October 16, 2009

Auschwitz Now on Facebook

In a move sure to raise more than a few eyebrows, authorities who manage a former Nazi concentration camp have set up a Facebook page for the infamous establishment. Auschwitz, now a Polish state museum, was the site of over 1 million murders at the hands of the Nazi regime, and now has its very own Facebook presence, the BBC reports. Officials set up the page in an effort to raise awareness and further Holocaust education, seeing the networking site as a unique medium through which a younger generation could learn and engage in conversation about one of the darkest chapters of the 20th century.

This foray into Facebook is part of the museum’s ongoing initiative to reach a younger, more technologically versed audience — a campaign that even includes an Auschwitz YouTube channel. The newly minted Facebook page contains information about the museum and a discussion board, as well as links to the official homepage and YouTube channel. It ultimately aspires, as museum official Pawel Sawicki says, to be an instrument of dialogue, and “a place for discussion which is not available on the official website.” Sawicki acknowledges the risk of opening the doors on such a historically delicate and horrific subject, but remains confident that the museum managers will not “let anyone do anything that may abuse the memory of the victims” or Auschwitz, itself.
Sawicki also emphasized that the page is, for now, “just an experiment” — an experiment whose results will be judged based on public reaction. It’s obvious that whoever oversees the site will have to do some serious content monitoring, given the fiery sentiment that any Holocaust-related topic is at risk of arousing. Although we suppose the initial reaction will probably be tepid (being a “fan” of Auschwitz isn’t exactly the kinda thing you want showing up on your mini-feed), we hope that, in the long run, it proves fruitful, educational, and, most importantly, encouraging of discourse. Broaching any politically charged topic on Facebook, let alone one so emotionally combustible, can be risky. If the page manages to thrive, though, it would represent a big step in Facebook’s development from online frathouse to bona fide forum for real and reflective discourse. [From: BBC

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May 12, 2009

'I didn't distribute Jaya's nude photos'

