System, 1993
- Digital Satellite System, 1994
- Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), 1996
- HDTV, 1998
- Hard-disc VCR (PVR), 1999
- Digital Video Recorder (DVR), 1999
- Digital Audio Radio (DAR), 2000
- Microsoft Xbox, 2001
- Plasma TV, 2001
- Home Media Server, 2002
- HD Radio, 2003
- Blu-ray Disc, 2003
- HDTV PVR, 2003
- HD DVD, 2004
- HD Radio, 2004
- IP TV, 2005
- OLED TV, 2008
- 3D HDTV, 2009
- Jan 22, 12What is HP ePrint?HP ePrint is a portfolio of cloud printing technologies developed by Hewlett-Packard (HP) for mobile computing devices like smartphones, tablets, etc. This segment of the computing industry has experienced rapid growth and has transformed traditional cell phones into universal information access tools. As this data usage trend continues there becomes a greater need for printing and sharing data accessed by mobile devices. HP ePrint, as well as other print vendor mobile solutions, are technologies that have enabled printing from mobile devices.How Does it work?HP ePrint printer gets a unique email address, meaning you can send in a document from any email-enabled device to get it printed, thus eliminating the hassle of finding a computer and drivers or installing an app on certain smartphones and tablets. So how does one go about setting up this bad boy? According to our sister site, you must first register your printer on HP's ePrintCenter website to obtain a randomly-generated email address (don't worry, you can always get a new one if necessary), and then you're good to go, literally. Read on to find out if ePrint's as straightforward as it sounds.Once registered, any email sent to the printer will first be screened by HP's ePrintCenter for viruses and spam (white and black lists supported) before the email body and supported attachments (PDFs, JPEGs, and Microsoft Office documents; no more than 5MB in total) are printed.As this data usage trend continues there becomes a greater need for printing and sharing data accessed by mobile devices. HP ePrint, as well as other print vendor mobile solutions, are technologies that have enabled printing from mobile devices.HP ePrint Cloud Printing
- · HP ePrint via eMail
- · HP ePrint Public Printing Locations
- · HP ePrint Enterprise
HP ePrint via eMailHP ePrint via eMail is an HP device that contains the enabling ePrint technology in firmware. To activate cloud-aware printing, devices must first register with HP’s public ePrint cloud print server (hpeprintcenter.com). This assigns a unique email address for the printer so that printing is as simple as emailing plain-format documents to the device. The printer eMail address can be customized. Plain-format documents are considered to be in native format like a Word document, a PowerPoint presentation, or a PDF document. The HP ePrint via eMail solution is considered a driver-less printing solution which basically means the native data is sent to HP’s ePrint public cloud where it is rendered into a suitable print data stream (PCL3,PCL 5 or PostScript) and subsequently forwarded to the HP ePrint enabled printer.Any email client, including those used with smartphones, can be used to submit a print job. Users send an email message with one or more attachments and the HP ePrint public cloud print server will separate the attachments, render them individually and repackage the data into a print stream that prints the entire print job. Basically, if you can email you can print. The following “plain data” formats are currently supported:- MS Word (2007) documents
- MS PowerPoint presentation
- MS Outlook
- Image files (JPEG, BMP, GIF, PNG, TIFF)
- Adobe Acrobat files (PDFs)
- Text files and Rich Text Format (RTF)
- HTML files
Registered users can also log into the HP ePrint Center to check the status of previously submitted print jobs as well as configuring personal preferences like approved list of users for the ePrint printers or spam filters to prevent unwanted print requests. Users can also change an ePrint enabled printer’s email address by requesting a new one from HP.HP ePrint Public Printing Locations
HP ePrint Public Printing Locations is another cloud printing solution within the HP ePrint portfolio. This solution is specifically designed for mobile professionals who need to print while travelling. After installing a smartphone app users can see various public printing services offered at hotels, airports and print shops who have registered their public printing services.
The free HP ePrint app is available for Apple iPhones and Android devices from the iTunes App store or the Android Market, respectively. The HP ePrint app is also available for Blackberry mobile devices from BlackBerry App World.The HP ePrint app uses GPS coordinates to locate and map public printers nearby. Print providers can be found at FedEx office stores, Hilton hotels, Air Canada membership clubs and other locations. Regardless of location, mobile professionals can use smartphone navigation features for directions to the print service provider’s location.Once installed, mobile users can easily access a list of public print services and submit print jobs accordingly. A notification email message is returned to the mobile user which also includes an authorization code which is required to actually print the documents at the service provider’s location. This process prevents unwanted documents from printing and allows paying for print jobs before they are actually printed. The cost of public printing services may vary from one provider to another. There is no practical limit to the number of copies printed. An example of this service is a presenter who prints handouts just in time at the destinations instead of carrying them everywhere they travel.
