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Archive for January 25, 2007

Three weddings in a circus

January 25, 2007 at 8:59 am

· City

indianexpress: Three couples, a pandit and a kazi and loads of well-wishers — this, in short, sums up a unique matrimonial event that took place at Rambo Circus near Deccan Gymkhana bus stop. Six artistes — Stephanie Randall (19) and Ross Farrer (19) from the UK, Deepak Keshi (20) and Sharada Kesari (19) from Nepal and Rukhsana Jamaluddin(19) and Ravi Sarwar (21) — tied the knot on Wednesday morning.

Having dated each other for the past few years, all three couples decided to get married a week ago. From then on, began a flurry of activity to get all the wedding paraphernalia in place. On the big day, the three dulhas entered the circus tent on horses and were greeted inside with a baraat comprising other circus members who danced to popular Hindi numbers played by a DJ.

What followed were two Hindu marriages performed simultaneously at 10.38 am — the mahurat. Farrer put the garland around Randall’s neck, while Keshi applied sindoor on Kesari’s forehead. Soon after, Jamaluddin and Sarwar got married as per Muslim customs in the presence of a kazi.

“Sharada and Rukhsana are like my daughters. They’ve been in my circus since they were three years old,” said an exhilarated P T Dilip, owner of Rambo Circus. Keshi’s mother Shobina, came from Kathmandu with her family with new clothes and jewellery for her son and daughter-in-law. “The couple will be coming to Kathmandu only a few months later,” she said happily. The haldi ceremony took place on Monday and Tuesday and the brides decked up in their bridal finery, were visibly nervous.

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Vishrantwadi residents threaten to boycott civic polls

January 25, 2007 at 8:58 am

· City

indianexpress: Frustrated over insufficient water supply, residents of housing societies in Vishrantwadi have threatened to boycott the civic elections. Over 3,000 residents of 10 societies from the area have submitted a letter to this effect to the district collector, municipal commissioner and the election officer of Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).

Residents of Goldcraft, Vishrant, Vishrant 1, Laxmipark, Gaurav, Goyal Classic, Goyal Enclave, Riddhi-Siddhi, Chandan, D S Promoter, Vinay and Atmaram societies claimed that the water problem in their area had worsened over the last seven months but no attention had been paid by the PMC.

“After complaining to the civic administration some time ago, the water supply was regularised for about eight days but things have become worse now, with the societies having to resort to purchasing water from private tanker operators,” the letter stated.

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Mohalla Committee organises ‘meet your candidates’

January 25, 2007 at 8:57 am

· City

indianexpress: In a unique initiative to familiarise voters with their likely representatives, the Deccan Gymkhana Mohalla Committee on Wednesday organised an interaction for the residents in the areas with the candidates contesting the upcoming civic elections.

The meeting, held at the Kamala Nehru Park, brought together the ten candidates contesting for Wards 56 and 67 — it includes Deccan Gymkhana, Bhandarkar Road, Prabhat Road, Law College Road and surrounding areas.

While each candidate was given five minutes to introduce himself or herself and give a brief outline of their plans for the ward, the residents also got a chance to pose questions to them. These related to various issues like the implementation of the 74th Constitutional Amendment, citizens’ participation in the ward budget, preservation of environmental resources and what stand they would take if the views of their political party clashed with the citizen’s view.

Almost all candidates were unanimous in their support for the interests and concerns of the ‘common citizen’, and many advocated greater public participation in the decision making process.


 

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Cultural fest in city

January 25, 2007 at 8:55 am

· City · Festival

indianexpress: The Lokshahi Utsav Samiti, a forum of secular organisations in the city, has organised Lokshahi Utsav—2007, a series of socio-cultural events from January 26 to January 30.

The festival will be launched with flag hoisting at the SM Joshi Socialist Foundation, Navi Peth on January 26, followed by a poetry recitation at the Sneha Sadan premises in Shaniwar Peth. The other programmes include recital by Hindi poet Dhumil and Marathi writer Shyam Manohar at SM Joshi Socialist Foundation, screening of Charlie Chaplin’s Monsieur Verdoux at the National Film Archives, a talk show on Gandhigiri at Nu Ma Vi Girls School and a seminar on ‘Post-independence laws for women’s protection’.
 

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In-car technology drives forward

January 25, 2007 at 8:52 am

· Technology

BBCNews: They say many things about the Americans, but one thing that is true is that they love their cars - and they love accessorising them too.

Finding a free parking space could soon become easier

In-car technology, or telematics, is a thriving business in the Unites States. At the recent CES technology show in Vegas they showed-off dashboard TV screens to watch whilst you waited for a parking space.

But other technology aims to make sure that you don’t even have to wait.

Big city car parks are often full, so one US satellite radio station is aiming to stream information about space availability directly into the cockpit.

“There are hundreds of different parking garages spread across the United States where the garage owner has computer technology to tell them which spaces are empty or full,” said David Butler of XM Satellite Radio.

“We are tapping into that information and sending it to your navigation system. The map will tell you where the parking garages are located, and how many empty spaces they have.”

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is at the core of many in-car streaming information systems. One US device that relies on the technology is able to warn drivers about hidden speed cameras.

It compares the location of the vehicle with a database of known camera co-ordinates.

