Motorola Rokr Z6 or Nokia 5700?

Motorola Rokr Z6 appears to be a new-generation clone of the Motorola Rizr and gives the gorgeously-thin Sony Ericsson W880i a close shave. Like the Razr, the build quality is solid and the new Linux-Java user interface is refreshingly easy to get around.
Its real trump music card is support for Windows DRM10, which means it will play tracks bought from online music stores like Napster.It supports stereo Bluetooth.
One of the more impressive aspects of the new Z6 is its voice-dialing system, a credit that goes to Motorola's new Linux platform.
The function comes handy especially while driving a car, or doing something where the user cannot physically reach the handset. The email management system found on the Z6 is satisfactory; the only thing it lacks is Push Mail.

Don't Miss: The Magic of Harry Potter

As an unashamed Pottermaniac, I am glad to report that the fifth film changes that with a reasonable degree of success.

The film opens with a very well-shot episode of two dementors attacking Harry (Daniel Radcliffe [Images]) -- now a strapping young lad -- and Dudley Dursley (Harry Melling, not as portly as the books say, but doing pretty good).
And for the first time on film, you feel Harry's dread as he appears for the Ministry of Magic trial for just saving himself.
As all of you familiar with the book know, Order Of The Phoenix's story is about the magical world being split into two -- one half believes Harry and Dumbledore and the other believes the Ministry and its spin doctor, the Daily Prophet, who are out to make it look like Harry is a delusional fool and the Hogwarts headmaster a conniving, power-hungry wizard.
So an utterly horrible witch, Dolores Umbridge (played superbly by Imelda Staunton), is appointed as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher by the Ministry. She wants 'order and discipline' in the school -- like 'boys are not to come within eight inches of a girl' -- and she wants the Hogwarts students not to learn any real magic, but mug up books.
With her cruel laugh and mannerisms, Staunton makes Umbridge almost as evil as the matron in that brilliant movie adaptation of that brilliant book, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.

There is more such excellent character acting, like Evanna Lynch as the eccentric Luna Lovegood. You feel sorry for her, just like you do in the books. Everyone thinks she's nuts, and no one wants to let go of a chance to play a prank on her -- like hiding her belongings.
Gary Oldman as Sirius Black shines too, and the bond between him and his godson Harry comes across subtly but clearly, thanks to some great work by Oldman.
Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter) too is a welcome cameo.
Natalia Tena as Nymphadora Tonks is another example. She infuses magic into her character with about two minutes of screen space.
In contrast, the main gang -- Harry, Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron and Neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis) -- are not so consistently good, though they all have grown into better actors. Correction: Apart from Rupert Grint. He is the goofy, awkward, gangly and lovable Ron Weasley to the hilt.
Order Of The Phoenix is visually a treat too, with Hogwarts looking bigger and better -- as it should have all along. Yes, this is what the films should have been like, right from Philospher's Stone.
There are some superb moments like Harry and the members of the Order flying in formation over the Thames, and of course, the climactic showdown between Lord Voldemort -- Ralph Fiennes is evil embodied with just the way he holds his wand -- and the only wizard he was ever afraid of.
And there are a few moments when you feel the emotional quotient of the books -- like when Ron tells Harry, 'You don't have to do this alone, you know.'

On the downside, there is some bad acting too -- by Uncle Vernon (Richard Griffiths) and Aunt Petunia (Fiona Shaw), most notably. We all know how they fuss over their pig of a son in the books, but when he comes home nearly deranged after the dementor attack, their reaction is far from appropriate. Mrs Figg (Kathryn Hunter) too is a letdown.
There is no chemistry between Cho Chang (Katie Lieung) and Harry, and their much-hyped kiss is definitely not the highlight it was being touted to be.
And my personal grouse is that Fred and George Weasley, two of the finest characters Rowling has created, remain underused, despite their spectacular exit from Hogwarts.
Instead, it's director David Yates who shines with little touches that make a big difference. Like Ginny Weasley looking on wistfully as Harry focuses his attention on Cho.
Order Of The Pheonix is darker than all the previous films (thank god for that!) and moves out from the 'strictly for children' realm. This is adult territory, and delightfully real. The background score also moves up a notch, as do the photography and the locales. The editing, however, is a little jumpy in parts.
But like its predecessors, Order Of The Phoenix forgets completely to dangle unanswered questions in front of the audience, which the books do so tantalisingly.
The magic is also diluted by dialgue at times. You cannot feel the same empathy for Neville as you do in the books when you learn that his parents were driven mad by Lestrange with Neville himself revealing that (one of the many deviations from the book).
Ditto for the battle between Harry and Voldemort where Harry triumphs because he knows the value of love and friendship.
All in all, the fussiest of Potter fans will like this film, because it is a very good movie, and the best Harry Potter movie so far -- by miles.