The man Amar Singh loves to hate has been accused of many things. Targeting Jayaprada is only one of them. In an interview to Anshuman G Dutta, Azam Khan says it’s all propaganda. You were one of the founding members of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and you stood behind Mulayam Singh Yadav for 25 years. But today you are on the verge of splitting with him. What caused the bad blood? There is no question of separation with Mulayamji. My relationship with him stands on a firm base of mutual love and respect. Mera to unse mohabbat ka rishta hai (Our relationship is based on love). The relation is not so weak that it will break on such flimsy grounds. Spitting fire: Azam Khan My only issue with him (Mulayam Singh Yadav) is about his closeness to Kalyan Singh who has accepted his role behind the demolition of the Babri Masjid. The country is ashamed of him (Kalyan Singh); he is a traitor as well as a culprit of entire humanity. But even this damage is not enough to break my association with Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav). Then, why are you making an issue of Jayaprada’s candidature from Rampur? Jayaprada was never my real issue with Netaji. My dispute is over Kalyan Singh. This time, Jayaprada’s candidature (on a Samajwadi Party ticket) became a local issue in Rampur because it is a religious place. People here can’t forget what happened during the Babri Masjid episode and how Kalyan Singh issued orders and monitored the destruction of the mosque. But Jayaprada has alleged that your supporters are distributing her nude posters. Allegedly, she has even threatened to commit suicide over it? I swear in the name of god that I never did any such thing. How can one even think of indulging in such a cheap act? Maine kabhi unki ashleel tasveerein nahi batwayi, na kabhi kiya hai na kabhi karunga. (I didn’t distribute her nude photographs and will never so such a thing). I don’t know what made her say these things but she is only ruining her image by resorting to such sensationalism. She should not make such false allegations against anyone. As far as I am concerned, I am a very small person from the grassroots of the society. She is our leader while I am not even a party candidate. As far as her threats of committing suicide are concerned, Jayaprada has already attempted it twice and nobody can guarantee that she will not think of doing so again. I don’t know how I can be of any help if she attempts it for the third time. She should levy such allegations against the Opposition parties so that people give her accusations a second thought. Amar Singh’s critics say that there isn’t any Samajwadi left in SP. Do you agree? Amar Singh is a reputed man while I am an insignificant foot soldier of the party. I will give my best to assure that the foundation of the party remains intact till my last breath. But there is no denying that the party’s image has taken a beating due to Amar Singh’s ways. One incident that harmed the SP’s image? How can Mulayamji embrace someone like Kalyan Singh in a public meeting? He (Kalyan Singh) is a lowly character who has hurt Muslim sentiments while Mulayamji was known for his secular image. But when he hugged Kalyan Singh, he proved that he is sailing on two boats. The SP has been perhaps the most secular party but now it is giving shelter to characters like Kalyan. Do you think your public protests could result in the SP losing Muslim votes in these elections? It’s wrong to say that I protested against anything. I don’t know what would have happened had I opted for any kind of protest. As far as Muslim votes for the party are concerned, I can’t say anything till May 16 . I am no fortune-teller and I can’t predict the future. Your sudden closeness to the Congress candidate from Rampur, Noor Bano, is fuelling speculations that you are planning to quit the SP for either the Congress or BSP? How far is that true? I have nothing to do with Noor Bano. Mera to unse dua salaam tak ka bhi rishta nahi hai (We are not even acquaintances). So far I have not thought of quitting the Samajwadi Party but things can change after May 16. I don’t want to make any statement that will lead to more speculation. A lot has been said about Amar Singh and Jayaprada’s relationship. What do you have to say about it? What can I say? I am a very small person and they are big leaders. Only a week is left for the poll verdict to be declared and there is no point in getting involved in such guessing games. As far as Jayaprada is concerned, woh meri behen ke samaan hai aur main unka bhai hoon. Rampur wala bhai nahi, Mumbai wala bhai (Jayaprada is like a sister to me.) She stays in five-star hotels whereas I still live in a modest accommodation. But do you think Jayaprada can be a mass leader like you? She is already a leader. Woh hamari afsar hai (She is a senior party official). She and Amar Singh make national headlines. They are kingmakers and have their own designs. My area of work is still laden with dust. Your statements against Jayaprada and Amar Singh are always laden with puns and taunts… Aisa kuch bhi nahi hai. Main unke khilaaf kuch bhi nahi bol sakta (I dare not speak against them). Only a week is left for the people’s verdict. Let’s hope for the best.

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March 23, 2009

Security stumps IPL, to be held outside India

The Indian Premier League (IPL) will be held outside India due to security concerns, BCCI President Shashank Manohar said on Sunday in a press conference. “Due to the Government’s attitude that they can’t provide us with proper security, especially in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, we have moved the IPL out of India,” Manohar said. “We are in discussion with other Boards who are willing to host the event. I apologise to the people of India for moving the tournament out,” Manohar added. It is believed that South Africa and England are being considered, however New Zealand is also an option. Manohar said the new venues will be decided in the next two-three days. New Zealand and England are being considered as an alternative because their domestic sports season has come to an end. South Africa is the most likely host because their stadiums are the best for IPL matches. South Africa is even willing to host IPL in their country, sources added. Indian viewers will be able to watch the matches at 1600 hrs IST and 2000 hrs IST, Manohar said and added that there will be no change in the IPL dates or format. When asked if the franchises were taken into the confidence before taking the decision, Manohar said, “The franchise would want the tournament to go ahead”. The decision may have been taken because Home Minister P Chidambaram had made it clear that the states will not be allowed to compromise on poll security due to IPL matches. The Working Committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) met on Sunday to thrash out matters related to the IPL Season II. The meeting was convened in the wake of the reservations expressed by the law and order departments of the respective state governments to provide adequate security cover because the Twenty20 competition clashes with the dates of the General Elections.

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February 18, 2009
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1660631150/bctid1912001444
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Facebook’s TOS debacle: Be upset for a better reason

There was some Facebook backlash over the long U.S. weekend that has prompted some calls for boycotts over two sentences that were taken out of the company’s Terms of Services agreement earlier this month. Those sentences once allowed users to delete all of their uploaded content - pics, videos, notes and so on - and walk away from the service with only “archived copies” left behind for Facebook. And one day, that legal language disappeared from the TOS.

