Raavan - Movie Review

Vidit Bhargava

Director : Mani Ratnam

Produced by: Madras Talkies

Actors: Vikram Kennedy, Nikhil Dwivedi, Govinda, Priyamuni, Ravi Kishan, Aishwarya Rai, Abhishek Bachchan

I've been excited to right this review. Critics have just given bad reviews. To start with, i went today to the Big Cinemas Odeon (one of the best movie theaters in Delhi) great hall and great sound. Good setting to watch the movie anyday.

Let's begin then, the movie's plot is known by virtually every Indian and some indonesian's and south asian's also. The Ramayan remember? Unlike Raajneeti which was just partially based on Mahabharatha (Another Epic, involving Pandavas and kauravs...) Nothing has changed much. Except for a few twists that come later in the movie.

You can imagine the shock i received when in a setting of Kerala the characters started speaking a north Indian Hindi Dialect (aparantly though shot in Kerala, the movie had always been set in North-Eastern Parts)

The movie began with one of the most thrilling starts, I've ever seen in recent movies. That couldn't last more than 10 minutes. The movie from then starts the downwards steep slope of the pace. It slugs and bores you. The only things then left is the other world, the world of the troop led by the Ram (i.e. Dev) of the movie, Vikram Kennedy, where they do have a few interesting sequences. That pace the movie began at, is restored by the end of the first half. So you are not leaving the theater then anyway.

However, there are other things in the first half which keep you in the seats. First the scenic beauty of the whole rural setting of the movie. Second the acting of Vikram Kennedy and Nikhil Dwivedi (See I didn't mention the 'Raavan' himself anywhere.) and the last is Govinda himself who plays the part of the forest guard and with his wity dialogues and good acting.

The second half is much more entertaining and much more gripping than the first one. The director here has carefully shuffled through the parts of the past. The last half an hour full of action and twists and turns is also the best part of the movie. The whole part of the story of 'Beera's' Sister has also been done well.

The background score of the movie, throughout is very good. A.R. Rahman is back with one of his better compositions. So that helps the movie a great deal.

The director as said before gets a twist. He tries from the beginning to give sympathy to our Raavan (Beera). The cruelty of Raavan has vanquished. The good side is only visible. And as my brother puts it "Beera is too vegetarian to be called Raavan".After all you just don't become evil by being called evil (that's what's done in the movie) And when the title of the movie is Raavan you don't expect that. The acting of Abhishek Bachchan is also only average.

The acting is one of the major parts in any film. Actors Vikram Kennedy, Nikhil Dwivedi, Govinda, Ravi Kisan (who by the way is playing 'beera's' brother) and Aishwariya Rai Bachchan do their roles very well. Abhishek Bachchan is average. Priyamuni is good in the small cameo she gets to play.

Overall, Although the movie has a sluggish pace in some parts and the Raavan himself is not that cruel to be called one. The movie is watchable. And provides some good entertainment. I can recommend this one, its not very bad. However, its not Mani Ratnam's best movie. There have been worse movies in the recent past this one is surely far above them.

Rating: *** Stars [Good]

Death in the Clouds - Review

Vidit Bhargava

Written by: Agatha Christie

Genre: Detective Novel, Mystery

Method of Murder: Poison

I post this one before the review of the much anticipated 'Raavan'. Won't spill the beans just now. :) (that review comes in a few hours). Eh Bien lets get to the point, 'The review of Death in the Clouds'

Plot: On a flight to London from Paris, a sleepy Hercule Poirot awakes to find fellow passenger Madame Giselle murdered by a poisoned dart. The murderer must be one of the ten passengers and two stewards aboard the flight, but when the facts lead Poirot nowhere fast, he realises that there is a real danger the case may never be solved.

The book is third person narration, so you'll find the focus hopping from one person to another. Poirot doesn't play much of a part in the first half of the book. The second though, is Poirot and Poirot himself.

The book has a steady start where its not that interesting as some of Christie's other books (Lord Edgware Dies one example) The interest actually builds when Poirot takes to solve the whole thing himself with the help of Japp and Fournier. It keeps you hooked from mid-way to the end.

The major part of the mystery is how does one kill a person, in a plane of 10 passengers (+2 stewards) without being seen by anyone. And when Poirot tries out using a blowpipe, in front of a plane full of people was very funny.

Last time when my brother read "The ABC Murders" he actually solved the mystery. That according to me was very ingenious of him. This time I tried the method which my brother used. The result disappointing. Christie outwitted me ever so convincingly. I was left with my mouth open, and so stunned by the climax, that even now (after a 4 days of reading the book) it forces me to think did he/she actually do it? And then I remember like always : Certain points gave the murderer away.

On the whole, its jaw dropping, mouth opening, and thrilling to read such a book. I wonder why it never featured as a must read? Bien, its a must read for my side at least.

Rating: **** [Awesome]

The New MAC Mini

Vidit Bhargava

Apple just yesterday launched the new MAC MINI. They've updated the whole thing quite a lot. For they've updated the design to a uni-body Aluminium enclosure. The specs have been upgraded and 'there is' an option to manually upgrade the RAM.

So what is this 'MAC mini'? Apple itself doesn't provide computers like we have, either they have an All in one iMac range or they have the MAC Pro which is for the server people. Mac Mini is a mini CPU of sorts. Of Course its branded so you cannot customize much. This is how a MAC Mini looks:

Lets get to some technical specifications.

2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

2GB memory

320GB hard drive

8x double-layer SuperDrive

NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics

Mac OS X Snow Leopard

$699 (nearly 35K in India)

The specifications are good. The only concerns are the Processors and the 2GB RAM. The Core 2 Duo Processor is good but when you can get the Core i3, i5 or i7 why not add to the mini? The 2GB RAM is also just par. A 3 or 4GB RAM would have been excellent. Also a Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are there and that adds to the + points.

The new Addition to the MAC mini is the Rotatable Lid at the bottom, it opens up to reveal the CPU, and then we can change 'only' the RAM. So if you're unhappy with the RAM config just get hold of a Mac ram and replace it. (Supports upto 8GB only). Other things like the Graphics card and the fan are only for viewing, you can't change them.

At the back of the MAC mini you now get a black panel, which includes:

Power On and of switch, A power plug (no bulky power supplies this time!), 1 Ethernet and Firewire Port, 4 USB 2.0 Ports, SD Card Slot, Headphone and Mic Jacks, A mini -display Port and an HDMI port.

So everything is fine when it comes to the back panel.

Overall, the Device Technically has improved a Ton. However, these are all on the paper, I dont have the actual device.

So now we can ask the question, whether to buy a PC or MAC Mini?

Talking of the Price first:An assembled CPU of the same configuration as of MAC Mini with the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and others will cost around : Rs. 25K/- (approximately $600). Now we add the software to that : Windows 7 ultimate original for : Rs. 11,000 (i use the original price to make a comparison of equals, pirated versions do come but since I am comparing the two, it will be unfair to use pirated prices) and you would want the latest Office suite : that comes for Rs. 7,000 (again original prices quoted.). So The total Price of the CPU and the Software included comes around : Rs. 40,000/-

Now to the MAC Mini : iLife and OS X come inbuilt in the $699 package which in India after all the duties and taxes will come for nearly : Rs. 38,000 (I may be wrong but this is what I believe going to be the price). You need an iWork Suite which is another : Rs. 4700.

Total Price: Rs. 42,700/-

So the competition in the prices is very close. Other things include the big debate of MAC and PCS. (For me the MAC wins)

[FOR CORE GAMERS : THE PC IS THE BEST OPTION, NO MAC FOR THEM, CASUAL GAMERS CAN CONSIDER THE MAC AlSO]

The verdict :The new MAC mini update is awesome I like it and to the question of whether a MAC Mini or an assembled PC. The competition is close. Its up to you to decide, which one do you want. The price matters very little here.