Is the fifth Potter film as good as the book?

Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix has opened to rave reviews, with fans calling it the best of the series so far. Purists, however, will always prefer J K Rowling's books to the movies.

There's magic, and then there's magic.


The real charm of the Harry Potter books, as any Pottermaniac will vouch for, is not so much in the fantastic spells the boy wizard and his friends learn at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but the magic of human emotions.


You don't have to be a fantasy fan to like Harry Potter; the core of the books is closer to P G Wodehouse school stories than Tolkien. That's what the four films before Order Of The Phoenix failed to grasp.


There were special effects galore, but you didn't feel Harry's emptiness every time a school year ended. You didn't feel his goodness, and you didn't grow with him

Beckhams Arrive in Los Angeles

England football ace David Beckham and his wife, Victoria, arrived in Los Angeles on Thursday night to begin their new lives in the United States.
Football fans, dozens of reporters and photographers pushed and shoved behind barriers set up at the terminal to get a glimpse of the duo.
The British couple was all smiles as they held hands and walked out of a Los Angeles International Airport terminal in the evening after arriving aboard a British Airways flight from London.

Hrithik: I am not doing a sequel to Metro

When you're away shooting in remote places for long schedules, you suddenly find a lot of stories about yourself doing the rounds when you manage to resurface. And that's exactly what Hrithik Roshan found out recently when he took time off from shooting for Ashutosh Gowarikar's Jodhaa Akbar in Karjat. The perfectionist actor, understandably, is totally immersed in his character in the period film and has stayed away from the media as far as possible. In fact, it is no secret that Ashutosh himself is very keen on keeping the media away from the sets in order to ensure nothing about the film is leaked out. When we met the actor at an event recently, he was quite surprised at being asked whether he was doing the sequel to Metro as reported recently. "I can't believe people are asking me whether I am doing the sequel to Metro ," he told us, not at all amused. "I mean why would I want to do that? I am not doing the sequel to Metro ." Unable to resist the urge, we decided to ask him about the rumoured item number he was supposed to be doing in Rakesh Roshan's next film Krrazy 4. Was that also the working of an over-worked imagination, we enquired. "That at least is my dad's film and I can understand the association," says Hrithik, evading an answer for now, "But I still don't understand where the news of me doing Metro 2 originated. There is absolutely no connection." Well, we hope this dude decides to clear more controversies once he's finished with Jodhaa Akbar . God knows, he's got plenty of them to shoot down by now!

Akbar Hrithik suffered knee injury!

Macho star Hrithik is fast turning out to be quite accident prone. Not so long ago on the sets of father’s film Krrish, he met with a near fatal accident and now last week he hurt himself again on the sets of Akbar Jodha. He was shooting for some remaining patch- work for Ashutosh Gowariker’s Akbar Jodha in Rajasthan. “The temperature was 45 degrees and on the top of it Hrithik had to wear his Akbar costumes weighing 40 kilos. It was nightmare 40 kilos of costumes and shooting at 45 degrees, and in the process he injured his knees badly,” says a unit member. But being a professional, Hrithik completed his shoot before flying to Mumbai and back home he continued to keep all his commitments. “For him his work comes first and he will never let his producers suffer because of some small accident. I’m yet to see an actor more committed than him,” says Hrithik’s secretary Ashok. Wish we had more actors like him!

