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!

Google Buzz!

Vidit Bhargava

Today once again we stand at a fork between 2 paths on which is more popular and the other which is better. Buzz was going to be the latest thing in GMAIL since a user of its tried to label the thing in January but couldn't do so. So what is buzz? If you've read today's newspaper and watched yesterday's news its a facebook killer social networking facility. Is it?

After the much anticipated announcement Google states.."Its our first step in Social networking arena", Remember the long dead orkut here? Wasn't it from Google? Anyways, this time Google isn't taking any chance, they're doing their new product the Pritam & Microsoft way. Yeah, they're copying features from other SN sites; Twitter and Fb. You tweet in twitter n do nothing else, same goes here. You just update your status and wait for comments. Like in Fb, people like your status updates, they can even share it, and do stuff. Thats not it, sharing videos and photos is also prevalent. But just like Twitter, you don't have 3rd party apps.

You may ask, that's what a social networking site does, isn't it? Well, yes social networking sites more or less do the same thing but not quite distinctively like buzz does it. You open buzz from your gmail account and you'll find 2 things familiar: One that people are following you and you are following people (taken from twitter, of course) the other being that you can update your status and like or comment on others also (Facebook perhaps!). So you see they're directly taking stuff from other sites.

Twitter started the idea for tweets and following people, its successful. Facebook gave us status updates, like and dislike feature. Today 400 million people use facebook. These sites were unique and they've got their share of credit. Remember, Orkut lost track midway, just because they tried to pick up stuff from Facebook.

However, Google Buzz is not all about copying, it too has something unique about it. Integration with Gmail brings a lot of attention in many people's inbox. This is an instant hit formula, as there are many people on Gmail who don't know much 'bout social networking, they'll get into it very quickly. We also see a location adding feature in mobiles. Also sharing photos with picasa, videos with youtube, blog posts from blogger and brace yourself, tweets with twitter (Yes, the very thing they've picked up the idea from) are good new options which certainly attract people.

While, this article may seem to be all about copying stuff from other sites and how I don't like that but that's what the "New" Google Buzz is about!

Like many other popular people and companies who extract stuff from the less popular sources (like Pritam takes from Korean songs & Microsoft lifts stuff from Apple), Google too is going the same way. That's unfortunate. However, they're products still be hit, they are popular. Be Unique and innovative Google.

Also, not to forget Facebook is getting old and twitter which is still to be popular amongst the youth & common people (only 140 character tweets). Google Buzz is up for grabs for those who want a new social networking platform.

Finally, Its about the people, they are the ones who'll decide for which site to choose. Social Networking works just because of the people & that's the reason I might use it (indirectly of course, I'll use twitter integration. I prefer the better!). There's nothing more that attracts me to use Buzz.

2012 - Review

Vidit Bhargava

Cast: John Cusaak, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, and much more!

Rating: ** 1/2 (Average)

Another one, I missed last year! This time our school said they'd show us the movie. Yeah, they promised us to show it in December, we're getting to watch it in February! but I'm not very disappointed as this wasn't a movie I was looking forward to (Thanks to the bashing reviews). Our Audi. is good for plays and stuff, but the movie bit... we got a half a size screen and that too there were black bars! Well at least I managed to watch the full movie even if I couldn't hear it very clearly (thanks to the sound quality).

Coming to the movie, they start in 2009 where Satnam Tsurtuani (Small role by Jimi Mistry) in India's at an underground copper mine, tells his friend from USA about some solar flare thing and neutrinos. Which means that the core of the earth is melting, making the Earth's Crust unstable (this was explained well with a bizzare animation than those two conversing), The US friend of his, tells someone from the White House Chief of Staff. Shift to 2012 Everybody is worried about these massive earthquakes. They don't know what is happening, only a few US people know what to do... Go to China! where there plan executes in saving "Some people" before the world ends and of course as the Mayans predicted Earth is coming to an end in 2012! Now, there is one family they mainly focus on, the one of Jack Curtis. They know what to do and are going to China! I think, I am not telling everything about this movie very well (so many things happening, you know!), you may refer to the wikipedia plot for everything in detail!

By the way, we saw some part of India as well! Something I hadn't predicted and there was a large tsunami that hit the Indian shore then, also a lot of parts, apparently when they were telling the time and place, were written on the screen in Mayan language, and when they reach China, those Chinese people start speaking their own language, that was realistic but at the same time irritating with no subtitles.

Coming to performance of the movie, The action and special effects bit is done well, full marks there. The massive volcano eruption and then the earth splitting scenes, they're good. Also the movie makes an impact on the minds of the people and it was after all made for a good cause.

Apart from that, there is hardly anything you'll find much interesting, the movie begins well but after the opening credits, when it actually starts in 2012, it gets boring. In the middle, there are action packed special effects scenes which excite you but then they switch to the emotional mood (a real attyachaar!), which fails completely. Neither did I feel sympathy for the US president dyeing or nor did I feel bad 'bout the emotional talks the characters did with their fathers. Unfortunately, a large chunk of the movie is dedicated to it.

Also not to forget the extremely predictable plot. You won't be scared when the count down of the impact finishes, you know somewhere that they'll survive the impact. You tend to foresee that the rich are going to board the impact saving mechanism and some human rights person will prevent them to do so!