Image Credit : Apple

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P.S. There were other big announcements this week : Project Natal (Microsoft Kinect), Nintendo 3DS, PS Move and all the E3 Games. A post on that coming soon! (once the E3 is ove)

iPhone 4 - Revealed

Vidit Bhargava

Brace yourself There is much to talk about

The much anticipated WWDC 2010 - Event finished a while ago. WWDC was specially kept for the iPhone. No Updates on any other devices. (The iPad an exception.). And since it was mainly on one topic iPhone & Apps, we are sure to have the new iPhone and it is called the iPhone 4.

1st up, the iPhone that gizmodo leaked was real. It was the actual thing! Looking at what new does the iPhone offer to us, lets go in the order they told it to us.

Design: Steve Jobs at the WWDC made a remark "Stop me, if you've seen this before!... believe me you ain't seen this! *followed by heavy roars* ". By this he first addressed the Gizmodo leak and then told the audience that just getting the outer look they didn't spill all the beans. Apple Still managed to surprise us.

They've ripped apart the curves. Its flat and at the back there is no plastic, its glass (the same glass at the front and back). But doesn't that make it fragile? Well, here is the first blower! The glass they've made is 30 times stronger than normal plastic (atleast, they say so.) . It is of the same material as of helicopter windshields. Also, Apple has made a Stainless Steel alloy rim around the phone. The glass back is not only for design, It provides network signals to flow better. Making the 'Phone' even better.

The biggest thing here is the retina Display. When iPhone 3GS, Nexus One and EVO 4G sat together, iPhone's screen was the dullest. They've corrected that. They've introduced this cool Retina Display with a pixel density of 326 pixels per inch. And the pixels go quite small in size, only 78 micrometers across. So the pixelated text we see (only sometimes) is much better and much smoother. Like the iPad they've added the IPS panel. All this makes this display by far the best. (dunno how fast the rivals catch up but certainly not in the near future.).

And when Steve was showing how bright the web looked! The wifi went off... puff... Have you seen that before?

Other enhancements include Front Facing Camera. 5 megapixel back camera with LED flash. Extra mic for Noise Cancellation and yes, not to forget the Micro-Sim tray. For which if you want to use your existing sim. You'll need a mechanical SIM Cutter. And the iPhone is even more thinner than the previous ones. Making it the thinnest smartphone ever.

A Gyroscope. Yes A gyroscope has also been added to the list of sensors. Making this term simpler, The Apple Website explains "More motion gestures and greater precision for an even better gaming experience."

Honestly speaking when the Gizmodo leaked it, I wasn't impressed with the design. It looked raw, to say the least. But now, knowing the technical things in this phone. It looks better. It looks more technically right and technically sound.

2. Coming to the inside hardware: They've added the great A4 chip. This is bound to make it 'fly'. The battery life has also increased: 7 hours on 3G, 14 on 2G, 300 hours on Standby; 40 hours of music ... whew! what else do you want?

3. Software: If Froyo was 'tasty' this is bound to melt it! Packed with iOS 4.0 features, iPhone 4 also has in addition iMovie and 720p video recording. With all that, and the Gyro, and RD added. The iOS 4.0 on iPhone makes Froyo look ordinary.

4. For The Photographers: Nothing new about the 5 megapixel + LED Flash camera with 720p recording. But there is something new also "The backside Illumination Sensors." No grainy Pics! Not even in the Dark! That is what I would say 'cool' enough.

5. The one more thing: FaceTime: Just when our minds where questioning why is there a front facing camera with no video calling. Jobs, announced this. Its the same video calling thing from the front facing camera and what's new? You can go to the rear cam to show what others are doing. Its great but there is just one hiccup. It is currently Wi-Fi only and only for iPhone 4 - iPhone 4 surely, we need that corrected (Apple's working on that) or its waste of good technology.

Pricing? It remains the same for Contract users 'AT&T' $199 for 16GB and $299 for 32GB. That's great, but I've heard from my friends in the US the AT&T plan is exorbitantly priced and their service is poor. For that you can give $499 (16GB) and $599 (32GB) to get the iPhone 4 without contract. That's good.

How can I get it in India? iPhone 4 comes in September in India. Here Airtel and Vodafone will sell the device, by then 3G 'will' be available with these careers and probably they'll correct the video calling thing and history reveals its gonna be above 30K (in Rs.).

If you are one of the impatient ones and have a friend in US. you can get this contract free version and use it in India. ($499 is roughly 23.5-25K).

First Impression: The iPhone has a reputation of providing the 'best touch screen display' and with all these new features things look brighter. Lately, phones probably better than the iPhone 3GS were introduced (Nexus One, EVO 4G, blah blah). iPhone 4 is a solid answer to that and once launched these phones are ready to be knocked out in a single kick!

Here's the launch

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P.S. Feel free to comment, and do tell how this Extra Long post of mine was (921 words for a fact!). Do tell if I missed something.

Iron Man 2 - Review

Vidit Bhargava
Movie: Iron Man 2

Ah, Finally I was able to watch Iron Man 2. Had been waiting to see it for the past two weeks. So I went to the Fun Cinemas Pitam Pura this Tuesday for the movie (The theater, i must say is as dormant as the Mall it is built in). G0od Seats & ready for the Action To Begin.

The Plot: With the world now aware of his dual life as the armored superhero Iron Man, billionaire inventor Tony Stark faces pressure from the government, the press, and the public to share his technology with the military. Unwilling to let go of his invention, Stark, along with Pepper Potts, and James "Rhodey" Rhodes at his side, must forge new alliances - and confront powerful enemies. Ok that's the IMDB version of the synopsis however there is more to it. Now Stark who has this electro-magnet attached to his chest is both living and dying because of it. Stark is also under Rival Pressure (Hammer industries) which want to replicate the Iron Man Suite or make something more powerful than that. Above that there is this Ivan Vanko who is really after Starks life.

This Sci-Fi Movie about the Famous Iron Man, surprisingly has more of talking than actual real action which is there but a little less. Can the movie be Interesting then with all that blabbing around?

When you've got Robert Downey Jr. as the actor, the above it not a question. Downey is in full form after the entertaining portrayal of Sherlock Holmes (which according to me was one of his best performance) He is now playing Tony Stark. Downey is one such actor which adds life and enjoyment to the movie. With his brilliant acting Robert Downey Jr. makes the character of Tony Stark much more enjoyable added with the witty sense of humor. So even if the movie does get a little boring in between, its Robert Downey who flies the whole movie out of that (Yeah, just like Iron Man!). Downey makes his presence felt. When he's on the screen he attracts all the attention, when he's off the screen you wish he comes back fast. Surely, when there is Robert Downey Jr. in a movie it isn't boring.

This is not to say that other Actors didn't do well, Scarlett Johansson as Natalie Rushman is very good. Ivan Vanko portrayed by Mickey Rourke is amazing. Others also do their role very well.

Now lets come to the Sci-Fi effects, Of course they are much better than the previous movie. Also they are very good.

The Action here is at its supreme. Tiny Tit-bits of action do keep flowing In the first half which are really good. The last 15-20 minutes are full of both Sci-Fi and Muscle action. Both are phenomenal.

All in All, Filled with awesome Sci-Fi Effects, Brilliant Acting, Wity humor and a fairly good script. The Iron Man 2 is 124 minutes of Extreme Entertainment. Believe me, You won't get Bored.

