Complete with his traditional Verti and typically ‘Jaffna-Tamil’ pearls of wisdom, Duraiswamipillai imagines that he cuts an impressive figure as he bestows himself upon his cosmopolitan relations in Colombo.
Momentarily putting his well won thrift aside, he generously hands his son Aru a bundle of Murunga to share with his friends, while dodging any possible instance of having to fork out money.
“Stepping into the shoes of Durai has been extremely entertaining for me,” says Anuruddha Fernando, laughingly recalling some of the research and observation put into his character in E.F.C Ludowyk’s He Comes from Jaffna which will take the stage of the Lionel Wendt on June 30, July 1,2 and 3 at 7 30 pm.
Describing the quaint, easy-going society presented in the play, its director Jith Peiris looks back on a time in which “we were able to crack jokes about any race, and have good-natured fun doing it. Nobody would run to burn each others’ houses down in retaliation. He Comes from Jaffna shows how tolerant, and how civilized we once were.”
The cast however-having taken a while to be convinced that the racial jibes and social satire would not offend the audience- enjoy the fact that despite the more obvious changes, in essence society has not changed much. “The humour is familiar; although we may have heard some of the jokes before, they remain funny, and this contributes to its aesthetic value” comments Anuruddha. “If you were to compare society of 1908 with that of today, you would see that many of the same concerns still exist,” adds Mahesh Senaratne who will take on the role of Aru, Durai’s son. “You will always find frugal fathers, parents will always do their best to give their children a good education and make sure they marry well; and there will always be certain social divides.”
Unfortunately for each character, something always seems to stand in the way of relative peace of mind.
Cleveland Rajaratnam has his quiet, relaxed world unceremoniously turned upside down by his irrepressible brother-in-law Durai. His son Raju is engrossed in the complicated process of proposing to and marrying the feisty Kamini Fernando. Durai’s son Aru apprehensively deals with his mounting debt crisis, failure to obtain a degree and the prospect of breaking the news to his father.
“Despite all the madness that takes place within the plot,” says Kanishka Herat(Raju) the humour is never slapstick or bawdy. The strength of the comedy lies in the words spoken. For Kanishka acting in this play is something of a sentimental experience; being the great-grandson of E.C.B Wijesinghe who took on the role of Durai when the play was first performed. “I have learnt a great deal about him, in taking part and hearing accounts of him from people who knew him. It’s a nice feeling to be told that I have inherited some of his mannerisms; and I’m extremely inspired by his versatility as an actor and the passion he had for the theatre.”
Having spent many nights simply sitting in a circle; reading the play together, picturing the characters of the play and sharing a lot of laughs, the cast agrees that they have learnt a great deal about a society which most of us are unfamiliar with.
“Here, we see a Jaffna that was beautiful; untouched by the conflict and where the people led happy, fulfilled lives. It is not a picture that any of us have in our minds, and the play as a whole has taught us a lot,” explains Ashini Fernando who will play the role of Marion Rajaratnam. Gayatri Natrajan (Kamini) who has lived in India most of her life, sees certain remnants of what was, in today’s society. “I teach history,” she says, “and the play has given me lots of new insight into colonial Sri Lanka. It all feels far more real now.”
The cast of He Comes from Jaffna includes Anuruddha Fernando, Hans Billimoria, Ashini Fernando, Kanishka Herat, Mahesh Senaratne, Michael Holsinger, Gayatri Natrajan, Sohan Chandiram and Avishka De Alwis. Tickets for the show priced at Rs. 1000, 750, 650 and 450 are available at the Lionel Wendt.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
One with nature but not society
The title of Jagath Dheerasekera’s latest exhibition in Sydney is the response he received to his question: “Why sleep outside at night?” “Stars, sky, trees, breeze,” his subjects answered.
Having moved to Australia a few years ago, Jagath already knew who he would like to photograph. “Even long before I came to Australia, I was reading about the aboriginal people and knew about their plight. I first came across John Pilger’s writings in the Guardian in the ’90s when I was living in Europe. I was immediately hooked,” says this photographer, adding that while in Sri Lanka he did a series on the Veddhas.
In January of 2010, Jagath had a chance to meet an aboriginal elder named Richard Downs. “He told me about many things. The Northern Territory National Emergency Response (commonly known as NT Intervention) and his people’s walk-off against it.” Richard belonged to a community settled in Ampilatwatja, located 320km north-east of Alice Springs in central Australia.
A ‘Prescribed Community’ under the NT Intervention, the Alyawarr people now number less than 1,000. “Their struggle to survive for the last 200 years has been made further difficult by the NT Intervention introduced in 2007, which many in Ampilatwatja consider as ‘an invasion, total disempowerment and revoking hard won land rights’,” says Jagath. In July 2009, the Alyawarr people of Ampilatwatja walked off from the Prescribed Area controlled by the government and began to build a new community on their homeland.
The longer he stayed, the more obvious the issues became – “abject poverty, racial discrimination, disempowerment, dispossession, the legacy of 200 years of subjugation prevail in every corner,” says Jagath. He hopes his exhibition will draw much needed attention to the plight of the Alyawarr.
Jagath wanted to capture this moment. He decided to make the trip to Ampilatwatja and joined a group of volunteers who were helping the community build their first house or coordinating centre. “Everybody called it the Protest House. There were many volunteers from different states to help build it,” he explains. Jagath had initially hoped that he would have a chance to photograph fridges owned by the Alyawarr, but could find only one in the whole community.
Having moved to Australia a few years ago, Jagath already knew who he would like to photograph. “Even long before I came to Australia, I was reading about the aboriginal people and knew about their plight. I first came across John Pilger’s writings in the Guardian in the ’90s when I was living in Europe. I was immediately hooked,” says this photographer, adding that while in Sri Lanka he did a series on the Veddhas.
