December 23, 2006

How they steal your card at ATMs
One surveillance camera in a bank in Italy has captured these images. They clearly show how easily you may be swindled out of your money, while banking at automatic teller (ATM)

Vijay Mallya's birthday
Priyanka Jain had the rare chance to spot Dr Vijay Mallya in an unguarded moment lounging with two-three people at Baga beach sometime around October end.
In graphics
Muslim veils unveiled on BBCNews.
Making my day
The ironing guy comes everyday and these days I barely have two shirts to give him on a regular basis, since I have stopped wearing clothes that need ironing. Tough hubby tries his best to dirty as many as possible regularly.

Blogger’s hasty exit from Beta
The new Blogger is out of Beta. Defying “conventional” Web 2.0 “wisdom” of a perpetual Beta, the new version of Blogger has been formally launched.

A Tabloid New York Times?
Even The New York Times is planning on a tabloid-format newspaper to suit the younger generation’s desires, although “it’s way too early to talk about it,” said executive editor Bill Keller.

December 04, 2006

The big Digg rig
Digg became one of the top sites for tech news because it lets Web-savvy geeks decide what's newsworthy, offer up stories they like and vote on their favorites.


Who ever thought it would be like this?
Japanese manhole cover art
Free online file conversion
Have you ever wanted to convert files without the need to download software? (I have not tried it out)

The world's most famous actor...
...and you've never heard of him (Sunday Times). Uh?

November 12, 2006

How a newsroom should work...
...and how it
works.

November 10, 2006

Yahoo! Messenger in Yahoo! Mail
Yahoo! is planning to incorporate the Yahoo! Messenger Instant Messaging (IM) service into its email service, Yahoo! Mail

Clever game
Type words correctly or die...
The worst political web sites
Go ahead, have fun!
Ontario-based musician takes down Slashdot
Apparently an musician posted the 16,777,215th comment, blowing up the comment table on the popular site.

Digital newspapers by 2008
Saving the planet through paperless printing?

Time should name Stewart, Colbert as POY
The Person of the Year honor would be appropriate

November 03, 2006

The Firefox Kid
Blake Ross helped make Firefox one of the biggest open-source success stories ever. Just wait until you see what he's up to now.

October 24, 2006

Easy publishing tools for online journalists
Put your site online, without much money or tech effort, using these blog and content management tools.

October 23, 2006

(Just a few of) the worst mag covers of all time!
Here are Media Guy's nominees; send him yours.





The world's sexiest toilet...
Would you use it?

September 25, 2006

Is this a pint I see before me?
Can it be true that Shakespeare often wrote with a hangover? Some experts think so. It would certainly explain why he penned some of the clumsiest lines in English literature, says John Sutherland.

Do the Math: Will Sony Go Broke?
For video game players, the competition among the three game console manufacturers must seem like a Dead or Alive tournament. There's always a winner and a loser, but someone else is always lined up for another bout with the winner.


September 02, 2006

Shakira at the MTV Awards 2006



Wonder if anyone looked at the Indian style dance or at the hips that did not lie.
Kyra Phillips delivers Letterman's top 10

August 29, 2006



The Xbox 360 Uncloaked
The real story behind Microsoft's next-generation video game console.

August 25, 2006

Hair unruffled by furore
What on earth has Billy Doctrove's agent been doing with himself this week? There's his client at the centre of one of the biggest sports stories of the year and all we hear is Darrell Hair this and Darrell Hair that. If I were the Dominican umpire I would be seeking alternative representation.

More media, less news
Newspapers are making progress with the internet, but most are still too timid, defensive or high-minded.

The proposed Broadcast Bill

Parts II, III and IV.

August 24, 2006

Pluto dissed

The recently demoted member of our solar system responds: "Planets have feelings, too."

Customize me

After looking at the new Nokia E61 (E62 in the States), a colleague and I were discussing what cellphone we would get next.

August 22, 2006

ABBA The No Show
No tickets? Why not just ring, ring... but don't give me a call


We just need better journalists

In my next life I want to come back as a diversity director. Preferably for a large corporation.