Rating: ****

Nokia 1202 - Review

Vidit Bhargava

Mobile Phone : Nokia 1202

Manufacturer : Nokia

Body Make: Mainly Plastic

Operating System : Primitive Nokia OS

Screen : Monochrome

In the age of the Touch Screen Multimedia Devices which have an Application called the 'Phone', here is a phone with the most primitive settings of all, nothing absolutely nothing at all when it comes to third party applications and Slick looks. No Touch Screen, Not even a Radio App. Absolutely nothing at all. Yet it is a phone I have and I own. Is it worth the money spent?

To Start with lets begin with the Hardware. It is a small, slim phone with the a plastic back and a small screen of just 1.3". The keypad is comfortable and the speakers are also fine. Since it isn't a fancy music phone you won't find that good a speaker quality also but it is decent. Overall it is a sturdy simple design which works for me.

The Flash light to is very handy!

Coming to the Most Important part: The Phone: The Operating Frequency is EGSM 900/ GSM 1800 with Automatic switching between GSM bands. So this works with most of the SIMs out there in the market. The Voice Clarity in phones is really very good. Although by default the volume is set up to a really high volume and you may end up telling your most private conversations to the world, this done the phone works pretty well.

Battery Life : This is a real stunner, well not really. Since the device consists of a monochrome screen and very primitive features the phone is bound to run for a very long time. It does and does well pretty convincingly. The phone runs for maximum 5-7 days (that's is awesome when a college student uses it, too many calls I tell you!).

Software : Not much to talk about here. A Simple Primitive Nokia Software, well designed for the monochrome screens. The software includes a few handy utilities like the Calender, Calculator, Timer, Stopwatch and Alarm. Yeah, those things every phone has but having them on this phone is good enough! Oh and yes you get the Snake game :D

What Suprises me though, is that the Phone comes bundled with a Set of A.R. Rahman Classics (as ringtones and alarm tones!). Yup! Something the most advanced phones today won't give for free. The whole Of Connections album is present here. This is one of the things which make this thing just Awesome! :P (n that's only in India!)

This is a "Phone" and it does an awesome job doing that. That's its plus point.

I will suggest this phone to those who want to buy a phone which has a good call performance. Not a phone which is good at playing Games and multimedia stuff.

At a price tag of Rs. 1500 ($30 approximately), it is a phone worth the money. There is just one thing that does pinch, is the blue-grey color model, it is pathetic. I prefer Black (much better!)

Rating: *** 1/2 [Worth the money Spent!]

iPhone's Internet Tethering Put to Test

Vidit Bhargava

Thanks to Airtel last night we had no Internet. Some technical Errors from Airtel's Side and we all know how 'No Internet Access' can trouble us. The only option left was not to use the internet until 2 this morning and then it suddenly struck my mind to test how good the iPhone is when it comes to Internet Tethering. One of the low key features of the iPhone but really very useful.

So if you are in this kind of a mortal peril, the iPhone comes to the rescue.

There are two ways out, for using Tethering on your computer.

1. The USB Port Method

2. Bluetooth

But before we start we must make sure that the iPhone has this option 'On'. It is quite easy one can do so by following these steps.

On Home Screen

Goto - Settings > General > Network > Internet Tethering > On

So lets consider the options for tethering. The first one is surprisingly the easiest one. This is the one where with minimal (next to no work at all!) work you can get your Internet Working. Just plug-in and Voilà. Your internet is connected.

However there are a few problems in this type of tethering. One of which is that unless you have an iPhone with a white back get ready for the iPhone to heat in almost fifteen minutes of surfing. Then there is the iTunes which of course is not a problem but every time you connect it to the computer the iTunes pops up and starts backing up the iPhone (can be corrected though by unchecking the option to launch iTunes at connection in the device panel > settings.)

If you want a more seamless connection, there is bluetooth Internet Tethering also, It works the same but you need to follow a few extra steps

First make sure the bluetooth is on!

To Connect over Bluetooth

1. Pair iPhone with your computer

2. On iPhone, tap Accept or enter the code displayed on your Computer

3. Connect iPhone to Computer.

When connecting to your Mac you need to make sure that the Bluetooth is on, and on the top tray just click on the Bluetooth Icon and connect the iPhone to the Mac. After doing that, goto System Preferences > Network > [iPhone name with bluetooth icon] > Connect. And your internet gets connected. Once connected you can seamlessly access the net.

For Windows they are almost the same steps, once you successfully pair your Computer to the iPhone you can easily access the internet instantly.

Coming to the speed of the internet, I tested it using Edge. So the speed wasn't really very fast but yes I was able to do most of my tasks. Though not at that speed of course. And running a flash file? Well, its deadly annoying to run that. it goes So... Slow.

The U.S. users and users from some other countries also, will have to wait till tethering comes to their country with the launch of OS4. Meanwhile, we here at India have fun with it :)

All in All, the iPhone Internet Tethering is a hit. You can use it on the move, where there is no WiFi Coverage or when no electricity at home. However it is strictly for urgent surfing, You cannot Get your crops harvested on Farmville (it simply won't load) or play games on Miniclip. Also I would mention the battery life, it really takes a lot of battery out of the iPhone. So be careful you may end up missing an important call.

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P.S. Since all don't have an iPhone. Please do tell which other phones provide this option in the feedback

What Ratan Tata did for the Mumbai victims what every Indian should know!

Vidit Bhargava

To start With this is not covered in Any News Channel through out the world:

Ratan Tata is the chairman of Indian Hotels who own the Taj Mahal Hotel Mumbai, which was the target of the terrorists on 26/11/08.

Hotel President a 5 star property also belongs to Indian Hotels.

The following is really touching.

What Ratan Tata did for the Mumbai victims.... Don't miss!!!!!!

SALUTE TO MR. RATAN TATA

A. The Tata Gesture

1. All category of employees including those who had completed even 1 day as casuals were treated on duty during the time the hotel was closed.

2. Relief and assistance to all those who were injured and killed

3. The relief and assistance was extended to all those who died at the railway station, surroundings including the “Pav- Bha ji” vendor and the pan shop owners.

4. During the time the hotel was closed, the salaries were sent by money order.

5. A psychiatric cell was established in collaboration with Tata Institute of Social Sciences to counsel those who needed such help.

6. The thoughts and anxieties going on people’s mind was constantly tracked and where needed psychological help provided.

7. Employee outreach centers were opened where all help, food, water, sanitation, first aid and counseling was provided. 1600 employees were covered by this facility.

8. Every employee was assigned to one mentor and it was that person’s responsibility to act as a “single window” clearance for any help that the person required.

9. Ratan Tata personally visited the families of all the 80 employees who in some manner – either through injury or getting killed – were affected.

10. The dependents of the employees were flown from outside Mumbai to Mumbai and taken care off in terms of ensuring mental assurance and peace. They were all accommodated in Hotel President for 3 weeks.

11. Ratan Tata himself asked the families and dependents – as to what they wanted him to do.

12. In a record time of 20 days, a new trust was created by the Tatas for the purpose of relief of employees.

13. What is unique is that even the other people, the railway employees, the police staff, the pedestrians who had nothing to do with Tatas were covered by compensation. Each one of them was provided subsistence allowance of Rs. 10K per month for all these people for 6 months.

14. A 4 year old granddaughter of a vendor got 4 bullets in her and only one was removed in the Government hospital. She was taken to Bombay hospital and several lacs were spent by the Tatas on her to fully recover her.

15. New hand carts were provided to several vendors who lost their carts.

16. Tata will take responsibility of life education of 46 children of the victims of the terror.

17. This was the most trying period in the life of the organization. Senior managers including Ratan Tata were visiting funeral to funeral over the 3 days that were most horrible.