That means Facebook can continue to do all the things you allow it to do with your content as a user - stream, publish, copy, store, distribute and, yeah, even sublicense it for promotional purposes - even after you quit. And when the consumer watchdog site, The Consumerist, highlighted the missing language on its blog Sunday evening, the news started to spread.

Users are outraged, so much so that they have started to - yup, you guessed it - form protest groups on Facebook, including one called People Against the new Terms of Service (TOS), which was pushing 16,000 members early Tuesday. But they’re actually getting mad for the wrong reason.

Sure, get upset about how they can use your content if you’d like but that’s not new. We’re just finding out about it - and that’s what’s even more disturbing. But more on that in a minute.

Facebook rightly disrupted the long U.S. holiday weekend and jumped into action to launch some damage control, posting a Monday afternoon blog post from CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg:

Our philosophy is that people own their information and control who they share it with. When a person shares information on Facebook, they first need to grant Facebook a license to use that information so that we can show it to the other people they’ve asked us to share it with. Without this license, we couldn’t help people share that information. One of the questions about our new terms of use is whether Facebook can use this information forever. When a person shares something like a message with a friend, two copies of that information are created—one in the person’s sent messages box and the other in their friend’s inbox. Even if the person deactivates their account, their friend still has a copy of that message. We think this is the right way for Facebook to work, and it is consistent with how other services like email work. One of the reasons we updated our terms was to make this more clear.

If I’m understanding what Mark is saying, just because one of my friends decides to delete his account doesn’t mean that I suddenly can no longer see the picture that he uploaded and tagged of me and him. So, in that sense, if the user who uploaded it goes away, the picture stays - and my friends are still free to see it.

Of course that makes sense - just like the analogy of sent and received e-mail makes sense. And, sure, it’s probably reasonable for Facebook to clarify this language in an updated TOS. Really, I don’t know that this is worth some sort of widespread boycott effort. But, with that said, let’s jump back to that better reason to be upset and look at two other sentences in the TOS:

We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to change or delete portions of these Terms at any time without further notice. Your continued use of the Facebook Service after any such changes constitutes your acceptance of the new Terms.

Whoa! You get to change the rules and you don’t have to tell me about it? And just because I log-in again tomorrow - just like I do at some point pretty much every day - means that i agree to the new rules you’ve put in place? How is that fair? After all, this is a social networking site that has built a huge following based on tools for communicating with other people - and you can’t “communicate” to me that you changed the rules? From Mark’s blog post:

We’re at an interesting point in the development of the open online world where these issues are being worked out. It’s difficult terrain to navigate and we’re going to make some missteps…

Clearly.

In all fairness, the company posted an entry on its corporate blog about the new term when it made the changes, stating that it had “simplified and clarified a lot of information that applies to you, including some things you shouldn’t do when using the site” and then went on to talk about protecting you and your privacy.

Who knows if anyone at Facebook would have foreseen this type of backlash? Still, maybe that post needed some more meat to it - maybe bullet points of all the changes and what they really meant. After all, a link to the new TOS is useless without a copy of the old one for comparison and, absent of those, a line in a blog post that mentions changes to “a lot of information that applies to you” without any explanation does little good.

One last thing: couldn’t the company have also covered its bases by blasting an e-mail to every user? After all, Facebook does have an address for each of its members. And it is the one single thread - the license - that keeps Facebook connected its users. So, in that sense, it’s kind of important.

Whenever my bank makes any changes to a privacy policy or interest rate, they send a copy of the new agreement in the mail. Whether I read it or not is a different story - but at least they’ve reached out to me to notify me of the changes. In this case, from best I can tell, that’s where Facebook dropped the ball.

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Brazilian Girls play electronic dance music that fuses many styles and can pump you up from the word go.

Brazilian Girls play electronic dance music that fuses many styles and can pump you up from the word go.