The movie is 2 and a half hours long but it seems to take a lifetime to reach the climax, I was almost waiting for it. Somehow the critics got right on this one. I would have given it 2 stars but for some reason I feel it should be watched as it's at least an attempt to make an environment movie, not a gr8 one though!

Discovery's New Channels in India

Vidit Bhargava

Being a Tata Sky user, I got the privilege to see the 2 new channels of Discovery Channel; The Discovery Turbo and Discovery Science!Although, It costed me a new add-on package but I'm pretty happy with these channels. While Discovery Turbo talks mostly 'bout cars and bikes and aircrafts, Discovery Science (The Science Channel in the US) does the Science & Technology department. Both are of my interests!

Talking of Discovery Turbo, as I've just started viewing these channels there's particularly one program which I like very much; Wheeler Dealers, which is hosted by Mike Brewer and Edd China. This one is exciting for those junk wars (Discovery Channel program) fans! They take up a working car with gloomy exteriors or interiors and give it a make over.

A Bug for Beetle was the first one which I watched. They had taken up an abandoned almost fully destroyed Beetle from some scrap yard and given it a makeover of a beech car. Yeah, None of Beetle's exterior or interior was left, they scrapped it for some shiny ones. The Only parts left were the main machinery. Next I watched a Mossy Mazda, converted into a stylish racing car. Not much was changed here in terms of appearance but the technical work was awesome!

Wheeler Dealers provides a good amount of technical information as well as a lot of facts we didn't know!

P.S. Can you believe it, Edd China the mechanic in this program has won 4 Guinness Book Records.

Discovery Science is yet to be searched well, I've only seen 2 programs so far, one is something like How we do that, or... I don't remember the name properly but it were good facts and techniques assembled in one program, which proved out to be pretty interesting. The only problem was, the same time Wheeler Dealers was coming & it was far more interesting.

The ads offer something unique here. I saw Buzz Aldrin (for those of you wondering, he is the second man to land on moon), talking 'bout his experiences of that venture. One of the ads also features Dr. Michio Kaku (I'm a fan of his), explaining his concepts of Fusion & one where he tells about the string theory!

Harry Potter Movie Series Short Reviews

Vidit Bhargava

The Books till the sixth part were a treat, an enchanted journey to the world of magic, they involved us in every bit of the books but do the movies provide just an experience? Do they only appeal to the one's who've read the book? Or can the actors drag their fans to the theater irrespective of book readers? Lets find out...

Cast: Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Rupert Grint (Ronald Weasley), Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort), Michael Gambon & Richard Harris (Albus Dumbledore), Robbie Coltrane (Rubeus Hagrid) & there are many more

Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone

Rating: ****

Released in: 2001

Director: Chris Columbus

This is probably the closest one can get to make such a special book into a successful movie! The movie completely follows the book (alterations have obviously been made) but still never bores you. I loved it as a child & I still liked the movie 8 years later when I read the book. The kids in this movie, can't deny look younger than 11 years old but yet i have to appreciate the casting. It was very appropriate. The movie also gives the young kids an experience, they'll want to re-watch many times.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Rating: *** 1/2

Released in: 2002

Director: Chris Columbus

Harry Potter is due for his second year in Hogwarts, for those of you who loved the first part will also like this one, however, as a kid I never really liked a few creatures of this movie, Aragog, Dobby & the Basilisk were to creepy for me, but thats my personal opinion, you may like them as many others did. The climax is one great treet, yet it leaves a few parts untethered and still leaves room for improvement.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner Of Azkaban

Rating: ****

Released in: 2004

Director: Alfonso Cuaron

This is the best movie in the whole series, The director was replaced but thankfully the charm wasn't. The twists and turns, the slightly scary climax, the unfolding of the story & finally the effect it shares with the book makes the movie "enchanted" for me. Nothing goes wrong here, the new Dumbledore (Michael Gambon plays the role, after Mr. Richard Harris died in 2002) whose face itself shows the power he possesses and finally the casting of Sirius Black which is again so accurate. It comes as my personal favorite. Also acting by the supportive cast is one good treat to mention, Oliver and James Phelps bring the character of Fred and George alive, no one else would do better than them also a special mention to the dementors, they've too done justification to their roles.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Rating: **

Director: Mike Newell

Worst after the best. This movie doesn't follow the book well, there are alterations and additions everywhere. The director conveniently removes minor and majors chunks of the book to add his own. The first half is good & visually appealing, though no there was no importance given to the book's facts. For instance they show the students studying in great hall, or a boy (an owl is the mode of delivery) delivers a parcel or all the students from all the classes assemble in Professor McGonigal's classroom! These things won't pinch to the one's who haven't read the book but The climax is the wackiest of the lot, the director hopes you understand the misterious death of Barty Crouch, you also are supposed to be believe that a person rises from the death bed! Apparently, there was one scene where the director shows Barty junior conjuring the dark mark, harry could have told dumbledore 'bout that but he didn't, the director thinks it was as though completely trivial to know how a supposedly dead man could be alive! Still, This movie works for those who want entertainment & don't mind seeing anything even though it has got loopholes (manholes here) after every almost 15 minutes or so. The parts of the triwizard tournament are entertaining and also where you really tend to ignore the mistakes.