18. The settlement for every deceased member ranged from Rs. 36 to 85 lacs [One lakh rupees tranlates to approx 2200 US $ ] in addition to the following benefits:

a. Full last salary for life for the family and dependents;

b. Complete responsibility of education of children and dependents – anywhere in the world.

c. Full Medical facility for the whole family and dependents for rest of their life.

d. All loans and advances were waived off – irrespective of the amount.

e. Counselor for life for each person

B. Epilogue

1. How was such passion created among the employees? How and why did they behave the way they did?

2. The organization is clear that it is not something that someone can take credit for. It is not some training and development that created such behaviour. If someone suggests that – everyone laughs

3. It has to do with the DNA of the organization, with the way Tata culture exists and above all with the situation that prevailed that time. The organization has always been telling that customers and guests are #1 priority

4. The hotel business was started by Jamshedji Tata when he was insulted in one of the British hotels and not allowed to stay there.

5. He created several institutions which later became icons of progress, culture and modernity. IISc is one such institute. He was told by the rulers that time that he can acquire land for IISc to the extent he could fence the same. He could afford fencing only 400 acres.

6. When the HR function hesitatingly made a very rich proposal to Ratan – he said – do you think we are doing enough?

7. The whole approach was that the organization would spend several hundred crore in re-building the property – why not spend equally on the employees who gave their life?

Source: Kusumakar Dwivedi

4th Generation iPhone. What to expect?

Vidit Bhargava

Since we all know that the iPhone WILL be launched in the WWDC 2010 Conference on the 7th of June. Many are speculating about how the iPhone will look like or what is it bound to pack in. Here is the round up of the things which can be expected to arrive, with the arrival of the new iPhone.

1. What is almost certain?

The new iPhone is most probably going to give us the Video Call feature. Hence, providing a front facing camera. A back camera with larger mega-pixels and flash is also expected. This may range from 5 - 12 mp. Half HD video recording is highly probable. We can expect a larger display and the iPhone might just get even more thin. iPhone might just have a different type of back (a change in appearance is also very certain). The front however remains the same. Better Battery Life is obvious.

Inside, the new iPhone is likely to carry an Apple A4 chip but whether it will be 1GHz, it is still uncertain. the new iPhone will come packed with the iPhone OS 4.0 and with a host of other features.

II . Things that are still to be answered.

Continuing the inside, the apps which are only for the new iPhone are quite uncertain. I have a certain probables:

1. iChat : Speculated by most and the most likely. When a front facing camera arrives, the iChat app also makes sense. The app will allow users to Video Chat.

2. iWorks : if Apple packs the A4 Chip, iPhone will become capable enough to run the iWorks app.

3. File Management : Apple might just decide to give the users File management. This might just work on the principle of of other file managements apps like Air Sharing. Where you can map your iPhone to the computer wirelessly and transfer files. With Apple bringing this app, this will mean that you can also download a few formats of files and save them in your virtual disk. Apart from File Viewing, Files may also be edited if iWorks is introduced.

4. Home Sharing : Quite simple, like you can share your music between all PCs and MACs you can then also share it with the iPhone.

III. Gizmodo

Not many leaks regarding Apple's product are considered seriously. Every bunch comes up on a forum, and has a set of grainy pics. However, when Gizmodo the tech journalism site announced that they had foundas the real next generation iPhone Prototype, it was different. They've come up with a solid story of a lost iPhone which is the next generation iPhone but Whether fake or real we have only Gizmodo's word on it.

Gizmodo's 'leak' tells of a tale of an innocent Apple employee who had lost his iPhone on a birthday in a bar, and some one had picked it up and when he saw all the data wiped of. He tinkered with the covering and found a new iPhone beneath. He gave it to Gizmodo @ $5000 and yank yank yank yank... one can go on and on about the depth of the story.

Is it the real thing? Many evidences indicate its the real thing. First of all, there is an FCC code on the back side and a where the capacity is printed is this : "XXGB" these things point out it is real. Also Gizmodo claims that it received a letter from an apple executive to return the iPhone. The design some how looks a real.

While many evidences point its real, many point its not. First of all, the design doesn't seam to be an Apple make, it just doesn't look like Apple's work. A rounded-edged cuboid with a shiny aluminium rim and aluminium buttons, with all those many cuts and wholes. Also, Would Apple's employee be so careless as to take the new iPhone in a bar filled with all that lot of crowd? Even if he was, would Apple allow a '20 year old employee' to use the iPhone outside the vicinity of 1 infinite loop? And the story has many loop holes

Whether or not the Gizmodo leak is actual we don't know. We'll come to know about it on the June 7th. But we're certain about many things which will definitely arrive in the iPhone and we speculate the others.

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PS. We use Gizmodo pics because they are the most convincing.

Housefull - Movie Review

Vidit Bhargava

Director: Sajid Khan

How much will you pay for a decent laugh? Did you like Akshay Kumar's previous two movies : De Dana Dan & Kambakht Ishq? Its no need to feel embarrassed if you liked them. After all they grossed a fare amount of money! but from a movies point of few they were a torture. But here comes 2010 and here's Housefull. And I've seen it.

There is not much plot in the movie, the director never actually took pains to write any proper script. It also doesn't matter much, All the Best was a good movie and it didn't practically have any script at all. Same is with Housefull, no script at all. But the problem is no such thing as sense also. Nothing makes sense in this movie.

Remember it is a comedy movie, so all that matters above all is the comedy. All this movie depends upon is its comedy. There is fair enough comedy. There are many laughable gags nicely embedded into the movie but when the actors are not making us laugh, trash is thrown in. Perhaps the director knew about it and intelligently placed the best comedy scenes *Which weren't many!* at regular intervals, keeping us in the theater for most of the time. But there is not much comedy and hence the trashy part increases.

Housefull comes as a ruthless murderer of originality, everything is lifted. Everything is tried to be pushed in. The comedy which together forms the best part of the movie, is lifted from various sources. As review writer Mayank Shekhar puts it, "here filmmaking becomes a culinary art of marinating spices and scenes together". Ofcourse it will be too hard to remember all the bunch of scenes which were lifted copied and joined together in the movie. And none makes sense (a couple of exceptions excluded). The music surprises me, Shankar Ehsaan Loy, who've made original music for sometime now, lift music from cartoon (yes, you heard it!) series of Tom & Jerry and Popey also the Fools Garden Lemon Tree song is added in the background. I could barely find anything original in the movie. Doesn't matter to many, but it does to me. When spending so much on watching a movie which is provides nothing new.

They also decided to add Santa Banta! A way to throw in those SMS PJs you any way receive every day. And guess what they could merely make us smile, giving an example of how bad they were:

Santa : We've come to Buckingham Palace!

Banta: B Silent

Santa: Ok Ok Uckingham Palace..

The Climax is a smack on the viewers intelligence. These Santa Banta carelessly add Nitrous Oxide instead of the coolent in the A.C. of Buckingham Palace and everyone starts laughing and the movie ends everyone laughing! Just imagine the magnitude of sense involved in the movie.

Coming on Acting, Boman Irani & Akshay Kumar try to save the ship from a complete wreckage, and the succeed some what, they've done fairly good acting and all credit to them. Others merely try to make you laugh. Arjun Rampal looks out of place, he's acting as a serious government officer in this comedy where nothing like that was required. Nevertheless he does his best!

My Friends liked the movie and I think there will be more to that lot. After all, the likes of De Dana Dan & Kambhakht Ishq got many viewers who like the movie.