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Judge A Song By Its Cover

My boss  and Brunch columnist, Vir Sanghvi, was quick to observe that probably the Jefferson Airplane version of the song, featured on the band’s

Volunteers album, was a better one. I re-heard Volunteers and tend to agree. Then I found a rare live version of the Airplane doing the song on YouTube that was even better.

The Airplane changed the melody as well as the lyrics a bit and, of course, there was the icing on top in the form of the excellent vocals of Grace Slick who pitched in with Paul Kantner. Sometimes when a band covers someone else’s original song, it can be so different, I thought. I was wrong. Wooden Ships, a bit of research revealed, was originally a song written by David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Airplane’s Paul Kantner.

It so happened that when it was first released on Crosby, Stills & Nash’s eponymous first album in 1969, Kantner wasn’t credited for the song he co-wrote in Florida aboard a boat owned by Crosby.

It was much later, actually in 2006, when the CSN album was re-released that the Airplane frontman was finally co-credited for it. Fastforward to the present, and CDs, mp3s and, most of all, mp3 players like iPods make the effort of putting a playlist together a breeze. If you have all or most of your tunes in digital form, some clicks are all it takes to make your CD for the day or a playlist that you can play directly off your mp3 player itself. Anyway, that’s enough of digressing. What’s your perfect Sunday playlist? Last Sunday, I ended up with some great new (and newish) music.

Yet, cover versions of other people’s original songs can be great fun. Sometimes they are a great way to get introduced to new bands. The first time I heard Sublime, a ska punk (ska is a Jamaican musical genre considered a precursor to reggae) band from Southern California, I got drawn to into their music by their cover of a Grateful Dead favourite, Scarlet Begonias.

The late Brad Nowell from Sublime added an entire new verse to that song, which gave it an edgy, trippy twist that the original didn’t have. So, in December, when I came across a nice, long one-hour and forty-five-minute podcast from live music download website, I heard a version of The Doors’ Riders on the Storm by Widespread Panic and Roadhouse Blues by Railroad Earth. Now, I don’t much care for the The Doors, but the two bands—Panic with their trademark jams and Railroad Earth with their rootsy, bluegrass sound—recreated those two songs in a manner that I could have never imagined. Nor, I am sure, would have Jim (may his soul R.I.P).

Good covers are like new wine in new bottles, although the original grape may be the same. Yet, not everyone can pull off a good cover. Some cover bands are boringly predictable. Like The Dark Star Orchestra, which faithfully recreates entire Grateful Dead concerts, each member painstakingly copying the band’s every lick, riff and vocal notes. Or Think Floyd, a British band that, yes you guessed right, meticulously plays everything that Pink Floyd ever wrote.

These are tribute bands that could act as a placebo for die-hard fans who can’t get over the break-up or demise of their loved musicians and who clutch at anything that recreates or reminds them of their idols. Yet, there are exceptions to this. Some hook you with their originality. Like Lez Zeppelin, an all-woman band from New York who play only Led Zeppelin songs and are really, really good.

One of my favourite musicians is Cat Power (aka Chan Marshall), an American singer-songwriter with a rich oeuvre of her original music in her trademark minimalist style. But Power has an album called The Covers Record where she’s done songs that are almost entirely covers of other people’s songs. And one that’s outstanding is the Rolling Stones favourite, (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction. Now, I have heard Mick Jagger himself sing Satisfaction in several ways over the past four decades and more (sigh!), but I never thought the song could be interpreted the way Power does it on her album. If you haven’t heard The Covers record, I’d recommend looking for it and checking out several other covers, including her amazing version of Lou Reed’s I Found A Reason.

Last year, when the attitude-laden Billy Corgan took his band, Chicago’s alternative rockers, The Smashing Pumpkins, on tour, he generously laced its gigs with covers, doing their version of classic tracks. Their version of The Beatles’ Nowhere Man is a must-listen.