Sify and Microsoft Work Together to Bridge Digital Divide in India

Sify Limited (Nasdaq National Market: SIFY), a leader in Consumer Internet and Enterprise Services in India with global delivery capabilities, announced that it will work with Microsoft India to empower Indians with Internet and IT services and help bridge the digital divide in India. Sify will partner with Microsoft in its commitment towards Unlimited Potential in India and enable easy access for Microsoft’s initiatives through the reach of its over 3500 strong ‘I-way’ cyber café chain, as well as through its home Internet access services.Sify will offer its cyber café subscribers access to licensed Microsoft Office software to begin with, so that they can use the café as a virtual office for their needs. This will include training them in the use of MS Office for Microsoft Office Certification to increase their productivity and skills. Sify is also supporting Microsoft in bringing the industry together for the path-breaking ‘IQ PC’ initiative. The PC, aimed at families with school going children, will include 100 hours of free Internet access. This is over and above the Microsoft suite and its partner offerings from Brilliant, Pacsoft, Edurite, etc. The alliance will also include other Microsoft Certification programs, affordable utility computing for the middle class and content for online education through the Sify I-way cafe chain. Speaking of this alliance, Mr Raju Vegesna, Chairman & CEO, Sify, said, “I believe Microsoft Unlimited Potential is a path breaking initiative that will go a long way towards helping bridge the digital divide. The program will also contribute to economic development by empowering people for a technologically advanced society. We are very happy to partner with them in this initiative as it furthers our objective of empowering millions of Indians with IT services and the Internet to improve the quality of their lives. Our alliance also encompasses providing low cost utility computing for the masses that is affordable and easy to use”.Commenting on the alliance with Sify, Mr Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India, said, “Microsoft Unlimited Potential is an effort to help people everywhere achieve their goals and dreams – their true potential - through relevant, accessible, and affordable technology. The idea is to work together, given the confluence of objectives of Sify as a company and our Unlimited Potential commitment, to offer affordable, easy to use services to Indians by leveraging Sify’s IP capabilities, market reach over its sophisticated network and data centre infrastructure across the country.

Forward Looking Statements:This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The forward-looking statements contained herein are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements. Sify undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements. For a discussion of the risks associated with Sify’s business, please see the discussion under the caption “Risks Related to Our Business“ in the company's report on Form 6-K for the quarter ended December 31, 2006, which has been filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and is available by accessing the database maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov.

About Microsoft India

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ “MSFT“) is the worldwide leader in software for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software - any time, any place and on any device. Microsoft Corporation India Private Ltd is a subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation USA. It has had a presence in India since 1990 and currently has offices in ten cities - Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, Pune, Nagpur, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh.

About Sify

Sify is among the largest Internet, network and e-Commerce services companies in India, offering end-to-end solutions with a comprehensive range of products delivered over a common Internet backbone infrastructure. This Internet backbone reaches 188 cities and towns in India. A significant part of the company's revenue is derived from Corporate Services, which include corporate connectivity, network and communications solutions, security, network management services, enterprise applications and hosting. A host of blue chip customers use Sify's corporate service offerings. Consumer services include broadband home access, dial up connectivity and the iWay cyber café chain across 158 cities and towns. Sify is recognized as an ISO 9001:2000 certified service provider for network operations, data center operations and customer support, and for provisioning of VPNs, Internet bandwidth, VoIP Solutions and integrated security solutions, and BS7799 certified for Internet Data Center operations.