Summing all this up, There is nothing much in this movie except some parts of comedy. People suggested me to leave the brains at home but a person with absolutely nothing for brains will realize the movie is far too senseless. I'll give it 1.5 stars. If you're so desperate to watch comedy, I suggest watch a bunch of comedy scenes from a few previous comedy films, on youtube. That will be equivalent to the movie itself. Its comedy but at a very heavy cost.

Rating : * 1/2

A B C Murders - Agatha Christie - Review

Vidit Bhargava

Author: Agatha Christie

Publisher: Harper Collins (Gr8 new covers again!)

Detective: Hercule Poirot

Monsieur Poirot is not the detective to look for bent blades of grass, the footprints and the cigarette ends. Its Physcology that interests him. So whatever Christie has written with Poirot concentrates on the minds of the suspects not the place of crime (of course it is there but secondary). This book is no different.

Plot: A serial killer is on the loose, one who is determined to play games with the great Hercule Poirot. But can the Belgian detective come to grips with the mind of a psychopath? With the help of Hastings and Japp, Poirot must travel the length and breadth of England. Is he always destined to be too late?

The first thing I noticed after opening this book 'in all the excitement after reading that brief synopsis' is ... "The book is not in 3 person!" A big disappointment for me. I honestly prefer 3rd Persons to 1st Persons or 2nd Persons.

Going no more further in the narration of the book. Let's get to the review, The book has a surprisingly steady speed. However, Chapters end on an exciting note and make sure you are excited what will happen next.

The 3rd Person Narratives thrown in our exceptinally well written, they just make the book a new feel. They're really very good and one of the best part of the book A B C Murders.

The Climax is the best. The book is in a very steady speed and in the Climax comes an unexpected acceleration which just works so well.

However the book is strictly for patient ones, or detective novel fans. In the middle of the there are suprising things told only to the reader (not Poirot!) which may sometimes make the casual reader feel .."Ooh, now I got it, I don't think there is much left in the book!". I suggest wait till the end!

Also Inspector Crome with his "Oh Yes!" is a little annoying. He takes the fun out of Poirot's investigation of the case and is one of those dominating characters one never likes, but it is intented to be so.

This time again Poirot does it well, his manner actually works very well and the climax, it leaves your mind spinning. And when Poirot Explains, why wouldn't it!

Aussi, Christie uses those common French words in the Poirot book! Mon Cher... Eh Bien? and others which are hard to remember. Also, I've learnt a little french also! :) .

And one more thing, whenever I read A B C , it reminds me of the book! Such is the slow but heavy impact it makes on readers.

Eh Bien! The book is extremely good. Again a Bestseller and again a Must Read. On of the books which just outwits you, and leaves you Bamboozled. However its not a book to start with for the casual reader! I'll give it 4 stars and leave you with a remark from the book "The Case isn't finished till the Motif is known!..."

Rating : ****

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P.S. My Brother says I'm on a review roll, I agree. I'll soon be writing in other forms also! Just keep reading and Please Provide feedback, it is highy needed.

Raavan - Music Review

Vidit Bhargava

A.R. Rahman comes back after the music of Blue - hmm.. many don't know that however its true! Raavan, the name itself gives a mythological feel to the whole atmosphere before the release, I mean you expected Blue's songs to have that rock feeling and we expected Raavan to have that mythological feel, we heard in Jodha Akbar. However, it turns out to be different!

The first track is "Beera" you all might have heard it surely in the trailers. This one has a fresh feel of the African beets and lyrics. Surely this is one of the best tracks I've ever heard and one of A.R. Rahman's awesome composition. It is one gem of a track which will top the charts almost instantly. The only problem is that the track is just 3 minutes long. I wish it would be more! To sum it up it's a perfect album opener!

A.R. Rahman slips into a soothing grey song - Behene De. No doubt the song is even better. Strong musical beats with one of the best lyrics by Gulzar, the track is as good as its predecessor. You can listen this song in infinite loops, and you won't get tired listening it. It is just too soothing!

Returning with a hard beat track - Thok De Killi, this one is a really good track and has a really power full feel. Sung by Sukhwinder Singh, the song is as great as it gets. Brilliant Music, and the lyrics might feel a little badly written in the beginning however they are good in the middle and towards the end. Another track which is just awesome, though not as good as the 1st and the second.

Next comes another slow track - Khili Re, This song for certain is an evergreen track, you can listen it endlessly. It flows through. A peace full track that is certainly needed in an album. Of course it won't be liked by all , However its certainly of my taste! Reene Bharadwaj sings it quite brilliantly. And of course the lyrics are awesome again.

The other two tracks include Ranjha Ranjha, which has good music and good lyrics but it's certainly not a track you'll hum among your friends. Good Track but its just good there are 4 other awesome tracks in the album. and of course there is the last track Kata Kata, it is average, I mean, we've heard quite many similar tracks in the past (those marriage tracks that come every now and then). The music is of course good but overall the track is average.

So All in All, Mani Ratnam has given A.R. Rahman the opportunity to experiment and he doesn't fail. He's in Perfect form after Blue which from his standards was just good and after some time, he's been provided with some really great lyrics by Gulzar and the selection of singers is just perfect.

My Pic: Beera, Behene De, Khili Re [I've uploaded videos at the end]

Rating : ****

Beera

Behene De

Murder on the Orient Express - Review

Vidit Bhargava

Author: Agatha Christie

Publisher: Harper Collins

This was the first detective novel I had read, a complete shift from the steady Alchemist. As expected the book ideally should have been swift in its plot and of course the mystery should have been a well kept secret! but does it live up to the expectations?Does it do justice to the Best Seller tag against it? Or Is it just an over rated book? Lets begin with the plot summary

Mr. Samuel E. Ratchett a rich businessman is travelling by the luxurious Orient Express from Stamboul to Calais. The weather is cold and the train runs into a snow storm. In the train a murder occurs, that of Mr. Ratchett. Hercule Poirot is also on the train. He now has a case on his hands. Can he possibly find the murderer? After all the Murderer is on the train with him!

The plot is a fairly poised one but its the grippingness of the story which keeps you hooked to the end. Christie designed the characters very well. You've got these 15 passengers, all designed so well to look like the most innocent people on the train. It just makes it difficult to imagine, the murderer is amongst them.

The book at times might just be two Frenchish! The reason I say that is the extensive use of french in this English book and it looks like its in every book involving Poirot. I suggest, you can ignore them as the don't much affect the story.

Hercule Poirot is shown as intellectual as ever. His conclusions are admirable and the way this character is built up is for sure a treat to read. The book is in 3rd Person which is quite contrary to other books of Christie (Poirot ones).

You are always one step back of Poirot in solving the mystery. The mystery is neither something out of the world nor something which is too easy to solve. Never the less it keeps the grey cells working!

The slick and gripping story continues till the end. You are actually very excited about the climax, to read how it all happened. Poirot asks before that "I've known the murderer for quite some time, have you?" The honest answer is NO. I was close but never came to a conclusion.

The book was also made into a movie, which I didn't really like! It had that bad accent in which Poirot spoke! Its really hard to make out what he is speaking.

This classic best selling novel by Agatha Christie is not just a best seller of name it live up to the expectations. It is exciting and gripping also its just what you want from a detective novel (Never lets your clever thinking catch rust!)

Rating: ****

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P.S. I'm finally having readers! Their just coming in big numbers (atleast for me!). So a special thanks to all!

The Alchemist - Review

Vidit Bhargava

Written By: Paulo Choelo

Publisher: Harper Collins

The Alchemist was one of the books I was least interested in reading when taking up the book. It was bought by my brother an you see I wanted to read the other book, The Murder on the Orient Express but then I finally gave it a second thought and I started reading it just because it has been best seller.