Some bands take the concept of doing covers to an altogether different level. Brain Damaged Eggmen is a project that fuses two great jam bands, Umphrey’s McGee and The Disco Biscuits, both huge acts on today’s jamband scene. Their fusion takes its name from the Pink Floyd song, Brain Damage, and a line from The Beatles’ I Am The Walrus. When Brain Damaged Eggmen do gigs, they only do their interpretations of Floyd and Beatles songs—usually dedicating one set to each band. Now, that’s what I’d call a real tribute.

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February 17, 2009

Vote on account: Has Pranab done a good job?

  • P. Venugopal
  • Message #1
  • 02/16/09 01: 47 PM
  • External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee has refrained from making any tax proposals or other welfare masures in his vote on account. Has he done a good job within his limitations. Discuss
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  • DEVANSH SONI
  • Message #2
  • 02/16/09 02: 46 PM
  • IT SHOULD CONTAIN SOME TAX EXEMPTIONS , TAX HOLIDAY FOR BUSINESS SECTOR.
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  • Prawash Chandra
  • Message #3
  • 02/16/09 02: 51 PM
  • Given the constraints, it being an interim budget, need to contain inflation & avoid huge bugetary defecit, global down turn; this is an effecient budget.
  • Not flashy with unnecssary show incentives & tax benefits. In any case Taxation and other fiscal measures can be administered any time susequently, as per the requirements in a global environment whose challenges are evolving and changing.
  • The impact of the last fiscal measure have to seen & analysed and then a calibrated response should be forthcoming.
  • Mature handling of the Situation.
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  • Rohit82
  • Message #4
  • 02/16/09 02: 57 PM
  • He Has done an overall good job and has not made any radical changes. This budget does not need to borrow anything not does need to impose unneccasary taxes on people.
  • India Inc. is disappointed that any radical changes haven't been made but in such a time they should be thankful because he has acted within his limits.
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  • arkothrud
  • Message #5
  • 02/16/09 03: 01 PM
  • It is an interim budget by Interim Govt and by an interim Finance minister.Disappointing.Does not address issue of downturn in economy
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  • The_guy_next_door2000
  • Message #6
  • 02/16/09 03: 27 PM
  • Market seems to think otherwise...so its not a good budget.
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  • sanjeevkumar
  • Message #7
  • 02/16/09 03: 34 PM
  • In the current situation, the budget should have contain some sops like reducing IT maximum rate from 33% to 27% and reduction in excise duty, etc. But nothing is
  • addressed. So it is not going to help business or government or individual in any way.
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  • dear.kan
  • Message #8
  • 02/16/09 03: 42 PM
  • HotElection being round the corner Pranab has shown restraint from presenting the populous budget. All the Govt.Servants are expecting tax relief but it was not to be. he could have lure them by giving tax relief. Corporate honchos also were expecting the same , but disappointed.Being voted on account no drastic measures taken. NO PLEASE ALL BUDGET.
  • Reserve your smile for the final budget.
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  • R Gupta
  • Message #9
  • 02/16/09 03: 43 PM
  • THIS HAS BEEN DISASTROUS INTERIM BUDGET.EXTRA ORDINARY TIMES REQUIRE EXTRA ORDINARY ACTION.IT IS BETTER THAT THE PRESENT GOVERNMENT COMES DOWN TO THE GROUND REALITIES OF THE WORLD RATHER THAN LIVING IN SELF GLORY
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  • reddy2007.blogspot.com
  • Message #10
  • 02/16/09 03: 47 PM
  • This is non-event budget. There is nothing special to talk about. The Congress party may be pinning hopes on the next government to put the budget.
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  • Penta Sheriff
  • Message #11
  • 02/16/09 03: 48 PM
  • I think Mr Mukerjee has done nothing for the common man,all the sops are for the industry and not for the guy who is loosing his job
  • Sheriff
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  • Raja26
  • Message #12
  • 02/16/09 03: 57 PM
  • Not at all a good budget. This is the right time when Indian economy and Indian Industry need support and tax benefits.
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  • Winch
  • Message #13
  • 02/16/09 04: 33 PM
  • Smile ???
  • Not you or me
  • It will be P. C. who will be smiling at the discomfort of the New Finanace Minister,
  • to fidn resources for the additional allocations, fram loan write off, etc. etc.
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  • Sunyhf
  • Message #14
  • 02/16/09 04: 34 PM
  • This is an interim budget, the salient points of which were pre-determined and as expected. To expect anything else, considering the state of the world's economy, is not wise. The government has acted wisely - there is no need to give any SOPs, tax breaks etc., and the focus on ensuring a steady growth rate is what this country needs right now. This is the need of the hour.
  • The finance ministry can always make amendments during the course of the year. But right now, focus MUST and should be on the growth rate.Smile
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  • Winch
  • Message #15
  • 02/16/09 04: 38 PM
  • Smile ??????????????????
  • Not for you and me
  • It will be P.C. who will do all the smiling, at the discomforture of the New Finanace Minister, in trying to find resources for meeting the additional allocations, farm loan write-offs, etc.
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  • Venkateswaraprasad Venkoba Rao
  • Message #16
  • 02/16/09 04: 46 PM
  • My personal wish is that collect tax from companies, association of persons, body of individuals, partnership firms, individuals (and others are already paying indirect taxes!) at least one rupee if they are still showing a loss in their Loss and Profit account/statement. Let us inculcate the habit of paying taxes even if we are at loss situation. Why should we say Pay taxes and keep your head held high only when there is profit. Basement of a building is not known when you see only the building. But without the basement building cannot stand on its own. Let every one pay tax at least one rupee if they are at a loss, exempted categories and the like. It is the citizen who has to uphold his position by paying more taxes as he progresses up the ladder. If he still wants to pay one rupee nothing wrong but still there is lot of scope for him to pay in the days to come with flying colours as a Citizen.
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February 15, 2009