P.S. The movie keeps on appearing every month on HBO, I really don't know why they don't show better Potter films for a change!

Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix

Rating: *** 1/2

Director: David Yates

Many regard this movie as the worst of the Potter films till now, I disagree. Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix is a safe movie with a bit of humor (added in places by Oliver and James Phelps), and keeps the key things in tact. If only the movie fails, is because of too many things happening in one time. The movie cannot be blamed for its slowness because if you've read the book, you'll understand the book itself was a bit boring, yet you don't feel the pinch. It has a well written climax, a powerful battle between Dumbledore 'n Voldemort is also a treat to watch but here the director doesn't focus much on the prophecy part of the book (in the end) where as it was a very important one!

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Rating: ***

Director: David Yates

It follows the Goblet of Fire Path. The screenplay (Steve Kloves returns here) is altered badly. Figures of Speech have been changed completely the thing which could have been included in a breath taking climax as a suspense, is given knowledge about from the beginning. The facts were never so irrelevant in a Potter movie.I would give casting a special mention the director casts Jim Broadbent for Slughorn which isn't really very real to the actual Slughorn. Still it gets its numbers for the fact that when I had watched the movie I was yet to read the 6th part but still it had appealed to me visually. It looked pretty entertaining and the Climax was one of the best. The cave part was seriously done well, though they showed inferi as dangerous (the're innocent dead bodies) but doesn't really matter as you still remain at entertainments receiving side. Anyway, its just much better than Goblet Of Fire at least you aren't left unanswered this time.

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The Reviews done, so the whole series all in all is good. I couldn't imagine the world of wizards that easily if I wasn't supplied with these movies. Every saga has its ups and downs but still I like every character and actor of this movie series. Though a Special mention to Dobby's Character who was shown in just one movie, he has a much bigger role 'n thus when he dies in the last part, you really miss him. On final thoughts, I must say read the books first.

iPad an oversized iPod Touch? Not really!

Vidit Bhargava

I really don't want to comment on the iPad news twice, i had actually stated it as a good device with some minor problems which will be corrected in due course of time but it seems my last article was short of one thing, the iPod Touch 'n iPhone factor! I must admit i couldn't collect all the points that time. So here i am with a much detailed article, on why iPad works and what makes it a bit of a problem. Also you get a clear picture of what this device talks about.

According to Techtree: http://bit.ly/basm7I, the iPad looks like an over sized iPhone, first of all, iPad should be compared to an iPod Touch not an iPhone as it would be very awkward for us to hold a giant clipboard towards our ears, think!

Next, if it runs a modified iPhone OS, I have no problem (neither should the masses have) until it fails to perform the tasks it specializes in. It is better having an iPhone OS on 10" screen than having a crammed up version of the MAC OS X which certainly would have impressed many critics. This reminds me of multi-tasking which for once is a problem with iPad but you can ofcource listen to songs while doing your work, read the email from where you had left last time & continue with you're work in iWork even though you hadn't saved it the last time you pressed the home button! Still the problem is, there is no easy switching between these apps, which i would suggest, can be corrected by popping up the bottom semi-transparent tray to let navigate through running programs. Again, Would you prefer a super fast iPhone OS which does the work very easily or a crammed up slow PC software or MAC OS X? I would prefer the modified iPhone OS to a slow and crammed up MAC OS!

Lastly, do you really believe iPad as an over sized iPod Touch? Can you read a book so easily with your iPod Touch? Will the e-book experience be the same with iPod Touch as it is on iPad? Will iWork work on iPod Touch? Will iPod Touch ever be able to provide the same photo viewing experience as iPad? Does the A4 Chip from Apple = Samsung 32-bit RISC ARM 1176JZ(F)-S v1.0?

The answer to all the questions above is just one: No, The iPad is superior at doing that!

Think Digit gives out 10 reasons why iPad fails: http://bit.ly/dbrbVI

"Remember, it's meant to be better than a netbook." Did the thinkdigit writer really go to the conference? Steve Jobs discards Netbooks as being cheap laptops, he never said his iPad will be better than a netbook. It could never be, but undoubtedly the iPad has an edge over a few points: "Browsing, Email, Photos, Video, Music, Games, eBooks", When did you ever see a person being able to play NFS Shift on a netbook?

Secondly he points out at no flash support. Which is more or less a true but Apple has started a venture with Adobe which allows the Flash CS5 (will be released by spring) users to create Flash games and programs for iPhone OS platform & of course if you haven't experienced iPhone, you wouldn't know the iPhone supports Flash ads and also we have spotted Flash video running in iPad's Safari in one of their ads, so i keep my fingers crossed on this one!

No USB Port.. No SD Card slot.. No HD-Output-hmm... is this meant to be a laptop of sorts?

Essential peripherals sold extra. My definition of essential has never included an extra keyboard when you already have one on the screen, neither does it include a dock when you are supplied a full charger.

Another iPhone type Operating system...eh? Read the above article carefully!

If you've ever used Apple apps, they've got class, they're store is much better than the so called "Open Store" of Google and Nokia and yet they provide 140,000,000 apps and more.

