8/06/2008

Orkut Revamps Privacy Features - Provides More Options

All you orkut freaks click on the following link immediately

http://www.orkut.co.in/PrivacySettings.aspx

Then see the following snapshot

privacy features

I hope you must have understood the whole story by now.

Orkut has added more options to its privacy features according to which you can send friend requests to :-

  • Anyone on orkut OR
  • only people who know your email address (This is the default option unless you select some option) OR
  • only friends of your friends OR
  • people from particular countries or regions

__________________________________________________________

If you have any questions, feel free to comment ..

If you like my post, then also comment :D

Orkut intrduces Orkut sms feature in India - Recive Scrap Notofications etc on your mobile!

Orkut sms Snapshot Orkut has launched Orkut SmS. It was also a much needed feature for all orkut users who did not have gprs enabled phones and wanted to stay in touch with their family and friends via orkut when on move also.

Orkut sms feature was launched in Brazil a long time back but not in India. Now, it has been launched.

To configure your Orkut Mobile settings, Just click on the link below

http://www.orkut.co.in/MobileSetupSettings.aspx

To know more about the Orkut SmS feature on Orkut Help , visit the following link

http://help.orkut.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=50317&hl=en-US

The Orkut SmS service has been launched for only the following service providers

Aircel, BPL, MTNL, Tata, Reliance and Spice

It has not been launched for two of the most popular mobile service providers in India like Airtel, Vodafone and BSNL till now. They may be introduced in the near future.

Moreover the service is not free. While Orkut does not charge you, the mobile operators may charge their fee for sending and receiving an SMS. The pricing details are available only for Brazil Telecom Providers at the link below. The prices in India are not known till now

http://help.orkut.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=50317&hl=en-US

If you people come to know of any updates, keep them posted..:)

Google old boys launch their own engine in global search for wealth

Call it internet treachery if you like but three former senior engineers from the Google campus are trying to usurp the search-engine crown from their former employer by launching an alternative tool that they hope we may all one day use for scouring cyberspace content.

With $33m (£16.5m) in venture capital funds, Anne Patterson and two other Google alumni – Russell Power and Louis Monier – yesterday took the wraps off Cuil.com. Their boast was brave if predictable: Cuil (pronounced "cool") will be easier and nicer to use and will have a longer reach.

To be more specific, the folk at Cuil.com – Ms Patterson's husband, Tom Costello, is also a founder – will have a search index spanning 120 billion web pages. If it's out there, Cuil will find it for you. No one will say what span Google boasts, but almost three years ago it stood at 8.2billion pages.

Cuil won't divulge the formula it has developed to cover a wider chunk of the internet with far fewer computers than Google. But rather than trying to mimic Google's method of ranking the quantity and quality of links to websites, Ms Patterson says Cuil's technology drills into the actual content of a page.

Its results are displayed with more photos spread horizontally across the page and include sidebars that can be clicked on to learn more about topics related to the original search request. Cuil is also hoping to attract traffic by promising not to retain information about its users' search histories or surfing patterns – something that Google does, much to the consternation of many privacy watchdogs.

Ms Patterson, who left Google back in 2006, claimed most surfers are ready for a new approach to content-searching. "Google has looked pretty much the same for 19 years now and I can guarantee it will look the same a year from now," she said.

Google itself did not appear overly concerned about Cuil's debut. "Having great competitors is a huge benefit to us and everyone in the search space," said a company spokesman. "It makes us all work harder, and at the end of the day our users benefit from that."

Lest anyone forget, Google does not have a monopoly on internet searches, or at least not quite. Recent data show the company commanding 62 per cent of the US market, compared to 21 per cent and 8.5 per cent respectively for its two largest rivals, Yahoo and Microsoft's MSN service. Nor is it by any means the first time that a new upstart company like Cuil has joined the fray. Other plucky pretenders include Teoma (which was adopted by Ask.com), Vivisimo, Snap, Mahalo and Powerset. Cuil sets itself apart, however, by being created by ex-Google engineers.

As for its name, the company says it was inspired by the Irish roots of Mr Costello and specifically a Celtic folklore figure named Finn McCuill (or Finn McCool). They might want to rectify one early problem. A search on Cuil.com for information about the aforementioned Mr McCuill turned upprecisely nothing.