In January of 2010, Jagath had a chance to meet an aboriginal elder named Richard Downs. “He told me about many things. The Northern Territory National Emergency Response (commonly known as NT Intervention) and his people’s walk-off against it.” Richard belonged to a community settled in Ampilatwatja, located 320km north-east of Alice Springs in central Australia.
A ‘Prescribed Community’ under the NT Intervention, the Alyawarr people now number less than 1,000. “Their struggle to survive for the last 200 years has been made further difficult by the NT Intervention introduced in 2007, which many in Ampilatwatja consider as ‘an invasion, total disempowerment and revoking hard won land rights’,” says Jagath. In July 2009, the Alyawarr people of Ampilatwatja walked off from the Prescribed Area controlled by the government and began to build a new community on their homeland.
The longer he stayed, the more obvious the issues became – “abject poverty, racial discrimination, disempowerment, dispossession, the legacy of 200 years of subjugation prevail in every corner,” says Jagath. He hopes his exhibition will draw much needed attention to the plight of the Alyawarr.
Jagath wanted to capture this moment. He decided to make the trip to Ampilatwatja and joined a group of volunteers who were helping the community build their first house or coordinating centre. “Everybody called it the Protest House. There were many volunteers from different states to help build it,” he explains. Jagath had initially hoped that he would have a chance to photograph fridges owned by the Alyawarr, but could find only one in the whole community.
Chinese to build luxury port city off Galle Face
China which has been increasingly involved in Sri Lanka’s economy, has secured another lucrative deal — creating a new 500-acre, port city on reclaimed land on the sea off the Galle Face Green. A top Government source, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the deal, said the government had agreed to the US$700 million offer from a Chinese investor. The offer has been channelled through Chinese authorities.
The securing of the investment was itself announced by Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Chairman Priyath Wickrama at a public forum on shipping earlier this week in Colombo but he didn’t disclose the identity of the investor or the country of origin.
China’s CATIC, essentially an aircraft manufacturer and parts supplier, has bought a 10-acre block of land adjoining the Shangri-La project at Galle Face for a hotel and shopping mall complex. Many other Chinese companies have secured lucrative Sri Lankan contracts for infrastructure and other projects including the harbours in Hambantota and Colombo, with the Government seen to be favouring Chinese entities over others.
Mr. Wickrama said the reclaimed land investment would be on a 99-year lease. But the Government official told the Sunday Times it would be an outright purchase and agreements for the landfill and construction of the new city would be signed soon in a project stretching up to 2014.
The official said the Government wanted to discontinue the practice of long leases of state land and sell them outright (like in the case of Shangri-La and CATIC) based on the valuation of the Chief Government Valuer.
The re-developed land would then be offered to other investors and the private sector, by the Chinese developer under the guidance of Government agencies which would be responsible for the entire design of the project.
The Sri Lanka Ports Authority will oversee the reclamation project which will be divided into three segments -- business, residential and leisure. A mini-golf course, a Formula One race track, a small yacht marina and areas for water sports will be created. The feasibility study and an environmental impact assessment conducted by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority and the Moratuwa University have been completed.
Port Authority officials said the Lanka Hydraulic Institute (LHI) had been entrusted with the task of providing hydrographic and modelling services. Construction work will be carried out under the supervision of the Urban Development Authority, the Colombo Municipality, relevant Ministries and the Archaeological Department.
The Galle Face reclamation project was first announced by President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the ruling UPFA’s May Day rally last year and subsequently drew protests and concern from environmentalists and residents.
The securing of the investment was itself announced by Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Chairman Priyath Wickrama at a public forum on shipping earlier this week in Colombo but he didn’t disclose the identity of the investor or the country of origin.
China’s CATIC, essentially an aircraft manufacturer and parts supplier, has bought a 10-acre block of land adjoining the Shangri-La project at Galle Face for a hotel and shopping mall complex. Many other Chinese companies have secured lucrative Sri Lankan contracts for infrastructure and other projects including the harbours in Hambantota and Colombo, with the Government seen to be favouring Chinese entities over others.
Mr. Wickrama said the reclaimed land investment would be on a 99-year lease. But the Government official told the Sunday Times it would be an outright purchase and agreements for the landfill and construction of the new city would be signed soon in a project stretching up to 2014.
The official said the Government wanted to discontinue the practice of long leases of state land and sell them outright (like in the case of Shangri-La and CATIC) based on the valuation of the Chief Government Valuer.
The re-developed land would then be offered to other investors and the private sector, by the Chinese developer under the guidance of Government agencies which would be responsible for the entire design of the project.
The Sri Lanka Ports Authority will oversee the reclamation project which will be divided into three segments -- business, residential and leisure. A mini-golf course, a Formula One race track, a small yacht marina and areas for water sports will be created. The feasibility study and an environmental impact assessment conducted by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority and the Moratuwa University have been completed.
Port Authority officials said the Lanka Hydraulic Institute (LHI) had been entrusted with the task of providing hydrographic and modelling services. Construction work will be carried out under the supervision of the Urban Development Authority, the Colombo Municipality, relevant Ministries and the Archaeological Department.
The Galle Face reclamation project was first announced by President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the ruling UPFA’s May Day rally last year and subsequently drew protests and concern from environmentalists and residents.
Same method, same result: France keeps IMF job
WASHINGTON, June 28, 2011 (AFP) - Despite pledges of new transparency, the IMF again gave its top job to a French candidate Tuesday, assuring continued ire from developing countries at Europe's hold on the job.
To the surprise of few, the global crisis lender's executive board named French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde as managing director, replacing her countryman Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who resigned on May 18 to fight charges of sexual assault in New York.
That made her the 11th European to hold the job since 1946, and the fifth from France -- a record that comes thanks to a gentleman's agreement dating to their creation at the end of World War II that an American would be president of the World Bank and a European would lead the International Monetary Fund.
Despite a challenge by Mexico's central bank chief Agustin Carstens, few had doubted Lagarde's chances: Europe aggressively declared itself united behind her days after Strauss-Kahn departed and before any other candidates had a chance to surface.
