News

IndianExpress: THE threat of a terror attack during Ganeshotsav in the wake of Mumbai blasts remained merely that — a threat; for mandal workers across the city it was a long night of revelry as grand processions wound their serpentine ways through the narrow roads bidding adieu to Ganesh on Wednesday. The main procession on Laxmi Road, which went on for nearly 28 hours and 50 minutes, ended peacefully. In all, 142 mandals took part in the procession on Laxmi Road.

The onlookers came from all corners of the globe - the US, Belgium, Germany and from closer home - Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat. There was no getting away from the madding crowd, thronging across the 4-km stretch from Belbaug Chowk to Alka Theatre as the beats of the dhol-tashas kept the adrenaline levels high, both for the mandal workers as well as the spectators

IndianExpress:  WITH the police choosing not to force Ganesh mandals to switch off their loudspeakers after midnight, mandal workers participating in the immersion procession on Laxmi Road, took the liberty of dancing to the tune of music, blaring from loudspeakers and beats of Dhol-Tasha throughout the night.

Irate mandal workers had indulged in stone pelting and arson after the police insisted on switching off their loudspeakers and music during the procession last year.

This year, the police chose not to force the mandals to switch off loudspeakers. Instead, they videographed mandals using loudspeakers and filed cases. Cases had been filed against 13 mandals at Faraskhana police station by Thursday evening.

IndianExpress: MORE than 200 commercial sex workers representing 10 districts of Maharashtra took out a rally on September 5 and staged demonstrations to protest against the alleged harassment by locals in Ahmednagar.

A statement issued by Snehjyot Tigris, Snehalaya’s mission for HIV-AIDS awareness, claimed local citizens had beaten four commercial sex workers on August 29.

IndianExpress: SIXTYNINE-YEAR-OLD K K Kutty from Sanghvi sought medical treatment from a local doctor in Khadki for chest pain recently. He travelled to the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) dispensary number 6 at Range Hills, Khadki where the doctor directed him to another CGHS dispensary at Mukundnagar, some 15 km away, for chest X-Ray and a blood test.

Kutty got it done and went back the next day to collect his report and medicines. He was then advised a gastroscopy test at Sassoon General hospital, the referral hospital.

IndianExpress: A MAJOR fire that broke out at Kasewadi slums in Bhavani Peth on Thursday morning reduced 14 of the 311 hutments to ashes. Nobody was injured in the mishap.

The fire that broke out at 9 am was brought under control within 15 minutes. Officials from the Pune Municipal Corporation’s fire brigade said though they had located the house from where it had started, the cause could not be ascertained. They suspected it could be a short circuit.

BBCNews: Computer giant IBM will build the world’s most powerful supercomputer at a US government laboratory.
The machine, codenamed Roadrunner, could be four times more potent than the current fastest machine, BlueGene/L, also built by IBM.

The new computer is a “hybrid” design, using both conventional supercomputer processors and the new “cell” chip designed for Sony’s PlayStation 3.

Roadrunner will be installed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico.

The laboratory is owned by the US Department of Energy (DOE). Eventually the machine could be used for a programme that ensures the US nuclear weapons stockpile remains safe and reliable, the DOE said in a statement.

TechTree: Apple Computer introduced the new Mac Pro, a Quad Xeon 64-bit desktop workstation, at an event held in Mumbai today.

The company says that the newly-designed Mac Pro, with advanced performance, greater expansion, superior graphics options, and better customization is the ideal system for the most demanding of users.

The new Mac Pro features two new 2.66 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors, each with 4MB of shared L2 cache, independent 1.33 GHz front-side buses, and new system architecture that is up to twice as fast as the Power Mac G5 Quad. The Mac Pro includes 1GB of 667 MHz DDR2 fully buffered ECC memory, which is expandable up to 16 GB.

TechTree: Intex Technologies India has reportedly launched three notebooks; the Challenger 012CD, the Performer 030CD, and the Achiever 026GD. With this move, the company intends to introduce more feature-rich, compact, and technologically advanced models to its existing notebooks portfolio.

Speaking at the launch, Sanjay Kumar, product manager - PC, Intex Technologies India, said that Intex’s notebook expansion is aimed at carving-out a substantial share in the booming notebook segment, and that the company is optimistic about the performance of their new notebooks.

Weighing around 1.9 kg, the Challenger 012CD is targeted at frequent travelers and senior managers. With a 12-inch TFT display screen, the compact notebook features Intel Pentium IV mobile CPU 1.6 GHZ, 533 fsb and 1 mb cache with Intel 915 gm chipset; 512 MB DDR-2 memory; 80 GB hard drive; Intel Graphic engine and wireless card; and inbuilt 4-in-1 card reader.

TechTree: HP India has reportedly launched the iPAQ hw6900 Mobile Messenger series targeted at mobile professionals that the company says offers the best in connectivity, productivity, and mobility.

The iPAQ hw6900 series includes a 3-inch transflective TFT display, and sports an integrated Global Positioning System (GPS), which is a fully-functional satellite navigation system allowing users to track their exact location on a global map.

The series comes enabled with features such as: GSM and GPS capabilities to provide travelers with turn-by-turn navigation; mobile e-mail and messaging; Wi-Fi connectivity; quad-band GSM voice connectivity; GPRS; and infrared and Bluetooth connectivity.