Supported file formats for email attachments using HP ePrint Public Printing Locations include:- Microsoft Office (’95-2010) Word, Excel, PowerPoint
- Microsoft Visio
- Open Office (2.X/3.X)
- StarOffice (StarWriter, StarCalc, StarChart, StarDraw, StarImpress)
- Adobe Acrobat (PDFs)
- Text and Rich Text Format
- Image files (PNG, BMP, JPEG, GIF, TIFF)
To submit print jobs, mobile users email attachments to the printer’s unique email address which routes the print request to a cloud printing service. The HP ePrint app simplifies this process by presenting the user a friendly user interface that includes an option to find public PrintSpots. Upon reception of the user’s email message (with attachments), the cloud printing service renders each attachment accordingly and sends the print data stream (PCL or Postscript) to the destination printer. To retrieve the actual print job, users arrive at the printer location and use a kiosk to enter an authorization code which releases the print job(s).HP ePrint EnterpriseIt is the third component of the HP ePrint cloud printing portfolio and is designed for SMB and large enterprise businesses who desire to manage their own private cloud printing service. This is important for businesses with a growing mobile community who require access to company network resources, like printing. The same HP ePrint app used for HP ePrint Public Printing Locations is used for HP ePrint Enterprise. Users submitting print jobs can send them to private company printers or public print services. For private printers to show up in the list of available devices they have to be registered with the company’s installed HP ePrint Enterprise server (purchased separately).The HP ePrint Enterprise server is an ASP.NET application that is supported on Windows Server 2003/2008. The following are the system requirements for the HP ePrint Enterprise server software:§ Windows Server 2003 or 2008 R2 (32 or 64 bit)§ Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS)§ Microsoft SMTP server§ Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ)§ Microsoft Office (full installation)§ Microsoft Windows Installer§ Office Primary Interop Assemblies (PIA)§ Microsoft .NET Framework (3.5)§ Microsoft SQL Server 2008 (or Express)The method for sending data to the actual print devices depends on the type of mobile device used (i.e., Blackberry, Android or iPhone) to submit the print request. Blackberry devices typically access network resources using the Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES) and Android mobile devices use a direct connection to the HP ePrint Enterprise server.HP ePrint Enterprise is also a scalable solution that can adapt to varying workloads. A master/slave configuration can be employed where the primary workload is handled by slave HP ePrint Enterprise servers and backup or redundancy is provided by the one and only master HP Enterprise ePrint server. As the workload increases additional slave servers can be deployed. Large companies geographically dispersed can have the master HP ePrint Enterprise server at corporate headquarters and slave HP ePrint Enterprise servers implemented within geographical regions. The master server is the primary point of communication which subsequently dispatches print jobs to appropriate slave servers. These reliability and scalability features of the HP ePrint Enterprise server are essential for cloud computing architectures.User experiences vary slightly depending on which mobile platforms are used to access the HP ePrint Enterprise server. Mobile platforms supported include BlackBerry devices, iPhones and Android powered mobile phones. iPhones and Androids communicate directly with the HP ePrint Enterprise server whereas Blackberry devices communicate indirectly through the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES). The BES is not an additional requirement because if a company is using Blackberry devices it’s typically already installed. Blackberry devices communicate with the BES which in turn communicates with the HP ePrint Enterprise server. There are major security and performance advantages with the Blackberry solution because data does not travel outside the company's private network. In addition, the channels used to submit the print data are secured and encrypted. The following “plain data” formats are currently supported:§ MS Word (2007) documents§ MS PowerPoint presentation§ MS Outlook§ Image files (JPEG, BMP, GIF, PNG, TIFF)§ Adobe Acrobat files (PDFs)§ Text files and Rich Text Format (RTF)§ HTML filesThe HP ePrint Enterprise server communicates to external network resources using two primary protocols, HTTP and SMTP. HTTP is used for submitting print jobs and communicating job status messages to handheld devices. SMTP is used by Blackberry devices as a vehicle to collect incoming print job data into the HP ePrint Enterprise printer queues. For Blackberry devices, every HP ePrint Enterprise server print job must be an email first in order to enter into the workflow process. Once accepted by the private cloud printing service, the job is converted to the correct printer language (PCL or Postscript) via an internal rendering process and submitted to the actual print device via TCP port 9100. HP ePrint Enterprise server is capable of processing multiple print jobs simultaneously by using a message queue server that gives it the ability to track each print job’s progress individually.HP ePrint Enterprise server does have administration requirements. To perform these tasks administrators can use the HP ePrint Enterprise server administration console. This console can be accessed from any authorized user with a supported web browser. Administrative tasks include adding and managing users and print devices, configuring server settings, simple diagnostics, and event tracking.We personally tried printing using our iPhone with HP ePrint app installed on it. Here are the sceenshots of the app:With iOS Cloud and HP Cloud the Tech World is surely a better place :) - Jan 08, 12
Bigg Boss 5 was the fifth season of the Indian reality TV show Bigg Boss, which aired on Colors from 2 October 2011 to 7 January 2012 with Sanjay Dutt as the host. Salman Khan hosted the opening and a few eviction episodes along with Sanjay Dutt after which Sanjay took over as the permanent host of the season.
