THE EARTH STANDS STILL AFTER 57 YEARS

Keanu Reeves is back with a sci-fi movie but not the one we would all expect. The Day the Earth Stood Still is a remake of the 1951 film of the same name. Directed by Scott Derrickson and starring Keanu Reeves as Klaatu, it is a story about  a alien messenger who comes with a warning that the humans will be killed for saving planet earth.

Look below the trailers of the old & new below

The Day the Earth Stood Still-1951

Although it looks funny now,the original was considered a neat movie as the timing was perfect .  The  director Scott Derrickson & writer by David Scarpa said they have reimagined the story.The cold war theme had been replaced by  environmental issues and spiced with a heavy dose of  CGI for "groundbreaking" visual effects.

The Day the Earth Stood Still-2008

The movie has already drawn flak from movie reviewers for relying heavily on visual and charm of  "Klaatu" Keanu killing the substance of the original.Rotten Tomatoes consensus says "Heavy on special effects, but without a coherent story at its base, The Day the Earth Stood Still is subpar re-imagining of the 1951 science-fiction classic"

So If  you like movies with lots of graphics , little story and Keanu Reeves, go ahead while it is "Still in Theatres"

A.R.Rahman May get Gold for "Slumdog"

A.R. Rahman has won a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Score for his music in British director Danny Boyle's  underdog tale "Slumdog Millionaire".

The  movie  one of the main favourites for the Oscars has got  a total of 4 Golden Globe nominations. Others include, Best Picture-Drama, Best Director for Boyle and Best Screenplay for Simon Beaufoy.

My Heartiest Congratulations to our Rahman, who continues to take Indian music to the world's stage.Remember Bombay Dreams?

 

3G IS Here !!! ...Finally

Get Your Iphones and N90's ready because 3G is here.Because the 3ok + price you paid for the hi-fi phones are now ready to put for some real use.

Our Hon'ble Prime Minister Manmohan Singh launched the country's first 3G network by receiving an inaugural video call and viewing live television on a 3G-enabled mobile handset.

So what exactly is 3G? 3G is the third generation of tele standards and technology for mobile networking. Simply put we can say GPRS is similar to the Dial Up Internet  connection,3G is broadband connection for the mobile,i.e. you can avail speeds like 2Mbps in your mobile itself. The point is High Speed data transfer,which will enable live video streaming,uploading and downloading photos directly from the mobile.Fortunately most of the new high end phones are all 3G enabled so users can use take full advantage of their phones by experiencing seamless network connectivity.

Unfortunately MTNL and BSNL are only offering 3g services as of now ,that too only in the Delhi circle.It will take some time before other players jump in and all areas are covered.So we have to wait a little time more.

Disparity the biggest Challenge-Sam Pitroda

Excerpts from Mr.Sam Pitroda's recent interview:-

"Look what we have gone through in this nuclear deal the amount of hassle the amount of jhagda-lafda. India needs  energy. This is not about nuclear deal to me. To me it is about lighting the lives of poorest of the poor in India. It is about giving lamp to a child in village who doesn’t have lamp to read. Happens to be nuclear. So I think when you look at these big pieces you have privatisation, you have energy but you also need whole series of things on basic needs: water, sanitation, agriculture, food, housing, the big piece on infrastructure-roads to airports to trains. There is just too much  work in India. There is work cut out for 50 years. It is not about creating more billionaires. It is not about more Bangalore and software companies, more Infosys and TCS’s and Wipros. It is about people at the bottom of the pyramid. If you really want to build a nation you got to take that 400 million with you. You can’t leave them. And you can’t count on the trickling down effect only. So I think disparity is a big challenge. And whatever big plan we have that plan must take into consideration basic human needs."

Sam Pitroda, is considered as the  father of Indian telecom and currently heads India’s National Knowledge Commission,which covers the five focus areas of the Knowledge paradigm.

 

Sell Bread When There Is Traffic Jam

I was listening to Radio Indigo today and the RJ was asking what do people (especially in cars) want when  they are stuck in traffic.Traffic in Bangalore is one of the worst ones in the country(even ex-pats agree).Many listeners were calling in and giving suggestions like pollution masks, magazines, DVD's etc.

One of the interesting suggestions was given by some girl named Ashwati.She told everyone will want to eat something during times in which they are stuck in traffic.Biscuits,chocolates or salted snacks or some munchies like that.She even mentioned even though it is obvious,nobody is doing it.

When I thought about it I found it really practical. The idea is that morning many skip breakfast, in evenings they would be tired  and would be rushing to eat something.But when they are stuck in traffic they cannot get out of their vehicles to go into some shop to buy the munchies.  

That's a great news for fast food vendors out there to add more sales.Think about it,people who have small shops on busy junctions can  have a tray lined with branded snacks which will be easily picked by consumers. The kiosk vendors like steamed corn or Frankie rolls freshly prepared stuffs neatly packed could be sold very easily.

"Every adversity is a opportunity for those with a positive attitude"

Wishing Everyone A Happy Eid ul Zuha

Happy 40th Birthday Mr.Mouse :-)

On December 9, 1968, at a computer conference in San Francisco, scientist Douglas Engelbart of the Stanford Research Institute demonstrated a small rectangular wooden device, with a single button which could control a computer. The tool had been developed by Dr. Engelbart, and his team as an “X-Y position indicator for a display system” to quote from his patent application. 

And thus the Mouse was born.Though it was not named so people who used it referred it as the mouse as it had a tail similar to the animal.Invented in 1968,the mouse became popular only in 1984,when  Apple launched Macintosh and became an essential input device after keyboard.Unlike its living counterpart,the mouse has evolved into a more powerful,sleek,attractive and more importantly a useful accessory.

But techies say that the increasing touch sensitive technologies are making mouse increasingly redundant and emerging touchless technologies like G-Speak will banish the mouse altogether.

Gpseak-touchless tech demo

Ironically,Logitech today announced it has shipped its billionth mouse.Logitech,the mouse pioneer  will have to watch out for today's touch devices and tomorrow's     touchless technologies.May be one day we might say goodbye Mr.Mouse,but for now its  "Happy Birthday Mr.Mouse :-)"