Plot: Santiago a shepherd in Andalusia has a recurrent dream. A dream which tells that if he went to the Pyramids of Giza he would find his treasure. Santiago goes to a near by town, and there he meets a Gypsy women who interprets his dream. Then at a nearby plaza of the town he comes across a an old king. He encourages him to follow his dream and gives him two stones which will allow him to interpret the Omens. Santiago reaches the Port of Tanger, where his journey begins from. He is looted by a person there. Then he works for a crystal merchant earns the money and goes to pursue his dream. A long journey to the Oasis in Egypt is followed by an encounter with the Alchemist.

I've told a lot about the plot but believe me is just half of what the story is. This 150 pages book is story of a lifetime of Santiago and his dream. Paulo Coehlo has his own style writing. Any other writer would have concentrated more and more on his treasure but Coehlo has something more important and something which keeps a lasting effect. He concentrates on the things he learn during his journey and thats what I like about it.

Fluent and Constant in its speed you never wish to leave the book. I've also read it faster. One of the most important thing a book needs to be capable of is the connection it builds between the user and the book. Paulo Coehlo does it exceptionally well, you see through the book into the world of Santiago and thats what a good book has to do.

All in all, I'm completely impressed with the book. I would have regretted it, if I hadn't read it now. A book to be remembered for ages.

The Mysterious Mongoose Bat!

Vidit Bhargava

We've heard of people trying variations with the bat since the game has evolved. In the early days a bat more like a hockey stick was used to play the game. It gradually changed to the bat we use today. Later in the 20th century Dennis Lillee played with an 'Aluminium Bat'. No problems with that but the ball, it weared off.

Getting the batsmen to hit away from the sweet spot and get them cought was one of the important techniques used by the bowlers. This was the only way to restrict the batting team to a respectible total. We saw it get vanquished for the first time in commercial television when Mathew Hayden used the 'Mongoose' bat against the Daredevils in IPL 3.

Sunil Gavaskar the legendary Indian Batsman feels there is no problem with the bat but he doesn't understand why it is called the 'Mongoose Bat' this is the queastion in mind of many people. Well, Mongoose is just the name of the company which makes cricket bats. Their Product Mongoose MMI3 is the bat which has caused thunder in the world of cricket very recently.

How is it different from a normal bat? If you've seen the pics you'll already know that. Its got a longer grip and a shorter blade. Which is just opposite to the normal bat! At this point you'll be asking yourself "How on Earth does that improve the batting experience? At the end its upto the batsmen, right?" THe Mongoose MMI3 has got no dead spot and most importantly the whole of the blade is the Sweet Spot. You can hit from any part of the bat, the ball for a mighty six.

Er...What about the bottom? The bowlers can still bowl yorkers and put a halt to this bat? Thats what the bowlers did when the batsmen used normal bats. With the Mongoose coming into commercial cricket you would know how foolish is it to bowl in that area now! The weight of the bat that was removed from the top is now given to its bottom. Quite Technical!, yes and also this creates the sweet spot and the end of the bat also. So the weight remains the same, no hassles to use it. And you have a very new way of attacking the yorkers.

You would have found out that since the blade is small, bowling short pitched deliveries will give a sure shot result. Sure Shot result, yes, but not in the bowler's favor. The mongoose bat has been scientifically proven to provide 15% faster speed so the cuts, hooks and pulls you play on a short bowl can be hit better. And remember, if you play the short a little early then also the tip of the end of the bat can hit for the desired result!

The inventor of the bat, Marcus Codrington-Fernadez says in an interview that the bat is specifically designed for 20-20 cricket. Yes, it's main purpose is that. But even if you play test cricket or 50 overs cricket with the Mongoose MMI3 you can easily defend the ball. No Problems.

Where does the problem lie in the bat? What is wrong with this one? You'll be itching to know that. The problem is with the Habit. Yes, the Habit of using a normal bat. So I suggest never use the mongoose for the first time directly in a match. YOu will need atleast 21 days of practice before you can take it on the pitch. Why I say 21 days is because, it takes almost that much time to get into a habit. And if you are not in the habit of using it. You'll find the bat extremely fast. Extremely Small some times. And you'll rather be concentrating on that than the batting.

I know how it would feel to the bowlers, but I would just say, "Come on guys you are the ones with the actual brains in the game, you can easily think of the way to get this so called perfect bat out!"

I know most of you would be ready to go to the mongoose store to buy this one but wait listen to the price first! It's a whooping Rs. 17000! You would only want to shell that money if you are a professional won't you? And yes, like any other bat you can still make it with any wood for home purpose!

Oh yes, A Did you know fact: The Mongoose MMI3 was introduced in May 2009 in English County. Hayden is not the first one to use it!

Given below are two videos I would love to share they explain more about the bat in detail.

Recycled Paper!

Vidit Bhargava

Many blogs, DIY websites, youtube videos etc.. would have given you special and tough tips about making a recycled Paper! But this most is the extremely easy. I'll give you a step by step guide to make the easiest DIY Recycled Paper in your Backyard.

You might require the Recycled Paper as a school project or any other reason. This step by step guide works irrespective of that.

Step 1. Getting the waste Paper

You may choose a pile of newspapers, Bundle of old School papers, Practice sheets or a mixture of them! Its all up to you.

TIP: Choose low quantity of waste paper (15-20 Sheets of paper are enough) . Don't create a pile of waste.

Step 2. Making the Pulp!

You can choose a blender for this one if you wish, but if you're not allowed to do that, you can simply show some muscle power and use a mortar and pestle to make the pulp.

Tear the waste paper into bits and put it in a mortar and pestle or a blender with some water. Blend the mixture till it gets homogeneous.

Tip: Don't put a lot of water. Look at the video below for using a mortar and pestle (Its rather easy u won't need to do that though!)

Step 3. Macerating the pulp

Take the pulp and put it in a tub of water for 2 days.

Tip: The tub should be able to fit your sieve in it completely. Don't add too much water, just a quarter of tub should be fine. Patience is the key here, Don't disturb the pulp before 2 days. The mixture might stink, I suggest use a black polythene to cover the tub and also spray some perfume or deodorant if you prefer.

Step 4. The Soil Sieve

You can easily find a round sieve @ your house. However, a rectangular sieve is quite preferable. You need to buy one if you don't have it. There is no other alternative!

TIP: The video below gives the directions to create a sieve yourself but use them only if nothing else is available (quite hard to make it!). DO NOT use a circular sieve with a large brim, it will never solve our purpose!

Step 5. Making the Paper

Now comes the time when you need to move out of your backyard to a sunny place.

But before that take your soil sieve and cut out a plastic sheet that covers the soil sieve properly.

Take all the equipment out in the sun and place the sieve inside the tub. After a few moments take the sieve out. You'll notice the pulp on the sieve. Take your plastic sheet and drain the water out of it in the tub.

When you're sure that there is not much extra water. Take the plastic of and place the sieve, carefully upside down on the table. Press the sieve a little and then remove it.

Repeat step 5 for more paper.

TIP: If you are using a circular sieve you can give shape to your paper by cutting the edges by a butter knife. Also for a larger paper you can overlap the pulp of two takes to make one paper and then fine it with cutting the edges. Water should be drained out as much as possible. The video below says that you need to carefully take of the paper from the sieve but I don't advice that, it is much more difficult.

You can also refer to the video below!

Karthik Calling Karthik - Review

Vidit Bhargava

Actors: Farhan Akhtar, Deepika Padukone

Director: Vijay Lalwani

Genre: Mysteriously Dramatic!

Rating: *** 1/2

I mentioned about the Indian mystery movies in my last post, you know whats going to happen in the end. This one is yet another mystery movie, and you tend to catch up with this one if not knowing fully what's next.