____________________was declared as winner of the show, during its Grand Finale held on January 7th.
Fourteen housemates entered the house, including 12 ladies, one transgender and one man, located in Karjat, a town about halfway between Mumbai and Pune in the state of Maharashtra. Four additional wild card entries were made in the house time to time. Three guest entries, who stayed in the house for a couple of days. The housemates, considered strangers for each other, spent 98 days (14 weeks) locked out together under the supervision of 55 cameras fitted around the house.There was no scope for contestants to have any personal space in Bigg Boss Season 5. The house was just like a cage as described by the inmates. There were not just dramas and clashes but also test of patience in this season.Big Boss 5 Shakti Kapoor
The only man in the Bigg Boss House, Shakti Kapoor, was initially speculative of his position. But, it didn’t take long for him to get comfortable and start charming the ladies. In fact, he had managed to create a connect with former Miss Afghanistan, Vida Samadzai.Vida Samadzai Nihita Biswas
The house was filled with ladies, and what made it more interesting were the controversies which started in the first week itself with contestant Mandeep Bevli asking Nihita Biswas whether she had sex with Charles Sobhraj, for which Mandeep apologised later and the other major fights between Shonali Nagrani and Pooja Misrra who showed a clear sense of fury by kicking a dustbin and breaking kitchen stuff grabbing a lot of public attention.Mandeep Bevli
Pooja Misrra became the most discussed and debated inmate of Bigg Boss. With every week being nominated for eviction and getting saved by huge margin of votes, the viewers showed how much Pooja Misrra was being supported by them. Audience found her comments and gestures during fights hilarious and determined, her comments like "RaniHijrawati" to Laxmi, "Mihir Virani Saas Bahu ka baap" to Amar, "Twinkle twinkle poetry to Pooja Bedi and "Love me for this, for this, or for this" accompanied by hip postures became famous among viewers.Pooja Misra
Unlike the international versions of Big Brother, in Bigg Boss, the hosts were seen to be intimidating contestants on the show for their conduct and were often witnessed interfering in almost everything exhibiting a partial stance towards few. On the Opening of the season Salman and Sanjay ridiculed Shakti Kapoor after he entered the house saying, “Bigg Boss ko maanna padega! Shakti Kapoor jaise logon ko apne ghar bulaya, hum toh kabhi na bulayen!”.Pooja Bedi Mahek Chahal
Many evicted housemates which include Pooja Bedi, Shraddha Sharma, Raageshwari, Shakti kapoor, Pooja Misrra and Vida Samadzai accused Salman Khan for favoring housemate Mahek Chahal for being partial towards her. Their claims were later rejected by the actor himself after Mahek got evicted however, just two week before the finale, Mahek won a wild card entry poll against Laxmi Narayan and Shonali Nagrani who clearly did not had as much of a fan following as her.Shradda Sharma Raageshwari Sunny Leone
This season it was Indo-Canadian porn star Sunny Leone who added fuel to the controversial show, whose real name is Karen Malhotra is a pornographic actress, businesswoman and model managed to create much hype with her Bigg Boss stint, but her presence in the show did not go down well with The Indian Artistes and Actors Forum (IAAF), reports Headlines Today. IAAF requested I&B Minister Ambika Soni to take action against Colors for indirectly encouraging and promoting pornography in India via introduction of an adult entertainer, as per the channel. According to a report published in a daily, Sunny Leone has become the most searched adult celebrity on web and it's becoming difficult to keep the children away from accessing her explicit videos and pictures. Apart from the accusations on her, Sunny became the most searched indian celebrity on Google beating Bollywood sensations Katrina Kaif, Aishwariya Rai and Kareena Kapoor.Shonali Nagrani
We also witnessed a romantic angle between Siddharth Bhardwaj and Shonali Nagrani where Siddharth was caught consoling and hugging Shonali and kissing her hand. Shonali on her part seemed to reciprocate his affection every now and then.Siddharth Bhardwaj
Many guests also came in the Big Boss house in this season too like Bollywood Actor Ranbir Kapoor and Singer Mohit Chauhan made an appearance on Aapka Farmaan to promote their upcoming movie Rockstar. Later, Ranbir also entered the house to announce that Pooja Bedi was safe from eviction.