A top European official at the time called it a “done deal.”Carstens persevered, while others -- including the respected South African Trevor Manuel -- stayed out, saying Lagarde already had the job sewn up.
“I think a lot more could be done, a lot more should have been done to persuade Europeans that this birthright is not a birthright that should find a resonance in an institution as important as the International Monetary Fund,” Carstens said at the time.
When Strauss-Kahn was chosen in 2007, Jean-Claude Juncker, who chaired the Eurogroup of countries, predicted that would be the last time a European got the job.
“The next director will certainly not be a European” he said.
That came after more than a decade of anger at the IMF's hectoring approach to developing country members, especially in the 1997 Asian crisis when it dictated reforms based on a developed country ideology that has since been partially jettisoned -- especially its then-rejection of capital controls.
But the “consensus” choice of Lagarde proved Juncker wrong, even though the same developed countries that dominate the fund plunged into their own financial crises beginning in 2007.
“The process is rigged,” said Arvind Subramanian, a former IMF economist.
“Fundamentally, the system must be made fairer by ensuring that no one group of countries gets an unfair advantage in the race to become the managing director of the IMF.”Sarah Wynn-Williams, head of IMF relations at global poverty fighting group Oxfam, said ahead of the decision that the managing director nominee is “not even decided by the board, it's not even decided in Washington.”Rather, she said, “it's been decided in the salons of Paris.”Bessma Momani, a professor of international economy at Canada's University of Waterloo, blames developing countries for not organizing themselves into a real force to challenge Europe -- evident in the inability of Carstens to gain endorsements from key countries like China and Brazil.
“The emerging market economies did not put up a fight for IMF leadership despite years of complaining,” he said.
“They are the only ones to bear the blame for failing to unite behind a candidate of their own.”Still, it would have been hard to break the Europe-US-Japan block that controls over half of the votes on the IMF board, if it came to a vote.
Carstens had proposed reforms that would end Europe's over-representation on the board, controlling seven of the 24 executive director slots.
Subramanian proposes slashing Europe's 32% quota to the 18% level of Washington's.
Tuesday's secretive “consensus” decision unsurprisingly sparked new calls for openness at the Fund.
“We regret the process was not the open and inclusive process we called for,” said the Washington activist group New Rules for Global Finance.
“Above all the new managing director must accelerate the pathetically slow baby-steps of governance reform at the IMF.”
To the surprise of few, the global crisis lender's executive board named French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde as managing director, replacing her countryman Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who resigned on May 18 to fight charges of sexual assault in New York.
That made her the 11th European to hold the job since 1946, and the fifth from France -- a record that comes thanks to a gentleman's agreement dating to their creation at the end of World War II that an American would be president of the World Bank and a European would lead the International Monetary Fund.
Despite a challenge by Mexico's central bank chief Agustin Carstens, few had doubted Lagarde's chances: Europe aggressively declared itself united behind her days after Strauss-Kahn departed and before any other candidates had a chance to surface.
A top European official at the time called it a “done deal.”Carstens persevered, while others -- including the respected South African Trevor Manuel -- stayed out, saying Lagarde already had the job sewn up.
“I think a lot more could be done, a lot more should have been done to persuade Europeans that this birthright is not a birthright that should find a resonance in an institution as important as the International Monetary Fund,” Carstens said at the time.
When Strauss-Kahn was chosen in 2007, Jean-Claude Juncker, who chaired the Eurogroup of countries, predicted that would be the last time a European got the job.
“The next director will certainly not be a European” he said.
That came after more than a decade of anger at the IMF's hectoring approach to developing country members, especially in the 1997 Asian crisis when it dictated reforms based on a developed country ideology that has since been partially jettisoned -- especially its then-rejection of capital controls.
But the “consensus” choice of Lagarde proved Juncker wrong, even though the same developed countries that dominate the fund plunged into their own financial crises beginning in 2007.
“The process is rigged,” said Arvind Subramanian, a former IMF economist.
“Fundamentally, the system must be made fairer by ensuring that no one group of countries gets an unfair advantage in the race to become the managing director of the IMF.”Sarah Wynn-Williams, head of IMF relations at global poverty fighting group Oxfam, said ahead of the decision that the managing director nominee is “not even decided by the board, it's not even decided in Washington.”Rather, she said, “it's been decided in the salons of Paris.”Bessma Momani, a professor of international economy at Canada's University of Waterloo, blames developing countries for not organizing themselves into a real force to challenge Europe -- evident in the inability of Carstens to gain endorsements from key countries like China and Brazil.
“The emerging market economies did not put up a fight for IMF leadership despite years of complaining,” he said.
“They are the only ones to bear the blame for failing to unite behind a candidate of their own.”Still, it would have been hard to break the Europe-US-Japan block that controls over half of the votes on the IMF board, if it came to a vote.
Carstens had proposed reforms that would end Europe's over-representation on the board, controlling seven of the 24 executive director slots.
Subramanian proposes slashing Europe's 32% quota to the 18% level of Washington's.
Tuesday's secretive “consensus” decision unsurprisingly sparked new calls for openness at the Fund.
“We regret the process was not the open and inclusive process we called for,” said the Washington activist group New Rules for Global Finance.
“Above all the new managing director must accelerate the pathetically slow baby-steps of governance reform at the IMF.”
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
LightSquared says it has fix to GPS interference problems
The company said it is setting aside spectrum that is in the spectrum band adjacent to the one used for GPS or Global Positioning Systems. LightSquared has worked out a deal with satellite provider Inmarsat to use frequencies lower in the spectrum band that is further away from the GPS spectrum. These frequencies are not expected to interfere with GPS gear.
Originally, LightSquared had planned to move into that band of spectrum over the next couple of years as its business grew. But now it plans to use those frequencies when it launches the service.
The new plan is expected to reduce the risk of interference to 99.5 percent of GPS receivers, the company told the Dow Jones Newswires. LightSquared plans to work with GPS providers to ensure there are technical fixes to the other issues that may come up.