August 20, 2006

The way goldfish dance
A must-see video!

August 18, 2006

Woman shot with rubber bullets at a protest in Miami



and cops laugh after that!

The proposed Broadcast Bill -- Part 1

The Hoot presents excerpts from the Broadcast Bill with comments on its key proposals

Coke's GTA-style advt

Pretty cool, I would say, despite all the recent noises about pesticides and colas.

August 17, 2006

Caps lock must die

There's no denying the caps lock key can be a pain. How often have you accidentally found yoUR TYPING ALL UPPER-CAse because you accidentally pressed it? Or been locked out of your computer because Caps Lock keeps messing with your password?

Newspapers in $20b hole


US newspaper groups could face a shortfall in the next five years as readers and advertisers shift to the web, according to researchers .

Wireless works wonders in Tibet

Across the border from Chinese-occupied Tibet, the tech infrastructure in this high mountain village is a mess.

But a former Silicon Valley dot-commer and members of the underground security group Cult of the Dead Cow are working with local Tibetan exiles to change that using recycled hardware, solar power, open-source software and nerd ingenuity.

Windows Live Writer

Am testing out this on Blogger. Here's how it looks!

UK's first computer hacking degree launched
A degree course in computer hacking has been launched by a Scottish university in response to industry demand for IT security experts.
Readers are the new paparazzi
A few days before he planted his head into the chest of the Italian defender Marco Materazzi in the World Cup final, ensuring an inglorious exit to an otherwise stellar soccer career, Zinédine Zidane stepped out onto the balcony of his Berlin hotel and had a smoke.

August 14, 2006

Reuters Asia boss to join HT as Editor-in-Chief
Chaitanya Kalbag, till recently Managing Editor, Reuters Asia, is joining Hindustan Times as Editor-in-Chief from September 1, 2006. HT Editor Shekhar Bhatia will be reporting to him.


August 09, 2006

Online: where obituaries go to be interactive
You're born, you work, you die. Jeff Taylor has already harnessed the power of the Internet to remake one of those three life events: He founded the job-search site Monster.com in 1994. Depending on which set of statistics you pick, Monster.com is either the largest or second-largest online hiring hall. Now, Taylor is ready to take on death.

What every webmaster must know about copyright
Make sure you know your rights, and the rights of others.

August 04, 2006

Microsoft rolls out Windows Vista soft drink
Presumably to get lackadaisical coders back on track, Gates and Co has ordered a supply of Windows Vista beverages to complement the plethora of other free refreshments available at the office.

Star may beam channels on Zee's Dish TV
Star India said it has agreed to supply its television channels to Zee promoted Direct-to-Home platform Dish TV following a direction by the broadcast tribunal.

Uproar over satire on Westminster 9/11 attack
The BBC has been urged to pull a 'sick' new comedy show which features spoof news reports of Tony Blair being assassinated and a 9/11-style video of terrorists crashing an airliner into the Houses of Parliament.

First 10 Netscape Navigators revealed
Jason Calacanis has been struggling to convert the old Netscape portal (now ownd by AOL) into a community news site pretty much like Digger (Read the first comment too!)
Google pays for AP news content shocker
Google has agreed to pay the Associated Press for use of its news stories and pictures, according to the two companies.



Headliner (Techdirt): Google pays AP to help put the F(U) in AFP

July 23, 2006

Only 5% of Bloggers are journalists
A recent study has concluded that only 5% of bloggers have news as their primary topic. The study was conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.
We are watching you
It has become a cliche that new technology has changed TV, for ever.


Is it possible to take AFP content off Google News?
After the French news agency AFP sued Google for $17.5 million in damages last year, Google agreed to stop posting AFP content on its news aggregator. But as it turns out, AFP is still there

What does it mean to be an American?
Do you have what it takes to become a US citizen? Take this test!

Top 10 dumbest online business ideas that made it big time
1. Million Dollar Homepage

1000000 pixels, charge a dollar per pixel – that’s perhaps the dumbest idea for online business anyone could have possible come up with. Still, Alex Tew, a 21-year-old who came up with the idea, is now a millionaire.