Lastly if you need the iWork to be free of cost or atleast be embedded in the iPad by default. Have you ever heard of an Office Suite except Lotus (which is open source) to be free or embedded in your computer by default?

They're right on one point though, the camera will be missed, this device would have become a dream device to conference with its inclusion. I want a camera in the iPad V2.

And again will 64GB be enough for the world? I think you're not going to have more than half of it filled once you work on it.

I don't question the writer's opinion but it is my take on the two very trusted websites of India, which are giving information on iPads without deeply studying the product (again my opinion). Many who have experienced the iPad in they're hands don't go by its looks. I am no representative from Apple but still I accept the device for what it gives us.

iPad is just as cool as iPhone (don't think i'm comparing the two) but as the iPhone had a few problems in the beginning the iPad too has them. This device has got a few minor and major problems which may be rectified by the next version of iPhone OS. Don't yet loose you're heart fan-boys and neither do these bashing reviews about iPad provide any inside. We have to wait for the final product to draw the conclusions 'n don't forget there's always room to improve!

On Final notes iPad has the potential to replace the paper, even without an e-ink display!

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Please note that I had no intentions to harm the reputation of the two sites I mentioned above, these sites are free to express they're opinion and remain one of my favorite sites till date. I was just giving an example of the web chaos about this particular Tablet 'n trying to sum up the info.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Vidit Bhargava

Rating: **** 1/2

I'm probably very late in writing the review (the book released back in 2005) but as I had taken up reading just months back 'n my first series being Harry Potter, I've finally read the 6th part of this epic saga! What lies ahead is a twisty part... which i don't want to think about! Coming to the main part, the 6th book, the half blood prince!

Harry Potter the boy who lived, the chosen one is all set for his sixth year at hogwarts! Lord Voldemort is back in power he is still alive and all Harry is doing at school is having special lessons from Dumbledore who is giving him an insight to the memories involving Lord Voldemort! Is this important? Yes, as the book goes on you'll find it is! Meanwhile at hogwarts there's a new teacher, Horace Slughorn. Old Sluggy gives Harry a used book to do his classes, surprisingly the author has done out cuttings and scribblings which are very useful to Harry. The book belongs to the Half Blood Prince.

I haven't read such a book ever, it is surely one of the best books of all time, that was just a small overview of the long yet exciting adventure of Potter. It has everything which makes it an epic saga. Not even a single word is useless every word, every sentence's got its ties in the later half. I read one chapter per day but I can't deny that I wasn't tempted in what will happen next!

Who said only visuals take you to a ride, where you feel one of them? Books do too. While reading the book, I felt I was one of them, the wizards. When he and his friends felt happy, sad, angry, when they cried... these feelings were felt by me! Really how a book should be, it makes a connection between the writer and the reader, which sadly wasn't in the movie of the same part.

A book which inspires others to read! Rowling has spun the world with such perfection it's hard to believe it doesn't exist! The book is just 607 pages long, but takes you through a journey you wouldn't have experienced ever!

Joanne Rowling also gives out words of wisdom all through the book, the book has highly effected my vocabulary, my English was never better!

At the end, if you haven't read this one, or stopped reading Potter books from the 5th part which was boring or you don't like teen books, read this one for starters, you'll become a fan of reading.

No room for a third Mac

Yerba Buena Center of Arts in San Fransisco was the place to be yesterday! It experienced something Apple fans had been speculating for years, The iPad. Yes the Tablet we have all talked about for years was finally announced. Sounds like a device we dreamed of for years but wait until you hear the reception from those anticipating its release.

Lets come to it straight away the product clearly states an "i" in the name, what does that mean? It means its neither an iPhone nor a Macbook its different! Its an innovation! Don't expect it to work in case you're hoping to buy a small laptop. Its not meant to be that (Though, we wanted it!).

Apple iPad is a big iPhone, running an iPhone OS 3.2 with capabilities nearly matching a netbook. Yes at around 20,000 bucks the iPad comes with nearly netbook capabilities, still you like it! Its the feeling which is more than any thing else. What iPad does is everything that an iPod Touch couldn't do, with its small screen interface yet it is not your new third Mac!

You wake up... take a cup of coffee to your dining table, there's something else on the table in a nice case with a half eaten Apple logo on it... You open it, no need of the newspaper mate! It's in there... you skim through the headlines then pick it up, place the cover, keep it in your empty school bag and go to school ------> In school u open it, read your text book from the shelf and take down notes.-----> Back at home it's time to read your copy of Harry Potter, you open the iPad again and read it! Finally you can do the homework with pages and then play your favorite game! All that without any paper work, and without having the hassle to switch on your PC or Mac! The possibilities are endless, only if you understand how to use it!

Coming to the hardware specs, it will be a crime to mention how smooth this thing runs, its faster than a netbook guys! Boasts a 1GHz Apple A4 Processor. It has a ten inch screen and it's .5 inches thick. No USB ports here, surely you need to understand what they're making. :)

I'm worried about a few things though, the OS for instance is a let down for the iPad but you need to wait, remember when we got the iPhone? It didn't even have SMS forwarding or MMS but now it has! even a Video Camera is present! You need to wait for the next software update we might see a multitasking iPhone OS in our hands by June.