US Senate opens with Hindu prayer

History was created in the United States Senate at 9.30 am on Thursday, when Rajan Zed, the Hindu chaplain of the Indian Association of Northern Nevada, opened the Senate with a Hindu prayer.
This is the first such instance since the formation of the powerful Upper House in 1789.
A few Christian fundamentalists protested and began screaming, while holding the Bible aloft, "Lord Jesus, protect us from this abomination."
Officers from the Sergeant of Arms' office ejected one after the other (three were taken away) from the Senate gallery which looks down on the floor.
The president pro-tem of the Senate, had to beat the podium with his gavel thrice. He requested Zed to halt his prayer just as he was about to begin, and called on the Sergeant of Arms to restore order in the Senate Chamber.
A Senate aide said these people probably had gotten visitor's passes to the Senate gallery through a Senator's office and noted that "disrupting a Senate in the chamber is a criminal offense and they can be arrested."
A few minutes later, Zed delivered his prayer which took no more than 90 seconds, which as per the instructions from the Office of the Chaplain of the Senate had to be delivered exclusively and entirely in English.
"Let us pray," Zed began, "We meditate on the transcendental glory of the deity supreme, who is inside the heart of the earth, inside the life of the sky and inside the soul of heaven. May he stimulate and illuminate our minds.
"Lead us from the unreal to real, from darkness to light, and from death to immortality. May we be protected together. May we be nourished together. May we work together with great vigor. May our study be enlightening. May no obstacle arise between us."
Seeking the blessings of god on behalf of and for the Senators, Zed declared, "May the Senators strive constantly to serve the welfare of the world, performing their duties with the welfare of others always in mind. Because by devotion to selfless work one attains the supreme goal of life. May they work carefully and wisely, guided by compassion, and without though for themselves."
"United your resolve, united your hearts, may your spirits be at one, that you may long dwell in unity and concord!" he added, and ended with, "Peace, peace, peace be unto all."
Before stepping away from the podium, Zed also said, "And, Lord, we ask you to comfort the family of former First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson," wife of the former and late President Lyndon Baines Johnson, who died at age 94.
Speaking to rediff.com immediately after he delivered the prayer, Zed said, "I sprinkled some Ganga jal -- the water from the Holy Ganges [Images] on the podium before the prayer."
He also bemoaned the protests, saying, "I believe dialogue is always better," and profusely thanked Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, who had arranged for him to deliver the first Hindu prayer in the US Senate.
"The Senator was a very courageous man for standing up and giving us this opportunity. He was very courageous and I appreciate what he did very much," he said.
A few minutes later, when this correspondent accompanied Zed, his wife, Shipa, and four of his friends from Virginia, who were the only Indians present in the gallery to witness this historic chapter in the US Senate, to Reid's office, Zed told Reid, "We appreciate your courage, you stood up to them. We appreciate it very much that you went through with it."
Reid, seeing the conspicuous tilak of Zed's forehead, asked him what it was about, and the latter, who was wearing the saffron robes synonymous with Hindu priests, explained that it is a sign of auspiciousness.
Earlier, before the prayer, Reid told rediff.com, "There has been some criticism that I arranged this, which is true."
Asked if these protests were from other denominations, Reid said, "From other people," and noted, "The Senate Chaplain's office got hundreds of people protesting, by phone, mail and e-mail for allowing this."
But he asserted: "It shows what America is all about. Having real big arms to put around everyone and this is a religion that has been around a long time, which has brought peace and contentment to people over the generations and we are happy to have a (Hindu) prayer."
Before the prayer, Zed told rediff.com he felt honored, humbled and thrilled that he was creating history. "It's a great honor for me, my family, for the great state of Nevada, for all Americans and for us all Hindus. It's is indeed a historic occasion for all of us Indian-Americans also."
Zed said the fact that a Hindu prayer was opening the US Senate for the first time, was a clear indication that there is an acceptance of Hinduism as part of America today. "Slowly we are becoming mainstream. Yoga is very popular already, and through yoga in America, Hinduism is becoming more known. I teach Hinduism classes also in the community colleges (in Reno, Nevada) and I get a very favorable reception."
Each day, when the Senate is in session, the Senate chaplain delivers the opening prayer, before the Senate gets down to the business of lawmaking, which it shares with the US House of Representatives, but occasionally, on the urging of one community of another, particularly those from minority religions, guest chaplains are invited from across the country to deliver a prayer from their faith.
Zed, an alumnus of the Panjab University, from where he received his bachelor of journalism degree, is also the public relations office of the India Association of North Nevada.
After coming to the US for higher studies, Zed received his master of science and master of business administration from San Jose State University in California and the University of Nevada, Reno, respectively.