Comic book adapts 9/11 report
Graphic novel is accurate, commission chairmen say.

July 22, 2006


Is this the most happening paper in the world?
One of India’s two best editors—keep guessing!—says The Independent, London, the paper started by a journalists’ co-operative, may probably the most buzzing publication in the world. This frontpage on the bombing of Lebanon by Israel shows us why.


July 17, 2006

Indian gov blocks Blogspot, Typepad blogs
The Department of Telecommunications passed an order to ISPs on Friday to block several websites. The list is confidential.


Also read
The dnaindia.com report

The rediff report

July 14, 2006



New desk is also a PC
Michiel van der Kley has designed a PC desk. No, not a desk designed to be used with a PC -- the DESK IS THE PC.

July 11, 2006

Play the Zidane game
Have fun and headbutt!

July 09, 2006

The Zidane headbutt

July 08, 2006


Self-watering plant pots
If you do not like to grow plants just because it requires a lot of care and content yourself with artificial plants then I.V. Self-Watering Plant Pots will drift-you back to the natural ones!

June 23, 2006

Flatulence as edit writing
What do the editors do when their assistant editors for economics show off like this? Don't they feel competent enough to dumb the copy down?

Top 20 Blog Designs
After stormy discussion CSSBloom team has chosen the best 20 blog designs.
10 things I hate about India
Many years ago a friend wrote The Wonder that IS India. Both of us have lived more for than 30 years in the Land of the Bharatiyas and share a love for this nation. When he showed me the manuscript of his book, I had pointed out that his representation of India was too rosy and suggested one more chapter -- 'The Horror that is India'. I think he did. I have the same feelings for India today.

June 18, 2006



Time for the Word
If you are a Catholic, then here is one nice trick to make your morning a beautiful one!


The top geek web sites
Okay, I admit it. I fall into the geek category.


India's influence soars
You may not be aware of it, living in the United States, but your world is increasingly being shaped by India.

In the name of the father
Mum’s usually the word in Hindi cinema, but let’s recall moments down the decades that were about Dad.

Play Sudoku on toilet tissue
Must say Sudoku is going places… places that you cannot even think it can go.

June 04, 2006

Rahul Mahajan
20 unanswered questions.

June 01, 2006

Baghdad Blog to become a film
The daily dispatches penned by the Iraqi architect known as Salam Pax are to be turned into a film.

The column ‘Hindu’ didn’t have the guts to carry
Nearly two-dozen staffers of The Hindu have written in to Churumuri in response to the story Under N Ram, the Hindu becomes a 'Sorry' paper, providing more chilling evidence of life under the great red warrior, a hyphenated champion of free expression.

May 31, 2006

100 Photographs That Changed the World
The Digital Journalist presents a selection.

World Cup drinking hat
Imagine what it would be like to watch a match without you enjoying a drink.

May 28, 2006

Will Doug Bowman Make Google Beautiful?
Good
news folks… Enough for me to get out of bed, put my back at risk and write a blog post - Doug Bowman, uber designer has joined Google which means, a likely end to the mishmash, drab and boring user interfaces from Google. Yeah!
Breaking news, from the source
Internet search engine Topix.net and The Associated Press are teaming up in an attempt to send more visitors to newspaper sites responsible for breaking stories that are picked up across the web.

May 26, 2006

What makes a great logo?
If you are a consumer, or a marketer, or a CEO of a company looking for branding, you should be interested in logos.
Interns? No bloggers need apply
On the first day of his internship last year, Andrew McDonald created a Web site for himself. It never occurred to him that his bosses might not like his naming it after the company and writing in it about what went on in their office.
The online journalism challenge: speed vs. accuracy vs both
(If this posting seems to begin on a strange note, just keep reading. It'll all make sense in the end). Ahhh! The joys of live television!

May 25, 2006


Steambots promise to delight, terrify
In a troubling development for the eventual war between man and machine, scientists in Germany have invented a steam-powered robot that will presumably be able to fuel itself with wood and water even after our descendants have managed to disable the rest of their mechanical enemies by cutting off their power supplies.