* The editor of the BBC’s Newsnight programme has resigned his position to join Google as head of PR for the UK. Peter Barron has spent 12 years at the BBC2 programme, as well as time at Channel 4 and with Tonight with Trevor McDonald

8/04/2008

Four killed in Kolkata blast

Four persons were killed and six injured, some of them seriously, in an explosion in a slum beside the Hooghly near the Sarbomangala ghat in the city’s North Port thana area on Sunday.

The incident was “not an act of terrorists” according to preliminary investigations, J. Shamim, Deputy Commissioner, Detective Department (I), Kolkata Police, said.

The source of the explosion was being ascertained though initial reports suggested that it could have been a shell, the police said. The Commissioner of Police, with the bomb disposal squad and other officials, visited the spot.

Source:The Hindu

Run Multiple Instances of GTalk

You have multiple accounts in gmail and want to be online in each account simultaneously, follow the following simple steps

  • First, create one copy of the Google Talk shortcut on your desktop - leave the original intact.
  • Right click on this shortcut and choose Properties. The Target box will show you the path of the EXE for Google Talk - something like "C:\Program Files\Google\Google Talk\googletalk.exe"
  • Change this to: "C:\Program Files\Google\Google Talk\googletalk.exe" /nomutex
    and click OK.

8/02/2008

Latest Friendship SMS - Huge Collection

Everybody has his/her own circle of friends, some of them are true friends and some of them become the best friends for life. As the friendship grows we keep exchanging gifts, sending friendship / friend quotes, friendship / friends poem and always keep searching for a heart touching best friend quote or best friend poem to pickup and send to our friends.

Friendship day is celebrated on the first sunday of August every year, so the upcoming Friendship day is on 3 August 2008. You may wish to celebrate & send out tons of friendship sms / friendship text messages to your best friends as well as old forgotton friends.

Here have gathered a nice collection of friendship sms messages in english, hindi & roman urdu, that you can rate, pick and send to your friends.

* The hardest part of
missing friends
is not their absence,
it’s when you think
of all those good times
and ask yourself,
‘will those moments ever
happen again?’

* Hum woh phool hain jo roz roz nahi khiltay,
Yeh wo hont hain jo kabhi nahin siltay,

Hum se bichro ge to ehsas hoga tumhain,
Hum wo dost hain jo roz roz nahin miltay

* How can U tell the rain not 2 fall when clouds exist?
How can U tell the leaves not 2 fall when wind exist?
How can U tell me not 2 fall in friendship when U exist.

* Friendship is a promise made in the heart.
Silent.
Unwritten.
Unbreakable by distance.
Unchangeable by time.
Its lovely to have u as one !

* Good relationships are like trees
They demand attention & care in the beginning
but once they blossoms
they provide U shade in all situations of life

* Don’t Love a Friend who Hurts U
Don’t Hurt a Friend who Loves U.

* f=free frm all formalities
r=right to say any thing
i=in anyway
e=either good or bad
n=no sorry no thnx
d=daantna peetna allowed 24 hours ;-)

* “FEELiNG”is a painting never spoil it
“FACE”is a book try to read it
“LOVE” is precious be ready to sacrifice for it
“FRiENDSHiP” is a mirror never”break” it.

* Look Outside its So Pleasant!
Sun Smiling 4 U !
Trees Dancing 4 U !
Birds Singing 4 U !
Because, I Asked Them All 2 Wish You

A Happy Friendship Day

* True friends are like mornings,
u cant have them the whole day,
but u can be sure,
they will be there when u wakeup tomorrow,
next year and forever.

* My heart’s like an open book,
it depends on how u read me.
Don”t judge me by my cover..
Look in and discover..
i will be ur True friend for ever…

* a friend gives hope when ur life is low,
a friend is place wen u hav no place to go,
a friend is a precious,
a friend is “”"”"”"”"”u”"”"”"”"”"

* When clouds break rain falls.
When coconut break water falls.
when love break tears falls
but
when friendship break life falls
so never break friendship.

* “A BEST FRIEND is like a four leaf clover,
HARD TO FIND and LUCKY TO HAVE”

* Aik din bahroon k phool murjha jayeenge,
jab bhule se kabhi hum yaad aayeenge,
ahsas hoga tumhein humari dosti ka jab,
duur bahat duur hum tum se chale jayeenge!

* Asman ko neend aye to sulao kaha,
dharti ko moot aye to dafnao kaha,
sagar main leher uthe to chupao kaha,
ap jese dost ki yaad aye to jao kaha.