The reception by critics and fans wasn't good, they've disproved of the product completely but they need to understand what this device can do, you cannot deny apple hasn't improved they're products in the past, this too is bound to do the same or they'll fail. I still keep my fingers crossed for the final product may be it improves somewhat!

P.S. : It raises my expectations for the iPhone too, are we going to have the same OS? The same apps? If they're there. iPhone might just take over as the best phone ever! And the Earth Keeps spinning!

Read it Live! Apple's new creation!

So what if you couldn't get the invite of the Apple event at Yerba Buena Center of Arts. You can read it here, Live!
Coverage done by Cover it Live!

This live coverage is a property of www.coveritlive.com

Paa - Review

Vidit Bhargava

Rating : *** 1/2

Last week I had been very busy, 18th was the beginning of the exam stress, we had Science Practical that day....20th was SST UT ... 22nd Computer practical... 25th Maths Practical, the long list continues till the 27th when I have my Computer UT, they just don't get over :( , yet last night I got a chance to watch a movie!

Paa was one of the many movies, i didn't watch at the theater last year, it came in the busy season of December where every week a movie was released so I chose to skip the movie. Well now its on DVD and I've got a copy of that!

Auro(Amitabh Bachchan) is an intelligent and witty 12-year-old boy with an extremely rare genetic defect callled progeria. Mentally he is 12 very normal, but physically he looks five times older. In spite of his condition, Auro is a very happy boy. He lives with his mother Vidya (Vidya Balan) who is a gynecologist. Amol Arte (Abhishek Bachchan) is young, progressive and a full-of-ideals politician. He is out to prove to the world that 'politics' is not a bad word. He is a man with a mission. Auro is Amol's son however Vidya conceals this from him. When Auro does learn the truth however, he wishes to go to Delhi with his father. Auro tries to get his mother and father back together but Vidya resists, still hurt by the fact that Amol wanted her to have an abortion when they first found out she was pregnant. Amol realizes his mistake though, and proposes to Vidya, as he is still in love with her. He stays by Auro's side when he finds out that Auro is his son. Auro's health begins to deteriorate as he reaches his 13th birthday, his physical defects catching up. However, he is finally able to reunite his mother and father once again as Vidya gives in to her feelings for Amol and her motherly love for Auro. Auro, succumbing to his disease, dies happy, his last words being "Maa" and "Paa."

So thats the wiki version of the story of Paa, which is no doubt, different. Yes, its no copy to the Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which was one of the reason I didn't want to watch the film.

Paa is one of the rare films where the story doesn't matter much, the screenplay does though! It's only for the screenplay and the great acting by Amitabh Bachchan and Vidya Balan that this movie survives! Amitabh Bachchan as Auro does an extraordinary performance playing a kid, you don't realize until the rolling credits appear that Amitabh Bachchan acted in the film. Paa never fails to touch your heart in the emotional sequences, thanks to Vidya Balan who after Bhool Bhulaiya has done her best in this one! Sprinkled with light comedy, the movie never loses the grip, even though its far too predictable and the climax is "announced" in the first half!

The worst bit comes in the form of casting, where Jaya Bachchan announces the names of each and every crew member! Perhaps I would have left the theater for a walk until that was over! Abhishek Bachchan is the Tata Jaago Re Brand Ambassador, he's playing the neta of our dreams! always working for the benefit of the people. This doesn't work! This ought not to be very obvious, but that's still fine.

The problem with London Dreams was that its story demanded a screenplay of not more than 1 1/2 hours but the movie was dragged to be made into a 2 1/2 long and boring movie, that has happened with the many disasters of last year. Paa doesn't work on that track, its just 2 hrs long and yet gripping!

Music from Ilaiyaraaja (he won the Padma Bhushan today) is good, it blends with the movie well!

Finally, I would still say "Watch the movie" because the acting from Amitabh Bachchan needs to be appreciated and its a very well made film with good music and good screenplay and editing. Add to it the light comedy. Yes, Predictable but still It is surely one of the finest movie!

It's not a copy of Curious Case of Benjamin Button, you can surely have it on home video if you've not seen it in the cinemas!

Consumer Electronics Show - Tech Giants go crazy

Consumer Electronics Show 2010 held in the first week of January was a complete let down if you look at Tech Giants like HP, Dell, MSI, Samsung and Microsoft. Google however launched their mobile device (manufactured by HTC) Nexus One, whose leaked pictures where all over the internet months back.

Starting with the craziest lot this year; The Tech Giants. Each company begins with a motive show something original, something new or even different sometimes but a few of them seam to have lost their path somewhere this year. The CE show is meant to showcase the new advancements their making to the technology world. However the laptop and technological device section was miles away from originality factor.

Microsoft was perhaps scared by the rumors of the Apple Tablet launch. They have for long cheated Apple's software but the point here is the rumored tabletmac which was confirmed by WSJ recently. Around time that Microsoft realises that their company was not made to copy Apple but to provide the world with good technology. Times have changed, everyone knows the inside news. Microsoft made a last minute announcement that they will be launching the HP slate. HP slate was just the beginning of this crazy ride of slates going on, apparently 'iSlate' is the rumored name of Apple's tablet device so all of them named it their slates.