May 24, 2006

5 reasons to be optimistic of Indian journalism
India's media market is at a point of strategic inflection. And nothing illustrates that more than Raju Narisetti, editor of Wall Street Journal Europe., and deputy managing editor of Wall Street Journal., packing his bags to return to India to set up the new business paper that the Hindustan Times wants to launch by this year-end.

SOS: A 12-point survival kit for ‘Dr’ Prannoy Roy
It is now obvious that Prannoy Roy's NDTV 24×7 has been well and truly eclipsed by Rajdeep Sardesai's CNN-IBN. In just a few short months, the ground beneath Roy's feet has completely shifted.

May 23, 2006


Make free Skype calls with regular phone
The Skype USB to RJ11 Adaptor lets you make and receive free Internet VoIP calls using your regular home phone -- and your cell phone.

Pierced eyeglasses: Nailed vision
What can you expect a body modification and gadget enthusiast to do?


Red Independent see sales flurry
This much-discussed edition of the Independent guest-edited by Bono sold more than 70,000 extra copies — a bigger spike than after last summer’s London bombings.

VOA's Baghdad bureau closed for six months
The government-funded Voice of America withdrew its only reporter in Iraq after she was fired upon in an ambush and her security guard was later killed.

May 02, 2006

O Click All Ye Faithful
The nun who launched the Vatican's Web site is at work on a MySpace for Catholics.

May 01, 2006

Love special: Six ways to woo your lover
We all hunt for the perfect chat-up line, but in reality, our body gives away a great deal before we open our mouth.
Naughty toothbrushes
Even something as innocent as a toothbrush can be found is some pretty compromising positions. Very creative.

April 30, 2006

You got a friend
A song from the Jan 18th Greater Boston Intergenerational Chorus Concert at the First Parish in Watertown...

A video I noticed in YouTube. Nothing exceptional. Not crazy. Just liked it.


Can newspapers do blogs right?
Top online journalists weigh in after two major newspapers embarass themselves with staff bloggers' misbehavior.

Journalism is getting less and less important
It’s not often that TJ S George speaks his mind on journalism. At least, not in public.
Founder-editor of Asiaweek magazine, editorial advisor to the New Indian Express group, and the author of numerous books ranging from music (MS), to words (Enquire Dictionary), George is the ultimate wordsmith but also, paradoxically, a man of few words.

April 29, 2006

The Next 35 Sexiest Designed Websites You've Forgotten
Last time the CSS Reboot came to town, in November, I had included both this site (philrenaud.com) and Mixtaping.com (which is entered, coincidentally, again), and had a major problem finding inspiration in the days before the big launch date.

April 27, 2006


Couric grills Viswanathan, world cringes
For once, we actually missed a moment of the Today show yesterday, specifically the moment in which Katie Couric grilled Harvard sophomore Kaavya Viswanathan about the numerous passages in her book that seem to be plagiarized from the novels of Megan McCafferty.
Much ado about blogging
There’s a lot of chatter about the blogosphere this week. Here are some of the best quotes and ideas laid by the mainstream press about the medium some consider threatens its own business.

Airlines to cram more butts with standing room?
Airbus has been quietly pitching the standing-room-only option to Asian carriers, though none has agreed to it yet. Passengers in the standing section would be propped against a padded backboard, held in place with a harness, according to experts who have seen a proposal.

April 26, 2006

Advice for Paranoid Reporters
How to report stories when the government is out to get you.

April 19, 2006

The worst commercials on Indian television
A few months ago, I would have told you that the Pan Masala ads were the worst since they target the wrong people.