Irfan Pathan back in the swing after Lillee help

Discarded Indian seamer Irfan Pathan says he has regained his bowling rhythm after working with Australian pace legend Dennis Lillee and is confident of a quick recall to the national side.
The 22-year-old left-hander was hailed as a future successor to retired all-rounder Kapil Dev after his impressive debut as a teenager until his bowling form deserted him last year.
His confidence ebbed when he was sent home from South Africa in December and did not make the starting XI at this year's World Cup, where India made a first-round exit.
Pathan was omitted for the current England tour when he turned to the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai to work under chief coach Lillee and former India bowler T.A. Sekhar.
"I've been working for nearly a month at the Pace Foundation and I am feeling pretty good," he told Reuters.
"Lillee worked on my technical flaws, in the use of my non-bowling arm, my run-up," he said. "I'm feeling positive now."
Pathan is hopeful he can prove his form on the India A tour of Zimbabwe and Kenya starting this month. He is also among the probables for the Twenty20 World Cup in September.
SWING BOWLER
He made his debut in late 2003 and his ability to swing the ball as well as bat won him regular berths in both forms of the game. Pathan has 91 wickets in 25 Tests and 115 scalps from 73 one-dayers, averaging around 25 with the bat in both versions.
His finest hour came on the Pakistan tour in January 2006 when he claimed a hat-trick in the first over of the third Test in Karachi, although India lost to concede the series.
Pathan said his slide began soon after.
"I actually began developing these flaws nearly one-and-half years ago when I got the hat-trick," he said. "I knew there was something wrong, but didn't have much time to correct it."
He sought out former pace greats, Pakistan's Wasim Akram and West Indies's Andy Roberts, but to no avail.
Pathan is confident things would be different this time.
"I haven't played many games in the recent past," he said. "I need to do that to get back into the side."

HDFC, Wipro, Infosys among Asia's most admired companies

There's no shortage of Asian companies that have prospered thanks to a laser-like focus on their home markets. But what wins enough fans to land on BusinessWeek's list of most admired companies in Asia is success overseas.
Over the past few weeks, we've been asking visitors to BusinessWeek.com to vote for the Asian companies they most admire. The results now in and one trend is clear. Whether it's Toyota in Japan, Lenovo in China, or Infosys in India, the companies that have won recognition this year are those that have been pushing to build their businesses globally.
Toyota, of course, has a long history in the U.S. Now the Japanese automaker is beefing up its presence there even more. "We're committed to building cars where we sell them. We've done that, and there's no reason to think we won't be doing that in the future," says Jim Press, head of Toyota's North American operations.

Ronaldo, the man who kissed Bipasha

Christiano Ronaldo pulled out his cell phone and played his caller tune: Tujhse Naraaz Nahi Zindagi, from Shekhar Kapur's first film Masoom. And just in case this wasn't enough to establish the Manchester United star's credentials as a Bollywood aficionado, he roped in his mother, introducing her as a big Bollywood fan.
Mom confirmed that like her, son Christiano too was Bollywood pe fida.
The lady at the receiving end of this pitch -- Bipasha Basu, during her Lisbon trip to compere the unveiling of the new Seven Wonders of the World -- was duly impressed.
The pair met again that evening at a night club. They danced, they clinched, they gazed into each other's eyes, they, according to the Web site perez hilton.com kissed.
John Abraham was not missed. Neither was Manchester native Gemma Atkinson, the English actress and regular in the oomph pages of men's magazines ranging from Arena and Maxim to FHM and Nuts, who has been romantically linked to Ronaldo and who, early last year, augmented her natural charms to a whopping size 36DD.
Atkinson, interestingly, hit the gossip columns not long ago for reportedly 'cheating' on beau Ronaldo with his ManU team-mate Alan Smith; thanks to the latest developments, the score now reads 1-1 as the game moved into extra time.
Speaking of extra time, the tabloids note Bipasha and Christiano reportedly left the nightclub together; the rest of the evening was their private time, into which we will not delve.
Bipasha, apparently enamored of the fact that Ronaldo is completely enamored of Bollywood, has promised to put together an actor's cut of her films, and other 'good Bollywood films', for the soccer star's edification. Jism, presumably, will top the list.
Not to introduce a sour note into what seems a promising romance, but this would be the same Christiano Ronaldo who, in October 2005, went to a Manchester police station where he was arrested by officers of the Metropolitan Police. Bipasha could look up that coverage on the Internet.
Meanwhile, Bipasha had this to say in The Hindustan Times this morning, clarifying her stand: 'Yes, it was me in the picture. It was taken at an opportune moment and has been taken out of context. Again, it looks like a case of irresponsible assumptions.'

Hinglish songs that rock.