Swami Agnivesh entered the house as a guest, he was told to act as if he was a contestant on the show.
Bollywood Actors Akshay Kumar and John Abraham made an appearance on Aapka Farmaan to promote their upcoming movie Desi Boyz. Later, the duo also entered the house to spend some time with the housemates.
Actress Vidya Balan and actors Tushar Kapoor and Emran Hashmi made an appearance on Aapka Farmaan to promote their upcoming movie The Dirty Picture. Later, the Vidya also entered the house to spend some time with the housemates and present the infamous red Saari to Sunny as a present from her.
Indian film Director and Producer Mahesh Bhatt entered the house for a couple of hours to present a contract deal to Sunny to cast her as the lead actress in Pooja Bhatt's upcoming sequel of the film Jism 2.Akashdeep Saigal
Andrew Symonds entered the house as a guest,later Pooja Misrra was also sent in on the same day to act as his translator. Both of them stayed in the house for a period of eleven days.This season housemates Friends/Family also entered the house for a short visit to meet their loved ones. These guests included Anuradha Sharma (Siddharth's mother), Sachin Shroff (Juhi's husband), Madhu Bhatia (Akashdeep's sister), Hetal Upadhyay (Amar's wife) and Shiraz Chukkraborty (Shonali's boyfriend).Amar Upadhyay
All in all after three months of patience and fair play TV actress (Drama Queen) Juhi Parmar,won the fifth season of the controversial reality show "Bigg Boss" and the prize money of Rs.1 crore. She is the second female contestant to win the show, as Shweta Tiwari had taken away the trophy in the last season.Juhi Parmar
Not only did BB5 rake up the TRP's on TV but also become the most trending topic on Twitter. Let's visit some of the funny tweets that swept the twitterverse:- If Shakti Kapoor is going to be in Big Boss with only ladies, it will be the greatest experiment since God put Adam and Eve together.
- With a line up of 13 women and one Shakti Kapoor, maybe they should rename Bigg Boss as Shakti's Premiere League!
- Shakti Kapoor & 13 women on Big Boss 5??? is it his lucky 3 months or what?needless to say he's certain to finish in the top 3 at least :)
- Will Shakti Kapoor say "Mai nanha sa, chhota sa.." when the lights go off at Bigg Boss house?
- Gandhiji, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Shakti Kapoor are trending. We are a really messed up generation.#facepalm
- @If TV has taught me anything, its all the funny ppl go to KBC, unfunny go to Comedy Circus, bad 1s to Bigg Boss & good 1s argue with Barkha.
And now that the show is over, speculation on how 'Juhi Parmar' is not worthy of being the winner flow in. Many people believe that Mahek and Sid were more deserving to win Bigg Boss 5. Social networking sites have been flooded with comments criticizing Juhi Parmar. While Amar and Juhi were ridding high on their daily soaps glory, Mahek and Sid were the favorites among youngsters. Was there corruption in here too? - Jan 07, 12Corruption in India is a cultural aspect. As Indian we seem to think nothing peculiar about corruption . It is everywhere and we have learn to tolerate corrupt individuals rather than correct them.
We all know that no race can be congenitally corrupt. But can a race be corrupted by its culture?