April 18, 2006

This Guy Filled His Gmail Account... In 24 Hours!
I was bored so I decided to see if I could fill my 2.7 GB of storage in my Gmail account...
How Indians drive
Oh my God. It is awesome! I think the adrenaline in the traffic is very high. All those bikers and cars are driving with their own rules. Watch the white car.
Understanding turbans
Sikh men commonly wear a peaked turban that serves partly to cover their long hair, which is never cut out of respect for God's creation.
Ten things every Microsoft Word user should know
Most people use word processors like MS Word like they would use a typewriter — manually making section headers bold and centered, inserting hard breaks between paragraphs, etc.
Top 10 Best Designed Blogs
When you’re looking for the next leader in web 2.0 blog design, Hicks starts to look a little too plain, Santa Maria wicked-worn out, and Zeldman like something you might print out, not read online. Where are the leaders of modern blog design?
Firefox Bus
While coming from Mysore, we suddenly saw a big Firefox logo pasted on a bus. We stopped the car and and stopped the bus which was about to leave and took these photographs. I wonder if the artist knew where the logo came from :)

April 17, 2006



Wooden motorcycle
This wood motorcycle popped in the suggest a site mail box -- don't know anything about it, but it looks great. (www.makezine.com)

April 13, 2006

Why Yahoo can't deliver eEmail
Have you ever wondered why senders complain so much about Yahoo Mail's poor delivery? So did Email Battles.

The End User: Where are they now?
What ever happened to ... the Simputer? The Minitel? Or other hot technology ideas and products that once grabbed all the headlines?
HT ropes in Wall Street Journal’s Raju Narisetti
Hindustan Times Media to launch business daily…
What do you do when someone steals your content?
Having been the target of copyright thieves, and working with writers, authors, and photographers on copyright protection and laws for over 25 years, I thought I’d talk a little about what to do when someone steals your content.

April 10, 2006

Why I won't live among Hindus
As a rule I would not stay in a Hindu locality. It is not that I dislike Hindus or anything like that -- some of my closest friends are Hindus -- but the Mumbai riots of 1993 made me realise for the first time that we Muslims in India are different from Hindus, says Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
Webaroo offers mini-search
While Google, Yahoo and Microsoft are busy building legions of data centers to capture the contents of the Web, a fledgling company has decided that it will squeeze the essential Internet onto a single laptop.
Google brain drained - but he'll be back
It has been a big few weeks for Ori Allon, the University of NSW student behind the you beaut internet advanced text search algorithm that Google has secured the rights to develop.

April 07, 2006

Calendar Girls grin and bare it
Six members of the Rylstone and District Women's Institute, who tastefully posed nude six years ago to raise money in aid of Leukaemia Research, have done it again.

April 01, 2006



IRon -– Steam Iron With IPod
By now, you have seen a plenty of crazy iPod accessories, but the craziest of them all is surely going to be the iRon from Gear4.
10 best internet spoofs
"It must be true. I read it on the internet." Au contraire, mon frere. Internet hoaxes have been around for as long as the internet itself, and we never run out of people willing to fall for them.
Also read: The best of 2006.

March 31, 2006

Delhi tabloid 'Today' to turn into morning broadsheet
The India Today Group is planning to invest around Rs 100-150 crore in the makeover.

March 27, 2006

Avirook Sen set to join Mid-Day as Group Editor
The Resident Editor of Hindustan Times, Mumbai edition, has decided to take on a bigger challenge.
(PS: Dantonews had reported this on March 17)
Did you read the newspaper this morning?
In the mid-1970s, with the advent of computers in the Western countries, people started questioning the future of the print medium, wondering if it would vanish quietly.
Check this out!
http://www.25peeps.com/r/572 . You could be one of the top hot bloggers!

March 26, 2006

How your staff can drive you mad
When the pressure's on, here are sure-fire ways your charges can make you see red.

Glimpses of world's realities
I am seeing the world. From South Asia to West Asia to Europe to Latin America. Film festivals offer glimpses of world culture. That is why I love International Film Festivals.
Frustration city!
A few weeks ago, this writer had the good fortune of being part of a workshop on Bombay... the idea was to bring together people from different `walks of life'.
Journalism, anyone?
She was sitting on the first row. With an intense, intelligent gaze. And quiet most of the time. The classroom was like any other. Actually, perhaps better.