Take a little bit of English, pour a whole lot of Hindi and what do you get? Hinglish!
There was a time, when Kishore Kumar and Nutan played Tom and Jerry against C-A-T CAT (cat maane billi) and R-A-T RAT (rat maane chooha, arre dil hai tere panje mein toh kya hua) in Dilli Ka Thug.
Years later, Amitabh Bachchan introduced himself as My name is Anthony Gonsalves. Unable to come up with another such striking names, lyricists resorted to designations.
Mithun Chakravarthy flaunted his groovy profession with I am a disco dancer while Govinda humbly made do with I am street dancer.
Romantic declarations weren't far behind. Jackie Shroff swooned to Ding dong oh baby sing a song in Hero.
Karisma Kapoor vowed I live for you, I die for you in Prem Qaidi while arch rival Raveena Tandon cooed My adorable darling I live for you every night, every morning to Saif Ali Khan in Main Khiladi Tu Anari.
But Lolo and Ravs both paled in comparison to Rekha's sexy overtures with Akshay Kumar in In the night no control (Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi).
Does love means never having to say you're sorry? Says who? Check out Sridevi playfully chirping I am very, very sorry tera naam bhool gayi to Salman Khan in Chand Ka Tukda.
After covering most ground, it came down to the weather department. Like Atul Agnihotri's Hinglish statement: Rain is falling chamacham cham�.
Then things got a bit ridiculous with inanities like You are my chicken fry, you are my mutton fry (Rock Dancer). With rap and hip hop becoming a flavour of Hindi film music, the new millennium has witnessed an overwhelming flurry of 'hip 'n' happening' Hinglish music. Not everyone's a fan, of course.
You may dig or detest songs like Do you wanna partner' or You're my love from David Dhawan's romantic comedy, Partner. With the Salman Khan-Govinda starrer close on the heels of release, rediff.com decided to take a look at some of the Hinglish chartbusters in recent times.

Dravid Vs Vaughan

England captain Michael Vaughan

Michael Vaughan will lead England out at Lord's for the first npower Test against India knowing he now has extra pressure on him to succeed as captain.
The 32-year-old Yorkshire batsman's authority as England's captain has never been questioned since he succeeded Nasser Hussain four years ago.
Since then he has successfully led England to a first Test series victory in West Indies and South Africa in decades and memorably reclaimed the Ashes in 2005.
But he is as much aware as anyone that now he has relinquished the captaincy of the one-day side he will be vulnerable to any loss of form or bad run of results - particularly if Paul Collingwood makes an impressive start as the one-day captain.
Both Vaughan and Collingwood insist the twin captaincy situation is one they can adapt to be successful in both forms of the game, but history would suggest otherwise.
Back in 2003, Hussain resigned as captain just one Test after Vaughan had successfully led the one-day side to success in the triangular tournament against South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Similarly, in the early days of 1998, Michael Atherton dug his heels in and demanded to be one-day captain after feeling threatened by Adam Hollioake's success in the role during his absence.
Vaughan made the decision for all the right reasons - he has anticipated he would not be around for the next World Cup while the reduced workload will help his problematic right knee and boost his chances of leading England into the 2009 Ashes series.
But it will not help his cause if he suffers a loss of form similar to the one that has affected his one-day career or if England suddenly fail to respond to his leadership as was the case for Hussain four years ago.
"I know I said split captaincy probably wouldn't work but if it's going to work it's going to work with someone like me because I'm pretty chilled, I do it in a different manner to a lot of other people and I'm very committed to continuing as the Test captain as long as the team want me," stressed Vaughan.
"I don't have any worries about the decision I've made because I believe it's the right thing for the English game and for English cricket to move forward.
"I am committed to continuing as England's Test captain for as long as I can be successful in the role. I enjoy the job."

India captain Rahul Dravid

Amid the exhilarating strokeplay offered by those around him in India's brilliant batting line-up, Rahul Dravid's contributions have often been overlooked.
Yet, it is hard to argue with statistics that boast more than 9,000 Test runs at an average of over 57 and more than 10,000 runs in 300-plus one-day internationals.
The calm assurance he has brought to the captain's role after the volatile tenure of Surav Ganguly has not necessarily led to a greater consistency in results but India's prospects are certainly in safer hands.
Dravid can always be relied upon to deliver with the bat, particularly if his team-mates struggle. Often has been the time when Dravid has come out to dig his side out of trouble or he has dug in to set up a large total.
But he does not only lead by example, he has proved himself as a smart thinker and capable skipper. His leadership is not only inspirational but cohesive.
He admits the job is not straightforward, with the Indian management taking flak for too much experimentation in the last year or so.
But Dravid has the temperament to take all of this in his stride and believes, with such a large player pool, the approach has been correct to find the best combination.
"As a captain, it's tough," he said. "You have to make tough decisions and explain to the boys why you've done so.
"No-one likes to be told they're dropped, but it's a fact of international cricket that's been going on since day one, and will go on much after I leave the captaincy.
"The management has experience, we senior players have experience, and we try to get the best combination. That's part of the game.
"Eleven guys can play in a team, and, as long as you can explain to someone what the reasons are, despite what anyone has to say, you're doing fine."