Have you ever wondered why are Indians corrupt? Lets look at their patterns and practices to learn more:
First: Religion is transactional in India. Indians give cash to God and anticipate an out-of-turn reward. Such a plea acknowledges that favours are needed for the undeserving.
In the world outside the temple walls, such a transaction is termed as- “bribe”.
A wealthy Indian not only offers cash to temples, but gold crowns and ornaments too.
Their offering is of no good to feed the poor or help the needy. His pay-off is for God as in-return he expects what he wished for.
In June 2009, The Hindu published a report of Karnataka minister G. Janardhan Reddy gifting a crown of gold and diamonds worth Rs 45crore to Tirupati!
We all also know know that in June 2011, 12 crore, 98 kg gold found in Sai Baba's room in Puttaparthi.
India’s temples collect so much that they don't know what to do with it. Billions are gathering dust in temple vaults.
Links to Donate for India's top religious establishments are published and circulated shamelessly: http://www.tirumala.org/donations.htm - Tirupati http://www.billdesk.com/hdfc/SGPC/temple_donation_sgpc.htm - Golden Temple http://www.iskcontrust.org/donation.htm - Iskcon Temple
http://jbbnamarnathsamiti.com/donation.html - JAI BABA AMARNATH
The list is endless but I would not mention all the links in one place and end up becoming an advocator myself.
Indians believe that if God accepts money for their favours, then nothing is wrong in doing it. That's the reason Indians are so easily corruptible, the upbringing is such.
Indian culture accommodates such transactions morally. There is no real stigma, an utterly corrupt politician who was behind the bars for a scam can make a comeback without a blink.
Second: Indian moral ambiguity towards corruption is visible in its history. Indian history tells us the capture of cities and kingdoms after guards were paid off to open the gates, and commanders paid off to surrender.
This is unique to India. Indians' corrupt nature has meant limited warfare on the subcontinent. It is striking how little Indians have actually fought compared to ancient Greece and modern Europe. The Turks’ battles with Nadir Shah were vicious and fought to the finish. In India fighting wasn't needed, bribing was enough to see off armies.
Any invader willing to spend cash could brush aside India’s kings, no matter how many tens of thousands soldiers were in their infantry. Little resistance was given by the Indians in the 'Battle of Plassey.' It was 23 June 1757, decisive British East India Company victory over the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies, establishing Company rule in South Asia which expanded over much of the Indies for the next hundred years.
There was always a financial exchange to taking Indian forts. Golconda was captured in 1687 after the secret back door was left open.
The Mughal's vanquished Maratha's and Rajput's with nothing but bribes. The Raja of Srinagar gave up Dara Shikoh’s son Sulaiman to Aurangzeb after receiving a bribe.
There are many cases where Indians participated on a large scale in treason due to bribery.
Question is: Why Indians have a transactional culture while other 'civilized' nations don't?
Third: Indians do not believe in the theory that they all can rise if each one of them behave morally.
Our caste system separates us. We don't believe that all men are equal. This resulted in our division and migration to other religions. Many Hindus started their own faith like Sikhism, Jainism, Buddhism and many converted to Christianity and Islam. The result is that Indians don't trust one another.
There are no Indians in India ,there are Hindus, Christians, Muslims and what not. Indians forget that 400 years ago they all belonged to one faith. This division evolved an unhealthy culture. The inequality has resulted in a corrupt society. In India every one is against everyone else, except God and even he must be bribed.
It's time we support the Lokpal bill and Annagiri. For all those who are oblivious to it:
The first Jan Lokpal Bill was proposed by [[Mr Pacos] in 1968 and passed in the 4th Lok Sabha in 1969 but could not get through the Rajya Sabha. Subsequently, lokpal bills were introduced in 1971, 1977, 1985, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2005 and in 2008, yet they were never passed. 42 years after its first introduction, the Lokpal Bill is still pending in India.
The Lokpal Bill provides for filing complaints of corruption against the prime minister, other ministers, and MPs with the ombudsman. The Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) while recommending the constitution of Lokpal was convinced that such an institution was justified not only for removing the sense of injustice from the minds of deeply affected citizens but also necessary to instill public confidence in the efficiency of the administrative machinery. Following this, the Lokpal Bill was for the first time presented during the fourth Lok Sabha in 1968, and was passed there in 1969.