March 25, 2006

Workers be damned -- The Akbarallys story
It's appalling to see the treatment bestowed upon employees of big establishments here in Mumbai.
Blogging tools and services from India
Blogging is a new but fast catching phenomenon. Though it may not replace main stream media, well that is atleast in the next few years, the rate at which the number of blogs are increasing is sure to leave an impact.

March 22, 2006

Precariously perched
It is said that the best seat to watch a game from at the Wankhede Stadium is either the VIP enclosure or the Garware Pavilion area – but we beg to differ!
Headliner?!
Parliament dances on Jaya issue
Both the Houses of Parliament were adjourned sine die. Noisy scenes and repeated adjournments marred the last day of Budget session.

(From -- believe it or not -- the All India Radio web site)

Steve Jobs on magazine covers
The CEO of Apple Computer and Pixar Animation Studio on the covers of magazines.
Man alive
Prospect examination of the authors published between late February 2004 and late February 2006 found that 90 percent of writers -- including staff columnists -- who discussed abortion on the New York Times op-ed page over the past two years were male.

March 21, 2006






The Porn Priestess page
The Cleveland Plain Dealer page by Andrea Levy and Staci Andrews and another page with a similar concept above it.
Adventures in Indian English
Now that my departure time is getting really close, I’m starting to get the ‘what will you miss most about India?’ kinds of questions.
The End User: Where are they now?
What ever happened to... the Simputer? The Minitel? Or other hot technology ideas and products that once grabbed all the headlines?
Utterly, Butterly, Amul
Expect something here on V Kurien's exit...
(PS: Will update this, if anything comes up!)

Also see this interesting post by my DNA colleague, Vilakudy.

March 20, 2006

India Today to launch ‘Men’s Health’ magazine
DNA’s Jamal Shaikh has been roped in as the Editor of the magazine.

March 19, 2006

Sick and tired of the Internet?
Then, visit this site... (You will need audio and flash)

March 18, 2006

Judge tells DoJ "No" on search queries
Google will not have to hand over any user's search queries to the government. That's what a federal judge ruled when he decided to drastically limit a subpoena issued to Google by the Department of Justice.

March 17, 2006

Association of Radio Operators of India formed
The radio operators, who have been allotted frequencies under Phase II of FM expansion, formally created the Association of Radio Operators of India , the FM radio industry body, on Friday.
AOL may be ready to revamp Netscape.com
The online portal that has held a second-class citizen position to AOL's own entertainment portal hasn't been updated since last May, when AOL released version 8 of the Netscape browser.
Let there be light...
BREAKING NEWS: Avirook Sen, resident editor, Hindustan Times (Mumbai), is joining Mid Day as group editor.

March 16, 2006

Egg on my face...
This is with reference to your blog where you suggest I have egg on my face.

I do wish you had accessed the whole story and the follow up story in the next issue of Impact.

My reference was to the misuse of the word “exclusive”. The story was claimed to be exclusive by the Times of India and suggested to be exclusive by DNA.

It is clear there was no possibility of an exclusive for anyone: The Times of India, Dainik Bhaskar, Dawn and Jang were all ALLOWED to carry the story on the same day. In addition to them, there were a number of journalists from wire services present, who had an embargo of two days on the carrying of the story.

If it were an exclusive because The Times of India was the only English language paper in India to be allowed to carry the story on Day 1, then we’re into semantics, and every story in every paper could be an exclusive.

For example, Impact, if it were allowed to carry the interview after one week, could claim that it was an exclusive because we would be the only weekly tabloid in the advertising, media and marketing space published out of India to carry it.

Thanks for the comments anyway. I’ve appeared on a Technorati.com search for the first time.

Anant Rangaswami

March 15, 2006

The Abu Ghraib files

279 photographs and 19 videos from the Army's internal investigation record a harrowing three months of detainee abuse inside the notorious prison -- and make clear that many of those responsible have yet to be held accountable.


Seven-ounce wrist PC
A European embedded computing specialist has announced a wrist-worn wearable computer that runs Windows CE or embedded Linux.