LightSquared, which is funded by the hedge fund Harbinger Capital, has been planning to build a network that will offer a mobile broadband service using the 4G wireless technology LTE. It will use spectrum that has been allocated for both satellite and terrestrial use. By using the combined spectrum, the company said that it will be offer wireless broadband both to remote parts of the U.S., while also providing plenty of high speed wireless capacity to dense cities.
The company plans to sell its service to other wireless operators, such as smaller players like Leap Wireless, which has already signed on as a wholesale customer. It will also offer the service to retailers, such as BestBuy, which has agreed to test the service to sell along with its products.
The Federal Communications Commission granted the company a waiver to use the satellite and terrestrial spectrum on the condition that it doesn't pose major interference issues with GPS devices. Last week, initial tests suggested that the service would cause interference for several types of GPS receivers, including ones that are used for public safety and aviation.
The company is also seeking more funding to build its network. On Friday, Harbinger Capital reportedly sent a letter to investors stating that it had signed a 15-year agreement with Sprint Nextel, according to Bloomberg News, which obtained a copy of the letter. The agreement is valued at around $20 billion and calls for LightSquared and Sprint to share some of the costs for building the network.
According to the letter, "LightSquared and Sprint will jointly develop, deploy and operate LightSquared's 4G LTE network. [And] Sprint will become a significant customer of LightSquared's 4G LTE network."
The FCC granted LightSquared an extension for its final report on interference until July 1. And the company will offer more details of its plans in that report.
Originally, LightSquared had planned to move into that band of spectrum over the next couple of years as its business grew. But now it plans to use those frequencies when it launches the service.
The new plan is expected to reduce the risk of interference to 99.5 percent of GPS receivers, the company told the Dow Jones Newswires. LightSquared plans to work with GPS providers to ensure there are technical fixes to the other issues that may come up.
LightSquared, which is funded by the hedge fund Harbinger Capital, has been planning to build a network that will offer a mobile broadband service using the 4G wireless technology LTE. It will use spectrum that has been allocated for both satellite and terrestrial use. By using the combined spectrum, the company said that it will be offer wireless broadband both to remote parts of the U.S., while also providing plenty of high speed wireless capacity to dense cities.
The company plans to sell its service to other wireless operators, such as smaller players like Leap Wireless, which has already signed on as a wholesale customer. It will also offer the service to retailers, such as BestBuy, which has agreed to test the service to sell along with its products.
The Federal Communications Commission granted the company a waiver to use the satellite and terrestrial spectrum on the condition that it doesn't pose major interference issues with GPS devices. Last week, initial tests suggested that the service would cause interference for several types of GPS receivers, including ones that are used for public safety and aviation.
The company is also seeking more funding to build its network. On Friday, Harbinger Capital reportedly sent a letter to investors stating that it had signed a 15-year agreement with Sprint Nextel, according to Bloomberg News, which obtained a copy of the letter. The agreement is valued at around $20 billion and calls for LightSquared and Sprint to share some of the costs for building the network.
According to the letter, "LightSquared and Sprint will jointly develop, deploy and operate LightSquared's 4G LTE network. [And] Sprint will become a significant customer of LightSquared's 4G LTE network."
The FCC granted LightSquared an extension for its final report on interference until July 1. And the company will offer more details of its plans in that report.
India prods wireless providers on BlackBerry ban
The Indian government has sent letters to the country's major wireless service providers informing them that if BlackBerry maker Research In Motion does not meet its demands to loosen security by August 31, then they must block e-mail and instant messaging services.The government informed RIM last week that if it was not given access to users' e-mail, IM, and Web browsing that it would have the service shut down on the final day of the month.
Now it looks like the country is starting to make good on its threat. Tata Teleservices, one of India's largest cell phone operators, confirmed in a statement Tuesday that it had been contacted by government officials and instructed to shut off the service August 31, according to a Reuters report.
"We have received a letter...asking us to ensure that legal intervention capability is put in place for BlackBerry services by 31 August 2010," the company said in a statement.
The BBC confirmed that other major wireless operators in India had also received similar letters.
The news is the latest in what is turning out to be a drawn-out drama between RIM, based in Canada, and governments throughout the world that say they are concerned about the tight encryption and security inherent in RIM's products and communications services. The governments say RIM's airtight design prevents security officials from being able to monitor communications by terrorists and other criminals.
India is just one of several countries threatening to shut down RIM's Blackberry services. Earlier this month, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia also threatened to cut off service. RIM has supposedly struck a deal with Saudi Arabia.
RIM is in a difficult spot because its security is one of the main reasons that large companies and even government agencies use its BlackBerry Enterprise server and smartphones. But as the North American market becomes more saturated and competition from Apple and others such as Google and Microsoft heats up, RIM is finding itself looking for growth in developing markets, such as the Middle East and India.
The company is not saying much about the negotiations with individual countries. But last week after India announced its ban, RIM said that it is cooperating with officials "in the spirit of supporting legal and national security requirements, while also preserving the lawful needs of citizens and corporations."
Now it looks like the country is starting to make good on its threat. Tata Teleservices, one of India's largest cell phone operators, confirmed in a statement Tuesday that it had been contacted by government officials and instructed to shut off the service August 31, according to a Reuters report.
"We have received a letter...asking us to ensure that legal intervention capability is put in place for BlackBerry services by 31 August 2010," the company said in a statement.
The BBC confirmed that other major wireless operators in India had also received similar letters.
The news is the latest in what is turning out to be a drawn-out drama between RIM, based in Canada, and governments throughout the world that say they are concerned about the tight encryption and security inherent in RIM's products and communications services. The governments say RIM's airtight design prevents security officials from being able to monitor communications by terrorists and other criminals.
India is just one of several countries threatening to shut down RIM's Blackberry services. Earlier this month, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia also threatened to cut off service. RIM has supposedly struck a deal with Saudi Arabia.