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BBC plans online children’s world

January 25, 2007 at 8:51 am

· Technology

BBCNews: A virtual world which children can inhabit and interact with is being planned by the BBC.
CBBC, the channel for 7-12 year olds, said it would allow digitally literate children the access to characters and resources they had come to expect.

Users would be able to build an online presence, known as an avatar, then create and share content.

Bosses said CBBC World would not have the financial aspects of other online worlds such as Second Life.

A spokesman said: “This kind of cross-platform broadcasting is becoming the norm for people who have been born into the digital world.

It will give children a chance to move around a safe, secure world where they can not only interact with familiar characters but have an opportunity to make that world a more fascinating place with their own imaginations.”

Those building CBBC World said the emphasis would be on safety and responsibility, with no chatrooms or facilities for building new parts of the virtual world.

It is expected to go live in the summer with a full launch in the autumn to coincide with the CBBC relaunch.

BBC children’s controller Richard Deverell said: “CBBC World is a good example of the way we need to go.

“The thing that interests me is that children are at the vanguard. And that is where we are taking Children’s BBC.”

 

 

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Firms helped to make PCs greener

January 25, 2007 at 8:49 am

· Technology

BBCNews: A service to help businesses reduce the carbon footprint left by PCs and other equipment has been launched.
The Green Advisory Service will help firms improve their environmental profile, hopes IT firm Computacenter.

Its research found that a single PC left on overnight and at weekends racks up an annual electricity bill of £53.

In addition a typical PC left on for 24 hours a day, 220 days of the year, is responsible for up to a tonne of CO2 over a 3-year period.

As well as providing energy consumption data for new products, the service offers advice on recycling PCs and how to configure equipment to make it more energy efficient.

E-waste mountain

“Organisations are increasingly focused on their environmental profile and are beginning to recognise the reputation and cost advantages of a green approach,” said Heidi-Lynn Mitchell, product services director for Computacenter.

This is partly thanks to a major European Union directive - The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment directive (WEEE)

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‘Max Registry Cleaner’ Announced

January 25, 2007 at 8:48 am

· Technology

TechTree: Max Secure Software, an up and coming provider of anti-spyware software for consumers and enterprises, has announced unveiling of ‘Max Registry Cleaner’, an automated registry cleaner for PC users.

The company says that the computer’s registry, which is the nerve center of a PC, stores all the hardware, software, and user settings. And, that by using Max Registry Cleaner on their computers, users can benefit from improved PC performance, and eliminate annoying and frustrating error messages and system crashes.

According to Max Secure Software, without the aid of advanced registry optimization software, cleaning the registry manually is an extremely complex and time-consuming process that only the most skilled computer technician can undertake.

And, this is where Max Registry Cleaner comes into the picture, greatly simplifying and automating the process, enabling even the most novice PC user optimize his/her system’s registry. This saves valuable time while troubleshooting, and improves PC performance.

The company says that once Max Registry Cleaner is installed, customers can safely clean, repair, and optimize their Windows registry by fixing obsolete information contained within the registry itself, such as information left behind when uninstalling unused software.

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Intel Intros Wireless-N Connection

January 25, 2007 at 8:46 am

· Technology

TechTree: Today, consumers are increasingly using notebook PCs to download broadband-intense content such as movies, videos, and music, so a more powerful networking solution is required.

With this objective in mind, Intel has introduced the Next-Gen Wireless-N network connection, an upgrade to the wireless component found inside Centrino Duo mobile technology and Intel-based laptops.

According to Intel, the new Wireless-N technology based on the 802.11n Wi-Fi draft specification offers up to five times the performance, and twice the wireless range, while providing up to an extra hour of notebook battery life.

Commenting on the new technology, Dave Hofer, Director of Wireless Marketing, Intel Mobile Platforms Group, said, “Integrating wireless-N technology into notebook computers based on Centrino Duo with the Intel Core 2 Duo processor delivers the speed, coverage, and multi-tasking abilities needed for consumers to enjoy their home networking and digital entertainment. Additionally, access points that are identified by our new ‘Connect with Centrino’ logo assure consumers that they are purchasing a compatible wireless-N system.”

The new wireless-N technology improves the home network experience, especially when multiple people access their wireless network simultaneously enjoying bandwidth consuming applications. It claims to reduce “dead spots” in the home; optimizes HD entertainment experiences such as streaming HD movies; improves battery life and provides the benefit of working with existing 802.11 a/b/g access points.

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Kingston DataTraveler with Migo

January 25, 2007 at 8:43 am

· Technology

TechTree: Kingston has added the DataTraveler Mini with Migo (using Migo software) to its family of miniature USB flash drives.

The company claims that using Migo software gives consumers the ability to seamlessly transform any PC into a personalized workspace, making it one of the most convenient, customizable, multifunction USB drives on the market.

Rajesh Panicker, Country Manager India of Kingston Technology, said, “The new DataTraveler Mini with Migo is an ultra-small personal storage device with character. It easily attaches to a keychain or can be strung on a cord. It’s the perfect device for swapping and storing personal files such as photos, homework, or even e-mail messages.”

The DataTraveler Mini with Migo with ‘capless’ design, automatically synchronizes and updates data when re-connected to a previously synchronized PC, and leaves no trace of personal data on other systems.

The email client support includes Microsoft Outlook Express 5.0 and above, plus Mozilla Thunderbird 1.5.0.5 and above, while the browser support includes Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5.0 and above, plus Mozilla Firefox 1.5 and above.

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