Plot: Karthik is bullied by everyone in his office from his boss to the peon even in his apartment his land lord doesn't leave him. He has no self respect. And then he starts receiving calls which say that they're by him... Karthik's Now Calling Karthik. And the rest should not be disclosed if you wish to enjoy the movie.

Most of you must have thought it to be a Mystery and full of suspense film from the trailers. However, it is not. The first half of the movie just scrolls on how you need to know the 7 Habits of highly effective people! Nothing much really. But at the same time, inspiring. However, in the second half things change. It gets into the actual flow of a mystery. You no longer believe he has hallucinations (as in many other recent movies) and start finding who is the caller. You even suspect the Credit Card walas who call him! However, you don't need much brains to solve this one. Most of the times you also catch up with the movie.

The climax, is simply average! It is a mixture of a few old movies and new ones. One's you're taken aback by that and ready to go out of the hall comes the writer's bit. Which by the way gives a little shape to this climax. The climax is just fine, not very good but at least better than some of the past suspense and mystery films or more logical than them of course.

Farhan Akhtar is on a roll, he's as brilliant as ever in his acting. Deepika Padukone is good but wasn't needed much. Ram Kapoor (that Swamvar wala host you have bear on TV) is better in this movie than any of his past TV ventures. Not to say he didn't do well in fact he was as brilliant as Farhan Akhtar. The others are just props of this movie, they don't have much of a role after the actual mystery begins, they just come in numbers to insult Karthik in the first half. They've got in a psychiatrist also, Shefali Shah. She keeps on popping up in the movie & does her act good. The best in the last is the Rubik's Cube! It has a bigger and more important role than Deepika Padukone and any other "Prop" in the film. Also he takes the best out of the Akhtar ones he's unsolved. :P

The film is not flawless, it has few loopholes. The script though well written and gripping is average when it comes to providing a good mystery. That's it not anything very bad about it.

Songs are good but they'll wither after a few weeks. They've embedded the brilliance of Shanker Ehsaan Loy and Javed Akhtar. The background score is in blend with the mysterious look of the movie in the second half, Medieval Pundits do it with perfection

On the whole, Karthik Calling Karthik works because of its acting and a fairly good script. Though the movie is very good it never goes above that, you rarely say, "Wow, I never thought of that" or "Completely Ingenious" but still its a good entertainer and also behind all of that inspiring, to the "YES MEN"!

Sherlock Holmes (2009) - Movie Review

Vidit Bhargava

Rating: ****

Directed By: Guy Ritchie

Actors: Robert Dawney Jr. (Sherlock Holmes), Jude Law (Dr. Watson)

If you don't watch this one, you've certainly missed 130 minutes of entertainment. Ever seen Indian mystery movies? You actually sometimes know whats going to happen next. However, this movie bears the name of the famous detective novel and you always have your expectations high with such movies. Does it live up to the expectation? Can we perhaps, know whats in store for us?

The Plot: It's very simple, In the 19th century, Lord Blackwood(reminds me of Voldemort from the Potter Series) a dark magic performer is caught by Sherlock Holmes from the Scotland Yard and sentenced to death for committing 5 murders of innocent people. That's closed then but, but then this guy rises from the graves and starts killing more people. More dark magic is involved. Can Holmes unravel the secret as to how Lord Blackwood returned from the death bead?

Half the movie gone, you'll find yourself appreciating just the sets of medieval period, acting and Holmes' detective and action skills. You won't have the faintest of idea on what's going on. Holmes and Watson just move into hay wired shops with no connection. Its just good then, you're rooted to your seats, to not miss any action in the second half.

The sets as I told above are very good. The set up of the 19th century Britain is flawless. They are picture perfect. The old carriages, the tower bridge in construction, the pentonville prison, restaurants with lanterns and the whole practice of dark magic is well researched and well made.

But you hardly get time to appreciate that because Robert Dawney and Jude Law take most of the action in the screen. They add life to the characters of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. I cannot dream of any other playing this character.

The screenplay is very well written, Sherlock Holmes' swift detective skills or the wonderful climax are just some parts of this well written mystery. You yourself try to solve the mystery with these people, there seams nothing possible for the climax but still when the climax comes you are left open mouthed.

The only possible problem with this movie is that you may end up using more brains than you intend to, so this one will not please the ones who love no brainers like De Dana Dan.

This is the first Sherlock Holmes movie I've ever watched, and I'm completely impressed. There is no flaw in this ingenious movie. This one is truly a must watch.

Adobe - Apple "Reportedly" fight

Vidit Bhargava

Now this is one is an old topic on my blog's news real, but it resurfaced again after, Steve Jobs "reportedly" went to WSJ and told flash a CPU HOG!

Now don't think I am just another Apple Fan (which I am not, I never really like any and everything they make for example Apple TV, I never really liked the idea). I just want my readers to know how much rumor is there on Internet these days.

Here are 3 reasons why all this is made up and non of it is true!

1. Proof? Neither do we have any proof that Apple actually opposed or condemned Flash. Neither do we have any proof of Adobe getting raged on Apple's comments.

Adobe's blog is always reported in any article of this Flash Vs. Apple fight. Adobe's Featured blog has just one paragraph on Apple in their blog (in the near past) which states Adobe is ready with the mobile version of Flash for Safari on iPhone OS. Now thats something we haven't heard since iPhone's launch. So is Flash in for the next version of the OS? Proof of the statement? here: Adobe's blog

2. No News! The CEO of the World's Most Secretive tech corp. enters WSJ office without any hype and bashes flash as a CPU Hog.

Further Kevin Lynch states in a blog post on Adobe's blog about MACS inability to run Flash!

Now WSJ would have of course covered this news on their site. Obvious isn't it. But look what happens when we search for Steve Jobs' news in the past few days: WSJ Site No News at all!

Kevin Lynch for a matter of fact hasn't blogged since 2007 on his blog, here: Kevin's blog and if u're looking for Adobe's blogpost on their official blog? Look in the first link.

3.Flash runs! Now in the first link, we also see the guy stated that Adobe supports creating apps in Flash for the iPhone. Surely, Apple wouldn't have done that if they wanted a fight with Adobe.

Flash ads are also seen running on iPhone a several times!

Now I don't want to form an Opinion on whether Flash is buggy. It falls in between, Its not the best but its good enough to beat its counterparts (Silver light). However, a few times I see Flash files crash and fail to load or sometimes the youtube video starts streaming from between also (This can be 'cos of my internet, though). And if Apple is looking for a counterpart to flash, it's hard to beat their market now.

Finally, I would keep my fingers crossed and hope for the flash to come on iPhone OS. Till then such sensationalized fights will "Reportedly" end after they got old and rotten!

The Tale of Full Touch Screens

Vidit Bhargava

It came with the iPhone in the business phones category, now every single company in India produces these 'fancy' Smart Phones.

When the iPhone was announced in 2007, the first reviews were like..."Dude, Full Touch Screens? Where is my Keyboard?"..."No Stylus? You're Kidding right?"..."This will eventually prove to be the downfall of Apple"..."The software lacks some basic features, its just a fancy over hyped device"

The reviews had no base, and hence, proved to be wrong. However, this is not the point. The point is today we see 10s and 1000s of full touch screen devices flooding the market and all of them have almost similar taglines. They've all removed the Stylus from their backs. A new category of devices has come across which provides music and apps with the touch of a finger but do they have any quality which makes us buy them? Except the 'TASHAN' factor nothing impresses us, though.

What I'm trying to say is that today we a floury of devices, they get rave reviews from Tech Shows and become instant hits but are these devices any different from each other? We always get one or the same thing packed in different 'mobile OS', They provide us with grids of icons of applications on your home screen. The bottom of the screen is followed with one or two fancy keys, nothing else. No uniqueness in the mobile. Just the same old features.