Other companies were busy launching awkward devices all of them named some sort of slates and more prominently ebook readers or classwork books. The event seemed more to be an attempt to upstage the non-participating giant Apple Inc.

Apple Inc. wasn't only the CES target, internet shopping site 'Amazon's ' original book reader was redesigned by MSI, copied by Samsung and others merely gave this as a special feature to their 'slates'.

These were the let downs but HEY, not every one makes a slate.

Google's nexus one's images were leaked weeks ago. At this time if there is a phone which competes iPhone 3G S. It is this one. Google isn't like the NOKIA's or HTC or Windows Mobiles which just try to rip off iPhone capabilities and end up being Sued! Google did something different this time, perhaps the right way. They established their Android OS platform in the later half of 2009 and now have launched this mobile which has a stable OS, something different and something borrowed from iPhone. The phone is no sub - standard iPhone copy with these many features but you still can't tell about the 'touch' experience. Is it like HTC's or Apple's ? Only reviews will tell that.

TV was also running on the footsteps of Tech Giants. One company (can't tell which one, as every one launched the same thing together) came with an idea of 3D TVs & others replicated it. Sony, Toshiba, Onida all fall here. Had they thought in providing better services in Television rather than this crappy stuff, giving 3D glasses to people and showing them how their premature 3D television works. Almost everyone provided the same. The idea itself is astonishingly crap. Showing 3D on TV is nothing but showing off what you can do today. 3D can be appropriately used to make environments which make you feel you are at the very place itself, none of which I saw this year. Only place you feel here is the Pandora of Avatar on your Television or Computer screens. I won't like that myself.

Cameras also have started providing HD recordings (1080p) at cheaper rates but nothing much interesting was there.

CES 2010, Las Vegas won't last as a groundbreaking memory at all but as an attempt to copy each others work. The sincere use of technology was never on display. There was no attempt provide utilities rather they've provided nothing new.

Rubik's 360 - Requires a lot of handwork

I just got a new companion on my table yesterday which replaced the Rubik's Cube; Rubik's 360. While I write this article, I'm also solving my new Rubik's 360 for the second time. All around the world, there are still many people who find it difficult to solve the Rubik's Cube. Most of them might also think that it has been unsolved to such an extent that it is impossible to solve it back. Let me clear this first, any of the Rubik's puzzle (Cube, magic or even 360) is possible to solve from any situation of the game and all of them have only one solution.

It took me about 11 hours to solve this mind turning puzzle. Clearly the game requires a lot of handwork and angles. It is not the kind of the old & easy to solve cube, which I can solve in precisely 1 minute 51 seconds. The game looks simple at one go. You just have to tilt the 360 so that the balls in the inner sphere reach their slots but as soon as you take it in your hands you realize that this isn't easy at all. There is one more hurdle, a weight has been placed in the innermost sphere so that balls get attracted to that, and the it's whole is just opposite that. Clearly it looks impossible from this angle.

The game is tough but not impossible. If you work out the solution it will become more and more interesting. One more thing you need is concentration. If you don't focus on the game, the ball won't move out of the middle circle. It is also how you, use your skills to decipher the ways to overcome the forces applied by the metal ball.

I myself have now solved it 6 to 7 times, like the cube this one is also engaging and challenging but it's quite delicate to carry along any where. Even the size is large which makes it's handling for kids a little difficult. It's Always good to see the Inner sphere without balls!

Other than these few limitations of playing, it makes a good replacement to the cube which till date remains at our desk for anytime entertainment. The same magic however wasn't created by Rubik's Magic which was for some reason not launched in many places including India.

Rubik's 360 in India is very rare. In Delhi the only known place to have this game right now is 'Ram Chander & Sons Toy Shop' in D Block CP. (Quite tough to go there these days). You won't even find it on ebay. The shop is small but you'll be able to find any game for any console and any toy or puzzle.

Erno Rubik said in an interview "If you find Rubik's Cube tough you'll find this impossible". Surely it is tough. So you must have a lot of practice on the Cube before you begin solving the 360 puzzle.

A Lunch at Chache di Hatti (Chachaji ke Chole)

The Rawalpindi ke Chole Bhature Shop at Kamla Nagar, a.k.a Chachaji Ke Chole Bhature is the one place to be, if you are planning to eat chole bhature in North Delhi. Most of you reading the article will know about the place I'm talking about.

It's the cramped up shop in Kamla Nagar's bada golchakar area near the famous Baskin Robins. The shop is small, so is the area around it. There is no seating space, or A.Cs running (heaters these days), but only one big counter under which one big handi of chole is being cooked. The Chole Bhature are served to 2 huge lines of people until 3:00PM.

So how's it different from any other food shop in the DU(Delhi University)?It's perhaps the food you get here. These Chole Bhature are the best in the world (apparently you get them only in India!). The food here cannot be expressed in word but is to be tasted by you itself. The imli ki chatni and the special aloo ka bhatura you get here is invincible to any other, you'll get. The Chole's are to be mentioned seperately! I don't know much about the secret ingredients put in that but they mesmerize you to the core!