RIM is in a difficult spot because its security is one of the main reasons that large companies and even government agencies use its BlackBerry Enterprise server and smartphones. But as the North American market becomes more saturated and competition from Apple and others such as Google and Microsoft heats up, RIM is finding itself looking for growth in developing markets, such as the Middle East and India.
The company is not saying much about the negotiations with individual countries. But last week after India announced its ban, RIM said that it is cooperating with officials "in the spirit of supporting legal and national security requirements, while also preserving the lawful needs of citizens and corporations."
Monday, June 27, 2011
Google On the March—IT Invasion
Google has its foot in Microsoft Office’s door, if not its mail slot. Just a friendly gesture, for not too much of a fee, all warm and fuzzy-like with Google message continuity San Francisco-based writer Gavin Clarke put it more bluntly in the U.K.’s
the register recently: “Google has launched a service designed to pilfer Microsoft Office users.” Unapologetic in its announcement, Google touts the service as “Bringing G mail reliability to Microsoft Exchange.”“We’ve seen that Gmail can offer 10 times greater reliability than a typical on-premises Microsoft Exchange installation,” says the Google announcement. “This got us to thinking... could we bring Gmail reliability to companies currently using Microsoft Exchange?” And who says the only stupid questions are the ones you don’t ask?
All you have to do is sync your office’s on-premises accounts with Google’s cloud. No matter what happens: power outages, all manner of earthly catastrophe, sabotage, plague, famine, “Google Message Continuity gives you access to your up-to-date e-mail in-boxes.”
It’s hard to believe anybody is fooling anybody into believing Google Message Continuity as anything other than a mirrored e-mail server, always in the parallel universe of Google’s mysterious yet never-failing cloud. All e-mail traffic coming and going through the on-premises Microsoft Exchange server also gets routed though Google Message Continuity. The only time you access your e-mail through Google message continuity is when Microsoft Exchange goes down. A few such episodes would prompt any bright IT manager to wonder why they even bother with Microsoft Exchange at all.
“Let us blow off this Microsoft nonsense and be pilfered to Google and all her superior products,” the bright IT manager might possibly intone.
E-mail is just the tip of the Google cloud possibilities. Google’s next step is to make all things seamlessly compatible with all Microsoft documents using Google Docs. So when your Microsoft server goes down, use the version backed up in Google. Eventually you won’t look back.
the register recently: “Google has launched a service designed to pilfer Microsoft Office users.” Unapologetic in its announcement, Google touts the service as “Bringing G mail reliability to Microsoft Exchange.”“We’ve seen that Gmail can offer 10 times greater reliability than a typical on-premises Microsoft Exchange installation,” says the Google announcement. “This got us to thinking... could we bring Gmail reliability to companies currently using Microsoft Exchange?” And who says the only stupid questions are the ones you don’t ask?
All you have to do is sync your office’s on-premises accounts with Google’s cloud. No matter what happens: power outages, all manner of earthly catastrophe, sabotage, plague, famine, “Google Message Continuity gives you access to your up-to-date e-mail in-boxes.”
It’s hard to believe anybody is fooling anybody into believing Google Message Continuity as anything other than a mirrored e-mail server, always in the parallel universe of Google’s mysterious yet never-failing cloud. All e-mail traffic coming and going through the on-premises Microsoft Exchange server also gets routed though Google Message Continuity. The only time you access your e-mail through Google message continuity is when Microsoft Exchange goes down. A few such episodes would prompt any bright IT manager to wonder why they even bother with Microsoft Exchange at all.
“Let us blow off this Microsoft nonsense and be pilfered to Google and all her superior products,” the bright IT manager might possibly intone.
E-mail is just the tip of the Google cloud possibilities. Google’s next step is to make all things seamlessly compatible with all Microsoft documents using Google Docs. So when your Microsoft server goes down, use the version backed up in Google. Eventually you won’t look back.
Why the White iPhone 4 is 200 Microns Thicker?
Much to the delight of Apple fans the White iPhone 4 was finally launched a few days ago. Not long after the White iPhone 4 was launched it was found out that the White iPhone 4 is 200 microns thicker than the Black iPhone 4.
Apple has not given any official statement explaining why there was a difference in the thickness of the two phones but there were a lot of guesses made by a lot of people.
Some of those guesses
1. In the initial iPhone 4 there was an antenna design flaw.It is quite possible that the flaw might be corrected in the white iPhone 4 (It was launched so late; Apple had enough time to correct the flaw). The correct of the flaw might have thickened the White iPhone 4.
2. The camera flash light of the White iPhone 4 leaked while taking images and there were a few issues with the proximity sensor as well.These issues have been now fixed in the White iPhone 4 and this might have forced Apple to increase the thickness of the amazing device.
3. The White iPhone 4 has got extra protection from external light sources which otherwise were causing the external light to leak into the screen and cause a harm to the awe-aspiring Retina Display. Fixing this might have been the reason of the thickening.
4. Apple just did it for media attention and publicity.
Whatever be the case, if you have bucks in your pocket and need a new phone, go get the White iPhone. It is beautiful.
Apple has not given any official statement explaining why there was a difference in the thickness of the two phones but there were a lot of guesses made by a lot of people.
Some of those guesses
1. In the initial iPhone 4 there was an antenna design flaw.It is quite possible that the flaw might be corrected in the white iPhone 4 (It was launched so late; Apple had enough time to correct the flaw). The correct of the flaw might have thickened the White iPhone 4.
2. The camera flash light of the White iPhone 4 leaked while taking images and there were a few issues with the proximity sensor as well.These issues have been now fixed in the White iPhone 4 and this might have forced Apple to increase the thickness of the amazing device.
3. The White iPhone 4 has got extra protection from external light sources which otherwise were causing the external light to leak into the screen and cause a harm to the awe-aspiring Retina Display. Fixing this might have been the reason of the thickening.