* Friends are like mangga… you’ll never know which is sweet and which is not. Well I’m lucky coz I was able to find the sweetest mangga in you!

* If u r a chocolate u r the sweetest, if u r a Teddy Bear u r the most huggable, If u are a Star u r the Brightest, and since u r my “FRIEND” u r the “BEST”!

* A friend gives hope when life is low, a friend is a place when you have nowhere to go, a friend is honest, a friend is true. A friend is precious a friend is u.

* Moon said to me, if ur friend is not messaging u why dont you leave ur friend.I looked at moon and said does ur sky ever leave u when u dont shine.

* Age appears to be best in some things. Old wood best to burn. Old books best to read. Old rice best to eat and old friends best to keep.

* To live a life i need heartbeat, 2 have heartbeat i need a heart, 2 have heart i need happiness, to have happiness i need a friend, and 4 a friend i need U.ALWAYS

* Just go to hell

yes you

u only !

because only you can change hell into heaven by your sweetness.!

* Sochne Ki Tumhe Kia Zaroorat Hai ,
Pukara Hai Jo Naam Tumhara ,
Pukarne Wala Koi Gair Nahin ,
Ek Pyara Sa Anjana Sa Dost Hai Tumhara.!

* If U need a friend and
there are a hundred steps between us,
you can take the 1st step to get near me
and i will take all 99 step to be there for you.

* Friendship is a network that needs: no recharge! no roaming! no validity! no activation! no signal problems! just dont switch off your Heart.!

* Who is a Dost?
Dost vo jo bin bulaye aaye,
Bevajah sar khaye,
Jeb khali karwaye,
Kabhi sataye,
Kabhi rulaye,
Magar hamesha saath Nibhaye

* U waited
9 months
2 c d world
1yr 2 walk
2yrs 2 talk
5yrs 2 start studyng
BUT i really waitd too many yrs
2 find a sweet frnd like U !!

* I wana keep3 things: . .
The SUN . . The MOON . . &.My frndz. . .
Sun4 daytime. . .
Moon for night time. . . &
U.My dear frnd4LIFETIME.

* Aey mere SMS mere dost ke pass jana,
Agar wo so raha ho to shor mat machana,
Jab wo jage to dhire se ‘Muskarana’,
Phir kehna “KANJUS” SMS karo!

* Ashq bahay to ahsaas hota hay,
Pyar k bina jeevan kitna udas hota hay,
Umar ho teri sitaron jitni lambi,
Aisa DOST kahan har kisi ke paas hota hay.

* True meaning of friendship:
Where there is no compromise
in telling the secret.
And there is no secret
for which u need to compromise.

* Dosti mausam nahi,
apni mudat pori kare aur rukhsat ho jaye.
dosti sawan nahi,
toot k barse aur tham jaye.
dosti aag nahi
sulge bharke aur rakh ho jaye.
dosti aftab nahi
chamke aur dob jaye,
dosti phool nahi khile aur murjha jay.
dosti to saans hai
jo chale to sab kuch hai,
jo toot jaye to kuch bhi nahi.

* I m not Wealthy but i have Rich Heart,
I m not Best but i will try my Best,
I may not be Right every time but
I m Surely not Wrong to choose U as my Friend !

* A coin is easy to earn, a friend is hard to find.
The coin depreciates but a friend appreciates.
I lost a coin when I texted you,
but it’s okay because I got you.

* One day my brain asked me “Y R U SENDING MSGs
to that person who is not messaging u?
but my little “HEART” said to brain
“U” NEED msgs but i need “FRIENDSHIP”

* U r SWEET AS GIN,
HARD AS RUM,
CLEAR AS VODKA,
MATURED AS WHISKY,
REFRESHING AS BEER.
In short u r
a complete BAR
of friendship.
Cheers.

* A bond of love,
A medal of trust.
A shoulder in sadness,
A hand in darkness.
A special relation to hold,
An ear where secrets can be told.
An appreciater for encouragement,
Somethin tht doesn’t cost.
A jewel never to be lost.
Is the magic called
F R I E N D

* DISTANCE never seperates
HEART that really CARE…Â
Though we may not SPEND
so much time TOGETHER
U r always in my THOUGHTS
my great friend…..

* Some friends forget
Some move away
Some keep silent
Some just change
But I’m not 1 of them.
I’m here just 4 two moments
.. now & 4ever…!!:)

* Kabhi ankahi baaton ki ada hai Dosti,
Kabhi Gam ki dawa hai Dosti,
Kami hai Pujne walon ki,
Warna zameen par khuda hai DOSTI.
Be Friends Forever!