A place in Delhi that serves such great food is likely to be a hit in a few minutes of its opening but the fan following doesn't remain in the span of 5 years of college graduates from DU, who studied more than 20 years ago also come and eat here. That's the reason of the huge tide of people coming to eat here, till the very last. Dad was among the first to have discovered this joint in DU. He remembers the time, it used to be the same rush of people coming from every college & eating here. Then it was a DU oriented joint, now the scenario is much more versatile.

I've been eating here since my childhood & for long have been a fan of Chache di Hatti at Kamla Nagar. I remember the McDonald's & Dominoes employees coming here and have their lunch, when their shops once existed near the Hatti. While it might get tough competition from Sitaram at Paharganj and some eateries in the South Delhi, it remains my all time favorite!

I recommend all to go before 1 in the noon to be fortunate enough to feed yourself with the delightful feast of Chole Bhature, as they say "Good things come in small packages".

30 Reasons why 3 Idiots is not 5 point Someone

Recently we saw(& read) all that shouting going on the blogs, websites, and news channels, about this awesome film '3 Idiots' not giving credit for taking 5.Someone. I've found out 3 very useful items which prove the filmmakers right!

Perhaps, the newswalas read it and show us something else! please we need more important news than this fighting!

The much hyped agreement!
3o Reasons why 3 Idiots is not 5 point Someone
SPOILER ALERT : IF U HAVEN'T SEEN THE FILM, PLEASE DON'T READ IT YOU WILL BE DISCLOSED TO THE AMAZING TWIST'S AND THE CLIMAX OF THE MOVIE!

The truth behind Apple's Tabletmac!

Every time an Apple event is about to come, there are lakhs of speculations about the new Apple Tablet or shall we say, the new 'iSlate' or 'iGuide' or 'Tabletmac'? Every now and then there are reports of domain names being purchased, people claiming to have seen the Tablet device, or even stating its release date (January 26th 2010 - The recent one!)

Last time before the September 9th event, all Apple fans had their hopes up for the new Tabletmac. Their hopes were shattered and smashed just after they saw this board! :D :Music Event! eh? You probably don't expect a laptop or Tablet PC to be released here! So again the 2 year long hope of a Tablet PC from Apple were shut in the box.

Come this december and again the rumors started flying. http://t.sina.com.cn/kaifulee ; This is the link to Kaifu Lee's blog! Who's Kaifu Lee by the way? He is the ex-chief of Google China. This person states in his blog that the new device will weigh less than half as much as a MacBook Air, though it was unclear whether the message was speculation or came from Lee's friend.

Having said that, Lee wouldn't have had any actual experience of the device he is talking about as Apple inc. is always very secretive about their products until the very end.

Some other rumors involve photos like this; with a caption : 'Proof of Apple iSlate's existance':

The Tabletmac in this case is my speculation of the new device coming from Apple. According to me if there is an Apple Tablet in there. This is the most likely version of the tablet.

Finally, we are at a point where nothing is sure. This isn't to say of the confirmation of the Apple Tablet but we still can't deny with speculation from media running faster than ever. The 26th January 2010 event exists & there will be a mac release in this(according to paterns).I suspect that Apple is decreasing its prices not that the economic recession has eased off & Apple will be upgrading the specs which are quite drowsy at the moment! Also I am hoping of a new product launch this month from Apple.

Avatar

Rating: *** 1/2

Vidit Bhargava

Welcome to Pandora, the movie is nowhere on Earth but a moon named "Pandora". Here a group of of doctors have set up a laboritory where the Avatars of visitors from Earth are created there DNA is mixed with the DNA of the Natives of Pandora but one of the members is dead! his brother who knows nothing but the manual about the project joins. Soon the Militants also reach there or he reaches

with the militants. Now this guy Jake Sulley is acting spy to Pandora natives.

Soon their Avatars are ready and Jake Sulley's brain is teleported into the brain of his avatar he controls the avatar when he is asleep. In his avatar he is meddlesome and gets into a lot of trouble with the animals there. Then he meets a Pandora native (can't remember the girl's name), he is tought by her, the rules of Pandora while her collegues don't approve much of that.

Here is when the story gets slow, and we start feeling why are we here.

James Cameron soon realises that and the actuall intention of the movie is revieled just

before the Intermission and we find, the US militants are here to take Unobtanium from Pandora which on a sacred tree, which is actually the home of Pandora vasies. They won't hesitate to kill the alien bread (like they ever did).

The war begin's and so does the most interesting part of the movie. The movie is such well loaded with gr8 backgrounds that you forget about the acting. Now Jake Sulley's mind changes and he starts helping the natives. The story is predictable and so is the movie. Its the extensively imagination of the writer and the way it is projected on the screen, which saves this movie from an ultimate wreckage.

I guess it is the entertainment value of the movie, not the base script which is more gripping here & ofcource not to mention the imaginative world spun by James Cameron. Like it for the experience of an outside world in the cinema. I recommend to watch it in 3D.

This is my favorite scene from the movie

Top 10 iPhone Apps

Top 10 iPhone Apps

The iPhone Apps which changed the shape of the phone we all love to use:

1.iVideo Camera for iPHone 3G.