GADGET of the Year

2008 was a very good year for laptop aficionados, as there were multiple releases which were simply delightful to work with in every respect of the term. While we were drawing our list however, there was only one laptop that actually leapt out at us for its impeccable design and feature-set overall – the Macbook 13.3.

Now people may argue what is so special about this entry-level Mac? Well the answer is very simple. Apple who has often been accused of not being generous with its entry-level machines, simply rebooted the segment with the introduction of a spanking classy new design, that allowed Apple to manufacture the laptop and its entire range of components using a new process simply called ‘Unibody’. The body was carved from a solid block of aluminum and this allowed it to shed its dowdy, plastic finish in favor of a sexy sleek aluminum finish.

Apart from just making it look good, Apple also upgraded the new 13.3-inch machine to a backlit LED panel that offered brilliant performance, a great keyboard/touchpad combo and powerful specifications that allowed it to sail through all kinds of performance tests without any issues. When you consider its price of Rs. 79,700 and the segment it’s placed in (13.3 inch ultra-portables), its combination of great looks, amazing performance and unique styling rightfully allows it to claim the tag of “Laptop of the year”.

Runner-Up: Dell XPS M1730

The inclusion of a Dell in this lineup should hardly come as a surprise. The XPS M1730 that we have selected as runner-up here was easily the most powerful machine we have reviewed this year and this showed in both its design and performance. The M1730’s design was a radical departure from the slim lines of its younger brothers. It was a behemoth of a laptop, with its measurements of 406 x 302.6 x 50.7 mm and its weight of 4.81 kg. Its sense of styling and finish were top-notch too, with a beautiful dull-gloss black finish which was accentuated by a series of LEDs housed on the lid.

Since it is a gaming machine, it came loaded to the hilt with an incredible set of specifications which included an Intel Core 2 Extreme 9000 CPU clocked at 2.8 GHz (overclockable to 3.4 GHz), 4 GB of DDR2-667 RAM, a pair of Nvidia 8800M GTX cards in SLI, a 17-inch full-HD LED panel, and a Creative Sound Blaster Audigy HD audio chipset. This kind of specification allowed it to achieve segment leading scores.

The Dell XPS M1730 costs Rs 1.71 lakh. At this price it’s a brilliant purchase as it scores over other laptops in this range, as it’s the only one that’s SLI-Ready and offers playable frame rates at very high resolutions (HD/Full HD). This kind of performance and styling is what allows it to easily claim the title of being our runner-up of the year, in laptops.