* Khuda nay dost ko dost say milaya.
Doston k liye dosti ka rishta banaya.
Par khuda nay farmaya,
dosti rahegi uski kayam
jisne dosti ko dil say nibhaya

* Treat life as sea, your heart as sea-shore,
And friend as waves.
It never matters how many waves r their,
What matter is which one touches the shore…

* Dharaktay dil Ke peechay koi Baat Hoti Hai,
Dard-e-dil main Kisi Ki Yaad Hoti Hai,
Aye dost tumhain Pata Ho na ho..
Par aapki Har Khushi K Piche Hamari Faryaad HoTi Hai.

* Zakham + You = Marham,

Tanhai + You = Mehfil,

Tears + You = Smile,

Raasta + You = Manzil,

Nothing + You = Everything,

Me + You = A gr8 story of ” FRIENDSHIP ”

Zakham + You = Marham,

* Dosti mausam nahi jo apni muddat poori karay aur rukhsat ho jayai,
Dosti phool nahi jo khilay aur murjha jayai,

Doosti tou sans hay jo challay tu sub kuch hay.
Jo totay to kuch bhi nahin…….

* If CARE is a WAVE,
i give u SEA.
If RESPECT is a LEAF,
i give u TREE.
If TRUST is a PLANET,
i give u GALAXY,
if FRIENDSHIP is LIFE,
i give u MINE 4 FREE..
keep smiling.

* If 2 hearts r meant 2 b friends,
No matter how long it takes,
How far they go,
How tough it seems,
Fate will bring them together,
2 share FRIENDSHIP 4 EVER.

Internet Explorer cannot open the internet site? - Try these viable Solutions

Well, many people are facing this problem in Internet Explorer when they try to visit particular sites for e.g. gmail etc.

Well, I also faced the same problem some time back. The solutions I tried successfully were:-

1.[Keep this option High Priority]

Changing my browser to Mozilla Firefox

Download it from www.mozilla.com

In the rare instance this doesn't work,

2. Clean your browser cache using ccleaner software

Download it from www.download.com

Both the downloads are collectively under 10MB and should not take much time to download.

Try and tell if that works for you too !

Mystery of the Montauk Monster

Nothing like a bizarre-looking sea "monster" to draw crowds to a tony resort town. The blogosphere has been abuzz since Gawker.com early this week featured a story and photo of a bulky hairless corpse with sharp teeth and a snout that reportedly washed up in Montauk on the eastern tip of Long Island, N.Y. Another Big Foot or Loch Ness Monster, perhaps?

The report of the cryptid was picked up by Fox News, CNN and other TV nets, magazines and newspapers as far away as London hungry for a hot story to spice up the summer news doldrums.

"We were looking for a place to sit when we saw some people looking at something," Jenna Hewitt, 26, told Newsday. "We were kind of amazed, shocked and amazed." Hewitt was among a bunch of locals who insist they saw the odd-looking corpse. Most of those weighing in on the creature's identity subscribed to the theory that it was a dog. (A pit bull was the prevailing favorite.)

Others, some who only saw the snapshot, speculated it may have been a raccoon or, perhaps, a sea turtle that lost its shell.

But we may never know for sure. It seems, you see, that the body has been moved. And nobody (at least nobody talking) knows by whom—or where it was taken.

"They say an old guy came and carted it away," Hewitt said. He said, "I'm going to mount it on my wall."

MTV Roadies Battleground Theme for Orkut launched plus 2 more ..

Untitled

Orkut Green, Orkut Brown, MTV Roadies BatlleGround

a

b

mtvr

To change your theme, just visit the link below

http://www.orkut.co.in/EditSkin.aspx?ch=1

8/01/2008

Casio Exilim EX-Z100

Casio has just launched two new models in its ultra-compact Exilim EX-Z series. The model in picture is Casio Exilim EX-Z100(£120.85 (Exc VAT). The Z-series is not exactly noted for its diversity, being populated by 14 models most of which are variations on the metal-bodied 3x zoom ultra-compact format, with the only differences being size, shape and resolution. The Z100 is different though. It is the first Casio ultra-compact to feature a 28mm wide-angle lens with 4x optical zoom.