2.ESPN Scorecenter

3.Paper Toss

4.Sketchbook

5.Smule - Leaf Trambone

6.Quick Office

7.Air Sharing Pro

8.Awesome Notes

9.Awesome Notes

10.Hatke Radio

Top 10 Green Cars Launched this year

T1.Citroen C1 ev'ie

2.Mitsubushi iMiEV

3.Toyota iQ

4.Ford Fiesta ECOnetic

5.Toyota Prius Hybrid

6.Volvo S40

7.Honda Insight Hybrid

8.BMW 318d Saloon

9.Vw Passat Bluemotion

10.Citroen C3 Picsso

Top 10 Mobiles

OK without talking much I will start with the Awards for the best mobiles this year.

-Basic Phones

Motorola leads here:

1.Motorola i335

2.MOtorola V195s

-Mid-Range Phones

Sony Takes the lead, which is closely followed by HTC:

1.Sony Ericsson Naite

2.HTC Star Touch

-Camera Phones

These are the camera cum phones which are, like 5MP Cameras, even 12MP cameras. Sony Ericson All the way.

1.Sony Ericsson Aino

2.Sony Ericsson Satio

-Smart Phones

The Apple iPhone wins it again. No beating to the smart phone, with every app in the pocket. While Blackberry still remains closest to the iPhone.

1.Apple iPhone 3G S

2.Blackberry Storm

-Touchscreen Phones

The HTC Phones this year wrecked the touchscreen competitors' ship.

1.HTC Hero

2.HTC Diamond 2

Top 5 Gadgets of the year

1.Sony Rolly

The Rolly from Sony is all about fun. It is essentially a robotic MP3 playing robot that dances to the music you play. It comes with Rolly Choreographer software to create your own motions and even share them online with others. But if you don’t want to create your own it comes with an Auto and Self Motion modes which will analyse the music and create the type of style dance you request.

2.Transparent Toaster

This transparent toaster allows you to see your bread while it is toasting so you can make sure you never burn toast again. This idea is based on a transparent heating glass technology. Although the glass unfortunately does not currently get hot enough to toast bread, the vendor explained with some research and development this appliance will be hitting the shelves by 2009. The concept was developed by the Inventables Concept Studio.

3.40" OlED TV

Currently your best bet for an OLED is the Sony XEL-1 which I also included in my top Christmas gadgets list. It’s not the best price screen per inch but certainly is the best looking on the market. But as with all good technology the price will start to come down and screen sizes will go up. Samsung have already prototyped early this year a 40″ Full HD OLED display with 1920 x 1080 resolution, 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio and is under 1cm thick.

4.USB 3.0

All you speed freaks out there look out for USB 3.0 coming soon. Apparently the connector, although looking very different, are back compatible - which is great news. The speeds we are looking at for this bad boy is 4.8 Gbit/s (600MB/s) which will make it the fastest consumer connector (Firewire S800T is a long way off). How does this compare to USB 2.0 that you will no doubt be using now? Well USB 2.0 can manage a rate of just 480 Mbit/s (60MB/s) - that is a 10 fold increase to USB 3.0.

5.Magic Mouse

Though not that impressive, as we expected to be from Apple but the Magic Mouse is still the beginning of the era of Multi-Touch Mouse. The Magic Mouse is the very Mouse, I have wanted to have.

Rocket Singh - Salesman of the Year! - Review

Rating ****

Vidit Bhargava

This probably the dullest movie interms of sets that I have seen. 90% of the movie is shot in an office. At first glance the movie looks boring, it isn't. After Chak De India, the duo of Shimit Amin and Jaideep Sahni are back and with a completely different and unpredictable script.

The story is about Harpreet Singh(Ranbir Kapoor) who has almost flunked in his college finals but unlike Wake Up Sid! for the first time he knows what to do. He applies for a salesman job at a computer sales firm n' gets it. Nothing new, he is honest and is not able to tolerate the bribing that goes on in the 'sales world'. For that he is punished and humiliated, he begins his own firm in the firm, which is ofcource a secret known by too many people, he becomes successful doing that and ofcource he is not taking bribes, the rest is to be seen in theatres.... . Honestly the movie hasn't ended yet on his being successful.

The Script is gripping, the movie builds interest as it progresses, even if it gets boring when all that business talk starts, the movie still is my favorite this year!

Ranbir Kapoor is unrecognisable as a 'sardar', you only know him when he speaks and every sidekick also does acting very well. Nobody here is bad in acting!

Music of the movie is blended with the movie, there are 3 in the album and even less in the movie. "Pocket Mein Rocket" was conveniently removed but the rest of the songs are good.

The movie is full of one liners and gr8 dialogues like; "Risk toh Superman ko bhi uthana padta hai main to phir bhi Salesman hoon" and "Number kum hain par dimaag nahi!" exceptionally carried out by Ranbir and starcast.

In a nut shell, The movie teaches you to be honest and how honesty still works. It makes you clap. The movie is no moral science lecture and the boring background doesn't cause the exceptionally gripping and interesting story any hurdle.

8 reasons to rate it 4 Stars

Power packed Story	Acting
Music	Dialogue
Perfect Direction	Fluent Pace
Gripping and exciting	Honest Message