Is Michael Vaughan England's greatest captain?

So Michael Vaughan is the greatest captain in the history of England cricket.
It says so in the record books, England's victory over the West Indies at Old Trafford in June took Vaughan's total of Test wins as skipper to 21. Victory at Durham's Riverside ground a week later made it 22.
That's two more than Peter May, four more than Mike Brearley and nine more than Mike Atherton.
But numbers alone are not always an accurate gauge of greatness.
Which is not to say that Vaughan is not a fine leader of men, or that his captaincy was not crucial in delivering the Ashes success of 2005.
There is no question that Vaughan has brought a solidity and an intelligence to the England team since taking over from Nasser Hussain in the summer of 2003.
His value can perhaps best be measured by the implosion of England in Australia at the back end of last year and the beginning of this when his knee injury forced him to sit out the Ashes return series and Andrew Flintoff's side turned the glory of 16 months previously into a humiliating whitewash.
England have benefited from Vaughan's steadying influence, his imaginative field placings and his intuitive touch when juggling his bowling resources.
There is a calmness about England when Vaughan is in charge, one brought about by the fact that he is respected and admired by every one of his team-mates, even if his recent ill-judged criticism of Flintoff might have frayed loyalty in certain parts.
Vaughan, however, undoubtedly benefited from the pioneering work initiated by former coach Duncan Fletcher and Hussain, especially regarding central contracts which allowed England an exclusive core of players.
In 2004 those same players were unbeaten, winning 11 matches and drawing two, including an England record of eight consecutive victories.
They beat the West Indies away for the first time since 1968, won all seven home Tests against New Zealand and the West Indies, before beating South Africa away for the first time since 1965.
Impressive stuff, all of which laid the foundations for the famous Ashes series triumph.
But does that make Vaughan a better captain than Ray Illingworth, whose 12 England victories trail way behind his total but who won them when the pickings were not so easy from emerging nations such as Bangladesh and Zimbabwe and when Test cricket rocked to a spectacular Caribbean beat?
Does it make him better than May, the most stylish of batsmen and whose 20 wins came in 41 matches?
And, most pointedly, does it make him a better captain than Mike Brearley, whose 18 triumphs in 31 Tests, including seven series successes, gives him a win ratio of 58%?
I would argue not, with Brearley still the man to beat when it comes to the art of sporting leadership.
Actually, Brearley made captaincy into a science, combining his analytical brain and understanding of psychology to get the best out of his players.
Brearley's reconstruction of the hero who was Ian Botham remains perhaps the greatest example of mind over matter in cricket history.
With Botham's confidence shot to bits after being relieved of the captain after having made 34 runs in four innings in the 1981 Ashes series the selectors plucked Brearley out of county cricket.
Many expected Botham to step down altogether. Instead he responded with the unforgettable 149 not out at Headingley which, together with Bob Willis' eight for 43, won the third Test to square the series.
He weighed in with crucial wickets and another century at Old Trafford as England went on to win the series 3-1.
None of it would have been possible without Brearley's inspirational man-management.
Which is just the quality Vaughan might need to restore his strained relationship with Flintoff and get the Lancashire man back to his best when he recovers from his injured ankle.

Nielsen Alters Web Ratings, Favoring AOL Over Google

Nielsen/NetRatings has changed the way it rates Web sites and in the process has upended the rankings of the top online destinations, vaulting AOL and Yahoo over rival Google.
This new measure will report the total time spent for all visitors and provide a better understanding of users' total engagement of Web pages and volume of traffic, Nielsen said.
Use of programs such as instant messaging and e-mail propelled AOL, Yahoo and MSN/Windows Live to the top three rankings.