4. Apple just did it for media attention and publicity.
Whatever be the case, if you have bucks in your pocket and need a new phone, go get the White iPhone. It is beautiful.
Online game Star Wars Galaxies set to close
A great darkness is set to consume part of the Star Wars universe in late 2011.
Sony has announced that its Star Wars Galaxies online game will be shut down on 15 December.
The news was broken in e-mails sent to players and via messages posted on the game's support forums and website.
Sony said the closure had come about because its contract to run the Star Wars game runs out in 2012, not because of declining player numbers.
The other Star Wars game is Bioware's The Old Republic that is currently under development. Sony also runs the free-to-play Clone Wars Adventures online game.
In the interview, Mr Smedley denied that the recent hack attacks on Sony had anything to do with the closure or that player numbers had shrunk to the point that it was no longer worth keeping the game going.
Game changer
Mr Smedley said Sony would be running a series of events for players to ensure the game ends in a fitting manner.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
It's amazing it's kept going for so long”
Alec Meer Rock Paper Shotgun
All billing for the game will stop in October, according to Sony. Those subscribing at that point will be able to play for free for the last few months.
Launched in 2003, Star Wars Galaxies (SWG) helped to establish massively multi-player gaming which sees thousands of players adventure together in a shared online environment.
The game was set in the Star Wars universe and played out events following the destruction of the first Death Star but before those of The Empire Strikes back. Players could take the form of one of 10 different species, become a Jedi and fight battles with spaceships.
More than one million copies of the game were sold when it launched in June 2003 and it initially enjoyed great popularity.
However, player numbers have steadily declined as a series of updates alienated many established players and stripped the game of its complexity. Sony has since described some of the changes as a "mistake".
Sony has announced that its Star Wars Galaxies online game will be shut down on 15 December.
The news was broken in e-mails sent to players and via messages posted on the game's support forums and website.
Sony said the closure had come about because its contract to run the Star Wars game runs out in 2012, not because of declining player numbers.
The other Star Wars game is Bioware's The Old Republic that is currently under development. Sony also runs the free-to-play Clone Wars Adventures online game.
In the interview, Mr Smedley denied that the recent hack attacks on Sony had anything to do with the closure or that player numbers had shrunk to the point that it was no longer worth keeping the game going.
Game changer
Mr Smedley said Sony would be running a series of events for players to ensure the game ends in a fitting manner.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
It's amazing it's kept going for so long”
Alec Meer Rock Paper Shotgun
All billing for the game will stop in October, according to Sony. Those subscribing at that point will be able to play for free for the last few months.
Launched in 2003, Star Wars Galaxies (SWG) helped to establish massively multi-player gaming which sees thousands of players adventure together in a shared online environment.
The game was set in the Star Wars universe and played out events following the destruction of the first Death Star but before those of The Empire Strikes back. Players could take the form of one of 10 different species, become a Jedi and fight battles with spaceships.
More than one million copies of the game were sold when it launched in June 2003 and it initially enjoyed great popularity.
However, player numbers have steadily declined as a series of updates alienated many established players and stripped the game of its complexity. Sony has since described some of the changes as a "mistake".
Google facing US antitrust probe - reports
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is expected to open a formal inquiry within the next several days, the Wall Street Journal said.
The FTC is looking at whether Google manipulates its search results to steer users to its own sites and services.
Google has not commented on the matter.
Google's competitors argue that the search giant, which handles roughly two out of every three internet searches in the US, has used its dominant standing in search to improperly promote its other products, like mapping, shopping and travel websites.
Multiple probes
FTC officials privately debated this month whether to allow the agency's Bureau of Competitions to issue subpoenas to Google, and the FTC is now close to moving forward with handing out the court orders, The New York Times reported.
Meanwhile, the Financial Times said that attorneys-general in California, New York and Ohio have also launched antitrust investigations into Google.
The European Commission is already conducting probes into whether Google uses its dominance to wrongfully stifle competition.
In a statement on its website, FairSearch.org, an organization that represents several of Google's critics, like Expedia, Travelocity, Kayak and Microsoft, said: "Google's practices are deserving of full-scale investigations by US antitrust authorities."
Though the FTC probe would be the broadest federal inquiry into Google to date, the company has previously been targeted by US regulators.
Google settled charges with a US policy group in April, which claimed the company deceived users and violated its own privacy policy by automatically enrolling all Gmail users in a social network called Buzz without seeking prior permission.
The company has faced repeated other antitrust inquiries in recent years, many of which have involved proposed acquisitions.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Longest cooking marathon (individual)
On 20 December 2010 despite the heavy snow falls and airports closures affecting the whole of London I was able to board my plane to Chennai and to arrive in India on time to be present, in quality as Guinness World Records adjudicator, for the beginning of the longest cooking marathon record attempt to be attempted by Dr. Chef K, Damodaran.
I arrived at the beautiful Savera Hotel, the oldest hotel in Chennai at 2 am on 21 December and despite the record attempt was planned to start in less than 4 hours Dr. Damodaran was at the lobby of the hotel waiting to greet me with his big bright smile.
A fully equipped kitchen with pots and pans, six pumping gas hobs and surrounded by a huge colourful range of seasonings and spices had been set up for chef Damu at the Piano Restaurant level at Hotel Savera.
At about 8 am on the 21st December the clock started in front of a crowd composed by Damu’s friends, students,fans and family members, including Chef Damu’s daughter Akshayaa who flew especially from England for the occasion. Some of the main Tamil Nadu and Indian newspapers and TV channels were present as well and ready to capture every moment of the record breaking event.
Chef Damodaran is a well known Chef all over India as well as internationally and he is the first Indian to have received a doctorate in hotel management and catering technology.
In 1986 Dr. Damodaran started teaching in universities and as of today, he happily placed more than 3500 students in the catering industry.
It was beautiful to see the love and support surrounding this record attempt in fact many of the people present stayed up with Damu for the all duration of the record.