March 14, 2006

25 Things I Hate About Google
Google's
purchase of Writely sort of drove me over the edge last week.
Google News credibility foiled by 15-year-old
Sometimes the most well thought out practical jokes trigger an uneven brand of justice that falls under the laws of unintended consequences. While not formally codified and ill defined, the law of unintended consequences is very real, as a Google-focused prank pulled by Tom Vandetta amply illustrates.

Praveen K Singh joins Indian Express group
The group as roped him in as editor (news) for its Business Publications Division in Delhi.

March 12, 2006

Fat strippers conquer Russia
Tired of the usual parade of toned and slender exotic dancers, desperate Russian men are turning to a new alternative.
Headliner
Slobodan Milosevic: Rest in Hell
(www.sploid.com)
Peeking into Google
Urs Hoelzle, Google vice president of operations and vice president of engineering, offered a rare behind-the-scenes tour of Google's architecture.
Blinq His blog-to-book could land him a Lulu
Do not underestimate these simple little men. They could be Philadelphia's next champions.

March 10, 2006

UN slams Mumbai cops over missing scribe
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has said Mumbai journalist Violet Godwin “might have been killed” due to negligent investigation on the part of the Mumbai police.

March 09, 2006

Food for All…World’s Biggest Solar Kitchen His Here!
The Herculean solar kitchen established in Mount Abu, Rajasthan, India is world’s biggest, running on huge solar reflectors that “produce steam which is used to cook vegetables and rice for up to 18 000 people.”
Talking Beer Mug
Nothing could make a better gift for a beer drinker then this Never Empty Beer Mug!

Microsoft finally unveils its Origami Project
With powerful processors, big, bright displays, easy input options, and support for the latest connectivity standards, Ultra-Mobile PCs are ready for your life on the go.

March 08, 2006



















Redesigns
The BusinessLine one and the Mid Day one.

Absence makes the glass glow fondly
Researchers have come up with a novel way to keep long-distance lovers in touch -- high-tech wine glasses that glow warmly however far apart the pining couple are.
Tastes like chicken…
Located in an elegantly decorated courtyard in Beijing, the Guo Lizhuang restaurant offers customers more than 30 kinds of animal penis served in Chinese hotpot style.
Web users only visit 6 sites
Research, conducted by government website Directgov, said the Internet is now in the age of the ‘Supersite’- a handful of sites that have become indispensable to a significant portion of Web users.

March 07, 2006

Google lets slip talk of online storage service
Google Inc is preparing to offer online storage to Web users, creating a mirror image of data stored on consumer hard drives, according to company documents that were mistakenly released on the Web.
Headliner
Oscar Ratings "Crash"
(E!Online News)

March 06, 2006

The doctors' strike in Mumbai
...medical ethics and the politics of it.
Computer made from DNA and enzymes
Israeli scientists have devised a computer that can perform 330 trillion operations per second, more than 100,000 times the speed of the fastest PC. The secret: It runs on DNA.

March 04, 2006

Details of some Guantanamo hearings
Details from transcripts of 'enemy combatant' hearings involving Guantanamo detainees.
The madness of the exclusive
It's official: Chidanand Rajghatta of the Times of India and Udai Jain of DNA are one and the same person.
(Anant Rangaswami has, unfortunately, egg on his face! The Times of India and Dainik Bhaskar were granted the interview, being the largest selling English and Hindi dailies in India. If Times called it an exclusive, well... The Daily News and Analysis is managed by Zee and Dainik Bhaskar so it carried the English version)

March 01, 2006

Google page creator cannot handle...
In what is becoming a trend with Google Beta product launches, Google Page Creator had had to stop issuing accounts due to heavy demand.

See http://anthonydcosta.googlepages.com/


February 19, 2006

Indian Church's first movie released
The movie, using the formula of commercial Hindi films and released all over India, producers say will champion a social cause.


Ouch!
The Washington Times carried a UPI report on the Ahmedabad railway station explosion. Only problem is that 25 persons were injured and no one was killed.