Making the biggest leap, AOL moved to the No. 1 U.S. site, logging 25 billion minutes, according to Nielsen's May data. If ranked by Web page views, AOL would be No. 6.
Google dropped to fifth from third by page view ranking by minutes of use, at about 7 billion minutes.

"AOL has worked very hard to increase user engagement," said spokeswoman Amy Call. "This new rating is validation."

The change in audience measurement comes as the frequent use of online video and streaming sports scores and stock quotes make the number of page views increasingly irrelevant to a Web site's popularity.

New technology has also altered the way consumers engage sites. For example, a system called Ajax automatically refreshes Web page content without the user clicking to reload the page, which reduced the number of page views in the old rankings. Now new e-mails also appear without pressing the "check mail" button. Nielsen rival ComScore addressed these changes in March by measuring the frequency with which users return to sites.

"It's a step forward in reflecting the changing technology and needs for the business," said Lynn Bolger, vice president of Yahoo's advertising and sales research. "It's a better indicator of what the audience is actually doing."

Google said it does not comment on third-party research.

Jennifer Simpson, a senior analyst for Yankee Group, said the new rankings may prompt advertisers to change they way they present and place ads. It could also hurt search engines like Google that generally serve as pit stops for users looking for something else.
"The longer eyeballs are on a Web site, those pages potentially have more engagement with individual," Simpson said. "And that's more time to see advertising displayed."
"Social networking sites versus search sites have very different levels of engagement," she said. "You might spend a minute and a half doing a Google search and spend five to 10 minutes on a friend's MySpace page. It'll be interesting to see the shift in advertising dollars."
Measuring how long visitors spend on a site benefits pages with online gambling and other Internet applications.

Electronic Arts Online broke into the top 10 thanks to the amount of time users spend on its gaming site Pogo.com Nielsen reported. And Microsoft and Apple benefited from the popularity of Windows Media Player and iTunes.

Sheryl Draizen, senior vice president of Interactive Advertising Bureau, said this measurement method isn't definitive. While tracking the time spent on Web pages is important in measuring volume, there are other methods to explore.

"We have to be cautious that not everyone leaps to the conclusion that the time spent metric is the replacement to page view metric," said Draizen, whose group represents online media companies. "We're not sure what the industry agrees to at this time."

Bipasha in Saif’s new house?

There have been a lot of new developments in our chote nawab’s life. New movies, new women and a new house. Some people have all the luck, you see. While the first two are taking up a lot of his time, and ours too (it’s the talk-of-the-town, after all), the actor hasn’t moved in to his new abode, yet. His mom, the lovely, Sharmila Tagore, is adding the final touches to the house, and for the last few weeks she’s been travelling around. Obviously, more than the man himself, his neighbours are getting restless waiting for him to move in. And it might be a double treat for them, what with ‘good-friend’ Bips dropping in to meet him so very often. Getting your binoculars ready, guys? Quite a starry sight, indeed. Wotsay?

Rowling to write eighth Harry Potter book?

For Harry Potter fans, this one's as tantalising a teaser as Albus Dumbledore smiling when he learns that Lord Voldemort has used Harry's blood to regain his body.
Author J K Rowling has said 'never say never' in response to a global campaign launched by fans to 'Save Harry.'
'It's not saying that she definitely is [going to write another book] and it's not saying that she definitely isn't. I cannot comment further,' a spokesman for the author was quoted as saying in newspaper reports, including in Telegraph.

The Magic Of Harry Potter
All over blogs, discussion groups and fan sites, debate has been raging on whether Harry Potter will die in the seventh -- and what was mentioned by Rowling as the final -- Harry Potter book, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, which will be published on July 21.
Popular theories trying to second-guess Rowling include Harry being a Horcrux (magical pieces of an evil wizard's soul) himself, and the two characters who will die being Hagrid and Hermione. But then, Rowling has been rather good at second-guessing second-guessers so far.

The Save Harry campaign has been launched by booksellers Waterstone's who are arguing that there is a literary precedent -- the case of Sherlock Holmes.
Previously, Rowling has said that the Harry Potter story will end with book 7 (Deathly Hallows) and that she might write a spin-off book like explaining magical spells and creatures mentioned in the Potter books.
But to BBC in a recent interview, she also said, 'Never say never.'

Need Feilders

I think that Team India is missing players like Kaif and Raina who were fit and stops many runs by there feild and also catch and runout the batsman.