Longer zoom ranges and wide angle lenses are the latest bandwagon in the digital camera market, with most of the major manufacturers now fielding ultra-compact models with 28mm-equivalent lenses and zoom factors greater than the traditional 3x. While it does mean that there's just as little difference between the various brands as there ever was, personally I'm in favour of it. I'd far rather manufacturers concentrate on useful features like better lenses instead of constantly stuffing more and more megapixels into already massively overcrowded sensors.

The main rivals for the EX-Z100 are the Fujifilm FinePix F480 (£80), the Olympus FE-350 Wide (£155), the Nikon CoolPix S600 (£165), the Sony Cyber-shot W170 (£170) and the Panasonic Lumix FX35 (£180). That makes the EX-Z100's £142 price tag look quite reasonable, until you remember that the Nikon, the Sony and the Panasonic all have optical image stabilisation; the EX-Z100 does not.

Ugly aur Pagli - Review

Review No.1 by Sonia Chopra

Conspicuously Ugly Aur Pagli's two main draws remain: Mallika Sherawat in red boots with devil horns in her mass of wild hair and the title that promises a fresh, edgily funny story. I wouldn’t blame you for expecting more, but this is it, honestly. And both have been milked dry for a self-indulgent running length of two and a half hours.

One immediately related the film with Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na, for its core character similarities. In both, the male protagonist is meek (at first) and the woman the dominant, wilder one. And in both, the film bends unforgivably towards the conventional.

UAP starts proudly with shots of unlikely couples (gay, of differing age groups, of differing sizes and shapes, etc.) who are supposed to warm us with their bonding, but all you see is the clumsiness of this 'lifted' scene.

On to the story then; you brace yourself. Ranvir’s Kabir is adorably timid, what most like to term a “sweet boy”. The reason we are supposed to believe was his parents dressing him in girls’ clothing when he was a protesting baby. Otherwise, we are to assume, it’s impossible for a man to be mild-natured at all.

A chance encounter with a drunk Kuhu (Mallika) leads to him taking care of her through the night. This happens again. Love blossoms, but not after the film’s tagline of 99 slaps is squeezed dry. And the girlfriend’s rather odd demands are dutifully met with (if not, yes… a slap).

He is a fourth-time-fail engineering student who still gets spanked by his mother. She does nothing concrete except write silly scripts (where the director humours himself visualising them onscreen). Forget the story, which you’ve seen a million times anyway.

The characters are interesting enough. Kuhu is not normal or tolerable by any standards. She barks orders, drinks to vomit all over unsuspecting passengers, and slaps a guy who meant to do her good. Her flightiness is not explained.

Still you laud the slightly imaginative perception of a central female protagonist in a Hindi film—one who even snores loudly. Bas, that’s it.

Post interval, she goes to see a ladka after spending a year in Kolkata—dressed traditionally, her wild hair straightened. She's very, very quiet at the table when meeting the young interested chap. She has even given up drinking. You’re left blinking. Rest I leave for you to discover... if you must.

The scenes I am about to mention, I wouldn’t call weak links, just bizarre staccatos that appear without warning or purpose. The awkward tribute to the film Chameli (by the same producers), something about a jilted lover about to commit suicide, the harrowed producer surrounded by 'original’ film DVDs. The humour has few, very few clever liners; else we are expected to laugh at a fart joke where the farter lovingly names it 'De Boo’; lots of puke jokes; even the done-to-death on on blowing into another’s handkerchief gag.

About the only scene I really liked was the grumbling Kabir going against a stream of people, getting jolted, and turning around to join the crowd, symbolic of it being easier to be a follower. And Ranvir does well. He brings about the desired vulnerability to his good-hearted character who’s a dominated mama’s boy and yet finds a girlfriend equally feisty.

Mallika is great as the firebrand. Their contrasting screen personas work well whether they are atop a terrace eating from steel tiffins or on scary joy-rides. Cameos by Bharati Achrekar and Sushmita Mukherjee are fun.

The technical aspect is strong with impressive camera work by Somak Mukherjee (Black and White) and sync sound designing by Rishi Oberoi (Tashan, Salaam Namaste).

Editing by Hemal Kothari (Love Story 2050, Pyaar Ke Side Effects) is perhaps meant to keep the pace languorous, but the film ends up excruciatingly long and slow at times. The narrative was punctured with way too many songs, only a couple of which were enjoyable.

Ugly Aur Pagli clearly means to seek the same audience that made PNC’s Pyaar Ke Side Effects a multiplex hit and, therefore, employs many of its strategies. But a formula still remains just that, and it comes with no guarantee.