Famous celebrities, singers and personalities popped by to show support to the Chef and when the challenge was getting harder for Damu songs and dances would start in the room in a continuous celebration ended with a precious and well deserved new world record for Dr. Chef K. Damodaran.
Congratulations!
I arrived at the beautiful Savera Hotel, the oldest hotel in Chennai at 2 am on 21 December and despite the record attempt was planned to start in less than 4 hours Dr. Damodaran was at the lobby of the hotel waiting to greet me with his big bright smile.
A fully equipped kitchen with pots and pans, six pumping gas hobs and surrounded by a huge colourful range of seasonings and spices had been set up for chef Damu at the Piano Restaurant level at Hotel Savera.
At about 8 am on the 21st December the clock started in front of a crowd composed by Damu’s friends, students,fans and family members, including Chef Damu’s daughter Akshayaa who flew especially from England for the occasion. Some of the main Tamil Nadu and Indian newspapers and TV channels were present as well and ready to capture every moment of the record breaking event.
Chef Damodaran is a well known Chef all over India as well as internationally and he is the first Indian to have received a doctorate in hotel management and catering technology.
In 1986 Dr. Damodaran started teaching in universities and as of today, he happily placed more than 3500 students in the catering industry.
It was beautiful to see the love and support surrounding this record attempt in fact many of the people present stayed up with Damu for the all duration of the record.
Famous celebrities, singers and personalities popped by to show support to the Chef and when the challenge was getting harder for Damu songs and dances would start in the room in a continuous celebration ended with a precious and well deserved new world record for Dr. Chef K. Damodaran.
Congratulations!
Chile volcano ash causes renewed air chaos in Australia
Qantas and Virgin have cancelled all flights into and out of Sydney and Melbourne. Adelaide airport has been shut and Canberra flights also hit.
Last week, tens of thousands of people were stranded as airlines grounded flights, and now the ash has returned.
The plume is said to be too low this time for airlines to fly under it.
The ash cloud from Chile's Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcano is circling the Earth for a second time.
Last week, some airlines, such as Virgin Australia, flew below and around the ash cloud, but this time they have been advised against doing so.
The ash cloud is reported to be hovering at between 20,000 and 40,000ft (6-13km).
More than 120,000 air passengers are expected to face travel disruption.
Qantas said its policy was not to fly below the ash cloud, because it brought risks that it was simply not prepared to take.
"We estimate that we will be cancelling in excess of 200 flights on Wednesday," Qantas spokeswoman Olivia Wirth told reporters.
"The experts say we simply won't be able to operate in this situation."
Knock-on effects
Australia's Bureau of Meteorology estimates Adelaide will be affected for 24 hours, Canberra and Sydney for around 36 to 48 hours, and Melbourne for 36 to 48 hours from Wednesday.
International flights inbound to Sydney have been diverted to Brisbane, ABC News reported.
Virgin's domestic cancellations alone will affect 170 flights.
Qantas' budget airline Jetstar also cancelled Adelaide and Sydney flights, while Tiger Airways is reported to have grounded its entire fleet.
Civil Aviation Safety Authority spokesman Peter Gibson said hundreds of thousands of passengers would be affected across the country.
"When you take out major centres like Sydney and Melbourne, the knock-on effects of that are huge, and that's unfortunate, but safety has to come first.
Ilaya Thalapathi’s birthday wish
Here is what. Vijay, reports reveal, has requested his fans to celebrate his birthday tomorrow helping the poor and the needy in the society. The actor has been in the news many times earlier too for the efforts that he takes for the underprivileged in the society.
There are reports that all the babies born tomorrow at the Govt. Children Hospital in Egmore will receive a gold ring for their little finger. Incidentally this happens to be the same place where the star was born more than 37 years back on the same day. It is not very clear who will sponsor the gifts for the newborns though.
Some birdies also reveal that Vijay will lunch with the children in an orphanage tomorrow. It is good to know that the stars are able to do their bit for the underprivileged and the orphaned on their special days.
Great going ‘Ilaya Thalapathi,’ we hope many follow your footsteps!
Monday, June 20, 2011
Another Icelandic eruption: Grimsvotn volcano
A plane flies past a smoke plume resulting from the eruption of the Grimsvotn volcano, under the Vatnajokull glacier in southeast Iceland, May 21, 2011. Airlines began canceling flights to Britain because of the ash cloud from the volcano reaching its airspace, although experts expected no repeat of travel chaos from the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull a year ago.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Mexican therapy increases survival of cervical cancer patients
A research team from the Institute of Biomedical Research of the National Autonomous University of Mexico has developed a therapy that extends survival for locally advanced cervical cancer patients. The study was started at the National Oncology Institute, before trials were conducted worldwide.
The new treatment, which serves as a guideline worldwide, involves using the drug gemcitabine as a radiosensibilizing agent to potentiate the effects of a regime of cisplatin chemotherapy and radiotherapy, explained Alfonso Dueñas González, who led the study. Despite the addition of another drug making the scheme slightly more toxic, the secondary effects are acute and are present only during the 70 to 80 days the treatment lasts, during which the patient can become weak, as with any chemotherapy.
Under this treatment, the survival of patients rises to 78 percent. This is 9 percent above conventional methods, as concluded the study in its phase III, which lasted four years and involved 515 patients from different countries.
Despite cervical cancer being preventable if detected early by the Pap test, it causes more than 250,000 deaths a year worldwide, becoming the second cause of death by carcinoma among women, and the second most diagnosed illness in this group.
One of the advantages of this therapy is that both gemcitabine and cisplatin are affordable drugs, which makes it available for the world population and may help reduce the death rate by this disease. According to Dueñas González, although cervical cancer should be fought by focusing on early detection rather than on treatment, the therapy is expected to start being used in short by health institutions throughout the world.
Study says young stars 'shoot water bullets'
"
According to Dutch astronomers at Leiden University, a distant star is "shooting" water bullets into space. Astronomers say the amount of water released from the young sun-like Protostar is 100 million times what the Amazon Rainforest produces every second.