The reason why these phones are like these is just because they're trend followers. Not the trend setters. Most companies today don't want to take the extra risk of providing some thing evidently new. I'm not saying every body should start re-inventing stuff but provide something which forces us to buy the device at the moment nothing does.

The E series from Nokia has got the same looks and features of a Blackberry of course though on Different OS. Corby, HTC Touch, etc... look more or less similar to each other in features as well as design.

The full touch devices neither provide healthy touch screens, nor do they give any thing new in the hands of the user. I find them all the same.

However, we must not forget to appreciate the silver lining in this cloud. We've at least got some people who think a little differently, Widgets and working widgets being added to the mobile phone where to me a very good step which is taken by many today. Also not to forget Android, Its quite unique in its way, every company can have their customized version of the OS. Thats absolutely awesome.

So my wish is we see something new. Something that doesn't come in any other phone. Something thought of and then made. Until then we have no use of the wide variety of the colorful fancy phones hanging on the Mobile Shop near you. iPhone rules this industry even now.

Notion Ink Adam - Just another tablet?

Vidit Bhargava

Yesterday's Times of India student edition said allowed "ADAM THE 'iPAD KILLER' MADE IN INDIA". First of all, I don't how will it kill the iPad, before its market release, I really don't know. Yet this product grabs a little more attention, it being made by Indians and running Android OS.

Notion Ink, made by six ex-IITians has designed this one, and the prototype we saw of it in CES 2010 is much different than the one we're seeing at the MWC 2010. Its a different design which now has a rotatable camera. So it makes up for the old badly made prototype. This one is fully functional too.

Equipment wise this device is highly equipped with some sort of power. 3 USB ports, 1 HDMI, Bluetooth + Wifi + 3G, Android, Ubuntu and Chromium OS, a Tegra processor from NVIDIA & a display that has ambient lighting. For once i'm convinced that this has something!

I'm dieing to have a hands on of this one. The software does mesmerize me, not the Android but the Ubuntu one, thats clearly a master stroke. You've also got USB ports, then there is an HDMI also and finally a rotating camera, Awesome!

The most unique part of it is the back track pad, we'll need to figure out how that thing works but as of now we know it works for the little links in browsers. For now it looks innovative!

We knew that India engineers and designers ere doing most of the innovative work at Microsoft, Intel, and Apple. We just needed to take the first step. - Rohan Shravan (Co-founder, Notion Ink, Adam)

Its just the beginning though, these guys have the potential to provide the world with some amazing products. This being one of their first product. Adam has every feel of a fully furnished and technically sound, utility based product. It won't act as a showcase of touch screen.

There are a few problems though, for example the immediate comparison to iPad, its immediate image as an iPad Killer, this dents the whole aim of this project. If you look at it from this angle, it looks like a device intended to copy iPad and add its own techniques to make one of its own & then trying to overpower the iPad with some promotion. First thing, we must know is that Apple is a company that has been in the world market for more than 30 years. The iPad will always be more commercially powerful than this one and for Adam it's very difficult to hamper many sales of iPad, even though its packed with goods.

Coming to the Processor, thats a SoC (System on Chip) from NVIDIA; 1GHz of Tegra 2 whose predecessors were used in Smartphones, Multi-media players etc. However, the NVIDIA site boasts about its capabilities with Tablets. We're yet to see that. So, if the Tegra is even slightly less powerful than A4 then it will have problems, problems with multi-tasking and thats what people won't like. Android however might not do multi-tasking but I can vouch for Ubuntu and Chromium doing that. While, if its above A4 (which too is capable of Multi-tasking*), this one will ease of doing the work.

With a 10.1 inch touch screen we'll have to see whether it does well or not. Remember, most phones have failed when compared to iPhone on the touch screen factor. Here also a full touch screen is provided and if this falls in the category of HTC touch screens it will drown. Just think of beating the screen every time you want to execute a program, its really going to be like beating your old computer to run faster. So thats where I want to see how it does as they've said their providing a capacitive screen with multi-touch possible. This point also goes against many other giants making tablet, remember HPs Slate. However, the hands on for Adam look good, it looks like their touch screens are at least better than the HTCs. No beating Apple this time!

As an Apple fan I was looking forward to buy the iPad but then this one came. Appealing though this product is, I'll still wait for the reviews and if its more aggressively priced than Apple's we can consider this one but for now it provides everything but it all needs to be tested and tried before I can personally buy one instead of iPad (which is releasing earlier than this one!)

My Name is Khan - Review

Vidit Bhargava

Rating: ****

Every body keeps saying watch the movie. stars tweet that too. But is it even worth watching? Did every body just promoted the film or it wasn't needed for a film so good?

The Plot: Khan is determined to meet the president of US. He is on a journey and keeps writing in his diary. Also this is a love story but this time its much more sidelined than ever. I am not disclosing the plot in detail!

The first thought which came to my mind after watching its theatrical trailer was...Again?Didn't we have enough of 9/11. Thats gone surely, this ones another story with many sub-plots and 9/11 being one.

The acting is done excellently by Shah Rukh Khan and others. The dialogues are exceptionally well written (I had lost hope for any good dialogues after watching De Dana Dan, Blue & Dil Bole Hadippa). The story is a little loose though. However, the screenplay covers that up. Direction also has been good. The movie is gripping, you never feel bored and tired.

Still there is one area where the movie fails, the length. The movie could have easily been 15 minutes shorter in the end. (Karan Johar has been doing that since a long time)

Also, The movie is a good tear jerker. That works both in favor and in opposite direction. I don't see many people coming out of the hall smiling you know! but still its OK works for me at least.

So all in all, Its a movie that will be liked by most of the people. Well, one thing you would've noticed in this review, its different as I haven't talked about any of the many messages in the movie. Well they were there and many of them, and yes they are well put also. So thats it, MNIK is a must watch.

Now Typing: Mechanically!

Vidit Bhargava

My membrane keyboard this Jan. encountered an accident with my coffee. It as you know was a very silent death of some keys of my Microsoft Keyboard. Now, I had a Pleomax also and a TVS Gold also. I chose Pleomax over the Gold for it being younger than gold and much more reliable. I never really enjoyed Pleomax actually, so this week I decided to have a look at the TVS keyboard, does it work even after 12 years?

Its a mechanical keyboard. Having several times the life of a membrane keyboard. Fine lets try using it now. When I took it out, the white was coated in a layer of off whitish yellow. I cleaned that with some Colin, not a big problem.

After cleaning, we tried it on our old PC (The keyboard had AT ports), It worked well. So the next hurdle was to get a new connector for the keyboard. We needed it go into a PS/2 port. Easy, I went to the market at a computer repair shop, asked for an AT-PS/2 connector and this is solved too. But how does it work? Is it still good? Was it worth to spend 50 bucks on a connector?

Even 12 years later, every key is in contact (touch wood), The only difference in the keys area is that the enter key is big and the "|" key is placed up beside the backspace. I still love its sound (reminds me of the typewriters.). Also the keyboard is Mechanical, my ideal choice for a keyboard.

But I can't deny it having a few problems. There's just a bit of a problem with the control key (Perhaps, I played a lot of DAVE in my childhood!), the space bar is a bit unstable at edges, and insert key doesn't work. Also I tend to make more errors in touch typing (this keyboard being larger than my last two.)

On the whole the experience of using the keyboard is awesome, I like my "Old" Keyboard. Its perhaps always good to have a change. A new TVS Gold still costs a bomb (Rs. 1350) but I'm content with only giving 50 for a at converter. Old is Gold!