However, while it was pending in the Rajya Sabha, the Lok Sabha was dissolved, and so the bill was not passed at that time. The bill was revived several times in the subsequent years, most recently in 2008. Each time, after the bill was introduced to the house, it was referred to some committee for improvements --- a joint committee of parliament, or a departmental standing committee of the Home Ministry and before the government could take a final stand on the issue, the house was dissolved again. Several conspicuous flaws have been cited in the recent draft of the Lokpal Bill. The basic idea of the lokpal is borrowed from the office of ombudsman, which has Administrative Reforms Committee of a lokpal at the Centre, and lokayukta(s) in the states.
Anna Hazare fought for this bill to get passed and it did on Dec 27,2011 around 9:30 with modifications (proposed as the Jan Lokpal Bill). However, Hazare, his team and other political parties claim that the Lokpal Bill passed is weak and would not serve its intended purpose. So the proposed bill by the ruling Congress Party is yet to get acceptance from the Rajya Sabha. As of Dec 29, 2011, the bill has been deferred to the next parliamentary session amid lots of drama and disruption by the LJP, RJD and SP parties. The media at large and the opposition parties have claimed the situation to be staged.
Lastly, I would like you all to come forward and take part in initiatives like - http://ipaidabribe.com/ or become a Citizen Journalist at ibnlive.com/cj - Jan 07, 12Can you guess the name of the most pirated game of 2011? It saw nearly four million illegal downloads and even more off the shelves pirated DVD's were bought. These numbers were collated from stats by local DVD piracy king and BitTorrent trackers.
Well if you are still thinking then the answer is Crysis 2. And one of the primary reasons for it to be at the top is that it was released in March, so it’s had plenty of time to reach the 8 million downloads plus sales mark. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, released in November, was the second most pirated game, with around 6,500,000 illegal downloads and sales. Battlefield 3 was a close third at 5,510,000 downloads plus sales. Fifa 12 took fourth place with 4,390,000. And, lastly Portal 2 was fifth with 3,240,000.
Sadly some huge numbers, and also around three times bigger than the most pirated console titles. PC piracy will continue to be a big concern for publishers in the coming year. Specially, the south east Asian countries where there is a little check for the same.
The reason for its success (Overview):
The world has been ravaged by a series of climatic disasters and society is on the verge of total breakdown. Now the aliens have returned, with a full invasion force bent on nothing less than the total annihilation of mankind, starting by trying to rip the heart out of Earth's most iconic city.
In New York, terrifying alien invaders stalk the streets and a nightmare plague strikes down the city's myriad inhabitants with brutal epidemic speed. The city's systems are in chaos, its streets and skyline are smashed and in flaming ruin. This is New York City like you've never seen it before.
Neither paramilitary law enforcement nor the might of the US military machine can stand against the invaders, and all who choose not to flee are dead men walking. Just to survive in this maelstrom of death will require technology beyond anything any modern soldier has ever seen.
One man will inherit that means to survive. One supersoldier, wielding the combat enhancement technology of the future with Nanosuit 2, will make the last stand to save humanity from destruction in the urban jungle that is New York City.
Finally, the ratings from GameSpot, MetaCritic and IGN:
GameSpot :
MetaCritic:
IGN:
Keep playing but for real.... Stop Piracy! Official Download Link: http://www.ea.com/crysis-2/pc-download - Jan 07, 12Hi my name is The Unbiased Blog, you can also call me TUB. I am here to guide all of you about what’s right or wrong/ true or false, good or bad and also the pro’s & con’s about anything and everything. The reason my parents named me ‘The Unbiased Blog’ is that I don’t let others influence me or change my opinion about anything. As, you already know my nickname is tub (of knowledge) so take a dip and get enlightened. I’ll be talking about a lot of topics like automobile, books, music, movies, photography, technology, travel or something you want me to talk about. But remember, you can just suggest a topic and not propagate what I feel about it. My thoughts and writing’s will always remain unbiased (Show no prejudice for or against something) I’ll be posting regularly from London, UK and New Delhi, India. To start with I’ll talk about technology and automobiles to get the hang of it. Once we both get accustomed to my style of writing then we I’ll move on to other topics. That’s all for now as I need to go and celebrate my birthday and new year’s
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- Nov 2011 - PresentSocial Media Architect / VivaKiI use social media tools and services to engage a given audience around an idea, service, product, solution, or company. Skilled in the use of these tools I drive awareness and enthusiasm around the given area of focus. By providing a face to the area of focus I help to build empathetic connections with the audience.
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