"If we picture these jets as giant hoses and the water droplets as bullets, the amount shooting out equals a hundred million times the water flowing through the Amazon River every second. We are talking about velocities reaching 200,000 kilometers (124,274 mi) per hour, which is about 80 times faster than bullets flying out of a machine gun," said lead scientist and author of the study, Lars Kristensen.
The discovery was made by the Herschel Space Observatory, of the European Space Agency. The astronomers studied the lights of particles they saw while looking through the clouds of a young star in the constellation Perseus, about 750 light years from earth. Both oxygen and hydrogen atoms were detected and are believed to be created inside the star. When the drops of water are pushed out by the star's gases, they are released as a superheated steam, before they are cooled by the surrounding space, just enough to condense them into water.
"We are only now beginning to understand that sunlike stars probably all undergo a very energetic phase when they are young," added Kristensen. "It's at this point in their lives when they spew out a lot of high-velocity material—part of which we now know is water.
"If we picture these jets as giant hoses and the water droplets as bullets, the amount shooting out equals a hundred million times the water flowing through the Amazon River every second. We are talking about velocities reaching 200,000 kilometers (124,274 mi) per hour, which is about 80 times faster than bullets flying out of a machine gun," said lead scientist and author of the study, Lars Kristensen.
The discovery was made by the Herschel Space Observatory, of the European Space Agency. The astronomers studied the lights of particles they saw while looking through the clouds of a young star in the constellation Perseus, about 750 light years from earth. Both oxygen and hydrogen atoms were detected and are believed to be created inside the star. When the drops of water are pushed out by the star's gases, they are released as a superheated steam, before they are cooled by the surrounding space, just enough to condense them into water.
"We are only now beginning to understand that sunlike stars probably all undergo a very energetic phase when they are young," added Kristensen. "It's at this point in their lives when they spew out a lot of high-velocity material—part of which we now know is water.
Avan Ivan
This film is total crap. Why the hell does Bala show an old man nude? It is an abuse. It was not warranted. He could have had some clothes on. The scene was entirely purposeless.
Where is the lorry driven by Vishal? What does the guy who cheats on the Zamindar have to do with the story? Why aren't characters fully developed? Why does the villain appear only in the second half? Why not edit the introduction of the villain into the first half? By rule, no such important character should appear towards the end of the movie.
What is the point of the story? What is it trying to convey? Is there any message? Meaning? or Point? We ask for messages only when there is no story. A message is a substitute for a story. If Bala's name is on the credits, does it make a crap film an Oscar winning film?
Why don't we think about all these instead of trying to rave a "so-called" creator? Does it mean that his fifth film too should be great when he has had four successes? Isn't he human? Won't he fail? How dare he makes a film without a script? Does Bala think whatever he does will become hit? Is he taking the audience for granted? Almost all the actors hammed but they have done well only because they have dedicated themselves to the director in hopes of a hit.
Bala has gone too much headstrong that he thinks whatever he does will become a hit. Avan Ivan is one of the worst movies this year. Bala is going down steeply and he will not bounce back, if he doesn't change his style. He is a stereotype. He also has the arrogance of an artist and his self-pride and over confidence will bring him down. Open your eyes people! Watch out only for good movies! Don't be slaves to any individual!
Saturday, June 18, 2011
The Sun
The Sun's stellar classification, based on spectral class, is G2V, and is informally designated as a yellow dwarf, because its visible radiation is most intense in the yellow-green portion of the spectrum and although its color is white, from the surface of the Earth it may appear yellow because of atmospheric scattering of blue light. In the spectral class label, G2 indicates its surface temperature of approximately 5778 K (5505 °C), and V indicates that the Sun, like most stars, is a main sequence star, and thus generates its energy by nuclear fusion of hydrogen nuclei into helium. In its core, the Sun fuses 620 million metric tons of hydrogen each second. Once regarded by astronomers as a small and relatively insignificant star, the Sun is now thought to be brighter than about 85% of the stars in the Milky Way galaxy, most of which are red dwarfs. The absolute magnitude of the Sun is +4.83; however, as the star closest to Earth, the Sun is the brightest object in the sky with an apparent magnitude of −26.74. The Sun's hot corona continuously expands in space creating the solar wind, a stream of charged particles that extends to the heliopause at roughly 100 astronomical units. The bubble in the interstellar medium formed by the solar wind, the heliosphere, is the largest continuous structure in the Solar System.
The Sun is currently traveling through the Local Interstellar Cloud in the Local Bubble zone, within the inner rim of the Orion Arm of the Milky Way galaxy. Of the 50 nearest stellar systems within 17 light-years from Earth (the closest being a red dwarf named Proxima Centauri at approximately 4.2 light years away), the Sun ranks 4th in mass. The Sun orbits the center of the Milky Way at a distance of approximately 24,000–26,000 light years from the galactic center, completing one clockwise orbit, as viewed from the galactic north pole, in about 225–250 million years. Since our galaxy is moving with respect to the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB) in the direction of constellation Hydra with a speed of 550 km/s, the sun's resultant velocity with respect to the CMB is about 370 km/s in the direction of Crater or Leo.
The mean distance of the Sun from the Earth is approximately 149.6 million kilometers (1 AU), though the distance varies as the Earth moves from perihelion in January to aphelion in July. At this average distance, light travels from the Sun to Earth in about 8 minutes and 19 seconds. The energy of this sunlight supports almost all life on Earth by photosynthesis, and drives Earth's climate and weather. The enormous effect of the Sun on the Earth has been recognized since prehistoric times, and the Sun has been regarded by some cultures as a deity. An accurate scientific understanding of the Sun developed slowly, and as recently as the 19th century prominent scientists had little knowledge of the Sun's physical composition and source of energy. This understanding is still developing; there are a number of present-day anomalies in the Sun's behavior that remain unexplained.
Friday, June 17, 2011
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