Best Value: Dell Inspiron 1525

This segment was perhaps the most competitive, when it came to making a selection. There were several excellent choices from virtually everyone here including Acer Gemstone series, HP’s DV series, Lenovo with its Y series and ultimately Dell with its Inspiron Range. If that was not daunting enough, Dell decided to further complicate matters by introducing a new range called Studio that stood between the higher end XPS line up and the entry-level Inspiron range. Ultimately after a lot of brainstorming, arguments with colleagues and taking price into factor, we decided to declare the Dell 1525 as the winner of the title “Value laptop of the year”.

Even though as we have mentioned there were several excellent value laptops, the Dell 1525 ultimately emerged as the winner purely because of the number of positives that came attached with it. Firstly Dell re-invented the Inspiron range by giving it a more tapered streamlined look, with an improved finish that gave it a touch of class and style only found in the more expensive XPS range. Dell also worked on user complaints that the LCD panel of the Inspiron range was a little too bland and fixed this problem by offering its tru-life screens in the new Inspiron 1525. Furthermore the company retained the strong points of previous Inspiron models such as the sturdy build quality, excellent keyboard /mouse duo and enhanced it by introducing a huge variety of hardware options as its specifications.


The Cowon A3 is a very feature-rich PMP that’s loaded with goodies for a vidiot. It’s 4-inch, 800 x 480 pixel, 16 million color display is a perfect for just propping up and sitting back with a good movie. It has a wide support for video and audio formats including DivX, Xvid and FLAC. It also allows playback of video files with 1280 x 720 resolution and all media can be simply copy pasted onto the drive (30GB, 40GB, 60GB). What really stands out when it comes to the features is the live recording option that allows users to record from a TV or a camcorder. It also has a Line In and Out, standard 3.5mm earphone socket and USB connectivity. You can view images as well as .TXT and .PDF files. The company has also made it a point to bundle the player with all the relevant wires required for all connectivity options available.

Runner up - iPod Classic


An iPod is the epitome of music and video playback on a portable device but some how it’s constant tie in with a proprietary PC software and USB connectivity option poses little bit of an issue. Nothing you can’t get by of course. The latest 160GB iPod Classic allows users to transport their entire music collection in single device for playback anytime anywhere. The upgraded firmware has made it a funkier and more intuitive device than the previous models with games and a new UI on it’s a 2.5 inch TFT LCD that sports a 320 x 240 pixel resolution. It’s the same device that Apple users have loved since the first gen model was out but the new UI, a vast amount of storage space and a slightly better finish on the body makes it little more appealing.

Sony Walkman NWZ E436F


The E436 Walkman DAP comes equipped with a 2-inch QVGA TFT LCD display that’s good enough to watch short video clips and view images. The sound quality of the device is really good and can of course be enhanced with the aid of the in-built customizable 5 band graphic EQ. Although it comes with a bundled PC software for data transfer and management it’s not really necessary to use it. Files can be copy/pasted and stored in folders of your choice for playback so there’s no need to create playlists. It’s available in a range of funky colors in 4GB models.

Digital Audio Players

Creative Zen Stone Plus with Speaker


The reason we’ve chosen the Zen Stone with the Speaker as the DAP of the year as opposed to the Stone or Stone Plus is because of the obvious added advantage of having the ability, albeit not the loudest ability, to share music via the built in speaker. The player also offers a lot more. The comfortable earphones will ensure you don’t necessarily need to buy a more expensive set if you don’t want to, an FM radio is present for those who like to ride those waves, it also has a stopwatch and EQ presets as well as customizable option with a five band equalizer. It’s available in 2Gb and 4Gb models.

iPod Shuffle


The iPod Shuffle hasn’t really been re-invented too drastically in quite awhile now. Its design is still essentially been consistent and maybe that’s a good thing. It’s innovative yet absolutely simplistic design is what we find most appealing. The built in clip makes for easy portability with having to worry about a separate strap option or carry case of some sort. A very simple five-way nav-pad for audio control and a sequence/shuffle selector also make sit easy to operate and use. Hover it’s tie into a proprietary software like iTunes for file transfer is still something we are not yet ready to tolerate, but audio quality is still quite up there with the best.