February 18, 2006

Look who flu into India
Officials have confirmed that the outbreak was at a chicken farm at Nandurbar (Maharashtra) near the Gujarat border

February 03, 2006

Policy blues force WSJ to put India edition on hold
The Wall Street Journal has put on hold its plan to start an Indian edition until the government policy towards print media turned more conducive.
Rethinking newspapers
When I sit to read the newspapers every morning, I
find fewer and fewer stories to read.
Headliner
Bob the builder... of bonds (Deccan Herald)

February 02, 2006



Naughty Undress Me Mugs
Wake up to a perfect thing. A great eye opener for those who find it tough in the morning to leave their cozy beds. No I am not Talking about any Alarm Clock this time. Its something really fascinating, an Undress Me Mug.

January 31, 2006


Frey's Fall
You all know by now that James Frey has fallen, like those dictator statues fall: stiffly, clumsily, with plenty of applause from the same mob that cheered him until the tide turned.
Also read: Author essay

January 30, 2006


So You Wanna Be a Sportstar
Mario Garcia continues his march around the globe, unveiling the remade Sportstar, a sports weekly published in Chennai by The Hindu. It has been redesigned and converted from a magazine to tabloid format.
BBC launches educational site for children
The BBC has launched Jam, aimed at 5 to 16 year olds, offering educational activities, video games, audio and animation.
VNU snaps up the Inquirer
VNU Business Publications has bought technology news site The Inquirer for an undisclosed sum.

India in a quandary over Iran vote
India's quest for energy security may have shifted gears with the removal over the weekend of Mani Shankar Aiyar as petroleum minister and the installation of what the newspapers are calling, "the American-friendly'' Murli Deora.

January 28, 2006

And the most important trait in a mate is...
When it comes to romance, women prefer someone who tickles their funny bone while men opt for those who catch their eye.
India Is Darling of World Economic Forum
In the hot seat at Saturday's breakfast were key Indian policymakers, who came to the annual gathering with the country's top business executives for the first time to promote the nation's rising economic star.
Russians: British spied using fake rock
Intelligence agency accused four diplomats of spying -- using electronic equipment hidden inside a fake rock in a park.
No booze or jokes for Googlers in China
Search engine not only censors many Web sites that question the Chinese government, but it goes further than similar services from Microsoft and Yahoo by targeting teen pregnancy, homosexuality, dating, beer and jokes.
Exposé, statements, rebuttals
India TV & STAR India slug it out over KBC2.

January 23, 2006

And now, the News
We're taking Google News out of beta!

January 22, 2006

An oldie but goodie
The AFX news agency reported this week that Swisscom in Zurich plans to oursource its Telex business. Telex? Yes, Telex!
Kandivli Marathon
18,000... or was it 25,000 people who ran the Mumbai Marathon 2006? Don't know... don't care. If marathon's could accomplish anything Mumbai would have been a different city today.

January 18, 2006

Independent News and Media to expand in SA?
The Irish media group has hinted it may launch an Indian language newspaper in South Africa. The company owns a 26% equity share in Jagran Prakashan Ltd, the third largest newspaper publisher in India.

January 17, 2006

Newspapers should be designed for readers, not judges
SND-award-winning, world-class design will not save a newspaper.

January 13, 2006

Pardon, your dress is singing
Think those mix tapes are passé? More like haute couture.

January 11, 2006








Sharon in India
Photographs from the Internet of the Israeli prime minister.


The Man Who Would Succeed Sharon
Ehud Olmert, the stricken Prime Minister's faithful deputy, faces a tough task convincing voters that he's Sharon's political heir.

Big news at Dow Jones
When a business story breaks, you usually read all about it in the Wall Street Journal. But when the first major business story of the year broke on January 3, the paper whiffed.
Why I Hate the Internet
Two thousand years of progress and the pinnacle of mankind's achievement online is a website with photos of Paris Hilton looking like she was beaten by a former boyfriend.


Stephen Cole leaves Click Online
After nearly six years at the helm, Stephen Cole is Clicking Online for the last time, as he bows out in the final programme of 2005.
Journalists need permission to blog
Staff at The Washington Times who wish to blog must ask for permission, says editor in chief Wesley Pruden in a memo.