Verdict: 2 stars

===================================================

Review No.2 by Anonymous

Ugly Aur Pagli is a bizarre and uncanny title. However, it's catchy and attracts instant attention at the same time. It's for this reason that you expect the film to be one wacky ride - promising 99 slaps and 1 kiss.

Besides, post Pyaar Ke Side Effects, unconventional stories with unconventional casting only got an impetus. Since Ugly Aur Pagli comes from the same production house that delivered Pyaar Ke Side Effects, you only expect the film to go a notch higher, or be at par, than the earlier experience. And that's where the film falls short of expectations.

Viewed as an individualistic experience, Ugly Aur Pagli has a few interesting moments. Don't look for a story here, for it's the moments and incidents that bind this two-hour film together. So what if the writers and director seem inspired by the Korean movie My Sassy Girl? Mallika Sherawat and Ranvir Shorey are enough to make you forget the waferthin plot at times.

Sure, a few scenes do bring a smile on your face, they are genuinely funny and bizarre (Mallika wearing undergarments above her clothes in college), but there're times when the humour falls flat. You just don't react to the on-screen antics, you sit motionless while absorbing them (the futuristic stories that Mallika pens makes you break into a yawn!).

All said, had director Sachin Khot opted for a strong story and backed it up with strong emotions (in the latter part), Ugly Aur Pagli would've made you exclaim 'lovely'! As things stand now, Ugly Aur Pagli is below par. The movie tells the story of Kabir (Ranvir Shorey), a carefree guy who has been studying engineering for the last five years and whose life goes for a sixer when he meets the quirky and kinky Kuhu (Mallika Sherawat).

Kabir always wanted a girlfriend, but never in his wildest dreams did he ever think he would encounter a girl who could make him dance around circles, ride cycles without seats, wear high heeled ladies sandals and much more.

Ten minutes into the film and you realise that Ugly Aur Pagli is not the usual prem kahani. Yet, you take to the over-dominating, brash woman and the timid, docile and submissive guy. In fact, you break into a smile as you are introduced to these characters. But the smile surfaces only intermittently.

Nothing wrong with the first hour, but the second hour is troubling. Problem is, the absence of a story makes every moment look repetitive. What you've watched in the first hour is remodelled and represented in the second hour, with slight modifications of course.

Besides, the story is stretched in the second hour. Why does Mallika disappear suddenly (we're told she goes to Kolkata for two years)?. Also, how does Gaurav Kapoor, the prospective groom, know Ranvir Shorey? Gaurav blurts out 10 ways to win Mallika in his first meeting itself. But the question is, why would Ranvir guide Gaurav when he's himself hopelessly in love with Mallika and has been searching for her whereabouts desperately? Clearly, the writers just didn't know how to conclude this saga!

Debutante Sachin Khot is letdown to a major extent by a slipshod and sloppy script. Music (Anu Malik) is another sore point. Besides Talli (well rendered by Mika, Anmol Malik and Hard Kaur) and to an extent, Karle Gunaah, the remaining songs should be given a skip.

Ugly Aur Pagli belongs to both Mallika and Ranvir. The best thing about Mallika is, she's a complete natural. She's spunky and spirited and that's one of the reasons why this role works. And it works only because Mallika is portraying it. There are doubts if any other actress would've carried off the devilish streak so well. Her emotional side is also well captured in the concluding moments.

Ranvir Shorey - an incredible actor indeed! To play a submissive part convincingly requires complete understanding of the craft and Ranvir proves, yet again, that he's one of the most dependable actors around. Again, the best thing about him is that he's not pretending to act. Tinnu Anand and Sushmita Mukherjee are hilarious in their first scene. Bharti Achrekar is alright. Zeenat Aman is hardly there for one scene.

On the whole, Ugly Aur Pagli is, at best, an ordinary fare, but in the absence of a tight script, the film will face an uphill task in days to come.

Friendship Day on August 3 this year

Friendship Day celebrations take place on the first Sunday of August every year. The tradition of dedicating a day in honor of friends began in US in 1935. Gradually the festival gained popularity and today Friendship Day is celebrated in large number of countries including India. On this day people spend time with their friends and express love for them. Exchange of Friendship Day Gifts like flowers, cards and wrist bands is a popular tradition of this occasion.