Samsung YP-S2


Another very simplistic player is the YP-S2 Pebble from Samsung. It’s a very sassy looking player with a smooth curved surface on top and a neatly designed five way nav-pad underneath. The earphones are part of the necklace strap, so it can easily be attached with a locking system. Since its light weight, small and looks quite chic, it can be worn around the neck like a pendant. With Samsung’s DNSe sound engine, the audio quality is something to talk about with a well balanced dynamic range of tones. It also offers a couple of EQ presets for personal preference and a PC software to adjust audio levels and create playlists if you don’t prefer the copy and paste method. It’s available in 2GB capacities and in a few jazzy colors as well.

These have been Tech2.0’s choices for the best potable media players of the last year, 2008. Of course we’re expecting things to be taken up a few notches in 2009 and it’s that anticipation of what’s to come that makes this job worthwhile.

This system is a new release by Onkyo, one of the most popular brands in the mid to high level Home theater segment in India. They have always belted out good systems, and most of all they have a variety that surpasses most. At Rs. 36,000 this system really delivers the goods, with 3 HDMI sources switching, 130 Watts RMS power per channel, and Onkyo’s plethora of proprietary features like Audyssey 2EQ room-correction technology. The latter is a great method of getting the best possible sound setting for the speakers, according to your room acoustics. The sub has a 20 cm driver, and a good 90 watts of power. The speakers have 8 cm cone woofer and 2.5 cm balanced dome tweeter. The overall sound is quiet balanced and powerful, more suited to surround sound movie experience. But music does not sound bad too, thus the system is great overall, not to mention it fits in with contemporary interiors, due to it sleek black design.


Runner Up - Philips Soundbar HTS6100


Even though they cannot replace the real thing entirely, I really like the concept of soundbars since their inception, and this year our reputable electronics giant Philips released a couple of models. These handy units can double up as an HT system for those with space constraints, who simply cannot place surround speakers. We reviewed the higher model, though the HS6100 product has won the runner-up prize for a number of reasons, mainly due to its subtle and mature good looks, superb build and decent features. It costs about Rs.35000, so it’s within reach. Philips sound quality is one of the best in the consumer category, with heavy bass and impressively powerful sound. The unit has built in DVD player, thus it acts as a one stop solution for your full AV needs, plus it can play DivX, read off USB drives, and has inputs for connecting external media players. It also supports upscaling to 1080p.

Best Value – Yamaha YHT195

Whenever budget Home theaters are spoken about, yamaha really leads the way. The YHT195 costs about 25,000 bucks, and anything below these prices, like the ones below 10,000 bucks by more popular brands, sound like crap. This unit comes in black or grey, a very simple yet attractive design. The satellite speakers weigh a little less than a kilo each, and are neat little rectangular boxes. It has 500W of total RMS power, at 100W per channel, plus 50W for the subwoofer. Connections include 2 HDMI-ins, 1 HDMI-out, 3 component-ins, a 5.1 analog audio-out, and a host of composite-outs. There are 3 digital audio-ins: one coaxial and 2 optical-ins.. The speakers are rated at 6 ohms. There are regular Yamaha proprietary features like YPAO, CinemaDSP etc. The sound quality is quite nice, and offers the engulfing power that a decent Home theater needs to deliver.

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Google to Offer Paid Cellphone Applications


Google will allow developers to sell applications for its Android cell phone operating system beginning next week in the United States.The move is a further step by the search giant into the mobile phone market, where Apple Inc has encountered success with its iPhone. Developers such as Electronic Arts Inc have been anxious to expand sales of their mobile phone games to the Android Market, which has been limited to free applications until now.

Google said in a statement on Friday that consumers will have to pay for the applications via its Google Checkout payment product. Google’s Android Market will initially carry paid applications from developers in the United States and Britain, with plans to allow developers in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, France and Spain to participate later this quarter

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