Here is the link to a website by SCFI (Society for the Confluence of Festivals in India)

http://www.friendshipday.org/

You can visit it for Friendship quotes, images, wallpapers, poems, messages etc.

I'll keep posting other similar important links related to friendship in the next 2 days..

Ashok Mankad passes away

Former India batsman Ashok Mankad passed away in Mumbai on Friday morning, at the age of 61. He is reported to have died in his sleep.

Son of cricket legend Mulvantrai Himatial 'Vinoo' Mankad, Ashok was a decent right hand batsman, with a good range of strokes and sound temperament, allied to a cheerful disposition.

A right-handed batsman, he played 22 Tests between 1969 and 1978, scoring 991 runs, and a solitary ODI.

During his playing days led Mumbai to back to back Ranji Trophy wins in 1974-'75 and 1975-'76.

In his own way -- as player, as administrator, as national coach - a job he held for precisely ten days - he did his bit for the game.

Mankad is survived by his wife Nirupama, a former Asian tennis champion, and two sons-- Mihir and Harsh, who is a member of India Davis Cup team since 2000.

Mihir and Harsh are in New Delhi and will be arriving for the funeral in an hour.

Communist leader Harkishan Singh Surjeet dies at 92

Veteran communist leader Harkishan Singh Surjeet died of cardiac arrest at a hospital near New Delhi on Friday, his party said.

Surjeet, 92, a former general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), had been unwell for several months.

“Comrade Harkishan Singh Surjeet died at 1.35 p.m. today after a cardiac arrest,” the party said in a statement on its website.

How to Disable Startup Programs in Windows Vista

Your computer takes ages to start? Your computer's performance is getting considerably decreased?

This could be because of the excessive startup programs which crop up with the installation of their host programs.

E.g. yahoo messenger, gtalk etc are the programs that are configured to run by default at the startup of the computer

So, if you want to disable them, there is a special utility in Windows Vista that makes your job easier.

Just follow the following steps for that

  • go to start > control panel
  • there click on classic view in the left sidebar
  • click on Administrative tools
  • then click on system configuration
  • it will ask for permission, give it the permission
  • you'll see the System Configuration utility

disable startup programmes

Click on startup tab

 

you'll see all the startup items

Now disable or enable selected programs as per your choice !

Note:- The items which have been tick marked, are enabled for running at startup

So if you want to disable it, then you have to uncheck the boxes corresponding to the program.

Rare partial solar eclipse in India today afternoon - Catch it live on NASA

A rare total solar eclipse will occur this afternoon -- when the moon will pass directly between the earth and the sun -- but it will be visible as a partial eclipse in India. The eclipse will begin in Arctic Canada and sweep across Greenland, western Siberia, Mongolia and central China. In India, the visual treat will start at 4:03 pm in Delhi and last for about two hours with maximum impact at 5:02 pm. In rest of the country, the partial eclipse will be visible a few minutes later.

Nearly 15 lakh pilgrims are expected to take a holy dip in Brahm Sarovar at Kurekshetra where security has been tightened due to recent serial blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad. Viewers all across the globe can see the eclipse as it happens on NASA TV and by logging on to www.nasa.gov. The US space agency has made arrangements to telecast live images of the rare celestial event.

"The partial eclipse will be seen in the north-eastern region, starting from about 4 pm," said Rathnasree, Director at the Nehru Planetarium. The maximum obscuration of the sun will occur at Sibsagar in Assam.

The biggest and last phase of the eclipse will be visible from most parts of the country, except Nagaland and Mizoram, where it ends after sunset, she said. Solar eclipses do not take place every month because of the tilt of moon's orbit around the earth which is elliptical, like the earth's orbit around the sun. Therefore, the moon and the sun do not always appear to be precisely the same size in the sky.

The next solar eclipse -- a partial one -- will occur on January 26, 2009 but the phenomenon will be marginally visible from eastern and southern India.

But on Friday, the southern parts of India will see between 20 to 40 per cent of the sun's diameter while the northern parts of the country will see between 40 to 70 per cent of the sun's diameter. Experts say viewing the eclipse with naked eyes could be dangerous.

Major planetariums have made arrangements to show the eclipse to the enthusiasts and amateur astronomers through telescope using mylar solar filter in a projection system. Solar eclipses have typically inspire a combination of dread, fascination and awe for thousands of years. In recent times, they have also become popular events for tourists across the world.

In total eclipses, the sun vanishes, the stars come out in daytime and temperatures drop briefly.